Chapter 80

Yan Su left the room and walked into the hall, deliberately noting the remaining wax figures. They looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen them.

Just then, a maid opened the door to the adjacent living room. Upon seeing Yan Su, she approached him in surprise, "Mr. Logician, do you need any assistance?"

She thought Yan Su would stay locked in his room until the police arrived. Now that she saw him, she instinctively assumed he needed help. However, before he could respond, she couldn't help but shift to another topic:

"Mr. Logician, while you were in your room, a lot happened. The model died, and everyone was arguing. Oh, she died so tragically, frozen to pieces in the ice cellar," 

The maid recalled, scared to tears again, wiping her eyes incessantly with her handkerchief. "The lawyer said I killed her; I was just working there, how could I kill someone?"

Though her words were confused, they echoed what Yan Su had heard earlier in the room. The poor maid was genuinely frightened.

Two more people emerged from the living room: the writer and the kindergarten teacher.

Yan Su glanced at them and asked the maid, "Where are the others?"

The maid, wiping her tears, replied:

"After the model died, the kindergarten teacher suggested everyone gather in the living room and wait for the police. No one was allowed to leave. But the lawyer went to the bathroom and then disappeared. The actress insisted on going to find him and hasn't returned. We've been sitting in the living room for a long time. But just now, there was a gunshot from the annex, and the butler went to check it out, leaving only the three of us."

Yan Su instinctively narrowed his eyes. He knew the actress was a killer sent by the organization. The only remaining traitor was the lawyer; the actress left to kill him. But the gunshot just now wasn't meant to kill.

That shot was intended to lure him out. If the actress killed everyone and then eliminated the actual actress to take her place, all the blame could fall on him.

He didn't care about so-called reputation or accusations, but he absolutely didn't want Arthur's scheme to lead to harm for innocent civilians. No matter who it was, as long as one less person died, he would do everything he could.

Fortunately, he was quite certain that after the model's death, the people in the castle were nothing but police, civilians, and killers. None of these people posed a threat to Zhen Ai's life, which was why he could safely leave Zhen Ai alone.

Now, after hearing the maid's description, he wasn't sure how many of the remaining people were still alive, but at least the innocent maid was safe.

Yan Su looked down at the sobbing maid, furrowing his brow as he comforted her, "Stop crying." However, his words came out cold, almost like a command. The timid maid was startled and immediately ceased her tears.

The writer approached, casting a suspicious glance at him, "Didn't you tell everyone that if they stayed in their rooms, they shouldn't run around? Why are you out here?"

Just as Arthur had planned, he suspected Yan Su.

Yan Su ignored his inquiry and calmly said, "You're a policeman, aren't you? Please take these two ladies and leave immediately."

The three in front of him were taken aback, looking at each other in surprise. The writer blinked, "How did you figure that out?"

Yan Su's face was gray, showing no interest in answering his question. "That's not the point. At this critical moment, do you really want to sit around with tea as if you're watching a detective show?"

The writer's mind was wavering. Yan Su appeared to know a lot of internal matters, and perhaps he was the person the police were looking for (within the organization). But upon further reflection, Yan Su looked sickly pale and was barely holding up; the writer guessed that he had seen the wooden arrows scattered on the ground in the annex and inferred that he might have been injured.

So was he a victim or an accomplice of the killer?

The writer thought for a moment and asked, "Why?"

Yan Su replied succinctly, "Someone wants to kill them."

The maid and the kindergarten teacher gasped, and the writer asked again, "What do you mean?"

Yan Su flashed an impatient expression, frowning, "Am I speaking Old English, or did you score only 100 on your SAT?"

The writer was taken aback by his sarcastic tone and took several seconds to regain his composure, "What I mean is, who wants to kill her? And why do you know someone will kill them?"

The last question was laden with suspicion.

"Because the killer will kill everyone here except for me." Yan Su paused for half a second before adding, "You can suspect that I am the killer, but please consider the safety of these two ladies first and move them to another location. I won't leave this castle for the time being, so you don't have to worry about being unable to catch me."

The writer pondered this, and Yan Su turned to the maid, "Do you have the electrical circuit diagram for this castle?"

