In the winter of three years ago, the first locked room mu*der in Japanese history was committed.... more>>

All of the evidence pointed to the defendant. It was certain they were guilty. And yet, they were found innocent and released. Why? Because the crime scene was a perfect locked room no one from the police or the prosecutor's office could solve.

"Since the room was locked, it was impossible for the defendant to have committed the mu*der. It's no different than if they had a perfect alibi." That was the argument of the defense, and that was the argument the judge sided with.

The ruling sent a ripple throughout Japanese society. No matter how suspicious you were or how much evidence you left behind, as long as you managed to create a locked room that no one could solve, you were immune from prosecution. With the common anti-mystery fiction talking point "there's no reason anyone would ever actually commit a locked room mu*der" completely overturned, the rate of locked room mu*ders in Japan skyrocketed.

When the police proved unable to deal with the surge of locked room crime, the Ministry of Justice published an official categorization of all known locked room tricks as an investigative aid. When that proved insufficient, Division Zero of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, a police division dedicated solely to solving locked rooms, was created. When that still proved insufficient, locked room detectives, private investigators specializing in locked rooms, were officially licensed by the state and authorized to participate in police investigations. Calling a locked room appraiser, someone specializing in searching buildings for secret passages, is now a common first step in criminal investigations.

On the other side of the spectrum, locked room agents, assassins and crime planners specializing in locked room mu*ders, have become some of the most notorious criminals in Japanese history, and even a cult worshiping the scenes of locked rooms as a way to purify the souls of the deceased has made rapid inroads into Japan.

The protagonist, Kasumi Kuzushiro, is an introverted, somewhat cynical high school student who loves mysteries. Kasumi often finds himself dragged along on bizarre journeys by his flighty childhood friend, Yozuki Asahina. Due to their staggeringly bad luck, these trips often leave them in the wrong place at the wrong time to be caught up in locked room mysteries. Fortunately, another of Kasumi's childhood friends, Shitsuri Mitsumura, is the greatest locked room expert in the world, and can always discover the truth.

Hm? How did a high school girl become the greatest locked room expert in the world?

It's simple.

She's...

Volume 1 was the grand prize winner of the 2022 This Mystery Is Amazing! awards. <<less

Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.... more>>

Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.

"Since when have you been watching me?"

Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.

"From the very beginning." <<less

Ling Hua'an possessed peculiar eyes. He couldn’t see the living, but he has the ability to see ghosts. He runs a small supermarket with his profit obviously earned from the living people. But in fact, his massive income actually comes from finding out the cause of death of the wronged souls and helping them enter the cycle of reincarnation.... more>>

There is a saying that has been circulating in the Underworld:

The grocery store’s door is open. Ghosts must not come in if they have no money!

Jiang Chengyan is the captain of the criminal investigation team of Yuncheng Municipal Bureau.

He is busy everyday, and often works overtime. His dinner would mostly be instant noodles he had bought from the supermarket near the gate.

But every time he went out shopping, he would always sense the gloomy atmosphere surrounding the market. But he’s a firm atheist, so it‘s reasonable for him to go. (Actually, I think the supermarket owner is quite a good-looking fellow and has good disposition.)

By an incidental chance, Ling Hua'an suddenly received a huge order. If he could do it, he will no longer have to worry about food and clothing in his lifetime. But it’s quite difficult, thus, Ling Hua’an naturally approached Jiang Chengyan.

Afterwards, Jiang Chengyan who is a firm atheist, had his three views broken, and it was really sweet… <<less

She enticed the successor to the Duke of Lisianthus.... more>>

He sneakily grabbed my hand.

I sighed and twisted my hand out of his grip. “We can’t do this as friends.”

“Are you ashamed of holding my hand even once, Leen?”

No matter how much I think about what Carsion said, with his face showing ‘I barely held one hand’, it doesn’t seem that way.

“I can do more with you, Leen.”

Those words seemed to ring in my head, but the blue pupils were headed in a different direction – you can’t even look me in the eye. I mean, it’s not convincing to say those kind of words with such a shy face, you punk.

* * * * *

The Duchess took something out from the purse in her arms.

