An infinite journey starting from paradise

The star of the birthday party, Yotsui Reika, was quite pleased with the performance. It wasn't that she particularly enjoyed listening to Odagiri Toshiya's music; she simply relished the fact that the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Commissioner's only son was singing for her. Furthermore, the fact that these glamorous, high-ranking individuals present were forced to curry favor with her by giving her unforced compliments on things she "liked" also gave her some satisfaction.

Shijing Lihua truly enjoyed this feeling. The feeling of forcibly twisting other people's thoughts and actions, treating them, whether "poor" or "noble," as playthings. The pleasure of watching others fawn over her even though they clearly hated her.

Of course, the happiest person at the scene was Naoto Hayashi. After all, he made Odagiri Toshi sing an "unbearably elegant" song in this "elegant" scene.

"Mr. Lin, what are you laughing at?" Mao Lilan asked in confusion.

Lin Shangren replied: "Nothing, I just remembered something happy."

As he spoke, Lin Shangren looked at the place where Yizhilong had just stood. He was gone. The results of the shadow detection showed that he had sneaked out and was puncturing the tires of the luxury cars driven by the yacht club members one by one.

"It seems he's ready to start implementing his murder plan." Lin Shangren thought, "I have to say his plan is quite well prepared. It's a pity that this is his first time killing someone and he has no experience, so there are still too many loopholes."

Thinking of this, Lin Shangren said goodbye to Mao Lilan and walked out of the banquet hall alone.

The corridor outside was pitch black, which was natural. The lights in the corridor had been destroyed by Yizhi Long to facilitate the subsequent killing.

"Too much is as bad as too little," Lin Shangren thought to himself. "Destroying the light source in advance may make it easier to kill, but it also tells the police that the perpetrator had planned the killing and it wasn't a random act."

Lin Shangren casually walked into an empty room and picked up the air conditioner remote control on the table. The display showed that the air conditioner was set to automatically turn on at 12:30. Not only this room's air conditioner, but also the air conditioners in other rooms of the villa and other high-energy-consuming appliances that could be turned on on a timer were all set to automatically turn on at 12:30. The purpose was to cause the power consumption to exceed the peak value and cause a power outage for the entire villa.

"The more you do, the more mistakes you make. This basically tells the police that the criminal is someone familiar with the villa environment. This villa was built specifically for Shioi Reika, and the only people who usually come here are Shioi Reika and members of the yacht club."

Lin Shangren put down the remote control and teleported to an empty bathroom.

He walked over to the bathtub and lifted the cover. Inside the bathtub were a bundle of rope, several rolls of tape, and a towel used to gag the victim.

Lin Shangren looked up at the showerhead above the bathtub, then at the items inside, and thought to himself, "I'd knock the victim unconscious, tie them up, put them in the bathtub, then turn on the showerhead and slowly fill the tub with water. It would take about six to seven hours for the water to cover the victim's mouth and nose and drown them."

This method is good for creating an alibi by killing someone remotely, but it has a few flaws. First, the duct tape. Using it to secure the victim to the bathtub can easily leave marks.

Then there's the victim's clothing. Using this method, the victim's clothing would inevitably be soaked. Even if the murderer had arranged the scene to look like the victim had been forced headfirst into the bathtub, giving them time to change clothes, there's no way to clean the soaked clothing.

"If the person who discovered the body used their brains a little, seeing the tape marks on the bathtub and the body, as well as the soaked clothing on the body, they would quickly figure out this method."

The more you do, the more mistakes you make. According to Locard's principle of material exchange, the more things a murderer does when committing a crime, the more flaws and evidence they leave behind. The more elaborate the killing method, the more likely it is to leave behind deadly evidence.

The real perfect crime is never the reasoning game conceived by detective novelists, but a simple and crude crime like the corpse drowned in Tokyo Bay by the underworld.

The crime Yoi Reika committed against Yaeko is a perfect crime. Everyone can guess that she and Nikaidou Masashi stole Yaeko's life jacket when she came to rescue her. But no one would report them, and even if they did, it would be ignored.

It is difficult for the law to convict her.

It is difficult for the law to judge the powerful force that makes it. The only one who can judge the powerful force is another powerful force or a "power" at another level.

"When the law fails to bring justice to the person concerned, private revenge becomes just and even noble from that moment on. So said Sherlock Holmes."

Recalling Sherlock Holmes' famous words in "The Return", Lin Shangren put the murder weapon prepared by Yizhi Long into the shadow.

These things are no longer needed.

"Brother Yizhi, let me show you what a perfect crime truly is."

……

As the birthday party for Yotsuba Reika draws to a close, the guests prepare to leave. Only the Yotsuba family, the other members of the yacht club, a drunken Kogoro, Ran, Conan, and finally Hayashi Naoto and Odagiri Toshiya remain.

