Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 327 - 328: The Critical "34

Chapter 327: Chapter 328: The Critical "34

In the living room, Wang Tao thought for a moment, then asked, "Where was this notebook found?"

He Jinxia and Ren Xiao answered in unison, "Study."

Wang Tao stood up, "Let’s go and take a look."

On the way to the study, Ren Xiao asked, "If there is a connection between the victims, besides their surnames, could it also be related to the crimes they committed? In the eyes of the killer, all three victims had done something wrong."

Lin Qingzhu nodded, "That’s also very possible. Look at your Character Cards; there’s a description on the back. See if there’s any criminal record or bad deeds."

Upon hearing this, everyone else took out their cards to check, except for Ren Xiao.

He frowned and said, "My identity is ’Young Socialite’, and the background introduction says that I’ve stolen before and was administratively detained by the police for a week. Does that count?"

Lin Qingzhu paused midstep, looked up at him with a somewhat solemn expression, and, without answering, turned to look at the others.

The others were holding their cards and reading them carefully.

After a while, Wang Tao said, "No, my singer identity is spotless."

Ouyang Baoer also shook her head, "I’m spotless too."

He Jinxia, "Me too, it only says I’m strict in teaching."

Lin Qingzhu said, "My Character Card says I’m very just and have caught many bad people."

As such, Ren Xiao, the "Young Socialite," had the worst background. If the killer was indeed specifically seeking out bad people to kill, Ren Xiao, among them, barely qualified as a bad person.

Lin Qingzhu walked a few steps forward to Ren Xiao and said seriously, "Thinking about it this way, you could be the fourth victim we’re looking for. No matter what, you shouldn’t act alone from now on, and someone should always be by your side."

He Jinxia’s eyes narrowed sharply, "And not just one person, two people should accompany you. What if the person who’s with you turns out to be the killer? If you happen to be with the killer, wouldn’t it give them the chance to kill you?"

Wang Tao pushed open the door to the study and spoke gravely, "I always feel that things aren’t that simple. To lock down the identity of the fourth victim just based on the fact that all victims did something bad seems all too easy, doesn’t it?"

"If Ren Xiao is the next victim, how would we explain the ’34’ circled at the end of the notebook?"

Wang Tao’s words made sense. It wasn’t just Wang Tao who was skeptical; even He Jinxia was unwilling to believe that things could be so simple.

"You’ve said it before, a criminal who can create a series of murders is careful and logical. I don’t think it would be so easy for us to guess the next victim."

"Besides their own issues, there must be something else connecting the first three victims that we haven’t figured out yet, and the clue we’re missing is the key to confirming the identity of the fourth victim."

He Jinxia slowly spoke, her clear voice ringing like beads falling on a jade plate, carrying a calming strength.

Lin Qingzhu spoke resolutely, "I agree with your opinions, but I also reserve my own thoughts. We’re dealing with a cunning murderer. He gave us many clues, and it seems like we’re digging deeper, yet we might be falling into his trap."

"I think he’s throwing smoke bombs, keeping our thoughts spinning non-stop and subtly veering us off track. In many murder cases, the reason a murderer wants to kill isn’t complicated, nor is the determination of the victim so complex, so I still think that Ren Xiao being the next victim is highly likely."

Ouyang Baoer looked around, a look of utter confusion in her eyes.

She bit her lip, scratched her head, and complained with frustration, "Oh my god, I’m just an innocent, pure, and cute young girl, why do I have to turn into a detective who crushes enemies with their IQ? I can’t do it!"

The remark sounded a bit silly, and the others couldn’t help but turn their heads to smile.

Ouyang Baoer continued to massage her head, grumbling, "This theme mission is too hard. Can’t we just joyfully tear each other apart anymore?"

Wang Tao scanned the study, and ultimately, his gaze landed on the desk. As he walked over, he said with emphasis, "Baoer, this is a classic case of ’beauty without brains,’ you need to exercise your mind more!"

Ouyang Baoer looked down at her chest and uttered a very genuine statement, "But... my chest isn’t that big."

Everyone: "..."

Ha ha ha, it was as if three crows flew overhead, a chilly wind carrying countless fallen leaves rustled by, it felt really cold.

The others stifled their laughs and turned away, leaving Ouyang Baoer alone, looking bewildered.

He Jinxia tilted her head slightly, the smile on her lips retracted a bit, a hint of a sly gleam flickered in her eyes.

Clearly, Ouyang Baoer on the show had adopted the persona of a "brainless comical figure." Since the launch of "Burn, Youngsters" this year, they hadn’t replaced her, which was enough to show that Ouyang Baoer played her character very successfully.

He Jinxia pondered briefly and then didn’t think further on it. Whether Ouyang Baoer was genuinely foolish or pretentiously so, it wasn’t in conflict with her.

"Is this... a music CD?" Wang Tao’s voice rang out.

Everyone looked up and saw him opening all the cabinets in the desk.

All the other cabinets were empty, except for the middle drawer which contained a music CD.

The characters on the CD were in Japanese, translated as the words "Hell Girl".

Ren Xiao knew a bit of Japanese and also loved Japanese anime; he immediately said, "This is a Japanese anime, quite classic and famous."

A death list had appeared on the desk, and now a "Hell Girl" music CD had surfaced—most people found their minds unable to make sense of it.

The more clues they got, the farther they seemed from the truth, instead drifting into greater confusion.

Ouyang Baoer had a stroke of genius at that moment, suddenly crying out with a slap of her hand, "I’ve got it! Didn’t the last item on the list write the number ’34’? Could it refer to the 34th word on the 34th page of a book?"

"In those TV dramas and movies, aren’t numbers usually some sort of code? You basically just have to find a certain book, and then you can decipher it according to the numbers!"

This remark made everyone have an epiphany.

Lin Qingzhu said enthusiastically, "That’s very possible. We might be able to find clues from a book."

He Jinxia frowned, "Then what does this music CD have to do with the number 34? Could it be a red herring that has nothing to do with the victim?"

Ren Xiao thought about it and said hesitantly, "There’s only the death list and the music CD in the desk, which shows that the CD must be important to the killer. Could ’34’ be related to the song lyrics, like the 34th word in the lyrics?"