Doesn't seem like a real name?

The members of the reading club were a little skeptical.

But the coral polyp didn't want to care about that. It rushed to Xi Yujin and announced in a serious tone, "In order to encourage contestants to participate in our competition, we have temporarily increased the prize for the preliminary round. Are you sure you want to submit your manuscript now? There will be no room for regret after submitting your manuscript."

The pink starfish looked on worriedly.

Xi Yujin just said: "Please go ahead."

This Yongye is really strange, why doesn't he speak, and it doesn't sound like his vocal cords are damaged. The coral polyp was so impulsive that it also felt that something was wrong with Xi Yujin. It didn't figure it out, and directly called its colleagues to start reading the manuscript.

With the contestants present, the reading club prioritized resolving the preliminary round before considering the conflict between the two members. Xi Yujin submitted his manuscript the earliest, and all the members of the reading club sat in a circle and read together.

Yongye didn't care about the comments, he just looked at the stars in the distance, as if he wanted to engrave this moment of light in his mind forever. The shadow in front of him was stretched very long, like the dark night.

…

【The Clock City uses the refraction of prisms to calculate time and is a well-known tourist city. However, the day before it opened to tourists, a scream broke the silence.

“Someone’s dead!!”

The sound came from the largest clock square, where there were deep light marks on the ground and a burnt and smelly corpse was lying on the ground in a twisted state. At this moment, the staff of the clock city gathered together, and told the security captain about this horrible scene in shock.

After inspection by the security captain, the deceased was found to be Xiao Lan, an old employee of the Watch City.

At eight o'clock this morning, the cleaner came here to sweep the garbage as usual. He was responsible for cleaning the big box that stored the prisms in the square. As a result, when he opened it, Xiaolan's body fell out. He screamed in fear, and then all the employees came to see.

"Obviously, this is a mental crime." The security captain said, "The murderer is thousands of miles away, or even on the next planet, and used high-temperature mental power to burn Xiao Lan to death. I'll go find a few people who are good at detecting mental power. It's really hard to find them..."

"But our Clock City will be open tomorrow." The person in charge said dissatisfiedly, "We can't let the tourists get scared. You just need to prove that we are not the murderer."

The captain of the security team had no choice but to call all the people in the Clock City to come over. He wanted to use the physical evidence to try to infer the possibility of the murderer. 】

"This idea... is quite novel."

As soon as they finished reading the beginning, the members of the reading club were surprised, and a strange feeling rushed back and forth in their brains.

A straightforward murder case directly stimulates the readers' perception. With finding the truth as the main line, they naturally develop a desire to explore. Who is the murderer? How did he kill Xiao Lan? Why did he kill Xiao Lan?

Most importantly, the novel simply explains the dilemma, allowing the characters to naturally "find the truth based on physical evidence", cleverly integrating materialistic ideas into it.

The public security in this universe is at a level that is neither good nor bad. The good thing is that due to historical reasons, people generally do not cause trouble. The bad thing is that once something happens, the troublemakers will run away. Solving the mystery of the truth of the case is rare in reality, and no creature has ever thought of writing it into a novel, but they can't help but read on.

[Currently in the City of Clocks and Watches, in addition to the employees, there are also shops that set up stalls. There is a shop owner who attracts a lot of attention. He is good at repairing, especially antique clocks and watches. The employees don't know his real name, he always calls himself Mr. Zhong.

"There is an important part in a mechanical watch called a hairspring. It is as thin as a hair, but it keeps running every day, making the gears and needles work. It is responsible for affecting the accuracy, but it can only hide under the dial and is unknown to the public. It is like the fate of most people..."

Mr. Zhong was repairing a watch in the shop and said these puzzling words to his employees, but he was still politely invited to the square. The security captain wanted to ask the timetable of each creature.

"Come to think of it, I stopped seeing Mr. Xiaolan after four o'clock yesterday afternoon," said the cleaner.

Security Captain: "How do you know it's this time?"

