Chapter 115

Xiaoxue quickly found the person in charge of serving the dishes.

"Kenta!" She first looked surprised and delighted, then looked around warily.

There was no one around, but it wasn't appropriate to chat in the hallway, so Kenta quickly led her into a room.

"Mina is dead. There are two policemen here; they might come looking for you soon," Xiaoxue reported quickly but weakly. "Are you alright on your end?"

“No, with this much snow, avalanches have happened before. They never imagined it was caused by a bomb.” Kenta countered with a question to Yuki, “What about you?”

Xiaoxue quickly said, "I'm fine too. Mina is used to taking sleeping pills. It's a bit strange that she would take sleeping pills while soaking in a hot spring, but we can just assume that she forgot for a moment. Besides, they might not even find out that she took sleeping pills. I don't think those two policemen found anything either. They might just close the case as an accidental drowning!"

Kenta pondered for a moment and then asked, "Do you know where those two policemen are from? What are their names?"

"It seems to be from Tokyo. I heard something about the First Investigation Division. One is called Jinpei, and the other seems to be called Hagi."

Kenta relaxed: "That's good."

Xiaoxue couldn't quite understand Kenta's relaxed state: "Are you really okay?"

"Absolutely no problem, don't worry." Kenta started promising Yuki a happy ending. "Once things calm down, I'll withdraw the insurance money, and then we can go abroad to get married!"

He and Mina had already registered their citizenship long ago, but they hadn't held a wedding yet. Everyone around them thought they were just boyfriend and girlfriend and couldn't imagine that they were murdering someone for insurance money.

Moreover, this method wasn't his own idea; he met a crime consultant on the dark web.

The consultant claimed to be a modern-day Moriarty, having been involved in criminal planning for over three years and selling numerous perfect criminal plans.

This crime consultant would write the crime process into a novel and then ask him if he wanted to buy the complete version, the abridged version, or just the first half.

He didn't have enough money, but he gritted his teeth and bought the complete version anyway. After all, if the plan succeeded, he could get much more money than he would have spent on the criminal plan. One must be decisive and not lose sight of the bigger picture at a time like this.

All I can say is that this is truly a complete criminal plan. The mastermind even found a way to buy the bombs for him and confidently told him not to be afraid of the police, that he would definitely be fine.

That unwavering attitude was very convincing, especially since things had come to this point and there was no turning back. Kenta had no choice but to believe it.

But now, Kenta felt that he understood why the crime consultant was so confident.

Kenta had previously assumed that he was being asked to trigger an avalanche, simply to stop the local police, give him and Yuki time to calm down, improve their acting skills, destroy evidence, and increase the difficulty of the autopsy.

But now it seems that this is also related to after-sales service—although the plan was already so perfect, the crime consultant still considered that the police in small towns were very likely to be lenient, so just in case, he asked a detective from the First Investigation Division, who had a lot of influence, to vouch for him.

It's normal that a master criminal like him wouldn't bother knowing the police in such remote areas, or having connections that would make people turn a blind eye. But for that tiny chance of encountering a serious and righteous policeman, he called in his informant within the police force to help him carry out his plan...

If that's the case, when the local police arrive tomorrow, they will most likely close the case based on what the two detectives said today.

This is truly a complete criminal plan; the money was well spent!

Kenta mentally showered the mysterious crime consultant with compliments.

What? You're asking him how he knew those two policemen were on his side?

As an employee here, when he was called to serve dishes before, he made sure to find out which room the guests were in and what their names were.

So he immediately matched "Jinpei" and "hagi" with the guests in the room where he was responsible for serving the food—and immediately thought of the person who came with the two policemen.

When he went to deliver the food, the other person hadn't changed into a yukata yet; they had only taken off their coat and were sitting lazily on the tatami mat, leaning against their ribs, casually propping their head up. Because of the noise at the door, they gave him a perfunctory glance.

With just one glance, he immediately understood the other person's identity.

This must be the crime consultant, the modern-day Moriarty!

He had read the Sherlock Holmes stories and greatly admired Professor Moriarty, Holmes' nemesis. He had also watched many related TV series and movies, but none of them could make him realize the extraordinary nature of the other person at first glance, just like the moon on a starless night, impossible to ignore.

The other party dressed very discreetly, seemingly trying to distinguish themselves from the underworld. They wore light-colored clothes and were unwilling to acknowledge him. He could completely understand this, after all, it was a risky matter. The master probably just wanted to see the effect of his criminal plan up close and make timely corrections to ensure a perfect crime.

However, the master chef's aura was too unique. Although the proprietress didn't see through the truth, she felt uncomfortable, so she asked him to serve the dishes in her place. And he recognized her at a glance...

In short, because he guessed that this person was a crime consultant, and matched the police officer's name with the two people who came with the crime consultant, Kenta immediately knew that these two police officers were on his side, which is why he suddenly relaxed.

With a master supervising on-site and two corrupt police officers assisting him, he's brimming with confidence and is already thinking about how to spend the money after he scams the insurance company.

After comforting Xiaoxue for a bit, Kenta figured that even if the two corrupt cops were faking it, they would probably want to talk to him anyway. So he explained a few things to Xiaoxue, and the two quickly parted ways.

Reiko paced anxiously in her room, only relaxing when she saw her return: "You're back? Did you tell Kenta?"

"Well, after all, Mina is his girlfriend, so I think I should tell him. Otherwise, when the police come knocking, he might not be able to explain things as tactfully as I have."

