Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

"No leads." With the sleeves of his white coat rolled up high, Tetsuko Ossi replied unceremoniously while arranging the experimental equipment, without even looking at Qing Jiang.The side face clearly said: I don't have time to chat with you. "What a quick answer. Would you like to think about it for a while?" Wearing glasses, the expressionless face finally turned around. "There's no need to think about it. I have no friends or acquaintances at Kaiming University School of Medicine. Let alone neurosurgery. That's a different world to me." "Oh—that's right."

Qing Jiang sat on the chair, kicked his toes on the ground, and turned around.Because there are classes, the students in the research room are not there, and the chairs are for the students. "What's going on? Is there anyone around the teacher who wants to see neurosurgery?" "No, it's not. Just trying to get in touch with someone." "A person from the Faculty of Medicine, Kaiming University?" "Yes, neurosurgery." Ossie put his hands on his hips, frowned and said, "Why?" "Uh... it's hard to describe." "Forget it, I'm not interested in asking."

"Oh, I didn't hide it on purpose, it's really hard to explain." "So, didn't I say that you don't need to explain? By the way, what happened to the manuscript mentioned last time? Study the preface of the journal. It is scheduled to be delivered at noon today." "Ah, that... I'll write it right away." Please, Tetsuko Ossi said flatly, and immediately got down to work. Qing Jiang scratched his head and stood up slowly. After reading Saisei Amakasu's blog, he has been unable to let go of his heart, wondering if it should be like this and let this matter come to an end.

Commissioned to investigate the accidents at Akakuma Onsen and Tomate Onsen, both have drawn inferences that they were unfortunate accidents.Akakuma Onsen formulated countermeasures based on inferences. Although the investigation of Tomate Onsen was not officially commissioned, it was also published in the "Hokuriku Mainichi Shimbun". But now, Qing Jiang has gradually lost confidence in his deduction.He always felt that there should be some connection between the accidents that happened in the two hot spring areas.If this is the case, then the occurrence of the accident is not accidental, but inevitable.And if it is inevitable, it is not an accident, but an event.Because a person died, it was a homicide.

So, what should I do?Do you want to contact the county police headquarters everywhere and say that it was not an accident, but a murder?What should the other party say when they ask about the basis?To say that you met an amazing girl and found some inexplicable commonality?What if the other party asks about the means of committing the crime?Qing Jiang himself concluded that it could not be caused by man. He wanted to meet Madoka Habara, she must know something. In Tomate Onsen, the phone number was written on the piece of paper I got from her.He called just now, but the person who answered the phone sounded like an elderly woman.He immediately understood that it was not Madoka Habara.

"Uh, I'm Qing Jiang from Taipeng University...you're not Miss Habara, are you?" "No. What's the number you dialed?" Qingjiang read out the number on the paper, and the other party said that it was his mobile phone number, and it seemed that he had dialed it wrong. "Just to be on the safe side, let me ask one more question, do you know a woman named Madoka Habara?" "Sorry, I don't know you." "I see, I'm so sorry." Qing Jiang hung up the phone and lowered his head in disappointment.It looks like the number is made up.

But if you think about it carefully, even if the number is real, you may not be able to see her; even if you see her, just like in Tomate Onsen, you can't expect her to tell you anything. When the matter developed to this point, he began to pay attention to Habara Sentaro who appeared in Amakasu Saisei's blog post.Can you think of a way to get in touch with him—— Qing Jiang was about to go out, but just as his hand touched the doorknob, the phone rang.Tetsuko Ossi quickly answered the phone and replied, "This is the Qingjiang Research Office." Qing Jiang opened the door and stepped into the corridor.At this moment, Tetsuko Ossi called out, "Teacher!"

"Looking for me?" She covered the microphone with her hand and said, "It was the police officer named Nakaoka a while ago, who said he wanted to meet the teacher." "That person..." A rough face appeared in his mind. On second thought, maybe it would be good to talk to him. "Tell him he can come anytime." Tetsuko Ossie brought the receiver to his ear with a serious face, probably thinking that Qing Jiang's manuscript would be postponed again. About thirty minutes later, Nakaoka arrived.Unlike last time, I did not bring a souvenir. "I'm very sorry to disturb you during your busy schedule." When we met in Qingjiang's room, Nakaoka said while bowing his head.

