It doesn't matter what you actually do in this world. What matters is how you can convince people of what you have done.

- Sherlock Holmes

An incomprehensible haze enveloped the entire land from top to bottom, and as soon as the sky darkened, small strands of rain fell.

The rain was very light, and the droplets that fell on the glass window were too small to be described as "knocking", but just lightly sticking there, and then flowing down the converging texture. Looking out through the blurred glass, apart from a hazy rain scene, you can only see a blank face reflected.

The face trickled through the glass, and it looked like the owner of the face was crying.

The red-haired girl looked at her reflection steadily, and pulled her mouth open to reveal a smile, and as she moved, the face on the glass also smiled, but with the traces of flowing water, it looked very strange.

"It's really rare to see our family's police rookie put on such a stupid expression. ”

A slightly teasing voice suddenly sounded behind her, making her quickly retract her expression.

She could see through the reflection of the glass that a man with curly black hair was leaning lazily against the door, the heat rising from the clumsy mug in his hand—although he still looked a little uninhibited and handsome on the surface, she knew that there must be a terrible love in his chest that was about to explode.

"Police rookie?"

Remembering recent newspaper and television reports, the waist-length girl sneered disdainfully.

That's just a media gimmick. ”

She said a little coldly, raising her hand to run the mist over the glass window, as if it was too cold to the touch affecting her, making her voice full of southern style become suppressed.

"Jinping...... Yesterday was January 6th. ”

“！”

January 6th.

The words were like a key to open the seal, causing the man's breath to stagnate and his vision to sharpen. His overly deep dark eyes looked directly at the girl by the window unabashedly, and his sharp gaze seemed to have an irresistible force.

The girl turned around, ignoring his scrutinizing gaze, and looked back at him with those equally sharp golden-green eyes, curling the corners of her mouth a little mockingly, "If I hadn't gone to the police hall to get the police manual, I'm afraid I would have been kept in the dark until now...... Aren't you going to say something about that so-called 'prank fax' with only one number written on it?"

"This kind of boring thing. The man walked over to the desk and sat down, his slender fingers tapping the rim of the cup for a while, and his voice was slightly cold, "Since everyone in the search class thinks it's a prank, what do I have to say." ”

"Don't pretend, you know what I mean. ”

Nao leaned back against the windowsill and stared at the man in front of her, "I've inquired, since two years ago, every year there has been a fax to the Metropolitan Police Department with only one number written down - 'three' the year before, 'two' last year, 'one' this year - I don't believe you don't know what this means. The incident three years ago, Kakudo ......"

"'The bombing of the Suwa Stadium apartment in Kakuto-cho also occurred on January 6, which was also the day of the death of the prisoner's accomplices, and the fax with the numbers on it was a crime notice of the suspect and a countdown to the bomb, ...... you want to say?"

“......”

"But what if you know this?" "Do you know the identity of the prisoner......?" And then what?"

The black-haired man slanted the corners of his mouth, moved his hand to the mug, picked up a black notebook with gold rimmed on the desk with two fingers, and shook it in front of Nao's eyes, "Saotome Nao, who belongs to the first class of the search class of the Juvenile Education Division of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department, only knows that 'fax is a countdown to crime', what can you do?"

In the face of the man's questioning, Nao did not speak. And Jinpei didn't expect her answer.

-- Isn't that aggressive questioning asking himself?

...... yes, what can I do?

Thinking of this, the light smile on his lips became bitter......

"Have you degraded your brain because you've not used your brain for too long?"

Nao suddenly stepped forward and snatched his police manual, and scolded coldly at the empty-eyed Jinhei. She stood in the shadow against the light, staring condescendingly at the man's suddenly stunned face, and the straight red hair that fell in front of her face was lined with two piercing green fluorescences, as sharp as boning.

"Since the occurrence of the case has reached a critical point, why can't we take advantage of the opportunity provided by the prisoner to trap him? Can't you think of the significance of the prisoner's decision to set the date of the notice on January 6 and to specially disclose the countdown to the Metropolitan Police Department?

Hearing Nao's angry question, a hint of wolf flashed in Jinpei's lowered eyelids.

