Elijah’s skin was extremely pale, the blue veins beneath it appearing fragile as well.
He was very thin and very tall. In the oppressive atmosphere of this rainy day, strands of his chestnut-brown curly hair still shimmered with a flowing luster.
He resembled a beautiful youth who had stepped out of a medieval oil painting, carrying an out-of-place ancient elegance amid the damp, rotting gloom, and walked right up to him.
“I prefer this seat.” As if worried that his request might seem like he was picking a fight, he explained.
Three-quarters of the seats in the library were empty.
“Please, have a seat.” Xiao Fen gestured for him to sit across from him.
Though both were guests, they didn’t mention anything about the program between them.
They sat facing each other, just like two strangers.
Which they basically were.
Elijah set down his book and opened the cover, revealing the table of contents right away.
Xiao Fen glanced at it casually and felt a bit uncomfortable.
Normally, there would be a blank page between the cover and the table of contents.
Elijah noticed his gaze and held out the book. “Want to take a look? Here.”
Xiao Fen quickly waved it off. Books made him sleepy, especially ones about religion.
But as Elijah brought the book closer, Xiao Fen inadvertently noticed traces of torn-out pages between the cover and the table of contents.
People in prison really had no manners.
He waved his hand again, so Elijah had no choice but to pull it back and continue reading.
When Fang Si Ting emerged from the bathroom, Xiao Fen gathered the clippings and glasses, said goodbye to Elijah, and returned the items to Fang Si Ting when no one was around.
Once everyone had left, Xiao Fen returned to Ou Yu’s side. “You really read for that long?”
“That’s called getting lost in your reading, forgetting to eat or sleep.” Ou Yu closed his book. “The people here have no manners at all. A lot of the books are torn to shreds. But what can you expect from them?”
“It’s getting late. Roll call’s soon.” Xiao Fen called out.
The two returned to the dormitory just in time for the midday nap roll call.
Xiao Fen stretched lazily and flopped down to sleep.
He slept comfortably, but outside the prison, a storm of controversy raged.
With such a famous program, the families and children of Joe, Felimon, and Claude; Jiang Kangsheng’s university classmates, family, and friends; the local prosecutors, lawyers… almost everyone involved or not had learned of Xiao Fen’s deductions. In particular, the lawyers arguing for both sides immediately began preparing relevant materials.
Meanwhile, the Program Crew received a notice prohibiting prisoners from interacting with Vice Squad Officers for more than five minutes. No matter who it was, if caught, the prisoner would be thrown into solitary for a month.
At the same time, they imposed even stricter surveillance on Jiang Kangsheng. He was no longer allowed in the Prison Factory and spent his days either in his private cell or pacing an isolated exercise yard. Aside from his usual caretakers, no one else was allowed near him.
Court day arrived soon enough.
Xiao Fen wandered around the exercise yard and cell area but didn’t spot Jiang Kangsheng anywhere.
He went to the library, emerged leisurely ten minutes later, and returned to the dormitory for a nap.
Ulysses followed right after into the library. Under the guidance of the Vice Squad Officer managing the place, he arrived at a corner.
This was a surveillance blind spot. Even the administrator had no idea what he did there.
Ulysses groped around, then suddenly shoved the chair. Between the chair leg and its fixed crossbar was a gap.
He shook it hard a few times; the mortise-and-tenon joint was quite loose. He dug in with his fingers and pulled out a rolled-up slender strip of paper.
“The rats have learned to burrow.” Ulysses smiled mildly and unrolled the strip.
【Ahhhh, we’ve been found out.】
【Xishi Bro is so mean. Why does he have such sharp eyes?】
Foreign netizens: 【……】
Ulysses noted the meeting time and place on the strip, rolled it back up, and stuffed it in again.
The barrage erupted in wails.
Ulysses straightened the chair contentedly and left the library.
Half an hour later, Fang Si Ting approached the library and went to the corner. He first checked the chair and saw the traces didn’t match, so he pulled out the strip, crumpled it without looking, and pocketed it. Then he groped under the table and found another strip.
【Hehehehe, bet you didn’t expect that. That’s what they call one-upmanship.】
【You H Country folks are just too sneaky.】
【And they love to act, fooling the new viewers.】
This drew agreement from netizens of over a dozen countries.
【They’re as sly as Xiao.】
【Don’t mess with H Country people. They know kung fu and all sorts of schemes.】
The Live Stream Chat viewers watched the whole thing clearly but couldn’t warn Ulysses. They could only watch helplessly as he got played.
【Thanks for the praise from our international friends.】
【That’s called all’s fair in war.】
【That fight in the infirmary last time was obviously to mislead Xishi Bro, making him think they had a bad relationship. But Xishi Bro still pursued relentlessly.】
There was one strip each under the table and chair, each with a different time and place. A hair was tucked into the gap above. The later arriver would skip the strip if the hair was missing; if it was still there, it was safe.
If both were discovered, they’d switch hiding spots next time.
Soon, Xiao Fen got word from Fang Si Ting that Joe had counterattacked in court.
According to evidence from Joe’s lawyer, on the night of the crime, after greeting Jiang Kangsheng and leaving Claude’s doorstep, he went to a convenience store on the street. Surveillance captured him buying water at 10:20 p.m.
