Enduring Light: Lost in the Mist
Overview
- Stage Cost: None
- First Clear Rewards: None
Guide
- Hover to view spoiler content.
Script
Li Hotel Lobby
Returning to the hotel after investigating near the Hongshen Dance Hall, you discover that the other guests have gathered in the lobby again.
You: This...
Waiter: Little Boss, esteemed guests, you're back!
Marius: What is it? Your cheery attitude is annoying.
No one beats Marius when it comes to fast reaction. He responds to the attendant with an impatient attitude, glaring at him like President von Hagen would.
Waiter: The rooms for hotel guests have all been searched. Officer Zhong has been waiting for you all. He has something to say.
The waiter hurries forward and explains the current situation at the hotel.
Looking in the direction where the waiter is pointing, you notice an imposing man in a hat standing among the guests.
You: My apologies, Officer Zhong. Please go ahead.
You: (I had to stop for gas on the way back... Guess I gotta pay more attention to it next time.)
You: (Also, what's up with this place? Why is the gas in Xuzhou Town so expensive?)
Officer Zhong: Okay, let me tell you the investigation results.
Officer Zhong takes out a notepad and clears his throat in the middle of the lobby.
Officer Zhong: The police searched the rooms of all the hotel guests, as well as the rooms of the staff.
Officer Zhong: A lot turned up in the search, and we were able to narrow our list of suspects down to a few people.
Luke: Who?
Officer Zhong: You're one of them, Journalist Pearce.
You: Journalist Pearce... is a suspect?
Marius: Oh, I remember... Journalist Pearce tried to frame me previously. Trying to shift the blame onto someone else?
Officer Zhong: President von Hagen, you're also one of the suspects. We found something suspicious in your room.
Marius: What did you say!?
Without waiting for Marius to refute him, Officer Zhong turns his cold eyes toward you.
Officer Zhong: Little Boss, you're also a suspect.
You: What!?
Officer Zhong points to a thick notebook on a table in the lobby.
[Obtain Clue Card: Guest Book]
Officer Zhong: This is the hotel reception guestbook found in your room. It contains a lot of comments and testimonials.
Officer Zhong: Normally, the hotel places it out in the open for everyone to see. Why would you have it locked in a drawer?
Officer Zhong: Is there something in there that you don't want people to know about?
[Obtain Intel: Guest Book > Coded message]
You: (How can I respond to that... I haven't even been to my room before! Is this question supposed to test my improv skills?)
You: Sorry, I must have put it there by accident.
You: I just took over the hotel... There are a lot of things that I'm still unclear about, and I wanted to flip through the guestbook to learn more.
Officer Zhong: Is that so...
You: Yes, it is.
You: Officer Zhong, we're running a business where integrity is everything. Why would I lie to you?
Officer Zhong: Yes, you do have a point. In that case...
You: Sorry, I just took over the hotel and there are many things I don't know about yet.
You: Maybe Boss Li locked the guestbook up himself... The guestbook does look pretty old, maybe it's useless.
Officer Zhong: Is that so?
You: Yes, it is. Officer Zhong, how about I look through the guestbook later and give you an answer?
Officer Zhong nods without confirming or denying anything, and continues to look at Artem and Vyn standing off to the side.
Officer Zhong: Consultant Wing, Interpreter Richter... we also found something in your rooms.
At the end of his sentence, the guests immediately back away.
There are murmurs and whispers in the lobby, which really seemed to separate the guests from the suspects.
Artem: So, I am also a suspect?
You: (Wow, why not just say all five of us are suspects?)
Vyn: Five suspects locked down. How "precise."
Officer Zhong: Ahem, don't worry. You are only suspects. I'm not saying you're the murderer.
Artem frowns, chuckling softly.
Artem: Officer Zhong, can you tell us what you found in each of our rooms?
Officer Zhong: Consultant Wing, we found this in your room.
Officer Zhong holds out a thick leather book with several yellowed pages in it.
You: (A ledger? Hmm... No, it looks more like a notebook.)
Officer Zhong: It contains information on the power distribution of the Guangjie Union over the years, as well as a detailed list of members.
Officer Zhong: I had a handwriting analysis done to confirm it belongs to you, Consultant Wing. That means... you have been investigating the Guangjie Union.
Artem: The Guangjie Union has deep roots in Xuzhou Town, and the situation is complex.
Artem: As a financial consultant for the Yingxing Trading Company, it's only natural for me to investigate them.
