Everyone exchanged looks, and the atmosphere briefly froze.
Shao Lan spoke slowly. "Let's go over the timeline."
"One at a time, all seven of us here should explain what we did last night up until we went to bed, and who can vouch for us."
Before Shao Lan had finished, Xu Zijian's eyes widened in alarm. "Wait, are we checking alibis?"
"Are you saying Song Liru's disappearance... had something to do with one of us?"
Xu Jiaojiao immediately pointed at Xu Nan. "I bet he did it!"
Xu Zijian wasn't as worked up as Xu Jiaojiao, but he clearly disapproved of checking alibis:
"Yesterday was our first night here. Even if we had disagreements, none of us could have hated anyone enough to kill them."
"We know next to nothing about this Instance right now. In a situation like this, we have to stick together. Suspecting each other will only get us killed faster."
"I completely agree," Shao Lan said, nodding immediately. "We should stick together."
Xu Zijian stared blankly.
"That's precisely why we should go over the timeline," Shao Lan said. "Unity isn't just a slogan. Only by clearing away our suspicions can we trust each other better, right?"
"That makes sense."
Everyone was a little surprised-the first person to agree with Shao Lan was Qin Ning, who had remained silent all this time.
"Rather than bicker noisily, we should all lay things out in one go," Qin Ning said coolly. "I'll start."
"It was exactly eight p.m. when we entered our room last night. From eight to eight thirty, I rested in the room."
Shao Lan asked, "Who can vouch for that period?"
"Xu Zijian," Qin Ning said. "He was in the room too. He can confirm it."
Everyone looked at Xu Zijian, who nodded.
"Then, at eight thirty, Xu Zijian went out."
What he did afterward was clear too: he had joined Shao Lan, Xu Jiaojiao, and the others for their "hallway conversation."
Qin Ning continued, "At nine, I left the room and went to the parking area at the village entrance. I retrieved the supplies I'd bought earlier from the trunk and returned at nine forty."
"Sorry to interrupt," Shao Lan interjected. "I remember our 'hallway conversation' wasn't over yet at nine."
"If you left the room, why didn't we see you?"
For a moment, suspicion crept into the looks everyone directed at Qin Ning.
This woman was quiet and unobtrusive, but who knew whether people like her were the most dangerous?
"Because I climbed down from the window," Qin Ning said.
"The window?"
"It was faster," Qin Ning said calmly.
Everyone was speechless.
Qin Ning was wearing a sleeveless, fitted tank top today, revealing the strong, graceful contours of her arms. With her physical abilities, she certainly could have climbed down from the third floor.
"Girl, what exactly do you do for a living?" Xu Zijian couldn't help asking. "You're not in the special forces, are you?"
Qin Ning looked calmly at Xu Zijian.
One second passed. Then two.
Oh. Xu Zijian understood.
There it was again: the familiar treatment of being left on read.
He rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Okay, pretend I didn't ask."
Shao Lan said, "Go on."
Xu Zijian indignantly realized that Qin Ning, who left his questions unanswered, responded to everything Shao Lan said.
She nodded and continued:
"Twenty minutes after I returned, at exactly ten, Xu Zijian came back. Neither of us went out again after that, so we can vouch for each other."
"Today, I got up at six and exercised on the second-floor terrace. When I went out, Xu Zijian was still asleep."
"At seven thirty, I finished exercising and returned to the room. Xu Zijian was still asleep."
"At eight, I went out to conduct a brief survey and exploration of the guesthouse's layout. I found nothing unusual," Qin Ning said. "When I went out, Xu Zijian was still asleep."
As everyone listened, only one phrase kept playing over and over in their heads: "Xu Zijian was still asleep."
Xu Zijian scratched his head in embarrassment. "I do need quite a lot of sleep..."
"At eight thirty, I returned to the room and had a simple meal. Xu Zijian woke up then," Qin Ning said. "We both stayed in the room until Xu Jiaojiao knocked on the door."
Qin Ning finished her account.
Next should have been Xu Jiaojiao, who stood beside her, but Xu Zijian raised his hand. "Let me go after Qin Ning. We share a room, after all."
"Just so you know, my memory isn't great, and I'm not very conscious of time. I don't really check the clock, so I might not remember what time things happened... I'll do my best."
"Where should I start? Let's start with entering the room. Qin Ning and I went in together. What time did she say it was? Eight? Oh, then it was eight. According to her, I went out at eight thirty."
"After I went out, I ran into Liru, Jiaojiao, and Shao Lan. We chatted for a while-that's the 'hallway conversation' Shao Lan mentioned. Jiaojiao and Shao Lan can both vouch for me."
"What time did the 'hallway conversation' end again? (Shao Lan added: around nine ten.) Oh, then it was nine ten. I went back to the room."
"No one was inside, which I thought was strange, since I hadn't seen Qin Ning come out. I wondered where she'd gone and thought about looking for her."
"But before I could, Jiaojiao knocked on the door. She said she wanted to get supplies from the village entrance but couldn't carry them all herself, and asked if I could help. I figured I could get some food from the trunk too, so I went with her."
"Then I went back to the room. I guess it was the time Qin Ning said. I didn't keep track."
"Qin Ning was already in the room when I got back. I felt too awkward to ask where she'd been."
"Then we went to sleep. I wanted to let the lady have the bed, but Qin Ning ignored me and pushed two chairs together to sleep on... so I took the bed."
"Then came this morning. Not long after I got up, Jiaojiao came to tell us to go upstairs."
Xu Zijian finished his account too.
No one had any questions about his movements. After all, he had barely spent any time alone; there had always been someone with him who could vouch for him.
By comparison, Qin Ning seemed more suspicious.
After all, she had gone to get supplies alone. Without a witness, there was no way to tell whether she was lying.
Shao Lan asked Xu Zijian a question. "When you and Xu Jiaojiao went to get supplies, you took the stairs, right?"
"Of course." Xu Zijian shrugged, and Xu Jiaojiao laughed too. "We don't have Qin Ning's skills."
Shao Lan asked, "Then, when you passed the second floor, was Song Liru still in the hallway?"
Xu Jiaojiao paused, then understood what Shao Lan was getting at. "No. We thought she'd gone back to her room."
"But Xu Nan said Song Liru never came back after she went out." Shao Lan looked at Xu Nan.
"Fuck, I wasn't lying!" Xu Nan swore. "I was in the room the whole time. No one came back at all."
Shao Lan nodded. "That's the point of comparing timelines. At least we've established when Song Liru disappeared."
He took out a pen and paper and began drawing a timeline:
"The hallway conversation ended at nine ten. That was the last time we saw Song Liru."
Before you continue