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With the two facing each other, Lark stood alone, not listening to them recount Matsuda Jinpei's story again. He gazed distractedly at Shiratori Ninzaburo's car, recalling the plot details he could remember clearly.
Soon, Shiratori Ninzaburo would be injured by an explosion, carrying out a piece of paper with a bomb prediction code written on it.
When he watched this plot point before, he hadn't noticed a detail – the explosion nearly killed Shiratori Ninzaburo directly and was powerful enough to destroy that note. If the culprit wanted the police to see the code on the note and be led in circles by him, how did the culprit ensure the note wouldn't be destroyed by the blast?
Was it enough for Shiratori Ninzaburo to just see it? No, the culprit wanted Shiratori Ninzaburo dead. It wasn't enough for just Shiratori Ninzaburo to see it. It would be best for the police to find the note on Shiratori Ninzaburo's corpse, using such a bloody opening to announce his revenge had arrived again. Only this would align with the culprit's desire for retribution.
Was the culprit watching them from nearby, waiting for Shiratori Ninzaburo to peel off the note stuck to the inside of the car, above the windshield, and put it in his pocket, before detonating the bomb? That didn't make sense.
What if, after seeing the note, Shiratori Ninzaburo didn't peel it off or put it in his pocket, but instead drove directly back to Police Headquarters to report it? Would the culprit detonate the bomb or not?
If he detonated it, the note would be destroyed. If he didn't, watching Shiratori Ninzaburo leave would be a huge loss. Too many variables.
Moreover, Shiratori Ninzaburo hadn't found the note on the car when he drove over, and had been chatting with Takagi Wataru next to the car ever since. Under the noses of two police officers, it was already difficult enough for the culprit to place the bomb and stick the note. After setting everything up, he should have stayed far away, not lingering at close range to avoid arousing police attention and suspicion.
This meant the trigger point for the bomb's detonation was very likely on that piece of paper!
Perhaps it was a small mechanism or an electrical/ignition device that, after Shiratori Ninzaburo peeled off the note and put it in his pocket, met the trigger condition, and was then manually detonated by the culprit or automatically detonated due to the trigger.
Nothing would happen if he didn't peel off the note? No, even if he didn't peel off the note, if Shiratori Ninzaburo discovered it, he would call his superior to inform them. At the same time, Sato Miwako might also come over. Once the announcement of retribution's arrival, i.e., the content of the note, was transmitted to Police Headquarters, that note would become useless. The culprit could then manually detonate the bomb, killing everyone near the car.
Setting aside positions, he somewhat admired this culprit; killing someone while destroying their spirit was the best revenge. However, their positions were different. To help little undercover agent Amuro vent some frustration, he also wanted to try a psychological battle.
For example, now that he had discovered a certain trigger point for the bomb, he could set a small goal: deduce the bomb's location based on the trigger point, sneak over, dismantle the bomb, and ensure the culprit couldn't detonate anyone this time, or none of the bombs would explode...
Perhaps it wouldn't reach the level of destroying the culprit's spirit, but it should make the culprit furious.
"Master..."
While Lark was trying to deduce the bomb's placement based on the trigger point and general bomb-making principles, Hissashi, hidden under his clothes, suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Near Officer Shiratori's rear wheel, someone is hiding behind it. He quietly opened the rear car door. He put something like a box inside..."
Lark looked and found that from this angle, he indeed couldn't see the culprit.
But the two police officers leaning against the car were so engrossed in chatting that they didn't even notice someone getting to the back of the car. Weren't they a bit too lax?
Hissashi used his heat vision to observe the figure behind the car, providing a running commentary, "He seems to be pulling something, it's very thin... It must be a wire. I see him take paper out of his pocket... He's sticking the paper now. He even prepared tape and scissors? Looks like he came prepared! Good, he's finished sticking the paper. It's very hidden! His movements are very concealed! We see that the two officers still haven't noticed his actions, and even with Officer Shiratori blocking the view, we can't see anyone there with the naked eye... He's pulling the wire! He's pulled the wire under that piece of paper..."
Lark: "..."
Hissashi was indulging in his commentary addiction again.