He evasively looked away from Nao, unconsciously looking at the police manual in her hand-

The palm-sized black book is inlaid with a metal cherry blossom emblem in the middle, and the lower right corner is branded with the words "Shaoyu Class" that distinguishes it from other departments...... This is the police pass that Nao got after half a year of training and internship and passed the almost rigorous exam, symbolizing honor and responsibility.

By the time Nao mentioned the case, Jinhei, who had excellent self-control, had already calmed down. Although the previous anonymous fax incident and Nao's outspokenness made his irritability and powerlessness that had accumulated over the years explode all at once, the instinct buried deep in his bones and blood still did not change.

How could he not have thought about the meaning of digital faxing?

"I was actually preached by a little girl, I really ......" Jin Ping smiled lowly.

And such a little girl has now become a firm and great criminal.

Matsuda Jinpei's gaze warmed slightly, and he took the police manual from Nao's hand, and with a slight movement of his fingers, the golden police badge on the cover of the manual rolled up and down in the dimly lit room. The dull golden light suddenly disappeared between his fingers, and suddenly jumped out of his fingers, and the unbright but unusually transparent light made his gaze return to the sharp edge that it used to be.

"The reason for setting the date on January 6 is probably to avenge the death of an accomplice who died on January 6 three years ago. Jin Ping played with the black notebook in his hand and said a little coldly, "The reason why the prisoner's accomplices were found out was that they called the Metropolitan Police Department to inquire - because they had obviously stopped the bomb timer, but the news on the TV persuading the prisoners to disarm the bomb was still playing, and his accomplices thought that their operation was wrong, so when they questioned the Metropolitan Police Department, they were found by the police officers who searched for the location according to the number, and in the process of fleeing in a hurry, they were accidentally hit by an oncoming truck and died on the spot." ”

Looking at the chilling light in Jinping's eyes that seemed to be able to pierce the other party's soul, Nao raised the corners of his lips slightly: "That's true, although that guy's accomplice didn't die directly in the hands of the police, but he also died on the way to escape the police's pursuit, in his opinion, the death of his accomplice is inseparable from the Metropolitan Police Department, so his motive for the crime - revenge in the face of the Metropolitan Police Department - is completely established." ”

But if he wanted to take revenge on the Metropolitan Police Department, he could have acted directly the following year, or at the same time as the first fax was sent, but judging from the content of the fax, he was still prepared to hide for three years. "It seems that this person is an extremely conceited criminal, and judging by his actions and the results of his investigation three years ago, he may still be a calm high-IQ criminal." It seems that he has a strong sense of confidence in the crime he will commit next year. ”

"It's not just conceit...... Even though there was only one number in the fax, I could smell the hubris in it. Nao frowned, "Jinping, do you remember the 'Drunkard Rose Saint' incident?"

The serial murder of the drunkard Rose Saint is a vicious incident a few years ago that killed two people and seriously injured three people. All the victims in this incident were elementary school students, and the bodies of the deceased were destroyed and dismembered, and the murderer who committed this cruel case was actually a 14-year-old boy.

Although the characteristics of this case are not the same as those of the bomb case, there is one thing in common, that is, the "crime notice" of the prisoner.

"The murderer in the drunkard Rose Saint incident was interrogated by the police many times, and even did a handwriting comparison, but the police did not notice his abnormality at first, which made him complacent and even proud of it, and the criminal statement he sent was full of provocation, while what the bomber did was not so direct, but in terms of meaning, there was not much difference. The dim green light in Nao's Hitomi flickered on and off, and he looked at the police manual in Jinhei's hand and said faintly, "--I think the police are incompetent, I think I am omnipotent, and I even have fun in the process of pranks like a child...... I have a feeling that this bomber doesn't just want revenge. ”

"Are you saying that you play with the Metropolitan Police Department like a toy and get some kind of pleasure out of it......

Jin Ping muttered in a low voice, slowly casting his gaze to the red-haired girl who was still and moving, revealing a rather complicated smile, "It seems that I am not the only one who feels it, you have also reached this kind of stage...... It's called the policeman's intuition!"

Nao, who was thinking about it, suddenly shivered with a feeling, and as soon as she raised her head, she saw Jinpei's face with a strange smile.

“...... What kind of face do you have......"

"Well, don't care~" Jinping smiled and waved his hand, and popped out a cigarette on his mouth as if by magic, and the slender cigarette scroll shook up and down as he spoke, "So, after all that, you should have a solution...... The so-called method of 'using the opportunity of the prisoner to create a zào to trap himself in', huh?"

"Ah, that's just an immature idea. ”

The red-haired girl said this, but her face showed a confident smile that was the opposite of what she said.

The unexpected success of the conversation with Jinpei was something that Nao didn't expect.

According to Aiko's grandmother, when Jinpei first entered the police station, he was very strict, always talking about regulations and responsibilities with a cold face, and his aura of not approaching people discouraged everyone except Kenji Hagiwara, but since his friend Ogihara had an accident, his whole person has loosened up, and he has become what his colleagues and bosses call "a poisonous tongue with no one in his eyes, overstepping his authority without permission, no sense of responsibility, and a bad attitude".

But Nao knew very well that although her guardian always looked like a profligate skeleton on the outside, he was a serious man at heart, and if she wanted him to approve and participate in her actions, she would have to come up with a plan that would satisfy him and be watertight.

Although she has accumulated criminal sketches, and has read and simulated the criminal psychology of the prisoner in as much detail as possible, the reasoning is only one of the possibilities of the bomber's action, and there is no substantial evidence - such a plan of action can be overturned by reality at any time, but the picky guy did not show any dissatisfaction with this, and even looked quite supportive......

"Really...... Has it come to the point where you need to do whatever it takes? ”

Nao muttered in a daze, a rare sad look between her eyebrows.

"Anyway, the goal has been achieved. ”

The young man beside her let out a long breath, leaving a white mist in the bleak air, "But Miss Detective, there's really no other way, if you do this plan, it will be dangerous for you......"

"Even if it's dangerous, it's a year away, and the first thing to consider now is whether the fish will bite. Nao tightened her coat and smiled at the person next to her, "And according to your sketch of the crime, that person doesn't bother to commit crimes by other means, so you don't have to worry about me being assassinated - or are you not confident in your reasoning?"

"It's just that you're too confident to worry!" the silver-haired boy stretched out his hand and patted the red-haired girl's head, his green pupils with a soft smile inside, "Well, if it's you...... What you need to worry about is that the prisoners may not be able to say anything~ A rookie in the police world who has never had a cold, that is a storage that even ghosts have to be feared for three points! I heard that you have repelled ghosts, and you are going to conquer hell next week?"

"Hey, are you calling me a fool?" Nao shook his head in dissatisfaction, "And what is the conquest of hell!

"Hey, hey~ But is it okay to go to the mountains on such a cold day? If you're from Okinawa, you're probably afraid of the cold, right?"

"What's the solution...... The seniors in the third year after last year's tournament quit the club.,This time going to the martial arts festival is part of their graduation trip.,We also went to the training camp by the way.,And the martial arts festival in Jigokudani is a national event after all.,Dojos in various regions will also send people there.,It's also an opportunity to observe the opponent.。 Nao sighed helplessly, but there was a competitive fire burning in her eyes, "Not only do we have joint training in the karate club, but each guild also conducts intensive training - the extreme practice of standing under the waterfall and meditating, I've always wanted to try it!"

Listening to Nao's enthusiastic speech, Nioh on the side shook unceremoniously.

In the cold winter, I rushed to the waterfall and soaked in the lake or something - it was so cold!

The author has something to say:

Update~ means I'm still alive......

Obediently waited until my family agreed to let me touch the computer.,I couldn't wait to start coding words.,But for so long, just the brain can't do it, so my writing and wording level has dropped.,This chapter is barely eye-catching.。

Originally, I wanted to write about the interaction between Nao and Nioh and Jinpei, but the feel was so bad that I didn't dare to write, so I had to hurry up and enter the plot. A little more intense pace will make me write more smoothly and faster, so I apologize to all the girls who didn't really want to see the case.

The next update time is uncertain.,But it's going to be within this week.,Since I'm able to touch the computer, I'll try to code words \(^o^)/ as fast as possible.

Maybe it will be changed every other day, and maybe it will be changed every day~~ Laughing

So, allow me to extend my best wishes for the New Year to all of you!!

Happy Year of the Rabbit

PS: I got a new cover, I like it very much~~