"It's okay, just right, I also have something to talk to you about." Qing Jiang's words made Zhong Gang raise his eyebrows unexpectedly: "I don't know what is it?" "No hurry, please let me hear about your business first." "Okay." Nakaoka sat up straight, "Forgive me for being stubborn, it's still the accident at Chikuma Onsen. Actually, I'm still suspecting that it was an incident." Qing Jiang nodded. "That's right, otherwise, you wouldn't be here." "Exactly. Do you remember our last conversation? When I asked you whether it was feasible to use sleeping pills to put the victim to sleep and then produce hydrogen sulfide to kill him, you categorically denied it. Say it's impossible."

"Of course I remember." Afterwards, Qingjiang reconsidered a possibility: if the victim's head was covered with a plastic bag, even outside, a small amount of hydrogen sulfide could poison him to death.Did Nakaoka also think of this possibility? But the criminal police said: "After that, I made a lot of assumptions, but it was still very difficult for me. I also checked the results of the forensic autopsy, and no sleeping pills were found in the victim's body." "That's it." If so, there is little room for discussion. "I'm trying to explore other possibilities. I'm a layman, I've been thinking about it, and I just came up with one way, and I'm here today to ask for advice."

"I see. Please let me hear it. What can I do?" Nakaoka took out a notebook and a ballpoint pen from the inside pocket of his suit. "Assume this ballpoint pen is the victim. First, let the victim stand somewhere alone. It is a place where hydrogen sulfide is easy to accumulate on the terrain." Holding the ballpoint pen, he stood on the table, "at the upperwind of the victim Place a bucket or similar container. Assume this notebook is the container." He placed the notebook about 30 centimeters away from the ballpoint pen, "mixing liquids in this container creates hydrogen sulphide gas. The gas produced goes downwind During this period, the murderer put on a gas mask and took refuge upwind. The concentration of poisonous gas near the victim gradually increased, eventually leading to death." He then put down the ballpoint pen, "What do you think of this reasoning? ?” Aoka looked at the ballpoint pen and notebook on the table, pondered for a while, then looked back at Nakaoka's ambitious eyes. "What a bold reasoning. Do you think the victim's wife did it?" "No," Nakaoka tilted his head, "I think this method is difficult to carry out alone, because it needs to go back and forth between two locations with a difference in height in a very short period of time. Including the recovery container, the person who produces the gas should have another There are people." "You mean, my wife has an accomplice...?" Nakaoka didn't answer, just asked: "What do you think?" "It's a unique idea, but unfortunately, it's not possible." "why?" "The accuracy is too low. Have you seen the scene? You may think that because it is in the mountains, you can hide wherever you want, but the scene is a swamp. If you don't want the victim to find out, you have to stay more than 20 meters away. What's more, the terrain is complicated , It is impossible to predict how the produced hydrogen sulfide will flow. Since a fixed wind direction cannot be guaranteed, it is also extremely dangerous for the murderer." Nakaoka was silent for a while, then asked again: "What about using a fan?" "fan?" "The battery-operated one. If you fan it, will it move the gas toward the target?" This whimsical idea made Qing Jiang dumbfounded again.Do the criminal police all have such brains? "I find it very difficult. The destination can still be reached twenty meters away. The fan should not be able to blow such a wind." "On a windless day, as long as you control the direction of the fan, you should be fine. After that, isn't it going to flow down gradually? You said 20 meters, but when a hydrogen sulfide suicide case occurs in a residential area At that time, the residents within a radius of 50 meters must be evacuated." "That's it, Mr. Nakaoka. Not to mention indoors, to reach a lethal concentration outdoors, a considerable amount of gas needs to be produced. In this way, wouldn't innocent people be involved? Even if the murderer is within sight There is no one inside, but no one knows where the gas will go. Does the murderer think that it doesn't matter if someone else dies?" But Nakaoka