A supporting character in a romance anime? I became a god using a rat talisman.

Aya Asagiri and Akane Shinjo nodded solemnly.

After the agreement was reached, the three of them went their separate ways and disappeared into the gradually descending night in Shenshui City.

……

However, this megacity shrouded in twilight is destined to never find peace.

Just as the club members were casting their nets all over the city

Inspector Megure of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division was standing in a secluded back alley in Omori Ward, Kamimizu City, looking at the crime scene investigation report he had just printed out, so worried that his hat was about to fall off his head.

This is the third vicious serial murder case he has received today.

At this moment, a thick layer of frost covered the ground in the back alley, emanating a biting cold.

A corpse lay beside a trash can—or rather, a crystal-clear human-shaped ice sculpture.

The deceased was instantly frozen solid by extreme cold, and the expression of extreme terror caused by the sudden drop in temperature before death was perfectly preserved in the ice, lifelike.

What's even more chilling is that the back of the ice sculpture's head was smashed open by some brutal force, and the brain inside was nowhere to be found.

The edges of the ice still bear obvious, horrifying tooth marks, as if they had been gnawed by some huge wild beast.

The modus operandi in these three cases was exactly the same.

The police quickly combined the cases for investigation and determined that it was definitely the work of the same deranged killer.

The report of such a bizarre and heinous serial murder case enraged the entire police department leadership, who immediately gave Inspector Megure a death order, demanding that he apprehend the serial killer as soon as possible, or face resignation.

With nowhere else to turn, Inspector Megure let out a heavy sigh.

What could he do? He's not Superman.

Having no other choice, he resorted to his old trick: he made a phone call and dragged Kogoro Mouri, who lived nearby, over.

"Inspector Megure!"

A middle-aged man with a small mustache, wearing a blue suit, strode across the police line and walked over with a serious expression.

It was none other than the famous detective, Kogoro Mouri, who was called in by Inspector Megure to save the day.

Following behind Kogoro Mouri was an elementary school student wearing blue suit shorts and black-rimmed glasses.

"Brother Mori, you've finally arrived!" Inspector Megure rushed forward as if he had seen a lifeline, almost kneeling down to greet him.

I heard about the situation on the way.

With his hands in his pockets, Kogoro Mouri walked up to the humanoid ice sculpture that still exuded a faint chill. He only glanced at it before gasping in shock.

"Hiss... This is too tragic. Is this really something a human being could do?"

"We have received a direct order from above to apprehend this psychopathic killer as quickly as possible."

Inspector Megure took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "But the area around the crime scene happens to be a blind spot for surveillance cameras. Apart from this ice sculpture, nothing else was left."

Kogoro Mouri, rubbing his chin, began his signature nonsensical reasoning.

"Hmph, in my opinion, the murderer must be a mover at some cold storage facility!"

Kogoro Mouri pointed at the ice sculpture and said with certainty, "He kidnapped the victim in a large refrigerated truck, froze him to death, and then dumped the body here! As for the bite mark on the skull... he must have been raising some kind of ferocious bulldog!"

Conan, standing to the side, rolled his eyes dramatically and mentally ranted.

Uncle, that's ridiculous! What refrigerated truck can instantly create temperatures of minus two hundred degrees Celsius? Besides, this alley is so narrow, a refrigerated truck simply can't get in!

Conan ignored Kogoro Mouri's nonsense and lay on the ground, his nose almost touching the cold asphalt.

This chilling method of instant freezing seems impossible for humans to achieve with current technology.

Even liquid nitrogen couldn't freeze a person into such a flawless ice sculpture instantly in a well-ventilated back alley!

Furthermore, the crime scene was a blind spot without surveillance cameras. Even the usually perceptive Conan searched the scene for a long time but couldn't find the culprit's footprints, not even a suspicious hair or any physical clues related to mechanical cooling.

Chapter 236 Charlie

"This is unscientific...this is absolutely unscientific..."

Conan stood up and looked at the ice sculpture.

The victim's face was frozen in extreme terror, clearly indicating that he had been confronted with something extremely frightening without any warning.

Moreover, freezing an adult's body in an instant requires an extremely large amount of energy to be released instantly.

Portable liquid nitrogen injectors simply cannot achieve this effect.

Could it really be some kind of unknown new chemical weapon?

Conan shook his head sharply, banishing the absurd thought from his mind.

If you eliminate all the impossibilities, then whatever remains, however incredible, is the truth.

