Chapter 18 Chapter Six

The sound of a small truck crashing into a utility pole seems to wake up the residents who dreamed of Taiwan late at night from their dreams.Residents looked trembling and began to appear around the scene of the car accident.Someone should have called the police, the siren of a police car was heard in the distance.Before long, the surrounding must have been full of police and onlookers, and it became extremely lively. The detectives who didn't want to get involved in the commotion got into Renault before then and left the scene as if nothing had happened.The car drove slowly, as if going upstream along the crowd going to the scene of the car accident.

It didn't take long before they saw a dark-haired girl in a pink T-shirt in front of her, with her mobile phone in her ear, walking quickly to the scene of the car accident.Spotting her, the bird stopped immediately, and Liu Ping opened the window of the passenger seat to call her. "Miss Sayaka!" "Ah, you two during the day, are you still here?" Sayexiang finished talking on the phone and ran to the window of the passenger seat.Liuping pretended to be stupid and asked. "I just wanted to ask Ms. Sayaka, why did you rush into this in the middle of the night? What happened?"

"That... I don't know the details, but according to the phone notification just now..." Sayaka made an opening statement carefully and then lowered her voice. "I heard that the large truck carrying the latest weapons was attacked by terrorists wearing field coats. It collided with the blue imported car in front and caused a tragedy. It seems that some people died." "Ah, that's it..." I always feel that elementary school children's word games are more able to convey the truth. "Mr. Ukai, what should I do? She seems to have a big misunderstanding."

"Well, after all, she has the right to know the truth." Ukai whispered to Sayaka. "Then, little sister, get in the car anyway." "Huh, but..." Sayaka showed a confused look. "Stop it, hurry up!" Ukai shouted in a very serious voice. "In order to prevent damage caused by bacterial weapons flying into the air, the police, Self-Defense Forces, and Earth Defense Forces have adopted Class-D emergency evacuation measures. It is dangerous to stay here. Alright, please get in the car as soon as possible!" "Oh, okay!" Sayaka rushed into Renault's back seat with a nervous voice, and then slowly and half-obsessed. "Huh? The Earth Defense Force... what is it?"

Soon after, the location moved to the outskirts of Mengtai, a deserted corner of the park with elephant slides and panda decorations.Liuping and Sayaka sat side by side on the small bench, and Ukai sat on the panda's back with his arms crossed.Liuping is telling the two about tonight's experience, that is, the great adventure with the god of death. "I see." Yukai nodded in response. "That's why Genji Fujiwara is full of bubbles." "I see..." Sayaka also nodded in response, "So the latest weapon is a beer crate, and the terrorist is Mr. Liuping, right...?"

"..." She didn't seem to have fully grasped the point, but it was troublesome to continue explaining, so Liuping continued to discuss with Ukai. "But I don't understand, it's really strange." "It's nothing strange. It's just that the panda's back is surprisingly comfortable to sit on, so I'm sitting here." "No, I'm not talking about that, I'm saying that this case is very strange." The famous detective who straddled the panda's back is indeed strange, but this kind of thing is not important at this time. "Why is there an old man's body in the cargo bed of the pickup truck? Why is Ukai-san sure it's Seitaro Tanasho? Why did Ukai-san expect Fujiwara Genji to pick up the body tonight? And in the end, why did the beer crate have to be stolen?"

"Yes, this is exactly the question about the essence of this case." Ukai finally began to explain at this point. "To understand the whole picture of this case, we must think about several wonderful phenomena that happened in Yumengdai late last night. There are three wonderful phenomena: Seven beer crates were stolen from the Maruyoshi Hotel, the window glass of Kido's house was broken, Genji Fujiwara of the house agency was almost hit by a car. However, among the three incidents, only what happened to the Kido family, it can be roughly concluded that the drunk grandfather of the Okaan family mistook the Kido house for his own. The problem is this grandfather of the Gangan family. Why did he mistake the Kido family for his own?"

