There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

In the lobby's resting room downstairs, where movements had been silent upstairs, Manager Zhang, whose wound had not yet healed and had been reopened, was speaking weakly.

The lady beside him hadn't been treated in any particular way yet, but even now her face had turned pale from fright.

The front desk clerk who had simply come to identify the injured was trembling, though she wasn't the one being tortured at the moment, she couldn't help feeling frightened at the sight.

And since the Capital Commandant hadn't let her leave, she didn't dare to bring it up, and could only fearfully hide behind Doctor Kong.

Xu Shuo hadn't been talking nonsense about one thing, the wound on Manager Zhang's arm was definitely not just a gunshot wound.

There were traces of gunpowder on the surface, but it had surely started as a cut from a sharp weapon, and then he had rubbed it against a bullet to make it seem it was a gunshot.

Of course, what was more important was that this man's breathing sounded very familiar.

Since a scapegoat had been conveniently delivered, it would be a waste not to make use of it.

However, even under the Capital Commandant's brutal torture, Manager Zhang still clenched his teeth and refused to admit to doing anything.

Xu Shuo glanced at the opponent's wound that had been cut open again, down to the bone, and though his face showed compassion, his heart was unmoved, and he even felt a slight urge to laugh.

He truly hadn't expected that switching from room 303 would net him so many fish.

This was the person hide in the bedroom.

The blood stains must have been left then.

Some smears on the wardrobe wall, and a few droplets that had fallen from the floor to the windowsill could all prove that though the person had been injured at the time, the wounds must not have been serious.

The Capital Commandant had almost recognized the person's identity as well.

But that didn't stop him from continuing the interrogation.

At that time, any extraneous action by anyone was abnormal!

Back then, this person had hidden in the bedroom and had not joined the fight in the living room. Although it might seem like he was a third party, it couldn't be guaranteed that he had no connection to the Radiant Corps.

Moreover, as far as he knew, during the blackout, apart from movement in room 303, only the opposite room 304 had had a small fight.

But the Special Envoy from District 10, who stayed in room 304, had already admitted that she had fought with a female suspect who broke in, and the other party had left empty-handed through the window without being injured.

After the new troops from the military district reoccupied the hotel, each room had been inspected, with no additional abnormalities found.

So where had this man gotten his injuries?

It also wasn't ruled out that some people had disguised themselves too well.

Or perhaps, the person who had fought with the adjutant in room 303 was Manager Zhang himself, and the reason their fight had been inconclusive was that the latter had used some method to escape and hide nearby?

And if he really was a third party, then the question arose: what was the purpose of this group?

The Capital Commandant furrowed his brows tightly, staring at Manager Zhang who refused to admit anything, lost in thought.

Tonight's events seemed more complex than he had expected.

These guests were tougher than he had anticipated.

If this were at the military district, he naturally had many more ways to make these people talk, but the current situation was obviously not suitable for moving a suspect.

Rather than risk a transfer that could be intercepted, it would be better to just deal with it here...

The Capital Commandant's eyes grew even darker.

Seeing that he had stopped the torture, and looking at Manager Zhang who had lowered his head so that he no longer showed any reaction, Xu Shuo tentatively spoke up, "How about, I treat his wounds?"

Hearing the voice, the Capital Commandant turned his grim head to look over.

"You're not planning to just kill him off, are you? He doesn't seem to have done anything..." Xu Shuo said with a troubled face, his sympathy overflowing.

The Capital Commandant let out a cold laugh, and as he opened his mouth to say something, the resting room's door was suddenly pushed open urgently.

The person who barged in was the secretary stationed in the hall, and in his arms, he carried a bulky landline phone.

Some time had passed since the nephew of some parliamentarian had been thrown out covered in blood, so this situation was probably about being held to account.

And although it had been agreed before the blackout to release people one by one, up to now not a single person had left the Five-star Hotel, with the only exception being the one who was thrown out lying down.

The Capital Commandant's face returned to being expressionless, frowning at the landline phone before quietly walking out of the resting room after a moment.

Once he left to answer the call, the atmosphere in the resting room visibly relaxed a bit.

But there were still four military soldiers keeping a vigilant watch in the resting room, and the few people trapped there didn't dare to do or say anything, each one huddled in a corner, behaving better than all the others.

Xu Shuo thought it over and still decided to bring the medical kit over to Manager Zhang.

His left arm was bleeding like a waterfall, a ghastly sight to behold, his wound having been torn open again and again, only stopping short of having salt rubbed into it.

Xu Shuo manually splashed the wound with alcohol.

Manager Zhang sucked in a breath of cold air and raised his head.

Just when he thought he was half-dead, his mind was jolted awake again, assuming it was the Capital Commandant tormenting him once more, but when he turned his head, he saw Doctor Kong cleaning his wound.

If the Capital Commandant had realized that medical alcohol could be used like this, he probably would have combined a cut with a bottle of alcohol long ago.

After all, when he had been cutting earlier, it had looked as though he wasn't quite satisfied.

"Hmph."

Manager Zhang glanced at Doctor Kong, letting out an inscrutable, cold laugh.

