Chapter 28 The murderer is actually—

When Chang Yi and Zhang Yuno saw the two men, who should have been in jail, suddenly appear at the banquet, their mouths dropped open in surprise.

"What's going on between you two?" Chang Yi asked.

Xia Mian: "I've been released from prison."

Qian Qian found his mental state too touching: "Uh... I used a little trick. What's the plot now?"

"The captain said that there have been a lot of accidents these past few days, and everyone on board is in a state of panic. He wants to hold a banquet to calm everyone down."

As was the usual plot, Xia Mian asked, "Besides the banquet, was there anything else unusual?"

"Just now, a few servants brought over two large chests, saying they were gifts from some king to the baron."

Summer Sleep: "King Pala"

"Yes, you guys ran into them too?"

Xia Mian nodded and immediately told them about the photo. She also told them that she had encountered the box-moving laborers, and that the events they experienced were basically the same.

Chang Yi and Zhang Yuno had carefully observed the surrounding environment, trying to find some details, but they hadn't really paid attention to the photos. Upon hearing this, they went to the corridor and looked at them carefully.

"Wow, it really is the captain and the princess. She's so beautiful."

Qian Qian clicked his tongue: "It's been chopped into eight pieces."

Chang Yi hissed, "How cruel, it's almost the same as Zheng Fushang's death."

“Zhu Ziqi is the same,” Xia Mian reminded, “being bald means having no hair.”

Chang Yi's eyes lit up: "So, the person who killed the princess and the person who killed them are the same person?"

Qian Qian: "Very likely!"

Upon hearing the words "dismembered into eight pieces," Zhang Yuno hugged herself in fear and pointed to the man to the princess's right: "Haven't I seen this somewhere before?"

When Xia Mian first saw the painting, it seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. Combining the sailor's description, he now knew—it was clearly the Baron!

“What’s strange,” Xia Mian frowned, “is that the captain and the baron have taken a photo together and should know each other, but I’ve never seen them speak to each other. They’re like strangers.”

"Is this to cover up a crime?" Chang Yi frowned. "I know! Every time something happens, we accuse the Baron, and the captain says the Baron is of noble status and cannot be arrested arbitrarily, so he just arrests one of our people to make it up. Actually, it's all to cover for the Baron. In my opinion, this perverted killer who likes to dismember bodies is the Baron!"

"Let's go pick him up!" Qian Qian chimed in.

"Let's go, let's go!" Chang Yi and Qian Qian stormed off, with Zhang Yuno following behind to cheer them on.

Xia Mian felt something was off, so she didn't go with them and quietly returned to the banquet hall.

In the brightly lit venue, a banquet was underway. The chef had prepared a wide variety of buffet dinners. Xia Mian picked up a few spring rolls and some beef, and while eating, she walked towards the captain.

Upon seeing him, the captain was initially startled, but then, perhaps having heard the devastating news from the director that the escaped convict couldn't be recaptured, he regained his composure and greeted him with a smile: "Buddy, did you enjoy dinner?"

"It was delicious, especially the spring rolls, which were exactly the same as the ones I had in Para.

"Have you been to Para?"

"Not only have I been there, but I've also met the beautiful princess of Para, the one in the photo in the corridor."

The captain's lips twitched: "Buddy, you don't look like someone who has seen Princess Para."

"Haha, you wouldn't believe it, would you?" Xia Mian said mysteriously, "I'm 56 this year!"

captain:"......"

director:"......"

This is a fucking bug!

"I was deeply saddened to hear that the princess was murdered after disembarking. I went on this trip to pay my respects to her. Captain, do you know where she was killed?"

No matter what Xia Mian rambles about, as long as he says it, it will definitely trigger the plot. The captain sighed: "I don't know. I followed it for a long time, but unfortunately, this case has remained unresolved."

"Who did she contact before she died?"

“She was with the guards almost 24 hours a day. Para is a feudal country where women cannot show their faces in public. Even her meals were brought back to her room by the guards. She only took one photo with us on the day she disembarked—the one you see.”

"Oh, what a beautiful girl, how could she just disappear like that?" The captain sighed sadly.

Xia Mian was about to ask more questions when a commotion came from the left.

Chang Yi and his two companions took a rope and actually managed to tie up the Baron!

"Oh my God, how could you touch the noble Baron!" The captain rushed over, "Let him go!"

Unfortunately, the captain alone couldn't stop the three guests. The baron was immediately taken to the lower deck and imprisoned.

Next, the first mate ran out and told everyone that it was getting dark and it was time to go back to sleep.

Chang Yi and the other two clapped their hands, looking relaxed—the murderer had already been caught, so they weren't afraid of losing any more people. All they had to do was wait for the ship to dock in seven days, get the points, and they'd be all set!

The group happily went back to their rooms to sleep. This time it was truly dark, and the live stream ended. The guests returned to their respective rooms to wash up and rest.

The next morning, I was still woken up by the bad news.

"Does anyone know any family members of the cowboy? The cowboy has gone to meet his maker!"

really.

Summer hibernation is no surprise.

At the crime scene, the little figure on the ground was missing two arms.

Zhang Yuno and Qian Qian were utterly devastated: "They've already arrested the Baron, how could he still escape and kill people?!"

Qian Qian: "Did he escape from prison like Xia? I'll go check."

A few minutes later, he ran back: "The Baron is staying inside obediently. Could it be that he's remotely directing his men to do something bad?"

“No,” Xia Mian’s gaze was fixed on the ground, “I understand!”

Upon hearing this, the camera moved closer and zoomed in, pointing directly at Xia Mian's face.

“Actually, we have been misled from the very beginning. The first person to propose gambling in the game was the Baron, and the first person to have a quarrel with Zhu Ziqi was the Baron. Coincidentally, all of these people died, so we were prejudiced and thought the Baron was a suspect.”

“Including him,” Xia Mian pointed to the captain, “He repeatedly signaled to us that we couldn’t capture the Baron, so we subconsciously imagined the Baron as the big boss. But in reality, it was just a smokescreen.”

“Especially last night, I asked the captain who the princess had been in contact with before she was murdered. He said that the princess stayed with the guards 24 hours a day and even took her meals back to her room. It’s like she had ‘the murderer is the Baron’ written all over her face.”

"But if she never shows her face in public, how did the cleaning staff know that she sings better than a nightingale?"

"So the captain was lying!" Qian Qian exclaimed excitedly. "The real murderer is the captain!"

“I had the same doubts,” Xia Mian glanced at him, “but just now, I realized that if we doubt the captain, we might fall into another trap, a trap set by the production team.”

“Step outside the surface presented by the extras and look at the essence. We’ve been following the rules of the Carnival all along, yet we’re still losing members, which means the killer might not be human at all,” Xia Mian suddenly turned and pointed to the second-floor corridor, “The killer—is actually that photograph!”

As soon as Xia Mian finished speaking, a layer of white mist suddenly filled the second floor of the cabin, and the lights flickered on and off, which startled Zhang Yuno so much that he hid behind Xia Mian.

It has to be said that the props used in the show were of very high quality, creating a strong sense of immersion. Coupled with Xia Mian's words just now, Qian Qian felt a chill run down his spine: "Then... what does this mean now, Xia?"

Qian Qian didn't realize that he had unknowingly made Xia Mian his pillar of support.

"It's still about looking beyond the surface to the essence. The name of this variety show is 'Infinite Escape,' not 'Infinite Mystery.' Now the photo is about to kill the last person."

"The last person?"

“Hmm,” Xia Mian looked around, “The limbs and hair are all gathered, she’s still missing… a face.”