Chapter 7 Chapter Seven: The Detective Through the Fog

When I fell asleep, I felt that someone was staring at me, and I couldn't help jumping up.Minase was standing next to the bed. "ah--" "Stupid, stupid! Why are you screaming like I'm going to attack you!" "what are you going to do!" "do nothing!" Minase looked embarrassed and took a few steps back.Wuqie was also beside him. "It turns out that sister Jie can also make such a girlish scream." "What's the matter with you? Why the two of you?" I'm still a little confused and don't know what's going on.

I straightened my messy hair, put my legs off the bed, and sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't have anything to look for, Mrs. Yu, but since I have to talk to Mr. Minase, I think it's better to find a hidden place." "That's why you ran into this room," I said with my hands on my waist. "Then please, you two go tell your little secret, and I'll comb your hair." I took out a comb from my backpack to comb my hair. "what happened." Minase frowned, looking troubled. "I just thought I haven't asked about your criminal record," Wuqie asked without fear. "Mr. Minase, have you committed any crimes in the past?"

"What, what?" "This is very important, answer me." "What, what is it?" "It looks like there was fraud in an online auction." "You, how did you know?" "Sure enough." Wuqie sighed and sat down beside me. "Net auction scam?" I looked up at Mizumase who looked embarrassed. "What exactly did you do?" "Yeah, it's not a big deal... just put some computer game consoles on the Internet that are relatively easy to sell, and don't give the goods to others after taking the money... Or just put some products that you don't have on hand... Ah, I've never done that, I'm just saying someone would! I never—"

What a petty... It is indeed a crime to say that it is a crime, and I sympathize with those who were deceived by him, but as a criminal, I think he is a bit unqualified, and he is not selected to be the target of "Black Challenge". "You said you were from the old Chinese family, so have your parents been involved in any crimes or frauds before?" "If there were, it wouldn't be so miserable! My parents are very stupid, and they have no advantages other than honesty. If I don't rely on online auctions to earn some pocket money, I can't even buy what I want to buy."

"It's a real question how honest parents could have produced someone like you." Wuqie said helplessly, shaking his head slightly. "I want you little brats to talk too much! Did you ask me to come here to educate me? Listen to me, I will win today's auction, and what happened yesterday will never happen again." "Mizumase-san, about this—" "What do you want to say, even if you cry, I won't show mercy." "I have something I want you to buy." "What, what?" Minase flinched a little, "Could it be, it's yours... Anyway, minors are still not allowed... I have to restrain myself!"

"Don't get me wrong," Kiriri looked at Minase with cold eyes. "What I want you to buy is a way to get out of here alive. We don't need to fight for the 'detective rights' anymore. As long as you use one method, you don't have to worry about being killed during the night time. I want This information is what you bought." "You, what are you talking about? It's such a time that you suddenly start a business of buying and selling information. This is a common method of online fraud. It can be said that it is my field of expertise... Is it strange? This I don't know anything about that kind of thing. After all, what better way to guarantee absolute safety than filming the 'detective rights'."

"Yes. There are still two more auctions. The current situation is a test of one's judgment. The key lies in how to use the remaining funds most effectively. It is precisely because of this time that the method of taking advantage of the loopholes in the rules to survive will work. , I can tell you this method, but I have one condition, that is, you must give me all the funds you have now. How about it?" "A stinky brat who went to junior high school came to make a deal with me with a very impressive appearance... You are quite brave. My nickname is the holy emperor of the Internet fraud world. Do you think you can win me over?" ?”

"Think about it carefully. I'll wait for you to give me an answer before the auction starts today." "You don't mean to play tricks on me, do you?" "I didn't mean to lie to you." "Oh? Really? I've heard a rumor on the Internet that there is a talented con artist who is still in junior high school... Could it be you?" "I'm not a trickster, I'm a detective." "Can... trust you?" "You judge for yourself. There may be others besides me who will come to you to make a deal... But I trust you."

"Hmm..." Minase left the room holding her head in distress. "Sister Wuqie, is it okay for you to make such an agreement with him? He feels like the kind of person who won't blink his eyes when he betrays others." What the hell is Foggie planning. It seemed that she already had a complete picture of confronting the prisoner in her mind. "The people summoned in this 'Black Challenge' seem to be liars. Although I don't think everyone is the target, there must have been someone whose life was ruined because of them." "Mr. Toriyao is okay, but Mr. Chashita is also a liar?"

"To be precise, I don't know if he can be regarded as a liar, but judging from his notebook, he is suspected of using doomsday thoughts to control people's hearts. Dedicated all of it...Maybe under his influence, someone ruined their own life." "So that's the case... Thinking about it this way, is it because the opponents are a group of liars that the prisoner thought of using this money game to get revenge on them?" "Yeah, maybe he wants to be able to fool these guys who have lied to him." "Black Challenge" is a revenge, but also a kind of redemption for the challenger.The resentment accumulated over the years can finally be vented on these people who destroyed themselves-this time the prisoner realized it in the form of a game, and he wanted to defeat the target person in the game.