"Yes. There have been frequent power outages lately, so I dug it out." The maid ran to the living room and brought back a thick stack of papers for Yan Su. He flipped through them rapidly, finishing in just over ten seconds under the maid's astonished gaze. He returned the stack to her and turned to leave.

The writer called out, "Where are you going?"

"To find someone." His response was still short, as if saying another word would cost him his life.

The writer followed him, "I'm coming with you."

"No." Yan Su suddenly stopped. If the writer went with him, Arthur might kill him. After all, Arthur didn't need a police officer to prove Yan Su wasn't the killer.

The writer didn't understand Yan Su's thoughts. Seeing his stubbornness made him lose his temper and say, "I don't believe you; you might be the killer, and you're going to kill someone now."

Yan Su replied coolly, "I don't need you to believe me. However, Mr. Writer, please think of two things:

Why did the lawyer insist on being alone time and again? Because he figured out who the killer was and knew someone wanted to kill him. He also knew that the one trying to kill him wasn't me, locked in a room, but someone with you.

Why did the actress go looking for the lawyer? Does she usually care about others? No, because the police are coming soon; if she doesn't go kill the lawyer now, she won't have time left."

The writer stared at him calmly, showing no surprise.

Yan Su observed him for half a second, "It seems you already figured it out. But you're unsure how many killers there are, and with two ladies here, you're afraid you won't be able to protect them, right?"

The writer's thoughts were laid bare, and his face revealed a hint of helplessness.

Yan Su said, "Please remember how you felt just now. As a police officer, you know which is more important: catching the killer or protecting innocent lives. If I were you, I would take the two ladies and leave the castle immediately, sailing out to sea, always ready to escape. Besides," his voice suddenly softened, "Mr. Writer, can I trouble you..."

Yan Su hesitated, wondering if he could ask the writer to take another lady away? His student.

He didn't say it out loud because he couldn't.

Zhen Ai was very safe, but if the writer went to take her away, his life would be in danger. Consequently, the safety of the other two ladies would also be compromised.

He didn't have the right to ask him to do that. The responsibility to take Zhen Ai away lay not with the writer but with him. As long as he caught Arthur, Zhen Ai wouldn't be taken away.

But if he failed, and Zhen Ai was gone... the thought made Yan Su's heart suddenly feel like it was being tugged at.

As Yan Su left the room and walked to the hall, he specifically noticed the remaining wax figures. They were just as he had seen them the last time.

Just then, a maid opened the door to the adjacent living room and, upon seeing Yan Su, rushed over in surprise: "Mr. Logician, do you need any help?"

She thought Yan Su would stay locked in his room until the police arrived. Now that she saw him, she instinctively assumed he needed assistance. However, before he could respond, she couldn't help but shift to another topic:

"Mr. Logician, while you were in the room, a lot happened. The model lady died, and everyone was arguing. Oh, it was terrible—she froze into shards of ice in the ice cellar," 

As the maid recalled the events, she began to cry again, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief: "The lawyer said I killed her, but I was just a worker; how could I kill someone?"

Her words, although chaotic, echoed what Yan Su had heard earlier in the room. The poor maid was truly frightened.

At that moment, two people walked out of the living room—it was the writer and the kindergarten teacher.

Yan Su glanced at them and asked the maid, "Where are the others?"

The maid, wiping her tears, replied:

"After the model lady died, the kindergarten teacher suggested that everyone gather in the living room to wait for the police. No one was allowed to leave. But then the lawyer went to the bathroom and disappeared. The actress insisted on looking for him and hasn't returned. That left the four of us sitting in the living room for a long time. But just now, we heard a gunshot from the annex, and the butler went to check it out, leaving only the three of us."

Yan Su unconsciously narrowed his eyes. He knew very well that the actress was a killer sent by the organization. The only traitor left was the lawyer; the actress had left to kill him. But the shot fired just now was not intended to kill.

Its purpose was to draw him out. If the actress killed everyone and then eliminated the real actress, she could pin the blame for all the deaths on him.

He didn't care about his reputation or false accusations, but he absolutely did not want Arthur's schemes to lead to a situation where the organization's traitors could harm innocent people. No matter who it was, he would do everything in his power to prevent even one more death.