“Do you need money? Then take this money and break up with Carsion; take it without hard feelings.”

I stared silently into the thick pockets that the Duchess gave. Then I tapped my chin and gave her a serious look. “We’re not dating, we’re friends. Do you want me to cut off my friendship with Carsion from today?”

Will the Duchess get up from her seat, trembling and slap my face? Or are you going to spray water on me?

“Pass!”

“Ye-yes?” My face slowly blushed with embarrassment.

What’s with her unexpected reaction?! <<less

Monica Everett, a genius magician, was extremely shy and terrible at speaking in public.... more>>

To that end, she worked hard and mastered the art of countless magic, which she could use without chanting. After being chosen as one of the Seven Sages at the tender age of fifteen as the “Silent Witch,” she lived a quiet life in the forest.

However, two years have passed since then, and one day, Monica received an order.

And it was to secretly protect the second prince to the academy undetected.

In order to protect the prince, Monica must infiltrate a glamorous school for the children of noble families.

“I don’t wanna do this… I’m scared… Ugh… My stomach is aching…”

…said the girl whimpering. <<less

Bai Lixin was caught in a strange game.... more>>

[Ding! Welcome players to the immersive escape game.]
[Ding! Let’s begin the luck detection. The luck will be linked to the player’s copy selection.]
As the other players’ tests were A,B,B..the detection system slowly pulsed on Bai liXin’s head.

[Ding! Congratulations player; your luck is F-, and the universe deems you unlucky!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the player. You have obtained the special title – “God of Bad Luck” (unique).]
Bai Lixin: “???”

Congratulations? Where’s the joy in that?

Soon after, the players trapped in the escape game found that there was an incredibly beautiful but tragic player in the game.

The face is unbelievable, the strength is unbeatable, but the luck is so bad that the copy he gets either has a bug or is a horror S level.

Just when everyone thought that the little beauty would certainly die, he broke through countless levels and embarked on the road to immortality.

Bai Lixin, the full-level boss, mistakenly strayed into a strange game to find his husband.

Later, he found that his old attacker had become all kinds of bosses in the copy and these big bosses were most often not human.

A water body, the true ancestor of the vampire clan, an undead knight, a dragon….

Well, he had to admit that each had its own advantages <<less

On that day, the fog blocked everything.... more>>

On that day, he became the captain of a ghost ship.

On that day, he stepped through the thick fog and confronted a completely subverted and fragmented world— the old order had vanished, strange phenomena dominated the endless seas beyond civilized society, and isolated island city-states and fleets of ships challenged the sea that had become the last ember of lights for the civilized world. All of this while the shadows of the old days were still stirring in the deep sea, waiting to devour this world that was about to die.

But for the new captain of the ghost ship Vanished, there was only one question he had to consider first — Who knows how to steer this ship?! <<less

In a world where magic reigns supreme and the influence of gods wanes, a young boy finds himself unexpectedly thrust into the role of an acolyte in the declining Sun God's Temple. Blessed with the divine stigma of the Sun God, he must navigate the temple's internal politics, the hostility of his fellow acolytes, and the challenges that come with his newfound powers.... more>>

As he delves deeper into the mysteries of the temple, he discovers hidden secrets and powerful artifacts that could change the course of his destiny. With the guidance of an enigmatic senior acolyte and the unwavering faith in his own abilities, he sets out to prove his worth and carve his own path in a world that has all but forgotten the true power of the divine. <<less

In the 20th year of Yuanboa, the Divine Order Division suffered three calamities in a row. ... more>>

First, Jiang Zhuo descended the mountain.

Second, the Evil God broke the seal.

Third, these two were secretly in league with each other—working hand in glove!

Stealing fire and reaching for the stars. <<less

At the beginning, he acquired a piece of land worth billions, but Su Ming used it to cultivate crops!... more>>

Row after row of cucumbers, plant after plant of chili peppers, shoot after shoot of bamboo shoots… …

Everyone couldn’t understand: “Having a billion-dollar land and using it for farming? Su Ming, what’s wrong with you?”

Yet, Su Ming just smiled mysteriously.