"Is there any relationship between the previous murders in this hotel and this incident? It is said that more than a dozen people were killed. Could it be that the family members of the deceased planned revenge..." "The culprit in this case is clearly identified, right? Since there is no room for a real culprit, then this case will not be the subject of the 'Black Challenge'." "That's it... Then who is the next target? Ms. Yehe? Among the rest of the people, her past experience is the most exaggerated." "It's hard to say," Wuqie stood up, brushing the hem of his skirt. "There are not many auctions left. I think the criminals will use somewhat tough methods to kill the target. Therefore, starting from the next auction, we will hand over the 'detective rights' to people who may become victims. , which becomes even more important. It’s more effective in preventing crime than having someone else be a detective.” The criminal should follow the rules of the game to carry out the murder.If the player breaks the rules of the game, the wealthy and sponsors who watch the show will definitely express displeasure, or it will be judged as a failure.Unfair behavior like breaking the rules should be prohibited. Therefore, we must use the rules effectively and use the "detective power" to protect the target person, and there is no other way. "I'll just say the conclusion. Today's auction will be a duel between Ms. Meizhou and Ms. Yehe." I don't quite understand why things turned out like this. "Then which side should I support?" "Which side should I support... Before explaining this question, it seems necessary to tell my sister about the situation of this 'Black Challenge'. If you can't understand, then it will be difficult to make progress." "Okay...but don't you need to discuss it with Nanamura-san?" "Mr. Nanamura is useless. I'll explain to you later. In short, in order to win this 'Challenge of Black', we must protect the person targeted by the prisoner until the end of time. Detective The character will not stand up and identify the criminal, and can only think under this premise. Do you understand, sister Jie?" I didn't understand at all. What does it mean that Mr. Nanamura is useless? "There is a question I want to confirm... If the prisoner of the 'Black Challenge' fails to kill all the pre-determined targets, then he will be considered a loser, is that right?" "Yeah, on the other hand, even if we only keep one person who is considered a target, then we have won." It turns out that there is still such a way to win. It's just that, including Yu Zhu, three people have been killed now. Whether it can be called a victory is a bit delicate... "Well, I understand." "Then, I will first explain from the simplest phenomenon." "Easiest means?" "It was the phenomenon that the prisoner disappeared into the innermost empty room that night." "Huh? To me, this is a completely unreasonable strange thing..." "The way of expression is very clever. Although it is a trivial trick, depending on the way of expression, it can become a wonderful phenomenon. It can be said that this is a typical case." That night, at the corner of the corridor, I saw the figure of the suspected prisoner.I followed the man and saw a shadow slip into the empty room.After catching up and entering the room, there was no one there... and on the wall of the room, there was a big X painted with pink fluorescent paint. The room is a completely closed back room without any hiding places. "That day, according to the access control regulations, we each entered our own room before ten o'clock in the evening, that's right. We were all in the room at least ten minutes ago." "Ok." "In other words, such a short period of time—about ten minutes—is enough for the prisoner. The prisoner doesn't need to control any access control. He can freely enter and exit the room when we are locked in the room." "……yes." "The prisoner pretended to obey the door control, entered his room, then came out immediately, and then went to the empty room deep in the corridor, where he made some preparations." "Preparation?" "Leave the door ajar, and find something to jam it. Tie a rope to the thing that jams the door, and put one end of the rope out of the window, and that's all the preparation. Maybe the prisoner did some tricks to make a An illusion that someone has entered the room, such as putting a piece of very light and thin cloth on the thing that is stuck in the door. The thing is probably not stuck at the bottom of the door, but in the middle of the door, outside the window. Pull the string, and that thing is pulled off, and the cloth flips up, and it might look like a figure has come into the room." "What. What's going on? Didn't anyone actually go into that empty room?" "That's right, from the perspective of the phenomenon, it's just that the thing that blocked