Otaki River.

Gao Cheng walked into the mountain forest with the help of a tree branch, and walked through the path with difficulty, and the sound of water could be faintly heard.

Fortunately, there are no forks in the road, so you won't get lost along the mountain road, and there are street signs in the middle to mark the location.

"3 km from the suspension bridge......"

Gao Cheng stopped at the Otaki River for a while, and continued to drag his somewhat tired body forward.

The mountain stream is babbling, the trees on both sides are luxuriant, and you can occasionally see teenagers who go into the mountains to hunt insects, and if it were not for the kidnapping, it would be a good outing spot.

At 8:20, Gao Cheng rushed to the agreed place than scheduled, and saw the rope suspension bridge over the Otaki River from afar.

Sweating all the way, he still insisted on dragging his numb legs and feet onto the suspension bridge, but he didn't see half a figure, and he didn't see any hints.

"Puppets! I'm here! Gao Cheng opened the suitcase and shouted loudly to the other side, "The money you want is in my hands!" Can you come out now?! ”

"Click!" When he reached the middle, Gao Cheng's heart suddenly raised an alarm, and as the suspension bridge shook slightly, the rope that tied the wooden board suddenly broke.

Pitfall?!

Gao Cheng's eyes tightened suddenly, and he hurriedly grabbed a piece of rope, but he still fell to the mountain stream with the wooden planks that were falling apart, the suitcase in his hand was wide open, and the banknotes were flying in the sky.

"Boom!"

The body smashed into the mountain stream, in addition to the pain, it was more of a suffocation feeling caused by choking water, Gao Cheng could only hold the suitcase that was not a life-saving grass as much as possible, and try to grab the falling plank next to him to save himself.

In a blur, he faintly heard Officer Twilight shouting.

"Brother Chenghu!"

……

When I opened my eyes again, I was already at the hospital, and it was already past twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

Gao Cheng rubbed his brows, and the picture of falling into the river appeared in his mind again, and in the end, it was Officer Twilight who rescued him, and the clown puppet did not appear in the end, I don't know if it was because of the appearance of the police or because he didn't plan to show up in the first place.

When I calm down and think about it, it feels very wrong, as if I have fallen into someone's game......

But is it necessary for Gao Yuanyaoyi to take revenge on him like this? I feel that the self-esteem of that kind of super high IQ character is not weak, and I will not use such low-level means......

"Boy from the city," Uncle Maori asked, standing beside the bedside, seeing that Gao Cheng was awake, in a deep voice, "How do you feel?" ”

"Uncle?" Gao Cheng found the Maori uncle next to him.

"After Officer Twilight rescued you, he contacted me by the way," Uncle Maori looked very serious at the critical time, "The ransom has all fallen into the river, and now the people in the office are waiting for the puppet call, but there has been no news, it may be ......"

Gao Cheng was silent, sat up with his sore body, and saw Gray Yuan guarding the door, his expression slightly dark.

Whatever the reason, the ransom is gone, and there is no further news from the kidnappers, and the lives of Reika Hasamizu and her agent Yasuoka are unknown......

This bad situation has nothing to do with him.

"Where's Conan?"

"That stinky boy went with Takagi to the collapsed suspension bridge," Uncle Maori said unpleasantly, "really, he likes to run around every time." ”

"Really?"

Gao Cheng was in no mood to laugh at the uncle, and his mind was full of pictures of falling bridges.

It's just an accident caused by the suspension bridge rope being too old and broken, but judging from the clown puppet's series of arrangements, it seems inevitable, because the other party doesn't seem to be trying to get money at all.

If it hadn't been for Conan to help him solve the first puzzle, if he hadn't just caught the bus, if he hadn't seen the words on the roadside railing, if he hadn't found the message......

The whole process was almost all about putting obstacles in his way, and even the final collapse of the suspension bridge did not seem like a coincidence.

On the other side of the Otaki River, the wreckage of the suspension bridge has been collected on the riverbank, and Conan follows Takagi to find the broken rope.

