Chapter 1: Silent Echoes

- Deadly Life -

Written by: The Masked Eidolon

Edited by: No one, fuckers!!!

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As soon as we arrived in the gym, the wooden floors split open, revealing a staircase to a large elevator. It was obvious where Monocavy wanted us to go. Following Styk's lead, all of us descended the flight of steps and entered the elevator, which immediately started taking us to the trial grounds.

I looked around at my fellow classmates and tried to see if any of them wore a guilty expression. I failed. Each face was either painted with fear, anger, or determination. Some, a mix of all three. Which made the killer's face impossible to single out.

I sighed.

Oh well. In the end, it's not like it matters much, because their acting skills won't be enough to save them from the cold, hard facts of the case.

Suddenly, the elevator bell dinged and its metal doors slid open, revealing sixteen wooden podiums arranged in a circle, each one bearing the name of an Ultimate Student. A black and white portrait of Dreamer's face was propped up on her own podium, painted over with a messily drawn red X. Just another way for the pig to incite despair, huh? Well, he wasn't gonna get to me. In my eyes, that photo served as a stark reminder of the person I'm fighting to avenge.

As we filed into our new positions, the guinea pig popped up from his own seat overlooking the rest of ours.

Monocavy: Puhuhu! I've been waiting for this day for a very, very long time, my friends! Shall I start the trial off with a basic explanation of the procedure?

Styk: Sure, bunny. Just get it over with quickly.

Monocavy: Alright! Pwa-haha! During the class trial, all of you will present your arguments as to who the culprit is. No timers, no formalities to follow! Just pure, unadulterated bickering! Doesn't that sound fun?

Michi: And how will we decide on the culprit?

Monocavy: When you've all come to a consensus, I'll ask everyone to anonymously vote on who they think the culprit is. If you vote correctly, they'll be executed. Vote wrong, however, and I get to kill everyone else with my own two hands!

Monocavy brought out a bag of popcorn and started munching.

Monocavy: So, let's get this trial started, eh?

Upon hearing Monocavy's signal, I immediately took action.

Eden: So, what did everyone collect in terms of clues? I want to see what we've got before proceeding.

Lgp: I've got some clues about the door!

Avi: If you need alibis, me and Cosmos can tell you those.

Kuro: And I can already take one person off the suspect list!

Insert: Who?

Kuro grinned.

Kuro: Myself, of course!

Oof: Hmph.

Oof scoffed.

Oof: Y'all wasted your time gettin' these clues. I already know who the killer is.

All of us turned our attention to Oof.

Styk: Is this true?

Yuki: Hah! I'd bet good money that it ain't!

Oof made a face at Yuki.

Oof: Shut up and let me cook.

Yuki smugly put her hands behind her head.

Yuki: Okay then, monsieur.

Oof turned back to the rest of us.

Oof: So, I was knocked out by the killer, right? Guy came barreling in at me at mach speed and took my ass out. Well, I was thinking about what happened for a second. And then I realized... it could've only been Insert who did it!

Insert: What!? Why me?

Oof: "Why me?" Ho, please! You know damn well why! You're the Ultimate Fighter, so you'd know all about them pressure points in a man's body!

Jiren rubbed his chin.

Jiren: What he's saying sure makes a lot of sense, Insert. Did you really violate my HOA? If so, there will be hell to pay.

Insert: No, I didn't! Guys, you've got to trust me. Why would I kill the cutest girl in the bunker?? If I really wanted to leave this place, I would've killed, like, Jiren, or something!

Jiren: HEY!

Oof: Nah, you tripping. You totally knocked me out, took yourself a knife, and murked Dreamer in her sleep.

Truth Bullet: Strategy Meeting

Eden: No, that's wrong!

- COUNTER! -

- BREAK! -

Eden: Oof, you didn't attend the meeting, so I can understand why you'd forget. But all of the men here have a solid alibi for the time of the murder.

Insert snapped his fingers and pointed at me.

Insert: That's right! I couldn't have been the killer!

Oof scratched his head.

Oof: Really? So... it was a girl who did me like that?

Yuki: See! I told you that you were wrong!

Oof frowned.

Oof: Look. It was a fair guess, alright? Hop off.