"It's almost time to go back, Minye. Have you packed your things?" Lin Shangren asked deliberately.

Odagiri Toshi also revealed a slightly embarrassed smile and said, "Um... Boss, I still have something to do... Hehe."

"That's perfect. Mr. Maori is so drunk that he probably can't drive home. How about this, I'll drive Mr. Maori and the others home first, and then come back to pick you up." Lin Shangren said, looking at Maori Ran and Conan, "Is that okay, Xiaolan?"

"Then thank you Mr. Lin." Xiaolan said with a smile, and then she shook Maori Kogoro's upper body, "Dad, get up, we are going home."

Seeing this, Yizhi Long was secretly delighted: "The detectives and police who are in the way are leaving. It seems that God is helping me."

Suddenly, the driver of the Shijing family came running over in a hurry: "Grandpa, the car that Miss Lihua was riding in when she came here has a flat tire."

"what?"

"What should we do then?" Shijing Lihua said dissatisfiedly.

At this time, Nikaidou Masaji stood up and said flatteringly: "How about this, let's take Miss Lihua back home in our Ferrari."

"No, just take my Rolls-Royce." Yizhi Long also said.

Gojo Osamu said, "Let's take my Mercedes."

"But your cars also have flat tires," said the driver.

"what?"

The group walked to the outdoor parking lot. Sure enough, not only the three people's cars, but also Takuya Mifune and Masashi Rokuda's cars had their tires punctured. Even Hayashi Naoto's Porsche and Maori Kogoro's rental car had been damaged. The only car left unharmed was Chairman Yotsuei's car.

Seeing this scene, the most confused person was not the owner of the car, but Ichiji Takashi who punctured the tires. He remembered that he clearly did not attack the cars of anyone other than the members of the yacht club?

"Could it be that they stabbed the wrong person out of nervousness? Damn it! Now the detective and the police can't leave."

While Ichiji Takashi was thinking, Shijing Lihua was already throwing a tantrum. Chairman Shijing suggested using a working car to send everyone down the mountain in batches, but Shijing Lihua said impatiently, "Please, today is my 24th birthday. I don't want to share a car with anyone! I'm staying here with Aunt Mi tonight. I'll have the driver pick me up tomorrow."

Hearing what Yotsuga Rika said, Nikaidou Masaji quickly said, "Then I'll stay too."

"Me too." said Gojo Osamu.

"Me too."

Seeing these people's expressions, Rokuda Masaji half-jokingly said, "Since so many wild wolves are staying overnight, I have to stay to protect the young lady."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Liutian. I feel relieved to have you around." After leaving these words, Chairman Sijing left the mountain villa. The rest of the people returned to the villa.

The Snowstorm Villa mode is officially launched.

The author says:

Author's Note: Still only one chapter. I'll try to add another 10,000 words the day after tomorrow.

Chapter 156 It’s Dark, Please Close Your Eyes

Ten o'clock that night.

Mountain villa, banquet hall.

"Dad, wake up, don't sleep here."

No matter how Ran Mouri shook him, the drunk Kogoro Mouri refused to open his eyes.

"Ah, I'm completely drunk." Mao Lilan held her forehead helplessly.

A nearby Takashi Ichieda lamented, "I was hoping to hear Detective Maori tell his story of solving a case. What a pity."

"Don't we have a star inspector here? If you want to hear about the case, you can ask Mr. Lin to tell you, right?" said Masaji Nikaido.

"I don't think you'll be too interested." Lin Shangren walked to the side of Maori Kogoro and said, "Xiaolan, help me hold your father's other arm and take him to the guest room first. Um... Ms. Nanao, can you help show me the way?"

"Just call me Aunt Mi, sir." Nanao Mi, the short and kind-looking old servant of the Shii family, said, "Please follow me."

So Hayashi Naoto and Maori Ran carried the unconscious Maori Kogoro and followed Aunt Mi out of the banquet hall. The rest of the people discussed what to do to kill time.

Although there were musical instruments and audio equipment on site, as well as a professional rock singer, Toshiya Odagiri, the group didn't choose to sing karaoke together to kill time. The reason was simple: Yotsuba didn't want to. They said they were discussing it, but in reality, they were just waiting for Yotsuba to make a decision. After all, she was the "leading lady" here.

"I think how about this, let's play poker and get through the night together." Shii Rika said in an unquestionable tone.

"Sorry, I won't accompany you anymore."

Takuya Mifune, who had dark skin, a ponytail, and looked like a long-faced version of Hattori Heiji, stood up.

