Not a detective

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"This is why the case remains unsolved. The police had already suspected the murderer was among the doctors. If it were such a simple method, it would have been ruled out long ago. It is because of the locked room that it is unsolvable. No one entered that room at the time, so the murderer simply did not exist. In the end, the case could only be closed as the murderer died of illness."

"Wait..." Asakawa Riku interrupted her, "It's too early to say there's no one in the room... isn't there still one—"

"You mean, [the blue text: Xu Qishi could be the murderer?]"

She tilted her head. Of course, Asukai Shi could also draw upon the power of the blue text.

She quickly answered her own question: "However, [Red text: Xu Qishi would absolutely not have killed Lu Chuanqian; she is absolutely not the murderer.]"

Asakawa Riku countered, "Where's the evidence?"

"Evidence?" Asuai Shi asked, puzzled. "What other evidence do we need? The red text is the best evidence. Red text represents the truth and is a clue that is absolutely beyond doubt."

She smiled and said, "If I had to say something... [Red text: Xu Qishi deeply loves Lu Chuanqian, so she would never kill Lu Chuanqian], is that enough?"

“I don’t need that kind of evidence. This is just the motive. What kind of evidence is motive? You can just give me any motive.”

Lu Chuanqian shook his head: "I've never understood why you could give the [red letter]? You clearly don't know the truth of this incident either. You're just a detective, an inquirer, just like me. What makes you think you can give the red letter that represents the truth? Only someone who knows the correct answer can eliminate other wrong answers, right?"

His eyes were sharp as he stared intently at Asukai Shi in front of him.

"Or are you the murderer? Did you kill Lu Chuanqian?"

"I?"

Asukai Shi smiled and pointed to herself.

"Yes, even the police have to suspect that this is a natural death due to a vegetative state. How can you find the murderer in a locked room that no one has entered? Why can you be so sure that this is a homicide? You don't know the answer to the mystery. What is the basis for giving these red words? Are they written out of thin air without any evidence?"

Asakawa Riku continued to press, "If it is true that Xu Qishi could not be the murderer, it does not mean that Asukai Shi could not be the murderer. You are two different people, right? Although you are a character in the book, as the 'writer's' incarnation, you can travel between two worlds through that book. At that time, only you could have entered that ward."

"You can't influence the real world. I don't know how you did it. Maybe you possessed Xu Qishi while she was sleeping and killed Lu Chuanqian without her knowing. She was such a fragile person in a vegetative state. You could have done it with just a light touch. Xu Qishi is definitely not the murderer because she didn't do it intentionally. You were the one who actually did it."

"I don't know what your motives are, nor do I need to know. [Xu Qishi deeply loves Lu Chuanqian], but you may not love him. You may be tired of this job in the book and want to end everything. You may feel sorry for Xu Qishi, the prototype of you, or you may want to free Lu Chuanqian. So you took action. You can just add motives at will."

"[Blue text: Asukai Shi, are you the murderer?]"

Winter of Man: Chapter Twenty - The Ten Commandments of Knox

"I am not the murderer."

Asukai Shi immediately refuted Asakawa Riku's answer: "I didn't commit the crime, and I can tell you why."

She stretched out her hand, and a dazzling golden light appeared behind her, as if the scorching sun were rising.

"First, the criminal must be someone who appeared at the beginning of the story, but not someone whose thoughts the reader can follow."

Second, detectives cannot use supernatural or bizarre detective methods.

"Third, there must be no more than one secret room or passageway at the crime scene."

"Fourth, when committing a crime, one must not use poisons that have not yet been invented, or devices that require profound scientific explanation."

Fifth, no Chinese people who know martial arts are allowed to appear in the story.

"Sixth, detectives must not rely on chance or irresponsible intuition to solve cases."

"7. Detectives must not become criminals."

"8. Detectives must not solve cases based on clues in the novel that have not been given to the reader."

"Nine, the detective's foolish friend, such as Watson, must tell the reader his judgments without reservation; this person's intelligence must be slightly below the average level of the reader."

"10. If there are twins or people who look very similar in the novel, the reader must be informed in advance."

Asukai Shi recited calmly.

With each word she uttered, the golden light behind her coalesced into a sharp, straight sword.

The sword was engraved with the inscription corresponding to that phrase, gleaming with golden light.

In the end, ten golden swords floated behind her, lined up in a row, looking extremely majestic and cool.

"these are……"

However, compared to these dazzling special effects, Asakawa Riku clearly reacted more strongly to those words: "Knox..."

He remembered.