Vysko chuckled.

Vysko: All of us men were at the strategy meeting, but can you really say that all of us had an alibi?

Eden: Hmm? What do you mean?

Vysko: Well, think about it. Dreamer died at 11:05 PM. It takes about four minutes for a human being to die of blood loss, so if we take a look at when Chaos left the meeting...

Fdeys: ...

Fdeys: I believe he left at 10:58.

Vysko: And came back at 11:01. Exactly four minutes before Dreamer's death.

Chaos pointed at Vysko.

Chaos: Hold on just a second! I only left the meeting to go look for Oof!

Vysko: But if you're the one who knocked him out... this would give you the perfect excuse to leave the meeting and kill Dreamer.

Chaos: ...!

Oof snarled at Chaos.

Oof: Then it was you.

Michi: No... it's safe to assume that Chaos isn't the killer.

Vysko raised an eyebrow.

Vysko: Oh? And why's that?

Michi looked over at me.

Michi: Do you mind explaining?

Eden: Not at all.

Truth Bullet: Pages Ripped Out of the Legal Pad

Eden: I got it!

- REVEAL! -

Eden: While we were investigating Dreamer's dorm, Michi and I found that there were a few pages ripped out of her legal pad. This implies that the killer had a conversation with Dreamer that they didn't want us to see.

Kuro: But... couldn't Chaos have been the one who talked to her?

Eden: No. He's the Ultimate Linguist, which means he knows sign language. Dreamer wouldn't have needed to write into the legal pad to communicate with him.

Vysko tilted his head to the side.

Vysko: I mean, he could've just ripped out those pages to throw us off. You never know.

Michi: Yes, he could've. But at that point, it becomes conjecture instead of hard evidence. We need to pin down the killer with solid proof before making assumptions.

Vysko: I see. Very well, then. We can move on.

Styk nodded in agreement.

Styk: Now that all of the men are in the clear, our next goal should be to whittle down the suspect list as much as possible.

He then turned to Avi.

Styk: You asked everyone for an alibi with Cosmos, correct?. What did you find?

Avi: We found that of the five girls, three have solid alibis. Me and Cosmos were chatting over a midnight snack at 11, so we have an alibi for the time of the murder. And Dark was hanging out with Vysko until he went to the meeting. While she doesn't have a direct alibi for the murder, she couldn't have been the one to knock out Oof.

Cosmos: Yuki and Michi claimed to have been in their dorm, but nobody can verify that...

Styk put his hands on his hips.

Styk: Not bad. Five minutes into the trial and we've already narrowed down the suspect list to two people. Good work, everyone.

Yuki pointed at Michi.

Yuki: If it's just between me and her, then she's gotta be the killer!

Michi: ...

Michi: I don't think it's that simple.

Yuki scoffed.

Yuki: What's not simple about it? Everyone else has an alibi, and I know I'm not the killer.

She turned to the robot guinea pig.

Yuki: Hey, Monocavy! I'm ready to cast my vote.

Eden: Hold on, Yuki. Let's hear what she has to say before making a decision like that.

Yuki: Oh, yeah? And why should I listen to a guy like you?

Eden: Because you may die if you don't.

Yuki: ...

Monocavy: Puhuhu!

Yuki sighed.

Yuki: Whatever. Yap all you want, it's not gonna change the facts.

Michi crossed her arms.

Michi: Yuki, we have hard evidence that I can't be the killer.

Yuki: Bullshit.

Michi: No bullshit. The proof is in the layout of the bunker.

Truth Bullet: Map of the Academy

Eden: I agree with that!

- CONSENT! -

- BREAK! -

I turned to face Yuki, projecting my voice.

Eden: Michi's claim is correct. If you take a look at the map of the bunker, there's only one way to get to Dreamer's dorm room: through the south gym exit and down the hallways. But Chaos was at Oof's door, blocking the way for minutes. And even before then, he was traveling those hallways to round up people for the meeting. He would've seen Michi if she traveled to Dreamer's room in order to kill her.

I then looked over at Chaos.

Eden: Chaos, did you see Michi at any point last night?

Chaos: Did not. Scout's honor!

Eden: So that proves she wasn't the culprit.