the door was removed and the door was closed, that's all. Although the matter is very simple, it gave you the illusion, sister Jie, that someone had entered the room." "Illusion? But there is indeed an X drawn on the wall, isn't it? If no one enters the room, then there is no way to draw that X..." "I can only think that the number X was painted on the wall from the beginning, it should be before we went up to the third floor. That room is not used by anyone, it is an empty room, this is within the plan .” It turned out to be like this... Could it be that the reason why Yuzhu was killed was to leave an empty room. "So, what about the figure we saw at the corner of the corridor? It is undoubtedly a person, and Ms. Meizhou is also a witness." "The figure pretended to escape into the innermost empty room when the other side of the corridor corner was in a blind spot, but actually fled into other rooms." "Other rooms?" Behind the corner of the corridor are five rooms from "307" to "312".The innermost one is the empty room, and the next door is the room under the tea. "Did the prisoner enter the victim's room at that time and kill him?" But Mifu was in charge of surveillance in the corridor at the time, and according to her testimony, no one came out of that room before Nanamura and I stepped into the scene.In other words, the prisoner was still in the victim's room at that time. In this case, we should just bump into the prisoner. But the criminal was not there. "Actually, this disappearing trick itself is not important. Rather than saying it is a trick, it is better to say that it is a trap set up to make the next secret room murder possible." "trap?" "Master Jie, you were actually confused by this phenomenon of disappearance and stayed in the empty room for a long time?" "...Although it's a long time, it's only twenty minutes?" "Twenty minutes is enough to strangle a man. But the actual crime may have been only about ten minutes." "At that time...behind the wall marked with an X, could the prisoner be pinching Mr. Chaxia's neck?" "That's it." I was speechless. If we hadn't been distracted by the abnormality in the room at that time, we would have gone to the next room right away, maybe we could have saved the victim. We fell for the trap, got hoodwinked by the disappearance scheme, and unwittingly contributed to the creation of The Chamber of Secrets. "But...how did the prisoner kill Mr. Chashita? When we stepped into the scene, the prisoner was no longer there? How did the prisoner get in and out of the secret room? This mystery has not been solved yet. Or is it that the prisoner has mastered something to freely enter and exit the secret room? unique method?" "There is no way." "No way?" "Sister Jie, you said that the room was a 'completely closed secret room', right? Yes, the door is locked, there are people watching in the corridor, and there are hard iron bars on the windows. It seems that no one can Get in and out of this room." "It really is a completely closed secret room." "That's right, no one can enter or leave that secret room." In the room where no one could enter or exit, the victim was directly strangled to death with his hands. How could such a thing happen. "Think about it carefully, my lord. The secret room is almost invulnerable, and the prisoner can never enter or leave that room. Even so, the victim was directly strangled to death with his hands. What can we do to make this kind of thing possible? ?” "—It would be impossible without superpowers." superpower?Could it be that……!Those who used to be superpowers—— "No," Wuqie denied before hearing my answer. "Recall the condition of the corpse, especially the fatal wound on the corpse, which is the choke mark on the neck." Upside down pinches.This can only be done by strangling the victim's neck from the side of the head while he is asleep. But think about it again... It is extremely unnatural for the prisoner to deliberately strangle the victim to death in this way. Was the victim really asleep?Could he sleep in that extreme situation?If he hadn't slept...the victim was awake? Assuming the victim didn't lie down, but stood up... The victim was standing still when the prisoner appeared and was about to strangle him.However, if the prisoner just strangled his neck like this, the strangle marks would not be upside down.So to make pinch marks upside down - huh? reverse?A wonderful scene came to my mind. Is the prisoner upside down?As long as the prisoner hangs from the ceiling and chokes the victim's neck, won't the choke marks be upside down? The moment this scene flashed, I thought of a scary monster that would suddenly appear from the ceiling and hang from it to frighten people. However, the ceiling was reinforced with cement, and there were neither beams nor openable skylights for the hanged ghost to hide in. It was bare, and