"It's very much in the style of Snowden Hill. Being trapped in the villa and unable to leave, if there really is a script, then the next thing will probably be a murder."
When the voice calling himself "Phantom Duke" disappeared and everyone looked at each other in confusion, the atmosphere became vaguely uneasy. However, Gu Moli remained calm. He walked around the living room a few times and roughly confirmed the structure of the first floor of the villa. Then he said the above lines.
"Don't make it sound so serious!"
“It’s scary, okay!”
Ren Xuan, who looked like a gangster, was unexpectedly the first to become cowardly.
"I'm not kidding."
"Perhaps you still remember me, but just in case I'll introduce myself again." Gu Moli took out his business card from his pocket and handed it to everyone, saying, "My name is Gu Moli, a famous detective in Guanghui City. I have solved countless cases, so to ensure your safety, please don't run around and follow my instructions."
"Eh... Detective?"
"That's right."
"Aren't they paparazzi who specialize in catching mistresses?"
"That's just a personal interest."
"I am the official one..."
“I’m more professional.”
After answering everyone's questions one by one, Gu Moli strode to the center of the living room, and pulled Hua Qiong, who was curling her lips and muttering "What do you mean by solving a case? It's obviously about catching a mistress", over, and said, "By the way, this is my assistant."
"Hello everyone! Like the boss, I have also solved many cases!"
Gu Moli: Although there is actually only one.
Hua Qiong: Stop talking nonsense.
In a very short time, Gu Moli and Hua Qiong completed eye contact, and their interaction was naturally seen by others.
"I see..." Li Shaohua nodded in understanding: "It's the relationship between Holmes and Watson. I thought it only appeared in novels."
"To be precise, it should be the all-knowing detective and his supporting role."
"Hello!"
"Hahaha... it looks pretty realistic now!"
"Then Mr. Gu, I'll leave the matter here to you. I will try my best to cooperate with you."
"Thanks."
Gu Moli's business card was genuine, and among the people present, there happened to be Yun Xiaoyue, who knew very well about Gu Moli's reputation as the "Guanghui City Mistress Terminator", so after a brief exchange, everyone acknowledged Gu Moli's status.
"So, great detective, what should we do next?"
Gu Moli pondered for a moment and said, "No matter what, there are still about fifteen minutes until the twelve o'clock that the voice just said. Let's use this time to search the villa first. In order to prevent any accidents, everyone will explore in pairs."
"Two by two?"
"That's right. Hua Qiong and I will be in charge of the first floor. Zhuge and Miss Yun, you will be in charge of the second floor. And the extra A and Miss Li, you will be in charge of the third floor."
"My name is Ren Xuan! I'm not some extra A! You did it on purpose, right?"
Gu Moli casually ignored Ren Xuan's protest: "So it's settled? Is that ok?"
Gu Moli’s grouping is actually very simple.
Among all the people present, Yun Xiaoyue was the only one who was not a player. So letting Zhuge, who was an official, be responsible for protecting her was naturally the best choice. Then he would definitely have to go with Hua Qiong, and the rest would naturally be only Ren Xuan and Li Shaohua, so there was no profound meaning in it.
Zhuge also quickly understood Gu Moli's meaning, so he did not refute.
Yun Xiaoyue fully cooperated with Gu Moli's arrangements.
As for Ren Xuan, who shouted the loudest, he acted the fastest. He was stubborn in words but honest in body.
"Please come back here after your investigation."
"If you find something unexpected, don't worry about your face, just scream out immediately."
"Do you understand?"
“Ouch!”
After the discussion, everyone separated at the stairs and began to search the entire "Phantom City". Only Gu Moli and Hua Qiong, who were in charge of the first floor, stayed where they were.
"... .boss."
"Um?"
"I always thought that you, Boss, were only good at catching mistresses... Sorry! I was wrong! I didn't expect you to actually have this kind of detective side!"
"... No, I am a famous detective."
Can an ordinary detective get such a mighty and domineering title as "Guanghui City Mistress Terminator"
In a sense, this is on the same level as the sleeping Kogoro and the Heisei Sherlock Holmes!
"Alright, alright."
Gu Moli waved his hand to interrupt Hua Qiong who was about to say something, and continued: "You don't need protection, right? I'll stay in the living room, and you go investigate other places. I need to know how many rooms there are on the first floor, the characteristics of the rooms, and the possible escape routes. Can you figure it out?"
“Leave it to me!”
"very good."
After watching Hua Qiong disappear into the bedroom next door, Gu Moli continued to stand in the living room and looked around.
Not to mention the second and third floors.
The first floor of this villa alone is full of the atmosphere of a mansion, with a fairly large living room and a kitchen connected to the living room. At first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with it.
but... .
"Can't take the things away?"
Gu Moli tried to move the coffee table in front of the sofa, but just as Ren Xuan said before, let alone lift it, he couldn't even move it. The four corners of the table were completely nailed to the ground. In addition, including the sofa, the kitchen table and chairs, and the decorative vase... .
All unable to move.
The only things that can be taken are the kitchen spatulas and kitchen knives, but these are also locked with some kind of fixing device. If you want to take them away, you must first unlock them. However, in comparison, these are the only things that can be taken, and the number of kitchen knives is also quite intriguing.
There are six in total, just enough to be distributed to everyone present.
"You don't really want people to kill each other, do you?"
"What era is this? Why are you still doing this? This isn't Hope's Peak Academy..."
When I opened the refrigerator, just as Ren Xuan said, the food inside was also well preserved and locked. Just like the kitchen knives and cutlery, you had to unlock it before you could take it out.
After searching the kitchen again and making sure nothing was missed, Gu Moli walked back to the living room and immediately looked up at the ceiling.
There is a beautiful crystal chandelier there.
However, unlike other chandeliers, this chandelier seemed to be fixed, and the hanging crystal chains did not shake at all. The voice that claimed to be the Phantom Duke first came from the ceiling. Considering the special nature of the chandelier, could the voice be related to the chandelier
"It looks like a chandelier, but it's actually a loudspeaker... or something like that?"
"Or maybe a phonograph?"
"Or something else..."
Gu Moli took a deep breath, gradually shutting out the outside world, and immersed himself in the ocean of thought, from coming to the construction site, to investigating the construction site, to the appearance of the Phantom City, to the exploration of the kitchen and living room just now, and finally to the various anomalies he discovered... .
... .A guess emerged in my mind.
but.
"This doesn't make sense. There's absolutely no motive for trapping people in here."
"Or..."
"... Is this a conspiracy by someone present?"
Gu Moli frowned. If the story in the novel was told, then one of the six people present must be the mastermind behind this farce. But after comprehensive consideration, Gu Moli felt that no one was suspicious.
It would be better to say that the suspicion lies somewhere else.
You know, among the six people present, there are actually five players... Isn't it too much of a coincidence
Why were these people chosen? What is the pattern here? Who is the target? Among the six people, there are five players, and the only ordinary person is Yun Xiaoyue... ..
There is another crucial point.
"One was coming to the beauty salon late at night, one was coming to talk to clients late at night, and one was coming to see his girlfriend late at night... going to a beauty salon he had never been to late at night? A woman actually came to a private residence late at night to talk to clients? Why would she go to her girlfriend's house late at night? These three lame excuses... probably aren't true."
Then why lie
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Suddenly, a dull bell sound interrupted Gu Moli's thoughts. He looked back in surprise and saw that the hour and minute hands of the classical clock in the corner of the living room had perfectly pointed to the number twelve, and the midnight bell echoed throughout the villa.