Styk crossed his arms and glowered at my rival.

Styk: Which means the only one who could've done it is Yuki.

Yuki: ...!

Yuki: Uh... guys? I really didn't do it! Seriously...

Avi: Who else could it be? Every single one of us has an alibi but you.

Yuki: Well, someone here has to be lying!

Dark: "Someone here" is lying. You.

Yuki: No! I'm actually being serious here! I know I did not kill Dreamer, goddammit!

Eden: Hold on, everyone. Yuki can't be the killer, either.

Yuki: Huh? Eden?

I slowly started to facepalm.

Eden: As much as I hate to defend you, Yuki, I know you're innocent.

Yuki: Uhm... well... thanks...? Can I ask how?

Truth Bullet: Two Broken Motive Videos

Eden: I got it!

- REVEAL! -

Eden: While searching Dreamer's room, I found two motive videos in her trash can. She told me and Chaos she broke her own, but never mentioned a second one. Combined with the fact that some of the pages in Dreamer's legal pad are missing, I think we can surmise that the killer had a chat with her about their motive video.

Cosmos: If I may ask, what does that have to do with Yuki's innocence?

Chaos raised his hand.

Chaos: I know this one! It's because Yuki gave me her motive video after she watched it. I smashed it to bits and put it in my own trash can, so it never made its way into Dreamer's room.

Eden: Exactly. So the killer can't be Yuki.

Yuki breathed a sigh of relief.

Yuki: Thank you, past self, for doing that! Holy fuck.

Lgp crossed his arms.

Lgp: Well, now what? All of us have some piece of evidence that exonerates us from the crime. We're back to square one.

Willow: Sob!

Patricia: Sob!

Eden: No. We're not back to square one. We gained a lot of valuable information from this part of the discussion. All we have to do is apply it to the other evidence we have, and then the identity of the killer will become apparent.

Styk gestured towards Lgp.

Styk: Why don't we start with Lgp's observations about Dreamer's door?

Lgp: Sure!

Lgp began to pet his two guinea pigs.

Lgp: These little guys found out quite a lot. First off, they looked inside the lock of the door and told me it wasn't picked in any way. Also, we spotted a pair of footprints on the ladder next to her door due to all the dust on it.

Willow: Squeak!

Patricia: Squeak!

Jiren: Ah! So the killer must've used the ladder to break into Dreamer's room!

Truth Bullet: Footsteps on the Ladder

Eden: No, that's wrong!

- COUNTER! -

- BREAK! -

Eden: Jiren, those footprints were mine. Not the killer's.

Jiren pointed at me.

Jiren: Are you saying... are you saying that you're the killer!?

Eden: No... I used that ladder to get into Dreamer's room this morning. She couldn't have opened the door for me because she was dead.

Oof: Dumbass. Even I could figure that out.

Jiren: I don't wanna hear it from Mr. I Got Knocked Out By A Girl!

Oof: You're gonna get knocked out by a dude after this trial if you keep flappin' those gums.

Chaos: Enough with the bickering, guys. Let's just move on to the next topic.

Chaos turned to Lgp.

Chaos: Lgp, you said the door's lock wasn't picked, correct?

Lgp: Mhm. I can assure you of that.

Fdeys: Then...

Fdeys scratched his head.

Fdeys: How did the killer manage to get inside Dreamer's dorm? It wasn't the ladder, and it wasn't the lock.

Insert: Maybe they jumped through the gap like a pole vaulter?

Styk: I don't think so. None of us here have the necessary Ultimate Talent to do that.

Dark: Well, what if the killer just knocked on Dreamer's door and then she let them in?

Truth Bullet: Untouched Lock

Eden: I agree with that!

- CONSENT! -

- BREAK! -

Eden: Exactly. The only two ways to break into Dreamer's room would be to go over the gap or to pick the lock. Since we know the killer didn't do either of these things, it means they didn't break into Dreamer's dorm at all. She let them in.

Yuki: It's time to impeach the President!

- ARGUE! -

- BREAK! -

I furrowed my brow.

Eden: Huh? Yuki?

Yuki pointed at me with insipid conviction.

Yuki: You're wrong, Eden. Dreamer did not let the killer into her room, and I have the means to prove it!

