Detective Conan: The System Takes Me to Zero's World

Hideyoshi Haneda touched the kitchen countertop. He raised his hand and looked as if he had touched something. This strange thing made him confused.

His eyes turned to the blender and toaster on the kitchen counter, and the two boxes of ice cube molds next to them.

Hideyoshi Haneda's eyes moved back and forth between the kitchen utensils and his hands, his brain working rapidly.

Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of the key to the matter, his brows knitted, and his expression became extremely serious. He turned his head to look at Hishinuma Kosuke and Genda Yasukio who was lying on the ground.

"Genda, wake up, open your eyes." Hishinuma Hirosuke knelt beside Genda Yasuki, crying and calling out. However, no matter how he called out, Genda Yasuki remained unresponsive, and it was all in vain.

Ten minutes later, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Sato Miwako and Ogino Ayami arrived at the crime scene.

As soon as Ogino Ayami stepped into the room, the first thing she said when she saw people was, "It's rare that you would ask us two to investigate the case, Xiaoxue." As she spoke, she scanned the scene in the room.

Kudo Yuki put her phone in her pocket and said, "Don't rush into this. It's more important to see what's going on at the scene."

Sato Miwako stood directly at the door and said, "I want to ask, is this true? Before Haneda Meijin, Xiaoxue, and Conan came here, you all went out to buy things and left Mr. Genda alone in the room."

"Yes, yes." Hishinuma Kosuke was a little nervous: "Because he said he would stay and prepare some food so that he can grab it and eat it easily."

Uesugi Shoko added: “We have always divided the work this way.”

"What's something easy to grab and eat?"

Ueyu Shoko recalled: "For example, they would prepare some biscuits with cheese or raw ham. We could eat them while playing chess without getting our hands dirty."

Hishinuma Kosuke continued, “So, someone must have come into the room and killed Genda within the 10 minutes we were out buying things.”

Katsumata Mizuna wiped her tears and choked up, "And the door was not locked."

Guasheng Xiangzi guessed: "He must have thought we were back, so he opened the door."

"But it's also possible that one of you pretended to go out and then came back to kill him."

"This, this is impossible." Hishinuma Hirosuke was panicked by Sato Miwako's unintentional words. His eyes flashed quickly, and then he pretended to be calm.

"I went to a nearby coffee shop I frequented and bought everyone a cup of hot coffee. Although it wasn't as hot when I brought it back, it still showed that I really bought it."

"Yes." Katsumata Mizuna nodded and testified for him.

Guasheng Xiangzi told the truth: "We heard him say that the taste of coffee had deteriorated, so we tasted it in the lobby on the first floor."

Ogino Ayami spotted the loophole: "However, if it is warm coffee, then just use the hot water from the water heater to make a cup of instant coffee."

"No." Hishinuma Kosuke's voice unconsciously rose, and he sounded anxious. "Because the water heater here happened to be broken, and there is no hot water coming out of the faucet. When we came here last time, they said they would find someone to fix it."

Ogino Ayami didn't let it go: "You can also use an electric kettle."

"Not long ago, I accidentally broke the kettle." Hishinuma Kosuke's eyes were evasive.

"What if we use an induction cooker? I think we can heat the water with that."

"That's true." Hishinuma Kosuke lowered his voice.

"But when we found Genda, Hishinuma and Mizuna put the bag on top of the induction cooker. Please check the bottom of the bag."

Ogino Ayami picked up the two bags, checked the bottom and frowned, "Both bags look intact."

"That means no one has used an induction cooker before." Guasheng Xiangzi analyzed: "It took us about 10 minutes to go out and buy things. After the induction cooker boils the water, the residual heat can probably be maintained for about 15 minutes. If it has been used, the bag should be burned."

Miwako Sato pointed at the bread on the table and asked, "Excuse me, who bought these breads?"

"I bought it." Katsumata Mizuna had tears in her eyes, "I usually like the bread from that store. Since the store is close, I usually buy it from there."

Ogino Ayami questioned, "Can we buy bread in advance?"

"I bought freshly baked bread."

