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

The three suspects were brought to the crime scene one after another.

Kondo Hidemine lifted the curtain of the cubicle, peeked downstairs, and his voice instantly tightened: "Hey! The media are all gathered downstairs, they must have come because of the case! I don't want to be associated with the murder case, I'm leaving now!"

Domoto Kosuke and Nomura Rina immediately echoed, their voices betraying obvious panic:

"Then I'll... head back now."

"I'm not waiting anymore."

Kudo Yuki looked at the scene before her and felt a jarring familiarity—if Officer Takagi were here, he would probably be gently persuading them to stay.

She gripped her sleeve tightly, her brows furrowing slightly: "The three of you should give up the idea of ​​sneaking away. During the police investigation, you are not allowed to leave without permission; that's the rule."

She glanced at the three men's instantly frozen expressions, then took a half-step forward: "Are you in such a hurry to leave because you want to tip off the real culprit, or are you afraid that if you stay any longer, you'll be unable to hide anything? I'm curious, why is it that every time a case is about to be solved, there are always suspects who think of 'making a quick getaway'—do they really think they can get away with this?"

Kondo Hidemine's face instantly turned a deep shade of liver: "How can you talk like that, little girl? If I'm photographed by the media with anything related to a murder scene, what will voters think? Can you take responsibility for delaying next week's district surveys?"

Rina Nomura, once a sexy idol known for her hot figure, has been absent from television for a long time. Her heavy makeup couldn't hide the panic in her eyes, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her skirt: "I finally managed to secure a spot on the next variety show, and if I get involved in a murder case now..."

Domoto Kosuke frowned, trying to remain calm, but he still showed his fear in Kudo Yuki's eyes: "We're not the murderers, we can't help here, why waste our time?"

Seeing the three people's completely different reactions, Kudo Yuki's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and her tone softened. She first turned to Nomura Rina and handed her a tissue: "Ms. Nomura, the media only knows that there is a murder case, and does not know the identity of the suspect. The police will be responsible for keeping the news confidential and it will not affect your work."

Then he looked at Kosuke Domoto with a sincere gaze: "Mr. Domoto should be aware that every testimony at the scene, even seemingly unrelated details, could help the police find the real culprit. This is more meaningful than you rushing to leave."

Finally, her gaze fell on Kondo Hidemine, and her tone was calm yet weighty: "Congressman Kondo, you often say 'be responsible to your constituents.' Now, cooperating with the police to find out the truth and give the deceased justice is the most basic responsibility to the public, isn't it? The police won't take up too much of your time. After the investigation is over, they will also help you coordinate media communication to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."

Her words were like warm water, slowly extinguishing the three people's anxiety.

Rina Nomura took the tissue and said softly, "Thank you."

Domoto Kosuke's brow gradually relaxed, and he stopped mentioning leaving.

Kondo Hidefumi took a half step back, which was considered as tacitly agreeing to stay.

Seeing this, Kudo Yuki gave Ogino Ayami behind her a wink and said softly, "It won't take up too much of your time."

Ayami Ogino stepped forward, her tone gentle yet scrutinizing: "When Mr. Ogasawara's body was discovered, there were three people present—Ms. Rina Nomura, who lived in the same room; Mr. Hideaki Kondo, who was blackmailed by him with photos and had been invited here; and Mr. Kosuke Domoto, who was also blackmailed with photos. I have a few more questions to verify with you all."

Inspector Megure slowly began, "If this is a murder case, all three of you will be suspects."

The three men instantly showed expressions of shock and asked in unison, "Murder?!"

"Please recall all the details from the time of the incident to the present. Only by working together can we accelerate the investigation," Kudo Yuki added at the opportune moment.

Kondo Hidemine recalled the earlier scene: "Reporter Ogasawara said she needed to go back to her room to get her forgotten phone, and used her room card to open the door and come in, right?"

Domoto Kosuke suddenly steered the conversation toward Nomura Rina, his tone deliberately suggestive: "He didn't come out after he went in. It was Miss Nomura who used the spare key card to open the door and check, and found him lying next to the cabinet with a broken jar beside him, right?"

"Isn't this an accident? Maybe the cabinet shook and the jar fell and hit his head," Rina Nomura concluded immediately.

“But some details don’t make sense,” Ayami Ogino pointed out the suspicious points. “The corpse’s hand was tightly gripping the wheel of the chair leg, and there was a calculator inexplicably placed next to it. There are still many mysteries that haven’t been solved.”

