Snowstorm Manor is a noun with a specific reference in detective novels. It usually refers to cases where transportation and communications are blocked by a snowstorm, and the murderer must be found in a closed environment.

At the same time, in the classic Snowstorm Manor case, there will definitely be a murderer, and it will be a serial murder case to give the detective a sense of oppression. The murderer must also be a person in the manor rather than an outsider.

At this moment, the situation in Stormy Villa clearly meets these requirements.

However, the goal of Lu Ban and others is not to find the murderer, but to survive until the end of the summoning night.

"I did mention regular contact to the sheriff, but they want to confirm that I have lost contact, at least until tomorrow morning. The storm near Stormy Villa is extremely strong, and the police car will not be able to repair the road and come to support for a while. I think that after the Summoning Night is over and our mission is completed, those police may not be able to climb up."

Stone said quietly.

"The efficiency of the police in the Waste City is too low. It's better to rely on Heming Taoist to come out on his own than to rely on them."

"So what you just said..."

Xia was puzzled. Since the police would not be able to arrive tomorrow morning, Stone's words would only have some effect tonight and would be exposed tomorrow morning. Why did he say that?

"The person who killed Gao De must have wanted Heming Taoist's inheritance, and if the police come, his goal will be defeated. So, when he knows that the police will arrive tomorrow, what will he do?"

A bolt of lightning struck, and the silver-white flash illuminated Stone's profile. Half of his face was hidden in the darkness, while the other half was illuminated by the lightning, forming a strong contrast.

"You mean, the murderer will continue to commit crimes and try to find Heming Taoist's inheritance before the police arrive?"

Shia speculated.

"That's right."

Stone nodded.

"But in this case, the servants or Ms. Lily are likely to become the murderer's target."

Xia felt vaguely uneasy.

“That’s not the point.”

Stone replied.

"The key question is, why did he kill people?"

He put down his pipe. The raindrops hit the window glass, making a loud and noisy sound. In the middle of the night, this sound continued, forming an irregular and chaotic noise that made it impossible to sleep.

"If this person just wanted to find the Heming Taoist's legacy, then he could just look for it and search every corner here, or try to use some extraordinary power. Why would he kill Gao De to attract attention, and use such a strange method?"

"Let's first rule out the possibility that the murderer has gone mad and lost his mind, and kills anyone he sees. Assuming that he acted for his own purposes, then the act of killing is a link worth considering."

After hearing Stone's reasoning, Lu Ban quickly thought of a possibility.

"Perhaps killing people is part of the search for Taoist Heming's legacy."

"What?"

There were biscuits on the plate in front of Xia. She ate them as a midnight snack, picking up a piece from time to time and putting it in her mouth. The storm outside the window had no effect on her appetite.

"You see, Taoist Heming is not a good person to begin with, so maybe his legacy will require the sacrifice of a living person to appear?"

"Besides, our mission is to survive until the end of the Summoning Night. Why is the mission not to witness the Summoning Night but to survive? This means that we will encounter some dangerous things that will harm our lives. If the essence of the Summoning Night is to kill and perform rituals with living people as sacrifices, then everything makes sense."

Lu Ban said seriously.

"You mean, we are all sacrifices, and everyone in this Stormy Mountain Villa is a sacrifice?"

Xia frowned slightly.

It’s not that she felt scared, but in this situation, the other party would have to fight the Chosen One face to face. In this situation, Xia felt it was best to take advantage of her firepower.

Xia believes that any task that can be solved by fighting is not difficult.

By then, it will not be certain who is the hunter and who is the prey.

"etc."

Stone suddenly raised his hand and rubbed his temple.

"Don't you think this is a little too logical?"

"What do you mean?"

Lu Ban also sensed something strange and asked back.

"Our current deductions, from Gaode's death to the current information, are all quite reasonable and smooth. There are no other possibilities or misleading information."

Stone said.

“That’s irrational.”

"What's unreasonable about this?"

Xia was puzzled.

"Don't you think this is going too smoothly? We are quite confident in our conclusion. You were even thinking about how high your chances of winning would be if you faced the murderer head-on, right?"

Stone looked at Xia, causing the mage girl to stop holding the biscuit.

"…Indeed, I did think we could easily kill this murderer and didn't even consider other possibilities."

Xia murmured, she seemed to have discovered something.

"I am not right either. If I follow my approach, the murderer may continue to kill people tonight. Under normal circumstances, I should not do such a thing to induce him to commit a crime."

Stone shook his head, as if trying to make himself more sober.

"So, some of your emotions or thoughts have been amplified, and the way you think has been affected?"

Lu Ban roughly understood what Stone wanted to express.

Just like Xia, she has been eating since the beginning and is not overly worried about what is happening in front of her. This is not consistent with her original character. Well, although it is not confirmed that she has been eating all the time, it is obvious that Xia has a feeling of self-confidence lingering in her mind and being constantly magnified.

It was a similar situation for Stone, whose desire to complete the mission was constantly catalyzed, eventually leading him to say words that could have induced the murderer to commit the crime.

Including Emma, ​​Lily, and Rum, everyone was subtly influenced, and their personalities and behaviors became extreme.

As for Lu Ban.

“What about you is magnified?”

Xia looked at Lu Ban suspiciously.

"I don't know either."

Lu Ban felt that there was nothing wrong with him. He could think normally and rationally, and there was nothing wrong with the way he did things.

"Wait, so, could it be that Browning was also affected in this way before he died? Although he became younger after living here, he never had any special desire for women before. But after meeting Lily, he could not control it. If this is the side effect of Taoist Heming's legacy, then everything seems to be explainable."

Stone suddenly realized, but soon he lowered his head again.

"No, I can't think so smoothly, maybe this is another trap."

Obviously, he does not believe the conclusion he has drawn now, because this is most likely his thinking under the influence of extraordinary power.

"In that case, why don't we just ask Lily?"

Lu Ban pointed to the exit of the restaurant.