Chapter 658: Cases
Natasha’s face became increasingly stiff. Kenji did not even look toward Lana.
However, the slight upward curve at the corner of his lips and the unmistakable appreciation in his eyes made his opinion perfectly clear.
He then turned toward Julia.
"As for Julia’s proposal, I am deducting points from her for making an invalid and poorly considered request. There is nothing wrong with raising a concern, but the request itself needs to make sense."
Julia’s expression froze. A faint flush appeared on her face as she lowered her gaze.
The audience immediately became quiet. Kenji leaned forward and continued.
"With that settled, this round will conclude without eliminating anyone."
A few contestants looked relieved. "In fact, no one will be eliminated in the upcoming round either."
This announcement caused another wave of murmurs.
"Since the number of participants has decreased considerably, we will now use a ranking system instead of elimination. The participants will accumulate points throughout the remaining rounds, and their final ranking will be determined by their total score."
Lana quietly listened. ’So they are changing the format.’
Kenji picked up a document from the table. "Now, let us discuss the second round."
The atmosphere immediately became tense again.
"The second round will test your ability to solve cases."
Kenji continued, "Each of you will receive a different case. You will have to investigate it, understand what happened, uncover the truth, and resolve the problem."
He paused deliberately. "The faster you solve your case, the more points you will receive."
Sophia immediately raised a hand. "How much time do we have?"
Kenji smiled. "This time, the deadline is infinite."
The venue fell completely silent. Kenji continued calmly.
"Until the last participant solves their case, this round will not advance. There is no fixed time limit, so you may take as long as you need."
The contestants stared at him in disbelief. ’An infinite deadline?’
Lana narrowed her eyes slightly.
That sounded convenient. Which meant it probably was not.
Kenji gestured toward the staff behind him. "Bring the crystal ball."
A staff member immediately brought forward a large transparent crystal ball.
Inside it floated several tiny pieces of paper, each folded tightly and suspended within the crystal as though they were trapped in water.
Kenji looked toward the participants.
"Each participant will draw one paper from the crystal ball. The name written on it will be the case you have to solve."
He paused before adding, "You are allowed to cooperate with the other participants. You may form a duo, create a group, or even work as one united team."
Several contestants immediately looked interested. "But there is one important restriction."
Kenji’s expression became serious.
"You cannot receive external assistance from anyone outside the participants. No judges, staff members, spectators, organizations, family members, or anyone else may help you."
He tapped the table. "If you receive outside assistance, you will immediately lose the round."
Everyone nodded. Kenji smiled.
"Now, come forward one by one and draw your cases."
Calix was the first to approach.
When he pulled his hand out, he saw a very strange name written on the piece of paper: "The Corpse Beneath the Wedding Bell."
In an instant, the audience, especially those who lived near the competition venue, began murmuring among themselves.
Many of them already knew about the case, and the moment the name appeared before him, their expressions changed.
A few people sighed heavily, while others shook their heads with pity.
’This man is destined to be harmed.’
One by one, the spectators began to pity him. For a moment, Calix could not understand what was happening.
It was not until he received the case file that he subconsciously turned toward his coach, only to find him slowly shaking his head. His coach already knew about this particular case.
There existed a wedding bell that, whenever it rang during a wedding, would cause both the bride and groom to become corpses.
According to the rumors surrounding it, the wedding bell appeared randomly, and once someone became aware of its existence, it could develop an inexplicable grudge against that person.
If anyone attempted to investigate the bell or uncover its origins, it would eventually appear at that person’s wedding and completely ruin their life.
As the coach thought about the horrifying case, it became Julia’s turn.
Julia slowly opened her piece of paper. Her fingers tightened slightly when she saw the name written across it.
"The Crying Child of Blackwood Manor."
In order to get more information, she subconsciously looked toward her coach. He merely blinked at her, his expression making it clear that he already knew about the case.
To Julia, that was a sigh of relief.
The Crying Child of Blackwood Manor might have sounded like an ordinary mystery, but the truth was far more disturbing.
Blackwood Manor was extremely famous, and the case surrounding it was said to rank among the top one thousand unsolved mysteries.
Being assigned such a case meant that Julia’s mission could easily turn into a tragedy if she failed to uncover the truth.
Then it was Danny’s turn. He opened his card and read the words written inside.
"The Dead Man Who Kept Calling."
The moment Danny saw the name, his expression changed. He had heard about this particular incident before.
It was said that, somewhere in the suburban region surrounding their current venue, there existed a dead man who would call out someone’s name at exactly 3:33 a.m.
Anyone who heard their name being called three times would eventually die under unusual circumstances.
A faint chill ran down Danny’s spine as he realized that he had received one of the deadliest cases in the entire competition. He could not help but look toward the judges.
The more he thought about it, the more he wondered what they were planning by handing out such impossibly difficult cases.
Then it was Raphael’s turn.
He opened his card and read the name written inside.
"The Ghost on the Abandoned Railway."
Compared with the previous cases, it sounded relatively simple. Raphael stared at it for a few seconds before quietly folding the paper in his hand.