The male supporting character was actually myself.

Wearing her reading glasses, Liang Rumeng scribbled on a piece of paper, adding, "I made a list of everyone in the village and spent an afternoon finding the body."

Li Dahan's body lay on the beach near the pier, in a secluded spot in the woods, as if he were trying to hide from someone.

Therefore, I guess that Zhang Qiang was probably chasing Li Dahan at first with the axe.

It was just an accidental discovery that revealed the affair between a woman and a man.

"Regarding the question of why the village chief was there with a knife in his hand, I followed the path to the dock and saw that a ship had been tampered with."

That blue-topped, white-bottomed boat likely belonged to Li Mingliang's family. The village chief tried to get them to leave the island by boat, but the boat wrecked and everyone perished.

Duan Chengze noted down the key points and continued, "We hadn't noticed anything unusual since this morning. The situation suddenly changed after Li Shuaishuai drowned."

Chapter Seven: Terrifying Desert Island 6

Based on everyone's accounts, Liang Rumeng wrote a summary on a piece of paper.

Li Shuaishuai drowns—Li Mingliang has a conflict with the village chief's family—After mediation, Li Shuaishuai is buried, and Li Mingliang's wife says that everyone should be buried with their son—The village chief is in a bad mood and scolds Li Dahan—Li Dahan complains and argues with Zhang Qiang—Zhang Qiang is enraged and chases after him with an axe—Murder in the sandy woods.

"All the cause-and-effect relationships that can be sorted out so far are here." Liang Rumeng took off her reading glasses and pointed at the paper with her pen, saying, "It seems that Li Shuaishuai going to play in the water and drowning is the starting point (of the problem)."

Song Gang wasn't good at this kind of analysis, and after listening, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's simple then. We'll stop him from going to the river tomorrow. As long as Li Shuaishuai doesn't drown, the rest of the trouble won't happen."

"Or we could stop Zhang Pengpeng from calling him, so Li Shuaishuai wouldn't even know he was going to the river," Shi Xiaotong suggested.

Tang Zixuan huddled on the sofa, head down, without saying a word;

Duan Chengze looked at Jiang Chen and asked, "What do you think?"

"It's only the first day, don't rush to conclusions." Jiang Chen looked at the head on the beach outside through the floor-to-ceiling window, his brows furrowed slightly. "There are still many things that are unclear."

Who poisoned them?

Where exactly was the poison placed?

If Li Mingliang's wife went out the back door to poison them, how come she and her family also died?

What happened to Li Shuaishuai's body?

Who hung him at the Temple of Poseidon? What's the point of treating a dead child like this?

More importantly—who would prepare such a large quantity of poison without premeditation?

"You think it was premeditated murder?" Duan Chengze countered.

Jiang Chen nodded, "I've asked many people, and the conclusion is the same. Every year during the Sea God Temple Festival, the villagers on the deserted island will return no matter where they are; they will never be absent."

This year is no exception; everyone is here and everyone is dead.

The murderer had no intention of living after killing the person.

"A very interesting idea." Duan Chengze also believed that it was not advisable to act rashly for the time being.

Firstly, there is still time;

Secondly, once the butterfly effect is triggered, the consequences could be even worse.

Thirdly, now that we know about the poisoning, tomorrow we only need to keep an eye on the wine barrels and other water sources to find the person who poisoned the wine; there's no need to take any risks.

Nothing happened that night. When Jiang Chen woke up at around six o'clock the next morning, she saw Duan Chengze getting ready to get up.

"Let's split up today. I'll keep an eye on the barrels." He glanced at Jiang Chen and asked, "Where do you plan to start?"

"Let's find out more information first, especially about what his grandmother said when Li Shuaishuai was buried yesterday. It seems there's some hidden story on this island." Jiang Chen thought for a moment and continued, "Try to follow Li Shuaishuai and see how he died."

Duan Chengze's eyes lit up. "You think his death was abnormal?"

"The body was carried by the current all the way to the waterfall and fell down. There were rocks and shallows below, so it wasn't very noticeable after the fall. But my intuition tells me that his death might not be as simple as drowning in the river."

"Hopefully others will be true to their word and not act alone."

Jiang Chen shrugged and didn't say anything. After all, the original owner had only just entered the apartment and realized something was wrong, and had spent most of her time trying to escape. Therefore, she wasn't familiar with the newcomer Duan Chengze or the other tenants.

Players in this kind of death game all have some tricks up their sleeves and acting skills, otherwise they would die a terrible death.

Who knows what the other people are thinking?

The group of six greeted the village chief as he approached them and then split up without any apparent hesitation.

Duan Chengze went straight to the small bamboo house. The village chief's four sons had just prepared the wine, and the wooden barrels were sealed tightly. He found a place to wait.

Liang Rumeng first went to the dock to check the moored boats, and then met up with Shi Xiaotong. The two whispered to each other as they headed to the river.

Tang Zixuan wandered around like he was shopping and then disappeared from sight.

Song Gang looked around and eventually went to the small bamboo building to wait with Duan Chengze.

"That burly man is quite clever," the little white cat commented while munching on a dried fish. "Usually, following the protagonist won't kill you."

Jiang Chen said without looking up, "The protagonist can avoid most risks, but when danger comes, whoever is by his side is more likely to take the hit."

