Chapter 181: Snow Mountain (6)

Samuel had been killed. There was no doubt about it.

Both his hands and feet were tightly bound to the bedposts with rope, leaving him restrained in a standard “spread-eagle” position.

The man was completely naked, wearing no clothing at all. His eyes were wide open, his face twisted in agony, lying on his back.

His abdomen had been cut open. The incision ran from just below the ribs all the way down to just above the pubic bone, deeply slicing through the flesh and thick yellowish layer of fat. A large amount of blood had soaked the bedsheets and floor, staining them a dark red-black. Even on the walls and ceiling, splattered droplets of blood could be seen.

As for the internal organs that should have been inside his body, they had been removed one by one.

Further down, among the messy body hair, it was also clear that a certain organ that should have been there had been cut off at the root.

On the windowsill just a couple of steps away from the bed, the missing organs were neatly arranged like exhibits in a museum, lined up in an orderly fashion.

The window was wide open. After being exposed to the wind all night, the organs had frozen solid. The blood on them had also frozen into dark clots. In the sunlight, they glistened faintly, like some kind of blood-red gemstones—strangely, almost beautiful.

As for the aforementioned organ, it appeared to have been intentionally mutilated; it had been chopped into a mass of ruined flesh.

Just a brief glance at the horrific scene in the room was enough for several people to cover their mouths and bend over in nausea.

Old John, however, had seen many corpses before and remained calm. He glanced at Rebecca. Rebecca rubbed her eyes and nodded slightly at him—this meant she had already “checked” and confirmed that there were no traces of supernatural forces in the room. The case was entirely human-made.

A murder had taken place in a mountain lodge. What should be done first?

Answer: call the police.

Having only been trapped in the lodge for a single night, the group clearly had not yet realized that they had been temporarily “abandoned” by the outside world. Upon discovering the professor’s death, they immediately began clamoring to call 911.

Go ahead and call it, then. If people outside heard someone had died, maybe they’d send rescuers sooner—that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Panicked, everyone crowded around Old John and went to Room 210 at the far end of the corridor, where they retrieved the satellite phone and called for help.

The result, unsurprisingly—

“You’re saying someone died? Well, there’s nothing we can do. After the avalanche, there are dead bodies everywhere—there are even more deaths at the ski resort. And right now, there’s strong wind in the mountains, so helicopters can’t approach at all. The road up the mountain is completely buried in snow, and we don’t have the manpower to clear it… Just endure it a little longer, or try to see if you can catch the killer yourselves.”

With that, the rescue team hung up without hesitation.

“……”

Everyone looked at each other. “So what do we do now?”

Old John thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go check the room… The murderer who killed the professor must be among us. If we don’t find them quickly, and they strike again before the rescue team arrives, it will be dangerous. Besides, even in winter, a body will still decompose slowly. The sooner we examine it, the more clues we can gather.”

With that, the old man took the lead and walked toward Room 205 at the end of the corridor.

Arriving at the crime scene, Old John stopped and signaled for everyone to wait outside. He then stepped forward, preparing to enter the room and examine it.

At that moment, the bespectacled man named Lucas blocked his way.

“Mr. John, please stop.”

Not only Old John, but everyone present turned their confused gazes toward Lucas.

“I understand that you mean well by trying to investigate. However, this is the primary crime scene, and it is very likely that there are many pieces of evidence that are crucial to solving the case. Before you enter, I think you need to answer a few of my questions first, in order to clear your own suspicion.”

“……”

What he said did, in fact, make sense. In some detective dramas, there are cases where police are bribed by criminals—or even cases where the police themselves are the criminals. When such a person enters the scene, they might, without anyone noticing, help the culprit erase remaining evidence or fabricate traces, which can seriously disrupt the investigation process.

But Everly was the type to protect her own people, and she didn’t particularly like Lucas’s self-righteous attitude.

Among the group, Old John was the oldest and most experienced. He had also been the one to produce the satellite phone, contributing to everyone’s survival. Over time, everyone had, consciously or not, begun to regard him as the leader. His request to enter the scene had been tacitly accepted by all.

Up to this point, Lucas had remained detached from the group, almost invisible, showing no special contribution. He was simply one of the “ordinary masses.”

