The weapon by the pillow

"I...counted on my fingers, and so far, we've discovered that a third person has died!"

"Have the related people...connected?"

"These people all seem to be related to the case, but none of them seem to have a direct connection!"

"The scope seems quite broad, no wonder..."

The internet suddenly went quiet, even quieter than the room.

This is a lot of information.

Less than twenty days before Li Wan died, someone hired Wu Guodong under the guise of a demolition assessment to precisely measure her room, focusing on exploring any possible hidden spaces.

The question is, why would anyone know about this hidden space? And why would anyone be interested in it?

Why were they so insistent on taking the measurements?

It was because Li Wan was present during the measurement that she felt uneasy.

After the measurement was completed, the client requested that the data be destroyed and sealed.

Wu Guodong became suspicious and secretly kept a backup.

On the day of the measurement, he saw a suspicious man downstairs... The unfinished "ban" at the end, is it a wrench?

Does that mean... one of them was holding a wrench?

"A wrench..." Cheng Tan's voice was hoarse, "In the third nightmare..."

"Who is that Manager Zhang?" Li Kai took the diary, focusing on the key words, "Manager Zhang from Jincheng Demolition Company! Why did he want to measure my sister's room? What is his connection to what happened later?"

"Jincheng Demolition Company..." Lin Qian said thoughtfully, "I think I've heard of it. It was quite active more than ten years ago, but it seems to have gradually declined due to some disputes and lawsuits. The boss's surname is Jin, but I don't know the specifics."

"I know a little," Lynx, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, his face grim. "I... I used to work in the construction industry and I've heard of Jincheng Demolition Company. The boss was called Jin Dafu, a ruthless character. He had a group of people under him who were specifically responsible for 'handling' 'trouble' in demolitions. Later, I heard that the company was investigated because of a violent demolition that resulted in a death, and Jin Dafu also ran away and disappeared. That Manager Zhang... if it's the Zhang Zhiqiang I know, he's Jin Dafu's right-hand man, specifically responsible for 'negotiation' and 'cleaning up'."

"Finishing up?" Li Kai pressed.

Lynx avoided his gaze and said vaguely, "It's about... getting those who refuse to move... to change their minds."

The meaning behind these words is self-evident.

"So," the shadow pieced together the clues, "it's possible that someone needed Li Wan's house for some reason back then, or needed her to move out, or... needed her to 'disappear' at a certain point in time. They sent people ahead under the guise of measurements to investigate the room, to check for any hidden spaces or other suspicious circumstances. Shortly after the measurements were completed, Li Wan died. The scene was staged to resemble a robbery or a crime of passion, using various tools to mislead the investigation. The person involved in the measurements became suspicious but chose to remain silent, only secretly preserving the evidence. Years later, tormented by guilt and mental anguish, he finally hid the evidence and some 'tools' he had collected in this secret room he had discovered. And the 'man with the wrench' he mentioned in his diary was very likely one of the participants from back then."

Everyone was silent.

This reasoning is logically sound and can explain almost all known clues.

But questions remain: Who was the mastermind back then? Why kill Li Wan? Was it just because of the demolition? Or were there other, deeper reasons? Why were multiple tools used at the scene? Why, after so many years, is someone reopening the case and forcing the truth out in such a dramatic way?

And, most importantly—is it really a coincidence that Wu Wenbin, the surveyor's son, is here tonight?

Li Kai had clearly thought of this as well. He stared at Wu Wenbin: "Your father preserved the evidence, and you discovered it. So what? Why did you come tonight? Did Cheng Tan 'draw' you by lottery, or... did you come of your own accord?"

Faced with questioning, Wu Wenbin smiled bitterly and said, "I admit, I wasn't entirely passive. When I saw that post on the forum, I vaguely felt it might be related to the events mentioned in my father's diary. I signed up for the lottery because I genuinely wanted to come and see for myself. But I never expected things to develop to this point, much less that I would be trapped here and monitored..." He glanced at the flashing camera, "All of this is beyond my expectations."

"And what about these?" Lin Qian pointed to the scattered murder weapons on the ground. "The 'set' in your father's box was perfectly preserved, while these on the ground are rusty 'props.' Were these also arranged by your father? Or by someone else?"

Wu Wenbin shook his head: "I don't know. My father passed away five days ago. It couldn't have been my father who put it there."

"So there's someone else," Shadow concluded. "Someone who knew the locked room existed, knew the box existed, and might even know what your father did back then. This person copied the 'tool kit' from the box, rusted and aged them, scattered them on the ground, and arranged them to resemble the crime scene from thirteen years ago. Then they orchestrated this setup tonight, luring us all here and forcing out the truth from back then."

"Who could this person be?" A-Zhe asked in a low voice. "That Manager Zhang? Or Boss Jin? Or... one of the other participants from back then?"

No one can answer.

But just then, Cheng Tan suddenly felt a sharp headache. A familiar, tearing pain spread from his temples throughout his entire head.

He felt utterly exhausted; he clutched his head in anguish, and his vision began to flicker and fragmented—

He felt himself drifting off to sleep and wanting to dream.

It seemed like an incomplete dream, already impatiently beginning to flash back to fragments:

A large, calloused hand, gripping a wrench, is raised high...

A greasy, grotesque man's face was contorted in the dim light...

The woman's scream was short and piercing...

And...and another drawing! A drawing spread out on the table! It was the survey drawing Wu Guodong had made! A hand wearing a gold ring pointed to a spot on the drawing, as if saying something...

"Cheng Tan? What's wrong with you?" Lin Qian noticed his abnormality and supported his swaying body.

"I feel like I'm going to fall asleep, I'm going to dream!"

Cheng Tan gasped for breath, cold sweat beading on his forehead: "I feel like I'm about to enter a dream... I saw some more... fragments... a wrench... a man's face... and... that blueprint! Someone is looking at that blueprint!"

"Who's looking at the blueprints?" Li Kai asked anxiously.

"I can't see clearly... he's wearing a gold ring... his hands are rough... he's pointing... pointing to the location on the drawing..." Cheng Tan tried hard to recall, but the image had already faded, leaving only a severe headache.

"A gold ring?"