"Huh? This problem must have been solved. Grandpa was drunk and went to the wrong alley. According to the number on the map, he should have taken the ⑶ alley, but turned around and turned into the 4th alley, which caused Grandpa to believe that the Kido family was the Gangan family. Two The rooms look alike, so he didn't notice." "Yes, the house is indeed very similar, and it is inevitable to be mistaken. But what about the alley?" "Alley...?" "Yes. (3) Are the alleys so similar to the four alleys? No, from the impression I have seen, there must be a clear gap between the entrances of the two alleys. Yes, only one side of the four alleys has a house, and the one on the left is the size of a house On the other hand, there are houses on both sides of the alley. Since the difference is so clear, is it really possible to confuse the two alleys?"

"You asked me if it's possible... Of course it's possible, right? In fact, Grandpa Gang'an just confused the two rooms. Am I wrong?" "No, that's right. There is indeed a possibility of confusion. So, under what circumstances would this level of confusion be caused? The first possibility is that Grandpa was so drunk that he didn't even notice the obvious difference between the two alleys; The second possibility is that the drunk grandpa takes a taxi home." The unexpected argument makes Liuping feel surprised. "taxi?" "Yes. Grandpa drank in the busy area in front of the station until early in the morning to go home. Normally, he would take a taxi, right? And when taking a taxi, passengers would often say 'Turn right at the second intersection ahead' or 'Turn right at the third intersection. Turn left at the alley and 'show the driver the way? Liuping's human-shaped navigation is roughly like this, and Miss Sayaka is also like this when she guides us."

Sayaka also nodded in response to Ukai's statement. "In residential areas with well-organized streets like Mengtai, most of them will explain it like this." "So it can be inferred that Grandpa Gangan took a taxi back to Mengtai last night. After the car turned into Mengmeng Street at Chaori Street, he immediately instructed 'turn left at the third alley ahead', but the driver passed one more alley. Turn at the fourth alley, drive into the fourth alley and let grandpa get off the car, causing grandpa to mistakenly think that the Kido house in front of him is his home?"

