Due to the discovery of a large number of human bones in the maple forest, police quickly sealed off Fenglin High School, prohibiting any students or teachers from leaving.
The unearthed human bones were taken back by the Forensic Doctor for genetic testing and craniofacial reconstruction, and their identities were quickly confirmed—they were the three people who had disappeared in recent years.
This case drew the attention of the Criminal Police Officers. Soon after, another police car drove into the campus, and four officers from the Police Station came to assist. A total of eight officers began a thorough search of the school's archives and faculty offices.
They quickly found the original French edition of " The Count of Monte Cristo " in Zhang Qing's drawer, and the notebooks and photos in Lin Yueran's drawer.
Yu Hanjiang avoided the police station's gaze, sneaked into the office building, and threw the shoes he had picked up yesterday into the trash can in the corridor.
Seeing his actions, Xiao Lou couldn't help but wonder, "Can we interfere with the police investigation?"
According to the original plot, if Yu Hanjiang hadn't searched the trash can yesterday, and everything inside had been taken away by the garbage truck, then the shoes that faked the rooftop footprints would have been disposed of, the police investigation would have lacked evidence, and the case would definitely have been delayed.
However, Yu Hanjiang found crucial physical evidence and placed it right under the police's nose. Once the police found the shoes, it would be equivalent to Yu Hanjiang rewriting the plot of this locked room mystery.
Yu Hanjiang speculated, "Since the police are present in this locked room, they can help Challenger gather clues, and Challenger should also be able to assist the police in solving the case."
After thinking it over carefully, Xiao Lou nodded and said, "That makes sense. After all, this is only a C-level difficulty escape room. Without the help of the police, many Challengers simply wouldn't be able to gather all the clues."
Yu Hanjiang said, " Challengers who aren't good at reasoning might be able to pass the level by following the police."
The police will eventually catch the murderer. Following the police should make clearing the room relatively easy. However, the conditions for a perfect clear are still uncertain. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou wonder if they've missed any crucial clues.
Xiao Lou looked in the direction of the office, lost in thought: " The police station has sent reinforcements, and the entire school is under lockdown. With so many teachers and students, it's impossible to keep them all from going home tonight, right? Will the police try to interrogate the suspect this afternoon?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "It should be. The Si Han fall occurred five years ago. The students now are all in junior high school at that time, so the probability of them being involved in the Si Han case is extremely low. The police will take them to the office for questioning mainly the three suspects, Xie Xinghe, Zhang Qing, and Lin Yueran, as well as school leaders and teachers who know the three missing persons."
No wonder Police Station sent four reinforcements; the workload this afternoon is enormous, and the police must be swamped.
Xiao Lou frowned and said, "We've used up our Invisibility Cloak attempts. How are we going to eavesdrop during the interrogation later?"
The Invisibility Cloak card can only be used once a day.
In the morning, Yu Hanjiang went to the principal's office with the police wearing a cloak, while Xiao Lou went to the maple forest to examine the remains with the Forensic Doctor wearing a cloak. Both of their cloaks were unusable. In the afternoon, the most crucial part was the interrogation of the suspect... What should they do?
Just then, notifications popped up simultaneously in both of their floating chat windows—
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang have scored over 800 points in Red Heart 3 Escape Room and can choose one reward:
A. Reset the cooldown time of the escape room limited card and change the escape room limited card to "non-limited" status. After clearing the level, you can take it out of the Red Heart 3 escape room;
B. Immediately receive 500,000 gold coins.
Seeing these two options, Xiao Lou hesitated and said, "I want both."
Yu Hanjiang: "..." He thought so too.
The two of them urgently need option A, but option B's 500,000 gold coins are also very tempting, especially for the poor who haven't eaten well for two days. An extra 1 million in savings would allow them to live a very comfortable life and would certainly be helpful for the future Plum Blossom Secret Chamber.
However… changing the limited-time card to a non-limited-time status and taking the " Invisibility Cloak " card out of the secret room isn't a bad reward. In the long run, you can earn more coins, but cards are the most valuable thing in this world.
Xiao Lou gritted her teeth and said, "Choose A?"
Yu Hanjiang said seriously, "Well, let's clear this secret room first."
Both of them simultaneously selected option A in the floating box.
