I Asked You To Simulate A Crime, And You Pulled Off The Perfect Crime? - Chapter 32

3:00 PM.

There are four and a half hours left until the show ends. A police car, sirens blaring, speeds toward Jinfu Village once again. For the “Iron Trio,” this is their last chance!

Inside the car, the three men sit in silence, their expressions solemn. This is a stark contrast to the beginning of the show when they were calm, even a bit dismissive. After all, none of them expected to be pushed to this point by an amateur.

The police car quickly arrives at the entrance of Jinfu Village’s ancestral hall.

“They’re here! The Iron Trio’s last stand. I wonder if the body is really hidden in the ancestral hall like Liang Wei said.”

“I think it probably is. Besides this place, where else could Chen Shu have hidden the body? Maybe he used our unwillingness to desecrate our ancestors as a psychological trick to make us overlook it.”

“Hiding a corpse in the ancestral hall, Chen Shu has guts.”

“Holy crap! If this turns out to be true, then Liang Wei is a legend!”

As netizens debate, Wang Zheng steps through the ancestral hall’s doors. With the police’s arrival, nearly all the villagers gather around not just out of curiosity. The ancestral hall is a sacred place for honoring their ancestors.

It cannot be disturbed! Not even by the police!

“Holy crap, I’m calling it now, Chen Shu definitely hid the body here. Look, the police want to search the place, but the villagers are already blocking them.”

“Brilliant move by Chen Shu. He’s using the villagers’ reverence for their ancestors to interfere with the investigation.”

“This is it, Liang Wei is about to become a legend!”

“What do you think you’re doing?” The village elder hobbles out of the ancestral hall, leaning on his cane, and scolds Wang Zheng and his team. “You people barge in here, disturbing our ancestors, do you have no manners?”

As soon as he finishes speaking, the villagers move to block the entrance. Wang Zheng and his team are left awkwardly standing outside. They can’t force their way in, these villagers are united, standing firm against outsiders. Not even the police intimidate them.

Besides, there have been past reports of police officers being violently obstructed while investigating cases in villages. But even so, Wang Zheng doesn’t back down.

He’s almost certain, Chen Shu hid Liu Liang’s body here!

“Village Elder, please don’t misunderstand. You remember Chen Shu, right? He attended your village’s ancestor-worship ceremony on April 3rd. He was here, which is why we suspect he hid the body inside.” Wang Zheng looks at the elder, knowing he’s the key decision-maker among the villagers.

“That’s nonsense,” the elder scoffs. “Chen Shu came on April 2nd, not the 3rd. He had already gone home by then. How could he have hidden a body here?”

Wang Zheng sighs in frustration. This is why the villagers can’t serve as reliable witnesses for the police. In their minds, Chen Shu arrived on the 2nd. Even if they were told the truth, that they had been deceived, they would still doubt it.

That makes their testimony legally useless.

“Alright, let’s set the date aside for now,” Wang Zheng lowers his voice, trying a softer approach. “That night, when Chen Shu was here talking to you, did he have anything unusual with him? Like a bag or a box?”

The village elder squints. “My eyesight isn’t great anymore, so I couldn’t tell if he was carrying anything. But after chatting for a while, he left. He didn’t linger in the hall with his sister.”

Wang Zheng sighs again. Chen Shu, you’re thorough, chatting with someone who has poor eyesight, huh?

“It’s almost certain now,” Su Haoran says beside him.

“Yeah,” Qin Min nods. “Chen Shu relied on two things: first, people’s reverence for their ancestors, which made us overlook the possibility entirely. Second, the elder’s poor eyesight.”

The three men exchange looks. They’ve figured it out. But now what? The villagers definitely won’t allow them to search the hall. Disturbing the ancestor tablets is a serious offense to them. It might seem superstitious, but to these villagers, it’s an absolute taboo.

“How about this, Village Elder, we won’t search inside yet. We’ll just check the courtyard. If we find any clues, would you consider letting us inside?” Wang Zheng suggests. “You wouldn’t want your ancestors disturbed by a corpse, would you? What if Chen Shu really did hide a body under the altar?”

The village elder hesitates. After a long pause, he finally says, “Fine, search the courtyard. But if you find nothing, you must leave immediately or we will make you leave!”

“Understood.” Wang Zheng agrees and quickly orders the officers, “Search the courtyard! Check everything, don’t overlook a single detail!”

The officers spread out. There isn’t much in the courtyard, just decorations left from the ceremony. Red lanterns, ceramic vases, and some wooden boxes. As they search, dozens of villagers watch them closely, afraid they might sneak into the hall.

“You have ten minutes.” The village elder suddenly stomps his cane on the ground, issuing a warning. 

Sweat beads on Wang Zheng’s forehead. If they don’t find anything soon, they’ll have to leave. They can’t force their way in.

“Captain Wang! Over here!” A police officer’s voice calls out from under the eaves. Wang Zheng and the others rush over. Inside a wooden box meant for incense ashes, they find a black piece of clothing.

“It’s Liu Liang’s!” Su Haoran exclaims. He had reviewed security footage, this was the shirt Liu Liang was wearing when he disappeared.

“After dismembering a body, it’s hard to deal with the victim’s clothes,” Qin Min says, swallowing nervously. “If you discard them randomly or burn them, there will be traces. So Chen Shu hid them here.”

If the clothes are here, the body must be nearby. Qin Min can’t fathom how bold Chen Shu really is. Even though this is a staged production, and the “corpse” is just a prop, placing it in an ancestral hall is sure to enrage the villagers!

Meanwhile, the livestream chat explodes.

“LIANG WEI, MY GOD!”

“Who said Liang Wei isn’t as good as Chen Shu? Show yourself!”

“Haha, I can’t believe it. The show barely gave Liang Wei any screen time, but he’s been guiding us all along!”

“Liang Wei: ‘Is Conan still a good detective after 1,000 episodes? You tell me!'”

Time is running out, only two hours remain. Host Zhang Bingbing and some crew members gather at Chen Shu’s house. Since the show is ending soon, director Zhang Sheng has arranged an early interview with him. The livestream splits into two screens.

“Hello, Chen Shu. I’m the host, Bingbing,” Zhang Bingbing says with a smile.

“Hello,” Chen Shu replies.

“The show is almost over. How confident are you that you’ll win?” she asks.

“As long as they don’t find the body before the time runs out, I win,” Chen Shu says confidently.

“Do you think they’ll find it?”

“My hiding spot is extremely secure. No one will figure it out,” he declares.

Zhang Bingbing chuckles to herself. This amateur really doesn’t understand that there are always people smarter than him.

“You might not know this yet,” she says, “but Liang Wei has already deduced where you hid the body. And the investigators have found Liu Liang’s clothes there.”

“Chen Shu, you’ve done well to last this long,” she continues.

“But perfect crimes don’t exist.

“Eventually, someone always finds the flaw.”