??Chapter 639: 638. Detective Reasoning thod_1
Chapter 639: 638. Detective Reasoning thod_1
At the sa ti.
In the room where Byron was detained.
Stone looked at the disheveled swindler before him and pondered a question.
That was why the organs found in Gaude’s body by “Sumr Notes” pointed to Byron.
Clearly, after Lu Ban’s examination, there were no fragnts of Gaude’s body inside Byron; he was not the person who had eaten Gaude’s organs.
So where exactly did the problem lie?
Stone didn’t know the status of Lu Ban and Shia’s investigation. He took a sip of wine and watched as the storm outside the window grew stronger. Due to prolonged erosion, the soil had washed away, and so trees had been uprooted and toppled over in all directions.
These trees accumulated together, blocking the road, making the journey up the mountain even more difficult.
Seeing this scene, an idea suddenly flashed through Stone’s mind.
It was clear that Byron wasn’t the killer of Gaude, at least he wasn’t the one who devoured Gaude’s organs. With Stone’s belief that his own “Sumr Notes” could not be wrong, there was only one explanation.
Gaude’s organs and Byron were made of the sa material.
When Stone considered this possibility, he thought he might be going mad.
Under normal circumstances, Stone wouldn’t have thought of such a plot twist. But now, after everything he had been through, this line of thinking grew stronger and even beca the mainstream.
Stone glanced at Byron, who was idly staring at the clock, oblivious to Stone’s gaze.
Once the spark of Stone’s thought erged, it was hard to restrain.
He quickly ca to his own answer.
The reason why Gaude’s organs pointed to Byron was because Byron was Gaude’s organs.
Or, if one thought about it from a different angle, Gaude was Byron.
While this sounded far-fetched and incredible, in the context of Foreign Domain, it seed very reasonable.
Both Gaude and Byron were part of the sa entity.
Gaude was Byron, and Byron was Gaude.
They were both parts of the Sludge Monster.
Since the Sludge Monster could disguise itself as a human, it could disguise itself as two people.
Gaude and Byron were humans created by the shape-shifting of the Sludge Monster.
This was why when tracking Gaude, Stone’s “Sumr Reappearance” led to the discovery of Byron’s hideout.
The two of them were originally one.
Realizing this point, Stone suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
He was now sharing a room with this Sludge Monster.
Stone was very clear about the powers of the Sludge Monster; there was perhaps no one who understood better what these monsters were capable of.
Ten years ago, he had witnessed these monsters burrowing into human bodies, making their organs bloom into a Glass Flower, all with just the monster’s gaze.
Although Stone knew how to interact with these monsters and how to avoid their harm, this did nothing to reduce their danger.
“What’s wrong?”
Byron suddenly asked, shifting his gaze from the oscillating clock pendulum to Stone.
“I’ve had a thought.”
Stone calmly turned his head to look at Byron.
“Do you know how detectives conduct their investigations?”
“How could I know, sir? I’m just a drifter.”
Byron frowned slightly, indicating his uncertainty.
“When detectives work on a case, they first need to believe.”
Stone said solemnly.
“Believe? Isn’t it supposed to be doubt?”
Byron felt it strange and asked curiously.
“If we choose to doubt, then all people and things are worthy of doubt, all evidence and testimony can be overturned, and there will be no truth in the world. The work of investigation will never be able to proceed properly.”
Stone said as he placed both hands on the table, giving Byron a sense of security.
“Therefore, the first step in an investigation is to believe—believe the testimony of every witness, acknowledge every piece of evidence, and use them to reconstruct the case.”
“But wouldn’t that lead to contradictions?”
Byron asked doubtfully.
“That’s exactly the point.”
Stone answered.
“When all the testimonies and evidence are combined and contradictions arise, we can then identify targets worthy of suspicion. By investigating these inconsistencies, we find out who is lying.”
“What a good thod.”
Byron couldn’t help but say.
“Yes, so I previously asked Mr. Gaude, the butler. He said that during this ti, no vehicles have ever arrived at Storm Villa. If we assu what he said is true, then apart from us, no one else has co here by car during this period.”
Stone articulated slowly.
“But according to your statent, Mr. Byron, you passed out on the way here and woke up to find yourself in a barrel, and Mr. Gaude arrived before you did. Thus, there must have been a vehicle that brought you into Storm Villa, which contradicts the butler’s testimony.”
“Are you saying I lied to you?”
Byron suddenly beca nervous, drawing his hands in, looking very uneasy.
“But according to my investigation, you didn’t lie, a car indeed brought you here, and you were indeed put into the barrel until we discovered and released you.”
Stone looked at Byron.
“That’s where the contradiction lies.”
“Detective, I didn’t lie, really, I don’t know anything.”
Byron leaned back, a subconscious movent to evade danger.
“I believe that neither you nor Mr. Gaude, the butler, are lying.”
Stone mused.
“It’s just that there has been so deviation in between.”
Byron looked confused.
“Put simply, you did indeed co here at Mr. Gaude’s invitation, you really did co by car, and you did lose consciousness along the way, but it wasn’t in the past few days.”
Stone explained.
“You were chosen by Gaude long ago as material for this ritual. I don’t know why he picked you—perhaps because you had encountered Taoist Crane Cry’s writings, or for so other reason. He fabricated a reason for you to co here to conduct The Conjuring. Then, on the way, you lost consciousness and were locked in a barrel, which was stored in the cellar until now.”
“I can’t quite say how long it has been, but judging by all these arrangents, it might even be possible that when the mansion was sold to Bronning, you were already locked in the cellar.”
Hearing Stone’s words, Byron beca even more confused. If it was really as Stone said, then he should have starved to death long ago!
“That’s right.”
Stone, seeing Byron’s doubts, explained quickly.
“Because you’re no longer human.”
He linked all the pieces together.
During the ti Byron was unconscious, he had been devoured by the Sludge Monster, which extracted his soul and mories, and Gaude himself was the chief culprit behind it all.
After “Gaude” suffered a mortal injury, the Sludge Monster, to hide itself, activated Byron’s consciousness in the barrel, pretending to know nothing, hidden within Gaude’s subconscious mind.
Clearly, “Gaude” needed to conceal sothing.
What was he hiding?
As Stone pondered this question, a bolt of lightning struck, and he saw Byron’s expression constantly changing. After fear and confusion, it finally settled into numbness and detachnt.
His eyes were lifeless, like a broken toy.
“Ah…uh…ah…gah…”
From Byron’s throat ca the sound of bursting bubbles.
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