"Wooden puppet machinery?" Dao Zhi Yong said after a moment, standing behind him with Liu Yu Ning.
"Wooden puppet machinery? What's that?" He Xin asked, confused.
"It's ancient manufacturing technology from the Mohist school, also known as ingenious mechanisms. Here, they're divided into hidden weapons, transportation, and so on. According to the records on ingenious mechanisms in 'Mozi,' the mechanical devices invented by the Mohists at that time included: 1. Repeating crossbows, mentioned in 'Mozi: Defense of High Walls.' Repeating crossbows were large mechanical devices placed on city walls that could simultaneously release sixty large crossbow bolts and countless small ones. They required ten operators. The most ingenious part was that the ten-foot-long crossbow bolts were tied to a rope at the tail, and after being shot, they could be quickly reeled in by a winch. 2. Rotating ballistae, mentioned in 'Mozi: Defense of City Gates.' Rotating ballistae were also large launching machines placed on city walls. They were six feet long and operated by two people. Unlike repeating crossbows, rotating ballistae were more flexible, allowing one person to rotate the base while another shot arrows. 3. Siege chariots, mentioned in 'Mozi: Defense of City Gates.' Siege chariots were covered in iron and partially buried in the ground. They were machines for launching burning charcoal, operated by multiple people to defend against enemy siege teams. Of course, other tools were gradually invented by later Mohists, such as hidden weapons and killing machines, which were trivial to them, and they could probably create a killing weapon with just a few pieces of wood!"
Hearing Dao Zhi Yong speak with such knowledge, He Xin asked suspiciously, "But how do you know so much? Could it be that you are also..."
Dao Zhi Yong rubbed his nose, chewing on betel nut. "Yes, besides my grandfather, I have another powerful master. He is a descendant of the Mohists."
"Wow, that's impressive? It seems you know more than we imagined!"
"Of course. But speaking of which, how does this guy know all this?" As soon as Dao Zhi Yong said this, he found himself in the spotlight. The female painter sneered, her eyes filled with disdain. "Officer Dao, right? You claim to know so much about wooden puppets, could it be that you are the killer? You know, you're the one here who could have made this kind of trigger!"
"Don't talk nonsense. This kind of trigger is just made of springs and some liquid. Look, this liquid is in the bottle above. There's a gap here, and the liquid slowly flows down from the top. When the weight of the bottle below reaches a certain point, it pushes a switch at the bottom. Once the latch at the bottom opens, the axe falls! But anyone with a little knowledge of physics can make this, let alone the Mohists!" Dao Zhi Yong tried to refute vehemently.
Liu Yu Ning and I inspected the trigger and found that the situation was indeed as Dao Zhi Yong described. However, the female painter's words were not entirely unreasonable. At this point, Xia Hou asked me, "Do I still need to watch the surveillance footage?"
"Of course, old lady. Leave this case to us! Don't worry!"
The old lady was initially reluctant but eventually let go. Xia Hou then left the hall. No one spoke afterward, and their eyes were constantly scrutinizing each other. No one could figure out what was going on. Of course, we wouldn't suspect Dao Zhi Yong. After all, after I gathered some information, I discovered he had been with Xia Hou and Xiao Yuan De the entire time. If he had left without them noticing, then Xia Hou and Xiao Yuan De would also be suspected of harboring him. But how could the three of them conspire to kill the retired soldier at the scene simultaneously?
While waiting for the surveillance footage, I asked the proprietress, Zhou Zijuan, for the detailed information of the retired soldier. She handed me an occupancy record. Upon checking, I found that the retired soldier's name was Tai Cheng Ren, a rather unusual name. This person was 66 years old but looked around 40, likely due to regular exercise. He was previously stationed in Heilongjiang in the north, so he should be very resistant to the cold and in good physical condition. It's just a shame he died.
Could it be that the killer originally intended to deal with me, but because of Watanabe Yumi's help, they...
At this moment, I suddenly looked at Watanabe Yumi and pulled her forcefully. "Was it you? You planned this with the killer!"
"I didn't! I really asked you to change your position because that place was dirty. I didn't expect that..."
"Haha, your lie is so childish. Do you think I'll believe you?"
"I really didn't lie! How could I possibly predict who was going to kill you!"
"You colluded with the killer and planned to scare me!" I retorted. Watanabe Yumi started crying sadly, weeping profusely, tears and snot mixing together. I was about to scold her further when Xiao Yuan De pulled me from behind and said, "Team Leader He, don't be like this. I don't think she's lying!"
I admit I was a bit agitated because I had almost been killed, but after calming down, I felt a little more composed. I snorted coldly. At this moment, Xia Hou returned, shaking his head with a disappointed expression. "The surveillance footage, it's all disabled!"
"What?" We all looked at each other in disbelief, but I calmly said, "Since he could design such an ingenious method of killing, he would definitely disable the surveillance first, wouldn't he? Otherwise, he would be easily exposed."
"Damn it, what do we do now? Let's call the police!" the female painter suggested.
I nodded and picked up my phone. Everyone else also took out their phones. Fortunately, we didn't encounter the cliché plot of losing phone signal this time. We quickly contacted the police. Li Fan and Zhao Xiong, who were stationed at the provincial headquarters, immediately agreed to provide support. We breathed a sigh of relief, but we still couldn't let anyone leave. Moreover, this island was a bit far from the city, and it wouldn't be immediate for them to arrive, so we could only wait.
At the same time, we were all analyzing who among us was the most suspicious.
Suddenly, I thought of something and looked at Zhou Zijuan. "Here, you know the mountain villa best, don't you, Zhou Zijuan!"
"Yes."
"Then, where were you after you made the announcement? I remember it took us at least 15 minutes to get here. If it was 5 minutes ago..."
"It wasn't me! Don't say that about me, Officer He. I was with the cleaning lady, Aunt Liu, at the time."
Aunt Liu immediately added, "That's right, my boss didn't have time to come over. She was still preparing food. Then a few chefs brought the food, and you all came over. It took less than a minute in total, but Zhou Zijuan was with me the whole time!"
"But Aunt Liu, you are also from here!" He Xin raised a doubt.