Ke Xue Lu Ren Wang

"Time of death?"

Kogoro Mouri stood there, mouth agape, unable to react for a moment.

Yuzuru ignored him, looked at the air conditioner next to him, and continued, "The time of death of a corpse is determined based on the degree of rigor mortis. And the degree of rigor mortis can often change due to temperature."

"Indeed." Takagi squatted down beside the body and touched the deceased's limbs with his gloved hand. "The deceased's limbs are not very stiff, and it looks like he has only been dead for a short time."

"Is that so..." Kogoro Mouri stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

"So, Yuzuru, did you notice anything?" Inspector Megure asked, walking up to Yuzuru.

"Nothing yet, but I suspect the air conditioner in the room was deliberately turned on by the murderer to affect our determination of the time of death," Yuzuru said.

"If that's the case, then it is indeed possible." Inspector Megure nodded, his expression turning serious.

At that moment, Takagi, who was squatting beside the body, looked up: "Inspector Megure, the cause of death has been determined."

"Hmm, what is it?"

All eyes turned to Takagi.

"According to the autopsy results, the deceased died from massive internal bleeding, and the cause of this was the dagger stuck in his back," Takagi explained.

"If that's the case, then this is the murder weapon." Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri turned to Megure. "I suggest we have the murder weapon examined. If there are other people's fingerprints on it, then they are most likely the murderer!"

"That makes sense, Mori-kun." Megure nodded in agreement, beckoning for the forensic team to carefully remove the dagger and put it into an evidence bag. Then he looked at Sakae Yamagishi and Yoko Okino behind him.

"Miss Okino, is this knife yours?"

"Yes, yes." Yoko Okino was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

"Do you suspect Yoko?" Yamagishi Sakae immediately stepped forward, shielding Okino Yoko behind him.

"It's just a routine inquiry." Mume shook his head, his gaze returning to the corpse. "Do either of you know the victim?"

"Sorry... I need to get closer to see clearly..." Yamagishi Sakae's voice was a little strained.

He stood behind Yoko Okino, supporting her shoulder, and the two slowly walked together to the body.

Seemingly wanting to get a closer look, Yamagishi Sakae moved forward a little further on his own, but unexpectedly stepped on a water stain left on the floor, slipped, and fell forward.

"what!"

"Be careful!"

Upon seeing this, Takagi immediately reached out and helped the other person up.

Yamagishi's fall startled everyone.

"Are you alright?" Takagi asked, supporting the other person.

"No...it's nothing...I was too nervous just now, I almost bumped into a corpse..." After being helped to his feet, Yamagishi Ei shook his head with lingering fear, his chest still heaving violently.

"Be careful," Mume reminded him, and after the other person regained his balance, he continued, "Mr. Yamagishi, can you see clearly now?"

"I...I don't know him..." Yamagishi Sakae glanced quickly at the corpse's face, then immediately looked away, turning to Okino Yoko. "Yoko doesn't know him either...right, Yoko?"

"Is that so?" Megure's gaze also turned to the girl whose face was equally pale.

"Yes...yes..." Yoko Okino nodded gently.

Just then, Conan quietly nudged Yuzuru's trouser leg and said with a puzzled look, "Brother Yuzuru, when I saw that uncle fall down just now, it looked like he took something from the corpse's hand."

"I saw it too." Yuu Tetsu's gaze did not leave Yamagishi Sakae, and his voice was very low.

The agent had previously appeared very composed, but his behavior here seemed somewhat strange.

"What exactly did that guy take? And what is he hiding?"

Conan looked at Sakae Yamagishi and made up his mind.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he quietly moved behind Yamagishi Sakae.

He remembered clearly that after the other person regained his footing, he quickly stuffed that thing into the back pocket of his trousers when no one was paying attention.

Conan stood on tiptoe and stretched his neck, only to find that he was too short to see what was in his pocket.

He steeled his resolve, took a deep breath, seized the opportunity, and reached out his small hand to touch the other person's pocket.

However, at that moment, Yamagishi Sakae seemed to sense something and his body suddenly moved.

Before Conan could react, his entire palm landed squarely on Sakae Yamagishi's buttocks.

The soft and elastic touch made Conan freeze.

As Yamagishi Sakae felt something strange coming from his buttocks and was about to turn around, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Mr. Sakae Yamagishi, Inspector Megure."

Yuzuru's voice suddenly rang out, neither too loud nor too soft, but it instantly attracted everyone's attention.

"Um?"

Yamagishi Sakae and Megure turned to look at the boy who was resting his chin on his hand in thought.

"Don't you guys find this strange?" Yuzuru asked, looking at the crowd.

"Wh...what?" Yamagishi Sakae stammered, thinking that his little trick had been discovered, and felt a pang of guilt.

"Brother Yuzuru, have you discovered something?" Mume's eyes lit up as he hurriedly asked.

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to him, Conan quickly took the item out of Yamagishi Sakae's pocket and then swiftly hid behind the sofa.

"Yes." Yuzuru nodded and continued, "According to Ms. Yoko, she left at four o'clock in the afternoon, but when she returned, the air conditioner was inexplicably turned on. This means that someone came in after she left. However... there were no signs that the door was forcibly broken into, which means that the murderer entered normally."

"Kid, you mean someone used a key to get into Yoko's room?" Kogoro Mouri immediately seized the opportunity and asked.

"Yes." Yuzuru nodded.

"Then you're sorely mistaken!" Kogoro Mouri immediately adopted a knowing look. "Before you even arrived, I already asked Ms. Yoko. She told me that only she and her manager have the keys to her apartment. Ms. Yoko has been with us the whole time, and her manager, Mr. Sakae Yamagishi, has been with you; both of them have alibis. So it's obvious the murderer couldn't have entered the apartment through normal means!"

"That's true." Inspector Megure nodded, agreeing with Kogoro Mouri's statement.

"That's exactly what I wanted to say." A barely perceptible smile appeared on Yuzuru's lips as he pointed to the air conditioner above his head.

"Temperature can affect the determination of time of death."

"Anyone with a key can come in, kill someone, turn on the air conditioner and heater, and then calmly leave the room, locking it from the outside."

"In this way," Yuzuru's gaze swept across the faces of everyone present, "it can both disguise itself as a secret room that outsiders cannot enter, and also create a perfect alibi for yourself!"