Inspector Megure frowned and added, "More importantly, the 'O' written in blood on the calculator, and the string of numbers that followed it, no one has been able to figure out what it means."

"What do these numbers mean?" Domoto Kosuke asked, feigning doubt.

"Perhaps it's just something to distract reporter Ogasawara?" Kondo Hidemine guessed, frowning.

Domoto Kosuke's eyes lit up, and following up on this, he pointed the finger directly at Nomura Rina: "Could it be that someone set a device in advance, so that when he bent down to pick up the calculator on the ground, the can would fall and hit him?"

"Are you saying I arranged this on purpose?" Nomura Rina asked with displeasure.

“No, that string of numbers isn’t the method of the crime. It’s a death message left by Mr. Ogasawara when he was dying, used to identify the murderer.” Sera Masumi suddenly interrupted, “And it’s a clue left for me, the detective.”

"A detective?!" Kondo Hidemine and Domoto Kosuke were both stunned, clearly not expecting this identity.

Seeing that she had been cleared of suspicion, Nomura Rina stopped arguing and stood quietly to the side.

Seeing that Kudo Yuki had no intention of speaking, Sera Masumi continued to explain, "Mr. Ogasawara also left clues for interpreting the information."

“A hint? Could it be…” Ayami Ogino’s gaze unconsciously fell on the corpse.

"Is it the way he was gripping the chair leg?" Inspector Megure guessed, following her train of thought.

“That’s right, but he wasn’t grabbing the chair leg, he was grabbing the tire of the roller.” Sera Masumi revealed the key point, “He had a lot of complaints when he saw the tires of my motorcycle before.”

"But what is the connection between the tires and the numbers on the calculator?" Inspector Megure was still puzzled.

Kudo Yuki pointed out the key point at the right moment: "I remember that numbers and codes are marked on tires!"

Sera Masumi nodded and explained further: "That's true. For example, my motorcycle's front tire is marked '54S'. '54' is the load-bearing index, which means the maximum load is 212 kilograms; 'S' is the speed mark, which means that if the speed exceeds 180 kilometers per hour, the tire may cause an accident due to damage."

"If you interpret the numbers on the calculator using speed notation, and remove the 'O' written in blood at the beginning, '50' corresponds to 'B', '5' corresponds to 'A1' (i.e. 'A'), '110' corresponds to 'K', and '70' corresponds to 'E'. The 'O' at the beginning is a letter that is not in speed notation, and it was deliberately written in blood to complete the information."

She paused for a moment, then said, word by word, "Put it all together and it's 'Obake'—in hotel terminology, that refers to 'a guest who insists on having a reservation but hasn't made one and forces their way in,' right?"

“Yes!” Ayami Ogino immediately realized, “The person who had a dispute about this issue at the hotel front desk was none other than Mr. Kosuke Domoto!”

Rina Nomura and Hideaki Kondo both turned their gazes to Kosuke Domoto instantly.

"Hey, hey, that's too far-fetched!" Domoto Kosuke hurriedly retorted, "I came to this room after the body was discovered, how could I be the murderer?"

Sera Masumi pressed on: "So, could it be that you were pretending to leave, but actually hiding in your room the whole time?"

"Pretend to leave? How is that even possible?" Domoto Kosuke was still unconvinced and turned to Nomura Rina. "Didn't you see me open the door and walk out with your own eyes?"

“Yes, I saw it.” Nomura Rina nodded.

Domoto Kosuke thought he had grasped a lifeline and a sly smile appeared on his face: "The hotel room door locks automatically. Once you go out, there's no way you can sneak back!"

“A business card will suffice.” Conan looked up at Ayami Ogino from behind him. “Officer Ogino, did you bring your business cards? I can demonstrate for everyone—if you slip a business card under the door, it won’t lock.”

"I brought it." Ayami Ogino took out her business card and handed it over.

Conan held the business card in one hand and gripped the doorknob with the other, his fingertips lightly tapping the lock: "When leaving through this door, tuck the business card into the latch like this before closing the door."

With a soft "click," he pushed the door open with a little force, revealing a business card with a slight crease: "See, the door wasn't locked at all. That's the same trick they used in the spy movie last time, which is why the business card was squeezed and deformed a bit."

