Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang walked around the maple forest but didn't find anything amiss.
It's impossible for the two of them to dig up such a large maple forest in the middle of the night.
Yu Hanjiang said, "The clues about the maple forest may not appear until tomorrow. Let's go back to the archives first and check the people who have gone missing in the past few years."
Last night, the two sneaked into the archives on the fifth floor of the Shuxiang Building to investigate a five-year-old fall case. They found information about the deceased, a high school senior named Si Han with excellent grades.
I'm going to the archives again tonight to check information on people who have gone missing from the school over the years.
The security guard locked the Shuxiang Building, but in front of Yu Hanjiang, all ordinary iron locks were useless. He gently opened the lock, led Xiao Lou up to the fifth floor in the dark, and only after climbing through the window into the archives did he turn on the flashlight.
There was so much material here, but fortunately all the folders were categorized with labels. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang focused on the labels "Personnel Changes" and "Reports," gathering all the relevant materials from the past five years and reviewing them separately.
It took them more than an hour to narrow down their target from a large amount of data.
The first missing person was a 25-year-old counselor in the school's counseling center. Two years ago, he submitted his resignation and left the school, but suddenly disappeared. His family reported him missing to the police, who came to the school to investigate. However, school leaders stated that he had already left the school, and the surveillance footage did indeed show him leaving. The report indicated that this counselor...
Ms. Li's disappearance has nothing to do with Fenglin High School.
The second person was a 45-year-old school security guard who, a year ago, deserted his post while on night shift and sneaked out of the school gate. His whereabouts are unknown, but he never returned. Police investigations concluded that the security guard's disappearance was also unrelated to the school.
The third person was a 45-year-old Chinese language teacher surnamed Zhou.
This is a senior high school teacher. He disappeared six months ago. The school launched a detailed investigation into him, but because a large number of the school's cameras were broken at the time, the investigation ultimately failed and became a cold case.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang immediately looked up the name of the teacher who taught the humanities class five years ago—this Teacher Zhou was the homeroom teacher of the humanities class that Si Han was in five years ago.
His death is definitely related to Si Han's death, proving that the inference that the two were seeking revenge by the murderer is entirely correct.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang, took a deep breath, and said, " In the book 'The Count of Monte Cristo,' the protagonist has exactly three enemies, and there are also exactly three people who have disappeared from Fenglin High School in recent years. This can't be a coincidence."
Yu Hanjiang nodded and said, "If my deduction is correct, the theme of the locked room is revenge, and these three missing people should have been killed—and buried under the maple trees."
Just then, a bolt of lightning flashed across the window, splitting the dark night sky, followed by a deafening rumble of thunder.
As thunder roared, torrential rain poured down.
Xiao Lou looked at the maple forest in the distance. The entire forest was submerged by the torrential rain, as if the rainwater was trying to wash away the blood there.
Last night there was a downpour, and it's raining heavily again tonight. The weather in Secret Room World must be related to the case. We'll find out if their deductions are correct after dawn tomorrow.
***
Red Heart 3 Escape Room, Day 3.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou arrived at the school gate together, waiting for the key figure to appear.
The three students, Yu Hui, Yi Ru, and Xie Xinghe, had returned to normal. After entering the school, they all walked quickly toward the teaching building with their heads down.
Chinese language teacher Lin Yueran greeted the security guard at the door with a smile.
English teacher Zhang Qing didn't wear a suit dress today. Instead, she wore high heels, cropped jeans, and a thin sweater. She wore a red V-neck sweater and a very delicate necklace. This woman has good taste in clothing and looks smart, capable, and elegant.
She walked into the office building with a cold expression and without looking to the side.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang pretended to be teachers, chatting as they walked side by side into the office building.
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "The police will come again today. After they go back, they will definitely conduct a detailed investigation and question the chemistry teacher, and rule out the chemistry teacher as a suspect. This time when they come to the school, they should be able to unlock the clues about Si Han's fall from the building five years ago."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou already knew about the fall before the police. They also knew that the three people who had gone missing in recent years might be related to Si Han's fall.
The key figure Si Han and his relationship with the current suspects will greatly advance the case.
The police arrived as expected at 8:30 a.m.
The chemistry teacher has not yet been released, possibly due to insufficient evidence.
The police went to the sixth floor to find the principal, and Yu Hanjiang immediately followed them using the Invisibility Cloak.
Sure enough, after the police entered the principal's office, they asked directly, "When we investigated Teacher Qin yesterday, she said that there were rumors of a 'curse' of vengeful spirits circulating in the school. Five years ago, student Si Han committed suicide by jumping off a building. In the past few years, three people from the school have gone missing. In addition, Ying Xiaoya jumped off a building the day before yesterday. None of this can be a coincidence."
The principal's expression was serious: "Officer, in the cases from five years ago and the recent disappearances, you investigated and found no evidence of 'human intervention.' How come you're suddenly..."
The police officer said, "One coincidence is one thing, but with so many unsolved cases, do you think they can be explained by coincidence?"
The principal remained silent.
The police officer said, "Ms. Qin told us a crucial piece of information: last Wednesday, after the chemistry lab class, she and Xie Xinghe checked the lab together, and she personally watched Xie Xinghe sign in and lock the door. The reagent bottles were full at the time and had not been taken; the key was with her. Our investigation revealed that there were pry marks on the lock, indicating that someone returned to the lab, pried open the door, and took the reagents."
The principal was stunned, and said in disbelief, "You suspect Xie Xinghe? This student has had excellent grades since the beginning of high school, always ranking in the top three in the grade. How could he poison his classmate?"
The police officer said, "There's another crucial piece of information. Teacher Qin said that Xie Xinghe locked the lab around 6:00 PM, after school had already let out. Since Thursday and Friday were the senior year's monthly exams, she passed by the teaching building and saw someone in Class 3, so she went up to take a look... The person she saw was Ying Xiaoya, who was writing 'What should I do?' in her notebook."
The principal paused, then asked, "What do you mean?"
The police officer said, " Ying Xiaoya was in a very serious predicament. Teacher Qin thought Ying Xiaoya was worried about the exam the next day, so she comforted her and told her not to worry too much and to do her best. When Teacher Qin left the teaching building, Ying Xiaoya and Xie Xinghe were both in the classroom. On Wednesday night, these two students were the last to leave the school."
The police officer paused, then continued, "Thursday and Friday were exam days. At Fenglin High School, all students' seats were shuffled during exams. Ying Xiaoya's exam room was in Class 7 of Grade 1. After the exams, school was closed on Saturday and Sunday, and teachers graded the papers online. During this time, the murderer had no opportunity to commit the crime. It wasn't until Monday when classes started that the murderer immediately killed Ying Xiaoya."
The principal frowned:
"Officer, you already have a suspect?"
The police officer said, "The person who poisoned her was the one who returned to the lab to get the medicine on Wednesday. Someone else pushed Ying Xiaoya down the stairs. We tested the footprints on the rooftop with our equipment, and there was a second person present at the time. Moreover, the scarf fragments left by Ying Xiaoya on the rooftop indicate that a conflict may have occurred."
The police concluded, "Your school may be harboring a serial killer. We need to lock down the entire school and conduct a full investigation of all the teachers. We hope you will cooperate."
The principal pressed his temples, looking troubled: "Of course I will cooperate, but I hope the police can minimize the impact. There's been a lot of anxiety at the school these past few days. The senior students are about to take the college entrance exam, so we can't let it interfere with their studies."
The officer nodded, turned and went downstairs, instructing his men to cordon off the school with police tape.
Yu Hanjiang left the office—as expected, the police at Secret Room World finally broke down the case and connected it to the fall case from five years ago. They would soon search all the teachers' desks and obtain a lot of information—including the books in Zhang Qing's drawer, the composition book left by Lin Yueran, and so on. These suspects would soon be interrogated by the police.
Xie Xinghe is highly suspicious. The poisoner was very knowledgeable about organophosphate poisoning and had a good grasp of the dosage. Mr. Qin had just covered this topic in chemistry class last Wednesday, and Xie Xinghe, being a top student, understood it immediately. If he left with the teacher and then returned to pick the lock and take the organophosphate pesticide, it would have been easy for him.
Because he was the one who locked the door and the reagent cabinet, perhaps he deliberately didn't lock the door properly when he locked it.
The English teacher and the Chinese teacher have little connection to the poisoning case. Their knowledge of chemistry is insufficient, and the evidence found on them is related to revenge and forged suicide notes, making them more likely to be the murderers who pushed Ying Xiaoya downstairs.
