Qianyuan: My crew comes from the world of anime.

Missionary: "Whether it's strange or not, come over here right away. Someone died on our 'territory,' and the concert is about to start. We can't take this kind of trouble lightly."

"We are currently gathering everyone, so you should come with me quickly."

Luo Tianming said to wait a moment, then went back to get his clothes.

Using this excuse, the rest of the Nautilus crew learned of the news.

Levi: "I have a feeling that something's going to happen..."

Coincidentally, Luo Tianming thought so too.

He continued speaking to Lucy, "Continue to increase the monitoring of the site, and try to find clues from other people's reactions."

Before Luo Tianming could even give the next instructions, Nan Mengya immediately raised her hand and said, "Captain, Detective [Assistant] Nan Mengya requests to be deployed!"

Seeing her struggling to raise her little hand, Luo Tianming vaguely sensed that she seemed quite interested in this kind of thing.

JK seems to be a creature that never suffers 'hardship'. Even though she caused trouble by running around last time, she couldn't stand being alone again after only two days.

“A detective's assistant?” Levi said, frowning. “Shouldn't that be a doctor’s job?”

Tae Takemi: "I've never been to 'Afghanistan' (a reference to Watson), and besides, they wouldn't let me study the corpses, would they?"

Luo Tianming, sweating profusely, said, "No... that probably won't work."

Nan Mengya, standing to the side, chimed in coquettishly, "Hey~ Captain, please... I'll stay by your side obediently. If you think I'm a nuisance, then I don't have to go."

Luo Tianming: "..."

What can we do now that she's said that?

"Hmph~?"

Nan Mengya held his sleeve with one hand, humming a strange tune in an unusually good mood.

This time was no different; the men gave him the same 'I understand' look.

"..."

Enduring strange looks, Luo Tianming and Nan Mengya arrived at the scene of the murder.

Everyone was especially surprised to see him arrive with a strange high school girl.

The missionaries, Bach, and Mozart were already there waiting for him.

[Bach] snorted with some dissatisfaction: "What kind of time is this to spend time with your little girlfriend?"

Nan Mengya, acting fearless, rushed forward and said, "I'm not his girlfriend, I'm his assistant..."

The somewhat burly man didn't bother arguing with the young girl. He said directly to Luo Tianming, "Now you're the only one who hasn't seen the body yet. Go in and take a look... otherwise we'll have to start collecting his body."

Luo Tianming: "It's just a corpse, what's so interesting about it?"

This remark, however, displeased Bach, who raised and lowered his eyebrows in a jerky manner.

"Oh, there's nothing to see here, is there?"

"I think you're completely indifferent because you already knew how he died, and you're even deliberately delaying things... pretending nothing's wrong."

"..."

Everyone present could understand the hidden meaning in his words.

They simply wanted to frame Luo Tianming as the 'murderer'.

Luo Tianming narrowed his eyes: "Let's put it more bluntly, the person who arrived late is the murderer... Is that right?"

[Bach]: "You admitted it yourself."

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly heated, the missionary had to step in and say, "Stop attacking each other. We are here today to mourn the passing of a respected church member... and also to help find his murderer."

"..."

The environment suddenly became quiet.

The tall and imposing Bach suddenly remarked, "What 'respectable' fellow believer? He's nothing but... a guy who's managed the finances and gotten himself all bloated and fat, humph~"

At that moment, Mozart, who looked rather unwell, suddenly seemed to lose his composure and exclaimed:

"I'm sorry, I'm getting old... I won't go with you anymore. As people get older, it seems that their emotional side becomes particularly weak."

"I want to go back and rest..."

The missionary seemed concerned about his old friend's health, but he simply waved his hand to indicate that he was fine... and then swayed as he walked back the way he came.

Before leaving, Bach couldn't resist a sarcastic remark: "How pathetic... at such an advanced age, still unable to gain the Archbishop's favor, imprisoned within the fragile human body."

Luo Tianming originally intended to discuss it further with the missionary, but then he heard Nan Mengya's voice.

"This is a bit strange..."

Everyone: ?

Everyone looked in the direction of her voice and saw that Nan Mengya had somehow abandoned the arguing adults and gone to the scene of the murder.

[Bach]: "Hey, little girl, don't touch that!"

Nan Mengya ignored her and said, "There's a strange feeling here that I can't quite put my finger on."

She pointed to Beethoven's body, to a spot that she found unnatural.

When Luo Tianming saw the scene, he was also stunned... and then he also noticed this unusual place.

Beethoven's body was slumped in a large chair, with almost no wounds or signs of struggle on his body... His fatal wound came from a hole in his left ear that went through to his brain. It was a clean and swift way to kill him, without him even having a chance to resist.

The strange place left Luo Tianming somewhat bewildered.

Chapter 116 Suspicious Points

The bloodstains on the body were still intact, and everything around it remained exactly as it was.

He just sat there blankly in the chair, his posture in the moment before his death clearly showing extreme relaxation, and even his expression at the moment of death showed no fear or unease.

