NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25: Chapter 25
But now, Lin Yi had taken away the pen that couldn't write, so Kudo Shinichi could no longer use it to force Director Ochiai to confess.
The fact that the pen had disappeared doesn't mean that Director Ochiai won't have anything to worry about; the evidence he left is not limited to just the pen.
However, this has greatly increased Kudo Shinichi's difficulty in solving the case, leading him down wrong paths.
Currently, all of Kudo Shinichi's attention is focused on two pens: one that can't write and another that fell at the crime scene with its tip retracted.
His line of investigation is based on these two pens.
Now that one pen is missing, it will clearly ruin Shinichi's investigative approach, and he will realize this problem halfway through his reflections.
If he keeps searching for the pen that can't write, he will inevitably find himself at a dead end.
He needs to find a new line of investigation to successfully solve the case.
There are many new possible lines of investigation. For example, investigating the armor; Director Ochiai used it to commit the crime, and unless he took a bath, it's inevitable that there would be some microscopic iron left, invisible to the naked eye.
Another option is to investigate the place where the message was left. The characters "Kubota" were not written by the owner Manaka, and a simple handwriting comparison can easily identify the culprit.
If Director Ochiai used the security cameras and the paper with the "death message" to confuse the police, then Lin Yi has closed off the path Shinichi was following by taking away the director's pen.
I don't know when the new-era Sherlock Holmes will understand this and leave this path to find another way out.
Lin Yi, who has watched "Detective Conan" for over twenty years, recognizes Shinichi's intelligence.
He doesn't believe that a small murder case could defeat him; solving the case is inevitable.
But it's hard to say how long it will take him to get back on track.
Lin Yi estimated it would take him about two hours.
Speaking of the murder case in the art museum, Lin Yi still doesn't understand how a thin old man like Director Ochiai, while wearing full armor weighing more than twenty kilos, could lift the plump body of owner Manaka with one hand and stab him to the wall with a sword.
Owner Manaka, with his physique, should weigh at least eighty or ninety kilos.
This is not logical at all!
Just as the thought reaches this point, Lin Yi immediately interrupted himself.
Why think about these things? I'm not a detective; solving the case doesn't benefit me at all.
Here I have two lovely girls. How can I get distracted...? I'm not a real man!
After severely reprimanding himself several times, Lin Yi decided to put the case aside.
He suggested, "How about we play cards while we wait for Kudo?"
"Sure! Let's play Wild Card!"
None of the girls refused the proposal, as waiting for someone without knowing when they would return is truly torture.
To facilitate the Wild Card game, the three moved to a triangular table.
After the waiter brought them the cards, Lin Yi took the cards and shuffled them while saying, "Playing just Wild Card isn't very fun... How about we add some conditions?"
"I agree!" Sonoko, eager to add excitement, said, "Whoever draws the Wild Card will have to answer the winner's question!"
Sonoko's proposal was approved by all three!
"Then let's begin! How about we draw for the Wild Card?"
Sonoko looked at Lin Yi.
"Yes, that's fine."
Lin Yi nodded and said there was no problem.
Drawing the Wild Card was something Lin Yi used to do in the past.
Sonoko spread the cards and drew the colorful clown, taking it out of the game; she only left the black Wild Card, which was the 'Jester'.
"Remember, whoever loses will have to answer everyone else's questions honestly."
Sonoko smiled as she shuffled the cards and passed them to Lin Yi, who now had to shuffle.
Lin Yi took a cup of coffee for a sip and, with his left hand, received the cards, starting to show off his skills.
He began to shuffle with one hand!
He used his thumb to lift half of the cards and his index finger to push the cards from the bottom upwards, covering the lifted cards.
After doing this several times to warm up, Lin Yi performed a more elegant card cut.
He lifted about half of the cards with his thumb, twisted his ring and little fingers, and used his thumb to separate a portion of the top cards, splitting the cards into two parts.
The two parts of the cards spun around his index finger, and the section between the thumb and index was placed down, using the index finger to block.
Then, he withdrew his index finger, and after twisting around it, finally removed the finger and let the cards fall into the palm of his hand.
Lin Yi's finger movements were so fast that Ran and Sonoko didn't even see how he did it.
They only saw Lin Yi's fingers moving quickly, with the cards dividing into three parts, constantly changing positions, cutting and mixing in a flashy way, and finally coming back together.
"All shuffled."
Lin Yi placed the cards and the coffee on the table, finishing this ostentatious act with a casual expression.
This move really achieved great results!
"How amazing!"
Ran and Sonoko looked at Lin Yi with wide eyes.
Sonoko couldn't help but exclaim, "How can you be so cool at shuffling?!"
"Do you even know how to shuffle cards...?" Ran looked at Lin Yi in amazement, realizing that he seemed like a boy full of surprises, giving them huge surprises at every moment.
Lin Yi smiled shyly, "I worked at a casino before... so I know some basic tricks for shuffling cards."
Lin Yi suddenly realized that having skills was really useful.
It would not only make the girls swoon but also allow him to show off, and of course, be interesting.
Its practical value was almost as high as mastery in combat!
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