novelhk Chapter 30 Rashomon
Chapter 30 Rashomon
The top floor of the Pheromone Club, Cloud Top No. 2 private room, had its doors tightly closed.
After getting a general understanding of the situation from his advisor, Sherlock, the head of the Major Crimes Unit, used the holographic game room as a temporary interrogation room to conduct one-on-one conversations with everyone present.
"Name"
"Tong Chi"
"Profession"
A third-year student from the School of Biological Sciences at Ocean University of China
"Special Ability Sequences and Types"
"Physical Ability, Defense - Rank D"
You can't judge a book by its cover; Tong Chi, who is small in stature, has a very strong ability to withstand blows.
Even a power-type ability user of the same level would need to unleash a full-force attack with ordinary melee weapons to break through their defenses.
Why are you here?
"It's Young Master Luo..."
Sherlock raised his hand to interrupt, correcting him, "Say your full name."
"Oh, it was organized by Luo Duyang, so I came. A few other classmates are here too..."
"You only need to state your situation; I will ask the others about their situations later."
Sherlock sat in his gaming chair, elbows on the armrests, arms crossed, and tilted his head slightly to look at Tong Chi: "Why did you accept the invitation from the dead?"
"That's right, Luo Duyang is the president of our college's classical music club. He pays for all the club's equipment and activities. I am one of the club members."
"So, you two just have a simple president-member relationship?"
"Uh..." Tong Chi hesitated for a moment, but under the other party's gaze, he finally couldn't withstand the pressure and replied truthfully, "Luo Duyang is a rich young master, and I... I guess I'm his follower."
"Please don't use vague language. If you want to come back to the Investigation Bureau with me for a chat..."
Tong Chi was stunned for a moment before realizing that the other person had used an idiom. He quickly waved his hand and explained, "Ah, no, no, sir, that's not what I meant."
"I'm Luo Duyang's lackey, and many people in our college want to be his lackey. He often gives us things, like a brand-new holographic phone that's less than a week old, bags worth tens of thousands of yuan..."
"OK," Sherlock interrupted again, "What was your relationship with the deceased?"
Tong Chi immediately sat up straight: "We have a very good relationship, sir. Luo Duyang is a big spender. I hope he lives a long and healthy life so I can live a life of luxury with him."
"Some time ago, he was preparing to open a talent agency and had already scouted out a few internet celebrities to sign."
Sherlock's eyes narrowed slightly. After a couple of seconds of contemplation, he asked, "So, did the deceased's agency have any business disputes or conflicts of interest with anyone?"
Tong Chi sighed and shook his head, saying, "Hey, don't even mention it. I don't know what's gotten into Luo Shao lately. The company was registered last month, and Peng Jiajun had even reached agreements with several big internet celebrities, but Luo Shao showed no intention of signing anything. He's squandered all the start-up capital his dad gave him..."
Sherlock raised an eyebrow and interrupted, "The specific time?"
"For about half a month."
"Think about it carefully."
Tong Chi frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said uncertainly, "It seems to be... after that incident at our academy."
In your opinion, who is the most suspicious?
Sherlock posed the ultimate question, and Tong Chi blurted out, "It must be Qi Te. If that kid hadn't suddenly rushed in and ruined Young Master Luo's plans, none of what happened afterward would have occurred."
Sherlock raised an eyebrow; he recognized the name. It had been mentioned in the case notes during the Eastern Tower incident.
"So, what harm did Zite inflict on Luoduyang?"
"No, that's not true. On the contrary, that kid took two hits from Qin Zitai, and he's probably badly injured."
At this point, Tong Chi paused, glanced lewdly at the tightly closed door, and lowered his voice, "Sir, actually, Qin Zitai is also a suspect."
"Oh, how so?" Sherlock became interested.
"Old Qin is different from us. He was Luo Duyang's classmate in high school and is considered a confidant. I heard that he was able to get into Ocean University because Luo Shao's family paid money to get him in. He is a strength major and a trained fighter. He has always wanted to join the army, but Luo Shao keeps him by his side as his top henchman."