was not persuaded. "Maybe the murderer just didn't think that much." "Well..." Qing Jiang pondered, "Then I can't say anything more, I can only say that there is no way to know without experimenting..." Nakaoka leaned forward. "In other words, the possibility is not zero?" "No," Qing Jiang thought, "I think it's zero. If you don't test, you can't know, which means that it is absolutely impossible without a rehearsal. You must conduct multiple tests on the spot to confirm its possibility. Before the accident, Was the wife ever present at the scene?" "Uh, this... I'll check it out." Nakaoka opened his notebook and wrote it down with a ballpoint. "I don't think so. It's a small village. If you've been there several times, someone might remember—" At this point, a thought suddenly flashed in Qing Jiang's mind, and he couldn't help but let out a soft cry. "What's wrong?" Nakaoka looked up from his notebook. "It's nothing...Anyway, if it's not the wife who did the experiment many times beforehand, but the accomplice, then it's a different story." "I see." Nakaoka nodded with satisfaction, "Thank you very much, I will refer to it." Qing Jiang stared at the criminal policeman's hand taking notes. "Are you going to continue your investigation on the basis of this reasoning?" "Let's do this first. According to your teacher, if this is a man-made incident, the murderers must have made very careful preparations. Then, there is a high possibility of leaving evidence somewhere." Oka closed the notebook and put it back in the inner pocket, "Okay, what is the teacher wanting to talk to me about?" "Oh... It's actually another hydrogen sulfide poisoning accident that happened recently. It's in a place called Tomate Onsen. I was entrusted to investigate there again, this time it was the newspaper office." "Tomate Onsen is very famous. Eh, did something like this happen? I don't know yet. But, it must have been an accident, right?" Qing Jiang rubbed his nose. "I think it was an accident just like Chikuma Onsen. However, there are many things that I can't understand." "how do I say this?" Qingjiang talked about the details of the accident and what he explained to Tetsuko Oshi: There was no smell of hydrogen sulfide around the scene once, and no impact on animals and plants was found. Nakaoka crossed his arms and raised his chin slightly. "Is it rare for poisoning accidents to happen in that kind of place?" "Very rare. But, of course, in nature, it's not surprising if anything happens." Nakaoka nodded his head a few times, but his expression still couldn't be relieved. "So, what are you going to talk to me about?" Qing Jiang rubbed his hands on his thighs.This is what he does whenever there is something hard to say. "It may be a little strange to discuss with Mr. Nakaoka, but I still feel very concerned. Actually, when I was investigating in Chikuma Onsen, I met a person in the forbidden area. It was not my old acquaintance or something. And when When I went to Tomate Onsen, I met this man again." "Hahaha..." Nakaoka raised his index finger, "That person is just like the teacher, is he doing research?" "No, not a scholar, but a girl." "Girl?" Nakaoka's eyes widened. "Not yet twenty years old. She said that she is not a student, so it should have nothing to do with geochemistry and volcanology." "Then, are you just a hot spring lover?" "No," Qing Jiang shook his head and said, "She obviously went to investigate the scene of the accident. Moreover, the purpose is to find someone." "Find someone?" Aoka told the surprised Nakaoka about his communication with Motoka Habara.After the explanation, the corner of the criminal policeman's mouth became even more crooked, with an unbelievable expression on his face. "What's up, that girl. Who the hell is she?" "I don't know. But with this incident, I began to feel that the accidents that happened in the two hot spring areas may not be simple accidents. Therefore, it is better to talk to Mr. Nakaoka." "That's what happened." Nakaoka raised his chin, "You mentioned that the victim of Tomate Onsen was an actor?" "It's an actor named Nasuno Goro. The victims of Akakuma Onsen are film producers, right? In other words, they are all people in the film industry." Nakaoka's chest rose and fell violently, and he let out a long breath. "Mr. Qingjiang, there are very important questions in your words. Do you know?" "Well, I always feel..." "Before, I always thought that