Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Discovering a Corpse

What was done was done. The director had no choice but to have a camera follow them as they looked for a suitable tool.

Shen Zhiyao and Chen Yan weren’t in the shot, so the director hurried over to prompt them. “The green crystal stone isn’t here, it’s—”

Before he could finish, Meng Xiaoxiao came over, shouldering a large hammer. “Look! I found a hammer! We can use this to open the lock and find the green crystal stone.”

The camera rushed over as well, forcing the director to get out of the way.

The door swung open to reveal a surprisingly large space, with a staircase at the far end.

The building they were in was a small, single-story house. The staircase at the end of the hall didn’t go up, but rather extended downward into a narrow, pitch-black passage with no visible end.

Without another word, the five guests headed down the stairs.

The director was annoyed, but with how things had developed, he could only accept it.

The stairs led down to a basement. There were no windows or doors, nor any form of ventilation.

As a result, the basement was not only dark and damp, but also filled with the pungent stench of blood.

The moment Sun Yingbin got to the bottom, he nearly threw up.

The cameraman who followed was also about to gag, instinctively taking two steps back.

Meng Xiaoxiao was frightened and kept inching closer to Shen Zhiyao.

The director carefully suggested, “Maybe… we should just forget it and look somewhere else?”

“Since we’re already here, we can’t just leave empty-handed. We should at least go take a look, right?” Shen Zhiyao, who had been nonchalant until now, suddenly had a serious expression on his face.

Under the cover of darkness, Shen Zhiyao cast a Spell to clear some of the surrounding odor. Then, he turned on his phone’s flashlight. “Let’s go. We’ll check it out together.”

The space below was large but looked spartan, containing only a stool and a bed. It resembled a bedroom.

Further inside, there was a large iron door.

Sun Yingbin pushed the door open and said with a laugh, “Was this building built backward? How is the bedroom outside and the living room inside? What a unique design!”

As the door swung open, it revealed all sorts of torture instruments. Two iron chains hung from the wall.

The area was covered in bloodstains. An indescribable smell assaulted them, so strong that it made their eyes water.

Shen Zhiyao moved his phone’s flashlight beam a little further inside, then froze.

Beneath the iron chains, a corpse lay flat on the ground.

A chain was wrapped around the corpse’s neck. Its face was contorted in a grimace, its eyes bulging, suggesting the deceased had struggled violently before death.

“That’s… that’s… that’s Master Qin!” Meng Xiaoxiao got a clear look at his face and stumbled back several steps in terror.

The production team and the staff members standing nearby were all stunned by the scene. It took them a long moment to react.

“What are you standing around for? Run! Cut the livestream! Get out!”

But it was too late. The viewers in the livestream had clearly seen the body on the floor.

The live comments instantly exploded:

[Holy crap! Is that a dead body on the floor? Is this real or just for show?!]

[Is the production team faking this? The body looks kind of old. Meng Xiaoxiao said it’s Master Qin, but didn’t Master Qin just greet the factory manager and see them off to the factory? How is he suddenly dead?]

[It’s over. The cast and crew are screwed now! They’re in deep trouble!]

[Director, don’t cut the stream! I’m kind of excited to see what happens next. Are the guests going to be framed?]

The production team had already evacuated quickly and notified the factory to call the police.

Soon, the factory was surrounded by police cars.

Arriving with the police was the previous monarch of the Island Country, Qin Feng.

Qin Feng was a longtime friend of Master Qin and the former monarch of the Island Country.

Although Qin Feng was over ninety years old, he looked like he was in his fifties or sixties, not showing his age at all.

It was said that Qin Feng had assumed the role of monarch at the age of twenty and held the position for over seventy years.

Therefore, he held immense prestige in the Island Country and was an idol revered by its citizens.

Even the police were deferential to Qin Feng, automatically clearing a path for him the moment they saw him.

Qin Feng’s eyes swept disdainfully over the guests present. “You are the guests Gu Shi brought,” he said coldly. “Who gave you permission to come to our nation’s Bell Factory?”

The director quickly stepped forward to explain to Qin Feng that they had received Master Qin’s permission before coming in to film and that they had not disrupted the factory’s normal operations.

Qin Feng grew furious upon hearing this. “You greeted Master Qin and came in? Don’t you know? I own all the factories in this entire country! I am the master! All the factories are under my control! Who would dare nod their head in agreement to something I haven’t permitted!”

Just then, Gu Shi also arrived in a panic.

The director explained the situation to Gu Shi. “Are you familiar with Qin Feng? This is what happened. Can you please explain to him that we’ve been wrongly accused? Master Qin was already dead when we arrived.”

Before Gu Shi could say anything, Qin Feng cut in coldly, “Let the police investigate first. We’ll discuss everything else later.”

Gu Shi also seemed a bit afraid of Qin Feng, so he didn’t say anything more.

The police split into two groups. One went to investigate the crime scene, while the other stayed behind to take statements.

The director had originally thought it would all be over after giving their statements. As long as everyone cooperated, they could finish up quickly.

Who knew that after the statements were taken, the lead officer would suddenly point at Shen Zhiyao, Chen Yan, Sun Yingbin, Meng Xiaoxiao, and Zhou Ye and say, “The investigation is ongoing. No one is permitted to leave. This will not be over anytime soon. You lot were at the crime scene and are under major suspicion. You must be locked up under strict supervision.”

Everyone’s expression changed dramatically.

Sun Yingbin argued, “We’re the ones who found the body. How does that make us suspects?”

Zhao Jing quickly chimed in, “How can you police from the Island Country be so unreasonable! You have no evidence at all, yet you say we’re under major suspicion. If you ask me, the most suspicious people are your own countrymen!”

The director hurried over to Gu Shi for an explanation.

Gu Shi seemed stunned as well. After questioning the lead officer, he came back and relayed, “The police said that the Island Country has always been peaceful, and a murder only occurred after you all arrived. On top of that, they were all in the factory, and Master Qin died in the factory. Also, Master Qin didn’t like the look of them—a one-sided conflict still counts as a conflict! So… they have a strong motive to kill Master Qin.”

“Don’t get upset. I just negotiated with them. They won’t take you to the police station, but you can’t move about freely in the Island Country either. You’ll stay in the villa where you were before. Don’t wander off. Once the police have cleared things up, you can resume filming.”

The director asked, “When will the police have things cleared up? Our filming budget is huge; we can’t be delayed for too long.”

Gu Shi paused. “Uh… one or two weeks… is that okay?”

They were only scheduled to be there for two weeks in total. If filming was halted for one or two weeks, then how the hell were they supposed to shoot anything!

The director was furious, but the police were rigid and refused to give him any leeway.

Qin Feng was also livid, repeatedly claiming that their arrival had brought a curse upon the Island Country.

The incident also implicated Gu Shi. The citizens, absolutely enraged, grabbed Gu Shi and gave him a beating.

Their ferocious, menacing expressions terrified the production team.

Finally, Gu Shi dragged his battered body over to apologize to them. “Sorry, you had to see that embarrassing scene… But don’t you worry. After two weeks, you’ll definitely be free. As you can see… the Island Country’s police are a bit inefficient…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep