"Ishikawa and his accomplices committed their crime in this manner."
After explaining the murderer's scheme, Shinichi Kudo concluded:
"However, I'm still missing a key piece of evidence. I need to go back to that alley for a thorough search."
Although he said this, his expression remained calm.
The method of the crime had been completely uncovered, so finding the evidence shouldn't be too difficult.
At this point, the case was already 90% solved.
And in comparison—
Lin Xinyi should be a step behind him.
After all, the only skill Lin Xinyi had shown so far was examining corpses. Could he really see through the killer's carefully designed alibi trick?
"This time..."
The thought gave Kudo confidence.
"Victory should be mine."
With that, Ishikawa led the way, and Shinichi Kudo strode out of the department store, brimming with confidence.
Kudo felt certain of his advantage: his detective skills would surely surpass Lin Xinyi's forensic expertise in this case.
Ishikawa, too, felt secure.
Even the famous detective Shinichi Kudo had confirmed this was a simple suicide. If Kudo had been fooled, the incompetent Tokyo police certainly wouldn't be able to pin the crime on him.
With this shared confidence, the murderer and the detective, unaware of each other's thoughts, returned one after another to the alley beside the department store.
Meanwhile, in the ten minutes Kudo had been away investigating, the Tokyo police, responding swiftly, had arrived at the crime scene.
Several police cars were already parked on the street, and uniformed officers were managing the crowd.
The once-deserted alley had been sealed off with emergency police tape. Outside the barrier, a crowd had gathered—drawn by curiosity about the case.
"Make way."
Shinichi Kudo pushed his way to the front of the police barrier.
Ishikawa and Ran Mouri followed closely behind.
A uniformed officer was about to stop them, but as Japan's so-called "savior of the police force," Kudo's face alone was his pass.
He stepped inside the restricted area and immediately spotted the leading officer—
Sure enough, it was his longtime collaborator and friend:
"Inspector Megure!"
Shinichi Kudo greeted him warmly.
Now that the police had arrived, he could use their forensics department to thoroughly examine the scene and find that last missing piece of evidence.
With this, he would truly win the battle of deduction.
"Kudo, my boy."
"You're here too?"
Inspector Megure looked slightly surprised—then, oddly enough, relieved.
"No wonder I ran into Lin Xinyi at the crime scene twice today."
"So it wasn't because of him."
"With you here, everything makes sense now."
One "Shinigami" (harbinger of death) was already enough.
If Lin Xinyi also caused deaths wherever he went, the pressure on the Tokyo police would be unbearable.
As an older man, Megure had some belief in these supernatural coincidences.
"Haha."
Kudo automatically ignored the inspector's remark.
Detectives were naturally drawn to cases—being misunderstood was just part of the job.
Smiling, he got straight to the point:
"Inspector Megure, I have some thoughts about this case."
"Uh..."
Megure's expression suddenly became awkward.
"What's wrong?"
Kudo immediately sensed something was off.
"Did something happen to the case?"
"Not exactly. It's just..."
Inspector Megure seemed uncharacteristically hesitant, as if struggling with how to phrase it:
"You're a bit late."
"The suspect has already confessed."
As he spoke, Megure gestured behind him.
Sure enough—Aoki, the man left at the crime scene earlier, was now surrounded by several burly police officers.
Handcuffed, Aoki was being escorted toward a police car, but he couldn't stop himself from sobbing:
"It... It was Ishikawa! He's the real killer!"
"We were just accomplices! Accomplices, you hear me?! You have to understand that!"
Shinichi Kudo: "..."
He had only been gone ten minutes—he hadn't even found the crucial evidence yet—and the suspect had already confessed?!
Did Lin Xinyi do this?
How?
What method did he use?
For the first time, Shinichi Kudo's competitive spirit was shaken.
Beside him, Ishikawa's reaction was even more dramatic:
"A... Aoki, what the hell are you talking about?!"
"When did I kill anyone?! You've lost your mind—don't drag me down with you!"
Seeing his accomplice turn against him so completely, Ishikawa was utterly dumbfounded.
His intricate scheme had even fooled a great detective—
And yet, his own partner had ruined everything by spilling the truth?!
"You idiot!"
"Shut up already!"
His desperate shouting only attracted more police attention.
"Oh? So you're Ishikawa?"
The officers all turned toward him with keen interest.
Ishikawa stiffened, then forced himself to stay calm and snapped:
"So what if I am?"
"Aoki is crazy—why would you believe a lunatic's ramblings?"
"You should be sending him to a mental hospital, not treating his words as evidence!"
"Right."
"Inspector Megure, what evidence do you actually have?"
For the first time ever, Shinichi Kudo found himself siding with a suspect.
Because he also wanted to know:
What clue had Lin Xinyi discovered?
And what proof had he used to make Aoki confess so easily?
Surely he hadn't just bluffed Aoki into breaking down?
That would be way too low-effort.
"Uh..."
Inspector Megure scratched his head and admitted plainly:
"We don't actually know."
"We had just arrived at the scene when that Aoki fellow dropped to his knees in front of Lin Xinyi, wailing that he was guilty."
"Before we even got a chance to say anything, he was already begging to confess and asking us to cuff him."
"As for the details of the case..."
"We haven't even had time to ask yet."
Kudo: "..."
Ishikawa: "..."
Both men were left speechless.
Ishikawa, in particular, was trembling with rage.
He now wished he could kill Aoki himself.
That spineless fool—he had completely ruined him.
"So... there's no actual evidence?"
After a long silence, Ishikawa forced himself to stay composed.
He refused to admit anything—he was going to fight to the end.
"Aoki's nonsense isn't enough to prove I killed anyone."
"The police wouldn't believe the ramblings of a madman... right?"
"Uh..."
Inspector Megure looked helpless, then turned to Lin Xinyi:
"Well, Lin, I suppose you should explain this part."
As soon as he spoke, all eyes turned to Lin Xinyi.
The officers, the crowd, and even some reporters holding cameras eagerly focused on him.
And among the onlookers—almost blending in—was Shinichi Kudo, forced into the role of a mere spectator.
"Alright, let me explain one more time, then."
Lin Xinyi stepped forward, looking calmly at the defiant Ishikawa.
Ishikawa was about to blurt out some bravado to bolster his own confidence—
But before he could, Aoki, already handcuffed, beat him to it.
Trembling, he stammered:
"Ish... Ishikawa, just confess already."
"That guy... He's like some pervert who secretly installed cameras in the women's locker room. Somehow, he saw everything we did!"
"We can't escape. We just can't."
"If we confess now, at least we can count it as voluntary surrender—it might reduce our sentences!"
"..."
Ishikawa turned pale.
"Shut up, you idiot!"
Lin Xinyi's gaze sharpened.
"Not confessing? Fine."
"Murderers deserve punishment."
"If you were hoping to reduce your sentence by confessing..."
"Too bad. You don't deserve that luxury."