Lin Xinyi quickly suppressed this subtle sense of incongruity.
Meanwhile, the Great Detective Kudo's interest in Lin Xinyi grew even stronger:
"Mr. Lin Xinyi, your investigative experience seems quite rich."
"You must have solved quite a few cases before, right?"
"I am very interested in this method of deduction that utilizes forensic medicine knowledge."
"If you have time, could you tell me more about your case-solving experiences?"
""
He seemed even more like someone interrogating a criminal than Inspector Megure just now, constantly asking Lin Xinyi questions he simply couldn't answer.
Lin Xinyi remained silent throughout.
He automatically filtered out the noise around his ears, then looked around to observe the surroundings:
Inspector Megure was directing the police officers to wrap up the scene investigation, while the onlookers were discussing the brilliant deduction they had just witnessed with lingering interest.
Patrolman Komatsu was slowly packing up the scene investigation kit, while Shinichi Kudo was still persistently pestering the mysterious "opponent," Lin Xinyi, with endless questions.
The grand show had concluded.
But it seemed everyone had forgotten the protagonist of this show—the deceased.
Gradually, Lin Xinyi's gaze locked back onto the corpse lying alone on the white plastic sheet, which didn't even retain a complete human shape.
"Hm?"
Shinichi Kudo quickly noticed Lin Xinyi's gaze.
He couldn't help but feel a bit surprised:
Lin Xinyi was once again focusing his concentrated gaze on the corpse.
Could there be some clue on the corpse that hadn't been revealed yet?
He had already lost the first round by being a step slower than Lin Xinyi in discovering the cause of the dismemberment.
If there was any other clue on the corpse that he, the Famous Detective who considered himself a disciple of Sherlock Holmes, had completely missed, it would be a total and utter defeat.
"What is it, Mr. Lin?"
"Do you have any other findings?"
Shinichi Kudo's tone became somewhat subtle, even nervous.
Lin Xinyi didn't answer directly, but turned his head to scrutinize him slightly.
The young detective's face was full of drive.
It was as if he were an athlete who had just finished a fierce competition, filled with expectation for the next event.
But this wasn't a competition.
"Kudo."
After pondering for a moment, Lin Xinyi finally spoke:
"I haven't found any new clues on the corpse."
"However, besides clues for solving the case, what else can you read from a corpse?"
"Uh? That..."
Shinichi Kudo was slightly stunned:
If not looking for case clues, what else could one see?
Was this a deduction test set by Lin Xinyi for him?
He immediately became interested, and his bright eyes immediately stared fixedly at the corpse.
"Sigh," Lin Xinyi shook his head helplessly:
Observing the deceased with the gaze used for solving a riddle would never reveal the answer.
As expected, after pondering for a moment, Shinichi Kudo still couldn't solve this "riddle."
He observed and thought while unconsciously rubbing his chin, almost wearing down his well-defined chin, yet he couldn't utter a single word.
"Um..."
It was Miss Ran Mouri beside them who hesitantly broke the silence.
Driven by the inherent sentimentality of a young woman, she unconsciously participated in solving this "riddle":
"It must have been very painful."
"Oh?" Lin Xinyi looked over in surprise.
And Shinichi Kudo also turned to look at his Childhood Sweetheart in confusion: "Painful, what do you mean?"
"I mean..."
Ran gathered her Courage and looked at the deceased on the ground:
"The deceased, this lady, she must have been in great pain."
"She died three hours ago, and that was at two in the morning."
"Why choose to commit suicide at two o'clock, a time when most people are sleeping?"
"And look at her clothes; she was still wearing her pajamas."
Under Shinichi Kudo's unexpected gaze, Ran articulated the deduction that he, the Famous Detective, couldn't bring himself to say:
"It must be because she was in too much pain."
"She probably didn't make up her mind to commit suicide at first; wearing pajamas suggests she originally just wanted to fall asleep."
"But the pain made it impossible for her to sleep."
"She might have lain in bed with her eyes open for a very, very long time, but in the end, she was crushed by that pain and couldn't catch her breath."
Ran gradually clenched her fist.
She completely empathized with the nameless deceased, this unfamiliar woman:
"In the end, she couldn't bear it anymore."
"She didn't have the Courage to live in this world anymore, to face the Pressure the world put on her."
"So, late at night when everything was quiet, she quietly left home alone and came to the deserted Tsutsumi-no-tsu Riverbank in the deep night."
"She might have stood alone in that boundless Darkness for a long time, thinking."
"But in the end, the Darkness devoured her."
By this point, Ran's Voice had become Low:
"If someone could have noticed her leaving in a Timely manner, if someone could have extended a helping hand to her..."
"Perhaps the outcome wouldn't be like this."
"That's right."
Lin Xinyi cast a gaze full of Appreciation:
"The deceased was in pain, and the pain she faced before death was more Terrifying than we can Imagine."
"Because Drowning is one of the most painful Ways of death in the world."
"A person who is Drowning has about a minute of difficulty breathing before completely losing consciousness. During that time, a large amount of Cold water is Inhaled into the Lungs, and every breath causes pain akin to being cut by a thousand knives in the Lungs."
