National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free...

This outrageous proposal immediately extinguished the guests' newly formed sense of "justice".

They want to watch the show, but they don't want to be on stage themselves!

This waiter is insane!

Barnett and Mrs. Phineas were even more terrified, as they were the closest to being identified as suspects, and if this insane suggestion were adopted...

They were the first to go to the guillotine.

Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to the owner of the ship, Mr. Wonka.

Mr. Wonka's amiable expression remained unchanged, but he fell silent, allowing panic to fester among the guests.

Neither agree nor disagree?

The answer was obtained arbitrarily.

This guy treats guests no differently than he treats his staff. He can't... or rather, he can't cause a bloodbath for the time being, but he'd be happy to see it happen.

It requires a "decent" process.

"No...this can't be..."

Finally, under this suffocating pressure, Barnett pointed first at the tall, thin gentleman beside him, "So... he's a suspect too! He lost a whole year's worth of profits to Heck at the casino!"

The gentleman immediately retorted:

"Nonsense! A mere six thousand taels? That's just the profit from my two shops! But Romeo, I know about you and Madame Phineas..."

"You're spouting nonsense!"

Once the first domino was knocked over, the chain reaction was unstoppable.

The chain of accusations and incriminating accusations expanded rapidly, and all sorts of secrets, like cockroaches and rats after a rainstorm, scurried from the sewers to the streets.

Some people had affairs with Heck's mistresses; some were caught by Heck committing business fraud; some had an antique stolen from them at an auction...

Just moments ago, these guys were united against a common enemy, but in the blink of an eye, they turned into rabid dogs tearing each other apart, and the situation began to spiral out of control.

"Speaking of cold-bloodedness... Mr. Clay, I personally witnessed you bringing home a woman whose death was reported in the newspaper the next day!"

"Hmph, the inspector has already cleared me of suspicion, are you trying to smear me?"

Ivan listened in awe and whispered to Klaus:

"My goodness, that Hek is such a magnet for hatred!"

however,

The senior engineer had no time to pay him any attention.

"The boss's suggestion was actually meant to muddy the waters and deprive the murderer of his advantage of watching from the sidelines... If the murderer is connected to the deceased, he will definitely try to stop the suggestion, because that would put himself in danger as well."

"Look, no one dares to mention the execution of the boss anymore. This shows they're guilty, and the murderer must be one of these eleven people."

Ivan was stunned: "Huh?"

"We also need to consider three scenarios: the killer's motive was to frame someone, in which case the suspect's enemies would also be suspects; or, it was simply a random, indiscriminate killing, and it's possible that Wonka orchestrated it himself! In that case... Hek's death was just the beginning, and..."

Ivan, who had been engrossed in listening to the gossip, scratched his head awkwardly.

Seeing that the chain of suspicion among the eleven people was still expanding, he casually glanced at the cheerful Noah:

See? This is how warm the atmosphere should be.

Noah clearly understood.

He reached into his pocket, just as he was on guard against what weapon the guy might pull out, when Noah pulled out a cigar and offered it to him enthusiastically.

The cigar was in excellent condition, but there was a slightly shiny tooth mark on the tip.

"..."

"Thank you, I don't smoke."

Noah shrugged, put the cigar away, and quite naturally put the tooth-marked end into his mouth, not lighting it, just holding it there:

"What a pity."

We don't know what these dangerous elements are up to this time, but this show isn't over yet.

By stirring up trouble and getting everyone involved, he could prevent himself, the pre-selected "culprit," from being isolated and helpless.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Ren Yi spoke again:

"Everyone, listen to me."

"If there is only one murderer, yet he can so easily incite us all to kill each other, causing so many innocent men and women to perish with him..."

"Doesn't this contradict Mr. Wonka's original intention of protecting all his valued guests?"

He bowed slightly in greeting to Mr. Wonka at the top of the stairs.

"Therefore, I suggest that what we should be doing now is working together to find the coward hiding in the shadows."

This proposal was to their advantage, and this time there was no further commotion in the hall.

Wonka clapped his hands slowly twice.

"Working together...that's a good word. I completely agree with you; it's much more interesting than indiscriminate killing."

The dozen or so suspects, who had just been terrified, breathed a sigh of relief.

"However," Wonka immediately changed the subject.

"If you want a chance to live, you have to prove you deserve it. After all, here, dignity requires a ticket."

As he spoke, he tapped his cane.

Outside the heavy gate, a dozen or so burly men, their entire bodies, including their heads, were wrapped in black cloth. They were divided into two groups and carrying two enormous cylindrical objects.

"Bang, bang..."

The two containers were covered by curtains, and the sound of rushing water and something hitting the outer wall could be heard as they landed.

"Whoosh—"

They simultaneously tore down the curtains from both containers.

Mrs. Phineas rolled her eyes and slumped backward, but was caught by someone nearby.

Those were two huge, cylindrical, transparent water tanks.

The one on the left had bluish-gray skin covered in scars, and the gill slits on both sides of its neck reeked of blood with every opening and closing. When it saw the humans gathering on the outside, its thick tail fin pounded against the glass frantically, and its eyes were filled with murderous intent.

acquaintance.

Before entering this wretched place, I had been chasing the shark-mermaid for three days.

And in the water tank on the right.

The dazzling red fishtail thrashed irritably as the unfortunate Sean sat on the bottom of the water with his tail outstretched, arms crossed, looking like he wanted to stay away.

Because of the craftsmanship of this cylindrical water tank of unknown material, his head appears magnified due to the refraction.

With a sour face, Sean unleashed a barrage of bubbles at the terrified guests.

"A tiny, insignificant surprise."

Wonka walked between the two water tanks with his hands behind his back, smiling as he surveyed the ashen-faced suspects.

"I caught it online last night."

"Strong, wild... two lost mermaids."

"Since everyone is a suspect, why not use a performance to clear our names? Fair enough, right?"

He pointed to the iron frame and hatch on top of the water tank.

"Go up. All twelve of you."

"If anyone can kill one of them, I will grant you the privilege of personally finding the murderer."

How is this kind of 'performance' any different from the suggestion made by that crazy waiter?!