of course there were no holes or crevices. So where did the criminal come from? "There are many types of secret chambers, but there are only two large types. Do you know what they are, sister Jie?" "Uh...with a spare key and without a spare key?" "Totally wrong," Wuqiri closed his eyes and shook his head. "The answer is, the type of prisoner who was in the room at the time of the crime, and the type of prisoner who wasn't in the room." "It's natural for the criminal to be in the room when committing a crime, but what does it mean that the criminal is not in the room...?" "It is a crime that is realized through some kind of remote-operated device or mechanism. For example, when the victim sits on a chair, a knife will fall or the like... Another way is to use the gap in the secret room from the outside. Kill the victim. Let me give you an example, like putting a poisonous snake through a vent." "I see...the prisoner doesn't have to stay in the secret room to face it." "That's what it means." Wuqie nodded in satisfaction. I thought she would continue to explain, but I didn't expect it to be over. "That's what it means? What does it mean?" "Don't you understand yet?" "Yes, yes." "The secret room that appears to be invulnerable at first glance actually has a gap somewhere, and this is what it means to kill the victim from outside the secret room." "Ok." "Sister Jie, I've said so much, you should understand, right?" "I don't understand!" I protested loudly. "...If that's the case, then we can only go and see it on the spot. My reasoning has no evidence yet, it's just a theory on paper. It will be faster for you to see the answer with your own eyes." Wuqie brushed the hair that was hanging on his face behind his ears, and planned to leave the room. "Wait, wait, where are you going?" Obviously there are still a bunch of mysteries that have not been solved and she is leaving. Wuqie didn't answer, she left the room, walked forward along the corridor, and headed for the stairs. She stopped on the landing. She looked up at the stairs leading upstairs. From the first step, the stairs above are all damaged and completely missing. "The places that have nothing to do with the game process are sealed with cement walls, but this place is not sealed with cement. I don't think it's an accident. It's probably out of consideration for fair competition." "Fair competition... Is there any secret on it?" Mist cut nodded. What the hell is on it?But even if I wanted to go up and have a look, I couldn't help it. I looked over where the steps were missing, and I could see the landing one floor below, some small rubble falling with a rustling sound.Although this height is not enough to make people feel the threat of death, it is at least a little scary. Why just turn it into a ruin. Not sure how to get over the missing staircase. The missing span of the stairs is about two or three meters, but the landing on the opposite side is higher than my line of sight. "Take some bed sheets and twist them into ropes and hang them on the opposite side, what do you think?" Foggie suggested. However, at first glance, there is nowhere to hang a rope on the opposite side. "Now it's my turn." This distance is not impossible to jump.I am very confident in the jump, the problem is that there is no place to run in this position, and the foothold on the opposite side is too high. After I made up my mind, I went down the stairs to the corridor, planning to start a run-up from here. "Wait, my lord, are you going to jump over by yourself? I think it's still too forced." Wuqie said worriedly. "Leave it to me. If you want to move forward, danger is unavoidable. In order to solve the mystery, we can't stand still, right?" "No, my lord, if you are injured, there is no way to send you to the hospital immediately. Before acting blindly, you should use your mind to think about it. There must be a good way. What do you think, sister." Wuqie started to panic. "It's okay, if I get hurt, I'll let you take care of me." I did stretching exercises.Hope these few days in prison haven't dulled my legs. The stairs to go upstairs are at the place where you go straight along the corridor and turn left ninety degrees. It started, I ran up the arc according to the essentials of the run-up and high jump, and then jumped up when the stairs appeared in front of me... The height difference on the opposite side is almost level with my line of sight, and I never thought about landing on both feet.Just find a way to get your upper body to reach it, and then you only need to use your arms to climb up. ——After a short time in the air, I tried my best, and finally let the part above the chest reach the opposite cliff. "Hmm!" I desperately climbed onto the edge, supported by two arms, with my feet hanging in the air. "sister?" "Yeah ah ah ah ah!" I put all my strength