It only took five minutes to get from Claude’s place to the store.
That meant they met at Claude’s door around 10:15. Killing someone right before or after was entirely possible.
Moreover, the blood test results were out. The victim’s blood contained aconitine toxin and tetrodotoxin. The former took effect in 5 to 10 minutes, the latter about the same—up to half an hour for the fast-acting ones. In that timeframe, only Jiang Kangsheng, who had just gotten home, had the time and ability to commit the crime.
The motive was ample too.
Jiang Kangsheng’s lawyer was out of moves and could only request a three-day delay to reconvene.
“As expected, just like I thought.” Xiao Fen showed no surprise or shock upon hearing the result. It was entirely within his expectations.
This reassured the Live Stream Chat viewers.
Though many P Country netizens thought he was just putting on a brave front.
“What’s really going on?” Ou Yu asked, puzzled.
“Can’t say.” Xiao Fen placed a slender index finger to his lips. “Before that, I need to find a chance to meet Jiang Kangsheng face-to-face and confirm a few things. When it comes to poisons, he’s the expert.”
Ou Yu glanced meaningfully at the hovering camera and had to remind him, “You’re saying this now?”
Guests weren’t supposed to watch the Live Stream Chat directly, but the Program Crew or Jiang Kangsheng’s opponents might see it and connect the dots, potentially blocking him.
It hadn’t been caught on camera, but he had that feeling anyway.
“Ulysses wants to compete with me, right? Then I’ll give him the chance.” Xiao Fen laughed.
He must have learned about the little secret communication method in the library between him and Fang Si Ting by now.
It could only be used once anyway; it wouldn’t work after that.
Though they probably wouldn’t need it anymore.
Many in the Live Stream Chat felt the same unfairness.
【I suspect the opposing lawyer coordinated with the Program Crew, tipping off Ulysses to our side’s moves. Otherwise, why does he only target Brother Fen?】
【This is totally unfair.】
【This isn’t some game in the show—it’s a real case. We can’t let biased deductions disrupt a fair trial.】
【So you’re scared? What if Brother Fen reveals the truth to the world? Your reputations would be ruined.】
【They’re already embarrassed beyond recovery. Even the coroner saw it, but they still haven’t realized they grabbed the wrong guy.】
【I believe in Apollo. He’s a man of justice and fairness; he wouldn’t contact the Program Crew or outsiders off-show.】
“Got any plans?”
“This one’s still under wraps for now.” Xiao Fen tugged loose the first-person cameras on both of them and whispered a few words in Ou Yu’s ear.
Ou Yu’s eyes widened.
The camera circled once and settled back on their chests.
Xiao Fen shot him a look, got up, and went to the cafeteria water dispenser to fill a cup.
He grabbed a few extra disposable paper cups, stacked them, tossed the top one after drinking, pocketed the remaining three, and returned to the cell with Ou Yu.
Now it was just a matter of waiting.
“Perfect timing. Bandage says there’s good drama tonight.” He said with a schadenfreude grin. “Your chance is here.”
During the days Xiao Fen slacked off sleeping and bickered with Fang Si Ting, Ou Yu had already gotten acquainted with almost everyone up and down the prison.
“What kind of show?”
“No idea. I’ll ask him later. He’s the prison’s gossip king—nothing slips past him.”
Prisons always had those well-connected types, like the black-market octopus dealing in goods, or that P Country guy nicknamed Bandage, an info broker. Get on his good side, and you’d know even what Killer Gan farted.
Lately, Ou Yu had been working him, but the guy seemed to have eyes for him. He only spilled half the intel each time, the implication clear.
Ou Yu played dumb. As long as he didn’t lay it out, they’d stay regular cellmates.
If he did, one look from Matthew would handle it.
————
After dinner and showers, as everyone milled around the dorm chatting, Xiao Fen’s sharp instincts told him undercurrents were indeed stirring.
Over a dozen people howled excitedly, cheering for no apparent reason.
“This the big deal you mentioned?” Xiao Fen yawned, annoyed by these monkeys.
“I’m wondering too. This much noise, and the prison guards will be here any second.” Ou Yu stood on the second-floor walkway, looking around, then suddenly tugged Xiao Fen’s shirt.
“What are they wandering around for?”
The two spotted five or six guys fresh out of the shower, basins in hand, white towels around their necks. Instead of heading back to their rooms to drop off their stuff, they wandered, watching the excitement—but drifting away from the crowd, toward the walls.
The sleepiness fled Xiao Fen’s mind in an instant. He patted Ou Yu’s arm, signaling him to stay put.
“What’s up?”
Xiao Fen looked around and headed to the third floor, where five or six people clustered at the doors of the three rooms housing the M Country guys.
Not many, but a closer look revealed even the prisoners on the opposite second-floor walkway watching those three rooms.
Clearly, they were tonight’s stars.
“Hey, brothers, come out and chat.”
“Staying cooped up in your room isn’t stuffy?”
At that moment, Yevgeny stared at them oddly. Xiao Fen had just reached the door, calling him out.
Rodion stepped out first. “This about what happened this afternoon, right?”
“You got it.” One prisoner said.
Rodion happily bro-hugged them, grabbing Yevgeny who was about to follow Xiao Fen. “You come downstairs with us first.”
“What’s going on? When did you get so chummy with them?”
