Wang Yang took the design drawings and slowly examined them, frowning. "Who drew these designs? Why do they look so similar to the ones in my shop? These scenes are all from escape rooms we've launched before."
"Look at this 'Newlyweds' Collection Room' design. I remember your shop launched it on April 5th, but this drawing is dated February 21st, earlier than your shop. How do you explain that?" Fang Rui asked.
"What's there to explain? Are you accusing me of plagiarism? Tell me who drew this, and I'll confront them face-to-face. All the mechanisms and prop placements in this scene were designed by me. I hired a professional designer to draw the plans, and he can testify. I couldn't have plagiarized!"
Fang Rui said, "That person can't confront you because he's already dead, hanged in that escape room."
"Are you saying Liu Xiaonian drew this design?" Wang Yang's face instantly turned pale. "No, I didn't copy his design. I don't know how he got this drawing. The date must be fake, it has to be!"
"This design was drawn with a pen. Our technicians can roughly determine when it was drawn through technical analysis."
Fang Rui suddenly found it odd. Usually, design drawings need revisions, so they're drawn in pencil. Why was this one done in pen?
Was Liu Xiaonian a genius who could perfect a design drawing in one go?
"I... I don't know how to explain it," Wang Yang stammered, then quickly added, "I described all my ideas in the group chat. Could he have recreated my escape room design from that?"
"What would be his purpose in doing that?" Zhang countered, "Was he just bored?"
"How would I know?" Wang Yang shrank back, looking wronged.
"Why would Liu Xiaonian tell you about the plagiarism? Was it because he was also a creator, and you killed him to avoid sharing the three million with him?" Zhang questioned.
"No! Xiaonian and I were friends, that's why he told me about this. And I've said, this design was my idea, it has nothing to do with Xiaonian! Nothing!" Wang Yang grew increasingly angry. "I didn't kill anyone! You can't wrongly accuse me!"
"Did you enter that hidden escape room?"
"No! I told you, I couldn't crack the password, so I couldn't get in," Wang Yang explained. "But I did try entering a password once."
"Why were you so flustered when you came out of the escape room?" Fang Rui asked.
"Oh, I saw the shop owner when I came out. You know I'm in a lawsuit with them, and it's very unpleasant. If he knew I snuck into his shop to play, wouldn't he laugh at me? So I was hiding from him!"
Without evidence to prove Wang Yang was the killer, Fang Rui let him go.
"Boss, this Wang Yang is such a good liar. Even with evidence right in front of him, he won't admit to plagiarism," Zhang complained. "People like him are the worst, taking credit for others' work and then killing the original creator. Hey, how can we find evidence to convict him?"
Fang Rui thought of the suit on the victim's body and said, "Check his shopping records to see if he bought a similar suit. Also check on the party poppers."
"Ah, boss, you're so smart!"
The suit had no particular style and was made of poor-quality fabric, the kind you could buy for a hundred yuan. A white label was sewn onto the collar, showing the fabric composition and brand.
Although the brand wasn't famous, it wasn't a knockoff. It had its own online store and fixed offline sales channels - in the commercial street next to Jiangzhou City's farmers' market.
Seeing Fang Rui and his team investigating the suit, Mu Mian shared her observation: "Fang Rui, that suit fit the victim well. And the clothes underneath weren't very wrinkled. Usually, if you forcibly dress someone, the clothes underneath would be all crumpled."
"You suspect it was someone he knew?" Fang Rui asked. This increased the suspicion on Wang Yang, who knew Liu Xiaonian so well.
Fang Rui first obtained the past six months' sales records from the online store's salesperson, focusing on orders shipped to Jiangzhou City. However, Wang Yang's name wasn't on the list.
He and Zhang then took the label and went from store to store looking for the same suit. They finally found a shop that sold it, close to both Wang Yang's escape room and his sister's fried noodle shop.
"Boss, do you sell many of these suits?"
"This one? Not many. Usually, there aren't many buyers. We have to wait until graduation season when college students need to find jobs. Those who can't afford expensive suits come here. They're very cheap but look smart."
Fang Rui showed her Wang Yang's photo. "Boss, do you know this man?"
"Yes, that's Boss Wang. He's been quite unlucky lately. His shop closed down, and he's in a lot of debt."
"Has he bought a suit from you?"
"No. Although he's a boss, he's not particular about his appearance. He wouldn't buy a suit. And don't be fooled by him owning a shop, he's always been broke. He kept his shop running by borrowing money!"
Fang Rui thought for a moment and asked, "What about his family? Has anyone bought this suit? Like his brother-in-law?"
"Ah! Come to think of it, his brother-in-law might have bought one. He's in sales and bought a suit here before. It was this brand."
Fang Rui and Zhang exchanged glances, thinking Wang Yang might have stolen his brother-in-law's suit.
To be thorough, Fang Rui asked another question, "What size suit did his brother-in-law buy?"
"XL, the largest size. His brother-in-law is a big guy, he can only fit that size."
"..."
Fang Rui and Zhang visited a few more stores, all confirming that Wang Yang hadn't bought that suit.
"Boss, this lead seems to be a dead end," Zhang sighed. "How can we find evidence to catch Wang Yang?"
"Zhang, there's no evidence proving Wang Yang is the killer yet. Don't jump to conclusions," Fang Rui reminded him.
Two more days passed without progress on the case.
Meanwhile, "Edgar Allan Poe's Cottage" escape room was facing backlash. Online rumors spread about someone being hanged there, with conspiracy theories suggesting the victim died by accidentally triggering a mechanism. The shop received many negative reviews, damaging its reputation and leaving it deserted.
Early in the morning, Mu Mian arrived at the office carrying several parcels. She opened one to reveal a delicate small brush. Another contained a wizard's robe and a wand made from a radius bone.
Mu Mian thought the skeleton bride's outfit wasn't very attractive and wanted to change its clothes.
The skeleton bride's dress was laced up and difficult to remove. Mu Mian tried for a while but got tired, so she asked Fang Rui for help.
"Fang Rui, quick, help me take off its clothes."
"Okay." Fang Rui found a pair of scissors and cut the dress to pieces. Freed from the bulky bridal gown, the skeleton soon revealed its thin, slender frame.
"Fang Rui, you're so violent!" Mu Mian complained, but quickly praised him, "Your method is brilliant, solving the problem instantly. Fang Rui, you're so smart!"
At that moment, Mu Mian and Fang Rui simultaneously noticed a black fabric object inside the skeleton's ribcage.
"What's this?"