"He quietly closed the car door, stood up straight, and walked away pretending to be a passerby. He's too composed! A remarkable criminal mindset!" Hissashi sighed, "It's regrettable that our officers still failed to notice his little actions."
The middle-aged man who walked past the car was tall and thin, wearing a gray suit, black-rimmed glasses, with a lean face, a clean-shaven beard, and neatly combed hair. He looked just like an ordinary office worker.
This was a criminal that not even the culprit silhouette would shelter; Lark had seen his appearance clearly.
Lark quickly observed, then quickly withdrew his gaze without looking further, worried the other party would notice. He looked at the crow perched on a shop sign on the opposite street, slowly mouthed the word "follow", and then looked back at the man's retreating figure.
He still wanted to see how frustrated he could make this culprit. Before that, it was best not to let the police catch him.
However, it was probably best to have the crow follow, in case of any accidents.
That crow tilted its head to look at the man, understood, flapped its wings and flew into the sky, following the man from a distance as he left.
Hissashi was immersed in his own commentary world and paid no attention to the crow that had followed. "Now, if Master doesn't intervene, I'm afraid someone will be in danger! Will it be the two officers in front of the car, Officer Sato who is over there testifying with the children, or will it be our lovely children? So, will my esteemed Master step in to help..."
"Officer Shiratori." Lark spoke, interrupting Hissashi's increasingly loud voice in his ear.
Shiratori Ninzaburo was discussing which junior classmate was suitable for Lark with Takagi Wataru. Called out like that, he suppressed his inner guilt and looked up, "Ahem, Mr. Ike, is something the matter?"
Lark walked closer to Shiratori Ninzaburo and Takagi Wataru, glanced into the car, and lowered his voice to ask, "Keep your voices down. Do you have bomb disposal tools in your car? If not, how quickly can you get some?"
Seeing Lark's extremely serious expression, Shiratori Ninzaburo's heart tightened. He pulled back Takagi Wataru, who was about to ask a question, and likewise lowered his voice, getting straight to the point, "I don't have any tools. If I notify Police Headquarters now, the Explosives Disposal Unit will arrive in about 15 minutes."
"The bomb is under your rear seat. I'm not sure if there are listening devices, and I'm not sure if the culprit can see this area. If the Explosives Disposal Unit arrives, the culprit might detonate the bomb prematurely. We can't make any rash moves now," Lark said in a very low voice, quickly, "And we don't know when the culprit will detonate the bomb. You two provide cover for me, try to block the view so I can get into the rear seat. I'll assess the situation first."
"No!" Shiratori Ninzaburo kept his voice strictly low and frowned, "If anyone goes, it should be Takagi and I."
"You don't understand bomb structures, I understand a little, at least I won't carelessly trigger something and cause the bomb to detonate," Lark said, "Officer Takagi, you'll run to the opposite street in a bit and shout something..."
With the plan laid out, Shiratori Ninzaburo and Takagi Wataru could only agree to comply.
Just as Lark said, they didn't understand bomb structures.
The premise was...
"Mr. Ike, how did you know there was a bomb in my car?" Shiratori Ninzaburo asked in a low, puzzled voice.
"From my angle, I could just see the seat cushion of your rear seat. I suddenly noticed that the cushion in your rear seat had been moved. The bottom right corner was about 1 centimeter off from the distance to the car door, and a thin wire was pulled to the front seat," Lark didn't lie. Without Hissashi, he could still determine the bomb's location by observation, in addition to using bomb-making principles. "Also, from where I'm standing now, I can see paper stuck to the windshield in your front seat. I can't see the whole content clearly, but what I can see is... of the... game has begun... Don't forget, today is November 7th."
Takagi Wataru and Shiratori Ninzaburo's expressions changed slightly. Just as they were about to turn their heads to look into the car, Lark pressed their heads and forcibly twisted them back around.
Takagi Wataru: "..."
Shiratori Ninzaburo: "..."
