TPODN Chapter 52

The room was filled with everyone’s gazes. The thought that one of them might be the real killer sent a wave of tension through her, tightening even her stomach. Even on her first visit to a crime scene, Lu Yao had never felt such pressure.

However, this was also a good opportunity. What reaction would the killer have when the method of the locked-room murder was revealed in front of everyone? It was worth observing carefully. Next, it was her side’s turn to launch an offensive.

“Now, we’re ready to begin the experiment. Mr. Zhou Junlong, I’m going to need your help.”

Zhou Junlong, holding the remote control, nodded with a confused expression and started Dele No. 3.

As the startup message appeared, the sound of a motor running echoed in Chairman Zhou Runmin’s office.

“Uh, can we wait a moment? I don’t quite understand the purpose of this experiment,” Attorney Hou Yunling asked, looking puzzled. Seeing the new Chairman Liu Ziqi and his important executives sitting in the back, Attorney Hou must have been instructed by them.

“We hope you can explain the purpose and content of the experiment first, otherwise, we won’t know whether the experiment is a success or a failure,” even Deputy General Manager Sun Ran offered this unwelcome advice.

“Okay.”

Lu Yao nodded. Originally, she only wanted to obtain permission to use the chairman’s office and then conduct the experiment in secret, but things had inexplicably developed into such a large-scale event. Just the leadership of Maoyuan International Group alone had ten people watching the experiment, including three secretaries. The only one who was on her side was Wang Linfei. However, Wang Linfei had actually run off to a distant corner and was browsing the books on the bookshelf with an indifferent attitude.

[If you see this text, please exit reading mode, or go to the “source webpage” to read normally]
[Please go to the source webpage to read, the following content prevents the automatic replacement of collected data] you──I, big──small, more──less, up──down, left──right….
Team Wang always went his own way. Lu Yao encouraged herself to cheer up.

“As you all know, when Chairman Zhou Runmin was murdered, the scene was a locked room. And the only person who could enter the chairman’s office without being captured by surveillance cameras on the day of the incident was Mr. Zhao Menglin, who was in the Product Planning Department director’s office at the time. That’s why the police listed Mr. Zhao Menglin as a suspect…”

“No need to explain further, everyone is already very clear about these things, Officer Lu Yao,” Attorney Hou urged Lu Yao to hurry up and get to the point.

“Okay. Our ‘Special Criminal Investigation Unit’ investigated various methods of entering the chairman’s office, but unfortunately, we haven’t found anything so far. However, during the investigation, another hypothesis emerged. That is to say, the killer did not need to enter the chairman’s office and could carry out a remote-controlled murder from a distance.”

The audience on stage burst into an uproar.

“You mean, the perpetrator used our company’s robot to commit the crime?”

The one who spoke with a voice that sounded like phlegm stuck in his throat was Liao Yulong, the Minister of Sales. Maoyuan International Group was originally a toy manufacturer founded by Zhou Runmin called “Maoyuan Toys,” and Liao Yulong was the general manager of a company called “Yulong Care Services” at the time, apparently entering the care service field before that company was acquired by Zhou Runmin. And Liao Yulong was now content to be a Sales Minister with no real power.

“I don’t think we can ignore this possibility, because Dele No. 3 is regarded as the symbol of Maoyuan and has always been placed in the chairman’s office…”

“Wait a minute!” Zhou Junlong shouted indignantly.

“When we were in the laboratory in Hongshen District, I should have explained that this possibility does not exist, right?”

“Yes, you’re right. It’s just that I’m wondering if there are any loopholes in it?”

“You just said remote-controlled murder, so where did the killer control Dele No. 3 from? It’s impossible to control it without seeing the situation on the ground, right?”

“Regarding this point, although I can’t be sure yet, I think there is another way.”

“Specifically, what method is that?”

Zhou Junlong pressed him, unwilling to give up.

“First of all, the web camera attached to the Dele No. 3 display can monitor images via the Internet. Furthermore, as long as you install a camera in this office beforehand, you may be able to transmit images wirelessly.”

“In that case, no matter which method is used, there would be equipment left behind, right?”

“Yes. The killer should have had time to dispose of those devices.”