"Yes, the bread is still warm." Hishinuma Kosuke reached out and touched the bread. "It looks delicious."

"But it's a pity that I didn't buy the freshly made curry bread." Guasheng Xiangzi felt a little regretful.

"That bread is the most popular and has already been sold out."

Miwako Sato looked around and said, "I see there is no microwave in the kitchen, so there is no way to heat up the bread."

Ogino Ayami looked at the box on the table and said, "Excuse me, did you buy anything, Ms. Uesugi?"

"I went to buy some ice cream." Guasheng Xiangzi recalled the scene at that time: "There is a new ice cream shop nearby. I have been there once before. People have given it good reviews."

"The ice cream inside has melted." Ogino Ayami pointed to the ice cream box on the table.

"Yes, I didn't even bother to put the ice cream away at that time. When I first bought it, it was still very cold and hadn't melted at all."

"You can also quietly put the ice cream in the refrigerator first, right?"

Hishinuma Hirosuke immediately defended himself, “Before we went out to buy things, we first confirmed what else we needed to buy, and there was no ice cream in the refrigerator at that time.

Besides, today we first gathered at the Shogi Hall and then came here together. So there was no way to put anything in this room in advance. "

"Besides, Hishinuma came here empty-handed. Mizuna and I only brought a very small handbag."

Sato Miwako crossed her arms over her chest. "In that case, it means that an outsider broke in and committed the crime. And judging from the situation, this is most likely a serial murder case?"

"Serial murder case!" the three said in unison.

Miwako Sato looked at the chessboard not far away. "After the suspected cheating player Nishikido Koharu disappeared, the police found his body with a shogi board next to his body.

Coincidentally, the shogi board next to the body of chess player Genda was only two or three hours apart from the time of the crime announcement, so it is unlikely that someone deliberately copied the crime. "

Ogino Ayami asked, "Then may I ask, do you three know any chess players from Nishikido?"

"No, I don't know him." Hishinuma Kosuke was barely able to conceal his panic this time, "We didn't have much in common with him. However, when Genda was alive, he seemed to have a good relationship with the Nishikido players."

Ogino Ayami and Sato Miwako looked at each other and detected this key point from each other's eyes.

Hishinuma Kosuke continued to talk, trying to hide his uneasiness: "Actually, this shogi study group was initiated by the shogi player Nishikido. There were four original members, namely Nishikido, Genda, Yuhei Kishimoto who recently suffered from depression, and Kinji Uekusa who became a professional shogi player at the same time as me."

"Melon?" Miwako Sato was confused.

"Ueuyu Kinji is actually Shoko's biological brother."

Haneda Hideyoshi provided a clue: "Speaking of the four of them, I have also heard about them recently. I heard that the four of them have improved their chess skills and are shining in the chess world. Their strength should not be underestimated."

Kudo Yuki realized that this case was related to the case reported in the news, "Why didn't that Nishikido player participate in the shogi study group later?"

"I think it's probably because Nishikido kept winning, so he was promoted. After the promotion, he must have wanted to play against stronger players."

Ogino Ayami frowned slightly, "Speaking of which, why did that chess player Kishimoto suffer from depression?"

"Well, that's because..." Hishinuma Kosuke's gaze moved to Uekusa Shoko, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak, with an embarrassed expression on his face.

Uesugi Shoko gradually became lost, his eyes dimmed: "I guess it has something to do with the suicide of my brother Kinji."

Sato Miwako and Ogino Ayami frowned and said in unison: "Suicide?"

"why?"

“We don’t know about this either.”

Katsumata Mizuna's tears, which she had wiped away, burst out again. "Who would have thought that Kinji would commit suicide! Because he was in super good shape at the time, winning many games in a row, he said that he would definitely be promoted soon, and he even celebrated in advance."

Uesugi Shoko added: "Mizuna was dating my brother at the time."

Miwako Sato put one hand on her waist, "Well, you don't know why he committed suicide, right?"

Guasheng Xiangzi nodded: "Yes."

"I heard that someone from the Shogi League went to look for him not long before his accident." Hishinuma Kosuke stroked his chin and thought, "I remember that it seemed that after Kinji committed suicide, Kishimoto suddenly suffered from depression. He seemed to be still brooding over Kinji's suicide."