This is absolutely a physical crime disguised as a supernatural phenomenon using some sophisticated method!

Conan continued searching in the crevices beneath the ice sculpture, trying to find traces of liquid nitrogen or other chemical agents.

Just when the police and detectives were at their wits' end, like ants on a hot plate.

Outside the cordon.

Chiyu was wearing an inconspicuous black casual jacket, holding a cup of hot oden she had just bought from a convenience store, and slowly biting into a piece of radish that had soaked up the soup.

"Tsk, even Conan Edogawa has been summoned. What other monsters and demons in Kamisui City haven't I discovered?"

Qianyu swallowed the radish, drank a sip of hot soup to dispel the chill blowing from the alley entrance, and then looked at the message from Mefilas on her phone.

"I never expected that Mefilas would even be able to bring that guy over, huh?"

at the same time

In a back alley less than 200 meters from the main road where the crime occurred, Shinjo Akane was walking alone in the dark.

It's called a search, but it's more like a daring high school girl doing an urban adventure.

Akane Shinjo's reasoning is very clear.

Since the other party is a monster card holder, there is absolutely no way they would openly wander around in a crowded and noisy downtown area.

On the contrary, these backstreets and alleys with few streetlights and filled with the smell of rotting garbage are the best hiding places.

"If I were Reijubas's host..." Akane Shinjo muttered to herself as she walked, "I would definitely choose a place like this as my base. Dark, secluded, and without surveillance."

As the search continued, a strong, pungent smell suddenly entered Akane Shinjo's nostrils.

That was the smell of blood.

Any normal high school girl would probably be screaming and running away by now.

However, Akane Shinjo's thought process can never be judged by common sense.

In her view, the stronger the smell of blood, the better she had found the right place.

Instead of backing down, Akane Shinjo quickened her pace, stepping over the sewage and broken glass, and made her way deeper into the alley.

She stopped when she reached the dead end of the alley.

A corpse lay across the corner.

The man was middle-aged and wearing a cheap gray jacket. His abdomen had been ripped open by something with an absurdly clean gash, and crimson blood was still gushing out, forming a small dark puddle on the ground.

It was clear that he had just passed away not long ago.

Akane Shinjo's excitement vanished instantly. She crouched down, took out her phone's flashlight, and shone it on her face.

"The cut is too clean," she murmured. "It doesn't look like a knife, more like it was slashed by... a claw."

The fact that the crime scene was so fresh means the killer had just left.

Akane Shinjo may be bold, but she also knows what's important and what's urgent. She quickly opened her contacts, found Aya Asagiri's name, and sent a message with her location attached.

"Asagiri, come quickly, I've found a clue."

After sending the message, Shinjo Akane leaned forward again to carefully examine the victim's condition.

The pulse had stopped, the pupils were dilated, and the skin was still warm but had begun to feel cold.

"She's completely dead..." Akane Shinjo sighed with a hint of regret, withdrawing her hand. "Unfortunately, we're too late."

Just then, the hairs on the back of her head stood on end.

A feeling of being watched came from behind, as if a pair of eyes were locked on the back of her head from the darkness.

Akane Shinjo turned her head.

A figure was standing in the shadows not far away.

That was a chimpanzee dressed in human clothes?

No, calling it a chimpanzee isn't quite accurate either.

It was much taller than a typical chimpanzee, standing almost upright, wearing a hooded sweatshirt stained with dark dirt, the hood pulled low but still unable to conceal its clearly primate face.

Charlie stood at the edge of the shadows, tilting his head to examine the girl crouching beside the corpse.

Akane Shinjo tilted her head and looked him over.

The two individuals, whose thought processes were somewhat abnormal, stared at each other for three seconds from a distance of more than ten meters.

"Huh?" Akane tilted her head in confusion. "This is... whose pet ran away? It's even wearing clothes, how thoughtful!"

Under her watchful gaze, the gorilla-man did not run away; instead, it took steps and slowly approached her.

The eyes peeking out from under the hat brim were devoid of any emotion.

Akane Shinjo remained standing in the same spot, even squatting down to pat her knees and wave at it.

"Hey, come here, are you lost? Where's your collar? Do you have your owner's contact information...?"

???

Charlie was stunned.

It was slowly approaching, intending to calmly retreat after dealing with the witness.

But the woman's reaction completely surprised it.

Not running? Not yelling? It even took a step forward?