Chapter 32 Section 7

Even if the accelerator pedal has been pressed to the bottom, the speed is only 60 kilometers per hour at most, and it can no longer go up.But for such a dilapidated car, it can still have such a performance on the mountain road, and it can already be applauded. I'm on my way to Kobushi-cho.Because it was agreed at the beginning that every three days he would report to Katie Sakura on the progress of the search for Tongzi.Although it can be done by phone, I suddenly changed my mind after reading the webpage save file sent by GEN. There are very few pedestrians on the road today, and there is almost no car on the opposite lane.As a result of not needing to concentrate too much on driving, my thoughts can't help but drift to Tongzi's website "duplicate".

Personally, I don't think Tongzi's diary on "duplicate" truly reflects her inner thoughts.Because her brushstrokes are very light and breezy, her point of view can sometimes surprise people, yes, but that's all, and I won't go any further.What's more, I don't have that much time, so I can carefully study Tongzi's inner world word by word.I just took a rough look first to find out a few possible reasons why "Praying Mantis" could entangle her. Tongzi stated in her profile that "EMA" is a system engineer.Judging from the sentence "run to Shinjuku Sanchome for lunch", her company may be within a few stops of the subway Shinjuku Sanchome Station.And "the elevator was broken, so I had to climb up to the fifth floor. Although I used to climb mountains when I was young, but now I don't have the physical strength." This sentence reveals that Tongzi's company should be in a building with more than five floors The fifth floor in the building.In addition, the most critical passage "was halfway through work, when I had no inspiration, I suddenly heard a loud noise from downstairs. Looking down from the window, I saw large trucks and small vans overturned. It fell in the middle of the road. How could it be hit like that? It’s unbelievable.” As long as there is a place where a large truck and a small van collided near Shinjuku 3-chome that day, it is not difficult to locate Tongzi’s company.

Because I guessed that "Mantis" should have approached Kiriko Sakura through "duplicate"'s diary, so I had expected such words in the record.At most, I just feel like "ah, sure enough!" However, apart from this point, there are a few places that particularly caught my attention. When the word SOHO is mentioned, I can't help but think of Old Street, but SOHO is actually the abbreviation of Small Office? Home Office.The type of work that uses the Internet to convert the collected information into useful materials for production, if you associate it with this place name, it feels suddenly very far away.In my hometown, there is also a store named after a place in London.The name alone is full of sentimentality, but when you walk in, you will find that it is actually a shop selling small things, and the small shop is full of Hello Kitty products.This kind of humor that the naming is so different from the actual situation, I honestly like it very much. (May 4, 2001)

This should refer to "Charing Cross"! Just open the phone book and check under the items of "clothing store" or "junk store", which stores are named after places in London, and you can find "Charing Cross"! I think it is very important to have a place where you can restore your mood to a stable state.Because my room is full of all kinds of work data, my chaotic thoughts can't be calmed in such a space.I had to find another place where I could calm my mind.The closest I found was a coffee shop called "Bivouac".The food in this store is not particularly delicious, so I don't quite understand why I like it, maybe because its atmosphere is very similar to a store I used to go to in high school!Especially the gate, it can be said that it was carved out of the same mold.Although this feeling of reassurance because of deja vu is a bit like an old man addicted to the past, but as long as the effect of relaxation can be achieved, what does it matter to be like an old man? (June 6, 2002)

I don't know what kind of store "Bivouac" is, but as long as you find this store, remember the appearance of the gate, and go to Babao, you may find "Gendarme". In addition, there is such content - When I was in junior high school, there was a second-hand clothing store near my home.I always thought it was a barbershop.One day I wanted to cut my hair, so I walked into that store, but I was shocked by the clothes full of holes. I asked the people in the store, and only then did I understand the reason, and then I understood this shop. Why is there a rabbit painted on the signboard of the store?From then on, I often bought clothes in that store, and the style of that store became my later dressing style.If that store sold loli style clothes back then, maybe I would be wearing that kind of clothes today. (May 22, 2003)

