Card Room

Chapter 24 - Scarlet Maple Leaf 05

The one who screamed was Ying Xiaoya’s desk mate, Yi Ru.

Ying Xiaoya fell from the roof and happened to fall at her feet.

By the time the security guards arrived, Yi Ru was shaking all over, her eyes filled with horror. Uncontrollable tears rushed out like a faucet.

The four security guards were stunned for a moment before the chief security guard finally reacted. “You two, protect the scene and don’t let others come close. I will go to the principal. Little Liu, quickly call the police!”

The security guard known as ‘Little Liu’ called the police.

Yu Hanjiang, “...”

There was even the ‘alarm’ link. If this was the real world, Yu Hanjiang would directly go to the scene with a police officer’s card. Unfortunately, this was now a secret room world and he couldn’t show up. He even had to hide from the security guards.

Xiao Lou heard this and was very confused. He glanced at Yu Hanjiang and whispered, “Alarm? Are there policemen in the secret room world?”

Yu Hanjiang replied seriously, “A student is dead and the normal way of handling it is to call the police. The development of the Card World is reasonable. However, it is still unclear if the policemen in the Card World will help us solve the mystery or deliberately create obstacles for us.”

Xiao Lou speculated, “They should be helping us? After all, this is a C-grade difficulty room. If even the police are misleading us then a challenger without any reasoning ability won’t be able to leave the secret room.”

“That makes sense.” Yu Hanjiang was silent for a few seconds. He gazed up at the rooftop and whispered in Xiao Lou’s ears. “Before the police arrive at the school, I will first check the roof of the building to see if there are any clues. Professor Xiao Lou, you stay here and later use the invisibility cloak to check Ying Xiaoya’s cause of death. You are an expert in this respect.”

Xiao Lou nodded. “Okay.”

Yu Hanjiang cautioned him, “The effect of the invisibility cloak is only 30 minutes. Pay attention to the time and be careful not to be discovered by the security guards.”

“Understood. You be careful as well.”

The two people gazed at each other and tacitly split their actions.

Yu Hanjiang quickly entered the third grade teaching building, avoiding the cameras as he climbed up to the fourth floor and headed into the Hangzhi Building through the air corridor. Then he climbed up the stairs to the rooftop on the seventh floor.

The location of Ying Xiaoya’s fall was just below the Hangzhi Building. Since the ground was made of hard cement and there were seven floors, it was a mortal ending as long as her head hit the ground.

Yu Hanjiang climbed to the seventh floor and found that the door to the rooftop was open.

He remembered that when he and Xiao Lou drew the layout of the building yesterday, the door was locked. In order to prevent students and teachers from climbing to the rooftop of the building, the door to the roof was usually locked. Now the door was open and it was obvious that someone had deliberately opened it.

Ying Xiaoya was a student and couldn’t have the key to the rooftop.

The person who opened the door was absolutely involved in this case.

Yu Hanjiang quickly walked to the rooftop.

It had been raining yesterday and the ground on the roof was damp. As a result, stepping on the wetlands would leave clear and distinct footprints. At this time, there was only one string of footprints. They were a size 37 which was Ying Xiaoya’s feet size. The footprints were slightly messy like the person was hastily running forward.

The footprints disappeared at the edge. Jumping from that location would land exactly where Ying Xiaoya’s body was located.

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On the surface, these footprints should belong to Ying Xiaoya and there were no traces of a second person on the scene.

However, footprints weren’t the only criteria for judging. Yu Hanjiang often went to crime scenes to investigation and footprints were easy to forge. For example, someone put on shoes that were exactly the same size as Ying Xiaoya’s feet or they would directly tiptoe and step on the footprints left by Ying Xiaoya, causing the marks to overlap. In both cases, it would produce the illusion that only Ying Xiaoya’s footprints were at the scene.

A wet woof wasn’t like snow and it was impossible to judge the depth of the footprints. Therefore, even if there was only one person’s footprints at the scene, the possibility of a second person couldn’t be completely ruled out.

Yu Hanjiang carefully looked at the position where Ying Xiaoya jumped off the building. There was a residual piece of clothing that was consistent with the scarf around Ying Xiaoya’s neck.

Just then, there was a knock on a door downstairs followed by the voice of the chief of security. “P-Principal, a student of senior Class 3 has jumped from the building!”

“What?!” The principal had been discussing a matter with the two vice-principals. Once he heard this, he immediately turned and went downstairs with the security guard. The principal spoke while walking, “Guard Chen, you will immediately inform all class teachers. Have the students stay in the classroom and don’t let them out. Guard Liu, call her teachers and the class teacher of Class 3 to the scene!”

A vice-principal asked, “Did you alert the police?”’

“The police have been called and will arrive soon.”

The hurried footsteps of the group gradually faded away.

Yu Hanjiang quickly checked the roof and then avoided the cameras while going to the fourth floor. He returned to the Chongwen Building through the air corridor and looked down.

The air corridor where he was located had a good view. He could see the basketball court in the rear and he could clearly see the situation downstairs.

