Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1594: Final - · Guardian Shore Line · "OE: Perished by the Sea (15)
Murder on the Orient Express.
The core of that story is not the ingenious layout, not the mysterious murderer, but rather... conspiracy.
A murder, with not just one participant, but a whole carriage of twelve people. Each delivered a fatal blow with different tools, harboring different motives, yet formed an absolutely meticulous alliance to weave a web that perfectly conceals the truth. No one betrays, no one confesses, everyone masks each other before the judgment seat, burying the crime deep beneath the snowy night tracks.
"Click."
Silence.
The deepest cell in the Punishment Tower seemed to be drained of air, even the flow of time came to a standstill.
Atlanda raised his hands, like a dancer in a music box on a snowy night, like an actor in a musical, dressed in white, his voice elegant and graceful, flowing between the silence:
...
"Honorable World Master, please allow me to tell you the story of ’Murder on the Orient Express.’
The Dragomiroff Princess on the train, she is the cover of authority, representing the highest chamber or ancient noble families. She used her honorable status to provide an alibi of lies, shielding her maid. Her testimony carried an inherent credibility."
——The highest power institution represented by Aishikel. They are the embodiment of "order," possessing the power to make and interpret rules. They committed no obvious mistakes, merely did not repeatedly discuss and supervise the scheme to "explore Zhai Xing." Most members supported exploration, as "exploration" represents the resources of a new planet, representing the potential for them to extract more benefits, ultimately aiding in this destruction.
...
["The Central Research Institute obtained the coordinates of Zhai Xing? That’s great."]
["I think, Aishikel, most members will give the green light, except for those conservatives."]
...
Bite the hook.
...
"Foscarelli, he is an enthusiastic car salesman and also an incited radical extremist. As an ordinary person of the civilian class, he provided major misdirection to the case on the train."
——The radical group of players represented by Yuriklu, holding the idea of "making this world better," believing that ordinary people should be the slaves of players. They were bewitched by the voices from the High Dimensions of the Eighth Thrones, conducted a carefully planned information leak, helping the Eighth Thrones lock down the navigational status of the small world. They are the most visible, most obvious "firepower," the "culprits" easiest to point out, the "scapegoats" in the plan.
...
["Ordinary people should be the slaves of players! What have they done?"]
["The Eighth Thrones contacted us... better follow His will, anyway this small world has no nutrients. Even if He takes action, it’s targeted at Su Ming’an, we ordinary people won’t have any trouble."]
["A few years ago, Su Ming’an inexplicably imprisoned the leader of Yuriklu, and arrested many people who hadn’t committed any crime, claiming that the ’Ming’an System’ judged they would commit crimes in the future... I would never follow such a World Master!"]
...
Bite the hook → Leak the coordinates
...
"Colonel Arbuthnot and Miss Debenham on the train, one is a disciplinarian instructor, the other a calm and rational teacher. They jointly crafted the image of ’respectable people,’ representing the alliance of disguise, representing the joint force of military and intelligence."
——The forces provided with resource support by Eni’s Family or similar financial groups. One side provides funding, technology, resources, the other undertakes precise action execution, intelligence collection, and "handling" of key figures. They may disguise as unconnected, but in reality coordinate seamlessly, like closely meshed gears operating together.
...
["Eni, this morning’s shipment requests us to transport confidentially, seems like a few letters."]
["So mysterious... there won’t be any problem, right? Qiao Liya, Hubert, you check it out."]
["Checked, Eni, inside are just some family letters, sent from the Cynthia family, no signs of encryption."]
["No, I’ve heard they have connections with the radical faction, even though the radicals have been stable, who knows what they might do, no pass allowed."]
["But, Eni, after you ascended to the Tower Master position, your ties with Su Ming’an haven’t been close, you used to be on good terms with Noel, which provoked dissatisfaction and wariness from many... the Rotagus Family are eyeing like tigers, their Clan Leader is also a top player... if you stop this batch of letters, the contract signed by the Leslie family might..."]
["Damn it, damn it all!"]
["Eni, now we are riding the tiger, even if you don’t want the Tower Master position, the wolves, tigers, and leopards won’t spare our family. You can’t take every problem to Su Ming’an."]
["..."]
["Son, it’s just a batch of goods, just turn a blind eye. Nothing will come from it."]
["I know, hehe, I thought I could escape from this mire of power, but back here I am. Dad, Mom, I still can’t let go..."]
...
Bite the hook → Leak the coordinates → Information transmission
...
"Masterman, he is a silent attendant, the silent servant of the deceased Gran, he provided a critical false pajama evidence and executed the assassination."
