Chapter 79 When a flashy but incompetent murderer meets...
The whole process happened in the blink of an eye. The five police academy students instinctively rushed towards the source of the sound, demonstrating their excellent training and swift action.
The chairs inside the private room, which had bounced back to their original positions, were still swaying slightly.
Nekono Yuuya blinked his newly restored emerald cat eyes, glanced at the empty doorway, then at Natalie across from him, who was also somewhat bewildered, and a genuine sigh appeared on his face: "...Is this the instinct of a police academy student?"
Natalie couldn't keep up either, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment as she exclaimed, "So fast!"
The air fell silent for a moment.
A few seconds later, the two figures returned.
Rei Furuya and Wataru Date returned and appeared at the door at the same time, their faces showing a hint of urgency, but their eyes were calm and clear.
Rei Furuya's gaze quickly locked onto Ikuya Nekono, speaking rapidly but clearly: "Ikuya, something might have happened outside, I have to go check it out." At the same time, Wataru Date gave Natalie a reassuring and apologetic look: "Natalie, I'm sorry. Something unexpected has happened, I'll be back soon."
Their eyes held an unquestionable sense of responsibility and determination, sharp and focused.
...True police character.
Nekono Ikuya and Natalie understood instantly.
Natalie nodded immediately: "Go quickly! Be careful!"
At the same time, Nekono Ikuya spoke up, her turquoise eyes showing no hesitation: "Do what you want to do, Zero."
Actually, Ikuya Nekono had wanted to go out with Rei Furuya. His fighting skills were quite good, far from being completely helpless, and he could at least be of some help. But the situation was unclear, and Ikuya Nekono couldn't just leave Natalie alone in the private room.
So... let's see how things go.
He gave Furuya Rei a sharp smile, while casting a reassuring look that said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of this."
With support and understanding, their last shred of hesitation vanished, and Rei Furuya and Wataru Date no longer hesitated. They turned around decisively and plunged back into the chaos of the corridor.
The first scream came from the end of the corridor, near the restrooms. A female employee lay slumped on the floor, her face deathly pale. Her finger trembled as she pointed to the slightly ajar tool and cleaning room, crying incoherently, "Blood...so much blood...there's someone in there..."
Half of a broken mop handle rolled to her feet, while the other half bounced into the pool.
Kenji Hagiwara, who arrived first, knelt down to comfort the panicked waitress. His hands gently supported her trembling shoulders, forming a stable but not oppressive circle of support.
Noticing the waitress's terrified glances towards the tool cleaning area, Kenji Hagiwara subtly shifted his position, cleverly using his broad shoulders to block her view, forcing her to focus her attention on his reassuring smile.
Kenji Hagiwara's violet eyes, like calm lake water, effectively met the waitress's panicked gaze.
Time is of the essence!
We must obtain critical information as soon as possible!
Instead of using the usual gentle and roundabout way to appease him, Kenji Hagiwara quickly got to the heart of the matter, speaking rapidly and clearly.
“Look at me, miss, please look at me! Take a deep breath! Yes, that’s it!” His gaze firmly fixed on the other woman’s panicked emotions, and he said, “We are police academy students, we are all here, don’t be afraid, you are safe now.”
Kenji Hagiwara paused briefly, making sure the waitress had calmed down a bit, before continuing, "You did a great job, raising the alarm immediately. Time is of the essence, we need your help. Can you tell me if you saw any suspicious people or heard any unusual sounds before you screamed?"
"I..." The waitress took a few deep breaths and began to speak to Kenji Hagiwara with trembling lips.
At the same time, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had just entered, stepped forward and, instead of hastily pushing open the half-closed door, cautiously peered through the crack in the door.
With just one glance, his face darkened, and he said to Matsuda Jinpei, who was following closely behind, "Matsuda! Call an ambulance! Call the police! And warn everyone to be careful!"
He quickly opened the door and began administering first aid to the wounded soldier who was lying on the ground, barely breathing. Fortunately, he had first aid training, and the soldier was still breathing!
Matsuda Jinpei reacted quickly, pulling out his phone and dialing, clearly explaining the situation and the location where they were needed to the operator.
The last to arrive, Kou Date and Rei Furuya, quickly evacuated the few guests who had been drawn by the screams and tried to watch, bringing them back to a safe area. They then explained the situation to the restaurant manager and asked him for a first-aid kit.
Matsuda Jinpei, with his quick reflexes, informed them of the situation via text message.
After placing the medical kit next to Morofushi Kagemitsu, Furuya Rei glanced at the crime scene, his brows furrowing quickly. "Something's not right!" he said.
I initially thought the injured person was unconscious due to excessive blood loss and was in critical condition, and from a distance, that certainly seemed to be the case. However, upon closer inspection, I realized that the injuries weren't as severe as I had imagined; the major arteries were intact. Thanks to Morofushi Kagemitsu's first aid and the timely arrival of the ambulance, the person could have been saved.
It seemed that the injured person was already in a daze before being injured? Furuya Rei saw a series of fancy little items such as fishing line and transparent tape.
His purplish-gray eyes became confused.
It seems the killer originally had a meticulously crafted murder plan, but it was unintentionally disrupted halfway through its execution. In the end, in a panic, he could only stab the victim randomly?
Jianggu Ling: "?"
