Science Fiction: Starting from Obtaining Sophon

Genda frowned slightly. Since ancient times, kidnapping cases have been extremely difficult to solve, and moreover, more than ten hours had passed since the little boy was kidnapped.

Given such a long period of time, the chances of the little boy being rescued are extremely slim.

Moreover, he quickly grasped several key pieces of information.

"Haruko, you just mentioned that the kidnappers said you really didn't call the police, right?"

Haruko Lichuan nodded hurriedly: "That's what the kidnappers said!"

Looking at Gendagawa's expression, Yoko knew he must have thought of something, but what could those words possibly mean?

The girl hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Genda-kun, there's something else I need to tell you. Before coming to find you, I asked Kudo-kun from Class B to go directly to you. I know that's very impolite, but..."

"Shinichi Kudo? That's quite interesting."

That's understandable; nowadays, young girls are often desperate and will try anything, even any detective they can get their hands on.

"Let's not delay, let's set off now."

Led by the girl, the three of them rode in Genda's sports car and arrived near Lichuan's house at top speed. However, Genda did not go directly to the house, but instead looked around the area before entering the house with Lichuan Haruko.

At this moment, the Lichuan family was shrouded in gloom. Both Lichuan and his wife sat on the sofa, their faces filled with worry.

Besides Mr. and Mrs. Lichuan, there was also a young man and a middle-aged man in the living room. The middle-aged man was Mr. Lichuan's colleague, named Morita Sakae. He had come to deliver a document, but he did not expect to encounter such a thing, so he had to stay temporarily.

The young man was none other than Shinichi Kudo. Upon seeing the newcomer, his expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Although Gendagawa has recently gained some fame for his extremely efficient pet-finding skills, it means nothing to Shinichi Kudo.

However, he still greeted the others and continued to think. He had only just arrived, after all, he didn't have a limited edition sports car to use as his personal vehicle.

He had just finished listening to Li Chuan and his wife's account and was pondering the details of the case.

"Mom and Dad, this is my good friend, Yoko. This is also a high school detective from our school, named Gendagawa. He's here because of Kota's kidnapping."

Genda nods: "Mr. Lichuan, and Mrs. Lichuan, I'm here with Kudo, just like you, because of your child's kidnapping. I'd like to examine the scene now, please allow me."

Mrs. Lichuan tried to get up several times, but she had no strength in her body and felt weak all over, so she could only nod helplessly.

"Thank you, Genda-kun. We're in a really bad mood right now, please forgive our rudeness."

Genda sighed softly. Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry. After experiencing something like this, how many parents can remain calm?

"Mrs. Lichuan, you're too kind. Since I consider myself a detective and have accepted Haruko's request, my only goal is to complete the case. As for anything else, I don't care."

He immediately started walking around the room. The room was very clean and tidy, with a thoughtful and warm atmosphere. There was a family photo on the wall, and one of the boys looked to be about five or six years old. He had big, bright, and cute eyes. This must be Li Chuan Xingtai.

As her gaze swept over the items, Tomoko scanned them and quickly discovered a clue, which confirmed her earlier guess. Her eyes lit up with delight.

"Does Genda-kun have anything to say?" Shinichi Kudo suddenly asked from the side.

Since entering, Genda River could sense the distance between him and the other man. The other man only gave him a lukewarm greeting and did not take the initiative to talk to him again.

It's quite unusual that he's now taking the initiative to communicate with himself.

However, she immediately responded, because the 'cause and effect' on this guy was absolutely enormous. If she became friends with this guy, Zhizi could definitely absorb a massive amount of spacetime energy and recover one percent of it directly, which was quite possible.

"Hmm? Kudo-kun is talking to me. I have indeed made a discovery, but I still need to verify it."

He picked up the telephone from the table, gently unplugged it, then picked up a small toolbox from under the table, opened it, took out a screwdriver, and quickly disassembled the entire telephone.

The whole process was incredibly smooth and seamless, just like taking apart something from your own house.

Everyone present was startled, wondering what he was going to do.

The Lichuan couple panicked immediately. This phone was now their only means of communication with the robbers. If it were damaged, they would never be able to receive calls from the robbers again, and their son would be in real danger.

But before the two could speak, a strange black mechanical device was taken out of the phone, wrapped in a handkerchief, by Gendagawa.

This operation left everyone dumbfounded. Shinichi Kudo's eyes widened, and he quickly realized that it was clearly a listening device, specifically designed to eavesdrop on the landline's calls!

"As you can see, this is a small listening device. And don't worry, it can only listen to phone calls; it can't, like a bugging device, monitor every movement inside the house."

"Furthermore, I just patrolled the outside and didn't find anyone monitoring the house. Clearly, the reason the criminals were able to say that the Lichuan family didn't report Kota's disappearance to the police was because of this thing."

"So, call the police right now, without any hesitation."

Both Lichuan and his wife were stunned. This young man was too amazing. Before entering, he had already explored the surroundings. What's even more amazing is that he discovered clues from his daughter's description and found the listening device directly!

What followed was a chilling and terrifying experience. The perpetrators had clearly made detailed preparations beforehand, having installed a listening device in their own landline phone.

Fortunately, they could only monitor phone calls. If they could also eavesdrop, then every move their family made would be under the control of the criminals.

Shinichi Kudo, who was standing to the side, was also taken aback.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "This guy's reaction is incredibly fast. I just thought of something, but I can't be sure if there really is a listening device. There are many possibilities. It could be this kind of device, or it could be that the criminals have been monitoring the Lichuan family all along."