——Government workers who are infiltrated or bought over, not necessarily the top tier, maybe those responsible for everyday maintenance, patrol, energy flow in the small world, mid to lower-level personnel within the tower. These individuals may execute the most direct sabotage orders at pivotal moments due to threat, bribery, or some twisted faith, shutting down a tower’s defense node, indirectly aiding disguised infiltrators to penetrate silently. Their actions are like silent servants, yet they precisely extracted the cornerstones sustaining the fortress.
...
["You... you say... if we don’t activate the cruise system at 8 o’clock today, just for two or three seconds... we can get eight million in research funding?"]
["Can such a thing really be trusted?"]
["It’s High Dimensions we are talking about... if we don’t listen to Him, we’re sure to die... plus, even if we don’t comply, sooner or later someone else will, better to pocket the money..."]
["Yes, yes, with the money we can produce more research outcomes, do you mean to keep writing meaningless papers? We’re doing it for the good of this world as well."]
...
["Dad, I just need to put this thing in the corner?"]
["Right, good girl. Daddy will give you another sugar-coated haws, go ask that brother to step outside for a bit..."]
...
Bite the hook → Leak the coordinates → Information transmission → Infiltrate occurred
...
"Count Andreini and Countess Andreini. The Countess uses beauty and noble status as a cover, while the Count provides verbal misdirection to the case. Their identities naturally carry protective coloration, and both wielded the blade of vengeance."
——The Tower Masters represented by Joy, Mei Yani, Derek, groups with special status or ability. They are powerful, battle-hardened, possessing unique top-tier player abilities. They were emotionally swayed by family or friends, inadvertently providing some critical props.
...
["Sister Mei Yani, do you still have that ’Super Radio’ miraculous prop? Let me borrow it for a few days, I want to call my cousin on the other hemisphere, he’s facing war, bad signal."]
["Alright, you’ve been asking me for days, take it then..."]
["Mei Yani, is there no issue lending out such a prop?"]
["My cousin is only eight, what problem could arise from her making a call?"]
["True."]
...
["Andrew, lend me your electromagnetic pistol! A pile of bastards jumped out of the sewer again."]
["Got it, Dad, take it, take it."]
...
Bait the hook → Leak coordinates → Information transmission → Infiltration occurs → Contact high dimensions
...
"Mrs. Hubbard, she is a masterful actress in hiding. She disrupted vision on the train, hiding her murderous intent with a feather fan, providing critical misleading information."
——Mizushima Kawa Sora and the concealed forces he represents. They might not have harbored betrayal intentions but merely acted as pawns without knowing the full picture. They may have disabled the defense system for a war beneficial to their family, allowing the delivery of certain information, even if they were unaware that this information was related to high-dimensional information.
...
["Those old men are ready to move again. Now that Miss Mizushima has become a god, the position of family head is vacant. What do they plan to do?"]
["It should be the Mizushima Kawa family leading, not Miss Mizushima. If she ignores us, we’ll act on our own! Have you contacted Tower Master Joy? What’s his response?"]
["He demands... that we create a major incident to draw the World Hub’s attention, focusing Ming’an System’s computational power on us."]
["Are we sure there won’t be any issues?"]
["Just a little computational power, insignificant compared to the enormous system, right? Hurry up, the old men at home aren’t patient."]
...
["Lin Yin, come over, there’s something for you to do."]
["Hmm? You want me to contact the World Hub? Something at home... Alright."]
...
Bait the hook → Leak coordinates → Information transmission → Infiltration occurs → Contact high dimensions → Diversion of computational power
...
"Mr. Hardman, he was a ’detective’ who vanished from the train, causing a security failure."
——The critical AI responsible for the small world’s security system, "Ming’an System," was supposed to be the first iron barrier of defense. But during the attack, the Ming’an System experienced a "convenient" localized failure.
...
["Why are there so many issues recently... computational power has been diverted. Yu Zhu, check again, see if there are any problems..."]
["They all seem ordinary, but there are a lot, it’ll take some time to resolve. Will we make it..."]
...
Bait the hook → Leak coordinates → Information transmission → Infiltration occurs → Contact high dimensions → Diversion of computational power → The dam of a thousand miles collapses due to an anthill
...
"McQueen, he was a personal attendant to the victim on the train. He knew the target best and had the most convenient access. He provided a wealth of truthful and false information, aiding in Rechter’s death."
——Lü Shu and his representatives, they didn’t intend to betray but were misled, providing false threat assessments, guiding wrong deployments, believing the coordinates were accurate and non-threatening.
