Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Hmph, excuses! You cops always..."

Takeshita Matsufumi was speaking when he suddenly grabbed the evidence bag containing the car bumper fragments that Hayashi Hideichi had just put down, and then turned and ran out.

Inspector Samezaki was caught off guard and didn't react for a moment.

Just as Takeshita Matsufumi reached the door, he was blocked by Hayashi Hideichi.

"Teacher, your anger just now was so fake! It was completely different from how you usually act when you're angry."

As Lin Xiuyi spoke, she snatched the evidence bag from the old man's hands.

"You suddenly put on this show just to lower our guard so you could destroy it, right?"

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Takeshita Matsufumi scoffed.

“In fact, even if you destroy it now, it’s too late,” Lin Xiuyi sighed. “I saw this light blue car with the damaged front bumper this morning.”

"Hmph, do you think I'm a three-year-old?" Takeshita Matsufumi's face showed a hint of panic, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Trying to trick me won't be that easy."

“I’m not trying to scam you,” Lin Xiuyi sighed. “The owner of this car, I…”

He had just finished speaking when hurried footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor.

Immediately afterward, Detective Deng Mi pushed open the door and entered, his expression unusually grave.
"Inspector, cyanide was indeed detected in Ichikawa's stomach. However, due to improper storage, the cyanide had largely lost its effectiveness and was not enough to cause death."

The air in the office seemed to freeze, and the sound of rain outside the window grew louder, the sound of raindrops hitting the glass like some kind of ominous countdown.

"The cyanide...has lost its effectiveness?"

Lin Xiuyi's voice sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet office.

He stared at the toxicology report handed to him by Denmi Criminal Investigation Department, his brow furrowed. The report clearly stated: Trace amounts of cyanide residue were detected, but the dose was far below the lethal level.

Inspector Samezaki abruptly turned to Takeshita Matsufumi: "The poison you used was..."

"More than ten years ago," the old man slumped into a chair, his wrinkled hands trembling slightly, "I wanted to poison Ichikawa to avenge Naoko back then, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I kept that bottle of poison for more than ten years, waiting for this day, but I never expected..."

His voice suddenly choked, and murky tears slid down the deep lines on his face.

"I was supposed to avenge Naoko... Why did this happen..."

"You know the owner of that light blue car?" Inspector Samezaki finally realized what was going on. "You did that just now to destroy evidence for him?"

Takeshita Matsufumi's body stiffened visibly for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

He pursed his lips and remained silent.

Just as Inspector Samezaki was about to continue questioning, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

Inspector Megure rushed in, looking flustered: "Inspector! A woman has come to confess... She says... she's the murderer of Ichikawa!"

Lin Xiuyi and Takeshita Matsufumi both looked up at the same time, their expressions becoming extremely complicated.

Takeshita Matsufumi sighed heavily, while a knowing glint flashed in Hayashi Hideichi's eyes.

Inspector Samezaki looked at the two with suspicion, then asked Inspector Megure to bring them over.

Soon, the woman was led into the office. Upon seeing Lin Xiuyi and Takeshita Matsufumi in the room, the woman's face showed surprise: "You... what are you doing here?" "Murakami-sensei," Lin Xiuyi greeted politely.

"Yui! You're out of your mind!" Takeshita Matsufumi suddenly stood up, his voice hoarse, "Naoko is my daughter, her revenge is naturally mine to avenge! Why are you..."

It turns out the woman was Lin Xiuyi's homeroom teacher, Murakami Yui.

After lying in the infirmary all morning, she finally couldn't suppress her inner turmoil and decided to turn herself in to the Metropolitan Police Department, admitting that she had run over and killed Ichikawa with her car.

Takeshita Matsufumi's words instantly filled Murakami Yui's eyes with tears.

She lowered her head, her voice soft yet exceptionally firm: "Naoko and I aren't blood sisters, but we're closer than blood sisters. Now that I know where Ichikawa is... how could I stand idly by?"

"You're a teacher!" Takeshita Matsufumi exclaimed in anguish. "What are your students supposed to do? What will they think of you? Teachers are guides for their students, and you've done this..."

“Becoming a teacher was Naoko’s dream all along,” Yui Murakami said with a bitter smile. “I was just… fulfilling her dream.”

Despite saying that, her reddened eyes and trembling voice betrayed her true feelings.

Lin Xiuyi knew that this young homeroom teacher genuinely loved the teaching profession.

“Actually…” Lin Xiuyi interjected softly, “Takeshita-sensei also turned himself in. He admitted to poisoning Ichikawa at the izakaya.”

Murakami Yui looked at the old man in shock: "Teacher, you too..."

Takeshita Matsufumi lowered his head in shame.

He had just been reprimanding Murakami for killing someone in his capacity as a teacher, but in the blink of an eye, he had done the same thing himself.

“However, those cyanides have already lost their effectiveness,” Lin Xiuyi added, “and no longer have the ability to cause death.”

Murakami Yui's expression relaxed, and she let out a soft breath: "So, in the end, I was the one who avenged Naoko-neechan?"

Inspector Samezaki tapped on the table, interrupting their conversation: "Tell me the details of the incident. Where did you run over and kill Ichikawa?"

Yui Murakami took a deep breath and began to recall:
“Yesterday afternoon, I drove with Mr. Takeshita all the way to the izakaya, and waited for more than an hour before Ichikawa finally appeared…”

Her voice grew softer and softer, as if she were back to last night.
"Ichikawa went in and came out cursing shortly after. I followed him in my car all the way to the riverbank..."

"He suddenly stopped the car, clutched his stomach, and ran into the convenience store. As I watched his retreating figure, I couldn't help but think of Naoko-neechan."

As she said this, her hands unconsciously clenched into fists.
"When he came out, I couldn't hold back any longer and stepped on the gas."

“I crashed Ichikawa off the embankment. I stood on the embankment and saw that he was not moving. I guessed that he was probably dead. I was scared and quickly drove away.”

Lin Xiuyi noticed the fear that flashed in Murakami Yui's eyes as she described the details; it was the expression unique to a first-time killer.

"Didn't you go down to check if he was alive or dead?" Lin Xiuyi suddenly asked.

“No,” Yui Murakami shook her head.

“Now that things have come to this, please tell the truth,” Inspector Samezaki said, his face showing displeasure. “There’s no point in hiding it anymore.”

"I...I wasn't lying..." Murakami Yui looked up, puzzled. (End of Chapter)