Chapter 290 Crow Shadow Flame
Upstairs, Lin Xi stood up and walked to the window.
The blue curtains were quietly gathered aside.
There was one thing they overlooked.
That is——
Why were the curtains open on the night of the incident?
In other words, how did the murderer know for sure that the curtains were always open?
If the room was in its current state that night, with not only the curtains open but also the windows, then "drawing the curtains" must be a continuous action of "opening the windows." In other words, the murderer somehow ensured that Rintaro Kawakami would open and draw the windows that night.
Could it be that Rintaro Kawakami had a habit of opening the curtains, and the murderer knew about it?
No, it's summer now. Even if you open a small crack, you risk being bitten by mosquitoes.
Furthermore, judging by the killer's actions so far, he was a highly proactive, meticulously prepared individual who favored foolproofness. He would not allow the events of the night of the murder to deviate from his preconceived course, nor would he rely on the habits of a "chess piece" like Kawakami Rintaro to orchestrate his meticulous plans.
So, there must be some condition that allowed the murderer to be sure that Kawakami Rintaro would open the curtains...
And you have to do this right after you get home. Because if the hallucinogen is placed in a vase, and the room is always ventilated, and you don't get close to the vase to smell it, the hallucinogen will not work.
Only if Rintaro Kawakami kept the doors and windows sealed until he returned home, and then immediately opened the windows, would the hallucinogen still in the room take effect on Kiichiro Numabuchi. This was actually a very harsh condition...
What are the conditions?
A hint of inspiration flashed through Lin Xi's mind.
Before she could think about it, she suddenly smelled a scent.
Wait—this smell—
At the same time, a violent explosion sounded in the room.
The explosion was accompanied by smoke and flames.
Lin Xi coughed, clutched the evidence bag in his hand, squatted down, and looked towards the kitchen.
The explosion occurred in the kitchen. It appeared to be a gas line explosion. While the impact wasn't significant, it caused a large fire, and because the gas seemed to be leaking continuously, the fire spread rapidly.
Firelight...
…
What's going on? This feeling of being unable to move.
And I have phantom pain in my skin...
In a trance, Lin Xi felt like he was drowning.
All the reactions caused by the hallucinogens just now came back again, "Lin Xi"'s crazy laughter, and the constant jeers of "You deserve it!"... She was so excited that her brain was about to burst, but her body was as frozen as if she couldn't move.
What is going on?
Are her current symptoms caused by fire?
Ah, she understood how the murderer had made Kawakami Rintaro open the window...
Then, he must have caused the explosion.
Why would they cause an explosion at this time...?
Destroy evidence? He could have done that a long time ago... Get rid of her? The explosion was confined to the kitchen, not directly harming her... Give her a warning? The murderer doesn't seem like the type to do such a thing...
There must be some deeper purpose that made him create the explosion at this time.
Lin Xi didn't know whether he should be thankful that his brain could still think calmly in this situation, or whether he should feel despair that his brain could think but his body couldn't move.
Well, let's take this opportunity to think more about it.
This kind of immobility was a new occurrence. Did this mean his symptoms had worsened? From the beginning, it was someone talking in his head—honestly, Lin Xi wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or if there really were different souls within his body—and his emotions were losing control.
She became irritable, irritable, and reckless, and her thinking became slow due to long-term insomnia. These two conditions gradually worsened and were alleviated after taking medication, but the medication seemed to be slowly losing its effect, and the duration of its effect was shorter each time.
Considering that Jin gave her a drug that directly acts on the nerve center, Lin Xi suspected that she might even experience withdrawal symptoms if she stopped taking the drug now.
And just now, she'd inhaled the hallucinogen. This was also strange. With the doors and windows wide open in Kawakami Rintaro's house, two months would have been enough time for the hallucinogen to evaporate completely. She'd rashly approached the vase, assuming it was there, by now... otherwise, she'd at least have used a fan to smell it. Ah, perhaps this had something to do with her recklessness? While she tried to maintain a normal demeanor in her daily interactions, her emotions certainly affected her behavior.
Back to the point. Why did the hallucinogen still work after such a long time? Combined with the sudden explosion and flames, the explanation becomes clear: the killer, knowing they would come to investigate, had placed fresh hallucinogens in the vase and tampered with the gas line, perhaps allowing it to leak while also placing a remote-controlled spark device in the kitchen, causing the explosion.
Furthermore, Kawakami Rintaro's bedroom was separated from his kitchen by a wall. The fire spread directly to the bedroom, suggesting the killer had tampered with the wall separating the kitchen and bedroom.