In other words, this is also the place Kiriko Sakura often visited in Babao. If "Mantis" also kept the contents of these diaries and investigated them, it is very likely that he will find these places as well. Fortunately, there is no indication that these shops are in "Babao City".As long as you can't lock the area, it shouldn't be a big problem.Just when I breathed a sigh of relief, I found that things were not as simple as I thought. I was asked about the origin of this nickname.Although there were various speculations on the message board, all of them were answered wrong. It should be said that it is impossible for anyone to answer correctly.Because that's what I stole the name from a guy called Changguang.This is an old man who self-publishes in the countryside. Maybe the most influential thing in my life is reading the books written by this person! (September 30, 2002)

Who is Jiang Ma Changguang?Have not heard.I searched online and found a total of six search query results.It seems that Ema Changguang is a local historian of Kobushi Town.Now that Xiaofu has been touched, the eight guarantees are ready to come out!What's more, Jiang Ma Changguang has a book called "The Way of the Village: Six Sangs, Xiaofu, and Eight Guarantees". In addition, Tongzi herself blew herself up—— I went to a municipal junior high school, so I didn't put too much of a burden on my family, but I went to private schools for both high school and university.At that time, I was only thinking about my own affairs, and I didn't consider the financial burden on my parents.Although I have received scholarships in school, there is still a long way to go before paying off my debts. (August 19, 2002)

In this way, as long as "Mantis" guesses that Tongzi's hometown is neither a "town" nor a "village" but a "city", it may be able to draw the conclusion of "Babao City" from Ema Changguang's works Come. Everything depends on how deep the "mantis"'s obsession is. How far has he investigated? From my perspective as a third party, it is very likely that "Praying Mantis" has been traced to Babao City.It's in Babao City, where Tongzi fled back. Just when I was thinking this way, I found an unexpected text at the end——

When I was a child, every summer vacation, I was looking forward to going to my grandparents' house to play.Even if my parents don't take me there, I will ask them for money, and then I will go by bus. I'm not an urban kid, so I don't think it's particularly strange for those who are in the mountains and fields, and I don't particularly like grandparents. It’s just that the rural Tutiancuo at my grandparents’ house was very spacious and full of secrets for me when I was young.When I was a kid, I didn't believe it was possible to have a secret base at home or something.

Even when I grow up, if you ask me where I will return to, what comes to mind is not the three-bedroom apartment I was used to living in, but the secret base of my grandparents. It's incredible!I obviously have never lived there, but I feel a touch of nostalgia. (July 2, 2004). After reading it, the first thing I thought of was what Banping said.I remember how Banping described the Yanzhong area in this way—— "It's so rural, and I can compete with Liu Sang, who I was born in. There must be no one in that kind of place at night, and there may not even be a street lamp."