According to the first people to discover the body, they broke into the house... They realized something was wrong when they didn't get a response for a long time in the morning.

When they came in, they found that the body had been there for four hours.

After they arrived yesterday afternoon, they each chose their own rooms, and none of them came out again during the rest of the day.

During this time, this "Beethoven" only asked for a bottle of wine, and then locked the door... There was no passageway inside the house except for the door; it was surrounded by walls, a stuffy room with no windows, and there could not possibly be any windows.

According to them... this seems to have really become a locked-room murder case.

"..."

"He was given the code name 'Beethoven,' and he died because his ear was poked and he became deaf... How ironic."

[Bach] crossed his arms and made sarcastic remarks.

"..."

However, Luo Tianming remained engrossed in the 'strange' discovery made by Nan Mengya.

At first glance, it seems to be just an ordinary wound, but upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that something is wrong with this wound located on the left ear.

As we all know, the vast majority of people are right-handed. Although there are left-handed people, they can use both hands very well, so there is no need to deliberately use a hand that would easily expose their characteristic.

So, assuming the murderer held the weapon in their right hand, how could they have left a penetrating wound on Beethoven's left ear?

Approaching from behind, the most convenient way to attack Beethoven's right ear is to use your right hand to hold the knife and apply force.

If you hold the knife in reverse, the weapon won't penetrate that deep... If you can't kill him with one blow and he shouts out, it's extremely easy to expose your position.

So when would it be most convenient to use your right hand to hold a knife and stab Beethoven's left ear, and be able to kill him with one blow?

"..."

The answer is—approach him from the front...

But Beethoven wasn't stupid. If someone was holding a knife to his front, why didn't he run or escape?

"..."

Unless, of course, this person knows Beethoven, and they are very familiar with each other, only then will he not feel that the person in front of him will kill him.

After figuring this out, and looking at the 'strange' wound again, Luo Tianming felt a sudden sense of clarity.

It was an inside job... and the killer didn't notice this detail.

Therefore, the murder was a spur-of-the-moment act, without any particularly meticulous planning.

After Luo Tianming stated his deduction, everyone present fell silent once again.

The missionary was astonished by Luo Tianming's 'reasoning'.

He was able to deduce so much information from just the location of a simple wound; he was like a detective from a story.

Nan Mengya, standing to the side, nodded in agreement, seemingly agreeing with Luo Tianming's statement.

Only Bach...

"Talking nonsense."

He shook his head first, then straightened his beard and said.

"I think you're clearly trying to use this excuse to clear yourself of suspicion... Your subtext is that you're the only one who doesn't know any of us."

"So you can't be the murderer...tsk," Bach's pupils radiated distrust.

“But you are the most suspicious ‘outsider’ here. Everyone else is an old friend of Beethoven. How could we do such a thing?”

Luo Tianming: "What's the motive? What benefit would I get from killing him?"

"Instead of doing that...why not investigate who benefits the most from Beethoven's death? Wouldn't that person be the prime suspect?"

[Bach] suddenly looked at him with a strange gaze.

The missionary stepped forward and gently tugged at the back of Luo Tianming's collar, signaling him to be careful with his words and actions.

"..."

Luo Tianming could figure it out even with his fingernail... who would benefit the most if Beethoven died.

Without a doubt, the organizers of this event—Luo Tianming himself and the missionaries—benefited the most.

The people and resources brought by Beethoven are currently unclaimed, and the arrival of others is too rushed to absorb them all.

Once the concert is over, they will immediately return to their assigned area.

Wouldn't these extra believers become the organizer's property?

If the investigation proceeds in this direction, he does indeed appear to be the most 'suspicious' one.

"..."

Luo Tianming had to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​'profit motive'.

If it wasn't for personal gain, was it a revenge killing?

The missionary explained that Beethoven didn't make enemies at all, and even though he was arrogant, people just subconsciously disliked him.

If someone were to kill someone over something so trivial, it would probably be the work of an antisocial individual.

This makes identifying the 'culprit' even more difficult...

Of the people who appeared today, the most suspicious one seems to be Bach, but he and Beethoven have no conflict of interest.

Furthermore, the two seemed to have a tense relationship, so it was unlikely that Beethoven would treat Bach as an honored guest.

The more fatal problem is that this is a secret room, and no one has entered this room before, with the sect's followers guarding the door.

Then... could it be someone who hasn't shown up here today?

"..."

Speaking of this, Luo Tianming does have someone he suspects.

A strange fellow who calls himself "Liszt"... He claims he arrived at the station earlier than anyone else.

Could it be that he had been lurking in this room all along, and killed Beethoven?

No, no, no, Luo Tianming shook his head in denial.

There's no way to confirm whether that guy exists right now. If we rashly bring this up... it might just make others suspect us again, thinking we're lying and trying to change the direction of the investigation.

So, who else hasn't cleared their name in this case?

The investigation appears to have reached a stalemate once again.