Lin Xinyi had already broken free from the predicament of being considered a suspect.
No one could even question him.
Because his proof always proceeded step by step, with each step based on the evidence exhibited by the corpse.
This process was not like the wildly imaginative and frequently reversing deductions of Famous Detectives, but rather resembled a simple, unadorned statement, a straightforward report.
Such a reported statement possessed the most irrefutable persuasiveness.
"It seems Mr. Lin Xinyi indeed has no suspicion of committing the crime."
Inspector Megure finally accepted this conclusion.
He completely let go of his hostility, his gaze toward Lin Xinyi full of curiosity:
"As you said, the deceased drowned while alive, and the body was submerged in water for over 3 hours."
"But this doesn't prove the deceased committed suicide, does it?"
"More importantly, how were the dismembered corpse fragments formed?"
"And how do we explain the blood waves witnessed by Brother Kudo and Ran?"
Inspector Megure asked the most crucial question.
"We will analyze the cause of death last."
Lin Xinyi replied calmly and methodically:
"I will first explain the cause of the dismembered corpse and the blood waves."
Hearing this, Shinichi Kudo immediately perked up his ears:
This was the part that troubled him the most!
He could easily discern the cause of death and the time of death, but he could not imagine how a person who drowned could become a dismembered corpse three hours later.
And the blood waves he and Ran witnessed just over ten minutes ago:
Since the body parts had been soaking in the water for three hours, the blood should have long been washed away by the river water, and they shouldn't have seen such large blood waves at all.
"The reason Shinichi saw blood waves is actually very simple."
Lin Xinyi gave the answer with a calm expression:
"That is because the time of the deceased's death and the time the corpse was dismembered are actually not the same."
"Not only are they different, but they are also far apart."
"I understand now!"
A flash of inspiration struck Shinichi Kudo's mind, and he suddenly realized:
"It is correct that the deceased drowned 3 hours ago, but her body remained floating in the river since then."
"During this process, the body remained intact, so the blood inside the body would not flow out into the water in large amounts."
"And about ten minutes ago, when Ran and I discovered the body,"
"the body was just divided into fragments for some reason!"
"The blood inside the body also flowed out into the river water in large quantities during this process of dismemberment, causing Ran and me to see the blood wave phenomenon that suggested a recent disposal of the body."
"What?"
Hearing the deduction of this Famous Detective, Inspector Megure was somewhat confused:
"Brother Kudo, then what was the reason that turned the deceased into dismembered fragments?"
"Could it be that a second person intervened?"
He suddenly turned his head to look at Lin Xinyi:
"Mr. Lin Xinyi said that currently, it appears no second person was involved in this entire Case."
"Then, how exactly did the deceased 'dismember herself' after death?"
This question hung in the minds of everyone present; even the Famous Detective Shinichi Kudo was struggling with it.
In an instant, countless intense gazes focused on Lin Xinyi.
The scene was so Quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Lin Xinyi had unknowingly replaced Shinichi Kudo as the center of attention.
"The answer is simple."
Lin Xinyi spoke without haste or slowness.
But he did not give the answer directly.
This was his Profession habit: evidence first, then conclusion:
"Everyone can see,"
Lin Xinyi gently moved aside to allow everyone a clearer view of the gruesome body fragments laid out on the plastic sheet:
"The fragments placed here currently include the head, torso, the upper limb connected to the hand, and the thigh of the lower limb."
"And on these fragments, specifically on the face, chest, forearm, and leg areas of the corpse, there are large areas of scrape wounds and friction wounds that are basically parallel, arc-shaped, diagonal, and have nearly identical spacing."
"At the same time, these areas also exhibit large areas of skin shedding."
"Everyone can Imagine,"
"what kind of attack a person would need to sustain to receive such extensive scraping injuries all over their whole body?"
"This—" the onlookers subconsciously began to think.
It was Inspector Megure, with the most Handle Case experience, who reacted first:
"Could it be a traffic accident?"
