Chương 2: Chapter 2 This is murder, the murderer is among us

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get next." — Forrest Gump.

Nanahara Takeshi could now somewhat relate to Gump's perspective. Unexpectedly on the first day of school, he found himself kidnapped by two girls, which was totally baffling.

Fortunately, he was someone who went with the flow, so since there was no escaping — in school, it is quite difficult for a boy to run away when caught by girls — he stopped wasting his energy struggling and obediently let himself be pushed into an empty science laboratory. Inside were already seven other unlucky individuals, five boys and two girls, apparently having waited impatiently, either showing sulky faces or quietly muttering complaints.

Once Kiyomi Liuli entered the room, she perfunctorily said, "Nanahara (they had already introduced themselves on the way), sorry to trouble you for a bit," then forcefully made him sit down. Soon she stepped onto the lectern, looked around, bowed deeply, then said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet! I am very sorry to have kept you all waiting, but I believe that after the event everyone will think that the time was not wasted!"

Her confidence was bubbling, her voice loud, and her presence commanding, immediately quelling the room's restlessness.

Kiyomi Liuli smiled satisfactorily, bowed gently again, "Let me introduce myself first, I am Kiyomi Liuli from class 1-E. I've invited everyone here because, as you all are well aware, my aim is to establish a brand-new club — the Deductive Reasoning Research Society!

I've had this idea for quite some time now. My initial encounter with mystery was in third grade of elementary school, when I was deeply captivated by mystery novels. But, as I grew older, I gradually realized a problem: many mystery novels are taken for granted and even stray off the path, lacking logic in their zeal to portray the darkness of human nature and societal issues, reasoning for reasoning's sake!

Back then, I thought if I ever got a chance, I would definitely form an organization for those who truly loved deduction and had a strict sense of logic. Now, I feel the time has come. I hope to join everyone in establishing this society to help further Japan's development in the field of deductive reasoning..."

It was clear she had prepared for ages; her speech was passionate, and she knew it by heart — overall, quite persuasive. Yet, the majority in the room were probably not real fans of mystery, many having never even heard of 'deductive reasoning.' Gradually, impatience started setting in again.

The atmosphere began to sour once more when suddenly a chubby boy stood up, his eyes wide, mouth opening as though to speak. However, as he clutched his throat making a "heh-heh" sound, he couldn't get any words out. Staggering a few steps, he turned to face everyone, blood slowly trickling from his mouth before collapsing to the ground, convulsing a few times, kicking his leg out, then laying still.

The room fell silent in an instant, as the "prospective members" who had been brought here stared at the boy who had fallen and wouldn't get up; their thoughts momentarily frozen, they lost the ability to speak.

What was happening, an acute illness?

"Don't panic, everyone!" Kiyomi Liuli maintained her composure, soothing the crowd. She then hurriedly stepped forward, checked the boy's carotid artery, flipped his eyelids, and with a grave face looked up and said, "He's dead, poisoned quickly!"

She then scanned the room with piercing eyes, "This is murder, and the killer is among us!"

......

In the science lab, desks had been joined to form a long table, with Nanahara Takeshi and seven other students seated on both sides. The "corpse" lying in front at the moment was sneakily pulling out a "I am the body" sign and a "coroner's report," laying them on his chest.

Kiyomi Liuli was distributing handwritten booklets, her fair face flushed with excitement as she spoke with restrained thrill, "Tsuda has been brutally murdered. As his classmates, as his friends, it's our responsibility and duty to seek justice for him and find the murderer!"

That was probably the motive behind her organizing the club's recruiting activity. The students who had been lured here were now somewhat interested, each taking a booklet and starting to look through it.

Nanahara Takeshi received a copy as well. He flipped through it casually and discovered that the activity was somewhat reminiscent of a "script murder" game. The booklet included his role's schedule for the day, what he had seen and heard, his relationship with the "deceased," and the items he had on him. He guessed that what would follow was a group of people questioning and discussing with one another, solving various "riddles," and deducing the motive, method, and the hidden truth behind the "murderer's" killing of the "victim."

