Chapter 161
Usakabe Saiki squatted in front of his seat, studying the bomb below.
Kenji Hagiwara asked, "So, can it be disassembled?"
"It can be disassembled; I have a Swiss Army knife on me."
Swiss Army knives are small and convenient. Common tools such as scissors, screwdrivers, and tweezers can be pulled out from the fold. As someone prone to accidents, carrying one with me is really useful and often comes in handy.
Kenji Hagiwara breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, you always carry this with you, that's fine. Since you're the one on top... um?"
His voice suddenly stopped.
Because he was quite worried while answering the phone, Kenji Hagiwara couldn't help pacing back and forth in the office, and before he knew it, he had walked to the window.
But his binoculars were in Ibuki Ran's hands, and he couldn't see where Usaku Saiki was when he looked up. His gaze could only wander outside the window, and he happened to see someone crossing the police line.
Outside the cordon were either reporters or onlookers, while inside the cordon there were only a few scattered police officers maintaining order, so it was very noticeable if someone suddenly came in.
Especially since that person happened to be riding a bicycle, and hadn't locked it; he just opened the kickstand and walked this way.
Kenji Hagiwara possesses exceptional observational skills and outstanding reasoning abilities. Having worked as a detective for several years and handled numerous cases, he has developed his own unique intuition about criminals.
This intuition is actually pieced together from various details by the subconscious, so sometimes the conscious mind doesn't react, but the intuition has already sensed that something is wrong.
At that moment, Kenji Hagiwara felt something was very amiss, and even interrupted his conversation with Saiki Usui, turning his head to ask, "Who is this person? Why were they let in?"
Officer Zhimo glanced at it and recognized him immediately: "It's Lin Kungfu, the bomb expert from the neighboring Tianshen University. There was a time when we needed to defuse a bomb, and the bomb disposal expert from the explosives handling team wasn't there, so we asked him to come over... I guess it's the same this time."
The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team isn't entirely composed of bomb disposal experts; those are true elites, few in number, and difficult to train. So, just as Inspector Megure has a long-term cooperative relationship with Yusaku Kudo, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team also collaborates with researchers in certain bomb research labs. When there's a shortage of manpower, they'll outsource some tasks as needed.
Actually, with Kenji Hagiwara here, there's no need to call in an outside bomb expert. Although he left the explosives disposal unit two years ago, there's a lot of bombing cases in Tokyo, so there's a perceived need for him. Therefore, Kenji Hagiwara has been consciously asking Jinpei Matsuda to tutor him, so he can access advanced theoretical knowledge and also disassemble models to maintain his hands-on skills.
Generally speaking, with Kenji Hagiwara and Shinryu Kasukawa around, there's no need to call someone a bomb expert. At most, there might be situations where the location needs to be moved for detonation, and regular members of the explosives disposal team can come and assist.
But the amusement park manager acted too quickly. As soon as the ticket booth exploded, he called the police again. The operator didn't know that there had been a case here before, and who the First Investigation Division had sent. Naturally, they had to call the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team.
Kenji Hagiwara asked, "Is Tenjin University far from here?"
"It's not far. Look, he got there by bicycle. That building behind the Ferris wheel is... um?"
As expected of a former elite investigator from the First Investigation Division, Officer Shima sensed something was amiss as he spoke, and stared thoughtfully at the bicycle where the bomb expert had parked.
Upon seeing Officer Shima's reaction, Kenji Hagiwara knew he wasn't alone: "I have some ideas."
Officer Shimo: "...What a coincidence, me too."
The two exchanged a glance and began to communicate in hushed tones.
"Are you going to play him?"
"Give it a try, anyway, there's no need to worry about Xiao Shenliu."
"Okay, I'll remind the others."
After a brief conversation, Kenji Hagiwara finally picked up his phone again: "Fukaru, did you hear that just now?"
Although Usoppō Saiki wasn't present, he could guess the situation based on the sounds coming from his phone: "You've seen someone suspicious?"
"Yes, the bomb expert was borrowed from the university next door. He came by bicycle and didn't bring a chain to lock his bike."
Knowing about bombs, living nearby, and being able to ride a bicycle over in the middle of the night without a chain... this closely matches the image of the perpetrator deduced from the traces at the murder scene they just saw.
But since they were acquaintances from the explosives handling team and were there to help, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to interrogate them right away. In this situation, they needed to use some tact and probe indirectly.
So Kenji Hagiwara turned his head to the side, looked in the direction of the door, stared at the person coming in, and quickly whispered to Saiki Usui: "Shinryu, cooperate with me for a bit, how about we pretend to be an ordinary person?"
