Chapter 3519-3531 [Karate Senior]
Dr. Shinichi: "...Be yourself?"
Conan nodded: "I don't know how good your acting is, but that imposter is a very good actress—at this point, we can only believe that her portrayal of you is flawless."
Dr. Shinichi was momentarily stunned before he grasped the logic. He took a deep breath and said, "I understand."
In other words, the current challenge is not about his acting skills versus Jiang Xia's insight, but rather whether the imposter's acting skills can hold their own against Jiang Xia.
"Hopefully we won't get caught..."
An unfortunate doctor, who was trying to reclaim his identity, silently offered a prayer.
...
Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri didn't notice the subtle difference in Dr. Araide. They walked ahead and soon led Emi and Dr. Araide to the warehouse in front of the gymnasium.
“This is where the problem first started.” Sonoko Suzuki looked at the warehouse in front of her with a serious expression. She pushed open the door and introduced it quietly with a creaking sound, “—the sports warehouse where the sighing sound came from.”
"On a rainy morning, a female gymnast came here, intending to take some equipment for her morning exercise."
"But as soon as she reached the door, she heard someone sobbing softly inside the warehouse."
"At this time, the warehouse should have been empty. The girl looked blankly through the crack in the door and saw a person standing in the middle of the warehouse, motionless, crying continuously."
"She was so frightened that she ran away, and when she returned with the other members, the crying was gone. And where the crying person had been standing—only this thing remained."
Sonoko Suzuki walked into the warehouse, grabbed the cloth covering the warehouse in the center, and flung it back. Underneath the cloth, a set of school desks and chairs was revealed.
She said in a low voice, "This is the seat of the boy who died mysteriously at school two years ago—Hideaki Hosaka."
Dr. Shinichi paused, then murmured, "Hidesaka Hideaki?"
Conan was somewhat speechless: "There must have been a table in the warehouse all along, and the girl was too scared to see it. As for the crying, it could be the wind, or maybe one of the students was under a lot of pressure and was hiding in the warehouse crying. These are all normal occurrences; who would be scared by such things..."
"Aaaaaah!!" Ran Mouri snapped out of her stunned state and screamed as she clutched her head.
Conan: "..." You're giving her way too much face...
Jiang Xia approached the warehouse, looked around, and then walked out disappointed.
Sonoko Suzuki followed behind him, eagerly asking, "How was it? Did you find any ghosts of Hideaki Hosaka?"
Jiang Xia was about to speak when a woman's voice came from the side, expressing her dissatisfaction:
"Ghost? Hideaki Hosaka just had bad luck, he accidentally missed a step on the stairs, tumbled down and hit a vital part of his body and died - stop spreading these unfounded rumors."
Ran Mouri recognized the voice and turned around, exclaiming in surprise, "Kamisama-senpai?"
Kazumi Tsukamoto glanced at her: "Mouri? What are you doing at school? There aren't any karate club activities today, are there?"
Sonoko Suzuki glanced at the short-haired girl, who then crept up to Jiang Xia and whispered to him, "This is the former captain of the karate club, Kazumi Tsukamoto, who is also Ran's senior—she actually said that the ghost story is just a baseless rumor. I think she's very suspicious!"
She paused, then stroked her chin: "But this senior is even better at fighting than Xiaolan. She doesn't seem to need to bother with these supernatural rumors. If she doesn't like someone, she can just go up and kick them a couple of times..."
Unlike Sonoko Suzuki, Ran Mouri clearly had a good relationship with this upperclassman. When asked, she stated directly, "We're here to investigate the recent paranormal events at school."
Kazumi Tsukamoto glanced at the warehouse next door and understood: "You mean the thing about someone crying in the warehouse? —Hasn't that already been concluded? It was caused by rumors."
As she spoke, she walked past the group into the warehouse and pointed to a narrow window on the wall next to them: "Look, this is the ventilation window—its lock is broken, so it's always left a crack open. When it's windy, the airflow comes in through the crack, and it sounds like someone is crying."
After speaking, she turned around and saw the person next to Suzuki Sonoko. Tsukamoto Kazumi was stunned: "Isn't this Jiang Xia? -- You actually brought such a famous detective here just to investigate a broken window?"
Sonoko Suzuki muttered indignantly, "It's not just this window! There are many other paranormal events at school—and are what you're saying really the truth? Maybe they're just rumors."
Kazumi Tsukamoto sighed: "I'm in the same class as Hosaka, of course I know these things."
Dr. Shinichi also entered the warehouse, curiously examining the table in the middle: "The crying can be explained by the sound of the wind, but why is this table in the warehouse? — There's a signature on the tabletop..."
Kazumi Tsukamoto didn't answer. She glanced at the skylight, ran out of the warehouse, and looked up at the gloomy sky: "It's raining."
"Oh no!" Sonoko Suzuki immediately forgot about the ghost. "I forgot my umbrella today!"
Ran Mouri: "Me too..."
Kazumi Tsukamoto smiled and said, "Then let's find a place to take shelter from the rain. How about we go to another place with a ghost story—'The Library of Hatred'? I'm going there anyway."
Sonoko Suzuki muttered under her breath, "You said it was 'just some unfounded rumors,' but you know these rumors very well yourself..."
No matter what, you can't just stand outside getting soaked.
So the group accepted Tsukamoto Kazumi's suggestion and headed towards the library.
As she walked through the covered walkway, Sonoko Suzuki glanced out the window. In just a minute or two, the rain was pouring down.
"It's raining so hard." Ran Mouri started to worry that she would get soaked to the bone today. "Will we even be able to get home? Do I have to ask Dad to come and bring me an umbrella?"
Dr. Shinichi reassured her, "Don't worry, the weather forecast says it will only be showers today, it won't last long."
Kazumi Tsukamoto glanced at him: "Speaking of which, you're a teacher, yet you're accompanying a few students to investigate paranormal events. You're as enthusiastic as ever."
Dr. Shinichi: "..." As always? That imposter actually got this kind of evaluation...
Just then, the door in front opened and closed, and a boy with a buzz cut walked out.
“Seko?” Tsukamoto Kazumi looked at him, a little puzzled. “Where did you go? I’ve been looking for you.”
The crew-cut boy patted his stomach and sighed, "The carton of milk this morning might have gone bad. My stomach hurts a bit, and I've been on the toilet the whole time—I'm feeling a little better now, and I'm planning to go to the infirmary to lie down."
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