into my arms and propped up my upper body. Lifting his legs, he finally reached the edge of the cliff.Then I rolled like that, and lay down on the landing. "It's amazing, it's amazing!" I heard Wuchee's happy scream. What, she would have yelled like that too.It's been a pleasure to see so many of her expressions during this time... As I thought to myself, I stood up on the landing, patted the dust off my clothes, and straightened my glasses. The words "4F" were written on the wall. I looked up to the top of the stairs, there was no way to go in the direction facing me, the corridor seemed to lead to the right, and it was the same structure as the third floor. "...By the way, why on earth did I come here?" It seems to say that the answer to the mystery of the secret room murder can be found here... "My lord sister, you should go and see as long as you can go, you will definitely know the answer soon." "I see." Although it is a little scary to explore the unknown place alone, it must be too difficult to bring the fog cut here. "I went to room '301'." Fog cut back to the third floor.I had no choice but to die, looked up at the stairs, and began to climb up. I have to go on alone.Although I used to come here like this, but now that the fog is gone, I feel that I really have no bottom in my heart. I originally became a detective to save people, but I kept being saved by her. If a detective is said to be able to save others, then Wuchee is indeed a well-deserved detective. However, she would certainly deny this meaning and purpose.The detectives of the Wuqie family don't need personal feelings, that's what she was told from her childhood education. However, she now also has doubts about the self cultivated in detective education.Perhaps it should be said that she found an unsolvable mystery in her heart. Will there be a day when she will be able to solve this mystery? After the stairs, there is an entrance leading to the interior of the floor just like the third floor.However, unlike the third floor, the door at the entrance was closed tightly. The stairs are gone here, and the place where the stairs used to go upstairs has become a concrete wall.The places that have nothing to do with the game are really isolated in the physical space. Probably just like what Wuqie said, this place is designed in such a way that only those who have crossed the danger can reach it. I'm standing in front of the door leading to the interior of the floor. What kind of secret lies ahead? "The secret room, which appears to be invulnerable at first glance, actually has a gap somewhere, and this can be used to kill the victim from outside the secret room." Foggie said so. As for the gap in the room... it would be the barred window.Is there anything related to this on this floor? I grabbed the doorknob and couldn't open it.On closer inspection, there is a slot for a key card under the door handle. It seems that only those with "detective power" can open this door.I've come this far, I didn't expect to be stumped by this door... I'm downcast, helpless... Ah, now I'm a detective. I put the card into the card slot.With a beep, the door lock opened. Great!I open the door.Immediately afterwards—a gust of cold wind suddenly surrounded me.Something cool touched my face. Is it snow?The bright light made me squint my eyes, and I took a step towards the back of the door. In the unaccustomed light, I opened my eyes with trepidation. here it is? ——It's outside. I embraced my body with my hands, protecting myself from the cold wind, and stepped out towards the strange world. If I had to describe this place in one word - rooftop. Where did the entire fourth floor go? The gray concrete floor underfoot is flat as far as the eye can see, and there is no sloping structure reminiscent of a roof.In addition, there are no unnecessary things such as fences or outdoor air-conditioning units. The edge of the building and the sky is a steep cliff at right angles.Farther in the field of vision is the gloomy sky, the color is light gray slightly lighter than the concrete floor, and fine snowflakes are flying in the air. It seems that this should be directly above the guest room area on the third floor, which means that I happened to be walking on top of that L-shaped area. There was another startling thing right next to the door—a car.Why are you here? Although I don't know where it came from and how it was moved here, all in all, I have a wonderful feeling of surprise, just like seeing a surreal painting. Unfortunately I'm not very familiar with the model, it looks like it should be a small light car.I looked inside the car and found nothing worth noting, but I took a photo with my phone as evidence. I walked forward while carefully paying attention to the road under my feet. If you accidentally slip and fall, you will fall to the ground