Rebirth: Spoiling the Obsessive Film Emperor Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Perplexing and Bewildering  

The others also found several letters scattered around the room, each containing different stories. The only common point was that all these stories took place in this hotel.  

Some letters described the hotel as a place of good fortune, while others called it a haunted hotel. Some told joyful tales of marriage, while others recounted tragic stories of mourning.  

Yin Chengjue checked the signatures on the letters and found they were written by someone named "Jiao Yu" to "Xi Xi."  

"We're still missing a key," a voice said. Yin Chengjue turned to see Rong Yu holding a letter up to the light, murmuring to himself, "Without the key, we can't solve the puzzle."  

"What did you find?" Yin Chengjue approached, about to mimic Rong Yu's method of holding the letter to the light, when he noticed Rong Yu subtly forming a heart shape with his fingers behind the letter.  

Yin Chengjue silently raised his hand and, hidden by the letter, returned the gesture with a heart of his own.  

Rong Yu's lips curled into a faint smile, and he winked playfully at Yin Chengjue before saying aloud, "I think we've gathered most of the clues in this room. I want to check the others."  

Wei Shu warned, "Friendly advice—don’t go to the third room on the left after leaving. You’ll regret it!"  

Rong Yu agreed verbally but immediately headed straight for that room upon stepping out. Yin Chengjue followed and saw Rong Yu stiffen for just a second upon pushing the door open before calmly walking in.  

Curious, Yin Chengjue peeked inside and finally understood why Young Master Wei and Young Master Xiao had been so terrified.  

The floor of what should have been a guest room was covered in all kinds of snakes!  

The reason "covered" was the right word was that they were all fake toy snakes—obviously not real, but the realism was uncanny. The cold, slimy texture was enough to make even the most fearless haunted-house veterans turn pale.  

Imagine Lei Miao eagerly picking the lock, Wei Shu rubbing his hands in anticipation as he turned on the light, only to be met with a floor full of coiled, intertwined fake snakes, their bright yellow slit eyes staring straight at them…  

Even knowing they weren’t real, it was hard not to feel a chill.  

Yin Chengjue tossed aside the toy snake he’d picked up, and it landed on the others with a splat.  

Rong Yu was already digging through the pile, uncovering a box buried beneath the snakes. It had a combination lock.  

"Brother Yin, I have a theory," Rong Yu said as he searched for a way to open the lock. "If we take the three mission routes literally—detective, escape, and treasure hunt—they should represent three directions. The detective route requires solving the murder, the escape route means leaving this place, and the treasure hunt route involves finding hidden treasure."

Rong Yu: "We’re on the detective route, so our goal is to find the killer."  

Yin Chengjue nodded in understanding. "So, first, we need to find the body."  

Rong Yu: "Exactly. Since we’re looking for a killer, there must already be a crime scene. We need to locate it before we can gather clues."  

But with so many hotel rooms, searching one by one would take forever.  

Yin Chengjue saw Rong Yu’s frustration and reassured him, "Don’t worry. The production team wouldn’t make the scope that large. We only need to check the locked rooms."  

By "locked," he didn’t mean those requiring key cards, but the ones specifically secured with combination locks by the production team.  

After all, this was a show—they wouldn’t waste time letting them scour every room for clues. The unlocked rooms likely held no important information.  

"Besides, finding the crime scene shouldn’t be too hard. We can get people from the other mission routes to help," Yin Chengjue added.  

Rong Yu’s eyes lit up. "You mean, trick them into searching elsewhere, and once someone discovers the crime scene—"  

Yin Chengjue: "There’s a ninety percent chance they’ll scream."  

Rong Yu: "Then we—"  

Yin Chengjue: "Exactly."  

Rong Yu: "Got it!"  

Their plan worked flawlessly. Wei Shu’s piercing scream led them straight to the crime scene.  

As everyone rushed over and saw the dummy hidden under the bed, Hua Yun’s sharp gaze swept across the group. "Well, detectives, time to get to work."  