"Don't look. If this is the culprit from three years ago targeting the police, he hasn't detonated the bomb yet. Perhaps he wants you to convey the news of his appearance and the contents of the paper back to Police Headquarters. Once you see it, he'll be suspicious if you don't react, and if you react, it's bound to be calling Police Headquarters. He might then detonate the bomb directly." Lark said quickly in a low voice, walking between the two. He also turned his back to the car, took out his phone, held it up to his shoulder, seemingly sharing content from his phone with the two. But the phone screen was black, and through the gap between Lark's and Shiratori Ninzaburo's shoulders, it reflected the paper stuck to the front car window onto the screen. "The lighting is good right now, but it's still a bit blurry."
Moreover, the phone wasn't a large-screen smartphone, and the screen wasn't big enough, so it couldn't reflect much content.
Shiratori Ninzaburo didn't turn around, his back to the car, looking at Lark's phone, trying hard to discern the blurry words reflected on it, muttering, "I am a great... league..."
It wasn't just a bit blurry, he was almost going blind trying to see!
But he also knew that the current lighting and the angle Lark chose were already good enough; otherwise, even the words might not be reflected.
He was grateful that Lark's phone screen was brand new and wiped clean enough, without large scratches.
Lark tilted the phone slightly.
"ball... player?" Shiratori Ninzaburo continued trying to discern, "in the..."
From Takagi Wataru's angle, he couldn't see the words on the phone screen, but he didn't turn around casually either, a cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The three of them were now likely standing with their backs to a bomb. If Lark's deduction was wrong, and the culprit wasn't trying to get them to convey a message, but rather used a timer or something else, they might be reduced to dust in the next second.
But he had to admit, sticking a note in the car was definitely meant for people to see. Lark was right; if they didn't look, they were temporarily safe.
Of course, he hoped even more that Lark's initial deduction was wrong, that this had nothing to do with a bomb, but was just someone's prank...
Time passed second by second. Shiratori Ninzaburo tried hard to distinguish the words for nearly two minutes, and there were still some words with complex strokes that he couldn't make out clearly. But combined with the part Lark saw from his previous angle, it was enough to make his face turn pale.
[I am among the great league... players... The overtime has begun!]
It was very similar to the content of the fax the culprit sent to Police Headquarters three years ago!
End of Chapter
Soon, Shiratori Ninzaburo would be injured by an explosion, carrying out a piece of paper with a bomb prediction code written on it.
When he watched this plot point before, he hadn't noticed a detail – the explosion nearly killed Shiratori Ninzaburo directly and was powerful enough to destroy that note. If the culprit wanted the police to see the code on the note and be led in circles by him, how did the culprit ensure the note wouldn't be destroyed by the blast?
Was it enough for Shiratori Ninzaburo to just see it? No, the culprit wanted Shiratori Ninzaburo dead. It wasn't enough for just Shiratori Ninzaburo to see it. It would be best for the police to find the note on Shiratori Ninzaburo's corpse, using such a bloody opening to announce his revenge had arrived again. Only this would align with the culprit's desire for retribution.
Was the culprit watching them from nearby, waiting for Shiratori Ninzaburo to peel off the note stuck to the inside of the car, above the windshield, and put it in his pocket, before detonating the bomb? That didn't make sense.
What if, after seeing the note, Shiratori Ninzaburo didn't peel it off or put it in his pocket, but instead drove directly back to Police Headquarters to report it? Would the culprit detonate the bomb or not?
If he detonated it, the note would be destroyed. If he didn't, watching Shiratori Ninzaburo leave would be a huge loss. Too many variables.
Moreover, Shiratori Ninzaburo hadn't found the note on the car when he drove over, and had been chatting with Takagi Wataru next to the car ever since. Under the noses of two police officers, it was already difficult enough for the culprit to place the bomb and stick the note. After setting everything up, he should have stayed far away, not lingering at close range to avoid arousing police attention and suspicion.
This meant the trigger point for the bomb's detonation was very likely on that piece of paper!
Perhaps it was a small mechanism or an electrical/ignition device that, after Shiratori Ninzaburo peeled off the note and put it in his pocket, met the trigger condition, and was then manually detonated by the culprit or automatically detonated due to the trigger.
