Chapter 23: Killing Intent!

Beep-beep!

The Stopwatch rang once again, adding a few more degrees of anxiety to the air here.

It rang every two minutes; it was practically like some kind of death warrant!

Bang!

It wasn't until Ding Mo slammed his fist onto it that it finally quieted down.

"Stay calm, Ding Mo. Only calmness allows thoughts to flow incessantly."

Watching Ding Mo's face, which was flushed red from holding back, Chu Chenfeng leaned calmly against his chair, looking at the paper in his hand as he said this.

Why are you still so calm! There is less than 3 minutes left!

However, Ding Mo had no time to complain right now. Chu Chenfeng was right; in this final stretch of time, he had to calm down to think properly.

Ding Mo took a deep breath, his thoughts gradually settling.

"Judging from the various motives and the logic of the crime, everyone except Vaer could have done it. I can't find any flaws."

"Perhaps I should change my line of thinking..."

Ding Mo muttered to himself, seemingly hoping to distract his attention and make himself temporarily forget the urgency of time.

A few seconds later, his gaze returned to the crime scene photo of the deceased—that is, the office desk.

These things wouldn't grow hands, so... no, that's not right. The aim could be prepared in advance, but firing the gun requires pulling the trigger!

That is to say, something, something on the desk, pulled the set trigger...

What could it be?

Ding Mo's gaze swept over every detail in the "crime scene photo," unwilling to let even a single texture go.

To pull the trigger, there must be an external force. Excluding suicide by the deceased, pure electronic devices like computers and mobile phones couldn't do it.

What remained were: the safe, the pen holder and document rack, the printer/fax machine...

It's the printer/fax machine!

Ding Mo's eyes widened.

If the killer could manipulate the computer in the deceased's home and send a command to the printer, they could set up a mechanism:

That is, using the power of the printer's mechanical operation to borrow force and create an "external force," thereby pulling the trigger!

Although he didn't know the specific method of use yet, this seemed to be the most reasonable explanation at the moment—among all the items on the desk, only the printer had the possibility of outputting external force!

Ding Mo suddenly looked up and said, "I think I understand!"

Chu Chenfeng, sitting opposite him, actually revealed a hint of a smile upon hearing this and gestured for Ding Mo to write down the killer's name.

He can still smile at a time like this? Just as Ding Mo was thinking this, his eyes subconsciously glanced at the Stopwatch again.

Time remaining... 5, 4, 3!

Ding Mo was shocked. Ignoring Chu Chenfeng's strangeness, he hurriedly flipped over the photo of the deceased's crime scene and wrote the name down rapidly:

Va... er!

That's right. As the last person to leave the scene and also being an "engineer," he was proficient in both software and hardware. Plus, this idea of using the printer, while ingenious, was not "precise"—4 minutes was enough!

He was the most likely person to have set up this mechanism!

Thinking this, just as he was about to write the final stroke of the person's name,

The two characters for "Vaer" suddenly vanished from the blank back of the photo!

Ding Mo was stunned and didn't dare look at the time. Just as he wanted to pick up the pen to continue writing, he discovered the pen had vanished into thin air!

"How..."

In his astonishment, Ding Mo discovered that Chu Chenfeng, sitting opposite him, had stood up and...

Moved away from him!

"You?!" Ding Mo realized something and stood up abruptly, only to find his body felt as if it were filled with molten lead,

Unable to move!

And on the table, the photo of the deceased moved without wind and actually flipped over!

Under Ding Mo's wide-eyed, horrified gaze, the deceased in the photo actually "came to life"!

"He" climbed up from the desk and, with a sinister smile, gripped the handgun beside him. Amidst bursts of eerie singing, he pulled the trigger at Ding Mo outside the photo.

Bang!

【Threshold -10%】

【Threshold -10%】

【Threshold -10%】...

The void bullet seemed to have struck Ding Mo, and his Threshold began to plummet crazily!

"..."

"Sorry." Chu Chenfeng looked at the dizzying Ding Mo with a calm expression:

"You failed."

"I..." After being shot, Ding Mo's mind was in total chaos, but upon hearing this, his expression couldn't help but shift—confusion, disbelief, anger!

Finally, he gritted his teeth and said:

"You! You lied to me?!

"The game failed... you wouldn't be affected at all!"

Because you weren't directly participating in the game!

"Heh, quick reaction." Chu Chenfeng's words served as an admission of Ding Mo's accusation.

... No wonder!

No wonder this guy made him read the records at the start, no wonder he hadn't been the least bit panicked from beginning to end.

So he had planned it all along, letting him serve as the "Scapegoat"!

"Chu Chenfeng! You helping me before... was for the sake of..."

"Ah, that was just the 'Typewriter' taking care of a newcomer; I just didn't expect you to actually find me later. Hmm... it could be considered an unexpected gain."

"... I previously... trusted you so much..."

"My apologies." Chu Chenfeng said the apology, but his eyes were calm... no, cold and indifferent without the slightest ripple:

"I just wanted to increase the probability of survival as much as possible, that's all."

"..."

He crossed his arms, looking at the unwilling Ding Mo,

"But it's a pity, you are actually quite smart, slightly better than the few I encountered before.

"If you can solve this puzzle, I would still be quite happy to continue walking with you."

?!

"You said those few? I, which one am I?" Ding Mo felt a chill down his back.

At the same time, his vision grew increasingly dark.

→【Threshold: 22%】!

Chu Chenfeng looked at Ding Mo, who was gradually lowering his head, with some surprise; it seemed he hadn't expected him to hold on for so long.

After thinking for a moment, he still replied:

"The 6th, or maybe the 7th, I don't remember clearly..."

But at this moment, Ding Mo's head had already completely slumped, and there was no sound.

The room fell into silence; after a long while, Chu Chenfeng finally dared to approach.

"Rest in peace, you can be considered to have made a contribution." He said, looking into the interior of the safe he hadn't dared to look at just now.

There, all the photos, documents, and notes had disappeared, as if they had never existed.

Inside the empty box, only a "small slip of paper" lay quietly.

………………………………

Inside the "King's" room.

Lu Zhenhao, wearing the Dwarf Mask, had already led the remaining few "Dwarfs" to search the room.

Some of them were carrying bags of food, with crushed ice shards still on the bags. Others were carrying a bucket of water on their shoulders.

Indeed, they had already emptied all the food and water here.

"Boss, where are we going next?" the Horse-faced man asked, and the eyes of the others also looked over.

"Back to the room, of course! Are you stupid?" Lu Zhenhao scolded speechlessly upon hearing this:

"With so much stuff, you still want to carry it around everywhere?!"

After speaking, he turned his head and looked at the empty room, and the pool of dried black blood on the bed—

That was the trace left by the "King".

"As for the others, after nightfall, we just need to wait for the rabbit.

"After all, the Script has already been issued..."

psps:

Regarding the answer to this briefcase case, it will be released in "Work Related" later. The specific settings of the briefcase are also like this.