As the host, Rat's arrangements were almost impeccable.
People were eating and drinking in the hall. Those who wanted to chat could do so. Those who wanted to relax could listen to the band playing classic music. Those who wanted to buy something could of course go to the auction room to negotiate the price.
Jian Jing was very concerned about the outcome of the auction, and also wanted to know who would get the item in the end, so she paid close attention to everyone's departure time.
With her keen sense and the high-tech watch that could never make mistakes, the timeline she compiled is absolutely true and credible.
At 19:00, Rat explained the rules and the auction began.
At 19:05, after the meal symbolically started, Pig was the first to get restless and leave the hall.
19:15, Yinhu left.
19:20, the Dog leaves.
19:27, the Pig returns.
19:30, Yinhu comes back.
19:36, the Dog comes back.
At 19:40, Wei Yang asked the waiter where the bathroom was and then left.
19:50, Rooster and Monkey leave together.
19:52, Chou Niu left.
20:05, Youji came back and Jian Jing asked her if she wanted to make a quotation.
Rooster replied: "Yes, I discussed it with Lao Hou, and I'll make an offer. Anyway, I'll do my best to show my appreciation."
Jian Jing asked: "What about Shen Hou?"
Rooster: "He said he wanted to see something else."
20:10, the sheep came back.
At 20:15, Wu Ma left.
20:30, the Ox comes back.
20:33, the Monkey returns.
At 20:40, Yinhu left.
At 21:00, Wu Ma came back and chatted with Jian Jing.
Jian Jing asked: "Did you also bid?"
Wu Ma smiled and said, "I'm offering a price on behalf of someone else. It looks like someone is determined to get it."
21:20, Tiger returns
21:30, the snake leaves.
21:50, Chen Long left.
21:55, the snake returns.
22:00, Chenlong returns.
The auction is over.
Rat's secretary said, "Please take a short break. In half an hour, the boss will inform everyone of the results."
This was a very long thirty minutes.
Jian Jing did not participate in the auction, she only cared about who would win the bid, and her mentality was very stable. Others were different, it seemed like there were a group of little mice running around under their buttocks, and they couldn't sit still at all.
Everyone left for a while—the exact timeline will be discussed later—and then, at 22:30, everyone gathered in the hall again to wait for the results.
The Rat has not arrived yet.
The secretary was questioned by the guests: "Where is the person? Didn't they say they would announce it soon?"
"That's what the boss said." The secretary said, "I'll go ask."
She left in a hurry, and came back quickly five minutes later, saying, "I knocked on the door, but the boss didn't answer. But the security guard said he hadn't left yet."
Jian Jing's eyelids twitched.
The pig lost his temper and yelled like an angry wild boar: "Is this the end? Is the person still in the room? I'll go call him out."
He strode towards the auction room with such a fierce momentum that people who didn't know the situation would have thought he was going to duel with someone.
Jian Jing decided to follow.
She had never been here before, and only now discovered that there was a toilet in the corridor leading to the waiting room. After walking about ten meters, she arrived at the waiting room.
This is a small room artificially isolated. There are three sensor lights on the display screen, representing whether the three safe rooms are empty or not.
Now, the light in the middle room No. 2 is bright red.
She can only take the route to Room 1.
Coming out of the waiting room and arriving at Room 1, we found that all the surveillance cameras had been removed, and seamless safes had been installed around the collections to tightly store the collections.
The other induction door was closed, not allowing her to go out. But the quality of the door was ordinary, and Jian Jing pried it open with force, breaking the lock and revealing the passage behind.
She walked to the door of the auction room and saw Haizhu banging on the door and scolding the secretary to open the door.
[System: New task has been released]
[Mission Name: Yacht Secret Room Murder Case]
[Description: On a luxury yacht sailing on the sea, the host died mysteriously, and behind the priceless antiques, treacherous people were calculating. Please find out the truth of the case.]
[Task rewards and penalties: Success will reward 20 courage points, failure will lose one level of fame]
Jian Jing: "Alas."
She stepped forward and said to the secretary, "Bring me the key."
The secretary said, "The auction room door doesn't have a key to open from the outside, so it can only be locked from the inside."
She said "Oh" and said very calmly: "Then find me a saw."
The secretary was shocked: "This, this is not good, right?"
"Mr. Zishu looks a bit old, don't you have any problems like heart disease or high blood pressure?" Jian Jing made up an excuse skillfully.
The secretary immediately changed her tone: "I understand."
While she went to find the saw, other guests began to arrive at the door, asking, "What happened?"
Jian Jing scanned everyone's face and confirmed that all eleven guests were present: "Maybe he's having a seizure."
Five minutes later, the secretary and the crew rushed over. They didn't have a saw, but they had professional lock-picking equipment. The crew used the tools to quickly get the lock core and open the door of the auction room.
As far as the eye can see, there is an antique screen, which strictly blocks everyone's view. Behind the screen, Zi Shu was lying on the ground with his back, a dagger stuck in his chest.
The person has died.
Jian Jing heard Wei Yang's clear gasp and asked, "What's going on?"