Overall, it sounded intriguing, but he didn't have time for such things.

If it was a matter of spending just ten or twenty minutes, he wouldn't mind doing a favor for some lady by sitting around, thus repaying a small kindness. But judging by the situation at hand, it wouldn't take less than an hour or two to finish.

He stood up and said, "Kiyomi, I've understood the activity, and it's quite interesting, but if there's nothing else, may I leave now?"

Kiyomi Liuli was in the midst of explaining the game rules to someone else. Turning around, she said, "No, you can't, Nanahara. This is a murder case, and no one can leave before the killer is found."

The number of participants was just right, and if Nanahara left, half of the activity would be ruined. She couldn't possibly accept that.

"But I already have other plans for this afternoon and can't afford to delay much longer,"

"Please wait just a bit longer!" Kiyomi Liuli was determined to carry on with the event, giving a perfunctory response before quickly addressing someone else's questions.

Nanahara Takeshi shook his head, as he had already arranged a time with the waste disposal site and couldn't wait for long, directly asking, "So, we must find the murderer before we can leave?"

"Exactly!"

Kiyomi Liuli had prepared for this event throughout the entire spring break, spending over ten days wracking her brain to set up numerous logical traps. Each person held only a part of the truth and some "truths" that seemed real. To piece together all the clues and find the "murderer" was no easy task. Yet as soon as these people started looking for the "murderer" and became immersed in the game, they would surely be captivated by the charm of deductive reasoning, and ultimately, they would join her ranks, becoming official members of the "Deductive Reasoning Research Society."

By then, her brilliant high school life would have officially begun with a bang!

She had grand plans, but Nanahara Takeshi didn't care. He carelessly tossed aside a handwritten pamphlet and asked, "Then, may I start first?"

The first phase of the game was to ask each other questions and exchange information, and it didn't matter who started. Kiyomi Liuli said indifferently, "Sure, Nanahara can start the questioning!"

"Free to ask anything, in any way?"

"Three minutes per person, free to ask questions, but others have the right to choose to answer, not answer or lie based on their own identity."

Nanahara Takeshi nodded to signal his understanding and then turned to the "suspects" with a smile, "Everyone, please stand up."

The students were quite disciplined and cooperative, standing up in pairs and clusters, even if confused, looking at him without understanding.

Kiyomi Liuli didn't know what he was up to, but since it didn't break any game rules, she didn't stop him—it didn't matter much, just a waste of three minutes at most.

Nanahara Takeshi smiled and raised his hands high, "Please close your eyes everyone, now... raise your hands high, over your heads."

"Right, just like that, begin taking deep breaths."

"Inhale, exhale, take a deep breath in, slowly exhale, relax your body."

"Imagine you are in a quiet forest, the fragrance of trees, the pleasant sound of birds singing, the clear spring water gliding over the stream stones..."

Nanahara Takeshi's voice had a magnetic quality, guiding everyone's breathing like a meditation instructor, with strong command presence. Kiyomi Liuli couldn't help but start to adjust her breathing according to his instructions, still sensing that something wasn't quite right.

What is this all about, and what does it have to do with finding the "murderer"?

Are we taking a yoga class?

However, his voice is really captivating, listening to it is quite comforting...

She was hesitating whether to speak up and stop him when she heard Nanahara Takeshi say, "Good, everyone's doing great, just like that, keep your body relaxed, relax... very good, very good... and now the murderer can put their hand down."

Kiyomi Liuli's arm instinctively wanted to drop, but her brain instantly realized she wasn't the "murderer", ending with only a slight tremor of her arm. Most of the others had a similar reaction, with little movement before returning to normal, except for a bespectacled boy whose arm nearly dropped halfway before he awkwardly raised it again, his expression a bit embarrassed.

Nanahara Takeshi gave an apologetic smile towards the boy with glasses, pointed at him and said to Kiyomi Liuli, "Kiyomi, he's the one who did it, may I go now?"

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