Do you really think, naively, that the cucumbers I grow are just ordinary cucumbers?

The joy I find in farming is something you can never imagine! <<less

At midnight, with two hoots of owls, Xu Wang was involved in a world called “Owl”, dividing his life into two parts: “day reality” and “night mission completed”.... more>>

Xu Wang: I met my white moonlight, who I had a crush on in high school and who turned me down, now has become my team partner in the world of mission completed. I was very flustered.

Wu Sheng: I met the man who bore in my mind in mission completed world. Although I was rejected that year, I would like to try again.

Owl: Which one of you had a crush on the other? Who was turned down? How am I confused about this…

Sophomore, high IQ, pretentious adorable Gong VS optimistic ridicule Shou <<less

As a formidable figure in the underworld that no one dared to provoke, Huang Quan had never imagined that she would be reborn! ... more>>

Huang Quan, the underworld boss, suddenly found herself reincarnated as the young lady of a declining aristocratic family in the Phoenix Empire. This lady was known for her delicate and fragile constitution, often out of breath after just a few steps, and she lacked spiritual roots, making it impossible for her to practice cultivation. She was widely regarded as a useless person in the capital city.

Delicate and fragile? Unable to cultivate? Bullied by others?

For her frail body, there was medical treatment.

As for her inability to cultivate, she possessed a unique spiritual energy that could make all things flourish and bring life to the dead!

As for being bullied, she had a straightforward solution—beat you till you cry!

Huang Quan declared that she wasn't afraid of any of the above. The only thing she was afraid of was...

Di Qin: "When will you marry me home?"

Huang Quan: "???" Shouldn't it be you marrying me instead? <<less

Yuan Luoyi felt like she was a little hamster in a pit of snakes, with her family full of crazy villains, yet as the fake heiress she still focused on slacking off.... more>>

Dad was an arms dealer, Mom an ace assassin.

Eldest brother, business world's killing god, with proxy syndrome.

Second brother, cold-blooded lawyer, zero moral sense.

Third brother, addicted to killing, born with antisocial personality.

Fourth brother, evil celebrity, who trained fans into believers.

Fifth brother, genius scholar, loves those pure white bones.

Yuan Luoyi didn't know that because of her birth, the world gained five more brothers, not five more lunatics.

Those greedy villains also didn't know, the one they wanted to kill was not an ordinary girl, but the most beloved little sister of five crazy bastard brothers.

The female lead has 99 lifetimes of memories, a system, harem darling + suspense, happy ending. <<less

Jianjing was reborn into a parallel world and became a genius novelist.... more>>

Or rather, the soon-to-be deceased young genius novelist...

[System Warning]: You committed su*cide, estimated time of death in 10 minutes.

[Mandatory Mission]: Escape from the enclosed room.

[Reward and Punishment]: Successful escape means the author continues the story, failure means the story is abandoned.

Jianjing: WTF?!

System: This is just the beginning, face the storm ahead!

Jianjing's view of herself: An ordinary bestselling novelist.

Others' view of her: "Novelist Detective", "Honorable Citizen for Bravery and Justice", "Police Consultant", "Surprise Guest for Horror House Shows", "Human Representative Against Unknown Creatures"... <<less

An Rugu just graduated from university and returned to her small, mountain village to inherit a rundown Daoist temple.... more>>

The Daoist temple is simple and solemn, but there are no visitors, and there is no money for incense.

She heard that doing livestreams can earn money, so she decided to give it a try.

But her livestream isn’t singing and dancing—she tells fortunes.

——————

A divination livestream appeared on the Shark streaming platform, and the netizens who saw it dismissed it at first.

[It’s 2021, and there are still people who practice feudal superstition.]

[Look at you, you scam artist.]

But soon enough, the comments changed completely.

[Ah, master, you said my head was a little green, and my boyfriend who has been with me for ten years really cheated on me!]

[Master, you said that I was facing a bloody disaster. Thank you, master, for saving my life.]

After becoming popular, An Rugu somehow took over the task of promoting the Netherworld and became its spokesperson to the living.

Livestream divination to the living during the day—live attraction for ghosts at night.

