Chapter 34 Section 7

Research Room 13, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Imperial University.Kusanagi pushed open the door and saw Yukawa in a white coat adjusting the height of a steel pipe hanger, the same one found in Seto Tomiyuko's house. "Oh, it's already started." "You came at the right time, I just got ready. Before the experiment, would you like a cup of instant coffee?" "Forget it, let's start now." "You are really impatient." Tang Chuan pointed to the steel pipe hanger with a wry smile, "Are you ready? Try hanging on this pipe first."

"Is that right?" Kusanagi stretched out his hands, grabbed the beam of the clothes hanger, and lifted his feet up, but at the same time, the steel pipe in his hand began to slowly descend.That's because the longitudinal steel pipes are sliding down.As a result, his feet never left the ground. "What are you doing? You haven't even turned the height adjustment screw on." "You are right. Then why did the pipe stop at that height before you caught it?" Tang Chuan asked with a smile. "I get it because there's a spring in it." "If there is a spring, shouldn't the tube return to its original position when you let go? But you see, the tube won't go up after it comes down."

"It's really like this." Kusanagi put one hand on the steel pipe and pushed down hard, but the steel pipe began to slide down again. "What's going on here?" "The mystery lies in this." Tang Chuan picked up a stick tens of centimeters long from the experimental bench.The stick is thick in the middle and thin at both ends. The diameter of the thick part is about 5 cm, and the diameter of the thin part is about 3 cm. "What is this? A piston from some machine?" "This is called a shock absorber. Press it from there." Yu Chuan stretched out the thin end to Kusanagi, and Kusanagi stretched out his fingers and pressed it. As a result, the thin part slowly retracted into the thick part.

"It feels like poking cold skin." "It's a vibration-absorbing device, and it doesn't take much force to push it, but you can't make it move fast because the thick part has liquid in it. This device uses the cushioning properties of the liquid, and you move in water, like Shouldn't you be slow outside? That's the same reason." "You mean, that steel pipe coat hanger is also equipped with shock absorbers?" "Yes, in a longitudinal steel pipe, a small force will not change it, but if you add weight, it will retract, and the steel pipe will go down."

"Ah," Kusanagi looked at the steel pipe hanger, "So Yuko Seto was planning to use this to threaten Sugawara. She tied a rope to the steel pipe and hung herself. Before the rope tightened her neck, the steel pipe came down, and her feet If you land on the ground, you won’t die naturally.” "From the point of view of pranks, this trick is quite interesting." Tang Chuan said, "From the opposite window, because there is a balcony blocking it, it is impossible to see that her feet are on the ground. Although the steel pipe is actually sliding, but You can't see it from a distance, and people who see it will only be scared and panicked."

"Three days before the incident, what the girl saw was the situation when the experiment was successful?" "It should be like this." Tang Chuan nodded. It was confirmed that Naoki Sugawara was not at home on a business trip that night.It is estimated that Fengcun went to Sugawara's home and watched the effect of Fuyuko's rehearsal.Of course, Shizuko is also his accomplice. "But how did he fail the trick? According to your reasoning, Minemura failed the trick on purpose, right?" "This is where Fengcun can use its professional expertise." Tang Chuan adjusted the height of the steel pipe clothes hanger to the highest as before, "Okay, let's try hanging it again."

"Do the same thing?" "That's right." "Is there any point in doing this?" "Don't ask so many questions, just grab the steel pipe." "Just let me do boring things." Kusanagi still grasped the steel pipe with both hands as before, and then raised his feet.He thought to himself, anyway, the steel pipe would still come down as it did just now. But the result was just the opposite. As soon as he bent his knees, his toes left the ground, and the steel pipe didn't come down at all. "Hey, what's going on?" "Keep your posture." Tang Chuan said and pressed a switch on something in his hand.

"Wow!" Kusanagi exclaimed, and the steel pipe descended like Gang Ke again. "What's going on?" Kusanagi got down from the steel pipe. "Press this again." Yukawa extended the end of the shock absorber to Kusanagi, "Press it and try." Kusanagi stretched out his fingers to press, but the shock absorber didn't budge.Next, Yukawa pressed the switch on the side of the shock absorber.The shock absorbers were shortened right away. "How is this going?" "It's the ER fluid." "ER?" "The scientific term 'electronic biofluid' refers to a liquid that changes its properties after being energized. A simple explanation is: something that is usually like milk becomes like cream after being energized, and it becomes like frozen cream when it is continuously energized Like ice cream, hard."

"and then?" "As I said just now, the shock absorber is filled with liquid, and the shock absorber uses the cushioning properties of the liquid. Ordinary shock absorbers are like that, but this shock absorber is filled with ER fluid, and it can Find a way to electrify it. What will happen? You just experienced that, under the control of a switch, the shock absorber can become a rod that cannot be shortened at all." "So Minemura did the same thing with the steel hanger?" Tang Chuan folded his arms and sat on the security platform. "Minemura Hidekazu has applied for a lot of patents on ER fluids, which can be said to be his specialty. My reasoning is this: He lied to Seto Fuyu that the ordinary shock absorber was installed in the steel pipe hanger, and taught The way she faked her own suicide. And the day the trick actually came to fruition, he energized the shock absorbers via the remote just before she pretended to hang herself.”

"So the steel pipe didn't drop, the fake show really did..." "As for the organ he set up, it should have been put away after the administrator went out. As you can see, this thing is not very big, and it is not difficult to hide it before the police arrive." "I see," Kusanagi murmured, "your reasoning is perfect." Tang Chuan smiled slightly after hearing this. "But now there is no evidence. This is all reasoning based on the assumption that Fengcun is the murderer, and the premise of all this is that what the girl saw was not a prophetic dream, but reality. Now you can't even find his motives. not come out."

Kusanagi nodded, he could feel his face becoming ugly. "It's just that I can't grasp the evidence of the relationship between Minemura and Sado Tomyuko." "Then give up, that's all I can do." "No, I will not give up. After listening to your reasoning, I am more sure. No matter how much time it takes, I will find out the truth."