Echoes of Crime: The Silent One

Echoes of Crime is a mystery novel about a mysterious immersive Crime Echoes System. It selects people with an intense obsession with unsolved cases and pulls them into a Crime Scene Recreation Zone, faithfully recreating the real-world settings of the 72 hours before unsolved cases from the past 30 years, as well as wrongful convictions that have since been overturned. Players must identify the real culprit within the time limit, complete the chain of evidence, and bring the case to a close. Core Rules 1. Strict Time Limit: Each scenario has a fixed 72-hour limit. Failing to close the case before time runs out counts as a failure. This schedule is designed to fit a three-day or weekly update cycle on WeChat public accounts. 2. No Interference: Players must not alter key events that are already set to occur on the day of the crime, such as the victim's time of death or a key witness's movements. Doing so causes the timeline to collapse and eliminates the player. 3. Testimony Limits: NPCs connected to the case, including witnesses and suspects, will not actively lie, but they may hide crucial information. Players may ask each NPC no more than three useful questions per conversation. Ask more, and the NPC will fall permanently silent. This closes off the shortcut of forcing a confession and compels players to use deduction. 4. Rewards and Penalties: - Successfully close the case: Earn Echo Points, which can be exchanged for clue hints, extra questions, or the ability to rewind time by one hour. Players also unlock main-story clues connected to their own obsessions. - Fail to close the case: Lose a core memory connected to their own obsession. After three consecutive failures, the System banishes the player permanently, turning them into an "unnamed victim" in the corresponding unsolved case. 5. Faction Rules: Each scenario can have up to five players, who may cooperate or betray one another. Only the first player to close the case receives the full reward.