novelraw Chapter 115 Jiang Liumei's Request
Chapter 115 Jiang Liumei's Request
Chapter 115 Jiang Liumei's Request
After responding to Hideomi Uyama's professional assessment, Otto Penzel did not sit down.
Instead, following Hideomi Uyama's line of thought, he expressed his own reflections: "The two highlights that Mr. Uyama just mentioned are undoubtedly the most prominent aspects of 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate,' and the cornerstones that can be called a 'masterpiece.'"
"However, there are some questions that Mr. Yushan did not point out, so I will answer them."
"First of all, the core reasoning in Ms. Maicheng's book, 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate,' is two very powerful and unexpected methods of elimination."
"This method of convening all relevant parties and using a large-scale elimination process to identify the culprit is clearly a tribute to Ellery Queen's famous work, 'The Mystery of the French Powder'."
"Miss Jiang Liu has already provided a detailed explanation of the first layer of logical reasoning, so I won't go into detail here."
"As for the second layer of logical reasoning, I have a few points to make."
"After the first round of elimination, that is, after all eighteen suspects have been eliminated."
"Teacher Mai Shiro used a very subtle and ingenious idea here, which is to first suspect the nineteenth person present, that is, the deceased himself."
"This is clearly a mockery of farcical mystery, that is, your Japanese BAKA mystery."
"Following this farcical line of reasoning, Ms. Mai Cheng abruptly shifts her focus, beginning to unravel the strongest foreshadowing in 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate'!"
"The key to this plot point is fingerprints!!!"
"If we were to take all the mystery novels in the world and choose the strongest plot twist, then the fingerprint plot twist in 'The Death Row Inmate' would undoubtedly be number one!"
Otto Penzel was getting a little excited as he reached into his pocket, wanting to light a cigarette to calm himself down.
But seeing that there were three women present, Otto Penzel, out of politeness, put the cigarette back, took a sip of water, and continued, "The brilliance of the 'fingerprint foreshadowing' lies in the fact that there are no fingerprints on the syringes and test tubes, yet it suggests that the purchaser can be identified based on the serial numbers on the syringes and test tubes."
"When I first saw this foreshadowing, my initial thought was that it was a foreshadowing technique used by Mr. Mai to ensure the rigor of the work, creating a confusing foreshadowing."
"But when the second layer of logical reasoning began, to be honest, for a fleeting moment, I felt like my brain was being brutally attacked by Ms. Maishiro's words!"
Otto Penzel glanced at Keisuke Maijo beside him and said jokingly, "For a moment, I even saw the mischievous grin on Mr. Maijo's face when he was writing."
"Because there are no fingerprints on syringes and test tubes, most people don't start with fingerprints. Teacher Wucheng took advantage of this blind spot in thinking and secretly buried this clue deep inside."
"In the end, combining the first layer of logical reasoning, that is, the murderer was an outsider who did not know that the incinerator could not be used, this foreshadowing was revealed."
"They arrived at a line of reasoning that's so logical it's impossible to imagine, yet it makes perfect sense!"
"Because the killer believed that the incinerator would destroy the syringes and test tubes on the same day, there was no need to scratch off the serial numbers. Since even the serial numbers were not scratched off, the killer naturally had no reason to deliberately wipe off the fingerprints."
"Through this intriguing logic, it was ultimately deduced that the killer was wearing gloves, thus identifying the real culprit!"
Everyone applauded when they heard Otto Penzel's words. Even Maijo Kyosuke couldn't help but sigh that Otto Penzel was indeed an excellent collector and a powerful literary anthologist!
His appreciation of mystery is clearly far superior to that of many Japanese mystery critics!
Just as everyone was applauding, Mikoshiba Kyoko, who hadn't said much until now, suddenly made a move.
She waved her wheat-colored arms and asked Maishiro Kyosuke, "Maishiro—Maishiro-sensei."
Perhaps she hasn't gotten used to calling Maishiro Kyosuke "teacher" yet.
That rather dashing face spoke with a hint of hesitation, a stark contrast to her previous sunny, athletic demeanor.
"Ms. Mikoshiba? Is there anything you'd like to ask?"
With a smile, Maishiro Kyosuke asked, "As I said before, everyone is welcome to speak freely. If Miss Mikoshiba has any questions, please be sure to ask."
Kyoko Mikoshiba pursed her lips and nodded, then said, "I don't know how to describe it specifically, because I seem to be the person who has read the least mystery novels among everyone here."
"However, I found something very interesting in 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates'."
"That's just a coincidence."
"I want to hear from Teacher Wu Cheng—explain why it was designed this way."
The analysis and dissection of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate" by seven people, including Kiyoshi Kasai, Yasunori Mikoshiba, Mitsuki Kenzaki, Hideomi Uyama, Miri Eru, and Otto Penzel, is now complete.
The mystery of the death row inmates has been almost completely dismantled.
However, there is one more thing that seems to have been overlooked or not dissected by the other seven people.
That was the coincidence that Mikoshiba Kyoko proposed.
With that in mind, Maishiro Kyosuke nodded to Mikoshiba Kyoko, giving his final answer: "Miss Mikoshiba raised a very good question, which is exactly what I wanted to say."
"Everyone must have noticed, right?"
"I incorporated two coincidences into the story of 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate'."
"The first coincidence is that Warden Matsuyama likes to use cigarettes to send off death row inmates, but Aki Shoji doesn't smoke and likes to eat sweets."
"So Director Matsuyama had a sudden idea to prepare a cake and tea for the Ariake Shoji, which led to an unforeseen coincidence for the murderer, namely the thermos."
"The reason I designed it this way is firstly because this coincidence, which the murderer could not have foreseen, aroused Rintaro Hozuki's suspicion and ultimately led him to the conclusion that the murderer may have prepared poison and syringes in advance, which led to the discovery of important physical evidence: syringes and test tubes."
"Secondly, it's to echo the second coincidence that follows."
"Because of the first murderer's unforeseen coincidence, which was helping the murderer kill Ariake Shoji."
"The second coincidence was that the unusable incinerator helped Rintaro Hozuki obtain physical evidence and make rigorous deductions!"
"This method, based on the fact that the killer cannot foresee coincidences, effectively avoids false clues and psychological predictions."
"In the end, even with a near-perfect plan, the murderer still lost to Rintaro Hozuki!"
The seven people present were all stunned by Maijo Kyosuke's profound understanding of mystery novels, and their faces showed an astonished expression!
After today's exchange and communication, the seven people present firmly believe that Maijo Kyosuke will eventually become the one who can break the "Kiyocho Curse"!
For Maijo Kyosuke, it's only a matter of time!
"Let's eat! All the dishes have been served for a while now. Chinese food is all about the wok hei (wok aroma), it won't taste good when it gets cold."
Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words, everyone snapped out of their daze and began to enjoy their food.
Jiang Liu Meili sat next to Mai Cheng Jingjie, eating braised pork with rice with gusto, pondering how to make the most of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate".
After all, it's a real shame that such a masterpiece of logical reasoning was only published in Top Hat magazine.
We must ensure that "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates" shines as it should!
Thinking of all this, Jiang Liumei looked at Otto Penzel, who was enjoying his Chinese meal, and asked, "Mr. Otto, I have a favor to ask."
"Although my request is excessive and may seem somewhat rude to you."
"But I still hope Mr. Otto can help me, and also help Teacher Wucheng."
Otto Penzel was taken aback by Jiang Liu's beautiful words. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and said with a smile, "Miss Jiang Liu, please feel free to speak your mind."
"It is my honor to be able to help you and Teacher Wucheng."