"The Ten Commandments of Knox, the code of conduct for mystery novels," Shiya Asukai explained. "Although nowadays, few traditional mystery novels, neo-traditional mystery novels, setting-based mystery novels, or light mystery novels take this old-fashioned stuff seriously, it is still a classic setting. Since the case is a real-life incident, let's eliminate all illusions and deceptions and solve it with the purest reasoning."

Asakawa Riku gazed thoughtfully at the golden straight sword floating in control.

This is the principle of detective fiction established by Leonard Knox in 1928.

Although it contains some erroneous beliefs, it was once regarded as the gold standard during the golden age of classical reasoning.

With the evolution of modern detective novel writing styles, some authors deliberately violate the Ten Commandments in their writing, while others no longer consciously adhere to them.

Unexpectedly, Shimi Asukai has now brought out this "old relic".

If these ten rules were strictly followed when writing novels, many of the world's most famous mystery novels would be impossible to write, and many plot devices would automatically fail.

"First, the criminal must be someone who appeared at the beginning of the story, but not someone whose thoughts the reader can follow."

Before I could finish thinking, I saw Asukai Shite reach behind him and grab the first sword on his left.

It came down in a completely haphazard, straight strike.

A flash of golden light appeared, and Asakawa Riku instinctively dodged, only to realize that the golden sword energy was not aimed at him.

Instead, she shattered the blue text in front of her, the text that read, "Asukai Shi, are you the murderer?"

“In ‘Nue’s Summer,’ I narrated my thoughts in the first person. The reader followed my thoughts, so I cannot be the criminal. Narrative tricks do not exist here. At the same time…” Before she could finish, the sword had completed its task and flew back behind her. Asukai Shi did not stop at all and actually raised another sword: “Ninth, the detective’s foolish friend, such as Watson, must tell the reader his judgment without reservation. This person’s intelligence must be slightly below the average level of the reader.”

This was the ninth sword, and the golden light completely overwhelmed the blue text.

Asukai Shi retrieved her flying sword, seemingly unsurprised by everything, and calmly said:

“In this case, my role is that of [Watson], which means your assistant. I will speak my mind without reservation and will not hide anything.”

"Your intelligence is quite high..."

Asakawa Riku, unwilling to give up, gritted his teeth and posed a new hypothesis:

"[Blue text: I am the murderer! Lu Chuanqian and I are not the same person. I accidentally learned about past memories and that this world is fake. But because I was unwilling to be a pawn or a tool, I secretly tried to travel back in time and kill him. After that, you erased my memories, which is why I know nothing about this!"]

“It’s interesting, but as I said, there’s no narrative trick here. I’m not lying this time.”

Asukai Shi shook her head and drew her seventh sword:

"Asakawa Riku, your identity is [Detective], and your thoughts are being tracked. In addition, [Golden Rule 7: Detectives must not become criminals]."

In an instant, it shattered the newly formed blue text.

The "Ten Commandments of Knox" used by Shimi Asukai are newly defined "pyramids," whose logic is above all else and can become part of the underlying logic.

Asakawa Riku had no ability to resist:

"[Blue text: The murderer is a superpowered individual capable of killing remotely. At the time of the incident, he wasn't even in the hospital room; he killed Lu Chuanqian remotely. Since Xu Qishi is a superpowered individual in that real world, other superpowered individuals can naturally exist as well. As long as someone can kill remotely, this locked-room mystery cannot be established!]"

"【Key Point 1: The criminal must be someone who appeared at the beginning of the story, but not someone whose thoughts the reader can follow.】"

Asukai Shi was merciless: "Superpowered individuals are certainly useful murderers, aren't they? But unfortunately, it won't work. We don't know if there are other superpowered individuals in the real world, so a murderer can't just appear out of thin air. Furthermore, [Key point two: Detectives cannot use supernatural or bizarre investigative methods.]"

Two swords flew over and instantly shattered into pieces.

Asakawa Riku could only offer excuses and struggles:

"[Blue text: There can be no superpowered individuals! But there can be martial artists! A mature martial artist can also kill from a distance... Lu Chuanqian is not someone who hasn't been mentioned before. He can't commit suicide... I can't kill him either, but that doesn't mean others can't. There might be another person in the world with the same name, 'Lu Chuanqian,' whose thoughts haven't been tracked. The Lu Chuanqian mentioned earlier refers to him, and like me, he's a martial artist who cultivates martial arts. To replace Lu Chuanqian's identity, he killed him from a distance...]"

Asakawa Riku's mind raced, calculating frantically as he devised a deduction that would perfectly pass the test and meet all the conditions...

