There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The commotion next door quickly ended; perhaps that was someone who refused to cooperate, and nothing turned up in their room search.

The Capital Commandant's manner of conduct made his stance clear, no matter how high-class your status might be, in the Ninth District, you abide by the Ninth District military's rules—accept their arbitrary decisions.

The door to Room 303 was suddenly pushed open.

There was no inquiry, not even a perfunctory knock; the Capital Commandant directly used a hotel card to open the door.

The man seated on the sofa turned his head to look over.

He was dressed in a charcoal grey suit, which wasn't as stiff or severe as darker or black ones, the light grey made his demeanor appear especially soft and clean.

His appearance had not the slightest aggression, as he sat on the sofa holding a book, looking gentle, respectful, and extremely refined.

There was a touch of surprise in the man's eyes.

Perhaps it was due to the soldiers entering without even knocking.

"Hello," Xu Shuo nodded, set down the book, walked over, and proactively handed over his identification and professional credentials.

"Oh, aren't you a conscientious one?" the adjutant slightly raised his eyebrows.

"I heard the noise next door," Xu Shuo's mouth curled into a smile, innocuous and mild, "I know the military zones also operate by the rules, so I will be very cooperative."

His polite behavior rather made the soldiers who had come in to search the room momentarily unsure if they should go ahead and search aggressively, so they looked to their superior for guidance.

After all, the people living here were all of some importance, and if they cooperated, the soldiers wouldn't act unreasonably.

The Capital Commandant, expressionless, took the man's proffered documents, glanced over them briefly, and then once again looked up to size up the man smiling gently before him.

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"You're a doctor?" he asked, staring intently.

"Yes, I graduated from Peace Hospital in the Ninth District and afterward spent several years traveling in Yamato Country. I recently heard the social season in the Thirteenth District had started, so I am here for an exchange and study visit," Xu Shuo candidly laid out his background.

"I didn't ask you all that, did I need to know? Or are you trying to conceal something with this information?" the adjutant said, picking at his words.

"I know the army is currently searching for someone, so they would definitely investigate someone with an unclear background like me, and maybe keep questioning me later on too, so it's all the same if I say it now," Xu Shuo answered patiently, with a very easy-going temperament.

"Your thinking is quite clear," the adjutant snorted.

Xu Shuo smiled, said nothing more.

The Capital Commandant returned the documents to him, then glanced at the soldiers beside him: "Search."

The soldiers nodded in agreement, first entering the bedroom to begin the search, not missing any cabinet or place where things could be stored, even taking out items that were slightly suspicious.

Xu Shuo showed no sign of hindering them, and even invited the two men to have a seat while the soldiers searched: "Why don't we sit down and wait? It's not good to keep standing."

The adjutant was quite pleased with his cooperative attitude and nonchalantly sat down on the sofa, then catching sight of the medical books beside him, he casually flipped through them.

The Capital Commandant remained unmoved, watching the soldiers in the room searching.

After a while, the soldier who had finished searching the room came out carrying a twenty-four-inch black suitcase.

In front of the three men, the soldier opened the suitcase and began pulling out clothes from inside. Because Xu Shuo was very cooperative, they did not resort to force.

The clothes were thrown onto the sofa rather normally.

Xu Shuo straightforwardly followed the rhythm of the soldier throwing clothes, lovingly smoothing out the wrinkles in his suit and shirt, then refolding them.

Besides clothes and personal belongings, there were a few medical books in the suitcase. As the soldier started to pull out books from the bottom, Xu Shuo quickly stepped forward.

"Don't throw them, give them to me!"

The soldier paused and then placed the books in his outstretched hands.

Capital Commandant quietly watched their movements.

Xu Shuo passed the book over and spread it out on the coffee table, showing everyone the cover of the book. Whether they wanted to flip through and inspect the content inside was up to them to do manually.

After everything was taken out, only the empty suitcase remained.

The Capital Commandant did not examine the medical books, but instead squatted down to size up the large suitcase. The inside of the suitcase was very spacious and the walls were thin, seemingly without any hidden compartments remaining.

He ran his hand along the wall of the suitcase and, apart from the uneven area where the combination lock was installed, found no abnormalities.

But suddenly, he placed his hand on the inside of the combination lock, fumbled around for a bit, and then pushed something.

Click~

Xu Shuo quietly watched his actions.

The lid of the suitcase that was flush with the top panel popped out, revealing a piece of brown fur fabric trapped inside. The material was indiscernible, but it felt very good to the touch.

Seeing this, the aide-de-camp's eyebrows jumped.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew tense.

However, when the Capital Commandant unfolded the fur fabric, he revealed a row of silver acupuncture needles that had been wrapped inside.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Xu Shuo smiled bashfully and said, "These are acupuncture needles that I've managed to collect with great difficulty. They are made from excellent needlestone and are quite precious; they can't withstand the slightest bump or pressure!"

As he spoke, he cautiously watched the Capital Commandant, expecting him to return the acupuncture needles.

The Capital Commandant stared expressionlessly at the needles for a long while, then casually tossed the piece of fabric aside.

Xu Shuo caught it in panic, and his face finally showed a trace of dissatisfaction. Then, he lovingly checked a few of the silver needles, carefully wrapped them back up, and held them in his embrace.

The Capital Commandant stood up and looked around the room and the items that had been taken out. The majority of the books on the coffee table were about ancient medicine, which matched his occupation listed on his credentials.

This was an Ancient Medicine Physician, a profession that was almost extinct today, yet the doctors the deceased had seen recently were all of the modern medical class.

Relationships with the case could be suspicious, but the lack thereof was equally suspicious.

The Capital Commandant didn't say anything, glanced at Xu Shuo, and his narrow, sharp eyes were highly aggressive. Those who were watched by him would feel as though they had been bitten by a ferocious beast, unable to escape no matter what!

Xu Shuo frowned back at him, his eyes still carrying a trace of dissatisfaction from earlier, but then he seemed to shift his gaze away in apprehension.

The Capital Commandant also withdrew his gaze, turned around, and casually observed the room, not missing any detail.

The slippers in the shoe cabinet had been dismantled for use, the leather shoes that were replaced were placed inside, and the said slippers were on the doctor's feet.

In the trash bin, there were crumpled and discarded newspapers, along with a few pieces of fruit peel thrown on top.

The fruit knife rested on the coffee table's tray, with residual juice on it.

The Capital Commandant glanced over these items and then stood by the door, looking absently into the open restroom.

Staring at the toilet bowl for a while, the Capital Commandant said indifferently, "Dismantle it."

The soldiers obeyed the instruction without question and proceeded to dismantle the toilet by hand.

The aide-de-camp came over and said speechlessly, "You're even not sparing the toilet, but... it's indeed not impossible."

Xu Shuo looked over and said with a hint of resentment, "Why not, just dismantle the sofa and the bed as well?"

The Capital Commandant didn't even spare him a glance and coldly ordered, "Dismantle them."

Aide-de-camp: "..."

The search of the previous rooms hadn't been this insanely thorough.