"A very terrifying creature. According to the records in the magic book, it looks like a big snake flying in the sky. It is the attendant of the faceless god. In most cases, it will only appear when called by the god."
Koizumi Anko put her fingers against the pages of the ancient magic book and read word for word: "If it is a summons from an unrelated god, you must offer it blood and creatures to please it, in order to increase the probability of a successful summons...
"
"Anyway, this magic circle is very evil. Where did you find it?"
"where are you now……"
Qin Zhibo hung up the phone and fell into confusion.
The presence of the Terror Hunter's summoning magic circle here means that someone has used it.
Then the monster that the brother in the villa owner encountered before is very likely to be this kind of monster...
Qin Zhibo stood up from the ground and stared at the bird house on the big tree in the backyard.
In his twinkling eyes, some pictures emerged in Qin Zhibo's mind.
He seemed to see a killed creature in the bird house. The bird's body was chopped into several pieces, and blood oozed from the variegated feathers.
The first summons should have used a bird in the bird house, so my brother saw the "monster" at the window.
The second summons...
Qin Zhibo recovered his thoughts in time and no longer thought about what had happened.
His eyes returned to the bottom row of the bookshelf, and he reached out and took out a set of seven heavy encyclopedias.
Before he could put the scrambled book numbers back in order, Qin Zhibo saw an investigation point hidden on the wall behind the books.
【Topographic Survey√】
【This is a secret passage】
Qin Zhibo: "!"
He quickly moved all the books next to it and in the previous row, and saw the complete entrance to the passage.
This is a trap door built into the wall.
Normally, the trap door is blocked by bookshelves and books, and it is in the corner of the wall, so it cannot be seen from the outside.
The trap door can be pushed aside, revealing a dark passage inside.
…
On the other side, Conan was holding his chin, thinking about the room key on the coffee table.
As soon as he got Qin Zhibo's tacit permission to conduct a site survey, Conan checked the doors and windows of the entire room and found that they were all locked.
The deceased died in the room, and the doors and windows were locked, so the murderer was not hiding in the room.
This is a typical locked room murder case.
The key to the secret room murder case is to decipher how the murderer got out of the room.
Anyway, Conan, like Qin Zhibo, would not believe the talk of suicide.
Judging from actual experience, none of the cases Conan encountered that looked like suicides were actually suicides...
Conan took another look at the body hanging under the chandelier and the unique key ring around his waist.
If there was that retractable keychain, the murderer could easily arrange the secret room, and it would even be easier to crack than all the secret room pieces he had encountered before.
But the problem is that the room key happened to be far away from the key ring.
"..."
Conan tried his best to restrain his gaze and not look in Qin Zhibo's direction, so as not to disrupt the rhythm of his reasoning.
Because Qin Zhibo's investigation direction often means "correct answers". Even if the police haven't arrived yet, if he reads the answers, it won't be considered his own reasoning.
It's like you clearly want to complete an assignment independently with your own efforts, but the friend next to you is holding a standard answer in his hand and keeps dangling it in front of you.
He even kept uttering devilish whispers.
"Come on~"
"Come and copy me~"
In order not to be tempted and affected by the answer, you can only try to narrow your sight and not pay attention to the bad friend and the answer in his hand.
But within the limited field of vision, Conan really couldn't see any more clues.
There was no choice but to turn Conan's eyes to the bookshelf behind the sofa.
Bookshelf is often the focus of Qin Zhibo's investigations.
Conan still remembered the first time he met Qin Zhibo, which was also the first case the two of them collaborated on. Qin Zhibo unexpectedly stood in front of the bookshelf to investigate.
To this day, Conan still doesn't know why he investigated the bookshelf.
However, Qin Zhibo was not standing in front of the bookshelf at this moment.
Not only the bookshelf, but also the rest of the room.
Sensing something was wrong, Conan quickly looked around, only to find that the 185cm tall man was no longer in the huge room.
How can this be!
Conan immediately ran out of the room and asked Hondo Eiyou and others who were standing at the door of the room.
"Did uncle just leave the room?"
"No? I didn't see it..."
The main hall Yingyou and Yuanzi both shook their heads. Mao Lilan and the three band members who had returned from calling the police also came back at this time.
"Conan, what's wrong?"