He ruled out all other possibilities and located the listening device. This insight is truly terrifying!

Moreover, dismantling something like this is definitely not easy, yet he was able to dismantle it with ease. He truly is... a formidable opponent!

I need your support! I need everything!

Chapter Thirty-One: Heaven Gave Me Another Brother?

For a detective, there are three most important abilities: reasoning ability, insight, and execution ability. All three are extremely important.

Reasoning ability allows one to quickly clarify the logic and deduce the course of events.

Insight, on the other hand, is the ability to delve into the essence of things or problems, to peel away the surface illusions, and to accurately judge the true nature of things.

The final execution capability is the ability to quickly realize all one's predictions.

These three abilities are like the XYZ axes in a coordinate system; only when they are combined can a three-dimensional image be formed, allowing us to see the whole picture of things.

Within a short time, Genda River deduced possible factors from the details in the thug's words, and then acted quickly to rule out the possibility that the thug was monitoring from the outside, and then found the hidden listening device.

Clearly, this guy is excellent in reasoning, insight, and execution, even on par with me!

"Mr. Lichuan, there's still some time before the police arrive. I have a few questions I'd like to ask. First, have you had any phones or household appliances repaired recently?"

Everyone was immediately alerted and understood Gendagawa's line of thinking.

Criminals cannot enter a house silently and install a listening device. They must use an excuse such as repairing appliances to enter the house and then brazenly install the listening device in the telephone.

Mr. Lichuan racked his brains for a moment, then suddenly realized, "That's right, just last week, two people claiming to be repairmen from the telecommunications company said that our phone line was old and wanted to come and check it. My wife and I didn't think much of it and let them in to check it..."

As he spoke, his expression grew increasingly grim, clearly realizing that these two individuals had taken advantage of the situation to install a listening device in the phone.

Shinichi Kudo nodded secretly. The situation was much clearer now. With these clues, the search for the criminals would be much more focused.

However, although it was already quite good that he could think of these things, he was still much less mature than himself, and he had overlooked an important factor.

Just as he was about to state his reasoning, Genda Gawa continued speaking.

"Not only that, Mr. Lichuan didn't realize that these criminals knew the Lichuan family's financial resources inside and out. Only by knowing the Lichuan family's financial resources could they know the limit of how much money you and your husband could raise in three hours."

The two thugs who came to install the listening device were clearly not familiar with the Lichuan family's wealth, and Mr. Lichuan did not know these two people.

In other words, besides these two people, there's at least a third culprit pulling the strings behind the scenes, and someone very familiar with the Lichuan family!

"There's a third assailant? And it might even be someone we know? This..."

In a short period of time, both Haruko and her husband, Lichuan, came to believe in Genda River and felt that it was all reasonable.

Mr. Lichuan frowned: "I see. Now everything makes sense. Someone who knows our family very well instructed those two to tamper with the phone call to eavesdrop."

Then, taking advantage of their familiarity with our family's finances, they'll use a ransom of twenty million to put us in a dilemma, thereby extorting money from us, and then…”

At this moment, Shinichi Kudo finally found a chance to speak:

"Then, they'll exploit your psychology to continue extorting you, completely draining your family's resources. Because you've already paid 20 million, you've developed a strong sense of loss aversion, filling you with a feeling of insecurity and fear of losing what you've already gained. This is why you haven't called the police."

The Lichuan couple nodded. That was their mindset. Losing their son had already brought them immense pain, and losing their property at this point amplified their disgust for the loss to the extreme. At this moment, they were willing to believe that the criminals would take pity on them and call the police, taking the slightest risk.

Shinichi Kudo glanced sideways at Gendagawa, raised an eyebrow, and revealed a provocative look in his eyes.

However, Genda River's gaze had already shifted elsewhere, and he didn't see Genda River's eyes at all. This feeling of blind men lighting lamps was a waste of time and effort, which made the corner of his mouth twitch.

However, he was unaware that Genda River, who had turned around, had actually seen the 'washing machine's' astonished expression clearly on the large screen that Tomoko had constructed in her mental world, and couldn't help but feel a surge of secret pleasure.

While it must be acknowledged that this guy has many good qualities, a strong sense of justice and responsibility, and is very sunny and kind.

However, this guy is not without flaws; on the contrary, he has quite a few problems.

First of all, he is prone to impulsiveness. In order to find out the truth, he often acts impulsively and without thinking. The more dangerous the place, the more he likes to go in. He will also often abandon the people around him and go into a state of being out of contact.

Although the intention is good, such a practice that completely disregards reality often puts oneself and those around them in extremely dangerous situations!

Then there's this guy's vanity, which is actually quite strong.

He was obsessed with being a detective, enjoying the thrill of uncovering mysteries, the oppressive feeling of cornering criminals, and the adulation he received.

This guy has had such a smooth journey, encountering almost no setbacks.

It wasn't until he encountered his nemesis, Gin, who dealt him a severe blow that brought him to his senses, and he truly matured in his confrontation with the Black Organization.

So, this kid, who hasn't experienced any setbacks yet, is completely like a proud peacock, firmly believing that he is the best detective in Japan. Therefore, pride and complacency are his current labels.

At this moment, giving this guy a lesson would be quite a satisfying experience.

However, he silently comforted himself: "Don't be upset, Kudo-kun. It's just that you were overshadowed a little. This will become the norm in the future, and you'll get used to it eventually."

At this moment, the police finally arrived, led by Inspector Megure, with Inspectors Takagi and Sato also present.