However, even the last glimmer of hope was ruthlessly shattered by Shizuka Asukai:

"【Key Point 5: No Chinese characters skilled in martial arts are allowed in the story.】"

"【Key Point 8: Detectives must not solve cases based on clues not explicitly mentioned to the reader in the novel.】"

"【Key Point 10: If there are twins or people who look extremely similar in a novel, the reader must be informed in advance.】"

She unleashed three consecutive sword strikes, and only after the dust settled did she leisurely say:

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. No superpowers, no monsters, no martial artists. Forget those supernatural and bizarre tricks. This time—it's for real."

------

The "Ten Commandments of Knox" mentioned in this chapter has been modified to some extent; the original text contained explicit language that discriminated against Chinese people.

The original intention of the revision was to keep the story in line with its theme, not to whitewash Knox's discriminatory remarks at the time. He remains a terrible and despicable racist.

This is a special statement.

Winter of Man: Chapter Twenty-One: The Riddle of Despair

"[Blue text: Can you confirm that no one entered or exited the ward during that period? Is it possible that the surveillance cameras were modified?]"

"[Red text: The police have confirmed that the video footage is intact and shows no signs of tampering. Other witnesses in the corridor can also testify that no one entered or exited the area.]"

"[Blue text: So what about windows? Although there are bars preventing people from squeezing in or out, you can still kill someone remotely through a window, right? Using tools or something?]"

"[Red text: Lu Chuanqian's ward is located on the 23rd floor of the inpatient building. At this height, it's practically impossible for anyone to work outside the window. Even if it were theoretically possible, it was midday, and there were many people in the hospital. If someone were hanging on the outer wall of the inpatient building, they would definitely be seen by people outside, and there were no eyewitness reports.]"

"[Blue text: Ventilation vent. If some kind of poisonous gas were injected into the ventilation vent, could Lu Chuanqian be killed silently?]"

"[Red text: No similar substances were detected, and Xu Qishi was also in the room at the time. If she had been poisoned by the gas, she should have died too.]"

Three swift answers left Asakawa Riku speechless.

In his eyes, Asukai Shi was now completely enveloped in a red fortress.

No matter how you aim or shoot, it will be blocked; there are no blind spots.

"【Key Point 4: When committing a crime, one must not use poisons that have not yet been invented, or devices that require profound scientific explanation.】"

The fourth sword was drawn.

Now, those complex mechanical devices and fishing line traps also become ineffective.

The poison, specifically designed for vegetative patients and only effective on Lu Chuanqian, was also rendered ineffective.

Traditional methods won't work, and neither will modern tricks.

The secret room was reinforced layer by layer, making it practically a cage.

Asakawa Riku felt as if he were trapped there, and no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find a way to escape.

"Knox's Ten Commandments states: 3. There should be no more than one secret room or passageway at a crime scene."

He tried to find a flaw: "Can it be proven that: [blue text: There is only one secret passage in the ward, and the murderer sneaked in from there to commit the crime?]"

However, Shii Asukai quickly provided an answer:

"【Red text: Apart from the 'ward door' mentioned above, all other entrances and exits must be closed to human beings, even those of short stature】."

Very rigorous.

"If it were such a simple trick, the case should have been solved back then. Xu Qishi's father brought in the best criminal investigation experts in the province, but they still couldn't solve the mystery. The police are not to be trifled with. They investigated every detail, big or small, in that ward at the time, and Xu Qishi was ruled out as a suspect, but in the end, they still couldn't find any clues."

Shimi Asukai shook her head: "So, they don't think this is a murder case."

In fact, Riku Asakawa also thought so.

At best, he's just a "mystery enthusiast," not even a "detective." How could his knowledge and criminal investigation experience possibly be as extensive as those of real police officers and experts?

The tricks he could think of had probably already been discussed and ruled out by others back then. There might even be more methods and tricks that he couldn't have imagined.

Asakawa Rikuya felt that Rikukawa Asaka shouldn't have been killed by him; it was very likely that she had been in a vegetative state for too long and her life had naturally come to an end.

However, Xu Qishi refused to accept it. Her obsessive madness affected her incarnation, "Asuka-i Shi," which is why she firmly believed in the existence of the murder case.

How can those "golden words" and "Knox's Ten Commandments" she provided prove that this must be a murder case?

It's just like shooting the arrow first and then drawing the target; you set the rule first and then forcefully demand reasoning based on the rule.

Lu Chuan glanced at Asukai Shi.

The girl remained standing there, her eyes calm, waiting for the next sentence.

She was like a machine, only knowing to give the corresponding answer based on the blue text.

Does this question really have an answer?

Asakawa Riku couldn't question her like that. He knew that regardless of whether there was an answer or not, he had no choice but to continue answering, otherwise Asukai Shi wouldn't let him off the hook.