"And when I was prying open the deceased's Palm just now, I also noticed..."
"In the area between the deceased's Thumb and Index finger, there was also a Slight Rope mark."
"Between the Thumb and Index finger?"
Shinichi Kudo looked down at his own Palm in confusion:
"How could there be a Rope mark in a place like that?"
"There are clearly no Binding marks on the deceased's Wrist, and even if one were to bind the hands, they wouldn't bind them there."
"Because that is not a Rope mark left by Binding at all."
Lin Xinyi extended his hand, spread his Thumbs, and then reached down toward his Waist.
He Pretended that a non-existent Rope loop was binding his Waist, then tucked his Thumb between the "rope" and his abdomen, using his index finger web to catch the "rope," and pulled down with Effort.
"So that's how it is..."
Ran reacted faster than Shinichi Kudo once again:
"That's a Laceration mark left by the deceased trying to untie the Rope loop around her Waist."
"Because in the final moment of her Life, she felt Regret."
"She wanted to live, wanted to return to this world."
"So she tried hard to reach out and untie the Rope loop binding the Heavy object around her Waist, but..."
"But she realized it too late; by then, it was all over," Lin Xinyi said with a heavy Tone. "Her Muscles had already begun to Spasm due to the Cold water's Stimulation, and her consciousness was gradually fading as her breathing stopped."
"Even that Rope loop, which should have been easy to Break free from under normal circumstances, could not be undone in that state."
"Just like that, in that intense Pain, the deceased couldn't even manage to stay Awake enough to grip that rope."
Saying this, Lin Xinyi let go of the non-existent rope.
He tightly clasped his hands over his chest, his Body trembling slightly, as if a burning charcoal fire raged within his chest:
"A deceased person who has entered the stage of consciousness loss can no longer think about Survival."
"Under the influence of Instinct, she began to try hard to cover her chest and Lungs, where her Pain was most intense—perhaps this method of external pressure could alleviate some of her Pain."
"But doing so had no effect whatsoever; her hands remained tightly pressed against her chest, firmly clenched into a Fist due to the intense Pain and Spasms."
"So, we can now see that the deceased's Arms are in a clenched Fist shape, and several Cutting marks on her Arms perfectly Match and connect with several Cutting marks on her chest to form a single line."
Lin Xinyi stood there, covering his chest and tightly gripping his Fist, recreating the deceased's final posture before death:
"Her consciousness was completely extinguished, and her Life came to an End."
"And this final Struggle before her death caused the Rope loop to loosen further, allowing her Corpse to Break free from the Restraint under the impact of the water flow, eventually floating to the surface."
"Hoo..."
Lin Xinyi sighed deeply:
"This was the last Sound the deceased left behind."
"So that's how it was..."
Shinichi Kudo pondered for a moment, but his brow furrowed slightly.
The Answer to this Riddle was somewhat difficult for him to accept:
Indeed, the Pajamas proved that the deceased's suicide was likely an Impulsive decision, and the Rope mark on the web of the thumb indicated that the deceased had attempted Survival before death.
But what was the significance of these things?
These irrelevant details only served to reconstruct the lady's death process in more detail; they were of no help to solving the Case itself!
Although Shinichi Kudo was somewhat moved, he was more confused.
Seeing his reaction, Lin Xinyi thought for a moment, then turned directly to Ran Mouri beside him:
"Miss Mouri, I find that you might have more talent to become a top Forensic Doctor than Kudo."
"Eh, me?"
Ran Mouri's mouth opened slightly in surprise.
She had been praised for being Beautiful, Gentle, and skilled in martial arts, but never for having any Criminal Investigation talent.
"Mr. Lin, you must be Joking..."
"My Reasoning ability is far inferior to Shinichi's; how could I become a Famous Forensic Doctor?"
Ran Mouri said somewhat shyly.
"No, you misunderstood. A Forensic Doctor and a Detective are not the same."
"A Forensic Doctor doesn't need innate Reasoning ability; those things can be compensated for with Experience and knowledge."
"What a Forensic Doctor needs most is Empathy for the deceased."
Lin Xinyi spoke very earnestly:
"For a Forensic Doctor, Autopsy and investigating the case is just ordinary daily Work."
"This Work is not interesting; it can even be called tedious."
"And tediousness inevitably leads to slackness, and dullness often causes Enthusiasm to Cool down."
"Therefore, throughout a long Profession career, only those who can personally feel the deceased's Pain can truly feel the responsibility they bear on their shoulders, and only they can use the most Patient Attitude to Speak out for every deceased person."
"Miss Ran Mouri, you possess exactly this ability."
With that said, the Air quietly became Silent.
Ran Mouri was not complacent because of the praise; instead, she was further moved by Lin Xinyi's words regarding her Empathy for the deceased.
This Gentleness seemed to be her innate ability.
And Shinichi Kudo also quietly fell Silent:
"The ability to feel the deceased's Pain..."
Vaguely, the Famous Detective seemed to have learned something.