"It's Uncle Qin, who suddenly disappeared in the room!"
"disappear?"
The three members of the band all showed shocked expressions, but the expression and inner drama of one of them were more lively than the other two.
Could it be that the secret passage has been discovered by him?
No! I want to go back and take a look!
The crew-cut man among the three was about to turn around and go upstairs when he saw a figure coming down the stairs.
It’s Qin Zhibo!
Seeing Qin Zhibo appearing from upstairs, everyone looked surprised, especially Conan.
"Mr. Qin, when did you arrive upstairs? Why didn't I see you?"
Hondo Eyou, who had been standing at the door waiting, asked incomprehensively.
Qin Zhibo smiled, looked at the crew cut man in the band, and said leisurely: "I have to ask Mr. Kuramoto..."
"No, it should be Miss Renzi's murderer!"
After the words fell, everyone gave up a C position exclusively for the murderer for the crew-cut man.
Conan's mouth was wide open.
So fast!
I haven't even started yet! You're done!
Conan's brain suddenly realized something, and he quickly ran back to the bookshelf in the room.
I saw a few stacks of books stacked in the corner of the bookshelf. The bookshelf in the corresponding position was not only empty, but also exposed a secret passage on the wall behind the bookshelf.
Seeing this secret passage, Conan suddenly understood everything.
So that was it, I finally understood why Qin Zhibo wanted to investigate the bookshelf in the first place.
Because the incident at Souha's residence at that time was strictly speaking a case of secret room murder.
Qin Zhibo's purpose is to find if there is a secret passage behind the bookshelf!
Under the circumstances at that time, it would have been impossible to immediately think of finding the secret passage without rich experience in handling matters.
This shows that Qin Zhibo's investigation of the case has formed a logical chain and operation process as sophisticated as a software program, which he will execute every time he encounters a similar case.
In fact, most people working in the police profession have this fixed thinking pattern.
For example, the police officer asked for information about the deceased, the alibi of the suspect, and looked for any "brothers" around... This set of standardized procedures is essential for every case.
It's just that Qin Zhibo's standard process is more complicated and advanced than Mu Mu's.
Maybe in his mind, whenever he encounters a secret room case, he has already listed Technique 1, Technique 2, Technique 3, Technique 4...
Then, the feasibility of each method is confirmed one by one through the on-site conditions.
Sherlock Holmes once said that if you eliminate all wrong options, the remaining answers will be the truth no matter how absurd they are.
Using this strict reasoning logic, coupled with Qin Zhibo's terrifying observation ability, the investigation speed is naturally faster than that of relying solely on on-the-spot performance.
This is the difference in experience!
At this moment, Conan more clearly realized the gap between himself and Qin Zhibo.
This gap can only be made up with time and a large amount of software. There is also a 20-year age difference between the two. Apart from talent and aging, those are the differences.
But fortunately, in the land of Tokyo, there is never a shortage of things.
Conan has full confidence in this.
In other words, as long as I reach Qin Zhibo's age, can I have such reasoning ability?
Thinking of this, Conan was greatly encouraged and his waist became straighter.
…
Outside the room, although the crew-cut man already felt something bad in his heart, he still felt lucky.
He quickly protested: "You, what are you talking about? How could I be the murderer?"
"I was also outside the room when you found the body!"
"I found the body just like everyone else, why are you the only one who suspects me? Aren't Xiang and Chun also suspects?"
The crew-cut man became increasingly agitated, referred to as "anxious", and began to throw dirty water on his companions.
The man with glasses and the girl with wavy expressions were startled, and they did not recognize the companion in front of them.
"No……"
"I am not doubting you, but I am sure that you are the murderer."
Qin Zhibo smiled slightly and slowly told the secret, "Actually, there is a secret passage in the room where the discovery was made, which directly connects to a bedroom on the third floor."
"Secret passage?" Everyone wondered.
At this time, Conan came out of the room, "Uncle Qin is right, there is an upward passage behind the bookshelf in the room..."
Qin Zhibo glanced at Conan and saw that this kid moved very quickly.
Qin Zhibo continued: "The wallet in the bedroom contains your driver's license, which proves that it is your room."
"After you killed Miss Renzi, you returned to the room on the third floor through a secret passage, and then came to the second floor pretending as if nothing had happened."
