Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Pei Chuzhi slowed her breathing, reaching into her pocket and feeling the candy wrapper she had forgotten to throw away.

The wrapper was tightly crumpled in her palm, yet it did nothing to ease the tension in her heart.

Fu Xing also looked puzzled: “Are they planning to split up? Aren’t they afraid Teacher Xie will take them out one by one?”

“They don’t know Teacher Xie is the serial killer.”

Pei Chuzhi furrowed her delicate brows, equally confused why anyone would want to separate at a time like this.

On the screen a few meters away, Ding Yang walked extremely cautiously. He kept glancing around, afraid the killer would suddenly appear and attack him.

But in reality, he was overthinking.

He made his way unobstructed to the edge of the trap at the end of the conveyor belt and peered inside carefully.

Pei Chuzhi recalled the moment she had fallen.

When the crisis hit, her mind had gone completely blank, but the sensation of Xingye risking everything to hold her had left a mark in her body. She could even recall the force of his arms wrapping around her waist.

She pressed her lips together, reminding herself this wasn’t the time to savor intimate memories.

Ding Yang hesitated at the edge of the trap for a long while, ultimately unable to summon the courage to jump in.

He seemed to give up on exploring the trap and turned instead toward the freezer.

“Why is Ding Yang so fixated on the recycling station?” Fu Xingying asked in puzzlement. “You and Xingye have already searched this place.”

Pei Chuzhi thought for a moment and speculated, “Because he can’t fully trust Xingye’s testimony. You and I have a god’s-eye view and know Teacher Xie’s identity is suspicious, but from Ding Yang’s perspective, Xingye is still a suspect.”

Fu Xingying nodded: “Makes sense. Finally, the camera changes… Xingye and Teacher Xie together?!”

The image was so shocking that her last few words even cracked.

Pei Chuzhi’s heart leapt into her throat.

She didn’t dare blink, staring motionless at the newly switched screen, afraid that in the next second Xie Yiqian would smile coldly and kill Xingye.

But the scene she imagined didn’t happen.

On the screen, Xingye and Xie Yiqian were using the keys previously held by Ding Yang—the ones left by Old Qiao—to open and search the factory’s other rooms one by one. They seemed to be getting along quite peacefully.

Pei Chuzhi’s gaze followed Xingye closely, gradually noticing a detail.

He never let Xie Yiqian leave his line of sight.

·

In the third-floor corridor of the factory, Xie Yiqian closed the door and saw Xingye already trying the next door with the keyring.

“Leaving Tong Yang alone in the production workshop… is that really okay?”

Xie Yiqian’s expression remained calm, his tone showing just the right amount of concern.

Xingye unlocked the door, pocketing the used key: “Ding Yang won’t make a move. When I asked him for the key, I told him we’d check the other rooms together. If Tong Yang gets eliminated this round, then he’s definitely the other killer.”

Xie Yiqian stepped into the room, pretending to search seriously, and probed, “Are you sure Ding Yang is the serial killer?”

“Eighty percent probability.”

Xingye flipped a small cardboard box, tapped it, and put it back when nothing fell out. “It’s mainly your clue that made me suspect Ding Yang.”

Xie Yiqian crouched, using the cabinet as cover, quietly smiling. Yet his voice remained calm: “My clue was only the words ‘Petri dish.’ How did you link that to Ding Yang?”

Xingye lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard: “Ding Yang spent most of his time with Fu Xingying. I wondered—can’t he tell she’s using him?”

“…You mean he’s observing Fu Xingying? Like a scientist observing changes in a Petri dish?”

“Yes. I think your clue points to Ding Yang.”

Xie Yiqian returned the unrelated clutter to the cabinet, not hurrying to confirm, but furrowed his brows, thinking seriously.

This scene was transmitted unchanged by the camera to the lounge.

Fu Xingying propped her elbow on the armrest: “Tsk tsk, your Xingye guessed wrong this time—Ding Yang is innocent.”

Pei Chuzhi choked on the phrase “your Xingye,” unable to speak for a long moment.

Her crimson lips were tightly pressed, but luckily her mind was still racing.

Xingye’s style on the reasoning variety show matched his personality—aggressive. Once he found a weakness, he left no room for the opponent to recover.

This destructive and oppressive approach often produced unexpected, cunning maneuvers.

Thinking of this, Pei Chuzhi lifted her chin: “What does it matter if he guessed wrong midway? As long as the voting is correct, it’s fine.”

“Trust him that much?” Fu Xingying asked. “He’s moving with the killer—aren’t you afraid Teacher Xie will hand him over next?”

“No, don’t worry.”

A smile appeared at the corner of Pei Chuzhi’s lips.

Because Xingye had told Ding Yang that he would stay with Xie Yiqian. If she guessed correctly, this was deliberately orchestrated by Xingye.

If Tong Yang were killed, the solo-acting Ding Yang would be the killer—and vice versa.