It is indeed a natural break, but some of the planks have also been tampered with, even if the rope is not broken, Gao Cheng may fall off the bridge in the end.

Seeing this, Conan couldn't help but mutter.

It feels like it's really coming for Gao Cheng......

……

On the afternoon of the 18th, a day passed, and there was still no news from the kidnappers.

After Gao Cheng called Yuanzi, he returned to the Dyskinesis Media Office and continued to wait, and Officer Twilight and the others had heavy faces.

"Still no movement......"

"It's useless to be anxious," Uncle Maori smoked a cigarette, "I think the other party will definitely contact again, no matter what, it's for money, isn't it?" ”

Gao Cheng couldn't say anything, so he could only nod and say, "The ransom has been re-prepared here." ”

200 million, this time the debt to the Suzuki family is really big, but as long as you save people, everything is worth it......

"Ringing ringing!" As soon as he said that, the phone rang, and Twilight immediately turned pale, put on the monitoring headset and waited for Gao Cheng to answer the phone.

Gao Cheng paused, took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

"Hey ......"

"Detective Joto," said the voice strangely, "I thought you were going to die, but you look pretty good!" ”

Gao Cheng frowned: "Let's talk about how to trade next......"

"I'm sorry, but the deal is over." The voice said indifferently.

"What?!" Gao Cheng's eyes tightened.

"I killed them yesterday," the voice laughed, "one body was thrown deep into the forest, and the other was thrown off a nearby bridge...... Hehe, because you actually called the police, this is the punishment for you, and now one carcass has probably been eaten by wild dogs, and the other has sunk to the bottom of the dark and muddy water......"

The "dood-toot ......" call ended, leaving only a busy sound echoing in the office.

Twilight took off her headphones with a heavy face, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.

"It's over, let's call all the people involved......"

Gao Cheng silently put down the telephone receiver, waited until the president of Kamiki Media and a group of staff arrived, and looked at Twilight to inform the news with a regretful face.

"Killed, killed?" Manami Yasuoka's face turned pale, "Liar! How could my husband have been killed?! ”

"Ms. Yasuoka ......"

"It's all you!"

Manami Yasuoka suddenly grabbed Gao Cheng hysterically.

"What detective? If the ransom is successfully handed over to the prisoners, they don't have to die! It was you who killed my husband!! ”

"Ms. Yasuoka!" Twilight hurriedly pulled Manami Yasuoka away, "Calm down, it was just an accident!" ”

"Accident?!" Manami Yasuoka cried, "Okay, how can the planks on the bridge come loose?" I can't accept this reason!! You pay back my husband! ”

Gao Cheng pursed his lips, gritted his teeth and bowed: "No matter what, I will definitely find out the murderer and gamble on my detective career." ”

Manami Yasuoka was stunned, leaning on the female makeup artist next to her and choking and crying.

Gao Cheng nodded, walked to the side and took out the photo attached to the kidnapping letter to check it again.

His eyes moved, and he walked to the other side of the listening device to play back the recording.

Twilight stared at Gao Cheng for a while, then nervously asked, "How is it?" Did you find anything? ”

Gao Cheng wore headphones and played it back repeatedly: "Deep in the forest...... Nearby bridges...... That's exactly what he just said. ”

Twilight touched her chin and wondered, "Is the murderer's lair next to the river?" But many of Japan's rivers have bridges......

"It's not a river," Gao Cheng affirmed, "and the river is flowing, and it is rarely described as black and muddy...... The place where the bodies are still still very likely is a lake! ”

"Lake?" Everyone in the office looked at Gao Cheng.

"Yes," Gao Cheng stood up according to the photo and said in a deep voice, "This photo should have been taken after the sun rose on the morning of the 16th, that is, after 5:30, and the threatening letter was found at 8:30 in the morning on the 16th...... In other words, the murderer's lair is near the lake with a bridge, which can be reached in 3 hours! ”

Twilight's expression was lifted, and she immediately shouted at Takagi, "Check it out now!" ”