"But in your desperation, you ignored the order of the books on the bookshelf, and that's when you exposed the flaw."
Conan was still a little surprised when he heard this.
Among the hundreds of books on the bookshelf, it is terrifying to be able to find at a glance where the book numbers are in the wrong order.
If reasoning ability can be caught up with time and experience, how can this observation ability be improved?
If only Dr. Ari could invent the kind of high-tech glasses that can immediately highlight suspicious points at a glance...
The crew-cut man saw that all his methods were exposed, but he still refused to give up.
He clenched his hands tightly, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He looked as if his defense had been broken, but he still yelled at Qin Zhibo.
"It's no use telling me this! I don't even know there is a secret passage in my room!"
"What evidence do you have to prove that I killed Lunzi!"
Seeing that the flat-headed man wanted to fight to the end, Qin Zhibo also entered the stage of "asking for a hammer and getting a hammer".
"When the body was discovered just now, you had to step forward to help put the body down. In addition to acting, there should be other purposes, right?"
"Because the rope you used to strangle someone has your fingerprints on it."
Hearing this, the flat-headed man's body suddenly trembled, and a large amount of cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
"In this crime, you probably didn't have a premeditated murder plan in advance, but you killed someone impulsively."
"You killed the deceased impulsively. Not only did you not wear gloves, but you were worried about being seen by others, so you checked the reaction of everyone in the backyard from the sealed window..."
Hondo Yingyou suddenly recalled the peeping eyes he saw in the backyard, and said in surprise: "It turned out to be him at that time!"
"That's right." Qin Zhibo nodded, "As for why the sealed window can be opened, we will know what happened when we enter the secret passage later."
Qin Zhibo turned to look at the flat-headed man again, "But you never expected that my identity is a detective, and I quickly protected the scene after the incident, without giving you a chance to touch the rope..."
"Now just wait for the police to arrive and check the fingerprints on the rope to prove that you are the murderer."
Qin Zhibo judged that the flat-headed man had made a temporary decision to kill, and there was another reason.
Even when Renzi was yelling at everyone in the band, they all managed their expressions pretty well.
Under the irrefutable evidence, the flat-headed man's psychological defense finally collapsed and he revealed his motive for the murder.
It turned out that he and Renzi had been having a dispute about how to play the guitar, but after the last dispute, he practiced alone for a long time.
But when he went to see Renzi today to check the results, Renzi still said that he couldn't play well and insulted the guitarist he liked.
Just like that, when he regained his senses, Renzi was dead with a rope around his neck.
After hearing this reason for killing, Qin Zhibo shook his head helplessly.
Another outrageous reason for killing.
But no matter what, my case has been solved.
[Congratulations on completing the side mission!]
[Task rating: A level]
[Acquire 500 general skill proficiency]
[Get 150 social credits]
[Rating reward: 500 general skill proficiency]
Since the case was solved before the police arrived, it was directly evaluated as A-level and the proficiency reward was doubled.
Although this reward is somewhat small compared to the largest main quest that you will have the opportunity to complete, it is at least better than nothing.
…
Half an hour later, the police from Gunma Prefecture arrived late.
Qin Zhibo was still surprised when he saw that it was not Officer Memu, but Yamamura Cao who curled his lips.
After asking carefully, I found out that this location is at the junction of Tokyo and Gunma. This villa happens to fall under the jurisdiction of Gunma Prefecture, and the Suzuki family villa not far away belongs to the Tokyo area.
This time, Kogoro Mouri was not around, so Qin Zhibo could only personally explain the ins and outs of the case to this rookie policeman.
When explaining the secret passage, Qin Zhibo explained to everyone the mystery of why the nailed window could be opened.
It turns out that in order to expand the space of the secret passage on the original basis of this villa, a false window was built in the library and nailed shut from the inside.
Inside the secret passage, there is a half window that corresponds to the real window outside the building.
"Hondo Yingyou and I saw only half of the window open in the backyard. In fact, the crew-cut man was using the half window in the secret passage to observe the backyard..."
As Qin Zhibo spoke, he opened half of the window next to the wall and demonstrated for Shancun Cao in the narrow secret passage.
Suddenly, Qin Zhibo was stunned when he looked out the window.
Under the big tree where the bird house was built, a man covered in pitch black was standing there, looking straight at him.