Chapter 110: Two Research Projects

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After a while, Liang Zhichao broke the silence once more.

“I don’t think we need to make this more complicated than it is. By now, we can basically confirm that Grandma Zhuoma is the killer, and Section Chief Zhu from the county has already begun investigating and pursuing her. All we have to do is wait quietly for the result.”

The moment Liang Zhichao finished speaking, the other three all turned their eyes toward him.

There had been nothing particularly strange about his earlier remarks, but now he had declared with such certainty that Zhuoma was the murderer and urged everyone to sit back and wait. It was difficult not to find his behavior suspicious.

For a while, the four of them stared at one another, and the atmosphere once again grew oppressive.

After thinking for a moment, Li Tianque said, “How about this? Following the usual process for deducing a murderer, I think we should reconstruct the timeline. That might allow us to identify the loophole directly.”

“Reconstruct what? Don’t try applying the logic you young people use when playing murder-mystery games to a real case. There are only four of us here, and the timeline is bound to be incomplete...” Ma Baoguo said.

Li Tianque fixed his eyes on Ma Baoguo. “You’re a police officer. You have the most complete timeline. During the two rounds of interviews, you recorded the timelines of everyone on the research team. You can’t possibly have no recollection of them.”

“Tch. I’m not some superpowered genius like you. How could an ordinary person remember a timeline that complicated?” Ma Baoguo replied irritably.

“Forget it. Let’s do our best to reconstruct the timeline. We’ll start with the first case,” Liang Zhichao said.

Although Ma Baoguo was reluctant, he ultimately did not object.

The four of them then organized the timeline as they remembered it, eventually arriving at the following account:

At nine o’clock that morning, Lin Ya and Liang Zhichao left the old chieftain’s house first and returned to the dormitory. They arrived at nine twenty.

At nine fifty-five, Su Wei and Bai Ruixue returned to the room, but Lin Ya was nowhere to be seen.

At around eleven, Liang Zhichao heard Lin Ya leave and go outside.

At eleven oh five, Bai Ruixue heard a strange noise and saw a terrifying black shadow outside the window.

At eleven twenty, Liang Zhichao received the last WeChat message from Lin Ya. Its entire content consisted of three words: “Old Chieftain.”

At around eleven forty, Li Tianque encountered the murderer and Lin Ya. At the same time, Tudeng Nima heard someone calling for help.

At eleven forty-five, Lin Ya died.

Between eleven and eleven forty-five, no member of the research team, including Lin Ya, left the hotel.

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Even after reading through the timeline, everyone remained utterly confused. Tudeng Nima analyzed the situation aloud:

“According to the timeline, someone had already called for help by the time Li Tianque encountered the murderer and Lin Ya.

“That means Li Tianque was not the only eyewitness at the scene. There was another person, and that person happened to be the one who sent out the distress signal.”

“Hmm, that is certainly possible. But who was it? Why have they never shown themselves?” Liang Zhichao asked, baffled.

“Thinking back to that voice, I feel it sounded very much like Grandma Zhuoma’s. Combined with the conclusions drawn from the clues we found earlier, I wonder if Grandma Zhuoma was trying to frame someone else by crying wolf,” Tudeng Nima speculated.

“Impossible. The person who shouted for help had already left the scene before I did. We can essentially conclude that person wasn’t the murderer,” Li Tianque said.

“Then is it possible that the three serial murders were not committed by the same killer?” Tudeng Nima asked.

“But Zhuoma explicitly admitted in the note about sacrificing to the Insect God that she had committed all three murders,” Liang Zhichao said.

“I do have a bold idea about that. I don’t know whether you’re interested,” Li Tianque suddenly said, his expression turning solemn.

The other three looked at him simultaneously. Tudeng Nima asked, “What is it?”

“Then spit it out. I gave you so many clues, and you’re still holding back?” Liang Zhichao complained, even more displeased.

“As a matter of fact, you discovered this clue together with me. It concerns the great celebrity Losang,” Li Tianque said.

“Oh? Losang...” Liang Zhichao pondered. “You mean the old chieftain’s ventriloquism?”

“Exactly. If the murderer was Zhuoma, but the person who imitated her voice and shouted for help was the old chieftain, then everything would make sense,” Li Tianque explained.

“That is certainly possible. The old chieftain’s ventriloquism is extraordinarily skillful. Naturally, imitating the voice of his own neighbor would not be difficult,” Liang Zhichao agreed.

“What? That’s impossible—and unnecessary! They’re sworn enemies. How could they possibly join forces to commit murder? That can’t be right!” Tudeng Nima exclaimed in astonishment.

“It does seem unreasonable, but I still can’t explain that part,” Li Tianque said.

“Heh. After all that, you’ve said nothing at all. I have no idea what you’re really trying to do. As far as I can tell, this is simply a waste of time,” Ma Baoguo said impatiently.

Liang Zhichao looked at Ma Baoguo, who had clearly lost his patience. His own mood seemed to sour in response, and he snapped angrily, “Then why don’t you tell us what brilliant idea you have?”

“Heh. I already told you—I don’t have any brilliant ideas to begin with. Besides, I’ll humor you and play along for a while if I feel like it. What can you do if I don’t cooperate? The county’s special investigation team is already here. There’s no need for me to stay involved anyway!” Ma Baoguo’s expression also changed.

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“Damn it! Why didn’t the murderer kill you?” Liang Zhichao shot back.

“Heh. Too bad. Wishing for it is all you can do.

“But looking at things this way, you’ve certainly got a strong appetite for murder... Could it be that you and this great detective are the ones crying wolf to catch someone else?” Ma Baoguo raised his chin and spoke with disdain.

“All right, stop arguing for now. Tudeng Nima, why don’t you tell us what you think?” Li Tianque hurriedly intervened to mediate.

The two men did not stop arguing merely because Li Tianque had said so. They exchanged several more barbs before finally falling silent.

Only after they had stopped did Tudeng Nima slowly begin to speak.

“If you ask me, I don’t have any better ideas at the moment either. After all, you and Liang Zhichao personally visited the scene of the second murder and found obvious motives and some evidence indicating that Grandma Zhuoma was involved.

“If I had to guess, I would still say Zhuoma is the most suspicious.

“However... there is something I happened to overhear that may be of some help to you.”

“What is it?” A sharp glint flashed through Li Tianque’s eyes. It seemed he truly had not chosen the wrong person to question.

Tudeng Nima did not hesitate. He came straight to the point.

“It was probably three days before the murder. I was drinking nearby that day when the hotel proprietress called and asked me to come over. She said that the youngsters from the research team had started arguing, and that it sounded like a serious quarrel.

“When I arrived, I found Lin Ya and Bai Ruixue alone in the hotel, arguing for some reason. Judging from their conversation, they seemed to be fighting over which research project to pursue. Lin Ya wanted to study ‘stress-induced defensive responses in coleopteran insects,’ while Bai Ruixue wanted to study ‘continental drift and the evolution of wingless insects.’

“Lin Ya said that her project had already made significant progress and possessed a solid foundation; it might even be applicable to the medical field. Bai Ruixue, however, stubbornly insisted on her own position and refused to agree. She still wanted to pursue the project she had designed herself.”

After Tudeng Nima finished recounting his clue, the others showed little reaction.

Li Tianque, however, suddenly brightened.

Because at last, he had found the final key to unlocking the entire mystery.

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