The two " Invisibility Cloak " cards indeed became usable, and the "limited" description on the cards was removed. As long as they complete the game, they can take the Invisibility Cloak out of the Red Heart 3 escape room and remain invisible for 30 minutes each day in other escape rooms.
The two cards combined give you an hour of hiding time, which should be enough to listen to the afternoon's interrogation.
Xiao Lou touched the gold coins in his pocket, feeling a pang of regret for the million he had just missed.
Yu Hanjiang comforted him, saying, "Money can be earned again."
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "Well, let's skip lunch today. It looks like the police will have to work overtime at noon too."
It was during the break between classes. After searching the office building, the police officers who came to provide support went to visit each classroom.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang followed them discreetly for a distance.
As Yu Hanjiang predicted, most students didn't know Si Han or had never heard of her, since they weren't actually at Fenglin High School five years ago. The students also said they weren't familiar with the three missing persons from recent years.
After interviewing the students, the police took advantage of their lunch break...
During this time, the school leaders, security guards, and teachers involved in the case were investigated in the office. Unrelated students were all given a holiday to go home, except for Xie Xinghe, who was left behind.
Xie Xinghe's face was unnaturally pale, but his expression remained calm.
The police sent reinforcements today, and this afternoon they opened two interrogation rooms to conduct simultaneous investigations. One room was for questioning Ying Xiaoya about her fall, and the other was for questioning Si Han about her fall and the Maple Forest skeleton case. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang, each wearing invisibility cloaks, followed along to listen closely.
The police officer asked, " Xie Xinghe, in last Wednesday's chemistry lab class, did the chemistry teacher explain in detail the dosage, dangers, and first aid methods for organophosphate poisoning?"
Xie Xinghe pushed up his glasses: "Yes."
Police officer: "After class, you and the chemistry teacher were tidying up the equipment and reagents. Did you lock the door last?"
Xie Xinghe: "Yes."
The police finally got to the point: "After leaving the lab, did you go back, pry open the lock, and take half a bottle of organophosphate poison?"
Xie Xinghe was silent for a moment, then suddenly said coldly, "That's right. I also switched Yu Hui's Chocolate."
This guy actually admitted it outright?!
Yu Hanjiang was quite surprised. He frowned and walked up to Xie Xinghe, carefully observing Xie Xinghe's expression.
The police officer demanded sternly, "Why did you do this?"
Xie Xinghe calmly said, "I want to do an experiment to verify whether what my chemistry teacher said is correct. That dosage would at most kill a mouse; it wouldn't harm a person. This only constitutes intentional injury, not attempted murder, right? You can arrest me now."
The police stared at him in astonishment, clearly not expecting a middle school student to be so audacious!
Although Xie Xinghe tried his best to remain calm, his clenched fists and slightly trembling fingertips betrayed him.
Even now, he still refuses to reveal the real reason, offering only one explanation—the person who killed Ying Xiaoya is very important to him. He wants to save Ying Xiaoya, but he also doesn't want to harm the murderer. He's caught in a dilemma, deeply conflicted.
The claim of conducting an experiment was a pre-prepared explanation.
No matter how the police tried to subtly probe him, Xie Xinghe insisted that he was just curious and conducting an experiment. When asked why he had the book "The Count of Monte Cristo" and what its connection was to his English teacher's book, he explained, "Everyone reads world classics; it's probably just a coincidence."
The police officer was so angry he almost slammed his fist on the table. In the end, he could only handcuff the man and have his colleague take the troublesome guy away.
Next, Lin Yueran was interrogated.
The female teacher looked completely bewildered when she came in; it was hard to tell whether she was just being a good actress or genuinely innocent.
The police officer asked, "Ms. Lin, you taught Ying Xiaoya and Xie Xinghe in the first year of high school. Why do you still keep a group photo of the first-year students and teachers in your drawer?"
Lin Yueran said, "These are the most outstanding students I've ever taught. It's not strange that I kept a photo with them, is it?"
Police officer: "Then why did you keep their composition books?"
Lin Yueran looked puzzled: " Ying Xiaoya and Xie Xinghe are the two students in my class with the best handwriting. Xiaoya's handwriting is very neat, like printed text; Xie Xinghe's handwriting is elegant and unrestrained. I kept their composition books as souvenirs."
