Ke Xue: I picked up a bottle of sherry at the beginning.

"This is a photo saved in Haruka Nagara's phone. It's a picture of you and Haruka Nagara, right? This photo was taken two weeks before she died."

Wu Yi didn't look at her phone, her eyes were avoiding.

"You changed your glasses. However, in the photo, you were wearing red titanium-rimmed glasses, but not today."

"Glasses... I change them depending on my mood that day..."

"I checked with your colleagues at the company. You only changed your glasses after Nagara Haruka passed away."

"that is because……"

"This is what was left at the crime scene. The glass containing the iced coffee had shattered, and the floor was covered in shards of glass. There were actually other pieces of glass mixed in with it. At first glance, they looked indistinguishable from the glass fragments, so the police didn't do a close comparison. However, I had them conduct a detailed analysis, and they found that this appears to be the glass used for eyeglass lenses."

Wu Yi remained silent and just lowered her head deeply.

"Your glasses fell to the ground during the argument with Nagara Haruka. I don't know if someone stepped on them with a slipper or something else and broke them. Glass lenses are less susceptible to scratching than plastic lenses, but they are more likely to break. You used to hang out at Nagara Haruka's house often, so it's not surprising that fingerprints were left at the scene. And when you finally left, you needed to avoid leaving your fingerprints on the doorknob - a problem that is easy to solve: just borrow a pair of rubber gloves from the kitchen. However, leaving the broken glasses at the scene would be a disaster: they would become the decisive physical evidence that you were there on the day of the incident. You definitely wanted to pick up all the fragments as much as possible, but unfortunately, the glass was also broken, and the fragments of the lens and the glass were mixed together, leaving a lot of small fragments at the scene. Your eyesight is not good, so you couldn't pick up all the glasses fragments among the many broken glass pieces."

Even the forensic experts hadn't anticipated that the broken glass might contain shards of glasses. They might have examined the larger fragments for fingerprints, but they wouldn't have meticulously analyzed the smaller pieces for their components without considering the possibility of foreign matter. Furthermore, the investigation was primarily based on a home invasion and murder case, even leading to the suspect's name being identified.

Baiquan Yi stated the above facts lightly.

Mai remained silent and did not respond.

She just lowered her head, as if she had given up the defense.

"Why is this happening? You two should have a good relationship, right?"

The only thing Bai Quanyi didn't understand was the motive.

He racked his brains about this but still couldn't figure out why.

After he asked, Wuyi spoke hesitantly.

"She...always gets there first and takes away everything that belongs to me."

"Took away?"

Wu Yi lowered her head and did not answer.

However, a voice that had remained silent unexpectedly rang out.

"Excuse me, do you like Mr. Nishimura?"

Kato Megumi asked.

"How did you-"

Mai raised her head and stared at Kato Megumi in surprise.

"I can feel."

Kato Megumi replied with a hint of a smile.

Then, with a hint of sadness, she said:

"Everything you've loved since your school days has been taken away from you by Miss Nagara. However, Miss Nagara may not realize the damage she has done to you. Perhaps it's fate—your interests often overlap. For example, you joined the photography club first, and then invited Miss Nagara. She had no particular interest in photography, but she garnered everyone's attention and became a favorite. Something similar may have happened in love. You had feelings for your colleague Mr. Nishimura, but it was Miss Nagara who fell in love with him..."

"Nagara Haruka, she's always like this..."

Mai murmured, her voice trembling.

"I hated Nagara Haruka. Hated her, absolutely hated her. But I knew she had no ill intentions at all. I also knew she was genuinely good to me... But I couldn't contain my jealousy... At that time, it was... too much. She was clearly someone I liked, someone I couldn't even reach. Yet, she had to complain to me! She said a lot of bad things about Nishimura-san, saying things like 'How disgusting!'"

Since Mai had taken the next day off, she went to Nagara Haruka's house that evening to talk to her about Nishimura, ostensibly under the pretext of watching a TV show together. Nagara Haruka had an important appointment the next morning, so she was initially reluctant. But she eventually relented, saying that if Mai could help clean up the house, it would be fine. Unexpectedly, before Mai could even mention Nishimura, Nagara Haruka launched into a conversation about how disgusting he was...

