Rebirth: Spoiling the Obsessive Film Emperor Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Catch Him  

Qin Linlin absolutely refused to replay the footage for them, only telling them to wait for the broadcast and remember to promote it widely to attract more sponsors. That way, the show would have more budget for the actual recording.  

Yin Chengjue, of course, didn’t need to be told. Xiao Xiao was just here to experience the game, but under Qin Linlin’s big, watery eyes, he reluctantly gave in: "Fine, I’ll invest with my own allowance, forget about my old man and the others."  

"Yay, I won’t let Brother Xiao down!" Qin Linlin quickly stepped forward to pinky-swear with Xiao Xiao.  

The three of them sat in front of the screen, continuing to watch what happened next.  

The murderer who had escaped the detective’s grasp was now facing six opponents alone, with very slim chances of winning. To be honest, Yin Chengjue wasn’t holding out much hope.  

However, that thought only lasted until Rong Yu put on black clothes and a mask, then swiftly ran into a room with a camera setup. He moved the table aside and pulled out the clue he had hidden there earlier.  

Xiao Xiao and Yin Chengjue: "..."  

Rong Yu’s face filled the nearest camera frame as he whispered like a thief, "I didn’t have time to solve this clue earlier. I found it in a room on the third floor and hid it here."  

He showed the paper to the camera—a large square grid filled with smaller squares, containing numbers from 1 to 9 but with many blanks. Five of the blanks were circled in red, likely corresponding to a five-digit password.  

After revealing it, Rong Yu said, "This is a Sudoku puzzle, but I’m pressed for time. Before the other six find this place, I need to solve it quickly."  

Solving Sudoku wasn’t hard, but under this time pressure, it was nerve-wracking.  

Meanwhile, in another camera feed, the six others searched for their own task clues while testing and suspecting each other, trying to fish out information to expose the "murderer" among them.  

Even without deliberate editing, the tension was palpable for those watching behind the scenes—both sides were racing against time.  

Just then, Wei Shu found the clue Rong Yu had hidden, revealing that the murderer wasn’t Jiao Yu—the person who knocked out the victim wasn’t the same one who strangled her!

As time passed, the other re-hidden clues were uncovered one by one. Hua Yun, staring at them, suddenly had a "Conan moment" and pieced together the key details: "Let me just say it—Jiao Yu is my character. The victim was my character’s ex-girlfriend. Before seeing these clues, I thought I was the murderer because I accidentally knocked her out."  

Hua Yun adjusted his glasses and laid out the identity the production team had given him before filming: "But now I realize I didn’t kill her with that hit. The real killer is someone else."  

Wei Shu’s jaw dropped: "Huazi, we’re all just here to play a game—why do you have a character card?"  

Hua Yun’s glasses gleamed under the light: "Because the production team has good taste and recognized my excellence at first glance."  

Hua Yun quickly deduced Rong Yu’s involvement from the clues and directed everyone to fan out and search for him.  

On Rong Yu’s end, the puzzle was nearly solved. Once he filled in the last blank, completing all rows, columns, and subgrids, he jotted down the circled numbers and stuffed the paper into a drawer.  

Footsteps grew closer—the others were closing in!  

Realizing he’d been exposed, Rong Yu abandoned the mask on the floor and bolted.  

"I see Rong Yu! Over here!" Qin Ke, just a step too late, shouted to the others.  

"Catch him!" someone yelled, and the chase was on.  

"Is this how the game is supposed to be played?!" Wei Shu, panting from exhaustion, roared in frustration once again.