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

Bai Quanyi took her out of the police station.

The two walked to the parking lot and got in the car.

After Shiraizumi Masu waited for Kato Megumi to sit in the passenger seat, he spoke:

"I'll go to that familiar café and think it over."

"What about me? What should I do?"

"I might have a question for you. But I'll be quiet for a while, so if you don't mind, it would be a great help if you could come with me."

"Ok!"

Kato Megumi's face lit up and she nodded.

Baiquanyi started the engine.

414. Can I ask you out next time?

In the café, the delightful aroma of coffee tickled Shiraizumi's nostrils. Besides him and Kato Megumi, there were no other customers in the shop, and the only thing he could hear was the soothing background music. Kato Megumi sat across the table, watching Shiraizumi, but not interrupting him.

In just one hour, Shiraizumi Mashi must construct logic sufficient to prove that Bessho Kosuke committed the crime.

What Shiraizumi Mashi was thinking about was Kato Megumi's dream.

That was definitely not an ordinary dream. Although there was no confirmation, I assumed it was.

The only thing that could be analyzed logically now was Kato Megumi's dream. One could only believe that something attached to Shuijingzhuang caused her to have this dream.

Shiraizumi Mashi roughly summarized the three dreams that Kato Megumi had.

1. Arimoto reached out to Kato Megumi. A dizziness washed over him, and everything in sight vanished.

2. Feeling dizzy. Biesho appears before him. Biesho reaches out to Kato Megumi. Biesho leaves.

3. Shintani reaches out to Kato Megumi. With a wave of dizziness, everything in sight vanishes. A moment later, Shintani reappears, and then she too departs.

What do these contents mean?

If it is believed to be meaningful, then what are they expressing through abstract forms?

Although the first and third dreams involve different characters, the phenomena they describe share similarities. The second dream is the only one that's different. Is it because he's the murderer?

"Ms. Kato Megumi."

Shiraizumi Mashi looked up. Kato Megumi was slightly startled, her eyes widening slightly. Her makeup was a little smudged, and her face looked like an innocent girl whose makeup had failed, which was actually a bit cute.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Did these dreams all happen in the same place? For example, did you see any background?"

"background……"

Kato Megumi frowned.

She stretched out her finger and placed it on her pink lower lip, staring into space as if she was reminiscing.

"Hmm... well, it seems like it's a place I've seen before. Oh, and I think it's probably somewhere in Shuijing Manor. All three dreams should be in the same place..."

"Ms. Kato Megumi can't move in a dream, right?"

"correct."

"Also, someone reaches out to you and seems to touch your face, but you don't feel that you are being touched..."

"Yeah, how should I put it? I feel like I've lost my external perception. I have a strange feeling, as if I've turned into some kind of object..."

"Turning into an object..."

If that's the case -

Could this be what actually happened?

Could it be that Kato Megumi saw in her dream what actually happened at Shuijingzhuang that night?

If this is the case, then these three people were in the same place and made similar actions.

Is this possible? Where and what happened to bring about this outcome?

That night, the three of them passed through the living room separately—this was their commonality. Thinking about the reasons why the three of them passed through the living room led to a natural conclusion. Piecing together the existing information, wouldn't it be logically possible to prove that Bessho was the murderer and that Shintani Yukino was innocent?

A thought flashed through Bai Quanyi's mind.

Various deductions were combined and unfolded at an astonishing speed.

Yes. That would explain the fingerprints on the mirror...

Shiraizumi knows that Bessho is the murderer. However, he must assume that other characters are the murderer and test all assumptions and possibilities.

If this can convince the mountain village.

He took out his cell phone and dialed the number in the mountain village.

"Inspector Yamamura, I need to confirm something: Is Mr. Heiyue's computer set to automatically lock after a certain period of time?"

Ten minutes later, Shancun called Baiquanyi back and got the result.

"One hour. It will automatically lock after one hour... Hey, what's on your mind? Could it be..."

The mountain village seemed to have noticed something as well.

"Yes. That leaves only one suspect."

Kato Megumi sat in her seat, looking up in astonishment at Shiraizumi Masu who was standing and talking on the phone.

Bai Quanyi didn't say anything and nodded to her.

On that day, Bessho Yukisuke was arrested.