Fortunately, he was quite certain that after the model's death, the only people left in the castle were the police, civilians, and killers. None of them posed a threat to Zhen Ai's life, which was why he felt secure leaving Zhen Ai alone.

Now, after hearing the maid's description, he wasn't sure how many of the remaining people were still alive, but at least the innocent maid was safe.

Yan Su looked down at the sobbing maid, frowned, and comforted her, "Stop crying." The words came out cold, almost like a command. The timid maid was startled into silence.

The writer approached, casting a skeptical glance at him: "Mr. Logician, didn't you instruct everyone to stay in their rooms and not wander around? Why are you out here?"

Just as Arthur had planned, he was doubting Yan Su.

Yan Su ignored his probing and calmly said, "You're a policeman, aren't you? Please take these two ladies and leave immediately."

The three in front of him were taken aback, exchanging glances. The writer stammered, "How did you figure that out?"

Yan Su's face was ashen, and he showed no interest in answering his question: "That's not the point. In this critical situation, do you think it's time to sit around with tea and watch a detective show?"

The writer was torn inside. Yan Su seemed to know a lot about the situation, perhaps he was the person the police were looking for (from the organization). However, the writer also considered that Yan Su looked extremely pale, clearly forcing himself despite being weak. He could guess that he had seen the wooden arrows scattered on the ground in Annex 7, and they might have injured him.

So was he a victim or an accomplice to the killer?

The writer thought for a moment and asked, "Why?"

Yan Su's response was unusually brief: "Someone wants to kill them."

The maid and the kindergarten teacher were stunned, and the writer asked again, "What do you mean?"

A flicker of impatience crossed Yan Su's face, and he frowned: "Am I speaking in Old English, or did you only score 100 on your SAT?"

The writer was taken aback by his sarcastic tone and took a few seconds to recover: "What I meant is, who wants to kill her? And how do you know someone will kill them?"

The last question was laden with suspicion.

"Because the killer will kill everyone here, except for me." Yan Su paused for half a second and continued, "You can suspect I'm the killer, but please consider the safety of these two ladies first and take them somewhere else. I won't leave this castle for now, so you don't have to worry about not being able to catch me."

The writer pondered for a moment. Yan Su turned to the maid: "Do you have the electrical circuit diagram for this castle?"

"I do. We've had frequent power outages lately, so I dug it out." The maid hurried to the living room and brought a thick stack of papers to Yan Su. He flipped through them quickly, finishing in a matter of seconds before returning them to her and turning to leave.

The writer called out, "Where are you going?"

"To find someone." His reply was still curt, as if saying one more word would cost him his life.

The writer followed him: "I'm going with you."

"No." Yan Su suddenly stopped. If the writer went with him, Arthur might kill him. After all, Arthur didn't need a policeman to prove Yan Su was not the killer.

The writer didn't understand Yan Su's thoughts. Seeing him so stubborn, his temper flared. He said, "I don't believe you. You could be the killer, and you're going to kill someone."

Yan Su replied blandly, "I don't need you to believe me. But, Mr. Writer, please think about two things:

Why did the lawyer insist on being alone three times? Because he figured out who the killer was and knew someone wanted to kill him. He also knew the person who wanted to kill him wasn't locked in the room with me but was among you.

Why did the actress go to look for the lawyer? Does she usually care about others? No, because the police are coming; if she doesn't kill the lawyer soon, she won't have time."

The writer calmly gazed at him, showing no surprise.

Yan Su observed him for half a second: "It seems you've already noticed. But you're uncertain about how many killers there are, and with two ladies here, you're afraid you won't be able to protect them, right?"

The writer's expression revealed a hint of helplessness as Yan Su saw through his thoughts.

Yan Su said, "Please remember how you felt just now. As a policeman, which is more important—catching the killer or protecting civilian lives? You know the answer in your heart. If I were you, I would take the two ladies and leave the castle immediately, heading to the sea and always be ready to escape. Also," his voice suddenly softened, "Mr. Writer, may I ask you to..."

Yan Su paused. Could he ask the writer to take his student lady away?

He didn't say it aloud because he couldn't. Zhen Ai was safe, but if the writer went to take her away, then his life would be in danger. Consequently, the safety of the remaining two ladies would also be compromised.