Katsumata Mizuna looked like she was about to cry, sobbing, "Because of this, there aren't enough members for the study group."

"They called me, and then I invited the two of them." Hishinuma Kosuke also looked a little disappointed: "Since Kinji's death, I saw that the two of them have been unhappy. I invited them here in the hope that they can cheer up."

Sato Miwako and Ogino Ayami were discussing in a low voice.

"It seems that we need to find that Kishimoto player now. Maybe he knows the reason why the Uekusa player committed suicide, and the connection between that suicide case and the deaths of these two players."

"Well, maybe we can find key clues from him."

"Maybe there are more than two people." Conan looked like a little adult, his face full of solemnity: "Because there are still two feet left on the chessboard."

Hishinuma Kosuke pretended to be shocked. "You, you mean to say that someone else will be killed?"

"No."

"This can't be true."

Kudo Yuki smiled and ruffled Conan's hair: "Conan, don't make everyone panic, okay?"

"Sister Xue, I'm not talking nonsense. This is very possible."

"Okay, little detective, let's see how things develop."

Miwako Sato turned her head and looked at Hishinuma Kosuke, Katsumata Mizuna, and Uekusa Shoko. "By the way, do you know where Kishimoto's home is?"

"Well, I'm not sure about that." Hishinuma Kosuke frowned, and after a moment, he answered the question: "I only remember that he lived in a detached house with a bathhouse next to it."

"bathhouse?"

"I'll point it out and you'll know." As he spoke, Hishinuma Kosuke quickly walked to the window, pulled open the curtains, and pointed to the distance: "You should be able to see it from here, right next to the black chimney. Why is there smoke? That place is very close to Kishimoto's house."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Katsumata Mizuna and Uekusa Shoko ran to the window with panic on their faces and looked at Kishimoto Yuhei's residence.

"It's difficult. Could it be that..."

Hishinuma Kosuke diverted everyone's attention, "Is the murderer's next target Kishimoto?"

"That is why ah?"

Ogino Ayami made a prompt decision: "Hurry up, let's go there first to check the situation."

"Now please go home and wait for our notification. Pay attention to safety and don't walk around casually. You may be the next target of the murderer, so be careful." After saying that, Sato Miwako did not dare to delay for a moment and hurried away.

Kudo Yuki said worriedly: "Conan, I'm going to find out the situation, what are you going to do?"

"Sister Xue, I want to go too!"

"Okay then, but you must follow me closely and don't run around."

Conan nodded, and the brother and sister ran towards Yuhei Kishimoto's residence together.

When the two arrived, they saw Officer Gong Chang reporting the situation: "No signs of life were found on the body. The man must have died before the fire. The coroner said that the rectal temperature of the deceased did not drop much, which means that the man was likely still alive shortly before the house caught fire."

Ogino Ayami's face was solemn. "When you said shortly before the fire, did you mean after the chess player in the Beika-cho apartment was murdered?"

"Well, I heard from Megure that there was a shogi board at the crime scene in the apartment." Officer Yuminaga threw the evidence on the ground, "We also found a shogi board with three legs missing at the fire scene."

Miwako Sato looked at the shogi board on the ground and felt a little embarrassed. "It is indeed a serial murder case."

Ogino Ayami and Sato Miwako huddled together and discussed the case in low voices.

"The murderer killed the chess player Genda and then committed another crime. In this case, we will not be able to find out why the chess player Uesugi committed suicide."

"Let's look for other people who know about this."

Officer Yumio looked down and saw Conan standing beside him, looking thoughtful. He couldn't help but wonder, "Well, I want to ask, why is Conan here?"

Kudo Yuki watched very seriously, and didn't even notice when Conan walked to Officer Yumio. When she heard the question, she held her forehead helplessly and said, "Officer Yumio, Conan was brought here with me."

Officer Gong Chang shook his head helplessly: "This kid always appears at the crime scene."

Conan did not hear their conversation and was still immersed in his own thoughts.

To be continued...