Wataru Kojima's puzzle wasn't difficult.
He cleverly hid the clues within hundreds of photographs, but the previous guests who searched for evidence focused on things like letters and passbooks, lacking the patience to discern them, so they failed to notice anything unusual.
However, if the photo series were categorized, and the award-winning works singled out, one would find the subjects behaving strangely: some gazing upwards, some to the left, some to the right, their eyes bulging as if dead.
Arranging the photos chronologically, taking the first as the origin and plotting their directions, would yield a single word: liveforever.
Live forever.
"It seems you've found it," Wataru Kojima returned, still holding a magazine.
Jian Jing glanced at him, "You're not slow either."
"I finally understand," Wataru Kojima said, "Yu Meng's hometown is Wu Village, where the people practice the Shaman Religion. My 'Shaman Poison' series was shot there."
Jian Jing nodded, "Hiroto Ishikawa's folklore research materials should also have records on Wu Village."
"This supernatural magazine has published a report on Yu Meng, claiming she cursed Linnaer, stealing her fate and causing her career to plummet, but the curse backfired, killing Yu Meng instead." Wataru Kojima flipped through the magazine, stating firmly, "But there's no mention whatsoever of her having a daughter."
Jian Jing shrugged.
Wataru Kojima asked, "Shall we be candid? Do you know Yu Meng's true identity?"
"'I' am unaware of Wu Village matters. I only know Yu Meng was a celebrity, and obtained her belongings—that notebook," Jian Jing said. "To 'me,' Yu Meng's origins don't matter. What matters is what I want."
Wataru Kojima cut to the chase, "What do you want?"
"To marry into a wealthy family," she replied bluntly, once again despising her poor luck.
Wataru Kojima inquired, "Does it involve shamanism?"
Jian Jing nodded, "As far as I know, there are two types of shamanism: curses and blessings. 'I' likely used the latter, making Dan fall for me and agree to our engagement. But the entire notebook never mentions living forever. Where did you get those photos?"
Since Wataru Kojima had suggested candor, he responded honestly, "When I visited Wu Village for fieldwork, locals told me the most powerful shamanic art was the technique of immortality, allowing one to escape the cycle of death and rebirth."
"And then what?"
"Nothing more. By the time I arrived, the shaman of Wu Village had already disappeared. The other villagers only knew rumors."
"Why did you go to Wu Village? Who told you about it?" Jian Jing wondered.
A faint smile crossed Wataru Kojima's face, "No one told me. I saw Wu Village's emblem in Dan's study and got curious, deciding to check it out on a whim."
A coincidence? Jian Jing eyed him suspiciously but didn't question it further.
Whether it was a coincidence didn't matter.
Then it was Wataru Kojima's turn to ask, "Are you Dan's child?"
Jian Jing replied, "What do you think?"
Wataru Kojima's gaze flickered as he ventured, "Dan vehemently opposes your marriage to his son, so it's quite possible."
"I don't think his attitude is like dealing with his own daughter," Jian Jing stated. "Why did the culprit kill Linnaer?"
In reality, similar cases could involve copy-cat crimes, but in this game, there was only one true culprit. Even if the killer wasn't the person themselves, it was motivated by them.
Wataru Kojima said, "There are too many possible reasons. The most likely is to divert attention—far fewer people would want Linnaer dead compared to Dan."
"Perhaps Linnaer had obtained some unfavorable information about the true culprit," Jian Jing pondered for a moment, suddenly dismayed, "Doesn't that make me a suspect?"
If Linnaer knew something others didn't, it was most likely related to Yu Meng's story.
Wataru Kojima looked at her, candidly remarking, "Miss Jian, your situation is rather unfavorable."
Jian Jing muttered, "...I'll check how they're doing with the hidden room."
The hidden room was discovered after lunch, taking an hour and a half.
The method to open it involved rearranging the constellation chart on the wall in the order of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, revealing the centerpieces converging into a line pointing to a specific spot on the floor.
That wooden floor panel could slide, moving like a sliding puzzle until a particular piece could be removed, revealing a switch underneath.
Jiang BaiYan voiced everyone's thoughts, "This is too difficult."
As they marveled, they entered the hidden room behind the bookcase.
Inside lay the third corpse.
Hearing this, Jian Jing arrived munching on a sandwich, "A third corpse? Not bad."
Jiang BaiYan exclaimed, "What's not bad about it?"
"The more the culprit acts, the more they expose themselves," she quickly finished her lunch and got to work.
The hidden room wasn't large but connected to the bedroom and study. On the map, it roughly appeared as:
Viewing Balcony
Bedroom Wardrobe
Living Room Door
Lounge Door
Study
Balcony
The hidden room area was a completely enclosed space with scattered, extinguished candles strewn about in disarray.
Jian Jing kicked aside the candles, revealing solidified wax, "They formed a circle earlier—an altar."
The third corpse lay in the center of the altar, also a dummy and headless with the cause of death unclear. It wore gaudy, disheveled clothing.
"Looks like there was a struggle," she lifted the dummy's arm, as usual unable to discern anything. "But we still need the autopsy report to check for defensive wounds."
Wataru Kojima asked, "Who is this person?"
The ever-diligent manservant NPC replied, "It's Granny."