The cleaner said, "Mr. Xiaolan is in charge of the warehouse. I wanted to borrow the key to put my cleaning tools away, but it wasn't in front of the warehouse. I looked down at the ground and saw that the shadow just covered the time of four o'clock. So I remembered it."

Security Captain: "Why don't you continue looking for Xiao Lan?"

The cleaner said, "Xiao Lan is a lazy person. I thought he was just slacking off."

An employee named Xiaolu said: "I met Mr. Lan at three o'clock in the afternoon. He is my senior and was assigning me to get something. I didn't want to go because I hurt my hand. But I was afraid of him. Mr. Lan is always fierce..."

An employee named Xiao Hong said: "Me? I have nothing to do with that bastard! He still owes me 800 yuan."

"He deserved to die," said a shop owner. "He always extorted protection money from us."

The security captain felt a headache and speculated that Xiaolan's death time was between 3 and 4 pm last night, but there were only two people who had no time to prove it, Xiaohong and the shop owner. 】

"Choose one of the two? Let me guess!" At this time, the members of the reading club began to whisper.

"Xiao Hong? His tone seems to be resentful. Maybe he has some unknown secret."

"The shop owner? He has a motive."

"It's so realistic. Our largest square has deep scratches on the ground. The locations they described, the placement of items, and even the hours of attendance are almost the same."

A member of the reading club suddenly whispered, and suddenly a cool breeze blew across the backs of all the creatures. They couldn't help but shiver.

"It's just a novel." The usually quiet pink starfish spoke up for once, "Our topic is to be true... It's amazing that Mr. Yongye was able to observe it in such a short time."

"The idea is great, but we don't rely on creativity. Otherwise, what's the difference between us and other forces? We can just write clichés." The coral polyp said dissatisfiedly, "Keep reading."

Although to be honest, it also wants to know the truth of the case.

[“I want to report Xiaohong!” the shop owner suddenly shouted, “They used to be a couple, but I saw them fighting a few days ago. It’s clear that they have a grudge. Xiaohong, why are you lying? Are you feeling guilty after killing someone?”

Xiao Hong: "It's ridiculous. He cheated me out of money and I don't want to give it to him. I have to slap him in the face. Why don't you try?"

The security captain shouted, "That's enough! I'm going to ask a psychic specialist to check the authenticity of your testimony!"

"That's enough." Mr. Zhong said this. He spoke calmly, but it made people obey him. He said, "Maybe there are clues around the body."

Everyone rushed to see the body. Xiao Lan died so tragically, her face was burned beyond recognition, and everyone wanted to vomit. At this time, Mr. Zhong looked at the body very calmly, pointed out the marks of strangulation, and said: "These are marks of being restrained by force, not Xiao Hong, he doesn't have that much strength."

Xiao Hong: "So it's you! This dirty shop owner! Are you angry and humiliated by the blackmail?"

The shop owner was very panicked: "It's not me!"

Mr. Zhong: "There are four strangulation marks, which are the prints of human hands. The murderer committed the crime in a fit of passion. There are no signs of dragging on the nearby ground, but Mr. Lan is quite heavy, so the crime scene must be inside this box. The murderer... is among us."

Cleaner: "But this box can only be closed from the inside, or with a key from the outside. How did the murderer disappear after closing it from the inside? Or did he close it from the outside using a method we don't know about?"

Mr. Zhong: “Where is the key?”

The cleaner suddenly stammered, "The keys are here... I swear they have never left my side!" He took out a bunch of keys.

The shop owner rushed over and said, "So it must have been you who did it. You're resentful that Xiao Lan made you take the blame last time. It was clearly his fault for neglecting his duties, but you got punished!"

Alas, this little blue boy has such a bad relationship with people...

Mr. Zhong said: "No, the murderer closed it from the inside."

The cleaner became more and more anxious: "But, but when I opened the box, I saw Xiaolan alone."

"If you want to take away a bunch of keys, the sound must be very loud. You can't fail to notice it." Mr. Zhong said, "Please repeat all your testimony."