even if the incident at Chikuma Onsen was murder, it was nothing more than pure murder. But if it is connected with the incident at Tomate Onsen, the nature of the incident is fundamentally different. It must be It’s okay to combine the two things, because it might be a serial murder incident.” Nakaoka said, his eyes sparkled, and he was so excited that he even spoke faster and faster. "I haven't thought so far, but I made a discovery about that girl named Motoka Habara." "Discovery? What is it?" "Mr. Nakaoka, do you know a film director named Saisao Amakasu?" "Amakasu? I don't know. I don't watch movies much." Qingjiang explained how he found Amakasu by investigating the similarities between Nasuno Goro and Mizushiro Yoshiro.Nakaoka's expression became more serious when he mentioned that Amakasu Saisao's family members also died in the hydrogen sulfide accident. "What's going on here? I don't think it's a coincidence." "I think so too, so I plan to investigate Amakasu Saio. Uh, Mr. Nakaoka, do you have time?" "Time? Don't worry, you can push back as many appointments as you want." Qing Jiang nodded, stood up, and took out a stack of documents from his desk drawer.He printed out Amakasu Saisao's blog posts in date order. "It would be quicker for you to read it yourself than for me to explain it. It's a lot." "Let me read it carefully." Nakaoka picked up the document nervously. "Please take a look. I'm in the next room, just call me if you need anything." "Okay, sorry to bother you." Qing Jiang walked out of the room.It must take more than half an hour to read them all. When he felt that it was almost done, Qing Jiang went back to the room.Nakaoka sat on the sofa, seemed a little dazed, saw Qing Jiang, and hurriedly sat up straight.The files are on the table. "Have you finished reading?" Qing Jiang sat down on the chair opposite. Nakaoka nodded and said, "I've finished reading." "What do you think?" Nakaoka pondered for a while, and said: "It's hard to sum it up in one sentence. To be honest, the first half confuses me. Hydrogen sulfide did appear, but I don't think it has anything to do with the hot spring area. I even I don't want to read any further." "Indeed. Amakasu expressed his sadness well." "Perhaps, but as an annoying detective, he is very slow in this regard. I wondered why the teacher asked me to read this. But in the second half-" Nakaoka picked up the document, Flipping to the back, "A doctor named Zentaro Habara appeared. This guy surprised me." "Yes," Qing Jiang replied, "he should be the father of that girl." "After reading this, I fully understand why the teacher doesn't think it's a coincidence. I also feel that something is strange." "Right? It's just that where the connection point is and how it is connected, but it is completely impossible to guess..." "I feel the same way. The Habara father and daughter who hold the key actually have nothing to do with hydrogen sulfide." "yes." Qing Jiang sighed.It seems to see something, but in fact there is nothing.Obviously nothing, but there is a feeling of nothing. "At the scene of the accident," Nakaoka said suddenly, "there are only the victim's footprints, right?" "Uh..." Qing Jiang didn't understand what he said. "The scene of the accident in Tomate Onsen. You just said that there is nothing on the promenade except for the victim's footprints." Oh, Qing Jiang nodded vigorously.This is what I said. "Exactly." Nakaoka turned his head to the side and was silent for a while, as if he was thinking. Then, he turned his gaze back to Qing Jiang and said, "How about using the method I just said? Make hydrogen sulfide at a place slightly higher than the scene. In that case , there will be no footprints of the murderer." "You mean, the incident at Tomate Onsen is also murder?" "Anyway, let's think about it first. How about it?" "How should I put it, the actual operation should be very difficult." "In other words, if you experiment repeatedly, is it still possible?" "Yes. If you repeat it many times... Oh, Mr. Nakaoka, actually, I just thought of one thing about this." "What is it?" "The young man Miss Madoka Habara is looking for seems to have been to Chikuma Onsen twice." "Huh?" Nakaoka opened his eyes wide, "Twice?" "The first time was a week before the accident. He stayed at the hotel where the victim stayed. On the day of the accident, he was witnessed near the scene. The discoverer was the wife of the hotel where he