In the silence that followed, Miss Nancy cast a disdainful glance at Brother Jue before rising to leave.

Whether out of politeness or sympathy for the detective's poor performance, she turned to Detective Schofield and said, "I hope you both think more carefully before making deductions next time." With that, she slammed the door behind her.

"Whew…" As soon as the door closed, Feng Bujue exhaled and added, "Good, another suspect eliminated."

"Um… I don't quite understand, why didn't you just ask her for her alibi using normal questioning methods?" Schofield asked.

"Don't you think my method is more effective?" Feng Bujue replied. "Probing the parties involved with clumsy reasoning might yield unexpected gains. At the same time… it can also make them lower their guard against me."

"Is… is that so…" Schofield took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"As if…" Feng Bujue thought to himself. "Can you really believe the lines Detective Mouri Kogoro uses to cover for Sleeping Kogoro… There are plenty of ways to probe a suspect's reaction… As long as you're shameless enough, you can stick to the suspect like Furuhata (also a fictional famous detective), annoying and teasing them in every way. Eventually, they'll reveal a flaw."

"Everything I'm doing is for the mission, right? Nightmare difficulty really lives up to its name… With each chapter averaging less than two thousand five hundred words, I've only managed to get through two-thirds of the chapters so far…"

"This is really bad… Although I've basically confirmed that the murderer is Barton, there are still ten chapters left… Revealing him now is too early."

"Novels aren't like anime, where you can use a single still frame with background music and have three voice actors come over with a script to idly chat and make self-deprecating remarks for twenty minutes to get by."

"Novels have to be thought out word by word. The author can't just get a sudden urge to copy and paste a segment of the *Great Compassion Mantra* or something random like that…"

"Moreover, purely from a reasoning perspective, there are still many doubts in this case… such as Barton's motive, and why he arranged the room to be a locked room… still unknown. I'm afraid these two mysteries won't be solved until the last few chapters. In the seven or eight chapters before that, I, as the protagonist, must enrich the story…"

"Although I've thought about killing another person myself, the awkward length of thirty-three chapters has made me miss the best timing to strike…"

"Why don't I just pick up the ashtray on the table and knock Schofield to death…"

"But thinking about it carefully, in this strictly limited nightmare script, NPCs are capable of instantly killing me…"

"Hmm…"

Brother Jue got rid of a long string of nonsense in his heart, and then made up his mind and walked to the door. He opened the door and said to Dumpty, who was waiting in the corridor, "Officer Dumpty."

"What are your instructions, sir?" Dumpty responded.

"Please bring Henderson, Powell, and Barton here together," Feng Bujue said.

"All three of them together?" Dumpty confirmed.

"Yes, bring them all here," Feng Bujue nodded.

"Okay, please wait a moment," Dumpty adjusted his collar and turned to leave.

After Feng Bujue finished his instructions, he stepped back into the room and closed the study door again.

"What are you doing?" Schofield asked suspiciously.

"What? Do you think I'm going to continue calling them in one by one to question them?" Feng Bujue asked, but what he was thinking was: "How could you guess the next development? If I continue to use titles like 'So-and-so's Statement,' the author won't be satisfied."

"Well, yes," the detective replied.

"Heh…" Feng Bujue said, "Don't worry, just watch."

"Uh… to be honest, it's not that I mind, it's just that Miss Nancy seemed to embarrass you a little while ago," Schofield couldn't help but say. He was still kind-hearted and wanted to stop Feng Bujue's self-humiliating reasoning.

"Ha!" Feng Bujue said, "How could I be embarrassed?" He turned his head to face Schofield, suddenly changed his expression, and instantly put on the extremely awkward face he had before. "That's right, my voice was trembling, my forehead was sweating, my pupils were dilated, and if you looked closely, you would have noticed my left hand was shaking slightly." As he spoke, he instantly returned to his normal state. "But that doesn't mean I really felt embarrassed."

Schofield's mouth twitched. "This…" He didn't know how to describe his current mood. He suddenly felt that this guy was very likely a professional swindler, but in every sense, this guy was very powerful…

"Usually, I won't make unintentional physical reactions due to emotions, unless… I deliberately pretend to be in a certain state," Feng Bujue said. "Expressions and small actions will expose a person's weaknesses. Conversely, using these to confuse the opponent is a rather advanced gaming skill."

"I won't be fooled anymore… Every time you say various theories handsomely, you'll lose all integrity in the next chapter… If I complain, I'll lose," Schofield thought to himself, but on the surface, he was still polite. "I… I see…"

"Detectives not only need intelligence, but also a high level of emotional intelligence," Feng Bujue began to talk endlessly again. "Personally, I believe that emotional intelligence is a combination of empathy, intuition, and acting skills. Those who are smooth and appropriate in their actions are all well-versed in this. They can make you act according to their will, yet you feel comfortable." He paused. "Among the three people who will enter the room next, one of them has very high emotional intelligence. Of course… his intelligence is not low either, but…"

Knock knock knock—

The knock on the door interrupted Feng Bujue's words. Dumpty said loudly outside the door, "The three gentlemen have arrived, Mr. Feng."

"Please come in." Feng Bujue turned around and leaned against the desk, facing the direction of the door, looking eager to try.

A few seconds later, the three entered.

The first to enter was Doctor Powell, who was in his fifties, tall and thin, wearing glasses, a white shirt, and a black waistcoat.

Henderson the butler entered with Barton's support. In fact, he could walk on his own, but Barton was still considerately helping the old man who had almost suffered a myocardial infarction not long ago.

After Dumpty brought the people in, he closed the door from the outside as usual.

Before the three of them could say hello after entering the room, Feng Bujue, facing them, suddenly spoke, "Let me be blunt…" His eyes swept across the faces of the three like a gust of wind, "The murderer is among the three of you."