head to toe.Having said that, from a feeling point of view, it seems that this place is much higher than the third floor. "Sister Jie." Wuqie's voice came from nowhere, but no one saw her. "This way." I walked towards the direction the voice came from. She seemed to have said that she was in room "301". I stood on the edge of the steep roof, craned my neck and looked down at my feet.It's pretty high up here, and I'm almost a little dizzy. I saw a barred window in the middle of the concrete cliff.Something jumped out from the gap in the iron railing, and it was still shaking. That's my tape measure.The main part of the tape measure is outside the window, and the protruding ruler is connected to the inside of the window like a rope. It must be that Fog Cut threw the main part out as a mark. "Sister Wuqie?" "My lord, how is your side?" I could only hear her voice. "I'm a little confused about the situation... I don't know why the fourth floor is missing, and this place has become a rooftop." "As expected." I heard her happy voice. "What's going on here?" "That's the answer to all the questions." "Although I'm the one who saw the answer with my own eyes, it seems a bit inappropriate to say such a thing...but I still don't understand what's going on." "Can you reach out to the window from where you are standing?" Wuqiri ignored me and asked to himself. I glanced at the window again.The window is located on the cliff quite close to the roof.From my point of view, it is about thirty centimeters below the foot. If you lean down on the roof and lean out your upper body, forming a posture that is almost head-down, your hands should be able to reach the window. I'm going to try it out for real, by bending over the window.The concrete floor was a little wet, and it was so cold that people shivered. It would be terrible to lose my glasses, so I took them off and put them in my pocket. I slowly poke my head over the edge. With my glasses off, the courtyard directly below looked blurry, but my fear was lessened by that. You have to lean your body out from here, otherwise you won't be able to reach the window. I slowly leaned my body out into the void... At a ninety-degree angle between my body and the building... the window was positioned just right into my upside-down view. I saw what was inside.Wukiri looked up at me with an uneasy expression on his face. "Master Jie, can you put your arm through the iron bars?" "No, no, no! If I move again, I'm going to fall!" I was already in a head-down state, and the movements I could make were very limited. If the center of gravity was a little unstable, I would immediately fall to the bottom of the cliff. "Forget it, this is too dangerous, come back." "...Sister Wuqie, it's too bad." "What's wrong?" "I can't get up." "Come on, big sister!" "...I'll do my best..." I supported the wall with my hands and slowly let my body back.At any rate, he didn't fall, and finally survived. My muscles are sore like never before due to straining to maintain a strange posture.I pressed and rubbed my body and continued to search the vicinity. I was walking on the rooftop while taking pictures with my mobile phone, and suddenly something tripped me. Looking carefully, it turned out that there was a curved thing like a thick wire sticking out from under my feet.It must be the rebar, because it is as gray as the concrete floor, and I didn't notice it before. What the hell is this? Anyway, I took a picture of it anyway and left the rooftop. The way back was relatively easy, at the big hole in the stairs, because the foothold on the opposite side was lower, I jumped and passed it easily. I returned to room "301" with a full load. "Thank you, sister Jie." Wuqiri was sitting on the bed waiting for me. "Have I been of any help?" "It's so perfect, it can be said that the mystery has been solved." "Great," I sat down next to her. "And then, what do you know?" "Even if you are sister Jie, you should understand now, right?" "...Uh-hmm, I feel a little clear, I think... this kind of thing should be possible." ——A way to strangle a victim inside a room without entering the room. — upside-down pinch marks. ——The fourth floor that does not exist, and the rooftop that should not exist. From all this, there is only one possibility that can be thought of. "No matter how unbelievable it is, as long as it is a conclusion drawn after excluding other possibilities, it must be the truth. That is to say-the prisoner took a head-to-toe posture outside the window and stretched his arms from between the iron bars. Entered the room and strangled the victim in the room." "But... I actually tried it just now. When I leaned out from the cliff, my movements were very restricted. It is impossible to kill people in this situation." "Aren't there any stakes on the roof that can be used to fix the body?" "Ah, but it's