[My grandpa came to me in a dream and told me to burn more paper money, so he can reward the streamer with dream money. Damn, the Netherworld really exists?!”]

[F*ck! The thief cried and returned the money to me after seeing the appearance of Hell in the livestream. He said he doesn’t want to go to Hell in the future.]
—————

Slice of life—except that An Rugu’s daily life consists of livestream divinations, conversing with denizens of the Netherworld, and running a halfway home for ghosts who don’t want to reincarnate yet.

Oh, and she also manages a small Daoist temple atop a pretty mountain with a magnificent view of the sky, rising through the clouds. <<less

On the way to a company workshop, we fell into a world of immortal cultivators while still in the car.... more>>

Those with spiritual roots and unique abilities were all called to join cultivation sects, living prosperously.

But I, having neither spiritual roots nor special abilities, lived as an ordinary mortal for 50 years, complying with fate until my death.

That’s what I thought.

Until I regressed. <<less

When Xu Yue woke up, he found that he had become a monster.... more>>

To the left, there were two slimes—the old couple next door. To the right, there was a young dragon—the junior high school student downstairs. They all met and were equally bewildered by their different races.

It wasn’t until Xu Yue accidentally opened his personal status bar.

(Former) Game Developer Xu Yue: ……

His game successfully launched, but something seemed off. <<less

I am home alone, planning my escape.... more>>

My new husband has gone to work.

But I know he actually hasn’t.

He is outside the door, looking through the peephole at me. He has been standing there all day long.

At 5:25 in the afternoon, he will open the door and pretend to have just gotten off a long day at work, saying: “A-Zhen, I worked very hard today. I missed you so much.”

I have to run away, because not only is “he” pretending to be my husband, but “he”…..isn’t a human being!

Now, I have three plans….. <<less

Every investigation assigned to the S.C.I team are mass mu*ders, committed by unpredictable serial killers with horrendous and gruesome methods of slaughter. However, amidst of... more>> the gory crime scenes and the fiery battles of wit, the love of the young men in the team still blooms... <<less

1. Are you the pursuer?
2. Are you the pursued?
"Of course the pursued!"
The moment I made that choice, I realized, "Ah, I'm screwed."

1.... more>>

Chu Xie transmigrates into a novel as a venomous, fragile beauty who torments the protagonist to the brink of death. The system tells him he must complete the storyline to return.

Chu Xie looks at the script: Frame the male lead, torture the male lead, and ultimately be killed by the male lead.

Heh, easy.

Rolling up his sleeves, he just starts tormenting the protagonist.

System: Host!! Another host has transmigrated to the wrong world, and now you must take on two people’s storylines by yourself.

Chu Xie: …?!

System: That guy had a white lotus script, which means you must protect the male lead, accompany the male lead, and ultimately die for the male lead.

Chu Xie: (╯°Д°)╯︵ ┻━┻

2.

Chu Xie has no choice but to play two roles.

During the day, he frames the young male lead.

At night, he saves the young male lead.

Finally, when he reaches the “death (retirement)” stage, he falls off his horse at a critical moment.

Seeing the male lead angrily and nervously knock over the poison wine in his hand, Chu Xie hears the system’s deafening scream.

“Host!!! Both character settings are about to collapse; you need to think of a solution!!”

That’s why I was saying, why did you give me two completely opposite character settings at that time!!!

Chu Xie touches his forehead and goes into acting mode: “Let me die, Your Highness. Only if I die can Chu Xie die… and he can no longer harm you.” Then, he performs a personality switch in front of the crown prince, and finally stabs a small knife into his heart, smoothly ending this life.

“…Host, you’re amazing!”

3.

Later, he didn’t die.

The little emperor who had sworn to cut him to pieces and avenge himself didn’t do anything.

He administered medicine to him every day and guarded him twenty-four hours a day.

“Zhen didn’t let you die, so you’re not allowed to die!”

Chu Xie: QAQ~

#I am the big boss and the white moonlight.