"So, I don't know why, but I started yelling... I wanted to leave, but Nagara Haruka held me back, so I pushed her away..."

Furious, Mai slapped Nagara Haruka. Nagara Haruka seemed to slap Mai back. At that moment, her glasses fell off, causing Mai's remaining rationality to vanish. The two began to fight, and the emotions that had been pent up inside Mai for years swelled and burst.

"I want to end it all. If she didn't exist in this world... then I would be free—suddenly, I felt as if someone was whispering this in my ear..."

Shiraizumi Mashi and Kato Megumi remained silent for a long moment, watching Mai, who was sobbing with her head bowed. When she finished speaking, a suffocating silence filled the air. Shiraizumi Mashi gave a look to Chongba, who was sitting at the next table, waiting for his chance.

Zhong Ba stepped forward and expressed his intention to cooperate with the investigation to Mai.

Mai nodded. She stood up quietly, bowed to Shiraizumi Masaru, and was then led out of the store by Zhongba.

There were only two people left in the store.

"Just now...you mentioned Mai's emotional issues. Was that a psychic vision?"

"Yes," Kato Megumi nodded, "very similar. Her aura is very similar to Miss Nagara's... almost like sisters."

But this tragedy happened precisely because of the extreme homogeneity between the two people.

What does Nagara Haruka think of Mai?

Unfortunately, there is no way to know the thoughts of the dead.

Bai Quanyi could only imagine what the unfortunate incident that happened at that time was like.

In Mai's heart, there was an emotion so strong that it was about to explode, but this emotion was suppressed only by the self-control called "friendship". Perhaps the mourner saw the soul corroded by hatred and foresaw the danger.

mourners——

This image flashed through Bai Quanyi's mind, making him feel a little uneasy.

Is Bai Quanyi and others’ explanation correct?

According to Kato Megumi, she can sense the malice of souls or the intention to harm others.

However, there are still people in this world who can kill others without any malicious intent.

Bai Quanyi knew this kind of horror too well.

What if, from ancient times until now, there has been an evil spirit that kills people without any emotion, simply by cursing...

Then wasn't Haruka Nagara killed by this terrifying existence?

Suppose the evil spirit pushed Wu Yi and whispered a few words in her ear——

If that horrible being still roams the world, searching for its next victim...

"Speaking of which, Officer, you're quite impressive to have noticed the glasses."

"...Ah, it was a coincidence."

Bai Quanyi brushed away the wandering thoughts in his mind.

This idea is so stupid.

Because no one can verify it.

So Shiraizumi Masu explained his reasoning process to Kato Megumi.

Nagara Haruka once had a last glimpse of herself in front of Kato Megumi and said, "What is that girl looking for?"

If the murderer were a man, she would never have mentioned the word "girl." Consistent with Kato Megumi's spiritual resonance, the murderer was undoubtedly a woman. As for what that person was searching for—Nagara Haruka, speaking through Kato Megumi's mouth, had collapsed to the floor before her death. Her eyes were open, and her gaze was fixed on the shattered glass. Therefore, what the murderer was looking for was right there. This also aligns with Kato Megumi's vision of a woman squatting on the ground.

However, the murderer was definitely not looking for the broken glass. What if the object she was looking for was mixed in with the broken glass?

Undoubtedly, among Haruka Nagara’s female friends, besides Mai, there are many who also wear glasses. However, the murderer did not take away the calendar that was sticking out of a corner of Haruka Nagara’s handbag. If she had made an appointment with friends to play together in advance, Haruka Nagara would have definitely written it down in the calendar. If there was a record of that day in the calendar, the police would have regarded the other party as an important reference person, but they had not heard of this. If the record had been deliberately modified by someone, the police would have noticed it. In other words, the murderer was very likely to have called Haruka Nagara on the night of the incident, and the friend who suddenly visited her was an uninvited guest. The iced coffee was served before the murder, but it was not detected in the stomach of the deceased, which means that Haruka Nagara died before drinking the coffee, or she only drank a little bit, and the amount was too small to be detected.

Mai is one of Haruka Nagara's girlfriends who wears glasses, and she is also the only person who called her before the incident.