not a pile, there's something sticking out of the ground like a steel bar." "That's the hook used to hang the safety rope. If you want to put your hand through the window into the room like my sister did just now, if you don't fix your feet, it will be quite inconvenient to move, so you need to hang a rope to fix your lower body. " As long as the lower body is firmly fixed on the roof, even if the upper body sticks out of the cliff, it can move freely to a certain extent. "But hanging upside down and choking someone... isn't it quite difficult?" "I think it needs training, at least not everyone can do it unprepared. I think the prisoners have gone through a long and hard training before they officially put it into action." "Huh...but wait a minute." I found a major flaw in her reasoning. Even if the prisoner can stretch his arm into the room through the window, the prisoner still cannot choke the victim's neck. If you want to ask the reason, it is because the victim is not necessarily near the window. If the victim is not in that place, the prisoner's hand cannot reach it. No, to be precise, the victim couldn't have been there. "I said, Sister Wuqiri, it really is impossible, because it is not common for the victim to happen to be near the window, right?" "It was the criminal who led the victim to the window. I don't know if he made some noise to attract the victim, or he yelled... If he yelled, he might have tricked the victim into saying ' I have a way to escape'. As long as the prisoner says that he came here after escaping, then this kind of temptation is very effective." "That's it..." I almost agreed, and shook my head desperately. "No, that's not the problem! Isn't the window very high? At least with Mr. Chashita's height, even the top of his head is not as high as the window. Even if Mr. Chashita is brought near the window, the prisoner's arm It can't even reach the opponent's neck." "That's right, this is indeed a problem," said Wuqie, raising his index finger. "How did the culprit strangle the victim? Before we think about it, let's look back at the first night's homicide? Then you might be able to discover the main point." "Looking back... I'm not very good at it." First of all, before the access control time came at ten o'clock, the prisoner set up a mechanism to block the door in room "312" to complete the technique of disappearing out of thin air.The prisoner tied the rope to something that was holding the door, and threw the end of the rope out of the window. 在此之后，十点钟夜间时段开始后，犯人有意让我们目击到他的身影，令我们误以为他逃进了空房间，实际上他进的是另一个房间。 “犯人逃进的那个房间并不是空房间，也不是被害者的房间，对吧？” "yes." “那是哪个房间？” “当然是犯人自己的房间啊。” 我回想了一下第一个晚上房间分配的情况。 “之后犯人做了什么？” “从自己的房间里出去，爬到天台上。当晚十个房间几乎都处于密室状态，但唯有犯人自己的房间不是密室。想必犯人房间的铁栏杆很容易就能卸下来吧。” “犯人从窗口爬出来，然后上了天台？” “应该就是这样。说不定他为了方便自己上去，事先设置了绳索之类的东西。” 一旦到了天台上，就不用担心会被别人看到，也不会被房间和房间之间的墙壁阻碍，可以径直去往目标所在的房间。 “登上天台之后，犯人就立刻去拉垂在空房间窗外的绳子对吧。” 那根绳子是用来卸掉卡住门的东西的。 “是啊。那根绳子也有可能事先拉到了犯人自己房间的窗子里面，通过天台上的钩子。” “这样啊……考虑到我们经过走廊拐角处的时机，犯人没有时间走到空房间呢。他进入自己的房间之后，立刻去拉绳子……” 犯人一拉绳子，就让我们目睹到了消失现象。 然而这个手法是个陷阱。 结果上来说，他在空房间里绊住了我和七村。 而这个时候，犯人—— “在天台上把茶下先生引到了窗口边，对吧。” 但小心谨慎的茶下到底会不会被犯人的甜言蜜语哄骗呢。他好像相当害怕晚上的样子，要是有人告诉他“有办法可以出去”，他也是有可能会上当的。 然而……就算犯人通过这种办法让茶下来到窗口附近，他的手臂还是够不到对方的脖子。 连碰不碰得到他的头都很难说。从窗子外面伸进来的手要想碰到被害者的脖子……那就只能让手臂伸长了吧？ 这种事只有瑜伽高手才办得到，不，这大概对瑜伽高手来说也很难。 既然手臂不能再伸长，那就只能让被害者主动靠近了。只要让被害者来到高出周围一截的地方…… 高出一截的地方？那找东西来垫脚就行了。被害者为了看到窗外的景象，找东西来垫脚。但是找什么东西来垫脚？ 床是固定在地上的，无法移动。除此之外，房间里没有任何可以用来垫脚的东西。 能够权且充当替代品的东西……一样都没有，一样都…… 不，难道说……只要用那个就行了！ “雾切妹妹……虽然我觉得不大可能……” "What did you think of?" “把一亿元资金放在窗口旁边用来垫脚，这种事还是有点——” “就跟你说的一样，”雾切撩了一下耳边的头发。“茶下先生和鸟屋尾先生两个人的身近乎相同，差不多都是175厘米。至于窗口的高度，底端在距离地面2米的位置。只要垫脚的东西有50厘米，被害者头部所在的位置就能够让视线跟窗口持平。被害者应该一开始也不知道要怎么看到窗外的景象，可能是犯人直接告诉他这个办法的，让他用这些钱来垫脚。一千万成捆纸钞的高度有10厘米，茶下先生在窗子边上摆了五捆纸钞，并成两列，制造了50厘米的垫脚台。” “这样一来，就算人在窗外也能挨到对方的脖子了！” 密室的空隙越来越大了。 这个洞是被逻辑这颗子弹打穿的。乍看之下坚不可摧的密室也被她所射出的子弹破坏了—— “咦，等一下，”我一面回想刚刚踏入现场时房间里的状况一面说。“窗口旁边没有见到一亿元啊？不仅如此，被害者的资金都不知道去了哪里……” “姐姐大人，你终于发现被害者的资金不见了？” “咦，你已经发现了？” “嗯，我不是问过你好几次吗，现场有没有什么变化？结姐姐大人你回答说'没有任何变化'。也就是说，在最初发现尸体的时候，茶下先生的一亿日元资金就已经不见了。” “没、没错啊，就是因为一开始就没了，所以我怎么可能会发现嘛！” “是啊……其他人大概也还没发现死人的资金不见了，或许也有可能从诺曼那句'会没收死者资金'的话里隐约想到资金被犯人没收了，多半就是这两种情况吧。” “难、难道不是吗？不就是人死之后就没收资金吗？” “当时诺曼所说的话似乎指的只有鱼住小姐一个人，不是所有死者都适用这条没收的规则。” “那茶下先生和鸟屋尾先生的被害现场就应该能够找到他们的资金啊！” “理应如此。然而事实上，他们两人的资金都不见了。这个事实正体现了这次'黑之挑战'之中最为合理的体系。” “怎、怎么一回事？” “这同时也是在拍卖会上立于不败之地的唯一方法。几个死者的资金为什么会消失？如果不是被没收——那就是被人拿走了。没错，也就是说，在这场游戏中取胜的方法就是，拿出高于所有人的金额竞拍，保证将'侦探权'掌握在手中，并且利用'侦探权'，抢在所有人之前拿走死者的资金。” “——啊！”减少了的资金从死者那里填补。所谓的“侦探权”，同时也是盗墓的权利。 “拿走死者遗物的人就能够一直当侦探……这场游戏简直是在讽刺我们呢。” “怎么能这么说……不是这样的，我们……” 我能够说不是这样的吗？侦探难道不是搅扰死者——搅扰过去的人吗？ 实际上，我们正在做的事情，就是在“黑之挑战”中发掘过去的事件，打算让犯人与被害者的身份暴露在光天化日之下。 “只要能够想到这个取胜的方法，就算在'黑之挑战'中被选为目标，也是有可能存活下来的。从这个意义上来说，这场游戏的确很公平，只不过自己幸存的前提是其他人的死亡。” 拿走死者的资金，用来保住自己的命。 这场拍卖会之中隐藏着一个令人无比厌恶的秘密技巧。 “而且不止这些，之后的事情才是重头戏。成为侦探的人拿走死者的资金——这场游戏由此给犯人营造了更为有利的环境，其原因就是资金本身也是组成密室手法的一部分。也就是说，有人将资金拿走，这意味着——” “让证据从现场消失！” “没错。这次'黑之挑战'之所以会采取拍卖会的形式，应该就是出于这个理由。要是把资金叠成砖块状放在铁栏窗旁边，说不定立刻就会有人发觉这是犯案手法的一部分。