Attorney Hou joined the conversation, while Liu Ziqi next to him crossed his arms, his face somewhat unsightly.

“Is that really the case?” Liu Ziqi glanced at Lu Yao.

“It’s only a hypothesis at the moment. Chairman Liu Ziqi was alone in the chairman’s office for about two minutes before discovering the body of old Chairman Zhou Runmin, right? If he used that time to clean up the equipment, it should be impossible, right?”

“Wh…what? You? You actually accused Chairman Zhou Runmin…” Minister Liao Yulong’s face changed drastically as he burst into a rage, but he couldn’t continue speaking halfway through.

“Officer Lu Yao, it’s impolite to accuse others without any evidence. Please take back what you said,” Attorney Hou’s tone was also unusually agitated, but only Liu Ziqi’s expression remained unchanged from beginning to end.

Lu Yao was speechless for a moment. At this stage, there was indeed not enough evidence to accuse her of being the killer.

“…To remotely control Dele No. 3, there is actually another method.”

Wang Linfei’s calm voice came from the corner of the office. The focus of everyone’s attention immediately shifted from Lu Yao to Wang Linfei.

“For example, what method is that?”

Attorney Hou’s tone was quite sharp as he asked.

“The killer could also use a hanging basket to spy on the office from outside the window.”

“A hanging basket? The one for cleaning?”

“Wait a moment, wasn’t someone cleaning the windows at the time of the incident?”

“Do ordinary people know how to use that kind of thing?”

Attorney Hou Yunling, Minister of Sales Liao Yulong of Maoyuan International Group, Minister of Publicity Xu Hao, and other leaders threw out questions like a string of firecrackers, but Wang Linfei was still as calm and collected as a Buddha.

“The estimated time of death is between 12:59 and 1:15, and the window cleaning started around 1:00. Neither has an exact time point. Therefore, the killer may have committed the crime during this brief period. In addition, the crane and the hanging basket are usually placed directly on the roof. Just press the button on the power supply box and you can start it immediately. Moreover, the remote control is just four buttons for moving up, down, left, and right. Even for ordinary people, it is not difficult to operate.”

The scene fell into silence.

“Nonsense, that’s too unreasonable.”

Attorney Hou whispered, his tone clearly displeased.

What Attorney Hou said was not necessarily nitpicking Wang Linfei. Even if the estimated time of death or the time of starting cleaning had slight deviations, there would not be much time to use. Moreover, what if the killer ran into the cleaning staff? Wouldn’t everything be over? Such a statement could not be used as a defense in court.

“If we’re just discussing possibilities, even from the roof of the building next door, you can spy with a telescope. And I think everyone here knows about the possibility of this method, as proven by the Gundam gun sniping incident that happened.”

As soon as Wang Linfei finished speaking, the important executives of Maoyuan International Group immediately looked at each other in dismay. Everyone must be thinking about where this secret was leaked from. And Jiang Kefan, who leaked the secret, lowered his eyes in a panic.

Wang Linfei’s statement was using the fake sniping incident to counterattack, the whole hypothesis was actually a big deception. At the time of the incident, the curtains in the chairman’s office were clearly drawn, and the glass window should also be very dirty. It was unlikely to be able to see the situation inside.

However, perhaps because no one could refute Wang Linfei’s hypothesis, no more rebuttals were heard on the scene.

“…I understand, the hypothesis is that it can be operated from outside. But, as you said yesterday, Dele No. 3 has a built-in safety program. It’s impossible to use it to kill someone.” Zhou Junlong finished speaking. The people gathered at the scene seemed to take the performance of Dele No. 3 as common sense, and no one raised any questions.

“I think the safety program is very well-designed, so it is almost impossible for an ordinary accident to occur. However, if the user has malicious intent, that is beyond expectation.” Lu Yao pointed to the sofa for resting. Zhou Junlong had brought a mannequin from the lab and placed it horizontally on the sofa. The mannequin was covered with a blanket, just like Chairman Zhou Runmin back then.

“According to the restrictions of the program, Dele No. 3 will not drop or bump the person being held. But in reality, there is a blind spot in it.” Lu Yao waited for everyone to ask about the blind spot, but no one spoke at the scene.