...
["Su Rin said they obtained Zhai Xing’s coordinates... can it be trusted?"]
["Checked the whole process, basically no issues. Even if we flee now, our location is already exposed to Zhai Xing’s side, let’s go and see."]
["After all... we really want to go home."]
...
Bait the hook → Leak coordinates → Information transmission → Infiltration occurs → Contact high dimensions → Diversion of computational power → The dam of a thousand miles collapses due to an anthill → Incident
...
Atlant stopped dancing in shackles, slowly reached out, cradling the insignificant light shining from outside the cell, his tone gracefully low:
"Detective Poirot discerned the truth of the ’everyone is a murderer’ scenario, facing the conflict between legal justice and moral justice. He ultimately chose to hide the truth, letting the train head to the ’silent end.’"
"And you—Master of the World, knowing these human actions, whether intentional, unintentional, predicted, or unpredicted—how will you judge?"
...
The white-haired youth stood at the base of the Punishment Tower, as if standing before the judgment seat, the incandescent light outlining his blank expression.
Atlant’s revelation magnified Detective Poirot’s dilemma a thousandfold upon his shoulders.
"Rumbling..." as if hearing the sound of a train passing over tracks.
Zhai Xing became that "Eastern Express" racing in the void.
——And the attack on the small world was a meticulously planned, all-participating "perfect murder."
——All those he had protected collectively directed this assault, almost leading to his death, the melting of Lu, the burning of Lü Shu, the colossal collapse of the tower, causing countless to die by sword and road.
Silent thunder exploded in his mind, a chilling coldness rising from the spine, freezing his entire being.
In the carriage, the twelve blades, each one with a different identity and motive. The "murder" on Zhai Xing, every faction contributed their "weapon": the poisonous daggers of information, the blunt knives of resources, the nooses of power, the silent suffocation, the cold arrows of betrayal, the frenzied clamoring, the final infiltration...
They collectively concealed, they collectively remained silent.
In that instant, the smiles of Lu, Lü Shu’s burning eyes, Yamada Machiichi’s regretful face... countless faces spun and reassembled like shattered glass shards, ultimately turning into faces wearing different masks, crowded in the cramped carriage named "Eastern Express," each holding a blood-stained weapon.
Lin Jiang? Her seemingly indifferent detachment was perhaps the precise cut that severed a key clue.
Eni? The flow of resources, the web of interests, who can assure that no fatal artery passed through his hands, becoming a conduit for destruction?
Aishikel? He might be the conductor standing at the junction between carriages, smoothing traces with power, his "order" the best curtain for covering chaos.
And more... those seemingly innocent, those saved, those filled with gratitude... those "passengers" struggling to survive in disaster... did they also quietly bring out their own "blade" due to fear, for personal gain, for some twisted "justice" or "necessity"? Perhaps just a sigh from standing by, perhaps a deliberate information delay, perhaps a misleading of some key figure, perhaps a trivial resource interception... Little by little, sand piles into a tower, ultimately overwhelming the seemingly sturdy lighthouse.
"Forgive the selfishness embedded in humanity’s roots, overlook humanity’s inherent flaws..." The last words of Su Mianbao echoed in his ear.
——"A chance for redemption" or "everyone is guilty"?
When the killer is every passenger, how should he raise the torch of "Dawn"?
Should he, like Poirot, let this "human express," laden with sin, continue towards the unknown in a faint hope? Or ignite the blazing fire of faith, executing a thorough, all-destroying judgment?
He raised his hand, fingers subconsciously twirling the colored strings. The stone gifted by Xiao Gesang in his pocket heated up, reminding him of Xiao Gesang and mother’s pure smiles.
"People used their own ’blades’—power, technology, information, resources, even simply the indulgent silence—to collectively stab at the core."
"Then, they tacitly returned to their compartments, wiping away the bloodstains, putting on innocent expressions, maintaining the façade of grief and confusion after the disaster’s ’snowy night’ arrival—covered by a frozen surface built from countless lies, shirking, and benefits."
"No one is the ’sole’ killer, yet everyone is a killer."
At this moment, the prison bars in Su Ming’an’s eyes suddenly turned into the train’s window grids, Atlant’s clasped hands akin to closed carriage doors.
Those beautiful blue eyes staring at him, like a frozen glacier.
"Perhaps it’s just a neglect of friends and relatives, a small sum of money, even a little girl’s sugar-coated hawthorn stick, a wish for a better world..."
"Humans, in building paradise, walked towards hell."
"And you are heading into hell," Atlant smiled:
"I’m waiting for you in hell."
...