很难说犯人有没有充分时间将其回收，实际上，在第一起杀人案之中，犯人也的确没有这个工夫。然而犯人完全没有必要慌张，因为侦探一定会替他消灭证据的——” “这、这是假的吧？” “不，是真的。你回想一下第一个晚上的情况，七村先生是在结姐姐大人你之前进入现场的吧。” “是、是啊……” “当时他看到现场之后，应该就已经全部明白了。然后，他立刻将窗口下面的一亿元拿到手藏了起来，想必是藏在裹成一团的毛毯里，或者是背包里面吧。” “就在那两三分钟时间里？” “嗯。之后他设法支开其他人，让结姐姐大人你们暂且离开三楼，自己则回到现场把资金拿出来，藏到了别的地方。” “那个时候……原来是这样……” 我丝毫没有怀疑他，完全对他言听计从。越想越觉得……好不甘心。 “我觉得七村先生也许是在一开始听到拍卖会规则的时候，就已经知道了取胜的办法和犯人的目的，毕竟他是双零级侦探呢。在全部理解的基础上，他大概暗地里决定了要配合犯人的计划。比如说……结姐姐大人你和他一起调查空房间的时候，犯人正在隔壁房间里作案……但他故意在空房间里逗留了很长时间，等待犯人完成密室手法。” 我和七村花了二十分钟在犯人消失了踪迹的空房间里调查。我并没有特别意识到什么，只是觉得我们为了调查得比较充分才花了这么长时间……但实际上时间完全在七村的控制之下。 “七村先生和犯人串通作案吗？” “不，不能说他们是共同作案。说准确点儿，可以说是七村先生看穿了犯人的计划，让其为己所用。” "What's going on?" “犯人的目的是复仇，而七村先生的目的是钱，顺势配合犯人的计划，他不费吹灰之力就能得到大笔钱财。实际上，现在他的手上就有一亿日元了，虽然那原本是茶下先生的资金。” “……那家伙！他果然不正常啊！难道他脑子里面就只有钱吗？” “他的人品如何，我们也不是完全不了解啊。以一般人的思维可能不大好理解，对他而言，金钱就等于时间。比如说花钱租用直升飞机，由此缩短的时间，就是人生中多出来的部分，简单来说，金钱就是看得见的寿命。我们应该一早就想到面对金钱他会采取什么行动的。” “唔唔……不能放过他……”七村的行为无异于对侦探名誉的玷污。 更何况，身为拥有双零级这个光荣称号的人，他竟然做出这种事，这搞不好会令我们全体侦探的职业道德都受到质疑。 “好了……”雾切仍然一脸冷静的表情。“我们言归正传吧，说回到一开始的密室。” “好、好的。”她的话让我恢复了几分冷静。 “犯人在空房间里绊住了七村先生和结姐姐大人，趁此时机悄悄进行密室杀人。他首先把茶下先生引到窗边，我想茶下先生应该是按照犯人的指示，将一亿日元用来垫脚，然后向窗外看去。下一个瞬间——” 倒吊着的犯人出现了。这一幕一想就觉得恐怖。 “我认为犯人一开始为了将被害者固定在窗边，应该是将绷紧的绳子套在被害者脖子上将他绑在原地的。犯人按照抛套索的方法，将绳圈套在被害者脖子上，这是为了不让被害者从窗边逃离，或许也有可能是为了不让被害者喊叫。犯人将被害者的脖子紧紧勒住，但并没有打算就此将他勒死。” “但这条绳子不就是为了杀人才准备的吗？” “嗯，被害者脖子上除了掐痕还有绳状物的痕迹，原因应该就是这条绳子。犯人将被害者固定在原地之后，直接用手去掐对方的脖子。至于犯人究竟为什么要特意用手去掐死被害者，这是为了让我们认为犯人出入过密室。毕竟被害者是被掐死的，那就只可能是有人闯入室内直接动手杀人了。” “结果我们完全被他搞糊涂了。” “当时犯人自然是戴着手套的。这是为了避免在被害者抵抗时被其弄伤手，同时也是为了遮掩在被害者脖子上留下的指纹和手印。” “这个犯人真是小心谨慎啊。” “嗯，不过他大概没想到上下颠倒的掐痕会清清楚楚留在被害者脖子上吧，”雾切耸了耸肩，接着说道。“总而言之犯人将被害者掐死了。但是如果就这样将尸体放着不管，被害者就会倒在窗口下面，这样的话密室手法就很容易被人发现破绽。因此，犯人必须移动尸体。 “在我们踏进现场的时候，尸体不在窗口边，而是保持坐姿，把头搁在床上。 “在没有进入室内的情况下，究竟有没有可能把尸体摆成这种样子呢。 “犯人确认被害者已经停止呼吸之后，首先把写着'复仇成功'的纸条揉成一团塞进对方口中，这个小把戏也是为了让我们认为犯人曾经出入过现场。然后，犯人为了移动尸体，在被害者脖子上套了项圈。这个项圈跟绳子相连，绳子的另一头一直延伸到天台上。我们假设这根绳子是A，与此同时，犯人事先准备好另一根用来回收项圈的绳子B。这个项圈应该用螺纹钉之类的东西固定住了，只要一拉线就可以将螺纹钉松开，项圈就会脱落了。” “嗯嗯，然后呢？” “把绳子A留出比较长的一截，让它松松地垂在室内。犯人保持头下脚上的姿势，将双臂伸进室内，双手紧紧抓住这根垂下的绳子，然后按照跳绳时甩绳的办法，上下甩动绳子，让绳子挂在室内的床上。床头正好有块床头板，就是要让绳子挂在床头板上。” “倒吊着甩绳啊……好像很辛苦的样子。” “接下来只要拉绳子A就行了，扯着项圈将尸体移动到床边。将尸体移动到位之后，只需要再拉绳子B，将项圈收回来就行了。就这样，我们所看到的密室完成了。” “说得倒是很容易，但是用绳子拉动尸体是相当重的吧？茶下先生虽说没那么胖，但好歹五十公斤也是有的……” “有可能是使用滑轮……也有可能是使用了什么比人力气大的强大道具。” “——啊！”我想到了天台上那样奇妙的东西，把手机里的照片给雾切看。 “不出所料，是电动汽车呢。因为不会发出引擎声音，用来偷运东西是最好不过的了。想必犯人是把绳子A系在车上，用它来移动尸体的吧。” “你连车也懂？话说，你是不是早就知道天台上有辆车？” “挑战书上写了车的对吧。” "Ok." “刚开始我想这样凶器可能只是列了出来，实际上并不会使用，只是个障眼法，但从手法来考虑，我觉得应该就是用在这里了。” "How to say?" “关于车的使用方法，可以想到的是两种。第一种就跟我刚才说的一样，用车来牵引尸体。另一种方法是在车内设置滑轮和绞车用来拉动尸体，车本身是作为隔音装置来使用的。虽然这两种方法都是用来移动尸体的，但最终采用的应该是静音效果比较好的那种。” “但是他们居然把车放在天台上，真是不知道怎么想的。” 是不是犯罪受害者救济委员会用吊车吊上来的呢。 “这下密室之谜就解开了。犯人穿过铁栏窗将被害者掐死，然后用绳子将尸体移走。窗口下面用来垫脚的一亿日元，则被七村先生藏了起来。” 这就是真相——我觉得无论如何也难以解开的真相，就这样轻而易举地被雾切揭穿了。 “话说回来，三楼上面居然是天台，真是不知道怎么说这家废弃酒店才好，这么一改造谁看得出真相啊。” “你想象力不够呢，结姐姐大人。从上下颠倒的掐痕应该能够推理出犯人是从上方出现的啊。” “就算你这么说，那也很难想到三楼上面都没有了啊……” “虽然结姐姐大人你说是三楼，不过实质上这个楼层应该是在五楼的位置。并不是三楼的楼上都没有了，而是我们所处的位置在三楼的楼上，至于天台就是真正的天台了。大概楼梯是经过了重新设置，从楼层数上来说，我们以为自己只到了三楼，实际上我们是到了五楼。你不觉得楼梯突然变得很陡吗？” “这么说来……”从天台上看到的景象实在很难想象只有三层楼高。 “那楼梯平台上写的楼层数是假的？大厅里的酒店构造示意图和房门上从'3'开始的编号也是？” “可能是犯人为了让我们产生错觉而事先准备的吧，也有可能是犯罪受害者救济委员会干的。” “原来一切都是犯人为了利用天台而设计的手法啊……” “顺带一提，你可以认为鸟屋尾先生被杀的时候，犯人所用的手法跟茶下先生被杀时一样。” “我记得那天晚上走廊上为了让脚印留下来是洒了水的吧，但是并没有像是犯人留下的脚印。” “没错，犯人大概注意到了门外的地上洒了水。那天晚上侦探宣布罢工，所以从大门进入被害者的房间也是可以的，但犯人似乎还是走了天台。犯人从自己房间的窗口出去，来到天台上，然后去往被害者的房间。” 那天晚上我听到的像是在拖动什么东西的声音，肯定就是犯人用绳子将尸体移动到床边的时候发出的声音。 “鸟屋尾先生虽然只有7000万资金，但想要铺一个50厘米高的垫脚台还是没问题的。只不过，在我们查看尸体的时候，资金果然已经不见了呢。” “啊，原来是这样……是水无濑先生拿走了，所以他在第三次拍卖会上出的价才会比他手头上剩的钱多。” “没错。他发觉了这次拍卖会的本质，并且打算把自己的发现付诸实践，可惜还是败给了我们。他之所以会失败，原因是企图用最低限度的金额取胜。难得他掌握了胜利的方程式，结果看来这超出了他的能力范围呢。” “如果昨天是水无濑先生赢了，那还是会有人死的吧……” “很有这个可能，是结姐姐大人阻止了这种事情的发生。” "It would be great if this is the case..." 实际上我只是拿着钥匙卡到处乱跑而已。 “说起来鸟屋尾先生房间里有个人偶……这是怎么放到房间里的？以那个人偶的大小是没办法从铁栏杆之间穿过的。” “先把人偶拆开，穿过铁栏杆后再重新组装起来。我把人偶衣服脱下来看过，到处都是拼接的痕迹。之所以特意准备这么一个人偶，我想也是为了让我们以为犯人出入过密室。正因为那天晚上犯人的时间很充裕，所以他才特意编排了这么一出吧。” 两个密室的谜团解开了。 剩下的问题就是犯人是从哪个房间的窗口出去的。 “我说，雾切妹妹，犯人究竟是谁？”终于接近核心部分了。 “根据符合条件缩小范围，自然就能够确定犯人的身份。”雾切竖起食指说。 这个动作让我觉得窥见了一丝小小神探的风采。 “首先犯人的体型必须比较小，这样才能够穿过窄小的窗口。男性恐怕是不可能的，至少目前在这里的男性之中没有比女性体型更小的。” ——犯人是女性。 “然后是第一个消失手法。要想实现这个手法，犯人必须利用位于结姐姐大人你们视觉死角中的房间，也就是'307'后面的房间。” ——第一天晚上，所在的房间在“307”房间之后的人。 “至于用来出入天台的窗口，虽然不知道在哪个房间……但我觉得十个房间之中应该只有一个房间里有这样的窗口。毕竟要是不止一个房间里有这样的机关，说不定会被其他人发现呢。只有这一个特定房间窗口上的铁栏杆可以卸下来让人出去。” “你知道这是哪个房间吗？” “很简单，犯人连续两天进行杀人行动，也就是说犯人连续两天使用了那间窗口有机关的房间对吧？那个房间就是通往天台的出入口。” ——连续两天住进同一个房间的人。那个房间里的窗口就是秘密的出入口。 我打开笔记本，查看当天房间的分配情况。 第一天晚上和第二天晚上住进同一个房间的人——只有一个。 “没错，犯人就是夜鹤冴。” 怎么会……居然是那个寡妇……她住的是“307”号室。 她就是用那两条伤痕累累的纤细手臂掐死两个男人的吗。感觉让人难以置信……但与此同时，我又隐约觉得她做得出这种事。 不过等一下……她住进“307”号室难道不是巧合吗。她并不是自己选择这个房间的。 “我说，雾切妹妹，第一天晚上我们是用扑克牌确定房间分配的啊，夜鹤女士应该是没办法自行选择'307'号室的……难道她是偶然住进了那个有秘密窗口的房间？” “不，当时在发牌之前，夜鹤女士拿起扑克牌用手摸过。她假装确认牌上有没有被人动手脚，实际上是自己在牌上动了手脚。我想她应该是在那张'4'上面划了一道痕吧。” 原来她是在那一瞬间，以迅雷不及掩耳之势，为自己的犯罪铺好了路吗。 第二天的房间分配是按照出价金额的顺序决定的。虽然拍卖会上局面比较混乱，但在排序上让自己比较靠后大概也不算难事，只要出价比较低就行了。要是结果自己没能分到“307”号室，杀人行动改到另一天就可以了。 “咦？但是发生第一起杀人案的那天晚上，夜鹤女士一直跟在走廊上负责监视的美舟小姐聊天啊，她们两个人是互相给对方做不在场证明的吧。” “用来杀人的时间是十分钟，移动尸体和回收绳子然后回到房间要花五分钟，剩下的五分钟跟美舟小姐聊天，这样就没有矛盾了。她