"I have seen many corpses of victims who died in traffic accidents before; they all had more or less extensive external injuries from colliding or scraping against the surface of a car or the road."
"But—"
As he spoke, he felt something was wrong:
"Brother Kudo deduced that the deceased's body had been soaking in the water after death, right?"
"There are no cars in the river, so how could there have been a traffic accident?"
"No, it is possible—"
The one speaking was Shinichi Kudo.
After Lin Xinyi reminded them to this extent, he immediately reacted:
"The ship!"
"I remember that just before Ran and I discovered the body, several Cruise Ships passed by on the river!"
"In other words, the corpse collided with those ships?!"
"Correct."
Lin Xinyi nodded seriously:
"However, because the speed of the Cruise Ship itself was limited, merely colliding with the ship would not cause such severe scraping injuries."
"Not to mention, the force of that damage was enough to tear an intact corpse into pieces."
"Everyone, please look—"
He casually pointed to the cross-section of the deceased's severed limb.
The flesh and blood there were rotten, the bones broken, the red, white, and yellow mixed together, making one break out in Cold Sweat and feel nauseous just by looking at it.
But Lin Xinyi was already accustomed to such sights:
"Manual dismemberment most commonly uses cutting tools such as kitchen knives or daggers found in ordinary homes."
"Therefore, the wounds caused by manual dismemberment often show free-hanging tissue flaps, which are traces of back-and-forth cutting."
"The cuts on the bones are generally shorter and shallower, showing traces of repeated chopping."
"Scratches and fish-tail drag marks are often visible on the skin, and more scratches can be seen around the major joints."
"And if a saw was used, obvious saw marks would be visible on the cross-section of the corpse, the wound surface would be uneven, and the bone cross-section would show wave-like or step-like serrations."
"The marks from an axe are even more obvious; the wound cavity shape, which is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, is very easy to distinguish."
"These are traces inevitably left behind when a Murderer manually divides a corpse, due to insufficient personal strength and limited tools."
There are only these few types of tools available for manual dismemberment.
And the traces left by each type of tool are distinct.
As an experienced Forensic Doctor, Lin Xinyi could distinguish the differences from the dismemberment wounds at a glance:
"However, the distribution and morphology of the wounds on this corpse are chaotic and varied, with different wound shapes on different parts of the Body."
"The wound edge and wall on the head are neat, resembling chop wounds."
"In areas rich in Soft tissue, such as the abdomen and thighs, there are multiple arc-shaped wounds with consistent directionality and roughly equal spacing. The wound edges and walls are uneven, the wound corners are not very sharp, and the wound cavity is generally deeper with uneven soft tissue layers inside—this is the result of some sharp instrument rapidly and repeatedly slashing the corpse."
"And most importantly—"
"The muscles and tendons at the severed limb show obvious signs of twisting, tearing, and rupture."
"Furthermore, the bone at the cross-section shows repeated, relatively smooth cuts from a sharp instrument, and the bone exposed at the bottom of some wounds exhibits characteristics of Depression comminuted Bone fracture."
Lin Xinyi's voice became much Low:
"Manual chopping simply cannot cause this kind of injury."
"This kind of injury requires a 'Murder Weapon' possessing characteristics of high-speed rotation and immense chopping force and cutting ability."
"It's like throwing a person into a meat grinder."
At this point, everyone present understood what Lin Xinyi meant:
Simply put, the trauma on the corpse was too messy, too deep, and too severe.
Humans with limited strength simply could not inflict such wounds; the only thing capable of causing this phenomenon was a powerful Machine similar to a meat grinder.
And in this Case, the Machine that turned the deceased's corpse into fragments was—
"The Propeller?"
After being reminded hand-in-hand by his 'Opponent,' Shinichi Kudo finally found the Truth he was looking for:
"The corpse was sucked into the Propeller of a passing Cruise Ship!"