Eden: Okay... how exactly did the killer get in, then?

Yuki: By using the vents! Duh! All the rooms' vents connect to each other, so the killer could've just opened their vent and crawled over to Dreamer's. After they spidermanned down into her room and killed her, they could just do the same thing to retreat.

Eden: Are those vents even big enough to fit a whole person? The only creatures that ever entered them were Lgp's guinea pigs, who were promptly chased out by Monocavy anyway.

Yuki: Do you think Monocavy would interfere with an actual murder plan? No!

Yuki crossed her arms.

Yuki: And of course the vents are big enough to get into. All you'd have to do is get the hatch lock open somehow.

Truth Bullet: Monocavy's New Rule

Eden: Allow me to cut through those words!

- COUNTER! -

- BREAK! -

Eden: See, that's where you're wrong, Yuki. Look at rule 13 of your student handbook.

Yuki: Mmkay?

Yuki took out her black tablet, turned it on, and scrolled all the way down.

Yuki: 13: No student may break down a locked hatch or enter an area guarded by one.

Yuki widened her eyes.

Yuki: Wait, are the vent openings considered hatches as well?

Monocavy: Ding, ding, ding! The vent hatches are indeed considered hatches. What a genius you are, Yuki.

Yuki: Hey, shut up! I'm trying my hardest out here, okay?

Avi sighed.

Avi: Now that that's out of the way, we can be sure that Dreamer let her assailant into her room. But... does that even help us find the killer?

Styk: It gives more context to the videos and the defiled legal pad, no? Dreamer let the killer into her room, they had a chat, and then she was murdered. The culprit quickly disposed of the evidence by erasing the conversation and breaking the videos.

Michi: No, that doesn't make any sense. Eden said that Dreamer was alive and alone after she broke her motive video. She couldn't have been murdered immediately after her and the killer's chat.

Styk crossed his arms.

Styk: I see. You're very perceptive, Michiru.

Michi looked away from Styk.

Michi: Thanks.

Oof scratched his head.

Oof: So, after the chat, the killer pretended everything was cool? And then rolled up to her dorm in the night like they wanted to talk, but secretly brought a knife and killed her?

Avi: Sounds like it... but this means we still don't have any clues that pinpoint the murderer.

Vysko smirked.

Vysko: Or do we, now?

Chaos: Vysko? You have a lead?

Vysko nodded.

Vysko: If you take a look at all the evidence that exonerates us, you'll find that everyone here has a solid alibi except for one person.

Chaos: And who is that person?

Vysko stared Chaos in the eyes and frowned.

Vysko: It's you, Chaos.

Chaos: ...!

Chaos: Not this again, man... Come on, I thought we went over this!

Vysko: Well, some new data has come to light. And it's not looking too good for you, I have to say.

Fdeys: We already proved it couldn't be Chaos, doe. What's the logic?

Vysko: Give it a few thoughts, hmm? I'm sure the answer will come to mind.

- QUESTION: -

The reason Chaos is a suspect now is because...

- ANSWER: -

Dreamer invited the killer into her room.

The killer had a conversation with Dreamer.

-> The murder was premeditated. <-

Eden: I got it!

- REVEAL! -

Eden: The murder was premeditated... before, we assumed that Chaos had no reason to rip out the pages from Dreamer's legal pad, but now that we know the killer planned out the murder...

Vysko: It becomes a lot more plausible that Chaos did rip out those pages in an attempt to shift the blame onto us. Since everyone else's alibi is airtight and his is only circumstantial, he becomes a lot more suspicious.

Chaos: ...

Chaos: Oh, god...

Chaos pinched the bridge of his nose.

Chaos: I swear I didn't do it, guys... I don't know what else to say...

Cosmos: Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

Chaos: Gah... let me think...

Chaos put his fingers up to his chin and began to look at the sky while rubbing them. Seconds turned into minutes as he tried, in vain, to think of a reason for his innocence.

Yuki: He's got nothing!

Styk: Let him ruminate, Yuki.

Styk turned to face his second in command.

Styk: Chaos, I truly don't want to believe it was you who did this. So please, for all of our sakes, think of a reason it couldn't be you.