"He's dead." Jian Jing said, grabbing Haizhu's collar. The strong tycoon tried to break free from her, but failed and almost fell.
"What for?" he asked angrily.
"Protect the scene. No one is allowed to move forward." Jian Jing was so skilled that she had already developed muscle memory and arranged things in an orderly manner. "Miss Secretary, please call the police and notify the yacht to return."
"Please wait a moment." Yin Hu interrupted her politely but stiffly, "What is the result of the secret filming?"
Jian Jing said: "Ask me, I don't know either."
Yin Hu immediately said, "I suggest we solve the auction problem first."
She asked, "How do you say it?"
"The buyer and seller who participated in the transaction are all members of the club." Yin Hu said, "Miss Secretary, may I ask if you know who the seller of the anonymous transaction is? How to deal with the three collections?"
The secretary answered blankly, "I don't know." She explained, "This is all arranged by the boss himself. We just need to follow his instructions."
"The safe room is locked, right?" Chou Niu also joined the conversation, his eyes flickering, "Can you open it?"
The secretary shook her head.
"Someone who can make the decision, please." Shen Hou said impatiently, "If you can't make the decision, who can?"
The secretary said, "I can contact Mr. Gu, he is the boss's agent."
"hurry up."
Taking this opportunity, Jian Jing asked Shen Hou for confirmation: "Is the seller definitely a member?"
"Of course, the club will not accept commissions from outside," he said.
She asked again: "Is he here?"
"That's not certain, but I think even if I don't come, with such a precious collection here, I should find a client to represent me." The old woman said, "This person is one of us."
Wu Ma was concerned about another question: "I'm curious, who killed Zi Shu? Why did they kill him?"
"Auction." Sishe spoke slowly, "Someone was not satisfied with the result of the secret auction. Ahem, they killed the Rat and ruined the deal. Ahem, there is no simple way."
Jian Jing couldn't help but glance at him.
She was not familiar with Sishe. This man had no sense of presence. He was a tall and thin ordinary man with a slightly pale face. He seemed to have asthma, but she had never seen him have an attack.
"Are you sick?" she asked deliberately.
Snake said in a hoarse voice: "Pharyngitis, sorry." Then he coughed violently again.
About fifteen minutes later, the secretary came rushing in for the nth time and announced breathlessly, "Mr. Gu has something to say to everyone."
She opened the laptop in her arms, revealing the video call interface. On the other side, there was a person in a shirt, in his home office.
"I am Mr. Rat's agent. According to the power of attorney he signed, I can handle all matters on his behalf if he is incapable of acting."
Mr. Gu showed a letter of authorization and said calmly: "The situation on the yacht is very special now. I will rush to the yacht immediately. Before that, Miss Tina can handle ordinary matters on the yacht."
Miss Tina reminded: "The guests hope that the problem of secret photography can be dealt with."
"I know. I will explain this matter next." Mr. Gu spoke forcefully. "First of all, I regret to tell you that I am not a member of the Antique Club. Mr. Zishu has fully fulfilled his obligations and has not introduced the participants to me. I don't know who the sellers of the three anonymous transactions are."
Everyone was in an uproar, their eyes wandering.
He made a "calm down" gesture and continued, "However, the seller has a copy of the power of attorney. When I arrive, just give me the power of attorney for inspection and I will be responsible for returning the collection. I know the password to the safe, so please rest assured."
After a pause, his expression became serious. "But I think the most important thing is not this—Mr. Rat was murdered by someone else. Considering the closed environment of the yacht, the murderer is obviously still on board. For your safety, and to give an explanation to my employer, I hope everyone can cooperate with the investigation and find out the truth as soon as possible."
The foreign noblewoman, codenamed Xu Gou, interrupted him and said in English: "The Chinese police are not qualified to investigate this matter. This is the high seas! I want to contact a lawyer and the embassy."
Mr. Gu responded coldly: "The yacht is registered in China. I think they are qualified to intervene in the case that happened here. However, considering your foreign nationality, I have a suggestion. Please ask the people on the boat to conduct the investigation in a neutral capacity."
Ugly Ox said: "Who on the boat is not suspicious?"
"There are no surveillance cameras in the safe room, auction room, and waiting room, but there are surveillance cameras in the hall where you are gathering." Mr. Gu said, "I have checked the video footage. Between 19:00 and 22:30, there was a person who never left the hall. I don't think she has any suspicion of murder - am I right, Miss Maotu?"
Jian Jing said slowly: "Yes."
"Are you willing to accept my commission and investigate the murder of my employer?" he asked.
Jian Jing said: "Of course, I'd love to."
Mr. Gu said, "Then Miss Tina, please cooperate with Miss Rabbit's investigation and contact me anytime if you have any questions. I will fly to the scene the day after tomorrow to handle the follow-up matters."
Miss Tina breathed a sigh of relief and regained her shrewdness and efficiency: "No problem."
"Okay, let's check the safe immediately and arrange for someone to be on duty in shifts 24 hours a day." Mr. Gu considered it very carefully. "We can't let anything happen to the collection."
Tina: “X.”
Mr. Gu looked at Jian Jing, his stern expression revealing an unfathomable meaning: "See you then."