"It seems that Lao Qin's parents are both employees of Luo's company, and the whole family of three is tied down. He doesn't usually say anything, but we can all tell that he's actually very dissatisfied..."
.....................
"That's right!"
Peng Jiajun thought for a dozen seconds and nodded, saying, "Ever since the hostage incident at the academy, Young Master Luo has become a completely different person."
"He used to be high-profile and had a bit of a temper, but he wasn't that unreliable."
"The classical music club was applied for specifically for Yue Wanwan. That girl... cough cough, no, I mean, Yue Wanwan likes classical music, and joining the club can satisfy her hobby and also earn her academic credits."
"We all knew that Luo Shao organized this scheme targeting Yue Wanwan. But I really didn't know he would drug the juice!"
A slight smile flickered across Sherlock's lips: "If you don't know, then how do you know that the deceased was drugged?"
Peng Jiajun paused for a moment, realizing he had let something slip, and quickly explained, "Young Master Luo told us to go to the game room to play by ourselves, and said he had arranged a deluxe package for the evening. Li Xiaoxu wanted to invite Yue Wanwan to play together, but Young Master Luo gave me a look, meaning I should get Li Xiaoxu out of there."
"Xiaoxu has a crush on me, so I asked her to play a two-player beat 'em up with me, and she immediately agreed."
"We only heard about the drugging from Qin Zitai, sir. This really has nothing to do with me."
"Old Qin? Impossible! Has he gone mad? His parents are also from the Luo family. If they dare to lay a hand on Young Master Luo, their whole family will be ruined!"
"I have a very good relationship with Young Master Luo. In another year, I will graduate. At that time, thanks to Young Master Luo's connections, I can directly enter Luo's Group without having to look for a job."
"Every industry is incredibly competitive right now, finding a good job is extremely difficult. Tell me, how could I possibly harm him!"
"Tong Chi is very suspicious. He's embezzled a lot of money from Luo Shao. Luo Shao was very attentive to the agency at first, but he's been completely indifferent to it for the past two weeks. Maybe the novelty has worn off, and he's even spent all the start-up capital his father gave him."
"The company registration is complete, and the legal representative is Tong Chi. He's very good at networking; he's been hanging around with Young Master Luo for the past two years and has made quite a few connections with wealthy young men. He even told me the other day, 'Why don't we go solo? I'll be responsible for finding artists, and he'll have ways to secure resources. Anyway, with this project in hand, we won't have trouble finding new investors...'"
"The biggest beneficiary of Young Master Luo's death is him!"
.....................
"I didn't see Young Master Luo drug her, but I do know about it."
The burly and robust Qin Zitai readily admitted it.
"Young Master Luo said that Yue Wanwan is definitely not going to escape this time, and that he specially added something to the medicine."
"What could it be? A superpower suppressor."
"This drug is a controlled substance, but who is Young Master Luo? Can't he get what he wants?"
"Yue Wanwan's superpower? Self-healing type, I think it's D-level. It's just that I was afraid that ordinary sleeping pills wouldn't be effective, so Young Master Luo specially added something extra."
"recent?"
Qin Zitai tilted his large head, thought for two seconds, and then nodded, saying, "It is indeed a bit abnormal."
"Young Master Luo does have a bad temper, but that's how rich people are. He's quite confident when it comes to picking up girls; he thinks he's very charming."
"He said wealth was also part of his personal value. Oh, and by the way, he has a motto: 'Only girls who willingly climb into bed are interesting. Forcing them is meaningless.'"
"I never expected that he would actually drug Yue Wanwan this time."
"Sir, I admit to knowingly withholding information, but what can I do?"
Qin Zitai shrugged, looking like he was giving up, and said, "My dad and mom both work for companies under the Luo Group. If I dare to expose what happened to Young Master Luo, not only will I be in trouble, but my parents will also lose their jobs."
"Tong Chi? Heh~ He's just a glib-tongued scoundrel, but he wouldn't dare to kill Young Master Luo even if you gave him the guts."
"If I had to say it, Peng Jiajun is more suspicious."