Chaos: I'm trying over here...!

Chaos sighed.

Chaos: I'm just a Linguist, though, so I don't know anything about crime scenes...

Vysko crossed his arms.

Vysko: To be honest, none of us do. That's why we're relying on alibis and the evidence surrounding the scene itself so largely. But if you truly can't think of a reason why you're innocent, then I'm sorry, but we will have to vote you as the killer.

Yuki: Let's just do it already, man! He's clearly a liar.

Insert: Mmm. I think we've already cracked the case, too.

Kuro: I never did like the look of you, Chaos.

Chaos: No, please...!

Michi: Everyone, hold on...

Something about the tone of her words pulled everyone's attention over to her.

Vysko tilted his head to the side.

Vysko: Michi? Do you disagree with me?

Michi: Not necessarily... but I just want to bring something up.

Eden: And what's that?

Michi faced me and looked me in the eye.

Michi: When we examined the scene of the crime, didn't it look a bit wrong to you?

I raised an eyebrow.

Eden: Wrong? How?

Michi: The weird angle the knife was positioned in, the blood all over her bed, the way her arms were positioned... it doesn't paint a consistent narrative, if you know what I'm talking about.

Eden: I don't know what you're talking about.

Michi sighed.

Michi: Basically, what I'm saying is; if Chaos entered Dreamer's room and shanked her, then why did she lay down on her bed instead of running outside and getting help? Why did she start clutching at the wound instead of fighting back against him? And most importantly, why was she only stabbed once and left to bleed out, rather than being finished off by multiple blows?

Eden: ...!

Vysko: ...!

Kuro: ...!

Dark: ...!

Fdeys: ...!

Jiren: ...!

Cosmos: ...!

Styk: ...!

Chaos: ...!

Insert: ...!

Oof: ...!

Yuki: ...!

Lgp: ...!

Avi: ...!

Michi: ...

Michi: I don't think this murder is as simple as it seems.

Lgp: ...

Lgp: Maybe we need to understand the crime scene better before we accuse anyone of being the killer.

Kuro: Hear, hear! I don't know why the rest of you barbarians were so quick to blame the man! A travesty, I say!

Avi: Well, where should we start? With the knife, maybe? How do we explain the way the culprit stabbed Dreamer?

Styk waved his hand.

Styk: I don't think that needs a particular explanation. The killer stabbed her and that's the angle it happened to go in.

Avi: But they stabbed her on the bed, right? Normally, you'd just thrust straight down.

Styk put his hands on his hips.

Styk: We can't tell if the killer stabbed her on the bed. Perhaps she fainted after the first blow and the killer carried her.

I furrowed my brow.

Eden: Why would she have randomly fainted?

Styk: Due to the sight of blood, perhaps. Dreamer seemed like a gentle individual, so I wouldn't be surprised if blood caused her to pass out.

Eden: ...

Eden: That could be true...

Styk: After the killer put Dreamer back on her deathbed, they ripped out the legal pad pages and pocketed them. The coughed up blood can be explained by the knife grazing her lung, causing her to wake up and try to escape her room. Unfortunately, she failed due to low blood levels and died before being able to receive medical care.

Styk looked at everyone in the group.

Styk: That's a pretty plausible explanation for the crime scene, correct?

Everyone was silent for a moment before a few of us spoke up in response to Styk's theory.

Oof: Yeah, that sounds right.

Avi: I don't see any holes in that logic...

Dark: Pretty airtight.

Eden: ...

The killer carried her body over to her bed? Could it really be that simple? A glance around the room would tell you that people agree, but I don't know about this... Something still seems wrong.

I took a glance over at Michi to see her reaction and found that she looked unimpressed as well. So it wasn't just me being skeptical. With newfound confidence, I decided to voice my opinions.

Eden: I don't know about this theory, Styk. It still sounds off to me.

Styk glared at me.

Styk: Exactly what sounds 'off' about this, pray tell?

I crossed my arms.

Eden: If I was the killer, and Dreamer just passed out in front of me after seeing blood, I'd finish her off. Carrying her to the bed and letting her bleed out just seems odd.

Styk chuckled.