That love letter of unknown origin may also have been written by Xie Xinghe.
Yu Hanjiang found Xiao Lou and told him his deduction: "I'm sure it was Xie Xinghe who poisoned her. He did this perhaps as a warning. It doesn't matter whether it's Yu Hui or Ying Xiaoya who is poisoned, because if either of them is poisoned, the other will definitely go to the hospital for treatment. As long as they leave the school, they won't be killed. Moreover, the poisoning case will attract the police investigation and hinder the real murderer from committing the crime."
Xiao Lou's spirits lifted: "So, Xie Xinghe was actually saving Ying Xiaoya?!"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "That printed love letter should also have been written by him. There might be some secret hidden in the love letter. Let's sort it out carefully again."
Xiao Lou has an exceptionally good memory. He closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then wrote down the contents of the love letters he had read at the time on a piece of paper.
Xiaoya:
I fell in love with you the moment I saw you three years ago.
I think of you every single day.
My heart is filled with your image.
I wish to never leave you, to be with you through life and death.
May you live a happy and joyful life, and live to be a hundred years old.
When Xiao Lou first read it, she only thought the love letter was cheesy, but now, upon closer inspection...
His back stiffened abruptly: "The third character of each line, when put together, means—leave within three days?"
Yu Hanjiang paused, then looked at the love letter vertically. The third character of each line did indeed mean "leave within three days." The last line also mentioned "live on" and "live a long and healthy life." The words "live on" were deliberately bolded, implying that her life was in danger.
The love letter was dated last Friday, and the letter instructed Ying Xiaoya to leave within three days, meaning she shouldn't go to school on Monday.
This is related to Ying Xiaoya consuming chocolate containing trace amounts of toxins on Monday …
If the love letter was written by Xie Xinghe, then everything makes sense.
He knew a lot about the inside story and had a premonition that Ying Xiaoya would be killed, so he slipped a printed love letter into her schoolbag beforehand, warning her not to come to school on Monday. However, Ying Xiaoya didn't understand and still came on Monday. Xie Xinghe had no choice but to take drastic measures, dropping a poisoned chocolate and sending either Yu Hui or Ying Xiaoya to the hospital. This way, if the two of them went to the hospital for emergency treatment, the murderer wouldn't have a chance to kill Ying Xiaoya.
Unfortunately, he was still one step behind. The chemistry teacher and the PE teacher suddenly switched classes, catching Xie Xinghe completely off guard. Ying Xiaoya was out of his sight, and the long-planned killer immediately seized the opportunity, luring Ying Xiaoya to the rooftop and pushing her off...
Xie Xinghe wearing a black armband was indeed a tribute to Ying Xiaoya.
For some reason, he couldn't tell Ying Xiaoya directly that she was going to be killed. He hinted at it in a love letter, poisoned her with Chocolate... but he still couldn't save the girl.
***
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were discussing the case when suddenly, a piercing scream came from outside the window—
The screams were coming from the school's maple grove.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lou immediately sped off in his speed shoes.
Due to two consecutive nights of torrential rain, a large number of trees in the maple forest had fallen. The school hired cleaners to clean up the mess. When Xiao Lou heard the screams and rushed over, two cleaning ladies were squatting beside him, their faces pale.
Xiao Lou followed their gaze.
A hand was visible beneath the rain-soaked ground in the maple forest.
—The stark white bones are a shocking sight!
Several teachers passing by heard the screams and ran over to see what was happening, all turning pale with fright. Someone shouted, "Call the police! Call the police!" "The police seem to be at the school, I'll go get them!"
The police arrived quickly, and Yu Hanjiang calmly followed behind them.
He exchanged a gift with Xiao Lou in the crowd.
A glance.
The discovery of human remains in the maple forest alarmed all the school leaders, and the police quickly cordoned off the entire forest. They swiftly retrieved shovels and began digging up the area where the remains had been found.
Pieces of human bones were scattered throughout the maple forest, as if by a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
As the shovel dug deeper and deeper into the maple forest, more and more bones appeared... too many to count.
The school leaders looked ashen-faced as if they'd just returned from a coal mine trip in Africa, and the police officers' expressions were equally grim. Two cleaning ladies stammered as they took statements nearby, while maple leaves continued to fall from the grove, sprinkling onto the snow-white human bones that had been unearthed…
This eerie scene sent chills down Xiao Lou's spine.
