March 3rd.
The major bookstores finally started stocking the âHercule Poirot Seriesâ.
As the book was officially released, Jin Mu, Lin Yuanâs agent, who had previewed much of Chu Kuangâs serialized content, remarked, âThe benefits of being the bossâs agent is you get to read the updates earlier than the general readerâ¦â
At this moment, he opened the last story of the Hercule Poirot Series.
This story was called âCurtainâ.
Next to it was a bracket, âThe Final Caseâ.
Jin Muâs mood suddenly became complicated.
Even more so when he read the opening content of âCurtainâ.
Poirot invited Hastings back to Styles Courtâ
The place where Poirot and Hastings first met.
Unlike his original vigour, this Poirot was now old and even confined to a wheelchair.
According to the timeline of the story, this was perfectly normal, people get old.
But as a reader, Jin Mu inevitably felt a bit sentimentalâ¦
With this sentiment.
Jin Mu continued reading.
Times change.
The estate where Poirot and his assistant first met was now converted into a high-end hotel.
There were a variety of people living in the hotel.
This was a classic opening to a Poirot storyâ
Arranging a group of people in a fixed space from which Poirot needs to find the murderer, Poirot never misses!
Indeed.
Meeting the assistant Hastings, Poirot took out a stack of clippings reporting on five murders.
Poirot stated:
âThere is some connection among these people staying in the hotel and the people involved in the previous murder cases.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Classic start!
Familiar to the point of intimacy, the following part should also be a classic Poirot-style investigation, right.
This is so Poirot!
Thinking so, Jin Mu felt an expectation which took form as a smile on his face.
But the subsequent development of the story left Jin Mu stunned.
A victim with a suspicious cause of death showed up.
It was clear to discerning eyes that the victim was murdered, but Poirot insisted it was suicide!
This even led to a dispute between Poirot and Hastings.
âWhy?â
All familiarity was gone.
Jin Mu suddenly felt suffocated.
Poirot was acting a bit off, to the point it didnât seem like him.
Could it be because Poirot had gotten old and his mind was not able to keep up?
Jin Mu gritted his teeth.
This story was a bit heavy.
But at this point, the following description made Jin Mu shiver, as if he had taken an unexpected hard blow!
Poirot was dead!
Just as the cases were still shrouded in mystery, Poirot suddenlyâ
Died!!
Heart attack!!!
At this moment, Jin Muâs hand holding the book trembled, and he instinctively yelled out:
âImpossible!â
The final case had only just begun and it was still unsolved, and Poirot died?
What kind of bizarre development was this!?
The author actually killed off the main character!!
Feeling numb and rigid, Jin Mu began breathing heavily. He got up and paced for a long while, striving to suppress his emotionsâ
Itâs over!
Jin Mu was clearly aware what it meant to the readers that the boss had killed off Poirot, the super popular main character!
Shock!
The more Poirot fans there were, the more terrifying this shock would be. No one would be indifferent to Poirotâs death!
Even he finds it hard to accept Poirotâs death at this moment!
But Poirot is indeed dead â
No narrative trickery involved, the story straightforwardly tells all readers that Poirot has died.
His body is icy cold!
Even the funeral was held!
Grief swept over Jin Mu in an instant. Not only was he Poirotâs agent, but he was also a fan of Poirot.
He can only force himself to continue reading.
He wants to know if the story will take a new turn â
Indeed, there is a new development.
Poirotâs death may have been a homicide.
Because Hastings realized that Poirotâs heart disease medication bottle had gone missing.
A heartbroken Hastings decides to find out the truth.
The atmosphere is oppressively stifling.
It used to always be Poirot seeking the truth.
But this time, Poirot himself has become the victim.
And Hastings, as Poirotâs assistant, has to find the truth himself.
In the end.
Hastings was unsuccessful.
The one who solved the case was still Poirot himself!
Undeniably, Poirot is dead; this fact cannot be changed. But he left Hastings a will.
This will revealed all the truth:
It turns out Poirot had found out who the real killer was a long time ago.
But this killer was unique, he never killed anyone himself, instead, he manipulated othersâ psychological weaknesses and subtly induced them to commit murder.
These crimes were conceived and orchestrated by him.
Yet, he always managed to stay outside the circle of suspicion â
Or rather, he could keep himself out of the circle of suspicion.
The innkeeper, because of a story this man told about a gun accidentally going off, intentionally made it look like a hunting rifle went off accidentally and shot his domineering wife; he just didnât hit her vitals because he went soft at the last moment.
It was again this man who induced Mrs. Franklin to murder her husband for her own convenience to remarry.
However, because the table was rotated, Mrs. Franklin unwittingly drank the poison coffee. To prevent the innocent Mr. Franklin and Hastingsâs daughter Judith from being suspected, Poirot declared the woman had committed suicideâ¦
Yes.
The reason why Poirot argued with Hastings was simply because he wanted to protect his good friendâs daughter.
Then â¦
This man led Hastings to misunderstand that his daughter had been seduced by a rogue, which almost led Hastings to kill the rogue!
Luckily, Poirot discovered it in time and drugged Hastings to make him sleep early so he couldnât carry out his plan.
Poirot was furious.
His upright and kind friend was taken advantage of by the killerâs psychological tricks, and almost became a murderer himself!
Poirot felt he can no longer tolerate it!
Unable to bring the killer to justice through legal means, Poirot made a dreadful decision!
He decided to eliminate the real villain himself â
Norton!
After killing Norton, Poirot hid his own heart disease medicine and let himself die from the outbreak of his illness.
He was prepared to accept divine judgement.
Yes, Poirot chose suicide after killing the killer; he killed the killer at the price of becoming one himself.
There was a feeling of suffocation in Jin Muâs heart.
And when he saw Poirotâs last message to his assistant, his chest felt even more congested:
âHastings, Iâm not sure if what Iâve done is right or wrong. I am confused. I do not believe that a person should hold the law in his own hands⦠But on the other hand, I am the law. Do remember, many years ago, while I was still a policeman, I once shot a desperate criminal who was shooting at people from the roof. A state of emergency was about to be declared then. By taking away Nortonâs life, I have saved other lives â the lives of innocents.
But still, I really donât knowâ¦
Maybe itâs better that I donât know, Iâm always so certain â overconfident even⦠But now, I feel very inferior. I can only say to you like a child, âI donât knowâ¦â Goodbye, dear friend. I have removed the bottle of amyl nitrite from beside my bed. I would rather leave myself in the hands of God. He might punish, he might forgive, I wish it would come soon! We will not be together to punish criminals anymore. Our first case was here, and the last is here as well⦠Those were good times. Yes, those were always my best timesâ¦â
plop.
Tears fell.
Unbeknownst to him, Jin Muâs tears have overflowed.
âââââââ
ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch of Sword Dance Sky, hereâs the fresh update. Regarding Poirotâs death, Polluted White was also very upset when he read it, so this chapter is a bit more detailed, because it is indeed a sad one.