Chapter 240: Returning Home: Who is the thief? It’s so hard to guess...
Conan was stunned when he heard this.
How did Sister Lin get such detailed information? Did she look it up in the police files?
"What happened with the Numabuchi family does sound very strange," he said honestly.
First of all, Kiichiro Numabuchi was not dead. The Numabuchi family held a funeral for him four years ago probably to cover up the truth and make Kiichiro Numabuchi fake his death. Then something must have happened in the Numabuchi family four years ago, which made them unable to keep Kiichiro Numabuchi, who had intellectual problems, under house arrest.
Secondly, why did the Numabuchi family suddenly disappear three months ago? This happened to coincide with the appearance of Kiichirō Numabuchi. Did they get the news ahead of time and therefore vanish with a premeditated plan?
Why do the people of the Numabuchi family avoid Kiichiro Numabuchi?
"So let's go investigate the Numayuan Residence in Zhinu Village." Lin Xi said, "The police have already searched that house, but I think there must be clues there that have not been discovered yet."
Conan nodded.
Lin Xi picked him up and asked him to help hold the umbrella. They walked down the mountain quickly and soon arrived at Zhinu Village.
The village is nestled in the mountains, giving it a secluded, idyllic feel. Its architectural style remains from decades ago, with many farmlands, sheep pens, and chicken coops.
Although there are only a few sheep and chickens now, the old man standing outside the pen watching the chickens also looked at Lin Xi and Conan vigilantly, as if he was afraid that they would steal his chickens.
Lin Xi could fully understand their vigilance.
When I contacted Dr. Agasa just now, he told Lin Xi that a mysterious thief appeared in the village and stole almost all the edible animals.
The old man is on guard against thieves.
Anyone who could steal livestock while so many uncles and aunts were watching them must be an extraordinary martial arts expert and a big eater - thinking about the pile of animal bones in the cave - ah, who the thief is, it's so hard to guess.
She brought Conan and came to the Numabuchi residence despite the hesitant looks of the villagers they met on the way.
Numabuchi House wasn't located in the center of the village. It sat on the edge, nestled between the mountains and the water, boasting a prime location. The wooden structure was magnificent, and a path had been built around the stream using brought stones, with bamboo planted along the sides.
You can tell at first glance that it is different from other houses in the village.
Of course, the gate to the Numabuchi residence was now locked. The police had also placed a seal on the main gate, along with a handwritten note that instructed anyone from the Numabuchi family who came back and saw it to contact the local police immediately.
"Uh, Sister Lin, how do we get in—Wow!"
Lin Xi carried Conan and climbed over from the yard.
Conan almost fell, but Lin Xi pulled his hood up in time.
He thought Lin Xi would pick the lock, just like Amuro Toru did...but he didn't expect that she would just go against the norm and climb up the walls.
The courtyard was large. Behind the bamboo grove was where the Numabuchi family once raised chickens, rabbits, and sheep. Their flock once numbered hundreds, their rabbits even more, and their sheep numbered nearly ten. It was said that the Numabuchi family had a unique skill in raising chickens and rabbits. Their chickens and rabbits ate voraciously and reproduced vigorously, growing fat, strong, and sleek. It was precisely because of this that the Numabuchi family prospered.
Those animals have now been divided up by other villagers, and the chicken coop, rabbit hives and sheep pens are all empty.
Lin Xi took a quick glance and then looked away. Together with Conan, they climbed into the house through the window in the backyard.
The interior furnishings are very exquisite and the furniture is obviously of great value.
It is hard to imagine that this house is in the same village as the mud houses of the villagers outside.
Conan vaguely felt that something was wrong.
Just by selling chickens and sheep, even if the Numabuchi family has advanced breeding technology, they can't make so much money, right?
Lin Xi stroked his chin and went straight into the study. There weren't many books in the study, mostly titles like "Postpartum Care for Sows," which didn't fit in with the mahogany bookshelves. Lin Xi removed all the books from the shelves and found a piece of wood on the third shelf that didn't match the color of the entire mahogany.
Lin Xi stroked the wooden block and pressed it.
There was a "clicking" sound from the bookshelf, and it rotated 180 degrees, revealing a hidden secret passage.
The wind blowing out of the secret passage carried a damp, musty smell. Lin Xi turned around and said to the stunned Conan, "See, I said the police definitely didn't check carefully, right?"
"Sister Lin, how did you know there was a secret passage here?"
Sister Lin didn’t search any other places at all, she just walked in a straight line!
"Isn't that what's written in novels?" she said. "The darkroom is always in the study. If not in the study, then in the bedroom. Reading more books is good for you, Xiao Ke."
Conan:?
He suspected that Lin Xi was deceiving him, but he had no evidence.
The two of them went down the secret passage. There was a staircase here, and it was pitch black. Conan turned on the flashlight that Lin Xi gave him, lighting it with one hand while Lin Xi held the other hand.