He didn't have the right to request that of him. The responsibility for taking Zhen Ai away fell on him. As long as he caught Arthur, Zhen Ai wouldn't be taken away.

But if he failed and Zhen Ai was gone... The thought made Yan Su's heart feel as if it had been abruptly tugged.

If she were lost, he would search the whole world to bring her back, even if it took a lifetime.

He quietly lowered his gaze. After a second, he raised his head and, without changing his expression, said, "Mr. Writer, please protect these two ladies. Also, I had a quarrel with my girlfriend, and I'm going to find her. You can wait at the shore for us."

The latter part of his sentence alleviated the writer's suspicions.

He spoke sincerely, "Once I find her, we'll go to the shore to find you. I don't want to delay anyone's escape because of us."

The writer considered it for a moment and decided to first secure the maid and kindergarten teacher.

Yan Su added, "Wait, I need to borrow something from you."

Upon hearing what he needed, the writer hesitated, "That can't be borrowed so easily."

Yan Su touched his nose: "You're married, so you should know how difficult it is to tame a girl when she throws a tantrum..."

"Special arrangements for special cases," the writer sighed and handed it to him. "Once you find the student lady, come down immediately. We'll wait for you on the boat."

Yan Su watched everyone exit the main door before turning back towards Annex 7.

In the morning, the castle was exceptionally quiet, with a stale smell in the air and a damp sea breeze. Because of his injury, his steps were much slower.

The gunshot from earlier sounded odd. It should have been some noise from the laboratory—perhaps a timed experimental device. Simulated gunfire could provide an alibi for certain people.

He hadn't walked far when he encountered the butler.

Upon seeing Yan Su, the butler's expression was still as rigid as usual, but with proper etiquette, he nodded slightly: "Mr. Logician, do you need any help? But didn't you say you'd stay in your room to wait for the police?"

His speech sequence was nearly identical to that of the maid.

Yan Su briefly replied, "The actress is a fake; she's a killer. I'm going to find the real actress. I speculate the female killer should be nearby, and she will come to kill the real actress soon. But—"

The butler's face tightened, not quite understanding his meaning.

Yan Su paused slightly and continued, "Before that, I have a question. Mr. Butler, after hearing the gunshot, why did the writer and the others let you check alone? Weren't you afraid of danger?"

The butler's gaze narrowed as he explained, "I recognized it immediately; that sound wasn't a gunshot, it was a small gas explosion from the laboratory. You guests caused a ruckus, and I've been cleaning up for a long time."

Yan Su studied his face for a while, then smiled knowingly, "I thought it would be like that."

The butler sensed the underlying meaning in his words. After a brief pause, he asked, "Where do you plan to find the so-called real actress?"

Yan Su began to walk slowly: "I just borrowed the electrical circuit diagram of the castle from the maid. It has been reinforced many times, and the cables are in the basement. The castle has been experiencing frequent power outages, not because of a bad line, but because someone is trapped in the basement and has accidentally or intentionally touched the nearby circuits."

The butler's face was stern, disagreeing, yet he followed Yan Su through the dimly lit corridor: "If you're saying that the killer has tied up the real actress in the basement, how did she sneak in? On the day you arrived, only one boat came."

Yan Su replied, "They certainly didn't come with us; they were tied up many days ago."

The butler remained cold and silent.

Yan Su soon arrived at his destination, facing a tall stairwell. 

He gazed into the void, pondering for half a second.

When he searched for Zhen Ai, he had combed the entire castle. Now the castle's three-dimensional layout clearly formed in his mind. The maid had just given him nearly a hundred electrical diagrams, which transformed from flat to three-dimensional in his head, overlapping with the castle's three-dimensional structure, one node connecting to another.

The electrical circuits before his eyes lit up in red, intertwining complexly.

He couldn't help but murmur: "The first time, everything lost power; the maid opened the backup circuit in the main castle, and half of the castle lit up." The circuit diagram in his mind darkened half.

"The second time, Zhen Ai had an accident, and only Annex 7 lost power." Countless circuits extinguished.

"Later, the butler and the maid turned off all the lights, leaving only the lower half of the main castle lit." Numerous circuits extinguished once more.