Even if Xingye or Xie Yiqian were killed, the remaining person couldn’t clear suspicion.

Even without knowing who the real serial killer was, this ensured everyone’s safety.

After the third round of evidence collection ended, no one chose to exchange clues, and the director announced the start of the discussion segment.

Tong Yang, who had gained nothing all day, finally raised her head triumphantly, slapping the seal on the table with a “pop”: “According to my reasoning, the timestamp on this seal must be related to the serial killer.”

Her thinking aligned roughly with that of the two in the lounge.

She believed the point in time five years ago was when the serial killer committed his last crime in X County.

“Four and a half years ago, the Innovative Machine Tool Factory closed.”

Confidence shone in Tong Yang’s eyes as she spoke enthusiastically: “Now we all tend to think the serial killer dumped bodies here after the factory closed, so all we need is to know who visited the factory during that time.”

The girl rarely spoke so actively; no one interrupted.

But when she finished, Ding Yang couldn’t help asking: “Do you actually know who came?”

“No,” Tong Yang paused, “No way! I’ve found such a key piece of evidence, and you have no other clues?”

Clues did exist.

Unfortunately, the only person present who knew them—Xie Yiqian—would never reveal them.

Tong Yang pouted and looked at Xingye: “At the end of the last round, didn’t you say you had a clue about the serial killer?”

Xingye met her expectant gaze but, for some reason, didn’t answer directly: “I have details I haven’t fully thought through. Let’s first discuss this round’s evidence collection. Teacher Xie and I checked other rooms but found no additional evidence.”

Xie Yiqian smiled amiably: “Yes, all for nothing.”

“I do have a new discovery,” Ding Yang turned to face Xingye, “After you came out of the ventilation duct, did you go to the third basement level?”

Xingye: “No. The duct’s exit is in the production workshop. After I came out, I went straight to the fifth floor for discussion.”

Ding Yang stroked his chin knowingly: “Then I have something shocking to say.”

He deliberately slowed his speech, watching everyone’s expressions as he continued: “That freezer is very clean, no dust at all. It was just placed there recently.”

Xingye raised his eyes: “Recently?”

“Yes, recently. Which means the serial killer dumped the body not four and a half years ago, but quite recently.”

“Also, don’t you think the surrounding concrete looks suspicious?”

“If it were me, I’d wait until nighttime, when the factory is empty and the new concrete isn’t dry, and throw the body in to hide it forever.”

Ding Yang’s relentless monologue turned Tong Yang’s small face pale with fear.

Xie Yiqian pondered for a moment, then looked at Ding Yang: “Why would the killer take so long? I think the body may have been left here years ago—we just haven’t found it—then when the factory was about to reopen, the freezer was deliberately placed in the third basement as a decoy to mislead everyone.”

“In that case,” Xingye suddenly chuckled softly, “Ding Yang, you wouldn’t be deliberately tricking us, would you?”

Ding Yang widened his eyes: “Do I really need to?”

“Isn’t it enough to just look at the evidence?”

Xingye slowly stood up, raising his hand to point outside: “There’s surveillance downstairs. Go check it. From the time Old Qiao sold the factory until now, see who has come here at night.”

Ding Yang stood up defiantly: “Fine, let’s see then.”

Just as the two were about to go downstairs, Xie Yiqian rubbed his forehead and reminded them: “Isn’t the surveillance broken? We should approach this another way.”

Before his words finished, the office fell silent.

Xingye’s aura suddenly pressed down: “How do you know the surveillance is broken?”

“I…” Xie Yiqian hesitated, then said, “Tong Yang and I went to the surveillance room last round.”

“No, we just saw that the surveillance wasn’t turned on.”

Tong Yang looked at Xie Yiqian with a puzzled expression: “I couldn’t tell if it was broken or not.”

A trace of subtle panic flickered in Xie Yiqian’s eyes.

He cleared his throat and explained evenly: “Maybe I misunderstood. I saw the screen wasn’t on and assumed it was broken.”

“Is that so?”

Xingye chuckled.

He turned and walked in front of Xie Yiqian, taking a record sheet from his pocket: “Please take a look at this maintenance record I found in the ventilation duct.”

Before Xie Yiqian could lower his head, Tong Yang and Ding Yang quickly leaned over.

【Month X, Day 10: Surveillance system found intentionally damaged, pending repair.

Month X, Day 13: Surveillance system repaired.

Month X, Day 15: Unified equipment inspection, all devices except circuits temporarily stopped.】

Xingye’s voice sank, and the lighting cast a sharp arc along his side profile: “Teacher Xie, you didn’t know the surveillance was already repaired and assumed it was still broken, which is why you spoke so confidently?”

Xie Yiqian didn’t answer.

“To move the freezer here without anyone noticing, you must be very familiar with the factory surroundings.”

Xingye sighed, and his next words softened slightly because of a certain name: “The successful person who sponsored Zizi’s education… was that you too?”

“What was your purpose in raising her?”