Three people, three different attack styles.
Did the killer also like to play high difficulty? Changing methods with each murder?
This was too ridiculous.
"Could it be that there are several killers?" Guan Jinsong proposed his idea.
"No," Cai Xiaojuan directly negated Guan Jinsong's opinion. "The traces of struggle at the first scene were not chaotic, lacking evidence to support a multi-person melee. Moreover, judging from the footprints, there were only three people at the scene."
In other words, Yang Luo was the one who fought with Liang Zening.
Did this mean that Liang Zening was killed by Yang Luo?
A silence fell over everyone, and their gazes collectively turned towards Hu Jia.
Hu Jia had not spoken from beginning to end. No one knew what this "great god" had to say.
"Continue to investigate the surroundings. Don't forget, you still haven't found Yang Luo's rucksack," Hu Jia changed the subject.
Hu Jia never made assumptions when uncertain.
Upon hearing Hu Jia's reminder, everyone reacted. Right, where was Yang Luo's rucksack?
To determine if Yang Luo was the killer, they just needed to see if his dagger was still there.
Everyone searched back and forth from the first scene to the second several times. Finally, they found Yang Luo's rucksack in the water.
But when they opened Yang Luo's rucksack, they were all stunned. Not only were the contents complete, but the dagger was still firmly stuck in the rucksack's straps, looking as if it had never been used.
Could they have made a mistake?
Everyone looked bewildered.
Just as everyone was at a loss, someone found a scarf by the reeds at the edge of the pond. Moreover, the scarf was stylish and new, without any old dirt. It was clearly a new item. Most importantly, there were bloodstains on the scarf.
But who would bring a scarf during a field exercise in the wilderness?
Did they want to get dirty even faster?
Could it be that the killer wasn't here for the field exercise?
The crowd discussed it for a long time with no conclusion. Things were becoming increasingly bizarre.
...
"Hey, Qingqing!"
"Cao Yang?"
Lü Qingqing was pleasantly surprised. There had been too many things to deal with since their return, and the two of them hadn't met.
"I saw you returned yesterday. I wanted to come over and ask about your situation, but you were all so busy, I couldn't get close," Cao Yang said happily. "Seeing that you are all safe, I am relieved."
Hearing Cao Yang say this, Lü Qingqing remembered the cut vines. Those savages were truly ruthless. Fortunately, no one had fallen to their death.
"I'm also happy to see you're okay. After all, it was quite dangerous to send you back alone to report," Lü Qingqing said with a hint of apology.
"Cough." Cao Yang waved his hand. "Don't be so polite. Besides, I'm fine, aren't I?"
"What? Are you really hoping something happened?" Lü Qingqing chuckled.
"I wouldn't want that. I was chased by a savage all the way that day. I was so scared that I even lost my shoes," Cao Yang sighed.
"Chased by a savage?"
"Yes. As soon as you guys went down the pit, the savages appeared. I turned and ran. He kept chasing me from behind, and it took me over 20 minutes to shake him off."
"What?" Lü Qingqing exclaimed in shock.
She and everyone else exchanged glances. "You're saying a savage chased you for over 20 minutes?"
"Yes. What's wrong?" Cao Yang saw their expressions change and realized something was amiss.
"If the savage was chasing Cao Yang, then who cut the vines?" Guan Jinsong briefly explained the matter of the vines. Cao Yang was astounded as he listened.
It seemed the matter was not as simple as it appeared.
Their initial exhilaration cooled down because of this news.
"Forget it, we can't figure this out right now. Regardless, thank you for coming back to report that day," Lü Qingqing didn't want to dwell on it. The fox would eventually show its tail. Thinking too much now was useless.
Hearing Lü Qingqing say this, Cao Yang quickly waved his hands, saying he hadn't helped much.
"How could you not have helped? Captain Hu even found the pit!" Ye Fengyi thought Cao Yang was being modest.
