He Jinxia couldn’t help but nod; this rule was sowhat relieving, as it at least limited the murderer’s actions.
"Heh heh heh, I am very much looking forward to the massacre coming to pass. After all, who is the murderer, and who will be the last victim?"
The mysterious person left these final words and then turned off the microphone, and calm was restored once again in the villa.
Ouyang Baoer wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, "If it weren’t broad daylight now, I suppose I wouldn’t dare to leave you guys."
There was no helping it, that mysterious person’s voice was too eerily chilling.
Before anyone else could speak, He Jinxia lifted her head and said firmly, "Everyone, take out your Character Cards and let’s have a look at them. I have an idea and want to see yours."
Wang Tao was the first to hand his Character Card to He Jinxia, asking, "What, have you found sothing new?"
He Jinxia took the card and flipped it to the back where the character description was, murmuring, "Hard to say, just have an idea I want to confirm."
The background introduction on the card read:
[Wang Tao: Popular male singer, 35, skilled and well-liked by people. Flaws: Not good at singing]
He Jinxia’s eyes flickered, thoughts swirling in her mind.
She also handed her Character Card to Wang Tao to see.
[He Jinxia: Female teacher, 21, excels in mory. Flaws: Harsh in teaching]
The others had no objections and handed their Character Cards to her in turn.
[Ren Xiao: Young man of society, 19, skilled in smooth talking. Flaws: Has stolen from neighbors, repeatedly fails to nd his ways even after stealing, was detained by the police for one week.]
[Ouyang Baoer: Female singer, 16, skilled in dressing up. Flaws: Not popular]
[Lin Qingzhu: Male police officer, 35, proficient in the Japanese language. Flaws: Excessively righteous]
After reading through all the character introductions, everyone discovered a common suspicious point.
"Wait, why are our flaws summarized in just a few words, while Ren Xiao’s flaws take up such a long list? Isn’t that blatantly pointing out sothing is wrong with him?" Ouyang Baoer asked, puzzled.
Wang Tao glanced at the uneasy looking Ren Xiao, then looked towards Lin Qingzhu, speaking gravely, "What do you think? Ren Xiao’s situation seems very suspicious, almost as if he’s being deliberately pushed forward to be a victim."
Simple deduction pointed to Ren Xiao; using the number 34 to find answers from song lyrics also pointed to Ren Xiao, and now his Character Card’s background was the most prominent.
If Ren Xiao were indeed the victim, then these actions were as if mocking their intelligence, as if fearing they wouldn’t notice Ren Xiao’s peculiarity.
Lin Qingzhu’s expression grew somber as he stepped forward, moving next to Wang Tao.
"Yes, all these traces are too glaringly obvious, but maybe the murderer wants us to start suspecting amongst ourselves? We can’t find any other evidence to prove Ren Xiao isn’t the victim, also, if he isn’t, then who is?"
The others suddenly felt as if their intelligence wasn’t up to scratch.
Searching high and low, only Ren Xiao was found; what about others?
Even if they wanted to suspect others, there was no reason to do so!
He Jinxia suddenly said, "How about we change our approach and consider who might be the killer? At least with the identity of the killer, we can find so clues. Plus, the murderer definitely doesn’t want us to find out who the real victim is."
With those words, the atmosphere beca tensely charged for no apparent reason.
As if oblivious to anything, He Jinxia looked at Lin Qingzhu and said with a smile, "Your character card cos with proficiency in the Japanese language, and although it’s not ntioned on his character card, Ren Xiao knows so Japanese too."
"Considering the appearance of the ’Hell Girl’ soundtrack in the room and so books written in Japanese on the bookshelf, it is clear that the master of the study knows Japanese. The critical list of deaths being laid openly on the desk..."
He Jinxia paused mid-sentence, her voice ringing clearly, "So I suspect that this villa belongs to the killer, and the master of the study is the murderer!"
That is to say, she suspected that one of these two people was the killer!
Wang Tao and Ouyang Baoer couldn’t help but fix their gaze on Ren Xiao and Lin Qingzhu, their eyes flickering.
Compared to Ren Xiao, Lin Qingzhu was more suspicious, as Ren Xiao’s Japanese proficiency was an external skill, whereas Lin Qingzhu’s was explicitly listed on his character card.
Wang Tao pondered and said, "From the beginning, I suspected that this villa belonged to the killer. Both the victim and the murderer are among us, and the villa contains clues to the death list and the last victim, and the living room even had newspapers reporting on serial murders."
"If it were just an ordinary person, why would they gather these things?" he questioned.
The presence of newspapers on serial killings wasn’t strange, but the death list appeared in the study was indeed peculiar.
Wang Tao glanced over them and continued, "I agree with Jinxia’s idea. This villa belongs to the killer, and the killer is mingling among us, waiting for a chance to take our lives."
Ren Xiao was bewildered by the situation, genuinely bewildered.
He quickly started explaining, "Wait a minute, I’m not the killer. Just a mont ago, you said I was the most likely victim, and now you’re suggesting I might be the killer. Isn’t that too sudden of a change?"
Lin Qingzhu frowned and also spoke up, "I’m not the killer either. My role is a police officer, and from that perspective, I’m the least likely to be a killer. Plus, just based on knowing Japanese to deduce soone is a killer is far too childish and the evidence is too scant."
Ren Xiao nodded in agreent, "Exactly, exactly! If the killer was so easily exposed, then what kind of killer are they? What happened to being cunning and ticulous?"
He Jinxia’s eyes curved slightly as she smiled and said, "By the sa logic, if the victim were so easily found out, would that be sothing a cunning, ticulous killer would do?"
The topic was turned back again, and Wang Tao looked at her, "So what are you suggesting?"
He Jinxia firmly said, "We should keep searching. My intuition tells that the clues are in the articles on room 34 and the soundtrack, where the real victim’s information lies!"
Her words were spirited and forceful, striking a chord with everyone, sending a shiver down their spines.
"There are only forty minutes left! Only forty minutes left..." Suddenly, this phrase echoed throughout the villa.
Everyone was startled, wishing they had two brains to crack this case.
Wang Tao scowled and said, "We’re running out of ti, we can’t delay anymore. We’ve already searched through the books and found no new clues. Maybe we should check the living room and the second floor, we might discover sothing new."
He Jinxia glanced around the study once more, feeling that there wouldn’t be any new findings here, and then ran upstairs.
The second floor had three rooms; Ouyang Baoer had already entered the first one, so He Jinxia went into the second room.
She turned out every wardrobe and drawer, finding all the cabinets empty; there was nothing to be found.
Just as He Jinxia was about to leave to search another room, suddenly, she seed to think of sothing. She paused, turned back, and swept her gaze around the room again, her eyes finally resting on the bed and a window on the side.
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