Chapter 3621-3633 [Internal Strife]
"This..." Editor Asahide looked at the picture book sample with several pages torn out, feeling quite embarrassed. He said with shame:
“Actually, five years ago, not long after this prototype came out, the story of Imai and his wanted criminal brother spread online. I was busy dealing with these things and didn’t have time to read the picture book carefully.”
Amuro Tooru, who was listening to this, was about to say something when suddenly, several young police officers screamed from next to the bus stop.
"Mr. Jiang Xia, we've found it!" They cautiously surrounded a trash can, pointing to a dark green shoulder bag inside. "This bag contains a time bomb!"
Jiang Xia looked over, and Amuro Tooru also frowned and looked in that direction. Through the zipper that had just been opened, an electronic screen flashing a countdown appeared in front of everyone.
The number above is "60:00:00"
Jiang Xia glanced at the phone that had been sent along with the samples, scrolled up to reveal a text message she had received earlier: [60 minutes until the next scene at Sand Castle.]
Sato Miwako paused for a moment upon seeing this message: "Is the bomb broken? Why didn't the countdown start?"
—According to the bomber's prediction, the bomb should explode an hour after Jiang Xia receives the text message.
But now, they've spent at least ten minutes on the road, yet the bomb's countdown is still only 60?
"Anyway, it's a good thing the bomb is destroyed!" Inspector Megure cleared his throat and said to his subordinates:
"But on the bright side, maybe only the display screen is broken and the countdown is still going on. Anyway, everyone stay away from the bomb—Takagi, Chiba, you two set up two cordons to keep passersby away. You two also shouldn't stand too close. Wait for the bomb squad to come and handle it."
The two officers nodded and ran over.
Amuro Tooru and Jiang Xia glanced at the bomb, crossed the newly erected cordon, and went to the bomb.
"What are you doing!" Inspector Megure was startled: the electronic timer not moving might not be a good thing—if the countdown was progressing steadily, they would be safe at least until the numbers ran out. But if the time bomb malfunctioned… who knew when it might suddenly explode?
It might happen in 60 minutes, or it might never explode, or a violent explosion could happen in the next second!
Inspector Megure: "..." It's one thing for Boss Amuro to be so reckless, but why did he have to bring my little brother Jiang Xia along? If he blows up, can you afford to pay for it?
Despite his inner rage, he gritted his teeth and ran over: no matter how much he hated Amuro, he was still a citizen of Tokyo, and he couldn't just stand by and watch him get bombed.
After finally getting through the police line and reaching the two men, Inspector Megure was about to pull them away with one in each hand when he suddenly froze, staring at the bomb in front of him.
—Through the open zipper, the electronic screen that was originally stuck at "60:00:00" suddenly started flashing, and time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it had become "20:00:00"!
In the blink of an eye, the countdown began to tick:
19:59:59
19:59:58
19:59:57
"..."
"What's going on?!" Inspector Megure was sweating profusely as he watched the rapidly ticking time. "Why did it suddenly stop lagging again?!"
And it was shortened by 40 minutes out of nowhere!!
The anonymous phone Jiang Xia was holding suddenly vibrated.
A group of people turned to look, their eyes falling on his hand.
Seeing this, Jiang Xia turned on his screen and checked the email that had popped up:
[Tick-tock, Name → Creation]
[If you answer incorrectly, boom—!!]
[If the timeout is exceeded, boom—!!]
[Someone's going to be killed by the famous detective!]
[Run! Run! Detective!]
These emails even included voice messages, with mechanical electronic voices accompanying the text, conveying a strong sense of provocation.
Sato Miwako's fists clenched as she listened: "He spent five years hiding overseas, and now he's back to take his anger out on a detective who has absolutely nothing to do with his brother's death... This guy better not get caught by me."
Compared to the indignant police officers, the person involved seemed rather indifferent.
Jiang Xia looked down and flipped through the picture book. A rabbit and a tortoise appeared on the new page: "It seems the new riddle is about the tortoise and the hare."
A group of people crowded around to examine the text boxes in the picture book:
Who won the race?
[Tick-tock, tick-tock, let's send the second clock to the park at the end.]
Inspector Megure glanced at the riddle that was giving him a headache, and asked hopefully, "What's on the next page?"
Jiang Xia turned the page over, revealing a tear that looked like it had been chewed by a dog—the next page with the answer written on it had indeed been torn off.
"..."
The police officers sighed resentfully.
Then, remembering something, she looked at Jiang Xia: "If we're talking about answers... isn't there one here too?"
Jiang Xia could only say, "The last sentence of the text message told me to 'run,' and the theme of the next riddle is the tortoise and the hare race again. In that case, the next bomb should be placed in a place that can be reached on foot in less than 20 minutes."
“The picture book says ‘the park at the end’ again. Inspector, check which parks nearby are within a 20-minute run.”
Inspector Megure nodded and quickly looked at Takagi.
To find these things, you need to make good use of navigation, but as a traditional middle-aged man who doesn't even know how to use a computer, Inspector Megure is really powerless to do so.
Fortunately, his brothers and subordinates around him each had their own strengths. Officer Takagi took out his phone, checked, and quickly found the location:
"There are three parks that you can walk to in 20 minutes: Aozora Fountain Park, ISOBE Flower Garden, and Golden Pine Park!"
Amuro Tooru's eyes twitched slightly: "..." Another choice of 3?
He glanced at it and vaguely understood the answer, but didn't say it aloud: What's the point of solving the 3-choice problem? Even if the so-called "real culprit" is caught, as long as Uzo is still around, there will be countless more 3-choice problems lining up, endlessly.
"In other words, to catch that guy red-handed, we can't get bogged down in the current case—'the real culprit' is meaningless. We have to step outside that framework and grasp some seemingly more peripheral key points in order to move things forward."
Thinking this, Amuro Tooru said to Jiang Xia, "I'm leaving this to you. I have something to attend to and need to leave for a bit."
Inspector Megure was stunned: What could be more important than a series of bombings delivered right to his face?
The countdown is still ticking! At a time like this, would a detective really abandon the case and leave? ...You, the owner of a detective agency, are nothing like a detective!
Amuro Tooru didn't say anything more. He remembered the strange commotion at the coffee shop entrance earlier, narrowed his eyes, and chased after it in that direction.
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