Nothing would happen if he didn't peel off the note? No, even if he didn't peel off the note, if Shiratori Ninzaburo discovered it, he would call his superior to inform them. At the same time, Sato Miwako might also come over. Once the announcement of retribution's arrival, i.e., the content of the note, was transmitted to Police Headquarters, that note would become useless. The culprit could then manually detonate the bomb, killing everyone near the car.
Setting aside positions, he somewhat admired this culprit; killing someone while destroying their spirit was the best revenge. However, their positions were different. To help little undercover agent Amuro vent some frustration, he also wanted to try a psychological battle.
For example, now that he had discovered a certain trigger point for the bomb, he could set a small goal: deduce the bomb's location based on the trigger point, sneak over, dismantle the bomb, and ensure the culprit couldn't detonate anyone this time, or none of the bombs would explode...
Perhaps it wouldn't reach the level of destroying the culprit's spirit, but it should make the culprit furious.
"Master..."
While Lark was trying to deduce the bomb's placement based on the trigger point and general bomb-making principles, Hissashi, hidden under his clothes, suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Near Officer Shiratori's rear wheel, someone is hiding behind it. He quietly opened the rear car door. He put something like a box inside..."
Lark looked and found that from this angle, he indeed couldn't see the culprit.
But the two police officers leaning against the car were so engrossed in chatting that they didn't even notice someone getting to the back of the car. Weren't they a bit too lax?
Hissashi used his heat vision to observe the figure behind the car, providing a running commentary, "He seems to be pulling something, it's very thin... It must be a wire. I see him take paper out of his pocket... He's sticking the paper now. He even prepared tape and scissors? Looks like he came prepared! Good, he's finished sticking the paper. It's very hidden! His movements are very concealed! We see that the two officers still haven't noticed his actions, and even with Officer Shiratori blocking the view, we can't see anyone there with the naked eye... He's pulling the wire! He's pulled the wire under that piece of paper..."
Lark: "..."
Hissashi was indulging in his commentary addiction again.
"He quietly closed the car door, stood up straight, and walked away pretending to be a passerby. He's too composed! A remarkable criminal mindset!" Hissashi sighed, "It's regrettable that our officers still failed to notice his little actions."
The middle-aged man who walked past the car was tall and thin, wearing a gray suit, black-rimmed glasses, with a lean face, a clean-shaven beard, and neatly combed hair. He looked just like an ordinary office worker.
This was a criminal that not even the culprit silhouette would shelter; Lark had seen his appearance clearly.
Lark quickly observed, then quickly withdrew his gaze without looking further, worried the other party would notice. He looked at the crow perched on a shop sign on the opposite street, slowly mouthed the word "follow", and then looked back at the man's retreating figure.
He still wanted to see how frustrated he could make this culprit. Before that, it was best not to let the police catch him.
However, it was probably best to have the crow follow, in case of any accidents.
That crow tilted its head to look at the man, understood, flapped its wings and flew into the sky, following the man from a distance as he left.
Hissashi was immersed in his own commentary world and paid no attention to the crow that had followed. "Now, if Master doesn't intervene, I'm afraid someone will be in danger! Will it be the two officers in front of the car, Officer Sato who is over there testifying with the children, or will it be our lovely children? So, will my esteemed Master step in to help..."
"Officer Shiratori." Lark spoke, interrupting Hissashi's increasingly loud voice in his ear.
Shiratori Ninzaburo was discussing which junior classmate was suitable for Lark with Takagi Wataru. Called out like that, he suppressed his inner guilt and looked up, "Ahem, Mr. Ike, is something the matter?"
Lark walked closer to Shiratori Ninzaburo and Takagi Wataru, glanced into the car, and lowered his voice to ask, "Keep your voices down. Do you have bomb disposal tools in your car? If not, how quickly can you get some?"
Seeing Lark's extremely serious expression, Shiratori Ninzaburo's heart tightened. He pulled back Takagi Wataru, who was about to ask a question, and likewise lowered his voice, getting straight to the point, "I don't have any tools. If I notify Police Headquarters now, the Explosives Disposal Unit will arrive in about 15 minutes."