Artem's reply is extremely calm, almost as if he knew that Officer Zhong would suspect him.
Officer Zhong declines to comment, then turns to look at Marius.
Officer Zhong: I found a lot of books in President von Hagen's VIP lounge, which detail the accounts owed by other companies to the Business Association.
Marius: Hmph, what's suspicious about that?
Marius: My business is booming, so what's wrong with a few debts owed to me? Besides, if I don't write it down, how can I get them to pay me back?
Officer Zhong: What's suspicious is that the ledger also contains several letters from the Renhui Relief Hospital.
Officer Zhong: President von Hagen, according to our investigation, you never donated to the Renhui Relief Hospital. On the other hand, Boss Qian would make frequent donations.
Officer Zhong: Why then, President von Hagen, would you receive letters of gratitude from the relief hospital?
Marius: ...Does that have to do with your investigation? I refuse to answer.
You: (As expected of Marius, he put a stop to Officer Zhong's questioning immediately.)
The corners of Officer Zhong's mouth twitch several times, then he turns his attention to Vyn.
[Obtain Clue Card: Photo Half (Right)]
He shakes something in his hand, which turns out to be a half-torn, yellowed photo.
You: (Eh!? That group photo...)
You recall, all of a sudden, that you also have a half-torn, yellowed photo in your purse.
It seems similar to the one Officer Zhong is holding.
You: (Could it be that Dr. Richter and I both have the same clue? No way... There can't be repeating clues, right...?)
Officer Zhong: We also found items related to the Renhui Relief Hospital in Interpreter Richter's room.
Officer Zhong: So I am even more curious as to whether President von Hagen and Interpreter Richter have ties to the Renhui Relief Hospital.
Marius: No idea. I don't even know Interpreter Richter.
Vyn ignores Marius and bows his head to Officer Zhong.
Vyn: It is merely an old group photo. Nothing worth mentioning.
Vyn: And President von Hagen is right. These items have nothing to do with your investigation into Boss Qian's death, so we have no need to explain ourselves, no?
The corners of Officer Zhong's mouth twitch a few more times.
Officer Zhong: We can put you two on hold for now, but as for Journalist Pearce, what we uncovered in your room is definitely suspicious.
Luke: Me? But there's nothing in my room... except for news articles.
Officer Zhong: Yes, there were many news articles, but I found an old shirt and a valuable pearl in your suitcase...
Officer Zhong: The pearl is something I believe you can't afford on your salary.
[Obtain Clue Card: Pearl]
[Obtain Intel: Pearl > In Journalist Pearce's possession]
Officer Zhong: More importantly... the shirt has bloodstains on it. Care to explain yourself, Journalist Pearce?
Luke: What!?
You: How could that be...
You thought the "evidence" would be of a supplementary nature.
But you didn't expect such an important clue to show up in Luke's possession.
When Officer Zhong takes out the bloodstained shirt, Luke's face is stunned for a moment as he blinks two times.
It's a look he usually makes when he's coming up with a solution.
Luke: Officer Zhong, please take a good look. The bloodstain on the shirt is clearly old, and certainly didn't happen in the past few days.
Luke: So there's no reason to tie this shirt to Boss Qian's death, right?
Officer Zhong: Not necessarily. What if—
BANG—! Officer Zhong is interrupted by a sudden banging on the door.
He is about to burst out in a fit of rage when a figure in a suit sprints inside, gasping for breath.
Manager Duan: This is bad! The Guangjie Union has surrounded the hotel!
Officer Zhong: What?
Manager Duan: They...They said they're here to mourn Boss Qian, but that doesn't seem to be the case!
Officer Zhong: ...I'll go take a look. Everyone, don't leave the hotel. Even if you do, please don't get into a confrontation with the Guangjie Union.
You: Understood.
You nod in agreement, then turn toward everyone.
They have the same cautious expression on their faces, which indicates that the variables at this time seem to have exceeded your expectations.
You occasionally get the feeling that you're not experiencing a "live-action detective" game...
But a real adventure across time.
You: (What's that strange noise...? Is the Mysterious Person coming to tell me about the task for this round again?)
Before you can think too much about it, the voice of the Mysterious Person sounds along with the static...
Mysterious Person: Heh, my kindness knows no bounds... You can thank me later.
Mysterious Person: The friendly hints this time are the following. Take some time to think about them.
You: (Just as I thought... It's just like the test—each round has a stage that I have to go through.)
Summary
Character(s)
