Chapter 3616-3628 [A Keen Sense of Smell]
While the diligent medium, harvesting murderous intent, was silently pondering.
Across from him, Curaçao dodged an attack and stared at the leopard that had appeared out of nowhere, completely bewildered.
“Where did this leopard come from in the city?” Curaçao stared at it warily, a string of thoughts flashing through her mind. “Which zoo had an incident? Or did someone nearby bring one over specifically to stage a wild animal killing incident?”
As she pondered this, Curaçao reached for her gun. But when she touched her pocket, she remembered—she had just run into Uzo yesterday, and to avoid a possible police search, she dared not carry a real gun, instead opting for a more easily handled tranquilizer gun.
This gun is fine against humans, but what about a leopard covered in fur...?
"Where did this leopard come from?" Curaçao thought to himself. "Was it Uzo's scheme against me again?... Wait, speaking of Uzo, why is the leopard stroking its chin? That gesture looks so..."
While she was lost in thought, the black panther opposite her suddenly seemed to notice something and turned to look at the shop behind her.
Without a second thought, Curaçao stomped her foot, shattering the paving stones as she flew through the air. Almost simultaneously, a deafening explosion rocked the shop window next door, sending scorching flames erupting from it.
Curaçao tumbled to the ground, regaining her footing. A brief look of bewilderment crossed her eyes as she stared at the sudden explosion.
Based on her experience, if the enemy suddenly looks behind her, it's either because there's someone behind her, or the enemy is trying to mislead her.
Given that today's enemy is a leopard, it shouldn't be able to do something as difficult as using its gaze to mislead. Therefore, Curaçao naturally assumed that the leopard's glance was because it saw something moving behind him.
For an ordinary person, the subconscious reaction might be to look back. But Curaçao wouldn't—instead of looking back, she'd rather dodge to the side, even if it means getting covered in dirt, it's better than being suddenly shot in the head.
However, she never expected that the danger behind her was not a person with a weapon, but an explosion.
"What kind of nonsense is this..." Curaçao wondered if she was still immersed in that annoying game and hadn't woken up yet. "A leopard that escaped from some zoo, and a sudden explosion. What bad luck have I been having lately?"
"No, I should say, what is Uzo up to now?"
At this moment, the explosion startled people in other shops, who gradually came out of their rooms.
Curaçao calmly put away the tranquilizer gun she had taken out while dodging and quietly retreated behind the group. She looked towards the spot where the leopard had been, only to find that the black panther had vanished without her noticing.
Meanwhile, everyone else around was frantically calling the fire department, and no one mentioned calling the zoo.
This leopard... hid even faster than her?
...
Amuro Detective Agency.
Jiang Xia opened his eyes on the sofa and muttered, "Another explosion."
A voice came from the other end: "Your ears are quite sharp; you can hear the case even when you're asleep."
Jiang Xia looked up and found that Amuro Tooru had arrived at some point. The detective agency owner, whose presence appeared randomly, was sitting on the sofa opposite him, making coffee with freshly boiled water while flipping through channels, checking every nook and cranny of the news.
Hearing Jiang Xia's commotion, Amuro Tooru glanced over and said, "You're actually sleeping in the shop with the door wide open—if someone who has a grudge against you sneaks in, they could easily stab you to death in a couple of moves."
Jiang Xia yawned, unlike Amuro Tooru who was optimistic: "This place is right next to the Metropolitan Police Department, so the security is very good. Not many people like to come here to commit crimes."
Amuro Tooru: "..." Why do you sound like you're actually quite disappointed?
Jiang Xia remained calm: "I'm fishing."
Amuro Tooru: "..." You're sleeping like a rock, yet you're fishing. Even if a wooden fish comes, you can't catch it.
He shook his head and looked at the TV: "Although it's been pushed over by the news about Kidd, there seem to be too many bombings lately... Do you have any clues?"
Jiang Xia didn't wake up when he came in to talk, didn't wake up when he boiled water to make coffee, and didn't wake up when he turned on the TV to watch the Suzuki family's challenge. But when he came across a breaking news report on a small channel, Jiang Xia not only woke up but also muttered something... It seems that this keen detective has indeed noticed this unusual frequency of incidents.
Jiang Xia also made himself another cup of coffee, rested his chin on his hand while watching TV, and said in a deep voice, mimicking the way the riddle teller spoke, "I feel like something's not right."
Just as Amuro Tooru was about to ask what was wrong, he heard the sound of a motorcycle coming from the doorway.
Just as the deliveryman was about to drop the package into the mailbox, he saw that the store door was open and there were two people sitting inside, so he simply walked in: "Mr. Jiang Xia, there's a package for you."
Amuro Tooru immediately looked at the box in his hand: "..." Could it be a bomb or something?
Jiang Xia reached out and took the package, saw the deliveryman off, and then weighed the item in his hand: "It doesn't look like a bomb, it looks like a book."
As he spoke, he took out a knife and opened the box.
A cell phone and a thick stack of picture books were visible inside.
The picture book was not bound; instead, it was held together on one side by two large clips, and there were some colored blocks and rulers along the edges of the pages.
Amuro Tooru examined the strange book and read out the title: "Grandpa Tick-Tock and the Three Clocks? This must be a sample for making a prototype. What strange request have you taken on this time?"
Jiang Xia rummaged through the packaging bag and turned the information strip towards Amuro Tooru: "Sent anonymously."
Just then, the television suddenly broadcast an emergency news report. The host looked at the live footage of black smoke rising from the scene and said with a serious expression: "Just now, an explosion occurred at a pachinko parlor in Beikacho, Tokyo. Fortunately, the store had been closed since last month, and no one was in the store when the explosion occurred. There were no casualties."
Amuro Tooru glanced at the television, his expression suddenly changing.
He glanced at the sample picture book that had just arrived on the table, then flipped back to the page he had just turned to. In the upper right corner of that page, in the text box, it read: [Tick-tock, tick-tock, the first clock is to be sent to the sand's castle.]
"Sandcastle... I remember the pachinko parlor that exploded in the news just now, its name was Sandcastle!"
Amuro Tooru glanced at the TV and then at the picture book. The news footage hadn't cut off yet; the pachinko parlor that had been destroyed in the explosion had its signboard twisted and distorted, but the words were still legible—just as Amuro Tooru had said, its name was Sandcastle.
Jiang Xia nodded cautiously, "It's too much of a coincidence, almost too good to be true."
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