"The bomb is under your rear seat. I'm not sure if there are listening devices, and I'm not sure if the culprit can see this area. If the Explosives Disposal Unit arrives, the culprit might detonate the bomb prematurely. We can't make any rash moves now," Lark said in a very low voice, quickly, "And we don't know when the culprit will detonate the bomb. You two provide cover for me, try to block the view so I can get into the rear seat. I'll assess the situation first."
"No!" Shiratori Ninzaburo kept his voice strictly low and frowned, "If anyone goes, it should be Takagi and I."
"You don't understand bomb structures, I understand a little, at least I won't carelessly trigger something and cause the bomb to detonate," Lark said, "Officer Takagi, you'll run to the opposite street in a bit and shout something..."
With the plan laid out, Shiratori Ninzaburo and Takagi Wataru could only agree to comply.
Just as Lark said, they didn't understand bomb structures.
The premise was...
"Mr. Ike, how did you know there was a bomb in my car?" Shiratori Ninzaburo asked in a low, puzzled voice.
"From my angle, I could just see the seat cushion of your rear seat. I suddenly noticed that the cushion in your rear seat had been moved. The bottom right corner was about 1 centimeter off from the distance to the car door, and a thin wire was pulled to the front seat," Lark didn't lie. Without Hissashi, he could still determine the bomb's location by observation, in addition to using bomb-making principles. "Also, from where I'm standing now, I can see paper stuck to the windshield in your front seat. I can't see the whole content clearly, but what I can see is... of the... game has begun... Don't forget, today is November 7th."
Takagi Wataru and Shiratori Ninzaburo's expressions changed slightly. Just as they were about to turn their heads to look into the car, Lark pressed their heads and forcibly twisted them back around.
Takagi Wataru: "..."
Shiratori Ninzaburo: "..."
"Don't look. If this is the culprit from three years ago targeting the police, he hasn't detonated the bomb yet. Perhaps he wants you to convey the news of his appearance and the contents of the paper back to Police Headquarters. Once you see it, he'll be suspicious if you don't react, and if you react, it's bound to be calling Police Headquarters. He might then detonate the bomb directly." Lark said quickly in a low voice, walking between the two. He also turned his back to the car, took out his phone, held it up to his shoulder, seemingly sharing content from his phone with the two. But the phone screen was black, and through the gap between Lark's and Shiratori Ninzaburo's shoulders, it reflected the paper stuck to the front car window onto the screen. "The lighting is good right now, but it's still a bit blurry."
Moreover, the phone wasn't a large-screen smartphone, and the screen wasn't big enough, so it couldn't reflect much content.
Shiratori Ninzaburo didn't turn around, his back to the car, looking at Lark's phone, trying hard to discern the blurry words reflected on it, muttering, "I am a great... league..."
It wasn't just a bit blurry, he was almost going blind trying to see!
But he also knew that the current lighting and the angle Lark chose were already good enough; otherwise, even the words might not be reflected.
He was grateful that Lark's phone screen was brand new and wiped clean enough, without large scratches.
Lark tilted the phone slightly.
"ball... player?" Shiratori Ninzaburo continued trying to discern, "in the..."
From Takagi Wataru's angle, he couldn't see the words on the phone screen, but he didn't turn around casually either, a cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The three of them were now likely standing with their backs to a bomb. If Lark's deduction was wrong, and the culprit wasn't trying to get them to convey a message, but rather used a timer or something else, they might be reduced to dust in the next second.
But he had to admit, sticking a note in the car was definitely meant for people to see. Lark was right; if they didn't look, they were temporarily safe.
Of course, he hoped even more that Lark's initial deduction was wrong, that this had nothing to do with a bomb, but was just someone's prank...
Time passed second by second. Shiratori Ninzaburo tried hard to distinguish the words for nearly two minutes, and there were still some words with complex strokes that he couldn't make out clearly. But combined with the part Lark saw from his previous angle, it was enough to make his face turn pale.
[I am among the great league... players... The overtime has begun!]
It was very similar to the content of the fax the culprit sent to Police Headquarters three years ago!
End of Chapter