Inspector Megure's gaze darkened, and his tone became more probing: "So, Mr. Domoto, isn't that business card you're wearing twisted like this too?"

"No, no!" Domoto clenched his fist tightly, his other thumb unconsciously pointing at Nomura Rina behind him, his voice strained, "Even if I could sneak in this way, where could I hide?"

He forced a calm expression and spread his hands, his gaze sweeping across the room: "Mr. Ogasawara and this young lady were both in the room at the time. No matter where they hid, the chances of them being discovered were too high, right?"

“It’s perfume,” Kudo Yuki suddenly said, her eyes falling on his bag. “Of the four or five bottles of perfume you carry, at least one should come in handy, right?”

Domoto Kosuke's face instantly turned pale: "Fragrance? I just... I just like collecting things, what does that have to do with this case?"

“Of course it’s related.” Kudo Yuki’s gaze lingered on the perfumes. “There should be one of these that smells like a fart, right?”

Domoto Kosuke's fingers tightened suddenly, and his voice trembled: "What nonsense are you talking about! I didn't do it at all!"

"You said you had an upset stomach before you left and borrowed the bathroom with a shower, right?" Sera Masumi stepped forward, her eyes fixed on him.

"After you secretly returned, you didn't hide anywhere else—you hid in the bathtub in the bathroom and even sprayed that stinky perfume on yourself. As long as the smell in the bathroom is strong enough, even if someone wants to come in, they'll hesitate because of the stench, and you'll be safe. Besides, there's another bathroom in this room, who would deliberately go to a smelly bathroom?"

"That's right!" Nomura Rina realized, her eyes becoming more wary as she looked at Domoto. "No wonder I smelled a strange odor when I tried to use the bathroom before leaving, so I didn't use it. It turns out you were the one who did it!"

Sera Masumi then proceeded to recount the entire crime, her tone leaving no room for argument: "Your plan was actually quite simple: you had already figured out that Ogasawara always forgot his personal cell phone, so you pretended to leave by using a business card to block the door, and then secretly returned and hid in the bathtub."

"I originally planned to steal his phone containing the blackmail photos when he went to dinner with us and run away. But you didn't expect that Ogasawara would discover the phone was missing faster than anticipated, and he came back shortly after leaving."

“You can only hurriedly hide in the bathroom, but he has two cell phones—as long as he uses the other one to call his own cell phone, once it rings, he can find you no matter where you are hiding.”

After being discovered, you two started fighting, and you hit him on the head with a jar from the cabinet..." Sera Masumi paused, her gaze sweeping over the marks on the floor.

"You originally wanted to escape immediately, but as soon as you got to the door, you heard our conversation outside waiting for him. Knowing you couldn't get away, you could only hide behind the door, hoping to slip away when we were distracted by the corpse. But just then, Mr. Kondo walked this way, and you had no choice but to pretend to have just arrived and sneak in. Is there anything wrong with what I'm saying?"

"I see!" Inspector Megure suddenly realized, his gaze towards Domoto turning completely cold. "Your haste to hide behind the door gave Mr. Ogasawara the opportunity to leave a message of his death!"

"Where's the evidence? What evidence do you have!" Domoto Kosuke suddenly raised his voice, as if grasping at the last straw. "These are all just your speculations! There's no evidence to prove that I did it!"

He frantically pulled the foul-smelling perfume from his pocket, forcing a stiff, awkward smile: "I... I did bring this, but it was a prank toy given to me by the hotel staff, I didn't use it to hide anyone!"

He then abruptly turned to look at Rina Nomura, his tone pleading: "Miss Rina, did you smell a foul odor in the bathroom just now?"

"N-nothing..." Nomura Rina was startled by his appearance and subconsciously shook her head.

Domoto Kosuke stuffed the perfume back into his pocket, took a step back, and made a gesture as if he was about to leave: "Look! Nobody smelled anything! I wasn't lying! This was all a misunderstanding. I'm going back now—my manager keeps calling me, I can't afford to be late."

He showed his phone, and the screen indeed displayed a caller ID from his "agent": "Officer, could you please explain the situation to my agent so he doesn't worry?"

"But why didn't you answer the phone?" Conan suddenly looked up and asked in a childlike, innocent tone, but his eyes held a sly glint.

Domoto Kosuke's heart skipped a beat, a sense of crisis rising within him. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "I... I was just about to answer it, wasn't I?"

To be continued...