Ke Xue: Shinichi and I are childhood friends.

Chapter 1303, First Victim

After a period of time.

Those who went to search for the eulogy gradually returned, bringing back a new coded form.

Moreover, the text arrangement of the code is the same as the first 6 cards, so it seems to be the same type of code.

However, one person never returned.

Everyone thought the cipher was hard to find because they found the cipher papers in different places, some of which were particularly difficult to find.

Especially the simple and elegant Yu Hui who went to the study; if Amuro Tooru hadn't helped her on his way back, she might not have returned yet.

"But isn't this taking a little too long?" Yu glanced at the time on her phone. "It's been almost an hour. Even if the code is hidden very well, it shouldn't take this long to search the entire toilet, right?"

"Could it be that he went to the toilet while he was there?" some people speculated.

Fujita Yorito was a little worried: "Should I go check on the situation?"

Yu also spoke up: "No, I think it's more appropriate for everyone to go look for it together at this time. I have a bad feeling."

Based on his experience, it was highly likely that Wada Kohei had met with misfortune, and acting alone at this time would be extremely dangerous.

However, he wouldn't make a fool of himself by saying it; he'd find out eventually anyway.

So, everyone went to the restroom to check on the situation.

On the way, Yuuya used his phone's flashlight to illuminate the path ahead, glanced at Fujita Yorito, and casually asked, "By the way, what kind of captain are you talking about?"

"Huh?" Fujita Yorito was taken aback, seemingly surprised by Yuya's sudden question.

"Is it some kind of club? Or a football team?"

"This, this..." Fujita Yorito stammered, unable to give the answer to the question.

They glanced at the others, none of whom seemed inclined to explain, and some even avoided Yuya's gaze.

Yu then stopped asking questions.

Soon, the group arrived at the restroom, which was completely dark and lit only by Yuya's phone flashlight.

Yuya stood at the door and called out, "Mr. Wada, are you still here?"

There was complete silence, with no response except for the echo of Yuya's voice.

"Something's not right..." Yuya muttered to himself, stepping into the restroom. He immediately noticed something in the corner, raised his phone to shine the light, and called out, "Mr. Wada, are you...?"

"This is?!"

The next second, his voice stopped abruptly—under the light, Wada Kohei leaned against the corner of the wall, motionless, with a crossbow bolt stuck straight in his forehead, and blood flowing down his cheek.

Yuya frowned, stepped forward, squatted down, and checked Wada Kohei's pulse—he was completely dead.

As Yuya crouched down, Wada Kohei's corpse came into view of the others.

Nishino Sumire's expression changed drastically, and he cried out in horror, "W-what happened? Why is Wada lying there bleeding?"

The others also stood there, their faces filled with terror.

Sumiya Nishino shouted, "Wada? Kohei, answer me!"

He shouted and was about to step forward when Yuya quickly stopped him: "Calm down, everyone stay where you are and don't move!"

This is a murder scene!

Upon hearing this, the remaining four all looked terrified.

"Murder, murder scene?" Nishino Sumi also staggered back half a step. "You mean, Kohei is dead?"

"No way?" Fujita Yorito's face was full of disbelief.

Yuya has already conducted a preliminary examination of the body. The crossbow bolt struck the center of the forehead, causing instant death. There were no signs of a struggle.

Furthermore, a fired crossbow was found in the opposite cubicle, indicating that the murderer had set up a trap in advance so that once someone opened the cubicle door, the crossbow bolt would be fired instantly and kill them.

However... the crossbow bolt pierced right between the eyebrows, wasn't that a bit too precise? How could the killer be so certain that the person who came was Wada Kohei?

If the person who came had been shorter, such as Kobo Yukihi or Fujita Yorito, wouldn't they have escaped this disaster?

While Yuya was pondering, he suddenly heard someone questioning him about why he, not being a police officer, could touch the corpse at will, and what if he disturbed the scene.

He stood up, turned to face the crowd, and slowly said, "Excuse me, let me introduce myself. I am Yuya Kamiya, a detective."

"A detective?" The four looked surprised and suspicious as they sized up Yuya.

Sumire Nishino asked in surprise, "Why is the detective here?"

Kawasaki Yosuke said thoughtfully, "He previously said that Nihara, who committed suicide, wrote a letter asking him to come here to investigate."

“That’s right,” Wakita Kanenori said coldly, arms crossed. “Someone must have suspected that there were other reasons behind Yasuo Nihara’s suicide, so they wrote this letter hoping we could help them find out the truth.”

“Now it seems,” he said, his gaze sweeping over the group of people, whose expressions varied, “that person seems to think that Nichihara’s death is somehow related to you.”

"So, you should just cooperate and let the professional detectives handle it!"

“Alright,” Yuya said, “It’s understandable that they are panicked after their friend was murdered. Let’s report the matter to the Nagano Prefectural Police and follow their instructions.”

Although detectives can investigate crime scenes, they do not have law enforcement powers and must notify the police immediately after a case occurs.

Nagano Prefecture Headquarters.

Upon receiving Yuya's call, the hot-tempered Yamato Kansuke immediately exploded: "What?! Someone's been murdered?!"

"What the hell are you doing!!!"

Yu was speechless for a moment: "I didn't kill them..." Besides, I had no obligation to protect them, did I? Why is it like it's my fault?

Yui Uehara shouted into the phone, "What's the situation now?"

Yuya glanced at the driver's license in his hand: "The deceased's name was Wada Kohei, and he was 28 years old..."

He briefly recounted the intelligence he had gathered at the scene.

Zhu Fu Gaoming stroked his chin and said, "It's hard to judge without seeing the situation on the ground."

Yuya said, "We will protect the scene. We'll conduct a detailed investigation when you arrive tomorrow."

"Wait a minute, send me a video of the scene."

“Okay.” Yu agreed, holding up her phone and using the front-facing camera to film the scene while explaining as she filmed.

The video was sent over very quickly.

Looking at Wada Kohei, who had died from an arrow wound to the forehead, Uehara Yui sighed, "The victim was really unlucky, so pitiful."

“No,” Morofushi Takaaki pondered, “if the murderer knew beforehand that this person was the one who opened the toilet stall, he could have adjusted the position of the crossbow beforehand.”

Uehara Yui raised a question: "But didn't Yuya-kun say that who goes to which place is decided by drawing lots on the spot? How...?"

Yamato Kansuke said, "So, as Takaaki said, it was just a hypothesis."

“Wait a minute,” Morofushi Takaaki’s expression shifted, and he asked Uehara Yui to reverse the video a bit. Then he stared at the blond man in the video, lost in thought.

This person seems familiar...