Under such circumstances, Lucas suddenly jumped out to stop Old John and assumed a posture of authority, insisting that Old John answer his questions and pass his “scrutiny” before entering the scene. It felt exactly like those annoying people who would randomly pop up and say, “Let me test you,” exuding an unbearable sense of superiority.

“Sorry. My questions may have caused Mr. John some discomfort. However, there are indeed things about you and your companions that I cannot make sense of.”

As he spoke, Lucas raised his right hand and habitually pushed up his glasses with his index and middle fingers. The classic rectangular lenses, tilted at an angle, reflected a flash of “intelligent light” like a mirror. The almost manga-like framing of the gesture stirred some distant memories in Everly, and she suddenly began to form a certain suspicion…

“I haven’t mentioned this before, but I am actually a mystery novelist. My pen name is ‘Noah Pipe.’ In the past, I was invited by the police department of Yonah City to serve as an honorary consultant and have participated in solving several difficult cases…”

“You’re Noah Pipe?! Oh my god, I’ve read your books! The Fifth Personality was absolutely brilliant and mind-blowing!”

“I’ve also read your novels. My favorite is The Lies of Detective Fio. I’ve read it over and over again, and I still remember every single puzzle in it!”

After Lucas revealed his pen name, many people present showed expressions of shock and surprise. The receptionist Minnie and Fatima were especially excited, their cheeks flushing red, as if they wanted to rush up and ask for his autograph in the next second.

Everly: “……”

Alright, no need to guess anymore—it really was him.

Although Everly didn’t read detective novels, that didn’t stop her from having heard of the name “Noah Pipe.” It was similar to how even people who had never read Harry Potter still knew J.K. Rowling. Lucas’s mystery novels were quite popular across the United States.

In “blizzard lodge” type films, there are killers, victims, and innocent bystanders caught in the situation—and of course, there must also be a figure who sees through everything and identifies the true culprit. Based on Everly’s extensive experience watching such films, when someone in a “snowbound group scenario” turns out to be a “mystery novelist,” that person is nine times out of ten the protagonist.

No wonder… no wonder Lucas had felt so irritating to her.

Perhaps influenced by The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, later entertainment works often portrayed famous detectives with traits like coldness, arrogance, conceit, and sharp-tongued sarcasm. Over time, the stereotype of the “brilliant but difficult-to-get-along-with detective” had become deeply ingrained.

From the audience’s perspective, watching from behind the screen, people naturally identify with the protagonist. Seeing an “alpha-level” main character tear through everything with sharp deductions, exposing others completely while those others suppress their frustration and still cooperate with the investigation—that kind of dominance is exactly what satisfies viewers’ desire for “showmanship” and hits their pleasure points.

But in real life, encountering someone like that protagonist—and being watched constantly as if you were a suspect—was far from pleasant.

As “Noah Pipe,” Lucas had won numerous prestigious awards in the mystery novel field. He took out his phone and pulled up several photos from award ceremonies, showing them to everyone as proof of his identity.

After that, as a well-known mystery consultant who had previously assisted the police in solving cases, the bespectacled man naturally stepped over Old John and took the highest command authority over the investigation of the murder.

And the moment this “film protagonist (highly suspected version)” obtained command authority, he immediately turned his suspicion toward Old John’s group, directly laying out his reasoning:

“Actually, I’ve been wondering for a while—why would Mr. John bring a satellite phone on a skiing trip? Your explanation earlier was that you brought it because you thought it might be useful, but I find that unconvincing. Satellite phones are not exactly common consumer items. Unless someone is going deep into mountains or dense forests—dangerous environments—ordinary people would not even consider buying such an expensive device.”

“Additionally, from my observations, both you and your granddaughter Everly have thick calluses on the sides of your index fingers, the base of your ring fingers, and the area between thumb and index finger. These are marks formed only from prolonged firearm handling. Moreover, your light, efficient walking posture, and the habitual sideways movement you make when opening or closing doors—staying close to the doorframe as if avoiding exposure—all suggest that both of you have undergone systematic combat training and possess strong counter-surveillance awareness.”