"As for the reason... well, I'll just say it bluntly. That slick-haired guy was arranged by Young Master Luo to entertain some big shots with those kinds of fetishes..."
.....................
"I don't know, I don't know anything."
Chung Ching was restless, her tension visibly palpable.
"He said he had set up the best sound system for this team building event and also prepared antique vinyl records."
"Actually... I'm not that into classical music. I joined the club purely for credits. Wanwan is a top-notch enthusiast, and she does most of the things in the club."
"I had no idea about the drugging. I only realized Wanwan was acting strangely after that junior rushed in."
"recent?"
"I'm not in the same class as Luo Duyang, so we don't have much contact. I've only heard that he's very rich. But the other day, I heard Chen Yan complaining that Luo Duyang is... is..."
Chung Ching took out her phone and handed it over: "Sir, I can't say it, you'll have to listen to it yourself."
Sherlock quickly reviewed Zhong and Chen's conversation log and summarized it in one sentence: "He's heartless after pulling out his penis."
Chen Yan had dated Luo Duyang for a while earlier this year. A few days ago, she urgently needed money and thought of her wealthy ex-boyfriend, asking him to lend her 100,000 yuan. However, Luo Duyang immediately turned her away, saying he didn't know her.
Although they had broken up for half a year, Chen Yan often asked Luo Duyang for money, and each time she would get ten or twenty thousand yuan in pocket money.
"Suspicion? I don't know, but it's definitely not me."
"but..."
Zhong Jing hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Xiao Xu and I wanted to get Xu Lixing's autograph, and we overheard him on the phone. It sounded like... it was a debt collection call. He said something about the contract not being signed, and since we couldn't get the money, there was nothing he could do. He said it was all Luo Shao's fault or something..."
.....................
"Mr. Xu Lixing, why did you participate in the team-building activities of university clubs?"
Sherlock looked at the young man with long, flowing hair sitting opposite him.
"Young Master Luo invited me here."
"He invited you, so you're coming?"
"Sir, in our line of work, we can't afford to offend our sugar daddies."
When Qi Te knocked on the door, the first person to appear on the intercom was Xu Lixing, who immediately seemed to recognize him.
This person is a moderately well-known singer-songwriter in Long County. Although not a current superstar, he still has tens of millions of fans. Not long ago, he gained some popularity with an original song.
Celebrities and idols are unattainable for ordinary people. But in the eyes of a playboy like Luo Duyang, they are nothing more than playthings to be summoned and dismissed at will.
Xu Lixing took out his phone, opened the chat with Luo Duyang via Feixun, and handed it to Sherlock.
It is true that Luo Duyang invited the other party here and paid an appearance fee of 100,000 yuan, and there is a transfer record.
"It seems that Luo Shao has started a management company. I am a freelance musician now, and he previously expressed his desire to sign me."
"The negotiations were almost complete, and we were originally planning to sign a contract, but for some reason, Young Master Luo never brought it up again."
"I have a background in classical music, but it's not easy to get into a theater troupe, so I thought I should focus on surviving first before thinking about my ideals."
"Yue Wanwan? I'd never met her before today, and I didn't know her at all. But when that girl saw me, she was very happy and said she really liked my song 'Goodbye, Lillian'..."
Sherlock interrupted, "Mr. Xu, do you have a large debt?"
A look of surprise flashed across Xu Lixing's face, and he then awkwardly smoothed his hair.
"Sir, I only borrowed some money for an emergency, it has nothing to do with this case, right?"
"You've reached an agreement with Rodney Yang's agency, but because they're delaying signing the contract, the money you planned to use to pay off your debts hasn't arrived. If you borrowed from loan sharks, your future will be ruined if the debt collectors expose this."
Sherlock crossed his arms confidently and said, "Chain reactions—seemingly unrelated things—often conceal unknown, deliberate motives for murder, don't they?"
Xu Lixing's lips twitched twice, and he laughed in exasperation: "Sir, this is too far-fetched. What benefit would I get from killing him? I wouldn't get any money from killing him."
"besides"
Xu Lixing said earnestly, "It's not that we don't know what's going on, it's that no one knows!"