After being fed to top-tier orcs, I became the darling of the entire intergalactic world.

Chapter 412 The Mystery of the Secret Room in the Study

Liang Jia rarely spoke up, perhaps because of the 'old and new grudges' from playing mahjong together last night, which made him speak out against Landon.

"It is now known that Professor Lan himself, your twin brother, is missing and his body has not been found, right?"

In other words, the Earl might use his twin brother's life to blackmail Professor Lan, so he's not afraid of Professor Lan making any underhanded moves.

"It means you have two weaknesses in the Earl's hands: one is the issue of your false identity, and the other is your twin brother's life. Under these circumstances, the Earl should actually trust you more."

The only people that bad people can trust are either dead or people they have leverage over.

The imposter Professor Lan's twin brother perfectly fits the latter's criteria, and is not just a weakness.

[That's really true! Now that you mention it, Young Master, Professor Lan is indeed highly suspicious!]

[Not only for myself, but also to save my brother, killing the Count is the best way!]

[I'm also voting for Professor Lan! I'm sorry, Commander, but for the sake of the Explorer's premium vote, I have to reluctantly give up my own!]

Because Liang Jia stirred up some controversy, Landon's suspicions have indeed increased significantly.

He then turned his attention to Elius and others whose motives for killing him were still unclear.

"Everyone already knows about the deal between the richest man and the count, but his murderous intent has not yet surfaced."

The richest man, played by Elius, brought a chest of gold bars to the ball. If it was to make a deal with the count, why didn't he present the gold bars when he arrived at the castle a day early?

"And what about the guards and the doctor? Is the relationship between the guard and the young lady really that simple? Is she intentionally getting close to the young lady?"

According to the young lady, she was having nightmares and, out of fear, hired a personal bodyguard.

But since she has been listed as a suspect, she must have some connection with the Earl; it's just that no one has found any clues yet.

"The doctor was the last person in the known timeline to see the Earl. He would examine the Earl's body regularly every day, which means that he actually knew the layout of the study very well, making it easy for him to tamper with it."

From the count's perspective, he probably trusted the doctor more than the countess and his children.

Therefore, if a doctor wants to do something, in terms of difficulty, it is the easier one.

After Langton's analysis, netizens who had initially suspected him began to waver.

[Ugh! This is so mind-bending! I haven't even figured out the timeline yet, and there are still people who haven't even figured out the motive for murder?!]

Based on my past experience, the person whose motive for murder is still unclear during the initial search and discussion is highly likely to be the killer!

[Actually, I have the most suspicion about the doctor. Professor Lan is right; it's actually easier for a doctor to poison someone, and it's less likely to be detected.]

It wasn't just the netizens who were shaken, but also the suspects present, apart from the three who were named.

However, they are not in a hurry to debate, since there is still evidence to be presented. They can wait until all the evidence is found before discussing the matter further.

"Alright, shall we proceed with the group evidence search now?"

The reason why murder mystery games are divided into two parts is mainly because more important clues need to be placed after the first roundtable discussion and before the second concentrated search.

This is also to increase the game's playability.

Otherwise, if crucial clues are discovered during the first search, how can the game continue?

"Let's go to the study first and solve the mystery of the secret room."

All the suspicions, the timeline, and the motive for the murder all point to the locked room.

Only by reconstructing the locked room can we continue the reasoning, eliminate or identify some suspects.

"Okay, let's go to the second floor first."

The study was on the second floor. After a large group of people went upstairs, they went straight to the study and began searching.

Landon was the first to start knocking on the wall, thinking that castles usually have secret passages or similar structures.

If a secret passage leading elsewhere could be found in the study, perhaps the mystery of the locked room could be solved. "These walls seem to be fine."

Li Xiao was also knocking on the wall along with Landon.

After all, as a detective, he was the only completely trustworthy person present, so there was no need to worry that he might have discovered something but deliberately concealed it.

"Could it be that we guessed wrong?"

Goring was also completely bewildered, scratching his head in confusion.

"Perhaps there really is some kind of time-delay device, but we just haven't discovered it yet."

The key question now is, how did the extremely vigilant Earl come into contact with the poison?

"If it's a time-delay device, then the secret room was actually created by the Earl himself."

Elius scanned the study from top to bottom.

Apart from the small hole that Beibei had crawled through earlier, no mechanism was found that could send the key back to the room.

Therefore, unless the count was alone, locked the study door, and unconsciously ingested poison, this locked-room murder could not have occurred.

"Hey?! Don't you guys think there's something strange about that painting hanging behind the Earl?"

The huge painting behind the count is actually a 'family portrait' of the five members of his family.

Even if the count really did have an affair and treat his children badly, his public image would still be that of a good husband and a good father.

Given the persona he has cultivated, it's understandable that a family photo would be displayed in such an important place as his study.

"Could the hidden door be behind this painting?"

Cedril, whose attention was drawn, walked up to the painting and tried to move it away.

"Huh? Why can't I move it?"

Since it was in a castle and the space was rented, Cédric didn't dare to use too much force, but he shouldn't be unable to move even a single painting.

Those who realized the problem gathered around and began to touch it.

"Perhaps there's a mechanism involved; this painting should be integrated with the hidden door."

Liang He reminded them not to forcibly move the painting and suggested that everyone look for the mechanism again.

So everyone started moving the ornaments and books that seemed to be mechanisms, not letting any detail slip by.

Wow, is there really a secret passage? Wasn't this a last-minute location? Did it just happen to fit the script perfectly?

The script has probably been revised, perhaps to suit the specific context. I'm now both eager to watch it and afraid to, worried that something terrifying might lurk in the secret passage...

Thankfully, they chose to do their live stream in the afternoon. The sunshine felt so warm and cozy, I wasn't afraid of anything anymore!

Just as netizens were wondering if a secret passage really existed and what kind of scene it might contain, Liang Jia was the first to discover the mechanism.

"found it!"

Liang Jia stood in front of the bookshelf and found a book that couldn't be moved. He simply laid the book down horizontally, and the 'family portrait' that he couldn't move no matter what he did finally moved.

"Good job!"

You're so toxic! You gave Liang Jia a big thumbs up.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Liang Jia curiously stepped into the gradually revealed entrance to the secret passage.

Even faster than him was Cedril, who had been searching for the mechanism around the 'family portrait'.

"Give me the light, I'll lead the charge."