Yang Ji adjusted his tie, imitating Conan’s iconic line: "There’s only one truth!"  

Liu Qingling feigned surprise. "Oh? Lao Yang, are you on the detective route?"  

Yang Ji only smirked mysteriously. "Guess."  

No one had openly revealed their mission routes yet. If Yang Ji denied one, the others could deduce his true objective.  

"By the way, I found a clue related to the treasure hunt," Lei Miao waved a small bag. "I’ll say upfront—I’m not on that route, so I’m willing to trade this for another clue. Come find me privately later."  

Yin Chengjue subtly signaled Rong Yu before stepping forward to examine the dummy "corpse." His actions silently declared his role as a detective.  

"Female victim. Ligature marks on the neck, signs of blunt force trauma to the head—likely knocked unconscious before being strangled. Remember those letters? One mentioned a woman in a white dress who hanged herself in a hotel room." Yin Chengjue observed. "This woman is also wearing a white dress."  

"Wait, but wasn’t that story from ten years ago?" Wei Shu asked, confused.  

"Seems we’ll need to decode those letters to understand the full context," Xiao Xiao said.  

Wei Shu: "Aren’t they just stories? How can they be decoded?"  

"They are stories, but have you noticed the patterned borders on the letters? They’re all different and clearly hand-drawn," Xiao Xiao pointed at his own letter.  

The others examined theirs closely. Wei Shu suddenly realized, "These aren’t just patterns! Flip them over—they’re numbers! Roman numerals written backward!"  

Liu Qingling quickly fetched paper and pen to record the numerals from each letter.  

Lei Miao: "But what do these numbers even mean?"  

"Like Morse code, once we establish a rule, we can crack it," Rong Yu pulled out a book. "I found this in Room 331 on the third floor. The cover has a border of Roman numerals—looks just like the letters, doesn’t it?"  

"Wow! Xiao Yu, you’re amazing! This clue is huge!" Wei Shu flipped through the book.  

Lei Miao: "Hold on! I was the one who picked that room’s lock—how did I miss a book?"  

Rong Yu: "It was hidden between the window panes, behind the curtains. You wouldn’t notice unless you pulled them aside."  

Lei Miao: "The production team is downright sneaky!"  

Wei Shu frowned as he skimmed the pages. "I don’t get it. What’s the clue here?"  

Hua Yun flicked his forehead. "Idiot. The book’s cover shows you how to arrange the Roman numerals, and the answers are inside."  

He pointed at the numbers on the cover: "23, 580, 17, 256, 13, 586… Pair them: the 580th character on page 23, the 256th on page 17… Put them together, and it spells the book’s title—Mingsheng Grand Hotel."  

"Oh! You’re right!" Wei Shu gasped.  

Hua Yun: "Now apply that rule to the letters."  

Everyone took out their letters and cross-referenced the pages and character counts.  

As they pieced together the words:  

Wei Shu’s letter translated to—I saw it was you.  

Yin Chengjue’s letter—I like you.  

Rong Yu’s letter—I like you.  

Hua Yun’s letter—Why reject me?  

Liu Qingling’s letter—Marry me!  

Lei Miao’s letter—I know you’re the killer!

Qin Ke’s letter—I will kill you.  

I will kill you.  

The moment these words were deciphered, everyone’s expressions darkened.  

Who would’ve thought such simple letters concealed murderous intent?  

Was the writer sending a killing notice?  

Yin Chengjue stood, exchanging a discreet glance with Rong Yu, whose face was grave, deep in thought.  

"There are still so many clues missing…" Rong Yu murmured. Yin Chengjue, standing beside him, nodded in silent agreement.  

Though the letters revealed much, they still weren’t enough to prove the writer was the killer. They needed conclusive evidence.  

Moreover, if arranged chronologically, Qin Ke’s letter was the last.  

Yang Ji suggested sorting the letters by timeline, resulting in this sequence:  

I like you → Marry me! → Why reject me? → I saw it was you → I know you’re the killer! → I like you → I will kill you.