Xu Shuo looked at him and responded with an exceptionally gentle and warm smile, then pressed down hard with the alcohol-soaked cotton ball in his hand.

"..."

"If Manager Zhang knows something, it would be better to speak up sooner," Xu Shuo said worriedly as he cleaned the bloodstains. "It looked like the Capital Commandant was already contemplating killing you just now. Losing your life over an insignificant secret isn't a good choice."

"Don't play the saint here," Manager Zhang said mockingly. "I could see just now that Doctor Kong looked as if he couldn't wait for me to be dead."

"Are you blaming me?"

Xu Shuo's face showed helplessness: "I had no choice. There really was a problem with your wound, and I couldn't possibly hide it from the Capital Commandant."

As he spoke, Xu Shuo suddenly leaned in closer to Manager Zhang, pretending to be concentrating on cleaning the wound on his arm but whispered in a ghostly voice, "And...

"Who told you to hide it in the wrong place?"

Manager Zhang abruptly looked up, staring intently at him, "You were the one in the living room of Room 303 at that time, weren't you!"

Xu Shuo stood up straight, his face a picture of bewilderment, "What?"

"Pretending."

Manager Zhang's mouth curled into a cold smirk. "You're worried that you'll be discovered by the Capital Commandant—or perhaps you're already under suspicion, so you want to shift the blame onto me, right?"

"Oh, I see!" Xu Shuo suddenly pretended to have an epiphany. "What you mean is, after the power outage, you went to Room 303 and met with someone?"

"..." Manager Zhang suddenly felt something was amiss.

Xu Shuo looked at him with a mix of helplessness and sympathy, his eyes almost brimming with mockery, and sighed, "Manager Zhang, had you confessed earlier, just telling us who you met might have persuaded the Capital Commandant to let you go."

Manager Zhang: "..."

Damn, he might have gotten agitated without meaning to...

The nearby woman's face was full of surprise as she rapidly leaned away, looking as though she couldn't avoid him.

The old man lying on the ground and the receptionist crouching next to him looked at Manager Zhang in astonishment. Could it be that this man, who had just adamantly denied any wrongdoing, had indeed done something after the power outage?

He had admitted to it himself!

Even the four soldiers guarding in the lounge, who were staring straight ahead like wooden posts, subtly shifted their gaze towards him.

Manager Zhang: "..."

After snapping back to reality, Manager Zhang glared fiercely: "You tricked me!"

Xu Shuo looked innocent and confused.

"You think by doing this, you can get away scot-free?" Manager Zhang's eyes turned bloodshot with anger, his face contorted into a ferocious grin, and he said viciously, "Your little scheme is nothing to look at!"

Xu Shuo remained silent, giving him only a slight smile.

After all, the murkier the waters, the better.

...n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

When the Capital Commandant returned from his phone call, he saw Manager Zhang, who had been half-dead in the interrogation chair, now thrashing about vivaciously, attempting to bite Doctor Kong, who was cleaning his wound.

Two soldiers held back the chair from behind to keep the two from fighting.

"Capital Commandant, I confess!"

Upon seeing him enter, Manager Zhang abruptly turned his head, his bulging eyes red and frightening.

The Capital Commandant raised an eyebrow, quite surprised.

Without waiting for him to speak, Manager Zhang glared at Doctor Kong again, sneered sinisterly, "After the power was cut, I did indeed leave the hotel lobby and went to Room 303 on the third floor. But there, I saw Doctor Kong meeting with another person and passing something over. In a panic, I hid in the bedroom and wasn't discovered by them. It seems Doctor Kong isn't so clean after all."

Xu Shuo watched him with a frown but said nothing.

The Capital Commandant's expression remained impassive and indifferent, but there was a hint of interest after hearing Manager Zhang's account. He didn't get sidetracked by the latter part of the story.

Instead, he directly asked, "What were you doing in Room 303?"

Manager Zhang, who seemed to be burning with fury, stiffened slightly, then forced himself to say, "The person Doctor Kong met looked like the Capital Commandant's deputy, and they took something away. I think you should investigate that matter first."

After the blackout, the deputy who had always been by the Capital Commandant's side had disappeared without a trace. Combining this with the rumors he had accidentally heard, it wasn't hard to guess the deputy's whereabouts.

Even if the deputy hadn't defected and had other orders, it didn't matter if he pushed the blame onto him first. One more to the count was one more to the count.

Considering the character the Capital Commandant had shown just before, he would definitely become suspicious.

In the end, whether the deputy and Doctor Kong were colluding, Manager Zhang didn't know; it was enough to assign the blame.

Manager Zhang smirked at Doctor Kong.

Come on then, let's hurt each other!

However, after hearing his rant, the Capital Commandant's face remained expressionless as he slowly leaned in closer to him, his emotionless eyes scrutinizing the blood-stained face just inches away, his gaze sharp and cold.

He spoke slowly, with deliberate emphasis, "Stop wasting time here. State your purpose now, or else, death."

The atmosphere in the lounge suddenly froze.

A cold and deadly aura spread in the cramped room, making the space feel oppressively heavy and tense, with Manager Zhang's expression indecipherable, his hands clenched tightly behind his back.

...