Finally, what was happening to her? Was it her body's natural freezing reaction to danger? Or was it a somatization symptom caused by her mental illness? It's important to note that this wasn't her first experience with fire.
After entering the dungeon five years prior as Punch, she and Gin completed a mission to steal a CD and kill the company president. During that mission, she disguised herself as the president's bodyguard, protecting him while preventing fires on the floors, forcing him to the top floor of the company. Ultimately, under the threat of Gin's sniper rifle and the flames below, she retrieved the CD and the password.
At that time, she showed no reaction to the flames. Perhaps she was somewhat disgusted by the smoke, but her movements were not hindered by it.
If the situation encountered that time and this time has not changed, then we have to consider that it is due to the deterioration of our mental state, including the information that Amuro Toru obtained from Ando Kei that "X" had committed suicide by self-immolation in the exhibition hall.
"Ms. Lin, be careful!"
Kudo Yusaku's voice came from behind.
He bent down and held Lin Xi with his hand, and soon noticed Lin Xi's abnormal condition.
There was a lot of sweat on his head...it seemed that it was not just caused by the heat wave; his eyes were vacant, similar to the state he was in when he smelled hallucinogens in the afternoon; and he seemed to be standing still.
He pulled Lin Xi out of the door and took the evidence bag from her hand: "Ms. Lin, Miss Lin? What's wrong with you? Cheer up, we need to leave here..."
"..." Lin Xi tried to speak, "Medicine..."
Kudo Yusaku was stunned for a moment, then reached out and took out a small medicine bottle from Lin Xi's coat pocket.
He took out a pill, stuffed it into Lin Xi's mouth, and helped her raise her neck.
After a while, Lin Xi looked much better.
She breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Mr. Kudo."
"You're welcome. Let's get out of here first. Can you move now?"
"Okay. I'm fine now, don't worry."
"Ms. Lin, you..."
"Um?"
"...Nothing." Kudo Yusaku hesitated to speak.
This explosion was really weird.
The explosion was contained within a small area, burning only the kitchen and bedroom, and it happened when Lin Xi was alone in the room.
Lin Xi...
"Mr. Kudo." Lin Xi said as he walked quickly, "Please keep the fact that I'm taking medication a secret."
"Ms. Lin." Kudo Yusaku frowned deeply, "Do you fully understand your current situation? The person hiding behind you seems to be coming for you. Is your health in danger? For safety reasons, you can entrust this matter to me -"
"--Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Kudo." Lin Xi coughed a few times, "It's because you came for me that I have to appear here."
"……I see."
As soon as they went downstairs, they saw Kudo Yukiko in the crowd with a worried look on her face.
"Ms. Lin, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Sister Wendai." Lin Xi smiled. "Luckily, the doors and windows were open. The gas only caused a small explosion. I wasn't hurt."
"I'm glad you're not hurt..."
Next to her stood a grim-faced policeman. He was the one who had brought the three people to the crime scene and had been ordered to wait downstairs.
"Did you cause the explosion?"
"Obviously not." Lin Xi's smile faded slightly. "It was just a gas leak."
"'That's all'?" he muttered. "The higher-ups sent you guys here to investigate, and the result is destroying the crime scene? The police..."
Lin Xi ignored his complaints and stuffed the evidence bag including the vase into his hands: "Take it for testing. We are going to the hotel to rest now. The address is xxxx. Give me the test report tomorrow morning."
"Hey, even if you're from the Public Security Bureau, you can't speak to me in a commanding tone. We're not from the same department—"
"——Please." Lin Xi smiled, "Or do you need me to communicate with your boss?"
The young policeman stammered a few times and finally put away the evidence bag.
"It's getting late. Mr. Edogawa, Sister Fumiyo, let's go back and rest. We'll go to Matsugicho, Yokohama tomorrow morning to investigate the second case."
"Hey, Miss Lin, don't you want to take a break?"
"Well, I want to get the case investigated as soon as possible."
"oh……"
After some rest, several people left the scene.
.
"Lin Xi disappeared from the apartment at 11pm on July 24th."
『7.25 Not Returned』
『7.26 Not Returned』
"I contacted Punch-senpai on the evening of July 24th, and she told me not to follow her and to remain on standby. I contacted Punch-senpai on July 25th, and she told me to follow her orders from now on."
"Is there anything I can do for you now?"
When Toru Amuro opened his mailbox, he saw the email from Keimitsu Morofushi.
He couldn't help but press his eyebrows.
"Stand by. Don't worry about Lin Xi anymore."
"Got it. There's another matter that I need to discuss with you face to face. Does your senior have time recently?"
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