Chapter 289 Crow Shadow Fishing Festival
She successfully found the box she was looking for.
Thanks to Japan's garbage sorting system, every household will sort and organize their garbage and store it for several days until the garbage truck stops downstairs.
The package box was placed together with discarded paper products. The writing on it had been worn out, and the sender's name could not be seen. Only the phone number could be clearly seen.
Lin Xi took a photo of the package box and sent it to the group chat.
"Mr. Kudo, Sister Yukiko, I found the package of wine."
"The name is blurred out, but there's a number. I'll try calling first."
She dialed the number.
After a long time, no one answered the call and it automatically became an answering machine call.
"Hello, this is the police. Please call back immediately after receiving the call."
After the call, Kudo Yusaku also replied to the message.
"Thank you for your hard work. Yukiko and I are making good progress. We've found the vase's origins. In mid-May, a new flower shop opened on the street leading to the port in Nanami-cho. They had a week-long opening promotion, giving away vases with a flower purchase."
"Because they were all sent from the same batch and with the same style, they're easy to identify. Yukiko and I are going to check out that flower shop now."
"By the way, May 17th is the Fish Festival in Nanami-cho, Yokohama. It seems Nanami-cho is the only place that has this tradition. The illumination show that night must have been organized by the town for the festival."
"Okay, I understand. I'll continue searching the house," Lin Xi replied.
She put the package into the evidence bag and stood up.
There was a lingering feeling of faintness in the head.
Just now, she did have hallucinations... the sudden and recurring uncomfortable feeling, the chaotic sounds, "Lin Xi's" resentful curse, the uncontrollable emotions... However, after the sigh at the end of the hallucination, they all disappeared.
That sigh soothed her, dispelled her hallucinations, and made her feel at peace. This feeling seemed familiar... Whose voice was that sigh?
At this point, the mysteries about her have not decreased, but have increased.
Lin Xi opened the story mission interface.
The latest seems to be:
『■Who is it? 』
"Please break through the confusion and see clearly who ■■■ is."
She had a hunch that this mission was crucial. Someone was secretly watching her, trying to get something from her, and that person's plan had already made considerable progress. She was in the open while he was in the dark, and he knew far more than she did.
All the events she had experienced so far were more or less related to that person.
But fortunately, she had been preparing since the first warning from Toru Amuro. She used every force at her disposal—the organization, the FBI, the CIA, the public security, Oak, Noah, and Kudo Yusaku—to play a game of chess with that man, risking her identity and her life. The winner took all, and the loser was left with nothing.
It would be quite dangerous for her to be around her for a while. So Ai had to leave her side. When everything was over, she would take her back...if she was still willing to live with her at that time.
…
"Hello. I'd like to ask, is the clerk who was in charge of your store's opening event still here?"
"Hey, what's up?"
"There was an event in May where you could buy flowers and get a vase for free... My son bought a flower and brought it home, then casually placed it in the dining room without paying any attention. Then, my wife found this in the vase while cleaning yesterday."
Kudo Yusaku opened his hand. On his palm rested a plain ring with some crooked patterns carved into it.
"My wife asked my son, and he said it wasn't his," he said. "So I'm wondering if the clerk accidentally dropped it in there. This plain ring isn't worth much, but it's obviously handmade, so it must have important commemorative significance to the owner. I'd like to ask you, is the clerk still here?"
"Ah, he's already resigned, sir." The shop owner scratched his head. "It was originally a part-time job, and he left after less than a month... We later hired a new employee."
"Well, do you have any contact information?" asked Kudo Yusaku.
"Yes, yes. I'll look for the phone book." The shop owner found it among a pile of flowers, shelves, and bottles and jars. "Here it is. You can call him and contact him. He said he'd been working for a month, but he only worked for ten days. Then he said something happened at home and left shortly after the fishing festival. If you hadn't come here today, I would have almost forgotten about him..."
"Thank you." Kudo Yusaku wrote down the string of numbers and the name next to it: Ariyama Rin.
"You're welcome..."
After leaving the flower shop, Kudo Yusaku sent his phone number and name to the group.
"Rin Ariyama was working part-time at the flower shop, in charge of events. The manager said he left shortly after the fishing festival ended, having only worked for a little over ten days, which is too short even for a part-time job. Yukiko and I are planning to contact him."
"Please wait a moment. Let me do it, Mr. Kudo." Lin Xi replied, "What if this person is connected to the organization? If you call him and reveal your phone number, your identity might be discovered."
"My own number can be encrypted, so I don't have to worry about it being checked."
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you, Miss Lin."
Lin Xi didn't dial the number in a hurry. She first opened the organization's intranet with her mobile phone and entered the search term "Youshan Lin".
Nothing.
It may be a pseudonym.