I think Li Shuaishuai's death is just a key link, and things are definitely not as simple as they seem on the surface.

After you've helped me complete the interrogation, go scan around and see if you can find where the poison is hidden.

Since the death game has given the conditions, everything must have started in the morning.

Many actions may have already begun before Li Shuaishuai's death.

"Okay!" The little white cat wagged its tail, showing great confidence in scanning for poison.

Jiang Chen watched from afar as Li Dahan carried a shovel, called Zhang Qiang, and the two chatted as they headed out of the village. Only then did he walk to Zhang Qiang's house and take a look around.

Judging from the house, his family's financial situation should be considered slightly below average.

The tall tiled houses exposed the original bluish-gray bricks, and the courtyard walls were very high, with the old black iron gate slightly ajar.

"Creak!" Jiang Chen made a slight scraping sound when he pushed open the iron gate, which startled the woman who was fanning the fire in the yard.

"Oh, you're up so early for your trip to the island?" Zhang Qiang's wife is very pretty, with a large frame and tall stature, and she moves nimbly. She looks like a very capable rural woman.

"Want some breakfast? It's all the usual village food. A breakfast includes millet porridge, steamed buns, a vegetable dish, and some homemade pickled vegetables. Five yuan is all you can eat!"

She enthusiastically courted business, hoping to close a deal.

Tourism on the island was declining day by day, and the annual dividends were meager; farming was barely enough to make ends meet. She desperately needed to save money, but lacking education, she could only consider small businesses.

Having witnessed the island's desolate state, with blood flowing everywhere and corpses strewn about, Jiang Chen had no desire to try the food or water there.

"I'm a writer, and I'm here on the island to gather material." After he politely declined, he could clearly see the disappointment in the other person's eyes, so he took out fifty yuan from his pocket and handed it to them. "Could you tell me about the interesting things on the island? Interesting legends and stories are fine too."

Zhang Qiang's wife's eyes lit up when she saw the money. She grabbed it and stuffed it into her pocket, saying warmly, "We country folk don't understand things like field research, but if you want to hear stories and news, there's plenty on this deserted island!"

"Sit down first, I'll cook the rice. I'll give you plenty of stories about water ghosts and ghost ships!"

A moment later, Zhang Qiang's wife sat down on the small stool opposite Jiang Chen. The little white cat seized the opportunity to remind her, "Host, our items are restricted in the dungeon, and their effects will be greatly reduced. Hurry up and ask!"

Jiang Chen nodded and threw a button-shaped prop at the other party.

One-time use C-grade item - to be honest.

After use, the other party will unconsciously reveal the truth, but the item's effect will be automatically deactivated when the topic is touched upon.

"What happened to Li Mingliang's family?" Jiang Chen asked bluntly.

Zhang Qiang's wife replied blankly, "His sister, Li Xiangping, is dead."

"How did you die?"

"He burned to death. He died in a hospital fire. They paid a lot of money in compensation."

"Which hospital?"

"I don't know what the hospitals in the big cities are called."

What did you invite Wang Dayou to do today?

A hint of confusion appeared in her eyes. "Why did you ask him out?"

"Host, it seems things haven't gotten to that point yet. She hasn't planned to ask Wang Dayou out today!" The little white cat whispered a reminder, "The item is about to expire!"

"What secrets do you know about the village?"

Chapter 8: Terrifying Desert Island (7)

"Grandma Widow isn't crazy, she can see ghosts! There's a ghost on this island..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Qiang's wife blinked, shaking off the prop effect, and looked at Jiang Chen sitting opposite her, asking enthusiastically, "What story do you want to hear?"

Is there a ghost on this island?

She slapped her thigh and raised her voice, "Well, you've come to the right person! I know plenty of ghost stories!"

The little white cat obeyed its host's instructions and hopped off to find clues about the poison.

Jiang Chen listened to Hu Yun gossip for a while, then made an excuse to leave.

The widowed grandmother she mentioned, who could see ghosts, lived at the very back of the village in a dilapidated mud-brick house.

The courtyard was small, with green moss growing on the earthen walls that were half a person high.

The old woman had no children and became a widow at the age of thirty, and she still lives alone.

In previous years, the island's tourism industry was booming, and a nursing home was built in the village, where she enjoyed two years of carefree living.

Later, things got worse day by day, and money became less and less. The village chief then abolished the nursing home and turned it into a large entertainment center.

The newly renovated card and chess rooms and billiard halls were popular for a while, but gradually fewer and fewer people went to play, and eventually they closed down.

A perfectly nice, spacious courtyard and new house are now locked up, with a thick layer of dust piled up on the windowsills.

The widowed grandmother wasn't home, and the neighbors were far away, so I asked several villagers and got different answers.

"She's probably gone to the nursing home again; she's very attached to that place."

"She's rarely home, always wandering around, isn't she? She's always talking nonsense, a crazy woman."

"Grandma Widow's life has been tough. She's gone mad in her old age, muttering incoherently and no one can understand what she's saying."

"You need to find her? Go look for her in the woods behind the mountain."

After searching around for a long time, Jiang Chen couldn't find anyone but ran into Tang Zixuan.

He was teasing Zhang Pengpeng, seemingly trying to intervene in the cycle of events and stop Li Shuaishuai from going to the riverbank at the source.