Chapter 365

Chapter 365

The first murder investigation meeting concluded.

The guests scattered like birds and beasts, separating to find new clues. For instance, Dan's bedroom and library, which were originally restricted private areas, were now open for access, and the butler, lawyer, maid, and other NPCs could be conversed with to obtain clues.

Jian Jing chose to chat with the butler, hoping to reconstruct the deceased's actions from the previous day as accurately as possible.

Liu Sau-chi, Valeriya, and Hiroto Ishikawa accompanied her.

The butler cooperatively provided the following information: "After the banquet last night, the master seemed fatigued and wished to rest, so I escorted him back to the lounge."

Jian Jing asked, "Is this his regular lifestyle habit?"

"Yes, the master usually naps in the lounge and only returns to the bedroom at night to sleep," the butler affirmed.

Liu Sau-chi pointed out, "But the corpse was found in the study."

"When does he usually use the study?" Hiroto Ishikawa inquired.

The butler replied, "There is no fixed time. He would go to the study when he needed to handle work."

"Would he choose to talk with people in the study?"

"The master preferred to meet people in the lounge. The study was his prohibited area where he liked to be alone. Even his wife was not allowed to enter freely."

Jian Jing asked, "When was the last time you saw the deceased?"

The butler pondered, then said, "The master enjoyed drinking a bowl of ginseng chicken soup before going to bed at night. Last night around 10 PM, I delivered the chicken soup to him, and he was fine."

"How did the deceased seem at that time? Happy, angry, or worried?"

"He seemed a bit anxious," the butler said. "I felt he was worried about something, but it wasn't serious—you understand, it was just an ordinary concern, not a major issue."

Hiroto Ishikawa asked, "Was it related to someone?"

The butler said, "I guess it had to do with his sons and daughters. As one grows older, one's greatest concern lies with one's children."

"Did he mention needing to discuss anything with certain people yesterday?"

"Yes, the master said that since his age was advanced, he wanted to take this opportunity when everyone was present to properly discuss matters regarding the future."

Jian Jing asked, "Do you know how he arranged it?"

"No, I'm not aware. The master didn't like to confide family matters to us."

The above was the information revealed by the butler in the first stage.

Next, while others sought more NPCs, Jian Jing returned to the crime scene.

A brief description of the cruise ship's room layout is necessary here.

The 7th floor housed the guest rooms, with the 15 guests' rooms evenly distributed across the entire floor. In the middle were the elevators and stairs, allowing access to other floors. The layout was as follows:

0102030405060708 (Room Numbers)

Dining Area Stairs & Elevators Conference Hall

09101112131415 Emergency Exit

The 8th floor was divided into two areas, separated by the central stairs and elevators. The bow section on the left was Dan's private domain, while the right side housed the conference hall, ballroom, banquet hall, and other public areas.

Dan's private area, which included his bedroom, living room, study, and lounge, was extremely spacious.

Observation Deck

Bedroom Walk-in Closet

Living Room DoorĐiscover new chapters at novelhall.com

Lounge Door

Study

Balcony

As you can see, Dan's area was open at both the north and south ends, with large balconies on both sides. Additionally, two different doors separated his daytime and nighttime living spaces.

The living room was the living area connected to the bedroom suite. Generally, Dan would only enter through this door when going to sleep. The lounge and study were his daytime activity areas, where he would take naps in the lounge and work in the study.

The two areas were separated by walls, requiring passage through the living room to access the bedroom and walk-in closet, and through the lounge to enter the study.

[Evidence gathering doesn't really matter, the producers will only give out the motive for the murder, not determine the killer]

[That's right, everyone could be the killer, the key to pinpointing the suspect is still at the crime scene]

[Really curious who did it]

[I want to know, where did the head go?]

[Why is Professor Jian trying to infer Dan's thoughts?]

...

"What is Professor Jian trying to do?" Before they knew it, it was already past 5 PM. Lao Gao and Ji Feng had returned from the crime scene and started watching the livestream.

Ji Feng opened his meal box and said, "She has no choice, the guests' personalities differ from their characters, and they approach it with a mindset of playing a game, so their input on the case has no reference value. But the victim is different, his actions are the most reliable evidence."

Lao Gao asked with concern, "Will it work?"

"Not sure," Ji Feng broke apart his disposable chopsticks. "This isn't about someone being randomly assigned as the killer. The participants' true personalities revealed may not match their assigned roles."

"I hope Professor Jian wins, that's a million US dollars," Lao Gao smacked his lips, then added, "What do you think of that painter guy?"

Ji Feng replied flatly, "Not much."

Lao Gao glanced at him and struggled to hold back his laughter.

--

Morning stage performance and crime scene visit, afternoon evidence gathering and meeting, followed by another tour of the crime scene.

Jian Jing was exhausted and decided to lie down.

She was the first to arrive at the restaurant and was delighted to see the sumptuous buffet spread. She immediately filled her plate with steak, chicken wings, fried eggs, seafood fried rice, and didn't forget to get a bowl of goji berry and black chicken soup.

The cameraman was astonished, "You're eating that much?"

"Don't worry, I won't waste any," Jian Jing grabbed an iced cola and began eating.

The deduction game turned into a live food show.

She first sipped the black chicken soup, the delicious warm broth warming her stomach, then had a few bites of the fried rice, as carbs were essential. After that, she started on the meat and protein.

"Jing Jing..." Jiang BaiYan dejectedly sat down with his salad plate, "you're so arrogant."

Jian Jing feigned sympathy, "Dieting again?"

"Ah..." He listlessly put lettuce leaves into his mouth, indulgently cutting a small piece of tuna, chewing it slowly, unable to swallow it all at once.

Jian Jing cut a piece of steak and waved it in front of him, "Want some?"

"No," he lowered his head and munched on the lettuce heart.

Jian Jing lifted her cola cup, the straw making a crisp "gurgling" sound.

"Sorry," she pretended to realize afterward.

Jiang BaiYan warned, "...If you bully me again, I won't share the clues with you."

Jian Jing immediately straightened up, "What clues?"

He took out a small notebook, "I asked the NPCs on the ship, and they provided me with some clues."

"The lawyer said that in the past three months, Dan had repeatedly mentioned his will to him, as if worried about his heirs. He also had someone investigate the third son's whereabouts and the women he had been involved with.

"The chef said Dan had almost obsessive requirements for his diet. All the menus were designed by a nutritionist, and he had to eat many expensive supplements every day. But they were never prepared by the chef, always cooked in secret by the old servant woman. The eldest son's wife and second daughter also liked to eat fertility-boosting supplements like bird's nest and deer antler.

"The cleaning lady said she had seen Dr. Raj secretly enter the deceased's room before.

"One of the crew members said that last night, while he was smoking outside, he overheard the second daughter and her husband talking, mentioning something about 'property' and 'inheritance'."

Jian Jing commented, "You're quite efficient."

Jiang BaiYan humbly said, "Not really, the clues don't have much value, and many of them overlap with our evidence gathering results."

"That's not necessarily the case," Jian Jing remarked. "Dan's actions are valuable."

In her view, the other evidence might not be related to the case, but only Dan's actions directly concerned the reason for his death.

She stirred the ice cubes in her cup and smiled, "The case is more complicated than I thought, this is getting interesting."