"The third time, I returned to look for Zhen Ai, and the butler and the maid opened the backup in Annex 7..." 

The imagined castle spun around him, with countless lines interlacing; the unrelated wires all went dark, and the red light flowed and gathered at a single point...

He stared at the basement, certain: "The place where the circuit failures occurred multiple times is right here."

But in front of him were only stairs leading upward. He walked around once, finding the floor solid, and tapped along the wall, producing hollow echoes in certain spots.

The butler also caught on; he stepped forward and said, "Are you looking for the basement? There really is one." He pressed a button beside him, and a thick wall opened to reveal a short staircase.

Below was indeed a basement, but it was spotless and empty.

The butler said coolly, "Sir, there's nothing here."

"There used to be," Yan Su affirmed. He scanned the empty basement, an enigmatic smile forming at the corners of his mouth, "An empty basement, yet it's so clean. Not a speck of dust or a spider web?"

The butler looked momentarily stunned, examining the unusually clean but empty basement.

Yan Su crouched down, the pain in his chest suddenly intensified; he instinctively clenched his fists and suppressed it. Glancing up, he saw the dilapidated ceiling exposed with numerous wires. He straightened up, pressed the hidden button on the wall, and the basement door slowly closed.

Yan Su walked down the corridor, gazing out at the endless sea outside the window, silently adjusting his breathing. "The only explanation is that someone wants to cover up the traces of where people have been locked up, so they cleaned everything up."

The butler approached and stood next to him, looking out at the pale blue sky: "You mean, people were originally locked up here?"

Yan Su pursed his lips, glanced at the fine grass on the windowsill, and raised his eyes to look deeply ahead: "Do you still need to ask me about this, Mr. Arthur?"

The butler continued to gaze outside, raising his eyebrows slightly. After a second, his perpetually stern face softened, and a hint of playful amusement appeared at the corners of his tightly pressed lips:

"Mr. S.A., I must say, you're a very interesting opponent."

They stood by two adjacent small windows, with the morning light streaming in, casting two equally calm and slender shadows on the corridor walls.

Outside, the rocks were jagged, and the desolate grass swayed.

Yan Su smiled lightly: "Still a step too late. However, the fact that the person has been moved means you didn't manage to kill the real actress and the butler." After saying this, he turned his gaze toward him.

"Mr. Arthur, what went wrong with your plan?"

Arthur also looked at him, a look of disappointment on his face as he pouted: "The killer was thrown into the sea by a lovely little girl." His tone was distinctly proud.

Yan Su was taken aback for a moment, then understood. His amber eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at the distant white clouds, a hint of a smile curling at the corners of his lips.

When he left, he told her, "Brave girl, take good care of yourself for me." It seemed that the girl intended to protect him!

Yan Su asked, "Why didn't you kill the real actress and the butler? … Because you genuinely played the role of the butler and didn't carry any weapons?"

"You're right," Arthur lowered his head, rubbing his temples, "but I swore off killing a long time ago... I made a promise."

Yan Su's pale lips moved slightly: "So, not 'personally' killing."

But instead, arranging for others to kill.

Arthur paused for a moment before saying, "You could say that."

He stared at the intricately carved family crest on the old windowsill, slightly lost in thought.

He had once taken Cheryl to survey the route and, unfortunately, encountered an attack. He had held her, trembling in fear, as he killed many people, blood staining her all over. After returning, she had nightmares every night, screaming and hiding from him. It took him several months of coaxing to win her back.

This time, he had killed her family, and he didn't know how long it would take for her to return.

Yan Su took a gentle breath; the pain in his chest was more severe than he had imagined. The injury was exactly between the two ribs he had broken in the bank explosion; it had to be said that his arrow was quite creative.

He got straight to the point and asked, "Where are the real actress and the butler?"

Arthur snapped back to reality, smiling: "They are in a place where the police won't find them, even after searching the entire castle. Besides," he said leisurely as he looked at Yan Su, "their disappearance doesn't prevent you from being the prime suspect."

Yan Su smiled calmly: "Since I'm the prime suspect, why not, let's be accomplices!"

With a crisp sound, a cool set of double lock cuffs snapped around Arthur's right wrist, firmly fastening his wrist to Yan Su's.