Reiko sighed, "I know, it's just that you left me alone, and I was a little scared. I kept thinking about that man I met earlier... Do you think he might be the murderer?"

Xiaoxue quickly said, "Don't say that. They might not even know Mina. Besides, the police said it wasn't an accidental drowning, right?"

Forget about murder, that kind of thinking is unacceptable! It must be an accidental death! Brainwash them immediately!

Reiko thought about it and agreed: "It's just that what he said was too strange..."

At the same time, Kenta was also walking towards the crime scene.

Although he knew the two policemen were on his side, lying was still a bit stressful. Fortunately, he hadn't given them the sleeping pills; he had only planted a bomb and caused a small avalanche, so it was relatively easy for him.

The difficulty lies in portraying his deep affection for Mina and the anguish he feels upon discovering her death... If he were the first to discover her, it would be easier to act; he could just feign disbelief. But now that he's been informed beforehand, he might have to restrain himself and not overact, lest the two corrupt cops remain silent while the landlady senses something is amiss...

Sigh, if only the mastermind behind crime could have included an acting workshop in the plan...

Just as he was thinking this, Kenta saw the young man coming towards him.

He's a master of crime consulting!

The master changed into a yukata, which made him look even more professional!

There was no one else around, and having just learned that the master had even hired corrupt cops to cooperate with him, Kenta was very excited and wanted to express his gratitude to the master, praising the perfection of this "perfect version."

But the master didn't seem to want to acknowledge him, so Kenta could only try to express his gratitude with his eyes.

However, just when Kenta thought that the master would also pretend not to know him and pass by him, the master suddenly spoke.

"etc."

Kenta responded reflexively: "Yes, Master!"

The master paused suspiciously, tucked his hands into his kimono sleeves, and then asked, "Are you going to the scene?"

“Yes, Master.” The fact that the Master had recognized him meant that everything was settled. Kenta was overjoyed and quickly said, “I followed your plan exactly. As for the accomplice, who was the most likely to cause problems, Xiaoxue did a great job.”

The master looked at him coldly, his gaze filled with pressure: "Hmm, do you know what to do next?"

Although there was some pressure, Kenta felt happy when he thought that these were his own people.

It would be so much better if our own people were stronger! It would be a problem if the police were this scary!

Therefore, feeling that the master was giving him a surprise inspection, Kenta obediently replied, "Next, we just need to wait for the snow to melt a bit, then we can retrieve the bomb wreckage and make sure the avalanche was just an accident..."

"What if the deceased's family insists on an autopsy?"

“I will insist that Mina often takes sleeping pills, so that no one will suspect Xiaoxue.”

“…Not bad.” The master nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with his fluent answer. “Don’t forget your original intention.”

Kenta smiled and said, "As long as your plan goes smoothly, the insurance company will definitely honor the payment."

The master thought for a moment and said, "I'll go with you."

Kenta was a little surprised, but considering that everyone there was one of his own, and there was only the proprietress who might not even still be there, he accepted: "Okay!"

He walked respectfully one step behind the master, following him closely to the women's bath.

Sure enough, only two corrupt police officers belonging to their own group remained at the scene. It's possible that after Xiaoxue and the others left, the proprietress also left. After all, although there weren't many customers, the proprietress would definitely have to explain to each of them why the hot spring was unusable.

The master greeted his two companions, saying, "This is him."

Kenta felt this was an introduction of the client to his associates.

Although secrecy is important, the other party is, after all, a police officer. According to regulations, he should be interrogated. If I introduce him now, he won't have to act anymore, which saves a lot of trouble.

"Thank you all for your hard work." Kenta bowed repeatedly. "I'm so sorry that you've all come all this way because of me!"

"Huh?" The somewhat fierce-looking curly-haired black policeman made a sound like a member of a yakuza gang.

Kenta was a little confused, and quickly looked at the person next to him: "Master..."

Another policeman, who looked like a cunning strategist, smiled but seemed somewhat tired for some reason: "Little Shenliu, what's going on now?"

“This is the mastermind, and Xiaoxue is an accomplice.” The master took something out of his sleeve. “He just confessed, and I recorded it… By the way, there should be another planner behind this case. He probably thinks I’m the planner.”

Kenta: “…???”

He was terrified, his blood rushed back to his brain, and for a moment he couldn't even understand what the other person meant.

"Aren't you a crime consultant?!"

The curly-haired policeman scoffed, "This guy's a cop."

Kenta still cannot accept reality.

With such a prominent and obvious aura, how could he possibly mistake someone else?!

Moreover, his conversation with the master just now went very smoothly; he didn't notice anything amiss at all! If the master isn't a master, how did he manage to keep up with him?!

Impossible, absolutely impossible. This must be a joke by the master. After all, only our own people are here, so nothing we say can get out. But the master probably doesn't know yet that he's already discovered that these two policemen are corrupt cops, they're on our side...

"Hahaha." Kenta chuckled dryly. "Master, you must be joking. You really are 'Moriarty,' aren't you?"

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Extra chapter added. Good night.

I have to go out to run errands tomorrow... *closes eyes in anguish* I've been so busy lately.

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The crime consultant in this chapter is the guy who calls himself Moriarty in episode 1037 of the anime, "The Perfect Crime Guide."

Hanchuan's nickname is "the Moriarty of the police."

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Seeing the duo—

Han Chuan: These are my companions.

Kenta: These are accomplices.

Hanchuan changed into a yukata—

Low emotional intelligence: like a gangster boss

High emotional intelligence: The master looks more professional