Jian Jing raised an eyebrow, "Give us her profile details."
The manservant provided the character's background: Granny, name unknown, origins unknown. Reportedly from Dan's hometown, skilled in traditional Chinese medicine. Dan had invited her to treat his illness.
"Granny is very mysterious, rarely seen by anyone except the Master," the manservant added.
Jian Jing asked, "How old is she?"
The manservant considered, "At least seventy or eighty years old, perhaps older."
"She's from Wu Village," Wataru Kojima pointed out a tattoo on the dummy's back—the emblem of Wu Village shamans.
Jian Jing made an acknowledging sound, unsurprised, "Dan was pursuing immortality."
Throughout history, those who attained wealth and power would inevitably seek elusive longevity as they neared life's end.
A little superstition led to the pursuit of immortality elixirs, a more scientific approach involved gene cloning—the essence was the same.
"But he still died," Andrei stated. "The shamanic arts failed. Someone sabotaged Dan's plans."
Zhang Xue'er announced, "There's a box of cassette tapes here."
"Listen to them quickly," the others urged.
Jiang BaiYan fetched the tape recorder from the bedroom and inserted a cassette. After some static, Dan's voice emanated from the speakers.
"Is there really a way to achieve immortality?"
"Yes." An elderly voice answered, confirmed by the butler's glance - it was the witch's voice. "Everyone wants to escape death."
Dan: "But I'm already about to die, the medicine you gave me has no effect."
The witch said: "The medicine is not to cure your body, but to cleanse your soul."
Dan: "Soul?"
The witch: "The physical body is just a vessel, no matter what, it will be damaged. Only the soul can live forever."
Dan: "But I want a young body, I crave to go back to forty years ago, with endless energy and time to spare."
The witch: "Then, you need a new vessel."
The recording abruptly stopped.
Hiroto Ishikawa said: "I see, Dan wanted to reincarnate into another person's body to achieve his dream of immortality. But judging from the scene, the ritual must have been disrupted."
Liu Sau-chi said: "Then we should find out who Dan chose as the vessel."
Wu Lie frowned: "I think it must be one of the two sons."
"Dan definitely wouldn't give up his fortune, I believe the one more likely to inherit the estate has a higher chance," Kumiko Terauchi weighed in. "And considering his preference for males over females, the probability of choosing a woman is very low."
The suspicion immediately fell on Connor Lee, the eldest son.
He had to defend himself: "Is reincarnation just a matter of choosing any person, without any special requirements for birth dates or horoscopes?"
"Blood relation," Min-cheol Park added, "Dan said blood relation is very important."
The air instantly froze.
On the second day of the livestream, the first major suspect emerged.
--
Livestream platform, comment section:
[The eldest son is most likely to have done it, whether he knew about the reincarnation or not, for Dan to die and inherit the estate]
[It's too early to conclude now, this could be a trap set by the killer]
[It's too obvious, it can't be him]
[Don't forget, the eldest son can't have children, the reincarnation would definitely take that into account, right?]
[I think the third son is more likely]
...
--
After a messy search of the crime scene, everyone headed to the conference room. Linnaer's autopsy report from the morning was already out.
She had signs of struggle, died from excessive blood loss due to a severed artery - in other words, cause of death was decapitation. Time of death was between midnight and 1 AM last night.
Wataru Kojima analyzed: "The murder weapon was the steak knife from the kitchen. The killer came prepared, decided early on to decapitate Linnaer, but didn't expect her to still be alive after losing the ability to resist."
"Could it be a copycat crime?" Min-cheol Park asked.
"Since we all know about it, the second killer must be related to the first one. Could there be some supernatural influence involved?" Valeriya cautiously asked.
Jian Jing retrieved her notebook, carefully flipped through it, then said: "In my impression, Shaman magic cannot achieve this kind of hypnosis-like effect. What about you all?"
Hiroto Ishikawa said: "In Asian culture, Shaman magic can drive people insane, cause serious illness, or even death, but the killer did not commit the murder in a frenzied state, but rather with a clear plan. Shaman magic probably can't do that."
The air fell silent for a brief moment.
--
The camera cut to an unscheduled recording.
Tip: In this round of the game, the real killer can trigger other people's (accomplices) murderous plans through reasonable means. The newly appeared killers may or may not know the true killer's identity, depending on the game mode.
If an accomplice is caught, they can choose to conceal or defect.
Choosing to conceal, the real killer successfully hides their identity, and the accomplice can receive a $100,000 reward.
Choosing to defect, helping to track down the real killer, they can receive a $200,000 reward if successful, or no reward if unsuccessful.
If the accomplice is not caught and the real killer successfully hides their identity, they can receive a $100,000 reward.
If the real killer is caught, and the accomplice is not caught, then the accomplice can claim the entire $1,000,000 reward alone.
Comment section:
[A hidden gameplay element has appeared!]
[Damn, more impressive than the last vampire game]
[Last time with the vampire, no one knew who the prince was either]
[Is it better to choose to conceal, or defect?]
[If it were me, I'd definitely choose to track down the real killer and take the $1,000,000]
[This is even crazier than the vampire setting, well done!!]
[More realistic than the vampire setting, nice!]
...