Styk: You're forgetting something very important, Eden. The time of death. If the killer attacked her and finished her off at that very moment, she'd have died at about 11:01. While Chaos was still gone. This would almost immediately implicate him, and he knew that. So, to give himself some level of deniability, Chaos let Dreamer bleed out...

Chaos swiftly faced Styk, devastated.

Chaos: Styk, you're... you're accusing me?

Styk looked harshly at Chaos.

Styk: You have to understand that I don't want to do this. But right now, all the evidence is pointing at you. As the leader of this class, I cannot simply ignore that.

Chaos: ...!

Chaos: ...

Eden: ...

Vysko: Hmm. Looks like I was right after all.

Vysko turned over to Monocavy.

Vysko: Hey, bunny! We're done with this case, so let us vote.

Monocavy: Okey-dokey! Voting time starts in three, two, o-

Eden: Wait!

Monocavy and the rest of the students stopped talking and directed their attention to me. I took a deep breath and straightened myself up.

Eden: Just wait a second. This discussion isn't over yet.

Styk looked at me, exasperated.

Styk: What now?

I looked back at Styk, right in the eyes.

Eden: I can't really explain it, but I just don't feel right about your theory. It seems like all the details make sense, I know, but... something in my gut tells me you're off the mark!

Styk: Something in your gut?

Styk sighed.

Styk: We're gonna need something tangible if we're going to take you seriously, Eden.

Eden: ...

But that's the problem. I didn't have anything tangible. All I knew is that what Styk said sounded a little too good to be true. I had no idea why.

Michi sighed.

Michi: Eden is right, Styk. Your theory is definitely incorrect.

Styk stared at Michi suspiciously.

Styk: Would you mind explaining why?

She ignored him and looked me square in the eye.

Michi: Eden, think deeply about what I'm going to say. The key to this case is something I refused to tell you.

Eden: ...

Something she refused to tell me?

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Eden: You're really good with crime scenes, huh? What are you, the Ultimate Detective or something?

Michi sighed.

Michi: I certainly wish my talent was that respectable. Unfortunately, no. I'm not the Ultimate Detective.

Eden: Then, what are you?

Michi frowned.

Michi: Don't ask, please.

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Her talent?

What would our talents have to do with the crime scene...?

Eden: ...

Eden: ...

Eden: ...

Wait...

Eden: ...!

Eden: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eden: ...

Oh my god...

Styk: Must you really be so cryptic, Michiru? Instead of having Eden figure out what you're thinking, why don't you spell it out yourself?

Michi took one look at my thunderstruck face and smirked at Styk.

Michi: I don't think I need to, Styk. It looks like he just cracked the case wide open.

Without hesitation, I faced the one student we knew nothing about and projected my voice to her.

Eden: Michi, tell all of us your talent. Right now.

Michi closed her eyes and nodded.

Michi: Alright. I understand.

Once everyone was facing her direction, she opened her eyes and spoke.

Michi: Everyone...

Michi: ...

Michi: I am...

Michi: ...

Michi: ...

Michi: ...

Michi: The Ultimate Knitting Expert.

Styk: ...!

Cosmos: ...!

Vysko: ...!

Vysko: Ultimate Knitting Expert...? Then how come you're also proficient in solving murders?

Michi shrugged.

Michi: What can I say? I like detective movies...

Eden: ...

I suspected it would be something innocuous like this. It's not as if her talent itself is the lynchpin, but rather, what her talent is not.

Combined with all the data we uncovered from the crime scene, I should have enough evidence to accuse the killer and put an end to this trial once and for all...

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Surviving Students (15/16):

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Eden - Ultimate Screenwriter

Vysko - Ultimate Collector

Michi - Ultimate Knitting Expert

Kuro - Ultimate Reviewer

Dark - Ultimate Author

Fdeys - Ultimate Weightlifter

Jiren - Ultimate Landlord

Cosmos - Ultimate Therapist

Styk - Ultimate Sniper

Chaos - Ultimate Linguist

Dreamer - Ultimate Mime

Insert - Ultimate Fighter

Oof - Ultimate Chef

Yuki - Ultimate Script Leaker

Lgp - Ultimate Zookeeper

Avi - Ultimate Songwriter

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To be continued...