But the viewers in Jin Zhuang's livestream room definitely cared: [Wait, wasn't Brother Hao given a hypnotic drug? How did he die? And how did Doctor Zhen die? Xiao Zhuang, hurry up and ask.]
Jin Zhuang's performance in this beginner scenario had been a complete disaster. Never mind preserving an old player's pride—if he still wanted to make money through Twilight Mystery Club, he had to work hard to win back his "beloved audience masters." Now that the viewers had made a request, Jin Zhuang naturally responded eagerly and immediately asked on behalf of the barrage comments.
"Come to think of it, how exactly did Brother Hao die in the end? Does anyone remember?"
The moment this question came up, the living room, whose atmosphere had been fairly pleasant, instantly fell silent. Xiao Zhao and Xiao Qiao no longer had the heart to feel moved. They were both jolted awake by the question. Right—how had Brother Hao died in the end? Shouldn't he have been unconscious?
The DM seized the chance to stir things up and spoke again: [According to the deduction results, when the police arrive, only Professor Lu, Lawyer Jin, Basketball Qiao, and Second-generation Zhao will be alive.]
"Why?" Xiao Qiao was still as impulsive as ever. Although the answer would not affect his decision to vote with Zhen Liu, he still curiously voiced his wild speculation to Zhen Liu. "You didn't actually use the professor's hypnotic drug. You used your own Class B Poison?"
No, Class B Poison was also a delayed poison. In theory, it should not have taken effect that quickly.
Zhen Liu remained silent until this moment. He cast an inconspicuous glance at Professor Lu beside him, then nodded in admission. "Yes, I used another poison. Someone like Brother Hao doesn't deserve to live, and neither does the 'me' who has killed countless people."
"Oh, right, that makes sense. I said before that poison was more reliable." Xiao Qiao's curiosity was satisfied, so he did not continue asking.
Xiao Zhao, however, keenly sensed that something was wrong, but he did not point it out, because he truly did not care.
Xiao Zhao merely shrugged and asked Zhen Liu, "So, who are we voting for?"
"Of course you should vote for me." Lucien raised his hand high, wearing an expression that said, since things had already come to this, he might as well stop hiding it. "I'll tell you the truth. I really did kill him. I was determined to kill before Doctor Zhen did. Before the poison took effect, I stabbed him. If you brothers weren't lying and he really was already a corpse when you saw him, then I was the one who killed him."
After reviewing the game rules once more and confirming that Xiao Zhao and Xiao Qiao truly did not care about winning or losing, Zhen Liu made the final call. "Vote for me. Anyway, the 'me' is already dead."
Xiao Zhao and Xiao Qiao froze in unison. "Huh?" They had not heard wrong, had they? Zhen Liu did not want to win?
Zhen Liu did not explain why he had made this choice. He simply led by example and selected the "Doctor Zhen" option. "Vote for me."
Just before Xiao Zhao and Xiao Qiao could mindlessly follow his vote, Jin Zhuang—who had been pondering the timeline and reviewing the photos and videos he had taken in each room—suddenly spoke up. "No!"
"What's wrong?" Xiao Zhao and Xiao Qiao both looked up.
Although they knew Jin Zhuang was not a lawyer, they instinctively disliked people playing lawyers. Having been startled by his sudden outburst, they became even more annoyed.
At this critical moment, Jin Zhuang displayed the qualities expected of an old player. Calm in danger and unfazed by pressure, he projected the photo he had found for everyone to see. It was a photo of Professor Lu's bedroom. Apart from Professor Lu's few personal belongings, there was nothing else in it. It was so clean as to be bizarre. Once the photo was enlarged, everyone could clearly see the water on the table.
More than half the liquid in the cup was gone.
Theoretically, it could not have been that Professor Lu had only poured that little. Someone must have drunk from it. But there was no longer any way to test whether there were lip prints on the cup, much less whose they were. Jin Zhuang could only analyze it by force.
For example, one symptom of being drunk was a dry mouth and tongue, making someone try to find water.
And Lucien had said during his introduction that he had gone to the kitchen to get water. Since there was water in the bedroom, why had Professor Lu not drunk it?
Could this cup of water have belonged to someone else? Or was this water not drinkable?
Jin Zhuang fixed Lucien with a sharp gaze and pressed him. "You said earlier that you put the drug in the water, but until eight o'clock, before Doctor Zhen and I arrived, the victim hadn't drunk it, right?"
Lucien nodded. He admitted that much. "Right."
"So what? What does that prove?" Zhen Liu cut into their conversation. He seemed to want everyone to vote as quickly as possible, a little more urgent than when he had been Pineapple Head.
The instant Zhen Liu spoke, Jin Zhuang finally dared to be certain. "The murderer isn't you. It's Professor Lu." Then, without hesitation, he selected the "Professor Lu" option.
One to one. A tie.
The remaining three people would decide it. Lucien also voted for himself without hesitation. He had not expected that he and Zhen Liu would call votes for each other in this round. Still, Lucien did everything he could to persuade the other two, who intended to follow their benefactor to the bitter end. "If you really want what's best for Zhen Liu, you should vote for me. Voting for Doctor Zhen makes no sense at all."
The final result was three to two.
Jin Zhuang and Lucien voted for Professor Lu. The other three still insisted on voting for Doctor Zhen.
This was a victory for the huddled-together group. Xiao Zhao and Xiao Qiao simply did not care about logic; they would blindly follow their big brother's vote.
The DM's voice rang out as well:
["Class Reunion" final murderer vote result—"Doctor Zhen." So, was Doctor Zhen truly the murderer who killed Ying De in this case? I announce that everyone's murderer vote... has failed.]
[As the scenario has been perfectly cleared, the true culprit of this case will be revealed to everyone—Professor Lu.]
[Revealing the crucial evidence everyone missed—the medicine bottle Professor Lu carried with him. If it had been submitted for testing during the game, players would have discovered that the bottle did not contain a hypnotic drug, but a combined poison of Class A Poison and Class B Poison, an enhanced version.]
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