Part 157: Mastered by Guy at the Exchange

VIDEO: Hangman's Gambit #2

MUSIC: Hangman's Gambit Ver3.0











Huh?

Is it even possible?

No, that's a question for later. For now, we know that...



Even if we can't positively identify the body, we would still believe Kaito was the victim.



D-Does that mean the victims were switched!?

Nyeh!? Switched!?

Then it was some other dead body that got crushed by the hydraulic press?

What?



There should be plenty to choose from if you reuse the body of a former victim—

If there was an unknown body, then we could guess the victim was switched...





KOKICHI?: When in the footage would they have been able to switch the victim?





Monokuma also said that no computer was used to edit the footage, remember?



Which means, switching out the victim would not be possible. Also, if the victim was switched, then that would mean Kaito is still alive. We already discussed this sooo many times. The chance of that happening is imposs—



Huh?

There could be a trick to make the switch possible. We just haven't noticed it yet...



...

See, you don't know, do you? I already said it's imposs—





...

Hey, Shuichi... I'll think harder about this as well... So...can you confirm whether or not the victim switched places?



Maki...

I don't like the thought that I killed Kaito...

I don't...want that.



Himiko, if you call her that again—

...Yes, please.

Oh... Uh... Okay.

Then let's all talk it over together!





Don't try to do everything yourself. It's only gonna wear you out. When times are hard, you gotta rely on your friends.



Geez, you guys are a stubborn bunch. There's no trick.

That's probably another lie.

However, if the victims were switched, then that would mean the footage was altered.



If we could figure that out, maybe we'd know how they switched places.

I knew there was a trick to that video the whole time!



A trick to that video...





VIDEO: Nonstop Debate #8

MUSIC: V3 Argument -HOPE VS DESPAIR-









There is no trick.



Did the placement of that camera seem suspicious to any of you?



The person in that video...

Was it really Kaito?

Something seemed off about that video to me...



Could it be...

that the video was shot at another location!?

Any other bright ideas?



I feel like someone said something that gives us a clue...

If we put our heads together, we can find the smallest hope... We won't fall into despair!



I remember this one giving me a lot of trouble. I jumped on the viewing angle weak point, but it turns out there's not a good bullet for that. Instead, the game expects you to remember something from all the way back at the start of the chapter.







Because when Keebo and I first investigated that hydraulic press...







But in the video...







But...why would it stop?

Why did the press stop? There's only one reason I can think of.

VIDEO: Mind Mine #1

MUSIC: Mind Mine









An Electrobomb went off in the hangar, which would've interfered with the safety function...

There'd be no way to stop the hydraulic press unless someone used the "Force Stop" button.

When you say someone...you mean Kokichi, right? He was the only one there.

...



So what of it? The press only stopped for like, a sec. You can't switch the victim in such a short time, can you?

That's true...



That would've clearly been caught on camera.

While the camera was rolling...

Ah, I see. It wasn't just the press that stopped...

...Eh? Huh? Whaddaya mean?



Yes, I see it now. That's how the bodies were switched! If you stopped that, you could have swapped the bodies easily...

VIDEO: Mind Mine #2

MUSIC: Mind Mine











Then, while the camera was off, they switched the body under the hydraulic press.

After the body was swapped, the press and the camera were started simultaneously.

So it just looks like the press stopped for a moment.





When did you ever say that?

So they stopped at the same time... The camera position did seem odd to me...

But now I get it. The trick wouldn't work unless it was set up there.

...Huh? Why?



Let's pin that down. Where was the camera set up...?



This one got me, too. I overthought it, trying to guess where to click based entirely on the angle presented in the video.





SHUICHI: To operate the press and the camera at the same time, it would have to be near the switch.



TSUMUGI: If they were recording it like normal, they would've used a better angle.



Camera angles, huh? Looks like your cosplayer experience is finally useful.

Well, cosplay doesn't really come up all that much in class trials...

There was a reason the camera was set up there, but also a reason for the height.



SHUICHI: That was intentional. The body is mostly hidden by the press, making the swap easier.

KEEBO: The camera must've been placed at such a high position so it would produce that angle.



Did they get that from the warehouse, too? Geez, that place is like a 4D pocket!

You don't get to make that reference...

Then...that logic is correct, right? Kokichi used that video angle trick, and switched the victim in the hydraulic press.



Before he was crushed by the press, he was swapped with a different body!



Well, wait just a minute...

What!? But I just summed it up so nicely!

...



The bodies from the other cases. Kokichi's the mastermind, so he'd—

Nyeh...? Wait... The mastermind...?

Yeah. Kokichi isn't the mastermind, so...



...What?

Well, Monokuma? Do the rules allow for a body to be reused?



...You're giving in pretty easily.

Well, it's crucial information to make the trial fair.



Ah-haha, you're a convenient mastermind. But I guess that makes defeating you worth my time.

Now then, regarding the re-use of a dead body...



Th-Thrown away!?

The other bodies are...gone? Then who did Kaito switch places with?

...



If they were the only ones present during the body-swapping trick... Then the real victim was...





If it wasn't an old body, it could only be......

...What's wrong, Shuichi? Who did Kaito switch places with?



...Something important?

If I have the timeline right, there were only two people in the hangar at the time.

Which means that something had to have been decided before... I have to pin that down. Can't let anything escape me this time!

VIDEO: Hangman's Gambit #3

MUSIC: Hangman's Gambit Ver3.0











What do you mean?

There were only two people in the hangar at the time the bodies were swapped.



Huh? Working together...?

The only two people involved in the swap were the victim...and the culprit.



We zoom in on the press...







SHUICHI: To put it simply, both people operated the press and camera at different times. An impossible trick...unless the victim and culprit agreed to cooperate beforehand!



It sounds bizarre, but perhaps that was the whole point. Commit a crime that was so confusing, even Monokuma would be tricked.

Geez, this culprit's a real jerk.



...

The culprit of the case... If my detective work hasn't failed me, the culprit is inside that Exisal...



It can only be them.