It is said that the person involved also made a self-confession and the interrogation went smoothly.

Shiraizumi Masu drove Kato Megumi back to Tokyo.

"Bai, what kind of magic did you use?"

"The reason I used to convince Mr. Yamamura... First, I assumed that the dreams you had, Ms. Kato Megumi, were actually what happened that night. Because Ms. Kato Megumi said you were in the same place, and said it might be at Shuijingzhuang."

"Did those three people really touch my face? While I was sleeping..."

Kato Megumi's cheeks turned red, her eyebrows arched, and she looked a little embarrassed.

"No," Shiraizumi smiled. "Ms. Kato Megumi, you can't move in a dream, and even your perspective can't change, right? In that case, I'm wondering if you're 'watching' this dream like a movie or TV viewer. If so, the fixed perspective explains it. I'm thinking of an angle similar to that seen by a surveillance camera. In other words, the three people each reached out their hands toward that camera-like object and moved closer... Then, I saw you getting ready to touch up your makeup, and the origin of the name 'Sui Jing Zhuang' flashed through my mind."

"Ah! Could it be that the mirror—"

"That's right. There are old mirrors hanging everywhere in Suijingzhuang, right? And in the apparition that Ms. Shintani mentioned, there was also a woman reflected in the mirror. I also saw a woman with blue eyes in the mirror that day. Assuming that something in Suijingzhuang that caused Ms. Kato Megumi to dream is also related to the mirror - so I speculate that the scene seen in the dream is actually the perspective of something attached to the mirror -"

"Indeed...yes, yes, it's very likely. What I saw was the three of them looking in the mirror!"

"When the three of them passed through the living room, they all said they needed to use the restroom, right? Mr. Arimoto had gone to the restroom several times before, and Mr. Bessho was going to wash his bloody hands. Ms. Shintani actually went to Mr. Kurokoshi's workshop to talk, and found his body. She might have accidentally touched the splattered blood while tampering with the mail, so it can be assumed that she also washed her hands as a precaution. So, the common point between the three people is that they all used the bathroom. So it occurred to me, Ms. Kato Megumi, wasn't your dream the perspective of the bathroom mirror? It was exactly the scene of Mr. Arimoto, Mr. Bessho, and Ms. Shintani going to the bathroom one by one."

"Oh... in that case, all three of them reached out and touched the mirror? Then why?"

"Well, this is the key to the logic I'm going to talk about next. Why did all three of them reach out to touch the mirror? Moreover, every time Miss Kato Megumi would feel dizzy and then couldn't see anything. Why was that? I recalled the appearance of the washroom in Shuijingzhuang. I remember clearly that when the grandfather clock struck midnight, I happened to be washing my hands in the washroom, and I was still wondering what I would do if a female ghost appeared in the mirror in front of me... The washroom mirror was installed on the closet door. Those three people all opened and closed the closet door."

"But why did they open the closet door?"

"One, Youben went to the washroom. Youben opened the closet door and turned the mirror to the side.

2. Bieso comes to the washroom. Bieso closes the closet door and is reflected in the mirror.

3. Shintani went to the bathroom. Shintani opened the closet door and turned the mirror to the side. After a while, Shintani closed the closet door.

"Well, both Mr. Arimoto and Ms. Shintani opened their closet doors and avoided the mirror. Why is that? It's understandable if you consider what they have in common."

"I see... They are all very afraid of ghosts. They must be afraid that a ghost will suddenly appear in the mirror--"

"That's right. If you've actually experienced it, then fear is natural. What if something terrifying appeared in the mirror staring back at you... While washing your hands, the mirror before you was incredibly suggestive and frightening. Coincidentally, that mirror was attached to the closet door. As soon as the door was opened, it turned to the side, out of sight. Mr. Bessho, on the other hand, needed to examine the mirror carefully. The crime scene—Ms. Kurokoshi's studio—was the only room in the house without a mirror. Furthermore, during the murder, blood splattered everywhere. If there were blood on your face or clothes, we might notice it as you passed through the living room, so Mr. Bessho needed to check in the mirror. However, Mr. Arimoto, who had used the washroom before him, left the closet door open, so Mr. Bessho had to close it first. Therefore, Ms. Kato Megumi, your dream reflects these three people's actions."

