Transmigrated into Conan, his ability is Rhodes Island

After Matsuda Jinpei finished speaking, the group fell into a long silence.

A strong sense of déjà vu washed over him, and Akihara Kazumitsu felt that this was a perfect spot to follow up with a "disagreement," but this wasn't the game "Reverse ***" and he wasn't the same person he used to be, so he ultimately managed to control himself.

"A very ingenious conjecture." Akihara Kazumitsu calmed himself down and broke the silence by applauding. "Although there are still some shortcomings and some doubts that have not been resolved, it is generally plausible."

Kenji Hagiwara nodded knowingly and said, "For example, why did the anhydrous ethanol purchased by the victim end up in the storage room, while the camera located between the storage room and the crime scene didn't capture anything?"

"Regarding this, do you remember the surveillance footage we saw? Regardless of whether the murderer tampered with it, just considering the manual tape switching, we have no idea whether anything happened between the tapes that we didn't see."

Matsuda Jinpei paused, giving everyone time to think. "Moreover, there are blurry and blank areas in the footage, so we can't rule out the possibility that the murderer tampered with the videotape."

"So, in your conjecture, you've already concluded that the cause of Yokoyama Jiro's death was the anhydrous ethanol he bought himself?" Akihara Kazumitsu asked.

"What do you want to say?" Matsuda Jinpei frowned slightly.

"Why didn't the murderer take the bottle away from the scene? Instead, they left it in the storage room. This coincidence seems to be deliberately leading us to think in this direction." Akihara shrugged.

“While I’d love to answer you with ‘it was the killer’s oversight,’ there’s another explanation: that place was actually one of the crime scenes. Smoke detectors are connected to fire extinguishers, and the killer was there, using a nearby plastic bucket, to prepare the alcohol solution to aid combustion…”

Akihara raised his hand to interrupt Matsuda Jinpei's reasoning. "Unfortunately, when I got that bottle of anhydrous ethanol, I estimated its remaining amount. The amount that had already been consumed was completely insufficient to support a combustion lasting thirty or forty minutes, and further dilution would not be possible."

Matsuda Jinpei was taken aback. He took a deep breath, recalling the details he had overlooked, and ultimately changed his story. "Okay, then it's also possible... that this bottle of anhydrous ethanol is actually unrelated to the case, and that the murderer used something he brought himself, which would reduce the risk of his criminal plan."

"Then the question comes full circle. Why was the victim's anhydrous ethanol found in the storage room?"

Silence, then another silence.

Matsuda Jinpei rubbed his temples in frustration, unable to think of an answer to Akihara Kazumitsu's question.

"In any case, let's first find out who has the best chance of tampering with the smoke detector threshold and the fire water tank. Maybe once we find the suspect, all the problems will be solved." Matsuda Jinpei finally gave up thinking about it.

……

11:00 pm

Akihara Kazumitsu consciously found a chair that looked quite comfortable—most likely belonging to an old security guard or cleaner in the underground parking lot—and buried himself in it, half-closing his eyes and beginning to rest.

Unlike him, the three from the police academy group became more and more energetic as the investigation progressed. Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda were one thing, but even Wataru Date, who had been working overtime for a week, was full of energy.

I don't understand, but I respect it. Is the police academy actually a fertile ground for producing high-earning professionals like Babeng? Akihara Kazumitsu thought to himself, then turned over and adjusted to a more comfortable position.

Understand Kogoro Mouri, and transcend Kogoro Mouri.

The three of them had just reported to the head of the First Investigation Division, who immediately helped summon the supermarket manager—this poor unlucky guy kept wiping his sweat, forcing himself to answer the police's questions, and finally started calling in all the suspects one by one.

The sweat pouring down his face was so intense that even Akihara Kazumitsu, who was resting nearby, couldn't bear to look at him. He even wanted to go up to him and remind him to get checked out if he had hyperthyroidism or diabetes.

Speaking of which...

Akihara Kazumitsu withdrew his gaze from the person in charge and turned his attention to Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei, who were talking to each other with their heads down.

Just like how wherever Phantom Thief Kid goes, there are always antiques and large gems, or how wherever Detective Dee goes, there are always dead people, locked rooms, kidnappings, and eight eggs (bombs), and now that there are two bomb disposal police officers here, I always have the illusion that there are still bombs buried at the scene.

Thinking of this, he silently moved the chair a little further away.

system:……

"If there really is a bomb, what's the point of you moving those few steps?"

Akihara Kazumitsu closed his eyes again. "It's psychological, thank you."

The system seemed somewhat speechless: "...Speaking of which, do you really have no thoughts of your own regarding this case?"

Akihara Kazuhiro's eyelashes fluttered slightly, but he still didn't open his eyes. "Yes."

The system pressed further, "Then why..."

"Because I've always been curious about how the police solved cases when the detectives—like our protagonist, like Osaka Kuroki, and like Hakuba Saguru—were still young."

System: ...Don't be like that, our police aren't just like Misao Yamamura and Inspector Megure who only knows how to recruit "brothers"...

“Okay, I was just kidding.” Qiu Yuan said seriously in the consciousness space, “Is it possible that the deceased was actually a cultist, a guy who believed in mystical doctrines? He took out cigarettes, a lighter, and a money bag to pray to some unknown being… and he succeeded, summoning the power of the unknown being, but his body couldn’t withstand this power…”

The system shuddered. "Wait, wait a minute, this is the Conan set! Didn't you say yourself? We have to believe in science!"

"Wow, Hai Si and Dionysus have already appeared, is it strange that another evil god is coming?"

Seeing the system's face turn into Edward Munch's scream in fright, Akihara Kazuhiro chuckled: "Just kidding."

The system trembled: "Who knows which of your statements are true and which are false? What if even 'I was just kidding' is a lie?"

Akihara curled the corners of his lips. "Alright, I really won't tease you this time. I do have some guesses, but like Matsuda Jinpei just now, they're all baseless until we find evidence. To avoid being proven wrong, I'll keep quiet for now. But I can assure you, there are no supernatural elements in this case."

He leaned back, waving the photos of the scene in his hand, some of which he had circled. He said smugly, "Just wait, if I'm not mistaken, the evidence will probably arrive soon."