“Finally, there is one more thing that raised my suspicion: when you and your three companions saw the professor’s corpse, your reactions were very calm. At most, you only frowned—you did not display the fear, nausea, or retching reactions that normal people would have. Am I correct in assuming that you are already very accustomed to confronting corpses directly? And what exactly was the subtle nonverbal communication between you and Ms. Rebecca after seeing the body?”

Lucas’s words were sharp and aggressive, as if he were already pointing directly at Old John and the others, practically declaring them the murderers.

And the public, as always, was not particularly rational—they were easily swayed by authority figures.

After hearing Lucas’s words, everyone’s gaze toward the four of them immediately became somewhat strange. A few of the more timid ones even instinctively took half a step back, as if afraid that getting too close might get them killed.

Everly was getting a little angry.

If you’re going to ask questions, then just ask them—why phrase things in such a misleading way?

They clearly hadn’t done anything, and they had even helped everyone contact the rescue team. Yet now, after a murder had occurred, everyone—under Lucas’s guidance—had immediately turned suspicious eyes toward them. That was genuinely irritating.

Of course, they could clarify their identities and explain everything.

Old John was actually a retired detective and a survivalist for the end of the world, which was why he had trained Everly from a young age. As for Misha and Rebecca, both of them had already encountered multiple bizarre cases before and were long accustomed to seeing corpses…

But first, Americans generally value privacy. Being forced to reveal one’s identity and past experiences was unpleasant for them. Second, even if they explained, those who were suspicious would remain suspicious anyway. After all, no matter how one looked at it, the four of them were the most capable of committing murder among everyone present.

Ugh. Annoying.

Since these people in the lodge would be living together for a week, Everly and Old John had originally intended to help solve the case, identify the culprit quickly, and restore a safer, more stable environment for everyone.

But now, Everly changed her mind.

In “blizzard lodge” type films, the cases were usually serial murders. It was rare for only one person to be killed. Because a movie typically runs for 90 to 120 minutes, if there was only a single case to solve, whether the focus was on clue-gathering or subsequent deduction, the plot would become overly drawn out and the pacing would be difficult to control.

So in most “blizzard lodge” films on the market, they are almost equivalent to serial murder cases.

By distributing the film’s runtime across multiple consecutive killings, the story achieves two things: on one hand, continuous deaths effectively heighten the suspenseful atmosphere; on the other hand, the gradual unraveling of each case, layer by layer, makes the investigative process more intricate, with twists and turns that are more engaging and immersive.

But this also creates a problem—within a “blizzard lodge” style murder scenario, the first crime is often only an opening act. The clues and mistakes left behind in the first case are usually minimal. Moreover, being trapped in a remote lodge without access to professional forensic analysis means that, relying only on evidence from the first incident, even an intelligent protagonist would not be able to identify the true culprit.

It is only later in the film, when the killer strikes again—killing a second, then a third person—that more clues gradually emerge. Through piecing together these fragments and a process of deduction, the detective is finally able to identify the real murderer.

Thinking of this, before her grandfather could respond, Everly stepped forward on her own initiative.

“Mr. Lucas, you said you are a famous mystery novelist and have solved many cases. What a coincidence—we also happen to be a well-known detective group. How about a competition? Let’s see who can solve this case first.”

“Oh?” Lucas shifted his gaze upon hearing this. His sharp eyes fixed directly on Everly’s. The reflection in his lenses flashed, and a hint of interest appeared on his face.

“Are you challenging me?” he said. “Interesting. It has been many years since anyone made such a request to me… However, unfortunately, there are too many suspicious points about you. I cannot possibly allow you to enter the crime scene. Even provocation tactics won’t work.”

“Ha…” Everly curled her lips into a somewhat feral smile. “We don’t need to enter the scene. We can solve this case just fine anyway… However, since this is a competition, we’ll give you time to examine the scene and look for the culprit so you don’t feel it’s unfair if you lose. In short, good luck. I hope you find whatever information you need in there.”

With that, she led Old John and the other two back, casually stepping to the wall of Room 206 directly opposite 205. Crossing her arms, she took on an attitude of quiet observation.

Lucas froze for a moment.

He stared at Everly for a long while, then said nothing. Slowly, he turned around and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, walked alone into the bedroom.