God's Imitator

Wang Yongxin had produced the ring right at the very start of proceedings, but no one had proposed verifying it, and the jury members had paid it little attention, instinctively overlooking it.

After all, verification cost visa time, and to the vast majority of jury members, this looked like an ordinary ring with nothing significant to reveal.

Now they realised that was not the case.

The verification result came through quickly.

[The ’Ring’ contains no false information.]

[This ring belongs to the wife of the newlywed couple.]

”So my Possibility Analysis remains unchanged. This newlywed couple died by mutual consent, ending their lives together, and none of the four suspects present in this court were involved.

”I ask the esteemed members of the jury to deliver a just verdict.”

Lin Sizhi gave a slight bow to the room and returned to his seat.

The courtroom fell quiet again.But before long, the murmuring grew louder. Some jury members, in their excitement, raised their voices almost beyond what they could control.

When the noise had subsided somewhat, Bai Zhilan quickly pressed the speaker button at her table.

”Lawyer Lin’s Possibility Analysis has taken this case in an entirely different direction.

”I hope the esteemed members of the jury will discuss this thoroughly and consider it carefully.

”My suggestion is that we call a Recess first.”

Chen Yumei immediately followed, ”I find this argument completely unconvincing and cannot accept it.

”Are we really going to impose the identity of ’junket agent’ on the wife based on nothing more than a gold-coloured card?

”Furthermore, this card could just as easily have come into the husband’s possession through a chance encounter. He might have stolen it or picked it up from another gambler at the casino. Even after being reported lost, it would survive as a void card.

”As a gambler, he would have every reason to hold onto a card like this, whether as a collector’s item or to show off to friends. That is entirely plausible.

”In any case, I do not believe this card comes close to overturning our previous conclusions.”

Wu Xiufang spoke in an unhurried tone, ”We are jury members, not omniscient observers. No one knows the truth of this case, which means when analysing the facts, we must rely on evidence and logic, not emotion.

”The probability that the wife, as a junket agent, obtained this card is considerably higher than the probability that the husband happened to steal or find it by chance.

”Moreover, the wife’s social media photographs and the anomalies in her bank statements can both serve as supporting evidence.

”In terms of the evidence itself, I am inclined to believe this casino card’s actual owner was the wife.”

Lu Xinyi considered for a moment, then also pressed the speaker button, making her first public statement in this game.

”As Lawyer Lin noted, if the husband had been deliberately planning this while the wife remained entirely unsuspecting, and considering the physical disparity between the two, the outcome of both of them ending up in the water simultaneously would have been essentially impossible.

”I am therefore inclined to believe the wife was not caught completely off guard.

”Either she embraced the idea of dying together with the husband, or something went wrong in the plan she had arranged for her own defence.

”If it was the former, this ring can serve as corroborating evidence.

”If it was the latter, I believe the Detective and the Wealthy Merchant are significant suspects.

”You have consistently chosen to withhold evidence that might work against yourselves. This has had a seriously misleading effect on the proceedings and runs contrary to the principles of a fair trial.

”If you still produce no evidence related to your own involvement after the next Recess, I will have grounds to suspect that you were directly involved in the incident on this yacht.”

All four Jury Representatives had now expressed their positions.

Tang Qing’s brow was furrowed. He appeared to be weighing many things, but in the end, somewhat reluctantly, he said, ”Perhaps Lawyer Lin’s theory does come closer to the truth of this case.

”The wife had indeed been on guard, and under the effects of the medication, she had developed a serious psychiatric condition.

”Her feelings toward the husband were a mixture of love and hatred. Driven by this intense emotional state, and possessed by a twisted desire to ’be with him forever,’ she chose to take him with her into the sea.”

Wang Yongxin also gave a quiet nod, ”Once all impossible explanations have been eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

”I invite the esteemed members of the jury to review all the evidence currently on the table.

”Only this single theory allows all the evidence to be connected coherently.

”I therefore also accept that ’mutual suicide’ is the truth of this case.”

Feng Yuguang looked around somewhat blankly, then said on instinct, ”Yes. I agree too.”

Although the case had, after a great deal of analysis, returned to the theory Lin Sizhi had proposed at the very start, this was not entirely an unwelcome outcome.

Feng Yuguang had by now recognised that his own situation had become quite precarious. The moment a Recess was called, if Tang Qing or Wang Yongxin produced evidence connecting the psychiatric medication to him, he would be found guilty with absolute certainty.

But if this round of voting locked the truth in as ’mutual suicide,’ the husband and wife would be each other’s killer, and all four suspects would be safe.

Lin Sizhi gave a slight bow to everyone, ”Then let us proceed to the vote.”

Quiet settled over the courtroom again as players looked at the voting prompt on their screens and fell into thought.

But before long, for various reasons and from various motivations, they each gave their answer.

[Truth Vote] [Do you believe the ’Possibility Analysis - Mutual Suicide’ proposed by ’Lawyer’ Lin Sizhi represents the truth of this case?]

[Yes: 68 votes (5 insincere)] [No: 32 votes]

[The ’Possibility Analysis - Mutual Suicide’ is recognised as the Case Truth.]

[The performance concludes.]

When the result appeared, some players’ expressions showed they were struggling to accept it.

Because it genuinely did not feel like a final truth. It had more of the quality of something stitched together under pressure.

Chen Yumei looked around at the others with visible displeasure, unable to understand how this vote distribution had come about.

Bai Zhilan, by contrast, appeared to have already understood the reason. She sat quietly at her table, looking at the screen.

Wu Xiufang was thoughtful. She had broadly anticipated this outcome, but some of the finer details still seemed unresolved in her mind, and she continued to consider them.

Lu Xinyi, for her part, was not surprised in the least.

[The performance has concluded. The audience will have 15 minutes to reflect on the performance and consider their evaluations of the four Actors.]

[From this point, all audience members may cast a ’Support Vote’ or ’Oppose Vote’ for each Actor according to the following criteria.]

[When an Actor’s appearance, conduct, inner qualities, and overall presentation are completely consistent with their character, this is considered ’Perfect Portrayal.’]

[If an audience member believes the character portrayed is ’Not Guilty’ AND the Actor has achieved Perfect Portrayal (both conditions required), they may cast a Support Vote.]

[If an audience member believes the character portrayed is ’Guilty’ OR the Actor has not achieved Perfect Portrayal (either condition sufficient), they may cast an Oppose Vote.]

[The 4 Actors are required to remain in their seats and stay silent until the game ends. All canvassing behaviour is strictly prohibited.]

[Every vote cast by an audience member may determine an Actor’s life or death. Please consider carefully!]

A fifteen-minute countdown appeared on every player’s screen.