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

"Now, everything that happened in the bathroom that night has a reasonable explanation."

"But, Bai," Kato Megumi lowered her eyebrows, feeling a little uneasy, "Now we only know the true meaning of the dream and what happened in the washroom. How can we determine who the murderer is? I still don't understand..."

“That’s entirely possible.”

Kato Megumi's eyes were blank, her expression a mixture of dullness and shock - Baiquan Yi thought that seeing her expression made all his hard work in deducing this theory worthwhile.

"Next, I need to convert the information I obtained through clairvoyance into logical reasoning. If these three people indeed acted in that order, what would happen? Can this information help with the scientific investigation? Yes, it can. Fingerprints are the key."

"fingerprint?"

"Blood and DNA were detected in the pocket of a pair of jeans he may have been wearing during the crime. There was also uncollected trash in the garbage dump near his home, among which was found a tissue containing enough blood for DNA collection. The DNA matched that of Hei Yue Atsushi. He must have stuffed the tissue he wiped the blood with into the pocket of his jeans. It's said that he didn't leave the tissue at the crime scene because he was afraid his fingerprints or skin fragments might be found.

"Is that so?" Kato Megumi suddenly realized, "What's the motive?"

"He confessed that it was that night he discovered that his ideas had been used in Heiyue's new book. He sobered up and ran to Heiyue to question him... Heiyue mocked him for his lack of talent, and he lost his mind and committed murder."

"So that's how it is..."

Kato Hui lowered her head: "Um... Bai, this time you asked me out, can I ask you out next time?"

"Of course, we are friends."

Bai Quanyi said very clearly.

415. An Lunlu is here to cause trouble again

Shiraizumi Masu and Kato Megumi's date started with taking the train.

Bai Quanyi drove to the agreed location and took the tram to go out for fun together.

This decision was made because Kato Megumi usually took the train when she went out and did not consider that Shiraizumi Masu could drive.

"Where do you want to go, Kato?" asked Shiraizumi Masu.

"Huh?" Kato suddenly realized that he was so nervous that he didn't even consider where to go for the date.

Seeing Kato Megumi's embarrassment, Shiraizumi Mashi chuckled and said, "You can go wherever you want... Shibuya? Harajuku? Ginza? Tokyo Skytree? Ueno Zoo? Or Disneyland..."

"Well, it's not good to spend too much time moving. Let's pick a place that's close and easy to play."

"Oh—that's right. Then let's just hang out somewhere around Ikebukuro?"

"Can you accompany me to the Six Days Shopping Center?"

Kato Megumi has always wanted to experience the feeling of being accompanied by her boyfriend while shopping. Although Shiraizumi Mashi is not her boyfriend, it is understandable to pretend that he is.

"Okay, no problem."

The two took the tram and arrived in a few stops.

"Huh—there are so many people here. Is it because it's summer vacation?"

"No, today just happens to be the weekend."

"Yes, Bai, will accompanying me interfere with your work?"

"It doesn't matter. Work isn't everything in life. If you think about work all the time, your life will become meaningless."

"But I haven't been here in a while. I'm really looking forward to it. How much can I finish today?"

"...It's okay. We're not in a hurry. Even if it's too late, it's okay to find a hotel."

"Eh? Shiro, suddenly mentioning the hotel, you're not thinking about that right now, are you?"

"Of course not, I'm not in that rush."

"Am I the kind of girl who can arouse boys' desire?"

"All I can say is, Kato, you're very, very cute!"

"..." Kato Megumi blushed and lowered her head. Shiraizumi Yi's words were so bold that it was definitely not something that the reserved An Lunyi could say. An Lunyi had called her these days to urge her to come over and help with the game, but she stood her up every time. I wonder if he would blame her?

"Kato, what are you thinking about?" Shiraizumi Mashi looked at Kato Megumi who was motionless and reminded her.

The Rokuten Shopping Center, with its medieval European style, is reminiscent of the tranquil appearance of the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse.

The area is divided into two major areas, north and south, with over 200 shops selling fashion, daily necessities, outdoor goods, and restaurants. The abundance of options allows you to spend a whole day there without getting bored, making it feel like a city built specifically for shopping.

At the same time... it is also a space designed for couples and families to come and live together...

"Nothing, let's go, Shiro."