"Yesterday at four o'clock, I came here to look for Xiao Lan, but found that Xiao Lan was not there. At eight o'clock in the morning, I went to open the box and found that Xiao Lan was dead... I really am not the murderer!"

"Don't worry, I know." Mr. Zhong closed his eyes, "I already know who the murderer is."】

"What's next?" The members of the reading club raised their heads quietly, "Where's the next article? Didn't you say it was finished? Why does it end here?!"

"So who is the murderer!!" The pink starfish tightly grasped the light brain, "Xiao Hong? The shop owner? The cleaner? Mr. Zhong!"

"How did he know? What did he know? I'm still confused!" one member said. But what it didn't finish was that Mr. Zhong looked really handsome when he had everything under control.

“It turns out that these small items are telling the truth…” The members who understood the novel’s ideas better trembled all over.

For a long time, the reading club has not known what type of novel can summarize their ideas. Either the novel is not interesting enough to attract new readers, or it is too mysterious and goes against their ideas.

Until this time, they seemed to have seen a whole new type of novel that was both interesting and scientific!

It seems like we have found a treasure in this essay contest?

At this time, Yongye sent the remaining half of the article. It was definitely not because he did not know how to operate the computer that he left the article incomplete.

[Just as Mr. Zhong said this, Xiaolu trembled all over, came out in tears, and said, "I did it."]

The members of the reading club were so angry that they announced the murderer so hastily? It seems that this novel has a bad ending!

...but the idea is still good.

【Mr. Zhong: “Why?”

Xiaolu: "Just take me away, no need to interrogate everyone anymore."

Mr. Zhong: “Why don’t you let me tell the truth.”

Xiaolu: "Why is that necessary? Didn't I admit my guilt?"

Mr. Zhong: "You are so afraid to face the dying moment of a life. Do you think that confessing your guilt can offset all your cowardice?"

Xiaolu: "I'm not a coward! I'm just... too angry. He always calls me a coward, and I proved it to him. But now it seems that I'm still a coward... ha..."

"Did we make a mistake?" the person in charge said, "Many people saw Little Green with us between three and four o'clock."

"And Xiaolu's mental power won't burn people." Xiaohong also spoke up for the poor child Xiaolu. 】

The members of the reading club were puzzled again. Yes, how did Xiaolu do it?

Mr. Zhong glanced at Xiaolu and said, "Because the time is wrong."

"The way to tell it's four o'clock in the afternoon is to look at the shadow on the ground. What if the shadow is not caused by the prism?" Under Mr. Zhong's feet, the ground of the square was covered with deep scratches.

"Inside the box where the prisms were stored, Little Blue and Little Green had an argument and pushed each other in this narrow space. Suddenly, Little Green covered Little Blue's mouth and nose. At this moment, the sun shone over..."

The sunlight had been refracted and superimposed thousands of times, reaching a terrifyingly high temperature, so there were so many scratches on the ground. The temperature of the stars ruthlessly baked Xiao Lan, and the hand covering Xiao Lan's mouth and nose was naturally burned. The shadow cast on the ground made the cleaner passing by mistakenly think it was four o'clock in the afternoon.

"In fact, that was the time when the sun was at its strongest, at two o'clock in the afternoon. And at that time, Xiaolu was the only one who didn't have an alibi."

"After you killed someone, you were terrified and wandered around. You wanted to delay the time for people to find the body, but you couldn't close the door from the outside. So you closed it from the inside. You kept using Xiaolan's body to hide from the sun, and when the cleaner opened the box the next day and saw the disfigured body, he screamed...

Everyone came to watch, their attention focused on the body and the cleaner. Everyone was in uniform, and you could blend in with the crowd just by walking out from behind the door.”

Mr. Zhong's face was stern, and Xiao Lu's face was pale. At that moment, people knew that what Mr. Zhong said was right! 】

After reading this, all the members trembled. Although they guessed wrong, when the truth was revealed, they felt as happy as if they had drunk a mouthful of ice water! Seeking the truth and finding the truth always fascinates intelligent creatures.