Seeing this, Shijing Lihua said in a bad tone: "Oh? You don't want to play? I thought you were one of my husband candidates."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm here today entirely for Chairman Shijing's sake, and only for the sake of my company's business. As for you, I'm sorry, I've lost interest a long time ago." Takuya Mifune said.

Takuya Mifune had previously licked Yotsuba Reika simply because Yotsuba Group was the largest investor in the company he founded, Mikawa Electronics Industry Co., Ltd. To please his financial backer, he had no choice but to humble himself and flatter this bad-tempered woman.

However, just two days ago, a mysterious figure contacted him and offered him a large sum of money to join a joint organization temporarily named "Consortium B." He also gave him several equipment upgrade plans and design drawings for several unique sound and light toys.

Mifune, already a top student majoring in electromechanical engineering, immediately realized upon seeing the new audio storage device design offered by the other party that he was on his way to a new level. So, he gladly accepted the invitation from "Consortium B," becoming a member of the "Consortium B" team that would later exploit the wallets of men around the world. Of course, that's a story for another time.

While Takuya Mifune could become a business giant rivaling the Yotsuba Group under Hayashi Naoto's leadership, in Yotsuba Reika's eyes, he was just a self-made "Phoenix Man" with a bit of talent and a modest background. So, when Takuya Mifune disobeyed her, she slapped him in the face without a second thought.

"What are you doing!" Takuya Mifune said angrily.

"Oh, if you don't want to play with me, then you can leave. But in return, my dad will not have any business dealings with your company in the future."

Faced with this situation, everyone present chose to remain silent. Rokuta Masashi, considered the "steward" of the Yotsuei family, naturally remained silent. Ichieda Takashi was pretending to be a lapdog, Nikaidou Masatsugu was a lapdog who had been fucked, and Gojo Osamu was a true lapdog. Naturally, none of them would speak up for Mifune Takuya.

Odagiri Toshi and Conan are pure outsiders. If it were Conan in Kudo Shinichi's form, he would probably come out to speak up for justice. But at this moment, he is just a weak, helpless and pitiful elementary school student.

"Too deceiving."

This situation was perfect for a classic scene of "Thirty years on the west, thirty years on the east; don't bully the young and poor," but Mifune Takuya still endured it. He just wanted to snort coldly, then push the door open and leave.

What else should he do? Give him a slap and then a bunch of harsh words? Instead of that, he should think about deepening his cooperation with Consortium B and gradually untangling his previous business ties with the Shijing Group. Once he's strong enough, whether it's merging with the Shijing Group or simply sending the Shijing family on a cheap plane, there shouldn't be too many ways to retaliate. There's no point getting angry at a goddess in front of a bunch of sycophants. If you get bit, you'll have to get a rabies shot. It's not worth it.

Just as Mifune Takuya was about to leave, Yotsuga Rika suddenly launched an indiscriminate attack: "Let me be clear, you are all caged birds that I raise. If I don't feed you, you won't survive. So it's best to please your master and not get angry."

"Oh, that's the kind of arrogant attitude..." Ichiji Takashi secretly clenched his fists, "Wait a little longer, until she's alone, then we can put our plan into action."

The opportunity that Ichieda Takashi had been waiting for soon appeared. Just when the atmosphere in the banquet hall was tense, Lin Shangren and the other two returned to the hall. Seeing that Aunt Mi had returned, Shijing Lihua no longer "argued" with Mifune Takuya. She asked Aunt Mi to accompany her to the room on the second floor to take a shower and change clothes.

According to Ichieda Takashi's two-year investigation into Yotsuba Reika's living habits, she never allowed anyone to accompany her when changing clothes, and each time she changed clothes, she would drag her feet for at least 40 minutes, as if she had difficulty making choices. This was enough time for him to knock Yotsuba unconscious and tie her up in the bathtub.

"Wait until Aunt Mi comes back, then find an excuse to go out alone." Yizhilong thought.

"By the way, do you guys want to do something to kill time?" Lin Shangren suggested. "Minye, I remember I brought a lot of other pop music accompaniment tapes this time. With the amplifier and microphone over there, we can use it for karaoke."

Nikaido Masashi said, "Well, Mr. Lin, we are ready to play cards."

"That's it."

Lin Shangren waved his hand and performed a pure magic trick of playing cards with his bare hands for everyone present without any supernatural power.

"What do you want to play? We're a bit crowded here. How about Texas Hold'em? Or Blackjack? Or... try the Chinese game of Fried Golden Flower?"

As he spoke, Lin Shangren shuffled the cards in a showy manner using the flower cutting technique.

"It's better to wait until Miss Rika comes back before making a decision," said Nikaido Masaji.

"Yeah," Gojo Osamu agreed. "If we start playing without waiting for her, Miss Reika will probably get angry. What do you think, Kazue?"