"Yes. Compared with the drunken grandfather who walked home from the downtown area for a long time and mistook the alley that was obviously different, the probability of this statement is much higher?" "Indeed. That is to say, it is actually the taxi driver's fault that Grandpa Gang'an misidentified his family. So that's the case, maybe so. Speaking of taxis, a small taxi accident happened in an alley on the same night, could it be... ..." "Well, that's what you think. The taxis for the two incidents should be the same. Not only is it the same time at three o'clock in the morning, but the most important thing is that they also took the wrong road." "So, that taxi went the wrong way when it picked up passengers, and the passengers went the wrong way after getting off? Wait, it's impossible? No matter how absent-minded the driver is, he wouldn't go the wrong way consecutively on the same night." "That's not the case. It's not impossible for the first mistake to lead to the second mistake. Specifically, it's like this. First, Grandpa Gangan instructed 'turn left at the third alley'. The driver received the instruction, but in the The dark night road missed an alley and turned into the fourth alley. The driver didn't notice that he was going the wrong way, so he let the passengers get off and returned along the original road. This time he turned right at the 'third alley' .Leave Four Alley and turn at the third alley, where will you go?" "It will drive to... ah, it's an alley. That's why the taxi accidentally drove into that dead-end alley, which caused a small car accident. That's why it makes sense. In this way, Grandpa Zai Gangan The taxi that came back was indeed the taxi that hit the owner of the real estate agency." "Right? After I speculated that, I lost interest in this small car accident. Because the accident can be explained by the driver's mistake. I don't think this matter has anything to do with the theft we are investigating... until I return to the Maruyoshi Hotel." Yukai's speech was full of mystery, and Liuping immediately asked questions. "After returning to the Maruyoshi Hotel, what happened there? So, Mr. Ugai seemed to have suddenly noticed something important. Did he find something strange at the entrance of the Maruyoshi Hotel?" "No, it's not a rare thing, it's very common. I saw a cold rectangular iron box that I didn't want to see on the street—a vending machine for canned drinks. Does the Maruyoshi Hotel have it?" "It refers to the vending machine that Mr. Ukai hit his forehead, what happened to that thing?" "There is a thick iron chain next to the machine, right? It is a chain lock to prevent unscrupulous people from breaking the lock of the vending machine and stealing money. I have often seen this kind of device recently. Speaking of which, I want to ask Ms. Sayaka something." "Okay, what's the matter?" "Is the chain of the vending machine at the Maruyoshi Hotel installed on the right or the left?" After thinking carefully, Sayaka responded with a confident voice. "The chain is on the right. Not just the vending machines at the Maruyoshi Hotel, but chains are definitely on the right in general." "Yes, the vending machine was originally designed to be used by right-handed people, so the coin slot is on the right. The key hole of the vending machine is normally near the coin slot, so it is also on the right side, and the chain lock is of course also on the right. Right. Since the keyhole and the chain lock are on the right, does it mean that this vending machine opens to the left?" Sayaka nodded in agreement, and Liuping next to her couldn't help wondering. "Go left? What do you mean?" "A device like a vending machine, once the lock is unlocked, the front will open like a door, right? And it opens to the left, or to be precise, it opens to the front left. Almost all vending machines have this structure." "That's it..." Liuping couldn't hide his doubts, with a look of surprise on his face. "so?" "Really, you still don't understand?" Yukai exaggeratedly shook his head on the panda's back with a look of helplessness. "A few hours ago, we just saw a rare vending machine in the world, right?" A rare vending machine in the world?Liuping doesn't remember seeing such a thing.If I really want to say it, it can only be that one. "...Could it be the super cheap vending machine in front of Fujiwara Fudosan?" "Yes. Think back to that scene. When we turned into an alley along Yumeng Street from the Maruyoshi Hotel, someone was restocking the vending machines, right? But we didn't know who was restocking what kind of clothes at first. restocking because open vending machines are blocking restockers." "That's true." Sayaka nodded as if recalling the memory of that time. "What we saw was the 'breaking price of 80 yen' written on the front of the vending machine." "That's right. But if you think about it carefully, generally speaking, this is impossible. Normal vending machines drive to the left. In this case, we should be able to fully see the From the inside of the vending machine, you can definitely see the people replenishing the goods. On the other hand, it is impossible to see the words "breaking price 80 yuan". But in that scene, we did not see the handsome son, but I saw the 'breaking price of 80 yen'. I didn't expect it at the time, but now I find it a valuable experience. At that moment, we encountered an ultra-rare vending machine that opened to the right!" "..." Liuping nodded slowly. "So that's the case. After hearing what you said, I found out that it is indeed true." "So, that vending machine might be weird..." As if he had completed the great discovery of the century, Ukai showed off his expression of "how, is it amazing?"But Liuping still couldn't let go, and asked Ukai an important question. "The vending machine opens to the right, which means the key hole is on the left, right? But the coin slot is on the right? Why do you deliberately design the key hole only on the left, and open to the right? Are there really such vending machines?" "Actually asking, isn't there actually one? It's right in front of Fujiwara Fudosan. Did you see it?" "No, that's what I said, but that's not what I mean. I want to ask whether there are such vending machines in this world. In other words, I want to know whether such things exist in real Japanese society... " "You are so weird. Doesn't Kuzuigawa City exist in real Japanese society?" "Hey, that's true, but how should I put it, if I can give an example in a more ordinary city, it should sound more authentic..." However, the moment Liuhei said the word, Ukai's expression changed drastically. "Authenticity? You said authenticity? Did you just say authenticity?" Ukai cast a cold and contemptuous look at Liuping, then suddenly jumped off the panda, and ran towards the elephant slide. Shout: "Go eat shit about authenticity...!" The pelican roared like a howling wolf, even alarming the domestic dogs in Mengtai.Sayaka looked at the slide sympathetically. "That gentleman looks leisurely, but he has accumulated a lot of emotions..." "Hmm...he wasn't the character who would yell 'go eat shit...'