TEFSCBSS Chapter 121

Chapter 121: The Killer Fished Out from a Sea of People

The atmosphere at the west building’s entrance eventually grew awkward and quiet, thanks to the oppressive “don’t mess with us” and “we’re pissed off” vibes radiating from Changting and her entourage.

A few of the troublemakers in the audience shrugged. Fine, whatever. They’re guests from afar—no more stirring the pot.

Seizing the moment, Su Li continued explaining the rules.

“This time, the challenge will be split into three teams based on the current groupings: the Candidate Team, the Challenger Team, and the Jin Nation Guest Team!”

“And this competition will be a bit… different from usual.”

“Typically, we use adapted versions of past cases, but this time, the ‘crime’ is happening right now!”

Su Li grinned proudly. “That’s right! This case is 100% original and full of surprises. Even I don’t know what the case is!”

The crowd erupted again.

“What the heck? What do you mean it’s happening now?”

“If it’s not an adapted case, are they making someone commit a crime live, and the teams have to solve it on the spot?”

“This is weird—but so exciting!”

Su Li raised a hand, motioning for calm. “Don’t worry, everyone. For the safety of the public, we’ve set one rule: there will be no murder involved.”

“We’ve already selected a ‘culprit.’ He could be hiding among you right now… or he may have already left, heading to some part of the west side of the city to carry out his plan.”

“It could be a theft, a disappearance, a robbery, something paranormal, blackmail—who knows?”

“Cough, to be honest, I don’t even know what method he’s going to use or when he’ll do it.”

“So this time, although the challenge is simpler than a full-on roleplaying murder mystery, it’s also much harder.”

“Because we won’t be giving you a list of suspects, and there are no pre-compiled clues. Everything is up to you to discover.”

“It’ll be like finding a needle in a haystack. That’s why the duration has been extended to three days.”

“During these three days, participants—that means the three teams on stage—can use any resources they can to track down the culprit, identify the crime, and uncover the method!”

Su Li was nearly out of breath by the end, but she’d managed to explain the rules clearly.

And she wasn’t lying—she only knew who the culprit was. The actual crime and method were still unknown to her.

Originally, she and the others had come up with several case options for the culprit to choose from. Easier, more controlled.

But the culprit had proudly refused all of them.

Thankfully, he had a trustworthy character, so they went along with his choice.

Still, if the culprit got caught on the first day, Su Li had a backup plan: she’d jump in herself, ramp up the difficulty, and stretch the challenge to the full three days.

They couldn’t let those guests from Jin Nation think they were pushovers.

…

On and off the stage, everyone was buzzing. This competition was hard to judge—it was totally unpredictable.

But Su Li had done her part and left the teams to act freely. The audience was welcome to join in too, helping to find the culprit.

All she wanted was a result.

On stage, the core members of the Candidate Team gathered—Number Two, Number Five, Number One, and Number Eight, who had kind of just wandered over.

Number Five rubbed his chin. “Any ideas?”

Number Two shook his head. “The west city isn’t huge, but it’s still several blocks. This won’t be easy.”

Number One nodded. “Maybe we should split up and gather intel?”

Number Five agreed. “The boss said she knows who the culprit is—someone pre-selected. We can check who’s been hanging around the script shop lately, who’s been acting sneaky. Might give us a lead.”

“Sure, it’s kind of cheating, but since we don’t know the crime or method yet, we don’t have much choice.”

Number Two added, “You’re familiar with the script shop folks—go ask them.”

“The rest of us can chat with the locals, see if anything weird has happened or is about to.”

Number One clapped. “Right. We don’t have the power to call in constables or patrols, but we can recruit locals as informants.”

“Heh, nothing’s getting past us once we have eyes everywhere.”

As the three discussed, Number Eight went from confused to… still confused. “Uh, what should I do?”

“Why don’t you go talk with the aunties and uncles nearby?” Number Five suggested kindly.

…

The Candidate Team quickly came up with a plan. Not to be outdone, the Challenger Team also started forming its strategies.

But there’s always one person who just doesn’t fit in.

“Hey! Yeah, you!”

“Where’d you come from? Never seen you at West Tower before.”

“Exactly! Somebody suddenly shows up and gets into the Challenger Team. You look like some brute with a sword—how’d you sneak in?” (Definitely not because he was jealous of how good-looking the sword guy was.)

“Everyone’s brainstorming how to catch the culprit, and you’re just sleeping on the roof like it’s nap time! At your age?!”

Yep. After Su Li left, the man in black vaulted up to the rooftop, planted his giant sword beside him, leaned back, and closed his eyes like he was about to take a nap.

His chill attitude not only annoyed his team but also caught the attention of everyone around.

Xie Yanting frowned. “Isn’t that the guy we saw at the fortune-telling stall?”

Changting looked equally irritated. Especially since her so-called officials behind her were all muttering uselessly, unable to come up with a single idea on how to catch the culprit. She was seething.

“You idiots—what kind of officials are you? What kind of education did you get? Can’t even handle a little competition! I swear I’ll write to Father to have you all dismissed!”

They all immediately bowed and apologized.

Heavens help them—they came to negotiate terms with the court of Great Yin, and now they were stuck solving a crime that hadn’t even happened yet?

Zhou Jin gently tugged on Changting’s sleeve. “Your Highness, perhaps we can seek outside help.”

“Didn’t the host say we could use any resources at our disposal?”

“We probably can’t mobilize the constables or city guards, but we can ask some locals for help.”

“For instance… the Third Prince.”

Changting’s eyes lit up. “You’re right. We’re unfamiliar with this place, but I’ve heard the Third Prince’s brothers often visit and play here. They should be quite familiar with it. It’s perfect.”

She even managed a faint smile—but when she turned to look at her delegates, her anger flared up again, and she cursed them under her breath as useless.

…

Han Yueyi closed his eyes tightly, and when he reopened them, he saw Changting and her people still in the private room.

“So… you want the two of us to help?”

Wang Bokao (internally): Is it too late to break up my friendship with Han Yueyi?