Yizhi Long came back to his senses and said, "Ah...ah! What Gojo said makes sense. By the way, Mr. Lin, can you tell us about the cases you solved?"

Lin Shangren replied, "Well, that's fine. But what kind of cases do you want to hear about?"

Hearing this, everyone became interested. After all, this was a world where famous detectives were idolized by the public, and the people of this world were far more interested in cases and creating them than those in other worlds.

Rokuda Masashi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke excitedly: "It must be a strange case with all kinds of tricks, twists and turns, and constant reversals!" He is actually a very enthusiastic mystery enthusiast.

"I'm actually more curious about the police's case handling process and the like," Yizhi Long said. "Also... has Mr. Lin ever encountered the so-called perfect crime?"

"That depends on how you define a perfect crime," Lin Shangren replied. "The most perfect crime is naturally one where no one except the perpetrator is aware of the crime. You know the Japanese police's principle: no case is filed unless it's reported. A perfect crime is a crime that can't be prosecuted. There are many such cases, but I haven't encountered one... because, as I said, it's a crime where no one except the perpetrator is aware of their crime.

For example, a shipwreck leaves two survivors stranded on a deserted island. To survive, one survivor kills and eats the other, throwing the remains into the sea. Later, when the rescue team arrives, he can simply bite the other survivor to death, claiming he's the only one stranded on the island, and no one will know about his murder and cannibalism. This is clearly the perfect crime.

At this point, Hayashi Shangren glanced at Nikaido Masashi, who was sitting across from him. And Ichieda Takashi clenched his fists once again.

"This is the absolute perfect crime: 'no' crime, 'no' criminal. Then there's the broader term perfect crime: a crime discovered, but the perpetrator escapes justice. There are countless such cases. The most typical are those unsolved cold cases that the police have yet to solve. Especially those random crimes with no apparent reason, like the cola poisoning incidents that broke out across Japan two years ago. These random scumbags who commit crimes out of revenge are the most difficult to catch. The police are still unsure whether the cola poisoning was the work of one person, a gang, or a single leader with a swarm of copycats.

Of course, if those "lawmakers" committed such crimes, the law would be difficult to punish them. However, such cases are relatively rare. This is not to say that high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen rarely commit crimes. They usually commit such dirty deeds in secret, and they can basically commit the first type of crime I mentioned, without the police or the outside world knowing that the crime has occurred. I can't go into details, and you should not delve into it.

All I can say is, this kind of case is difficult to solve with the power of the police and the law alone. Unless other powerful figures come to help, or the powerful figures who committed the crime fall. Or... we can only hope for retribution."

"Retribution...it seems like this kind of thing doesn't exist at all." Yizhilong thought to himself.

Rokuda Masashi was fascinated by what he heard. As a veteran who had already achieved success, he was quite interested in this kind of exciting topic. He asked, "Mr. Lin, are there other types of perfect crimes?"

"Yes, a lot. But the ones that really bother me are the following: a murder has occurred, and the murderer has been identified, but the police can't catch the murderer because, legally speaking, the murderer has not committed any crime at all."

"What does it mean?"

Conan was also intrigued. What kind of case would be so difficult for Lin Shangren?

"Using good to do evil, or using reasonable, ordinary, legal, yet malicious behavior to kill people," Lin Shangren explained. "Suppose, I mean suppose, a child is crossing the road. A truck is approaching from a distance. Normally, at their speeds, they wouldn't collide. Then, I appear, and as the truck approaches, I suddenly shout to the child, 'Watch out!' The child is startled and freezes in his tracks. As a result, he's hit by the truck.

On the surface, I was just a kind passerby who wanted to remind the child to be safe, but what if I meant to stop the child?

"This……"

Everyone was silent. Ichiji Takashi seemed to be lost in thought.

Lin Shangren continued, "It was clearly me who shouted 'Watch out!' and caused this tragic car accident. But who would doubt me? Shouting 'Watch out!' can only be interpreted as well-intentioned. At most, one can condemn it as 'this guy had good intentions but ended up with something awful.' Who would have thought that someone, just for fun, would kill a stranger with no grudge against them in this way?"

But there are people like this in the world.

Whether it is the law or morality, most of the time, they judge by actions rather than by heart, and neither of them can ever punish the people mentioned above.

Although it may not be appropriate for me to say this, but facing the perfect criminals mentioned above, if the relatives of the victims want to seek justice, they can probably only take the most primitive method, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and revenge in kind.

You killed my loved ones with a knife, so I will kill you with a knife. You drowned my beloved with water, so I will let you experience the feeling of being drowned bit by bit by water, having your nasal cavity and lungs filled up, and then slowly suffocating to death.