At this time, the students of Class3 were still standing at the basketball court. They all heard the screams but didn’t know what happened. They just curiously stared in the direction of the screams.

The PE teacher realized that something was wrong and had Yu Hui look after the students. He walked around the corner to check the situation and found there was a girl in the place the security guards were surrounding. The face of the PE teacher became very ugly.

Ying Xiaoya, he remembered this girl.

A student had died during his class. He wouldn’t be able to escape the blame!

The PE teacher clenched his fists nervously and asked the security guards about the situation. Then the school leaders rushed over and Class 3’s class teacher also received news and came to the scene.

Seeing this bloody scene, the school leaders’ faces were as black as the bottom of a pot.

The originally smiling class teacher’s face was also gloomy. He turned to stare at the PE teacher and asked, “What happened? Isn’t this supposed to be chemistry class?”

The PE teacher’s face was uneasy as he muttered, “Teacher Qin called me this morning. She said that her father was going to the hospital for an examination and she had to take time off to accompany him. Today she wouldn’t go to school and the chemistry class would be swapped with tomorrow afternoon’s PE class. I changed classes with her...”

The vice-principal who was in charge of attendance spoke up. “Teacher Qin didn’t apply for leave today.”

The principal frowned. “It doesn’t matter if you change classes but you should take responsibility. Your PE class actually has a student jump off the building! How are you handling the class?”

The PE teacher paled and explained in a whisper, “I organized the boys in the class to play a basketball game. I didn’t expect for this to happen when I temporarily had to take a call.”

The principal roared, “Answering the phone during class time and not looking after the students, this is your dereliction of duty! I won’t be able to protect you from such a serious matter. Wait for your punishment.”

The headmaster’s roar was low but it was clearly heard by the nearby Xiao Lou.

The PE teacher was scolded but he couldn’t refute it. He dropped his head in a frustrated manner.

Just then, the class bell for the fourth quarter rang.

The hungry students would usually rush out of the teaching building for food but there was a bloody case at school today. A body was lying under the office building and in this position, all students could see it if they walked out of the school building.

Fortunately, the principal responded quickly enough and informed the teachers to have the students stay in the classroom.

The students in other classes felt it was strange and privately passed notes to each other. “Having us write homework at noon, is the class teacher crazy?” “It seems that the other classes are also stuck in their classroom. The corridor is quiet!” “Say, didn’t you hear someone scream just now?” “I heard it, it was very loud!” “What is the situation?”

All classes were kept in the school and the students left in the classroom were in a state of panic.

Yu Hanjiang observed the overall situation from the air corridor on the fourth floor while Xiao Lou hid in a corner and listened to the scene.

The eyewitness Yi Ru’s face was as pale as paper and she kept shaking as the class teacher whispered words of comfort to her.

The police soon arrived.

In order to avoid affecting the school’s order, the police cars entering the school didn’t ring their sirens.

There were six people, four police officers, one forensic doctor and an assistant.

The leading criminal police group leader was 40 years old and he seemed to be experienced. He had the police surround the scene with a cordon and walked over to find the principal, class teacher and eyewitness to understand the deceased.

The others started to quickly inspect the scene while the forensic doctor used tools and gloves to examine the body.

Xiao Lou also acted.

He put on the invisibility cloak and entered the scene with the forensic doctor.

The effect of the invisibility cloak was ‘turning into an invisible person.’ Not only did the people in the Card World not see Xiao Lou but Yu Hanjiang couldn’t see Xiao Lou. Still, he knew that Xiao Lou would definitely make the most professional judgement corresponding to Ying Xiaoya’s death. He would listen to the police’s inquiries on the scene.

Yu Hanjiang handed the scene to Xiao Lou with confidence and turned back to Class 3’s classroom. He wanted to see if there was any new evidence.

Yu Hanjiang arrived at Ying Xiaoya’s seat and his eyes narrowed.

[Suicide Note]

Dear Mother and Father, teachers and classmates, I am sorry. I have failed your expectations and I’m leaving. I have no nostalgia for this world. Let my life end at the age of 18—Ying Xiaoya.

Yu Hanjiang, “...”

The handwriting was consistent with the handwriting in Ying Xiaoya’s homework book.

The girl’s handwriting was always neat and the writing was done in a single stroke, as if it had been well thought out.

Yu Hanjiang frowned and always felt that these sentences weren’t quite right.

Just then, he heard hurried footsteps. He looked through the window of the back door and found two policemen rushing upstairs to search for evidence. Yu Hanjiang immediately entered the bathroom opposite the classroom and waited for the police officers to walk in the classroom. Then he calmly came out of the bathroom and returned to the air corridor.

Downstairs, the forensic doctor and assistant were still examining the body. After a simple investigation, they told the chief of the police unit, “Based on my preliminary judgment, the skull of the deceased is broken and there are multiple hemorrhages in the skull. The specific cause of death will be determined once I go back and check.”

The policeman nodded and went over to Yi Ru. “You are the eyewitness?”

Yi Ru’s mood had stabilized thanks to the comfort of the class teacher and she nodded stiffly. “Yes.”

“Tell me in detail. What is the relationship between you and the deceased? What were you doing?”

Yi Ru’s eyes were dull and her lips kept quivering as she spoke intermittently, “Little Ya, Xiaoya is my best friend. At the time, the boys were playing basketball and she didn’t like watching the game. We both went back to the classroom...”

“Today is her 18th birthday and I prepared a birthday present for her. I wanted to give it to her directly. Then after entering the classroom, Xiaoya suddenly said that she didn’t eat breakfast and was very hungry, let me buy food. I was also hungry and went down to the snack bar to buy two packs of potato chips... on the way back, I-I saw her... she fell from the top of the building...”

Yi Ru spoke up to here and seemed to recall the bloody scene. She covered her face with both hands and sobbed.

The policeman looked at the colleague next to him and whispered, “Go to the snack bar and see if she bought potato chips.” He glanced at the audience and asked, “Who is the class teacher of Class 3? Has Ying Xiaoya been acting strange?”

The class teacher came over and said, “Little Ya has been distracted in class lately. For last week’s monthly exam, her score was last in the entire year.”

The policeman asked, “Are all of Class 3’s teachers present?”

The principal replied, “The chemistry teacher asked for leave today and didn’t come to school. The others are present.”

“Have you ever verbally insulted or used corporal punishment on the deceased?”

The English teacher’s face was stiff. “I spoke a few words to her and punished her by making her stand for the class...”

The physics teacher was white-faced. “I-I also scolded her. Her result was too bad and all the questions were wrong...but I promise that I didn’t hit her. I also didn’t say anything serious, that is... she should work hard next time. This student is usually very serious and I think she was behaving our of character.”

The two female teachers looked at each other with regret.

The class teacher continued, “I called her to talk and asked about her love relationship with Yu Hui. Surely she wasn’t too ashamed and combined with her low results, she couldn’t stand the blow and jumped from the building to commit suicide?”

The teachers faced each other while the police officers were very calm. “It is still uncertain if it is suicide.” He turned to look at the principal. “Principal, can you spare me an office. I need to investigate Class 3’s students. Please call all of them to see me. In addition, let me look at the school’s surveillance.”

The principal immediately cooperated. “Okay! Go to the mathematics office on the first floor of the Hangzhi Building. This is the closest to the monitoring centre. The PE teacher will go call the students of Class 3.”

The policeman reminded him. “Don’t tell the students that Ying Xiaoya is dead.”

The PE teacher nodded and turned to inform the students to gather in the Hangzhi Building’s mathematics office.

Xiao Lou was next to the forensic doctor checking the body and heard the conversation between the police and the teachers.

He already had this information, even if the police didn’t ask.

On the surface, Ying Xiaoya really couldn’t stand the blow and jumped off the building. Her love was found by the class teacher and her test results were the worst in the year. She was punished in English class and scolded by the teacher in physics class. The fragile girl was disheartened and took advantage of the chaotic PE class to return to the class. She got rid of her desk mate with the excuse of being hungry and then climbed to the top of the building and jumped down, ending her young life.

This was a very complete chain of logic.

However, they ignored the scarf on Ying Xiaoya’s neck.

Today was her 18th birthday and Yu Hui gave her the scarf. Xiao Lou remembered that the girl had been very happy to receive the gift. Moreover, Yu Hui told her, “It is only the month test. You can do better the next time.” Ying Xiaoya had nodded and obviously adjusted her mentality thanks to Yu Hui’s comfort.

Meanwhile, her desk mate Yi Ru prepared a birthday gift for her, proving that Xiao Lou was previously wrong. The folded paper cranes weren’t for a boy but were for Ying Xiaoya. The relationship between the two girls seemed to be good.

There were the desk mate and Yu Hui’s comfort. Ying Xiaoya wouldn’t suddenly jump and commit suicide.

Just then, the forensic doctor turned Ying Xiaoya’s head and Xiao Lou hurried forward to carefully observe.

Since she fell from the top of the building and her head slammed into the concrete ground, the girl’s face was fleshy and bloody. It looked terrible.

However, her pupils had shrunk abnormally.

A cold mechanical warning sounded in his ears. “Invisibility cloak, the remaining time is 60 seconds...”

He was surrounded by police and security guards. Once the cloak lost its effect, Xiao Lou would immediately be caught and eliminated.

Xiao Lou quickly turned and left the scene.

The initial autopsy at the scene ended and Ying Xiaoya’s body was covered with a white cloth and carried onto a car. Two police officers climbed to the top of the building to check where Ying Xiaoya fell while the group leader and another female police officer called the students of Class 3 to the office to ask questions.

Hiding behind a tree, Xiao Lou wanted to listen but was worried he would be caught by the security guards. As a result, a low voice suddenly entered his ears. “Go to the maple forest and wait for me. I will follow up here.”

It was Yu Hanjiang.

He couldn’t see the other person but the voice in his ears told Xiao Lou that Group Leader Yu had used the invisibility cloak and was going straight to the scene of the police questioning the students.

This was an expert in criminal investigation and Xiao Lou didn’t have to continue with the scene. He assuredly turned to the maple forest.