Lin Xi dialed the phone.
"Beep... The number you dialed is unavailable."
No number available.
Lin Xi was not surprised.
If the hallucinogen was placed in the vase by someone from the organization, then using a fake identity and fake contact information is a basic operation.
I guess I won't find any clues about the "old friend" who sent the wine to Rintaro Kawakami...
Just as I was thinking this, a new call came into my phone.
It's the number on the package.
Lin Xi answered.
"Hello?" It was a man's voice on the other end, sounding a little confused.
"Hello." Lin Xi said, "We have some news we want to confirm with you. Did you send a small package to Mr. Rintaro Kawakami in May? It contained a bottle of red wine. Was this bottle of wine sent by you?"
"Red wine? A package?" The man opposite was puzzled. "What happened? I didn't send anything to Kawakami... I don't even know where he lives now!"
"So, you've never mailed anything to Mr. Rintaro Kawakami?"
"I already said I don't know where he lives..."
"I see." Lin Xi glanced at the evidence bag on the table. "So, you do know Mr. Rintaro Kawakami, right?"
"Ah, yes. Kawakami and I... are friends, sort of. We used to keep in touch quite often. But we haven't been in touch for a long time... Did something happen, Officer?"
"..." Lin Xi said, "Mr. Kawakami Rintaro was murdered on May 17th. The criminal has been caught, please don't worry."
"What?! How could it be…"
"Since you have nothing to do with this incident, I'm going to hang up now."
"Hey, wait..."
"beep."
Sure enough, this line was also broken.
Lin Xi sighed and picked up the bottle of Madeira.
Any red wine would be fine, why Madeira?
The murderer seemed to be arguing with her: "Yes, it's me, Madeira. It was me who restarted the human experiments, causing Kiichiro Numabuchi's PTSD. It was me who arranged all these things, making it impossible for Kiichiro Numabuchi to return to society... Teacher, please come find me! Please come and talk to me!"
The clues are right in front of you, right? Just contact me, and I'll give you the answers to any questions you have.
Lin Xi sneered.
In my current condition, if I go directly to see Madeira, who is proficient in drug research... I'm afraid it will play into the hands of the mastermind behind the scenes, right?
If you are not careful, "Lin Xi" will directly take away the control of your body, and then you will completely lose yourself and won't even be able to go back.
After all, death can automatically rewind.
Neither Madeira nor rum seemed believable to her now.
Ah... Ever since "Lin Xi" appeared, I have become more and more suspicious.
Perhaps this reaction was also expected by the mastermind behind the scenes.
She couldn't think about it any further. At least everything was going according to her plan...
Let's focus on the case first.
Lin Xi raised his head again and looked into the house.
It's almost dinner time now, but because it's summer, it gets dark late, so the sun hasn't set yet.
She sat in the same place where Kiichirō Numabuchi had sat on the night of the incident, looking out the window at the metropolis in the distance.
Suddenly, she realized something and her pupils shrank slightly.
.
"Thank you for your help, Mrs. Goto," Kudo Yusaku thanked him. "This way, we should be able to find the owner of the ring."
Kudo Yusaku chose to question Mrs. Goto, a neighbor who lived in the same building as the deceased. He used a ring he and Yukiko had made together when they were young, and made up a lie about accidentally finding the ring in a vase and finding the owner, so that Mrs. Goto would relax her guard and answer his questions.
Mrs. Goto opened the door wide and said, "It's okay. I'm glad I can help."
"But which building are you from? You look unfamiliar..."
"Oh, actually, my wife and I live in the building across the street..." Kudo Yusaku changed the subject, "By the way, are you ventilating? The doors and windows are all open..."
"Ah, that," Mrs. Goto said. "Is this just a personal habit of mine? The gas pipes here aren't working well. They were just repaired the month before last. They say they're fixed, but maybe it's just my psychology. I always feel like there's a smell in the house, so I just ventilate it out of habit. Don't worry about it, it's only our building that has the problem, yours is fine."
"The month before last? In May?"
"Uh, yeah. What's wrong?"
"Oh no..." Kudo Yusaku's face darkened. "Mrs. Goto, I can smell something in the house too. I think it would be best if you come out and call the property management right now."
Gas pipes... ventilation... that's it!
If this is the case, Miss Lin is probably in danger now!
"Huh, really?" Mrs. Goto was shocked. "I knew that smell wasn't just my imagination!"
"Fumijiro (Yukiko's pseudonym), go downstairs and accompany Mrs. Goto." Kudo Yusaku moved quickly, "Tell the management to notify the residents to evacuate immediately!"
"Okay, okay!" Kudo Yukiko agreed, and when Kudo Yusaku turned around, she grabbed him again.
"Be safe, husband..."
“…I will.”
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