Rei Furuya slowly looked down at the half-drawn pattern beside the injured person's hand, which was suddenly smeared by the injured person's own sleeve.
It seems that although the victim was in a daze, she had a flash of inspiration and figured out the code the killer pointed to, and bravely tried to draw it. Then, was her rhythm disrupted by an unexpected incident?
Jianggu Ling: "??"
Rei Furuya looked at the weak and flustered waitress, the broken mop handle at her feet, and the half of it that had been flung into the sink.
Upon closer inspection, the direction the mop was pointing was a bit off; it should have been in the waitress's hand before it fell.
Jiangu Ling: "???"
It's said that people generally have two reactions when they're startled: the squirrel reaction and the snake reaction. Some people freeze like a squirrel, while others react with a nervous reflex like a snake.
Could this waitress be the latter?
Furuya Zero Universe Cat Ascension.
A flashy but incompetent murderer and an equally incompetent but quick-witted waitress accidentally meet, and the murderer is completely defeated.
Rei Furuya felt a little immoral and wanted to laugh, mainly because he was relieved to find that the wounded were only injured and not dead.
As expected, although the waitress, calmed down by Kenji Hagiwara, still had lingering fear in her eyes, she steadied her voice and said firmly:
"I mean there was someone in the tool shed... a bad guy! He wanted to kill someone!... Then I saw him! He saw me too! And then..."
She recalled incoherently, "...We were all panicked? In his panic, he accidentally stabbed the person on the ground, then froze and stared at me! I...I panicked and hit him a few times with a stick! Then...then he crawled into the tool shed and disappeared..."
Climb? The expressions on everyone's faces became subtle.
Was the murderer stunned by the sudden downpour? Even the mop broke!
It's all the murderer's fault for wanting to kill; he deserved it!
The waitress looked worriedly at the person who had collapsed in the cleaning supplies room: "Is he...is he alright?"
It wasn't that she didn't want to see for herself; it was just that her mind went blank for a moment, and after instinctively repelling the murderer, her legs felt weak when she came to her senses.
Waaaaah, that's terrifying!
"Waaaah, this is terrifying!" The fleeing killer thought to himself, rubbing his bumpy head.
Oh no! The expressions on Furuya Rei's and the others' faces turned serious.
The criminal's face has been seen; he won't pretend to dispel suspicion, he'll just try to run!
Furthermore, the absence of the knife indicates that the murder weapon is still in the perpetrator's possession. Additionally, he fled in haste, and there is obvious blood on his body and the knife.
This will cause panic among the customers here! And the murderer will be even more panicked as a result!
The person holding the sharp weapon panicked...
This is very bad!
Date Wataru immediately ordered, "Morofushi, Hagiwara, you stay here to take care of the wounded and protect this young lady. Matsuda, Furuya, we're going to find someone!"
"Okay, class monitor!" the others replied.
The investigation turned into a chase.
Based on the marks on the windowsill of the cleaning tool room, Furuya Rei determined the other party's location and, by integrating the clues he had found along the way, locked onto his route. Before long, he had caught up with the other party.
"!" The prisoner also noticed Furuya Rei's striking hair color.
"Don't come any closer!" he warned Rei Furuya, brandishing his dagger warily.
Rei Furuya raised his hands, feigning surrender with an innocent expression: "Okay, I won't go."
Without needing to discuss their roles, taking advantage of the prisoner's attention being drawn to Furuya Rei, Date Wataru and Matsuda Jinpei darted out from the shadows, attempting to flank him from the left and right.
Prisoner: "!!!"
In his panic, Matsuda Jinpei knocked his dagger away, instantly reducing its threat. Meanwhile, Date Wataru stepped on the fallen dagger, extinguishing the prisoner's hope of retrieving it.
But the prisoner was cunning; he suddenly smashed open a decorative shelf next to him, creating chaos.
"Crack!" The vase shattered.
Matsuda Jinpei's steps were temporarily halted.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the prisoner turned and tried to run towards the emergency exit at the back of the restaurant. He clearly had a deep understanding of the terrain, at least better than Furuya Rei and the others who were unfamiliar with the area and were visiting for the first time.
Perhaps it was because he had scouted the location beforehand when planning the murder, although he was caught red-handed at the very beginning when he was actually carrying out the plan... bad luck.
But it's okay, all the effort wasn't in vain, and now the preparation has come in handy. The prisoner used his familiarity with the terrain to widen the distance between himself and his pursuers.
Inside the private room, Nekono Ikuya looked out the window and frowned slightly. He glanced in the direction the criminal had escaped, then at Furuya Rei and the others who were struggling to keep up with the criminal's pursuit, being constantly thwarted by the debris and chaotic crowd.
Restaurant owner: I dare not open my eyes, hoping it's just my imagination. That damn property-shredding criminal! His property! His customers!
Oh no, oh no, oh no!
Natalie also realized the urgency of the situation and immediately said to Nekono Ikuya with understanding, "Nekono-kun, go help! Don't worry about me, there's no danger here, I'll be fine here by myself."
Nekono Ikuya glanced at Natalie, confirming that she was in stable condition and there was no other danger around, and that she wasn't just pretending to be polite, so he didn't hesitate any longer.
"Excuse me!" He nodded quickly to Natalie, and in the next second, he nimbly slipped out of the private room, but instead of following the prisoner, he headed towards another passage.
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