After going down the stairs, Lin Xi casually pressed the bulge on the wall, and the entire dark room suddenly became bright.
"This..." Conan opened his eyes wide.
Reagent bottles and papers were piled up in a mess. Some instruments that couldn't be moved were thrown here. There were some strangely colored medicines and reagents in the glass cabinets, and there were cages for animals on the side...
"What kind of underground experiments are the Numabuchi family doing in this dark room?" Lin Xi asked, "Using the animals they raise?"
The two began to divide the work - Lin Xi was responsible for taking pictures, and Conan was responsible for a thorough inspection.
Conan found rabbit fur in the cage, which showed that the Numabuchi family was indeed using those animals for experiments. There were some papers with experimental parameters written on them scattered on the ground, and Conan picked them up and took a look.
He couldn't understand what was written on it.
However, Lin Xi stood behind him and explained to him what these parameters meant using a bunch of pharmaceutical terms in a casual manner.
"In general, the Numabuchi family is conducting experiments on rabbits, chickens, and sheep. After being injected with a certain drug, certain areas of the animals' brains become abnormally active. The chart you're holding shows the various indicators of the experimental rabbits within 24 hours of being injected with the drug."
"Oh." Conan answered blankly.
It’s so strange, why can Sister Lin understand this?
What did she do originally?
Does she have any other purpose in building a laboratory for Huibara?
Haibara Ai has been working on the research and development of the antidote for APTX4869... Sister Lin can understand these, so how could she not understand what is in Haibara's hands?
Questions kept popping up in Conan's mind. In Conan's mind, Lin Xi was no longer just a weird college girl, her image gradually became unfathomable...
"It's a shame that most of the other information here has been taken away." Lin Xi shook his head. "To be able to conduct this kind of experiment, the Numabuchi family must have someone behind them to support them. This also explains why they can make so much money just from aquaculture. Zhinu Village is almost isolated from the outside world, making it a perfect place for shady experiments. The Numabuchi family is also a highly respected family in the village, so even if there are guests from the city, the other villagers won't be surprised."
"There's a lot of water behind this." Lin Xi sighed twice. "If I continue investigating, I might get caught up in it and be unable to escape. I might even be in danger of my life..."
"Xiao Ke, are you sure you want to continue investigating this matter?"
Conan looked up: "Why do you ask, Sister Lin?"
"Because you're too curious." Lin Xi squatted down and looked directly into the child's sky-blue eyes. "Every time you see something wrong, you rush over immediately... without caring about the consequences."
"Haha, curiosity and thirst for knowledge are indispensable qualities for a detective... and justice makes you full of the protagonist's temperament. Frankly speaking, your curiosity makes me feel a little troubled."
The light brown eyes were like a calm mirror, reflecting Conan's nervous figure.
"...What's troubling you, Sister Lin?" Conan asked, despite the oppressive feeling brought to him by Lin Xi.
Along the way, he had a feeling that Lin Xi seemed to want to say something to him... Now that feeling is getting stronger and stronger.
Is it time for a showdown?
Conan tried his best to make his round face look more serious and less childish.
He wanted to convey to Lin Xi that he was trustworthy: Tell me, Sister Lin, tell me your true identity and concerns - I will help you solve them and will never hold you back.
"You'll find out that I'm a bad person." Lin Xi narrowed her eyes. "You'll disturb my peaceful life."
"No bad person wants a peaceful life." Conan said, "People who want a peaceful life are generally not bad people."
"Besides, if Sister Lin wants to do something bad, I and others will definitely stop you."
Lin Xi's expression relaxed immediately and he laughed, "Really? Then it's a deal."
Conan was stunned for a moment: "What?"
"If I start doing bad things one day, please come and stop me." Lin Xi said, "I believe you, Edogawa Conan."
"Use your curiosity, thirst for knowledge, and justice as a silver bullet to pierce my heart—I'm sorry, this sentence is a bit a little bit second-year, more in line with Akai's temperament—but don't betray my trust, Conan-kun."
Conan nodded and took Lin Xi's hand: "Can you tell me now why you think you would do something bad, Sister Lin?"
Lin Xi put her finger to her lips and hushed, "The exam hasn't started yet, so I can't reveal the questions to you first."
"Aren't you a detective? Detectives have to find clues themselves."
"Let's focus on the matter at hand. Bring the evidence with you, and we'll go ask Kiichiro Numabuchi directly."
"He should know something about the Numabuchi family."
.
On the cliff.
Kiichiro Numabuchi squatted down and looked at Huihara Ai innocently: "I took it from the cage. I recognize the animals in our house. They are different from those in other people's houses. The smell is different, the size is different, and the taste of the blood is different."
"I don't know why, but now they don't stay at home anymore. They've all run into other people's houses. It's so strange... When I went to get them, a dog bit me and I lost control and accidentally strangled the dog to death."
"I apologized to it. It's dead and can't hear me, but... it attacked me first, so that's considered self-defense, right, Shiho?"
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