stayed for the first time." Nakaoka's eyes wandered in the void for a while, as if he was thinking, and then he looked at Qing Jiang again. "The teacher said before that if the victim's wife had traveled to the place many times for the experiment, the local people should have seen it, right? But if the experimenter is an accomplice, it's a different matter." "That's what I said. That's why I thought of that man." "That is to say," Nakaoka pointed at Qing Jiang's chest, "maybe what that young girl named Madoka Habara is looking for is the accomplice of Yoshiro Mizushiro's wife." "I think so too. Oh, it's just—" Qing Jiang spread his hands lightly, "I still think that the accuracy rate of Mr. Nakaoka's crime method is too low. Even if we try it many times, I'm afraid it will be difficult to carry it out smoothly." "Mr. Qingjiang, let's try to push forward? Suppose, there is such a good method that can cause hydrogen sulfide poisoning to death from a long distance. Then, maybe we can see something." "What do you mean by assuming that?" "You still don't understand. Teacher, I'm just telling you this. Yoshiro Mizushiro's wife seems to be very concerned about underground websites." Although there was no one around, Nakaoka lowered his voice. "Underground website..." Qing Jiang also knew this name.There was once a murder case on an underground website that shocked the whole society.There are even murderous jobs available there. "When I got this information, I thought, is she trying to recruit accomplices through the underground website? However, maybe my guess is wrong. Maybe, she came into contact with the people in the dark through a completely different way .” "That person is the one Madoka Habara is looking for...?" "If you think about it this way, everything makes sense. Anyway, it is necessary to investigate the accident at Tomate Onsen. And the little girl Madoka Habara." "Are you going to see Dr. Habara?" "I thought so." "About Madoka Habara, if you know anything..." Nakaoka nodded with a smile. "I understand, I will report to you immediately." "Please. If these two incidents are not accidents, but man-made, I have an obligation to make this public." "Understood. Besides—" Nakaoka pointed to the documents on the table, "What happened to him after that?" "he?" "That boy. His name is Qian Renjun, right? A boy who was resurrected from a vegetative state." "Oh... I want to know too." "The blog hasn't been updated since then, right?" "Yes." Qing Jiang stood up, took the laptop from the desk, turned it on to connect to the Internet, and opened the blog of Saisheng Amakasu, "This is the latest page." Nakaoka read it carefully. "This person named Amakasu Saisao, do you have more detailed information?" "If you search the Internet, you should be able to find all kinds of information about him as a film director." "Can I use your computer?" "Oh, easy." Nakaoka tapped the keyboard with skillful fingering.Soon, several messages popped up. "He seems to be a very good film director. He is said to be a genius, a ghost or something." "Yes. He made a work that I like very much, called "Frozen Lips." But Nakaoka didn't seem to hear Qing Jiang's words, and still clicked the mouse.Several images appeared on the screen, what appeared to be a speech on stage, as well as photos from a location shoot. "Well, it seems that there are also two photos when I was young." Nakaoka said, zooming in on one of them. It was a frontal photo of Amakasu, who was quite young, perhaps when he first debuted as a director.It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a handsome man. Looking at the photo, Qing Jiang suddenly had a strange feeling.Nakaoka wanted to turn off the photo, but he hurriedly stopped him: "Please wait a moment." "What's wrong?" "Uh, this face... seems to have been seen somewhere." "Is it in the movie brochure?" "No. I've never bought that thing. Besides, I saw it recently—" At this point, his memory suddenly revived, "Huh? Could it be?" "How?" Nakaoka asked anxiously. "She... the photo Miss Madoka Habara showed me. The young man she was looking for was very similar to him." "Ah? But the age doesn't match." As soon as he finished speaking, Nakaoka seemed to come back to his senses and widened his eyes. "Could it be... Miss Madoka Habara is looking for Mito-kun Amakasu?" Nakaoka did not answer Qingjiang.The two looked at the computer screen.The young Amakasu's smile was full of confidence.