The recording could also be seen as a will. Yashida's relationship with his son had broken down, and he planned to pass the family business to his granddaughter.
Shinzen looked at his daughter in disbelief. So this was the case? He would get nothing, damn that old man. Everyone immediately suspected that the killer was within the father-daughter duo.
"Mariko, did you do it?"
"Father?!" Mariko couldn't believe her father was accusing her.
"Mariko!!" Shinzen shouted louder than his daughter.
Everyone looked at this father-daughter pair in shock. What was going on? Mariko's fiancé stepped forward and said, "Let's let Mr. Liu finish speaking."
"Exactly, after hearing the recording, everyone might suspect one of them, but there's another suspect: our Dr. Midori." Liu A'dou looked at Dr. Midori and asked, "I wonder, where did you study medicine?"
"America, all my qualifications are in my resume." Dr. Midori was calm; she didn't believe Liu A'dou had figured out the truth.
"Then let me ask you, Dr. Midori, have you ever served in the military?"
"..." Dr. Midori frowned. She had indeed been to the battlefield, but how did Liu A'dou figure that out?
"Don't be surprised. I've already had Shinzen-san show me your resume. You have no military experience, but I know you're accustomed to handling a gun. You only became Yashida's personal physician a few months ago. Can Dr. Midori explain this?"
"How did you know I'm used to handling a gun? Don't make wild guesses without evidence."
"It's simple. When your arm hangs down, it's a posture as if you're ready to draw a gun, a habit only old soldiers have. Also, there's a callus on your index finger, but your ring finger is smooth, showing you shoot more than you operate on people."
"Is it you?" Shinzen shifted the focus. As long as it wasn't him, it didn't matter who the killer was, but it would be best if it were his daughter.
With sharp eyes, Dr. Midori tensed her muscles, ready to strike. Even Logan could smell danger: "Liu is right. I smell blood on you. I thought you were a doctor, but now I realize I was wrong."
"So what?" Dr. Midori smiled.
"It doesn't matter because you're not the killer. The killer is someone else."
As soon as Liu A'dou finished speaking, Shinzen immediately turned to his daughter. "So it was you, Mariko?!"
Shinzen had lost his mind.
"Silence! I said the killer is in this room, and I will not let them go." Liu A'dou's eyes swept over the crowd, finally resting on an empty spot. He slowly spoke, "From the beginning, I sensed something was off—hidden recorders, the fallen paper cup—everything here tells a story of something that shouldn't have happened."
It seemed like the moment to reveal the truth had come. Everyone held their breath, afraid to miss any detail.
Liu A'dou truly became the detective now, a smile on his face, confidence radiating from him: "Before the incident, the people who entered the room were Dr. Midori, Shinzen, and Mariko—three people in total. They all had the opportunity and the motive. Miss Midori clearly had another purpose in entering the Yashida family, Shinzen harbored resentment after losing his inheritance, and as for Mariko, I believe she may have acted after confirming the will, ensuring her position was secure."
"It makes sense, but which one of them is the killer?"
Liu A'dou continued, "But Dr. Midori hasn't returned to this room after leaving, so there's an alibi. That leaves only the father and daughter. If the killer is one of them, then this case will be a tragic family drama, one that will break hearts and bring tears to those who hear it."
It sounded like there would be a twist. Everyone was confused. He mentioned three suspects, and now one had been ruled out. Was he going to rule out the other two as well?
As expected, Liu A'dou said, "But they're not the killers, because if Shinzen were the one to commit the murder, with the will in place, he would gain nothing. Killing would be a pointless and irreversible decision. And if he tried to frame his daughter, there's no clear evidence pointing to Mariko. So, given his intelligence, I don't think he would make such a decision to kill his father. If it were a crime of passion, the scene would be too neat. It wouldn't be like this."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"That leaves Miss Mariko. Initially, I noticed that Mariko's expression was unusual, and I did suspect her. But after finding the will, I no longer doubted her. Why? Because I understand her. She was worried about her father's reaction. If she had killed her grandfather, she wouldn't have shown such an obvious expression. That would only increase suspicion. It would have been better for her to act like she didn't know anything until the will was found and she could rightfully become the head of the family."
So, none of these three?
Logan and the Minister of Justice were confused. So, who was the killer? Only these three had entered and exited the room.
The Minister of Justice asked, "Mr. Liu, what exactly is going on? Have you found the killer or not?"
"Of course, I found the killer. Didn't I say earlier? The killer has always been in this room. Didn't you all notice?"
Shinzen, Mariko, and Yukio were all stunned.
Yukio said, "Liu-san, who is it? Tell me who killed my grandfather. I will make sure to avenge him." Once she knew that the killer was not her adoptive father or childhood friend, Yukio showed her fangs.
"Yukio-chan, you can't avenge him," Liu A'dou said, showing his shining white teeth as he stretched out his hand. "There's only one truth."
"The reason for Yashida's death is that there's no suspect—it's because the person who killed him is none other than himself."
At those words, the room fell silent. The victim killed himself? Wasn't that suicide?
Suicide?!
"Impossible! My father, who cherishes his life so much, how could he commit suicide?" Shinzen couldn't believe it, even if it meant death.
At that moment, Dr. Green broke into a cold sweat. She realized she had underestimated Liu A'dou. Initially, she thought he was just a movie director with connections to mutants, but now she saw he had an uncanny ability for deduction. He had deduced that Yashida's death was suicide.
"How is that possible?" Everyone had their doubts.
"How is it not possible?" Liu A'dou replied. "Not only was it a carefully planned suicide, but it was a fake suicide, probably aimed at Wolverine."
First it was a suicide, then it became a fake suicide. Everyone was speechless, but only Dr. Green was drenched in cold sweat. Had everything been exposed?
"What do you mean?" Shinzen asked, dazed.
Liu A'dou smiled. "What I mean is your old father didn't die. It's all a fake death. He'll probably wake up in a few hours. It was all part of a performance that he directed himself, and no one actually died."
The shock was overwhelming. This conclusion was even more bizarre than any detective novel, but Liu A'dou wasn't speaking off the cuff. He remained silent, waiting for Yashida to wake up. Then, he would continue his reasoning and explain everything.