..." In short, continuing to leave it alone is a hindrance to peace.Liuping got up from the bench, made a trumpet shape with his hands and shouted: "Please come down quickly, the puzzle is only half solved!" "Oh, that's right." Ukai said as he slid from the elephant's trunk to the ground, showing a refreshing expression as if he had let go of his demons, and straddled the panda's back again. "Okay, I got it. Since you said that, I'll give you a more realistic example outside of Kuzuigawa City. I'll take the evil city of Tokyo as an example, do you have any objections?" "It's the capital of flowers. Tokyo may be the capital of evil, but it's generally called the capital of flowers. But does Tokyo really have this kind of vending machine with the key hole on the left and the panel opening to the right?" "Yes! I have seen it with my own eyes. There is indeed such a vending machine in a well-known place that is five minutes' walk from Suidobashi Station." "Huh, in the Tokyo Dome?" "No, in WINS Korakuen!" "..." Liuping was a little helpless. "What did you run there for?" "What are you doing? Hey, wait a minute, WINS basically only sells one product, right?" "That's right, I'm stupid for asking that question." WINS Korakuen is an "Adult Playground" located next to "Korakuen Playground".No, it should be called "Zoo".To put it bluntly, it is the largest off-course horse racing ticket sales office in Japan.Ukai said that he saw a miracle vending machine there. "On the sixth floor. The canned drink vending machine on the sixth floor of WINS Korakuen has this structure. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary vending machine, but it is indeed a vending machine with the key hole on the left and the right. " "Huh, really? So now you can go to the sixth floor of WINS Korakuen, and you can see the real thing?" "No, unfortunately, that vending machine was withdrawn at some point, and now only ordinary vending machines are installed. It seems that WINS employees don't understand the rarity of that vending machine." "It's harder to get them to understand." "That's right. After that, I never saw a vending machine that opens on the right until yesterday." This kind of vending machine suddenly appeared in front of Yukai yesterday.Ukai himself didn't notice it at first, but the moment he saw the ordinary vending machine at the Maruyoshi Hotel, he finally realized the special feature of that vending machine. But wait a minute.Even if Fujiwara Fudosan's vending machines are special, so what?In the end, what were we talking about... Ukai ignored the confused leveling and continued to explain. "Let's get back to the topic. The taxi driver went the wrong way twice in a row last night. I originally thought it was a simple mistake of the driver. As I said just now, there is indeed such a possibility. But now I start to think that there may be another possibility. " "Which possibility?" "There is absolutely no possibility for the driver to make a mistake. The driver followed the instructions of the passengers and followed the instruction of 'turn left at the third alley'. He did turn left at the third alley, but he still turned into the fourth alley... This is the possibility sex." "I don't understand. Turn left at the third alley. It should be the ⑶ alley. Why did it become the fourth alley? Where did the ⑶ alley go? Did an alley disappear out of thin air in Mengtai last night?" Ryuhei decided it was impossible and said so, but Ukai unexpectedly nodded bluntly in response. "Yes, as you said, in Mengtai last night, an alley disappeared. But what disappeared was not ⑶ alley, but an alley." "How is it possible!" Liu Ping's voice could not help but become sharper. "That's an alley, alley. The so-called alley is a road, and it's not a magician who can make a stick of incense disappear. Who can make the whole road disappear? Impossible," "Of course it's impossible. But magicians don't really make incense sticks disappear when magicians make them invisible. They just hide them skillfully so they can't be seen. The same goes for roads, which are just hidden and invisible. They are most suitable for hiding roads." Isn't the device at the corner of Yi's alley?" "A device suitable for hiding the road... ah!" Liuping finally got inspiration when he heard this. "Is it a vending machine?" "Yes, they are the two vending machines at the entrance of the alley. Have you seen them? Those two are the largest vending machines, as wide as an adult's hands. These two machines are separated by a narrow alley. The openings are set facing each other, and one of them is a rare right-handed vending machine in the world. This right-handed vending machine is placed on the right side of the alley, and the normal left-handed machine is set directly opposite. If these two vending machines are unlocked at the same time, What happens if the panel is opened at ninety degrees? The narrow alley is almost blocked by the panel of the vending machine? Don’t you think that the special situation at the corner of an alley has something to do with the taxi driver going the wrong way last night?” "Please, please wait a moment, Mr. Ukai, you said that it is impossible for two vending machines to completely block the alley, right? Although the width of the alley was not measured correctly, it should be more than three meters, probably three and a half meters. On the one hand, the largest type of vending machine is only one and a half meters wide, and two of them side by side are only three meters at most. Even if it can almost block the alley, it is impossible to completely block it. The two opened vending machines There is an ingenious gap of about fifty centimeters between them, isn't this considered a complete magic?" "That's right, there is indeed a gap. In this case, you have to use something suitable to plug the gap. So what is the most suitable thing? It must be about 50 centimeters wide, as easy to move as possible, and it must be placed next to the vending machine. Objects that don't fit in. Like a beer crate would work, right?"