I think so too! Assuming that Kiriko Sakura is still alive and just found a place to hide, then the so-called secret base, which is somewhere in the Katoji family of Sakura, should be the most suitable choice!There is no need to spend money, and there is also a place that can shelter from wind and rain.As long as you are active in the middle of the night, you don't have to worry about being seen.Next, as long as "Praying Mantis" gives up his mind to leave, he can show up leisurely... But if this is the case, Tongzi's situation is still quite dangerous. "Praying Mantis" is likely to get a clear picture of Tongzi's details from those clues after seeing the content of "duplicate".Such a difficult "mantis" should not miss the information revealed in this diary. Kiriko Sakura must have been in a state of panic when she quit her job and left Tokyo!I might think that her experience overlaps with mine, but even if I take out my own shadow, I think the possibility is very high.Or maybe she thought that she could get rid of the entanglement of "Praying Mantis" in this way, so she was relieved a little too early.Otherwise, since she knew that she might have been locked, she shouldn't have appeared in "Gendarme" and "Charing Cross"! Although she never mentioned the fact that "grandparents' house" is in Kobushi Town, but she can't take it lightly... If I were "Mantis", I might put the towns and villages near Babao Call all the people with the surname "Sakura"!It may be a little troublesome to find the surname "Watanabe", but "Sakura" is much easier. I stepped on the gas pedal hard.But even though the accelerator pedal has been pressed to the bottom of the car by me, the speed is still only 60 kilometers per hour.And I don't know if the slope is too steep, but the speed keeps falling. Obviously I had already called in advance to say that I would come, but Sakura Keiji went out anyway.The person who came to open the door was an old lady who called herself Hezi, and her attitude was very sincere. "Thank you very much for my granddaughter's trouble this time." After speaking, he bowed a ninety-degree bow.Basically, general polite behavior usually has its fixed expression, so I can mostly deal with it properly without realizing it.But in the face of such a big gift, I was still a little overwhelmed and embarrassed. "Don't, don't say that, I feel very grateful for your care! Uh... May I ask where did Mr. Qi Er go?" "Oh, he went there today." Hezi raised his arm and pointed to a mountain not far away.Looking at her fingertips, a few flags could be faintly seen on the mountainside on the east side of the national road. "Is there any temple fair?" "Yes, there seems to be some dance activity recently! It's very lively." "Aren't you going?" "My knees are inconvenient, and I need someone to stay and prepare some food. It's just that I'm so old, and I can't do it myself, so I finally asked a steward to help, but that's the only way , seems to be a bit of a fly in the ointment!" She smiled slightly: "Little brother, are you hungry? Do you want to try my braised food?" Although it is polite to accept hospitality from others, it is not good if you get involved too deeply.So I declined her offer anyway. "Sorry, I've already eaten." "Yeah? That's it!" "May I ask you a question instead?" "what?" "Have you noticed the feeling of other people coming in and out near your home recently? Or did you hear any noise in the middle of the night?" Kazuko frowned and recalled: "No! Because we all went to bed very early, even if there is any sound, we can't hear it!" "That's it..." I re-watched Sakura's House. This is a two-story building. The second floor is a size smaller than the first floor, but the eaves are quite large. The Sakura House, which Kiriko had the impression of being "spacious" when she was a child, is not "spacious" even from my current point of view, but it is indeed a large house.But it's not a mansion either.There is nothing special about it, just an ordinary house.It feels a bit like "Since we have such a large piece of land, let's build a bigger house!".Besides being big, there is another feature that impresses me, and that is the low roof.It appeared that the whole house had been crushed flat.According to the standard of the current two-story building, it should be about 20% taller than this house!Taking the windows as a scale, the height of the ceiling on the first floor is quite normal. Could it be that the second floor is built so short? But I just scanned it roughly, but I can't be sure, I still have to go inside to make a conclusion. "There is something I originally wanted to ask Mr. Qi Er, but this matter is a bit urgent..." "Oh! What's the matter?" "Can I go into the house to investigate? I want to see Miss Tongzi's things..." But Kazuko just said in a roundabout way: "I don't know exactly how you guys talked about it, so we have to wait until our old man comes back to talk about this matter." Of course, I can explain the ins and outs of the matter to her now, but when I think about waiting and coming back, I have to say the same thing again, I think it's better not to waste time. "That's it...then when will Mister Qi Er come back?" "He'll be back at four o'clock! Because he's coming back to get the wine." I looked at my watch.Three fifty. "It's coming soon! Then I'll wait outside and wait for him to come back!" After speaking, I turned around and left.Go around the Sakura house. There is a hillside behind the house, and the part at the foot of the hill was slightly flattened and reclaimed into terraced fields. There are a total of four imports and exports.They are the porch, the back door, and a door leading from the well to the house. Maybe it used to be a place to wash clothes! There is also a door that leads to nowhere, but the smell wafting from the door should be the toilet!Why open the door to the outside when the toilet is fine?When I was feeling unbelievable, I turned around and thought about it.This must be for the convenience of rushing in to use the toilet at any time when going to the fields! Then there are windows.One room has a ledge, from which it should be easy to climb in.Then you can see