“Mr. Zhou Junlong, please try to have Dele No. 3 pick up the mannequin.”

Zhou Junlong silently operated the remote control, directing the caregiver robot to retreat. The mechanical arms on both sides passed over the mannequin’s body, slowly lifting it up.

The blanket slowly slipped down as the mannequin was lifted, eventually falling to the floor.

“As you can see.”

“What are you talking about?” Attorney Hou finally couldn’t help but show an impatient attitude.

“What does what we’re seeing represent? Isn’t it just that the caregiver robot picked up the mannequin?”

“Please pay attention to the blanket.”

“The blanket?”

“The blanket slipped, this is the method of the crime.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying…” Lu Yao glanced at Liu Ziqi. Although his expression didn’t change much, his gaze seemed to sharpen a bit.

“No matter how perfect a computer program is designed, it is different from what the human eye sees. The program only focuses on the pre-set instructions. If it were a person, they would definitely block the blanket once they discovered that it was about to slip. However, Dele No. 3 didn’t care about this at all, thinking that the object being protected by the safety program was only the object being held by the mechanical arms.”

A trace of surprise flashed in Liu Ziqi’s eyes. He didn’t look at all like a cruel criminal. What was going on? Lu Yao felt quite surprised. Could it be that this woman was not the killer?

“Please explain more specifically, how exactly did the killer murder Chairman Zhou Runmin?” Minister Xu Hao urged.

“Can I trouble you to move the mannequin back to the sofa?” In response to Lu Yao’s request, Zhou Junlong operated the remote control. Dele No. 3 repeated the action just now, retreating in the reverse order. Although the blanket still fell on the floor, the mannequin had returned to its original state.

“At the time of the incident, Chairman Zhou Runmin was taking a nap on the sofa like this. The killer used Dele No. 3 to not only lift up the chairman’s body, but to lift up the entire sofa as well.”

The audience was in an uproar again.

“Is that possible?”

“Yes. The upper limit of the weight that Dele No. 3 can lift is 300 kilograms, and Chairman Zhou Runmin’s weight is less than 80 kilograms, and the weight of the sofa is at most 40 kilograms or so…”

At this moment, a question suddenly flashed through her mind. Why was Dele No. 3 designed to have a maximum lifting weight of 300 kilograms? Even considering safety aspects, there were many machines that could fully cope with ordinary care situations with only half the lifting weight. However, the bubble of thought immediately disappeared in the tense atmosphere of debate at the scene.

“Lifted up along with the entire sofa? What does that mean? What exactly…”

Attorney Hou seemed to have realized something, stopping his words halfway. It seemed that he finally understood as well.

“Assuming that Dele No. 3 lifts Chairman Zhou Runmin up together with the sofa, then, for the safety program, the object being protected is no longer the chairman’s body, but the sofa. Therefore, even if the object under the sofa slips, the program will not react in any way.”

The scene fell silent again, but unlike before, the surrounding air became tense.

“Dele No. 3 can tilt the object being held within 20 to 30 degrees in three directions. If he lifts the entire sofa together with the chairman’s body, first moves it to the center of the office, and then tilts the angle of the sofa slightly above the glass table, he can cause the top of the head to be violently impacted.”

Dele No. 3 can lift the object being held up to 160 centimeters, plus the seat height of the sofa is about 40 centimeters, so Chairman Zhou Runmin’s body can fall from a height of up to 200 centimeters. With the height of the glass table being 45 centimeters, the entire height difference reaches 155 centimeters. If the chairman’s head had undergone surgery, it would not be surprising for him to die from cerebral hemorrhage under such circumstances.

No, it was more than not surprising. Considering the time the bloodstains appeared, the identification results proved that Chairman Zhou Runmin’s head was facing upwards when he was killed, and the impact force was not weak, everything was completely consistent.

“Mr. Zhou Junlong, can I trouble you to try lifting the mannequin together with the sofa?”

However, Zhou Junlong did not react.

“Mr. Zhou Junlong?”

Could it be that he was the killer? Lu Yao thought for a moment.

“It can’t be done.” Zhou Junlong’s reply carried a hint of a sigh.

“It can’t be done? Why? The weight should be more than enough, right?”

“If you had told me the content of the experiment from the beginning, I could have answered you earlier… However, since you have already posed the question, it would be faster to actually demonstrate it rather than explain it verbally.”

Zhou Junlong used his little finger to control the joystick on the remote control, and Dele No. 3 approached the sofa.

“First lift it from the front, pull the sofa out, turn to the back, and then lift the sofa again. If you lift it from the front, the mannequin won’t fall.”

“If you know, then try it…”

Dele No. 3 slowly lowered its mechanical arms, passing through the bottom of the sofa.

Everyone in the chairman’s office watched this scene with bated breath. Watching the mechanical arms deeply penetrate the bottom, it should be ready to lift it up soon.

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Dele No. 3’s movement stopped there.

“What happened?”

The one who answered the question was not Zhou Junlong, but Dele No. 3.

“Unable to lift. Error message number three. Unable to lift. Error message number three…” Dele No. 3’s gentle AI male voice kept ringing.

“What’s going on? Why can’t it be lifted?” The question raised by Liu Ziqi was exactly the doubt in the hearts of everyone present.

“This is a problem of object depth.”

Zhou Junlong continued to explain.

“The mechanical arms of Dele No. 3 have a guide device with a built-in sensor at the rear. If the guide device cannot be bent and folded to firmly hold the target object, it will not enter the lifting stage. Therefore, the maximum depth of an object that can be lifted by the mechanical arms is within 70 centimeters. And this sofa, no matter how you look at it, is below 90 centimeters, so it is impossible to lift it up.” Seeing that this unexpected situation had made her fail miserably, Lu Yao felt at a loss.

How could this be? Then, how exactly did the killer commit the locked-room murder?

Under the pressure of everyone’s eyes, Lu Yao looked around the entire room. That’s right! It wasn’t necessarily that a sofa had to be used.

“Please wait a moment.”

Lu Yao desperately sorted out her thoughts.

“Even if a sofa can’t be used, as long as there is an object to use as a platform, it should be fine, right? Or let’s think about it this way, the killer first directed Dele No. 3 to move Chairman Zhou Runmin to a certain object, and then lifted up the entire object together…”

However, looking around, there was not a single object that matched the description. No, the only exception was….

“How about this glass coffee table? Since we have always believed that this was the murder weapon, perhaps this is actually the blind spot of the entire case. Maybe the killer moved Chairman Zhou Runmin to the glass coffee table, directed the robot to lift it up, and then dropped it somewhere else?”

“Give up, Lu Yao!” Wang Linfei walked to Lu Yao’s side and said to her in a low voice: “Unfortunately, this experiment failed. I hope you can make a comeback next time.”

“But…”

“I think it’s impossible to use the glass coffee table as a platform, because if Chairman Zhou Runmin had lied on the clean and bright glass, it would definitely leave some traces. But according to the current identification results, apart from the small amount of bloodstains that were speculated to have flowed from the head, nothing else was found at all.”

“What if the killer wiped the table, leaving only the bloodstains?”

As she asked the question, Lu Yao realized that she could not explain how bloodstains would be left if the chairman’s body fell from the glass coffee table.

“The only person who could wipe the table would be Chairman Zhou Runmin. But in just one or two minutes, I think it would be quite difficult,” Wang Linfei said calmly.

“Moreover, if the glass coffee table is used as a platform, then we will have to face the question of what the murder weapon is. Let’s stop here this time, even if we insist any further, there will be no result.”

Lu Yao felt unwilling, biting her lip, but she could only declare failure in a sigh.

“Alright then…”

Lu Yao felt so ashamed that she wanted to find a hole to hide in, thinking that she had actually put on a detective-like appearance. Those men who filed out of the office seemed to be looking at her with sarcastic eyes without any concealment. Lu Yao desperately stirred up the fighting spirit and anger in her heart, at least don’t be ashamed to blush at this time.

After a group of important leaders left, Lu Yao thanked Zhou Junlong, who looked regretful, for his assistance, and apologized for suspecting Dele No. 3. Then Lu Yao and Wang Linfei walked out of the chairman’s office together…

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