Yu Hanjiang leaned close to his ear and whispered, "It seems our deduction is very close to the truth. The missing people were indeed buried in the maple forest. Professor Xiao, could you please accompany the Forensic Doctor to examine the human bones later and determine the cause of their deaths?"
The forensic doctor arrived quickly, and Xiao Lou went in wearing an invisibility cloak.
The scattered bones at the scene were quickly pieced together by the Forensic Doctor to form three human figures.
There are obvious differences between male and female pelvises, and Xiao Lou could tell at a glance that these three were all male. Judging from their skeletal development, one was a young man around 25 years old, and the other two were middle-aged men around 40 years old, which matched the age of the missing person.
Based on the degree of decomposition and morphological changes of the remains, it can be roughly inferred that the time of death of the three individuals coincides with the time of disappearance of the missing persons; moreover, these three individuals should have been subjected to violence before their deaths.
The first victim was a young male around 25 years old. His skull showed obvious indentation from being struck with a blunt object, and his eye socket was completely shattered. There were no obvious injuries to other bones in his body. The cause of death was likely brain hemorrhage caused by a blunt object crushing his skull.
The second middle-aged man had obvious marks left by a sharp instrument on his left sternum, and there were also similar marks left by a sharp instrument between his two ribs. It is likely that he was stabbed three times in the chest, and his heart was stabbed, causing his heartbeat to stop and leading to his death.
The third victim, a middle-aged man, had a clear fracture of the hyoid bone, suggesting that his neck had been strangled. The cause of death could not be ruled out as mechanical asphyxiation—meaning he was very likely strangled.
The three people died from different causes, but they had one thing in common—
He was dismembered after his death.
Because the body was dismembered and buried in the maple forest, the bones unearthed today were scattered everywhere. Forensic Doctor painstakingly pieced them together to form three human figures.
Criminal Police Chief Detachment asked with a grim face, "What was the result?"
Wearing a mask, the forensic doctor said in a low voice, "All three victims were male. The preliminary assessment is that the cause of death was skull fracture caused by blunt force trauma, cardiac arrest caused by a sharp object piercing the chest, and mechanical asphyxiation."
The official assessment by Forensic Doctor is consistent with that of Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou, wearing an invisibility cloak, quickly left the scene and met up with Yu Hanjiang, telling Captain Yu what he had learned.
Yu Hanjiang said with a stern face, "These three people are the murderers who killed Si Han."
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement: "It seems that this avenger has already taken care of the enemy who killed Si Han."
Yu Hanjiang stood on the third-floor sky corridor, his deep gaze fixed on the distant maple forest. He sorted out his thoughts and meticulously examined all the clues one by one.
He whispered, " Ying Xiaoya's fall is just the tip of the iceberg; Si Han's fall is the main plot of this locked room mystery. Five years ago, Si Han was murdered at school by three people who didn't know what happened. These three people meticulously planned to push Si Han off the building, forged a suicide note, and spread rumors of 'evil ghosts taking lives' and 'death curses' on campus."
"They did it so well that no one in the school had any doubts about Si Han's fall. The police couldn't find any clues. The school's report mentioned that Si Han was likely psychologically fragile, performed poorly on the exam, and jumped off the building in a moment of despair."
"The matter was quickly quelled, and when students talked about it, they would explain it as a 'curse'."
"However, Si Han had a relative—that person cared deeply about Si Han and didn't believe she committed suicide, so he returned to Fenglin High School to investigate. That person was very clever and finally uncovered the truth behind Si Han's fall, identified three murderers, and killed them using three cruel methods: smashing their heads, piercing their hearts, and strangling them."
"Only extreme hatred would lead someone to dismember a body after killing it and bury the pieces in the school's maple forest—a forest that faces the office building where Si Han fell to his death, like a blood sacrifice."
She could have disposed of the bodies elsewhere after killing them, but instead she buried the three in the school's maple forest. Wasn't that a tribute to Si Han?
Xiao Lou felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this.
This is a cursed school. The maple leaves are so red because they have absorbed too much blood.
The last message in the floating window the moment you enter the escape room is the most crucial secret of the Red Heart 3 escape room.
The secret of the maple forest has finally been revealed.
The truth will soon come to light!