#I’m just an emotionless plot-driving machine, now that the plot is over, please let me die soon. <<less

When Song Caitang woke up, she found herself in a coffin home surrounded by dead bodies.... more>>

A young maid squatted next to her, crying so hard that she was hiccupping. She complained that the local undertaker, the Wu family, was shameless for kidnapping Song Caitang for the sake of their idiot son, and even used their good relationship with the coffin home to trap both Song Caitang and her maid inside. If Song Caitang didn’t agree to the marriage, she would not be allowed to leave!

Out of habit from her occupation in her previous life, Song Caitang began to inspect the dead bodies.

“What a pity.”

“Exactly! Young Mistress is still young and the doctor said you’d definitely recover, so it’s not like you can’t get married in the future to someone better. Why should you suffer for the rest of your life from marrying an idiot!”

“I’m referring to the dead bodies here.”

“…whaaaa?!” <<less

“If there existed a horrendous ghost among the hwarangs, who would it be? Of course, it’d be Seol Yeong-rang who uses necromancy to call upon ghosts!”... more>>

Hwarang Seol Yeong, who was named as the horrendous ghost who’d bring forth a great disaster one day.

There was only one way to get rid of the false accusations and return to his original position.

It was to prove he wasn’t a horrendous ghost by solving abnormal incidents.

Then, Ja Ha, the head of the previous generation’s hwarang, the man who killed a great evil spirit eight years prior and disappeared without a trace, appeared in front of Seol Yeong… <<less

Ya Xiao is a very pitiful little demon who had his bat wings and tail snapped off by his mother right after he was born.... more>>

Once a demon loses their wings and tail, they become the lowest demon in the group.

Fortunately, Ya Xiao grew up with a motivational system.

With the help of his Uncle System, Ya Xiao worshipped evil by nature, but his character was positive, sunny, healthy, and full of ideals and beliefs!

Four hundred years later, Ya Xiao relied on his own efforts with great motivation and regrew his tail, and just when he was about to grow his wings,

——he transmigrated.

Ya Xiao: ......

System: ......cub, don't cry! System Dad will take you back!

＊＊＊＊

In order to let the cub go back, the system learned after looking up and analyzing that this was a novel. In it, there was a villain who had one hand on the sky and was always against the protagonist's group. The system cried tears of joy.

"Cub, you go to approach the villain and absorb the demon value from him."

Ya Xiao nodded, "Okay!"

After some manipulations, Ya Xiao successfully took up his position as the villain's butler.

Just as he was happily on duty and ready to approach the villain, he was in time to see the already-blackened villain strangling the protagonist's neck. His eyes were fierce and cold, and he looked bloodthirsty and cruel.

Ya Xiao: ......!!!

He's so badass! I love it so much!

Ya Xiao's soul that worshipped the powerful awakened. He couldn't restrain his tail from wagging left and right in his pants, and his heart was stirred up.

System: ......???

＊＊＊＊

The new butler is beautiful, soft, well-behaved, and kind.

Whether it's scheduling or dealing with various chores, he always arranges them perfectly.

Qin Qi heard his subordinates say that the butler liked him.

He pulled at the corner of his mouth and put out the cigarette in his hand.

Like him? Might as well like a dog.

An existence as beautiful and soft as a cat like the butler should be pampered with gold and silver.

And he would only bring misfortune and fear to the other party.

In a rare attack of conscience, Qin Qi purposely took him to the battlefield once to make it clear to the other party that they weren't even from the same world.

The severed limbs of the insects were piled up in mountains. The foul-smelling green blood intertwined with the blood of the humans was disgusting, and it made the people go increasingly crazy.

"See?"

Qin Qi drew out his silver blade, signaling the other to look at his compatriots who had already gone crazy from the mental contamination:

"As long as the insect mother isn't dead, the insects will never die, and I'll become a complete and utter madman."

"But the insect mother..." snorted Qin Qi, "No one can fight that kind of thing."

Ya Xiao: ......

He trembled as he pulled something just like a gemstone out from behind him.

"Is... is this it?"

Qin Qi: ......

Ya Xiao: QAQ
I didn't know this shiny thing was the insect mother! <<less

2021’s Grand Prize Winner!... more>>

A wild wulin journey with a grandfather who has returned to his youth and his invincible granddaughter! <<less