Kato Megumi's vision cannot be used as evidence.

However, Bai Quanyi might be able to find the physical evidence he needs through her clairvoyance.

"Thank you so much, officer."

Kato Megumi unexpectedly thanked him.

Shiraizumi thought, "I should be the one to say thank you." He glanced at Kato Megumi.

"I...I've always hoped that I could use Nagara Haruka's ability to find the murderer, so that I can feel at peace."

She shrank her body into a small size and lowered her head.

"Ms. Kato's psychic abilities are very useful in handling incidents. If possible, I hope Ms. Kato can take care of me."

"police officer……"

The big emerald eyes were wide and sparkling.

Then, a shy smile crept onto her cheeks.

Kato Megumi nodded.

Haruka Nagara died in her place, and she wanted to make use of Haruka Nagara's spiritual energy as a continuation of the life of the deceased Haruka Nagara.

Suddenly, there was a crisp sound.

Kato Megumi and Shiraizumi Masu couldn't help but look towards the source of the sound.

It turned out to be the sound of the ice cubes in the iced coffee that Wu Yi ordered melting.

Bai Quanyi murmured, "Now is the best season for iced coffee."

"Yes."

Kato Megumi replied.

Bai Quanyi closed his eyes.

410. The deceased Kudo Yusaku continues to exert his remaining energy

The sun was setting in the west, and the sunlight slanted down from the mountains, causing Bai Quanyi to squint slightly.

He reached down and pulled down the sun visor in the car, glancing at the girl sitting in the passenger seat.

Kato Megumi sat there like a doll.

Her skin was as delicate as snow, her eyes as radiant as jade. Her black hair drew a gentle curve near her ears, her bangs gently curling inward. Especially now, when she was silent, she looked like a clockwork doll encased in a transparent box. However, Kato Megumi today was different from her usual clairvoyance. She didn't possess the slightest bit of detachment; instead, her body seemed a little stiff with nervousness.

Baiquan Yi turned the steering wheel and the car passed through the winding mountain road. Kato Megumi's body was pushed sideways by the centrifugal force and she let out a low scream.

"ah……"

He glanced over and saw her slender arms stretched out, tightly grasping the passenger seat handle, her armpits almost transparently white. Today, Kato Megumi wore an open-shoulder white dress, her collarbone prominent against her creamy skin, drawing particular attention.

"I'm sorry," Shiraizumi said, "Isn't this road a little scary? I will drive safely."

"Um... Sorry, I'm sorry. This is the first time I've been on a road like this..."

Kato Megumi held the handle with all her strength and whispered.

Although this mountain road is paved with asphalt, it is extremely narrow, has many bends, and has no guardrails on the roadside. If you are not careful when steering, you may fall through the bushes and onto the cliff.

"Excuse me...are you driving slower because of me?"

"It's okay, there's plenty of time," Bai Quanyi said with a smile, "Are you also afraid to ride roller coasters or something like that?"

“Well…actually I haven’t sat on it.”

"Because you're scared?"

"No, that... I haven't been to the amusement park. I don't have any... opportunities..."

Kato Megumi's voice was small and lacked confidence, which did not seem to be entirely due to the dangerous road ahead.

"Oh, if you have the chance, next time, invite Miss Eriri and go to the amusement park together, okay?"

"May I?"

A joyful sound, like the sound of a blooming flower, rang in Shiraizumi's ears. He wanted to see the expression on Kato Megumi's face, but he was afraid that if he got lost in it, he would get into a car accident.

"Well, I'm curious about Ms. Kato Megumi's reaction then. It should be very interesting."

"Don't tease me..."

Shiraizumi Yoshi took a glance and saw that Kato Megumi was still holding the handshake tightly.

"Is this really...Tokyo?"

"Well, kind of."

"Really? Teacher, you're not kidding me, are you? We've been driving for a long time, and we just passed each other by a bus... We can't even see a house. Could this be Gunma... or something like that?"

"We're still in Tokyo. Gunma is a much scarier place. I heard there are monsters there."

Kato Megumi opened her eyes wide and stared at Baiquan Yi.

"Really, really?"

It seems that he believed it.