the folded quilt from another window, it should be the bedroom!Made me a little embarrassed.From this point of view, the Sakura and his wife should be sleeping in a room on the first floor.This is also normal, because Kazuko's knees are not very convenient! There are two garages.One of them contained a mechanism with crawlers attached to it.I can't tell whether it is a machine for planting rice seedlings, harvesting, or plowing.In the other garage there was nothing but tire tracks on the ground.It looks like it is usually used to park motorcycles.And what kind of motorcycle can you ride?Curious. Nine out of ten it is Cub! While thinking about these insignificant things, I looked into the garage and suddenly found a long pole on the ground. The diameter of the stick is about the thickness of my wrist, and it is very long, about three meters long!I knelt down and looked at it carefully. "..." this is…… A thought flashed through my mind, but was interrupted by an unexpected scolding sound behind me. "what are you doing there?" I was so scared that my heart almost went into shock, so I quickly took a few more deep breaths to stabilize my emotions, and then turned around with a smile on my face. "Ah, I just want to visit the house. Sorry to bother you when you are so busy." "...What! So it's Mr. Detective!" Sakura Keji stood behind me, wearing a pair of striped trousers, with a murderous look on his face. "Didn't I ask you not to do anything too eye-catching?" "But I didn't do anything!" "I still said no, the neighbors said that they saw a young man who had never seen walking around near my house. I beg you, don't come here if you have nothing to do?" Hmm... The eyes of the neighbors on the left and right are indeed full of guard.I checked my watch, and I've only been around Sakura's house for fifteen minutes! "I'm sorry to trouble you." I apologized honestly, then pointed to the stick at my feet. "Sorry what is this?" "Isn't it just a stick?" "No! I'm asking what is this for?" Qie Er frowned, but still told me: "It's a tool used to knock off icicles in winter. It's been around since my father's generation, and it's been decades, but I didn't know how to use it at first." "So that's how it is!" I knelt down and grabbed one end. "Has this hole existed before, too?" "Hole?" And the second question, the tone is a little surprised. "What hole?" "look." I pointed to the end of the long stick, which had holes that seemed to have been punched with nails. And the two tilted their heads in thought. "I don't know either, probably not! Because it's just a very ordinary stick! Maybe some prankster made it!" "may be!" While I was talking, I still took the stick out of the garage and stood it up to have a look. It was three meters long just by visual inspection, and it was really long when I stood it up.If my height of 176 centimeters is used as a scale, it is probably about three meters!Because the length of this stick is higher than the eaves of the first floor of Sakura's house! "If you put a thicker screw into the hole in this rod, it can become a ladder! Then you can use this ladder to climb up to the attic." It may be that I said it too directly, and Qi Er suddenly became furious. "Mr. Detective, what nonsense are you talking about? I just ask you to help me find Tongzi! As for the anti-theft system in our house, you don't need to meddle in your business." How can I make the client angry like this?Quickly apologize: "I'm sorry. I didn't make my words clear. I'm sorry. Today is the fourth day I took over this case and the third day I officially started the investigation, so as agreed, I'm here to report the progress of the investigation to you Yes. According to the results of my investigation, Ms. Kiriko Sakura was stalked by a strange guy in Tokyo, so the possibility of escaping to Hachiroi is quite high." "Odd, weird guy?" And Er was taken aback, his voice raised involuntarily.I ignored him and went on: "However, after Miss Tongzi fled to Babao, she still couldn't feel at ease, so she changed places again." "Then where is she now?" "Now, I'm still looking into it... But until recently, she might have been hiding in the house." Qi Er was dumbfounded when he heard this, and didn't know what to say at all.So I changed it and explained it again: "Miss Tongzi may have been hiding on the second floor of the mansion before. Before I came here, I was only half-believing, but after looking at the structure of the mansion and this stick, I feel that this possibility is getting bigger and bigger. Mr. Qi Er Both Mrs. and Mrs. are old, and Mrs.'s knees are not very comfortable. Please forgive me, your dormitory is on the first floor, right! So what I want to know is whether you or Mrs. have been in the middle of the night Have you ever been to the second floor?" "Hmm..." Qie Er snorted and then fell into a long silence. "In this area in the middle of the valley, every house is far apart, and the number of street lights is very small. In addition, it is on the side of a mountain. As long as you sneak into the house at night, you will not be found. Miss Tongzi used With this stick instead of a ladder, the possibility of hiding on the second floor of the mansion cannot be said to be non-existent." "How could such a thing happen... She wants to come back, just tell me..." And second, I can't continue here. "I'm just hypothesizing. Maybe this hole was there a long time ago. But if this is the case, the inside of these holes is too clean. Of course, this may just be a coincidence. Mr. Sakura, please let me Confirm it with your own eyes. Please let me visit the second floor of the mansion." Qie Er pondered for a while.I think he is not unwilling to let me enter the house for inspection, but he is unwilling to believe that his granddaughter who is so worried that he ran to ask the detectives to help find him is hiding on the second floor of his house! I don't think Qi Er will refuse my request, but if you still have to agree in the end, then hurry up!I'm not as unmotivated as Banping said, but I really don't have much energy.After staying in the sun for so long, my face is covered with sweat. ------------------------ Notes: