Bai Youwei turned her gaze to Lu Yuwen on the bed and continued asking about what had happened:

“And why did he end up in this state?”

Zhu Shu said, “After Yan Ge and Lin Kui were arrested by the detective, we wanted to find the real killer who murdered the woman in room 305, so we searched the entire hotel from top to bottom.

“Lu Yuwen found a strange note inside a vase in the stairwell landing. He was about to notify us when he was attacked from behind — someone injected him with an anesthetic!

“According to what Lu Yuwen said before he lost consciousness, the person who attacked him was highly skilled. The anesthetic also took effect almost instantly — barely a touch and he was down — so he’s been unconscious ever since… The note was taken as well. Only half of it, still clutched in his palm, was left behind.”

“That note…” Su Man produced a slip of paper and handed it to Bai Youwei. “The attacker was probably afraid of being discovered and left in a hurry — they didn’t bother pulling away what remained.”

Bai Youwei took it and looked. Written on the note in pencil were:

【囫回固团围回图囝圈团】

“Chinese characters?” Bai Youwei was startled.

“That’s right.” Zhu Shu nodded. “We were surprised too. Of the fifteen guests in the hotel, apart from the five of us, the other ten are all white.”

Bai Youwei stared at the note, puzzled for a long while. She turned it over and over, still unable to discern what it meant.

“It is strange, but we only have half of it — very hard to piece together any useful information…” Bai Youwei looked up at Zhu Shu and Su Man. “Has the doctor said anything about when Lu Yuwen might wake up?”

“He said this state could last all day… he’ll drift in and out of consciousness, and won’t fully recover until tomorrow.”

Zhu Shu sighed, her expression deeply troubled.

“I’m very worried… Weiwei, we’re completely at a disadvantage right now. We’re also completely in the dark about the killers. In a situation like this, if something happens to me and Su Man too, the chances of turning things around are practically zero.”

“Alright~ I know.” Bai Youwei slowly rolled up the note and tucked it into her pocket, then said calmly, “Now, let’s start sorting through the clues.”

She glanced around. “Does anyone have pen and paper?”

“Yes.” Su Man quickly went to the desk and rummaged out a stack of white paper and several pencils.

Every room in the hotel had the same pencils and white paper laid out.

Bai Youwei drew a five-by-three grid on the paper and asked, “Do you remember who is staying in which room?”

“I do.” Zhu Shu nodded. “I remember each person’s face and their corresponding room. I just don’t know their names.”

Su Man marveled, “Zhu Shu, you’re amazing…”

Zhu Shu smiled faintly. “I used to spend a lot of time on film sets — came into contact with many people. Over time, you naturally develop the habit.”

Bai Youwei said, “Not knowing the names is fine. Just tell me whether they’re male or female and roughly what age.”

Zhu Shu nodded and went through each floor from the second up, room by room —

Bai Youwei added notes to each cell. Su Man was in 201, Zhu Shu in 301, Lu Yuwen in 304, Lin Kui and Yan Qingwen in 401 and 403…

Bai Youwei thought for a moment, tapped her pen on the cell for room 402, and after a pause asked, “Did you run out immediately once you heard the scream?”

“Yes — we went out the moment we heard it.” Su Man said quickly. “Since our mission is to find the killers, we rushed out right away.”

“Was the guest in room 405 the last one to come out?” Bai Youwei followed up.

Su Man nodded. “Mm. There’s a woman around forty staying in that room. She didn’t come out until after the detective arrived.”

“Alright…” Bai Youwei rested her chin on one hand, sketching as she spoke slowly. “I don’t know who the actual killers are yet, but I think I’ve figured out who set up Yan Qingwen…”

—