Bo Yezhai: "…………"
Kenji Hagiwara belatedly realized: "Do you know how to play an ordinary person?"
Usoppei said firmly, "No one understands what an ordinary person is better than me."
Hagihara Kenji: "...?"
That sounds a bit strange... but the other person says weird things every day, so he's too lazy to investigate further. If all else fails, he'll help smooth things over.
While Kenji Hagiwara was discussing plans with Saiki Usaku, Officer Shima quickly stopped Ai Ibuki and explained the situation.
“Oh—the bomb expert who’s coming soon is the suspect. We need to test him and keep it a secret that Han Chuan is a policeman who can defuse bombs, right? No problem!” Ibuki Ran agreed immediately, then expressed her doubts, “But isn’t it a bit strange that the suspect is showing up here so openly?”
"...He probably didn't know that the bomb disposal experts in the explosives handling team were all unavailable today, and that we needed to ask him for help."
Officer Shimo was very grateful for this coincidence, otherwise they really wouldn't have had any clue who the criminal was. After all, there were no surveillance cameras installed in the area, and they could only wait until they paid the money to set a trap. Now that they had a suspect an hour in advance, they were really lucky.
Soon, Lin, the bomb expert from Tianshen University, came in and asked, "Can you contact the people inside?"
Officer Shima immediately replied, "Okay, we've announced the contact information over the loudspeaker so the person in the cockpit with the bomb can call Officer Hagiwara. However, the internet speed is slow and the signal is weak, so we can't send a photo; we can only rely on a description."
Following the direction Officer Shima pointed, Dr. Lin looked towards Kenji Hagiwara and saw him making a phone call.
"Can you see the bomb?" Kenji Hagiwara asked, feigning interest. "Can you see its wires?"
Usakabe asked cooperatively, "What is a wire?"
Kenji Hagiwara: "...A conductor is an electrical wire that can carry current! Do you understand now?"
There's no need to put on such an act!
Listening to the seemingly frantic communication on the other end, Expert Lin felt a little relieved.
Great, since he's just an ordinary person who knows what wires are, then there's no problem... Ugh, what bad luck, why did I have to ask him to help today?
Although it was expert Lin who planted the bomb, he didn't want to get caught, so of course he had to pretend it was real. Therefore, relying on Kenji Hagiwara's fragmented relay, he spoke with great seriousness.
"It's probably a time bomb. Generally, it's best to cool it with liquid nitrogen first, but we don't have that capability right now, so we have to defuse it by force."
Kenji Hagiwara asked, "Can't we let the Ferris wheel come to the ground first and then let you dismantle it?"
"...No, there are risks involved. It's best to avoid any other major actions."
Lin, the expert, made the bomb himself, so of course he knew what the bomb was like—in fact, there was no risk in dismantling it after it was turned down. He just used rhetoric to make the person in charge think that something would happen if it wasn't stopped, so he deliberately left the cockpit suspended in the air.
Even if a bomb expert arrives, since a mistake could lead to an explosion, people generally tend to be conservative. Since the prisoner has suggested stopping the Ferris wheel, they won't consider turning the cabins down again. Instead, they can only guess the bomb's structure based on the description, thus buying enough time.
He even suggested, "It's a bit dangerous for ordinary people, so maybe we should just forget about it."
“But the bomb will still explode when the time comes, right?” Kenji Hagiwara frowned. “And there’s less than an hour left now, and the prisoner still hasn’t told us how to hand over the money. I have a really uneasy feeling…”
Expert Lin: "..."
Nonsense! He's already here! How could he possibly call to tell us where to pay the money, right under the police's noses?
He began to change the subject: "Anyway, since we need to defuse the bomb, let's first ask what usable tools we have on hand, and then describe what the bomb looks like... Time is tight, please hurry."
Stop talking about these irrelevant things!
So Usoppō Saiki began describing the bomb in his own words, using an amateurish tone, while simultaneously disarming it with a flurry of activity.
The sound of the wire being cut was quite noticeable to Kenji Hagiwara, so he didn't dare turn on speakerphone and could only relay the message himself: "Um, next to the red line, there are two other lines side by side... Does 'next to' mean the left or the right? North? Which side is north?"
The onlookers were getting annoyed, but expert Lin remained unperturbed.
Because he already had a complete design in mind, the description that would raise his blood pressure had no effect on him at all, and he easily started drawing according to the progress of the conversation.
While on the phone, Kenji Hagiwara walked over to him with a pen and paper, glanced at him, and immediately understood.
He exclaimed in admiration, "You really managed to draw that kind of description!"
"Bombs are all pretty much the same in terms of construction."
"Huh? Really? But that description...it seems like there are many other possibilities..."
Lin paused for a moment, thankfully it wasn't his design for the bomb: "...because from the description it sounded like the bomb from the 1989 Columbus Abbey Building incident in New York, so I drew it subconsciously."
"Hmm? I know about that bomb, but it's really hard to connect it to his description... especially here, here, and here, all of them are questionable. I was even thinking of asking him to confirm it again, but I didn't expect you to draw it directly."
Expert Lin finally realized a problem: "...You understand bombs?"
Officer Shima coughed: "Kenji Hagiwara, a bomb disposal expert from the explosives handling unit a few years ago."
Expert Lin: "………………"
What the heck! We already have experts here, why did we call him in?!
He assumed the people here were clueless, which is why he let his guard down and thought he could easily fool them...
When Usuiba Saiki saw the bomb, he already knew how to describe it so that Hagiwara Kenji would immediately grasp its meaning. However, Hagiwara Kenji deliberately prevented him from speaking and insisted that he describe it in a more amateurish way. Now, whenever the other party mentions the bomb in that bomb case, Usuiba Saiki knows that only the culprit would directly associate it with that.
A typical bomb disposal expert, after listening to his description, would likely be just as confused about many details as Kenji Hagiwara.
Kenji Hagiwara paused for a moment after hearing what the person on the phone said, then turned and ordered, "Let the Ferris wheel come down."
Expert Lin was taken aback: "The bomb hasn't been defused yet!"
“It’s alright. With this structure, breaking the balance won’t cause an explosion. The claim that the Ferris wheel will explode if it stops is just a lie told by the criminals,” Kenji Hagiwara said with a smile. “Would you mind coming with us? Once the Ferris wheel comes down, you can defuse the bomb directly.”
Expert Lin: "…………"
Although it's frustrating, it's not unacceptable compared to being exposed directly. Let's just take it apart and consider it a failure this time.
So, expert Lin followed the main group and stood under the Ferris wheel, waiting for the target cabin to descend.
As the cockpit gradually approached the ground, Expert Lin was finally able to see the people inside more clearly, and he couldn't help but become somewhat uneasy.
Even through the glass, the image was still a bit blurry, but just seeing a single figure inexplicably reminded him of Hades, the god of the underworld in Greek mythology.
That gloomy and dangerous aura, just one glance from him could send a chill down your spine as if you were falling into an ice cave...
Who exactly is that person inside...?
Expert Lin began to have wild thoughts.
I've heard that before making a deal, yakuza members like to sit on a high place to overlook the surrounding area, ensuring the safety of the transaction and avoiding being ambushed... Could he have accidentally ruined a yakuza deal...?
It's okay, they don't know he planted the bomb... Expert Lin began to comfort himself again.
Soon, the young man with deep red hair and eyes emerged from the cockpit and walked over with a cold expression.
He was wearing a long black trench coat, the color of which accentuated his dangerous aura, making him even more intimidating than when he was behind the glass.
Even more strangely, he abruptly stopped opposite Expert Lin and asked out of the blue, "Is that yours inside?"
When Expert Lin was looked at by those red eyes up close, his mind went blank for a moment, and he subconsciously replied, "...I didn't plant the bomb!"
"Huh? He didn't mention a bomb, so why is your first thought about a bomb?" Kenji Hagiwara asked with a smile.
"What else could it be but a bomb..." After all, this was Lin's first time committing a crime, and he hadn't anticipated this situation. With such a terrifying person beside him, his mind was a bit muddled. "Enough of this talk, time's almost up. I'll go defuse the bomb..."
"Oh, that's no longer needed."
Kenji Hagiwara casually remarked, "This one has already been dismantled."
Expert Lin: "...???"
Officer Shima added, "This is Officer Kankawa, whom even FBI bomb experts often consult."
There was nothing they could do. Although Kenji Hagiwara and the others didn't intend to tell anyone, he specifically flew from the US to see Shinryu Kasukawa, and after so many times, they didn't know how the news got out...
Expert Lin was dumbfounded: "But, if that's the case, how could your description just now sound so unprofessional... Was it an act?"
Are you guys crazy?! It's such a simple bomb! We already have two bomb experts! Why did you call me over?!
Pretending to be an amateur! And doing it so convincingly! Is he some kind of Oscar-winning actor?!
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Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!
I slept too much during the day, and my sleep schedule got even worse when I got sick...
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Usuiba and Hagiwara had a great time working together, and Hagiwara himself was very intelligent.
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Bo Ye: This is the first time someone has thought I'm a movie star, I'm so touched.
System: My assessment is, he should just play the mute and let Kenji Hagiwara perform a one-man show... since there's no way to put it on speakerphone anyway...
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