Moreover, the story takes place in the city of clocks, and all the tools used in the crime can be traced in reality. For example, the scratches, the prism box, and the extremely high temperature of the star! They feel more immersive when reading it, as if they have participated in the murder and witnessed the charred body falling out of the box with their own eyes!

Some members began to imagine themselves speaking Mr. Zhong's lines, watching all the creatures gape at this reasoning and then be convinced by it, and they felt a special kind of pleasure in their hearts. It seemed like they had also grown brains like Mr. Zhong!

…

[Xiao Lu confessed. Someone asked Mr. Zhong: "Do you have a good relationship with Mr. Lan? Why do you keep looking for the truth?"

"Life is like the hairspring of a watch, busy and with incomparable elasticity." Mr. Zhong was repairing the watch again. He picked out a broken hairline, "But it is also very fragile. If you are not careful, it will fall into the abyss of evil. Only by finding the truth about death can people have awe for living life."】

It turns out that the confrontation between Xiaolu and Mr. Zhong was arranged for the purpose of the article...

After reading "The Clock City Murder Case", the members of the reading club all felt lost. In addition to the bizarre method of committing the crime, Mr. Zhong's calm and indifferent image, quick thinking and respect for life are vividly portrayed on the paper.

If Mr. Zhong really existed in reality, they would really want to be friends with him.

The members of the reading club were so immersed in the story that many decided to read it from the beginning, and no creature spoke for a long time.

"Mr. Zhong is so handsome!" The pink starfish whispered, "The story is so interesting. The prototype of Mr. Zhong must be Yong Ye, who is so charismatic and friendly."

Its big eyes were full of admiration.

The coral polyp felt a jolt in its heart.

Yes, it is really good, and I want to read it again from the beginning. I read it with a critical eye at first, but later I couldn't help but get addicted.

It saw the shadow of expository writing in this detective novel.

It is best at writing expository essays, and thus has gained a lot of admiration in the reading club, so it specifically targets the pink starfish that is organizing an essay contest.

Expository writing strives to be truthful and describes objects in detail from all aspects, so that readers can be immersed in the scene and gain knowledge. And Yongye's detective novels happen to have such characteristics!

It describes in detail the charred corpse, the tracks left when moving, the panic of committing the crime... But when writing an expository text, one must place the original object in front of the person to make it come alive. So how did Eternal Night make it sound so realistic?

Could it be...the author’s real experience?

"Hello, hello. Where do you get your inspiration from?" the coral polyp asked cautiously.

Xi Yujin did not answer.

The coral polyp felt as if a huge rock had been placed on its heart, and it was frozen cold and unable to move. It smiled stiffly and said, "Haha, is this based on real life? Ah, such cases are rare. Haha, haha, ha..."

As if to agree with it, Xi Yujin also chuckled, as if he was watching a pathetic circus.

I'm even more scared. What's going on?

The coral polyp couldn't help but tremble. It really wanted to go back ten seconds and press itself into the mud for talking to it!

It tried its best to find excuses for Xi Yujin: "Oh, is it really based on reality? Then how many magical things like this have you experienced? Once, twice? Haha, isn't five times too much..."

Before it could finish speaking, Xi Yujin took the initiative to approach.

The coral polyp felt like it was screaming, but in fact it couldn't make any sound. Xi Yujin didn't use the light screen he was used to. What did this mean? He could speak? Why did he hide this? Would something irreversible happen as soon as he opened his mouth?

In a flash, the coral polyp was startled and remembered the pink starfish's evaluation of Yongye - kind and charming.

Well, there is only one truth!

All extremely evil people have one thing in common, that is, they are extremely charming. They are absolute evil people, and they are also the most perfectly disguised sons of God, so that they can accomplish things that ordinary creatures cannot accomplish at all!

Everything is connected!

As if to confirm its guess, Xi Yujin tilted his head slightly and whispered in a hoarse voice:

"You will remember... your whole life...

How many pieces of zooplankton have you eaten?

Ahhhhh eating living things!!!