Police officer: "Is it really that simple?"
Lin Yueran nodded and said, "By the way, I also collected several essay papers from students who participated in essay competitions. I keep them at home as souvenirs. If you don't believe me, officer, you can search my house."
The two officers exchanged a glance, then asked, "On the day of the incident, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 12, took Ying Xiaoya in for questioning. Why did you go in and interrupt him?"
Lin Yueran said, "I just got back to my office and didn't know they were talking."
Police officer: " Did you forge Ying Xiaoya's suicide note?"
Lin Yueran's face turned somewhat pale: "Officer, I don't understand what you mean? I have Ying Xiaoya's composition book, and I once taught her. Does that mean I have to copy her handwriting to write a suicide note? That's absurd! I have no grudge against her. According to your logic, should I also copy Xie Xinghe's handwriting to write a suicide note?"
Yu Hanjiang carefully observed her expression. Her anger and tension didn't seem feigned; most wrongly accused suspects behaved this way. Moreover, her words made sense—in her drawer, there were not only Ying Xiaoya's composition notebooks but also Xie Xinghe's. If one judged her as the one who forged the suicide note based solely on the composition notebooks, then what was her motive for murder?
The two students did indeed write beautifully, so it makes sense for her to keep the composition books as a memento.
Perhaps someone else took the composition book she left behind?
The police had also considered this and asked, "Did you show the composition book you left behind to any other teachers?"
Lin Yueran thought about it carefully, then her eyes lit up and she said, "I remember! Last Wednesday, Teacher Zhang asked me for Ying Xiaoya's composition book. She said she wanted to see how well this student wrote Chinese compositions and why her English compositions were so bad."
The policeman quickly noted down this key point and asked, "What's your relationship with Zhang Qing like?"
Lin Yueran: "We went to the same middle school. I was her senior and I often saw her in various competitions. We weren't particularly close, just ordinary friends, I guess? After all, we were alumni, so we were bound to look out for each other if we were assigned to the same unit."
Police officer: "What kind of person is she in your impression?"
Lin Yueran remarked with admiration, "She was incredibly competitive and hardworking. Throughout middle school, she consistently ranked first in her grade and frequently won awards in various competitions. To be honest, I really admired her. At the time, she was accepted by a prestigious foreign university."
It even became a legend at our school.
Lin Yueran paused, then suddenly widened her eyes: "You don't suspect her, do you?!"
The police officer didn't answer her question, but frowned and said, " Are you familiar with Zhang Qing's family situation?"
Lin Yueran paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I don't know... She's always been a loner. When we eat together occasionally, we only talk about school. She never tells anyone who else is in her family."
The police released Lin Yueran and then interrogated Zhang Qing.
When Zhang Qing entered the interrogation room, her expression was calm. She wore a thin red sweater and pencil pants, which accentuated her tall and slender figure. Her long black hair hung down her back, and her oval face was delicate and beautiful, making her highly recognizable in a crowd.
When the police asked her what the significance was of the French copy of * The Count of Monte Cristo * in her drawer, she said she simply liked reading the book and, having studied French, had bought an original copy. When asked about her family, she said both her parents were deceased, she was an orphan, and had no relatives.
It wasn't until the police took out the shoes they had retrieved from the trash can that the situation changed.
The white canvas shoes, though covered in mud, looked brand new and were the same style as the shoes Ying Xiaoya wore on the day she fell from the building.
Zhang Qing's face suddenly turned deathly pale!
Wearing an Invisibility Cloak and observing her performance, Yu Hanjiang already knew the answer.
She was the murderer.
She threw the shoes into the trash can, and the shoes that would have been taken away by the garbage truck were retrieved by Yu Hanjiang and put in the trash can on this floor. The police found this crucial piece of evidence during their thorough search.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou deduced and dissected Ying Xiaoya's case in advance, successfully finding evidence, helping the police solve the case, and arresting the murderer ahead of schedule.
Zhang Qing was taken back to the police station for investigation.
Before she left, Yu Hanjiang approached her and carefully examined the necklace around her neck.
The necklace was strung with three pieces of bone shaved into the shape of wolf teeth, which, if there were no surprises, were the remains of the three murderers she had killed.
******