Unexpectedly, Cao Yang's eyes became even more confused upon hearing this. "Captain Hu had already come out when I arrived at the camp. He couldn't have known the news I brought back."
Uh.
"Wow, this must be telepathy. Otherwise, in such a vast forest, how could Hu Jia have found you?" Cai Xiaojuan teased ambiguously from the side.
"Coincidence, perhaps." Although Lü Qingqing said this, she was still delighted in her heart. Could she and Hu Jia truly have such a strong bond?
She secretly glanced at Hu Jia, and the slight gloom brought on by the vines dissipated.
...
If Yang Luo didn't kill Liang Zening, then who did?
And why did the two of them come into conflict and fight?
To find the hidden fourth person, Hu Jia decided to start by investigating the cause of death of the first three victims.
Hu Jia set up a temporary command post 100 meters from the first crime scene.
Looking at Yang Luo's corpse and the belongings they left behind, Hu Jia was at a loss.
Two knives, two student IDs, various equipment. Except for that one scarf, which seemed out of place, everything else was identical.
The only difference was that one set of items was dry, and the other was soaked.
Hu Jia, bored, brushed his fingers over all the objects, his mind replaying all the details of the case.
Alas, it was such a pity that two young men had died.
Hu Jia subconsciously opened their student IDs, as they were proof of their identities.
Liang Zening's photo showed him smiling, looking sunny and handsome. From his appearance, he seemed like a decent person.
Yang Luo's student ID was completely blurred because it had been soaked in water, even the name...
Huh?
Name?
Hu Jia's eyes sharpened, and he unconsciously brought the student ID closer.
No, this name field was incorrect.
Although he couldn't clearly see what was written, he could clearly distinguish that the name field contained three characters.
Liang Zening's student ID was right here. Could this student ID belong to Li Zhenmi?
Thinking this, Hu Jia immediately ordered someone to retrieve Li Zhenmi's rucksack.
Because Li Zhenmi's belongings were not considered evidence, they were returned to him after retrieval.
Soon, someone brought Li Zhenmi's rucksack. Hu Jia anxiously opened it. It was messy inside, clearly having been rummaged through. However, this was not important. The important thing was that the dagger was indeed missing.
At this moment, Hu Jia suddenly understood.
For some unknown reason, Liang Zening and Yang Luo had a conflict, and Yang Luo even used a knife. In the scuffle, Yang Luo killed Liang Zening.
Since daggers were found in both Liang Zening's and Yang Luo's bags, but Li Zhenmi's bag was missing its dagger, it indicated that the murder weapon was the dagger from Li Zhenmi's bag.
However, Yang Luo's rucksack belonged to Li Zhenmi. In other words, Li Zhenmi's dagger was still there, and it was Yang Luo's dagger that was actually missing.
This made sense.
But who beat Li Zhenmi? And why did Yang Luo drown?
...
Hu Jia felt that the relationships among these three people were incredibly tangled.
As soon as one mystery was solved, another one arose. No, I need to rub my eyes and calm down.
Uh.
But why was that woman looking at me?
And smiling?
Smiling so...
"What are you laughing at?"
Hu Jia's sudden question startled Lü Qingqing, making her flustered. "N-nothing."
Lü Qingqing wished she could slap herself. Lü Qingqing, get a grip! Just because someone said you and Hu Jia were telepathic, you've fallen for him?
You were staring at him blankly, spacing out, and even smiling foolishly?
"Don't tell me it's because I'm too handsome that you're making that expression?" Hu Jia felt this woman's flustered appearance was like a little rabbit, completely different from the fierce one she was when she first arrived in the mountains.
"Bah!" How could Lü Qingqing admit she was looking at him? "Which eye of yours saw me looking at you?"
"Then what were you looking at?"
"Um..." Lü Qingqing's eyes darted away.
"Looking at him!"
Uh.
Are you sure you were smiling while looking at Yang Luo's corpse?
And smiling so...