novelraw Chapter 144 I'm only responsible for arresting people; you can discuss the rest with the judge!
Chapter 144 I'm only responsible for arresting people; you can discuss the rest with the judge!
Chapter 144 I'm only responsible for arresting people; you can discuss the rest with the judge!
Why is everyone so quiet?
"Don't you like it?"
When Maishiro Kyosuke saw that all eight people in front of him had finished reading the manuscript, except for Jiang Liu Meili, who was lying on the table, writing and drawing in her notebook.
The other seven people placed their manuscripts on the table and remained silent.
This strange scene surprised Maijo Kyosuke for a moment.
Some even doubt whether this groundbreaking police novel is out of step with the current market environment.
But soon, everyone present proved that Maijo Kyosuke's worries were unfounded.
The eight people present exchanged glances, then stood up once again in unison, and enthusiastic applause rang out in the private room.
With the establishment of the "New Authentic Mystery Club," the order in which the members spoke seemed to have been pre-arranged.
Start by deciding based on the level of enjoyment one has for reasoning.
As the Tokyo Women's Karate Champion, Kyoko Mikoshiba has also read quite a few mystery novels.
However, like his father, Yasunori Mikoshiba, he was a fan of SF-themed mystery, so he was the person with the lowest concentration of reasoning skills among everyone present.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Kyoko Mikoshiba slowly spoke up, "Mr. Maishiro, I really like this story. As for more technical details, I can't really explain it, since I haven't read many police novels."
"But the combination of cruelty and warmth, this dual experience of two complex emotions within a single book, still struck me as very interesting and novel."
Kyoko Mikoshiba rested her tanned arm on the table, cupped her cheeks in her hands, and looked at Kyosuke Maijo with a puzzled expression: "But there are some things I still don't quite understand—"
Kyosuke Maishiro isn't worried about others giving him advice; he's only afraid that no one will speak his mind.
Seeing Mikoshiba Kyoko looking at him with a puzzled expression, he naturally said happily, "Miss Mikoshiba, please feel free to say whatever you want to say."
"This is the New Authentic Mystery Club."
"I'm a member of the 'New Orthodox Mystery Club,' and you're a member here too."
"Everyone here is equal, and everyone is my friend, so—"
"Please leave behind your public personas here!"
"Even Mr. Manji Gonda isn't a renowned commentator here; he's just a member of our 'New Orthodox Mystery Club'!"
"Please speak freely and do not hold back because of your status."
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Mikoshiba Kyoko turned to look at her father, Mikoshiba Yasunori, beside her.
Seeing her father nod at her, Mikoshiba Kyoko pointed with her slender finger at "The Third Statute of Limitations".
The manuscript began by saying, "Ms. Wucheng, based on your previous works, you could have focused all your attention on the evil in the case, just like in 'A Bellflower,' 'Conclusion,' and 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate.'"
"But why does the 'Third Time Limit' include things that are completely unrelated to the case?"
"for example----"
Mikoshiba quickly flipped through the manuscript and then asked, "For example, why does the story of 'The Third Statute of Limitations' include Mori Takahiro and Kusami's past and private life? And why does it devote so much space to hinting at the infighting and inconsistencies within the police force?"
"I initially thought these details would be related to the taxi driver's murder, but in reality, removing these details wouldn't affect the story's progression at all."
Before Maishiro Kyosuke could even speak, Kenzaki Mitsuki, sitting next to Mikoshiba Kyoko, interjected, "Kyoko, you don't need Maishiro-sensei to answer that question; I can answer it myself!"
Upon hearing Kenzaki Mitsuki's words, Mikoshiba Kyoko looked to the side.
Kenzaki Mitsuki leaned on the table with one hand, then began flipping through the manuscript of "The Third Time Limit," and began answering the question posed by Mikoshiba Kyoko: "Kyoko, do you know why mystery novels are divided into so many genres?"
Kenzaki Mitsuki didn't seem to intend to let Mikoshiba Kyoko answer, and continued to speak to herself: "In the end, the distinction between genres of mystery novels is just to define the works within each genre."
"For example, if I am a fan of logical reasoning and you are a fan of science fiction reasoning, then we will inevitably have different tastes."
"My favorite writer is definitely Ellery Queen, and your favorite is naturally Isaac Asimov."
"What do I want to see in logical flow reasoning? Of course, a lot of logical reasoning, elimination, foreshadowing and resolution, and jaw-dropping conclusions."
"Kyoko, what about you? You must want to see all sorts of novel settings in SF mystery, and what strange things will happen under those settings."
"This is the most important point in classifying mystery genres, and it's also a way for readers to quickly find what they like."
"Then the same principle applies to Mr. Wucheng's article 'The Third Statute of Limitations.' Mr. Wucheng told us from the beginning that 'The Third Statute of Limitations' is a police novel that uses psychological reasoning."
"Police novels are a broad category, and reasoning based on evidence is a technique used in these works."
"Since it's called a police novel, then the target audience for this work should actually be readers who enjoy police mystery novels."
"So—Kyoko, you were wrong from the very beginning~"
"The parts that seem absurd and completely unnecessary are precisely what attract readers to police novels!"
"What you want to see are ingenious ideas, shocking reversals, grand schemes, and brilliant solutions—"
"But readers who like police novels don't really want to read about the cases themselves; what they want to read is the workplace drama of the three classes under the First Criminal Investigation Division of F County, where they scheme against each other and clash like enemies."
"As for the reasoning in 'The Third Statute of Limitations' by Teacher Wucheng, it's because it's written too perfectly."
"That's why people mistakenly believe that's the core of the story in 'The Third Time Limit'!"
Upon hearing Kenzaki Mitsuki's words, Mikoshiba Kyoko's face showed a very surprised expression: "Huh? Is that true?"
So, at its core, police novels actually tell stories about the inner workings of the police force?
Maijo Kyosuke nodded, picking up where Kenzaki Mitsuki left off: "Ms. Mikoshiba, Ms. Kenzaki is absolutely right. The essence of 'police novels' lies in using cases to depict the internal struggles within the police force."
"This highlights the stories of the protagonists, supporting characters, perpetrators, victims, and bystanders."
"I wrote this story, 'The Third Statute of Limitations,' for the same reason. I wanted the sergeant in the story, Nanjian, to not only be able to exploit the criminals' psychological weaknesses but also to be able to shrewdly strike and arrest them."
"I want to delve deeper into the surreal, dark aspects of human nature and the human heart that are too painful to look at directly."
"For example, Class President Nanami's terrible past, Mori Takahiro's uncertain future, Nanami's dislike and distrust of women, and Mori Takahiro's empathy and care for women."
"In short, although they are two opposing sides, it is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong, because if either of them were missing, the completeness of this story would be greatly reduced."
Hearing what Kyosuke Maijo said, Tatara Katsumi smiled faintly and said, "I found Kenzaki-san and Maijo-sensei's answers very interesting."
"Because after hearing their answers, I thought, 'Isn't that describing me?'"
Tataka Yoshimasa, with his fingers interlaced, continued, "First of all, let me state that I'm not a fan of police novels. It's just that when I was reading 'The Third Statute of Limitations,' my attention was completely drawn to Mori Takahiro and Kusami halfway through."
"In other words, I don't care at all what the so-called answer to the mystery is."
"I was just thinking at the time—"
"What will happen to Yukie if Takeuchi is captured? How will Arisa face Takeuchi?"
"Will Nanami become gentler because of this case? Will he stop being misogynistic because of this case? Will Nanami eventually reconcile with Mori Takahiro after letting go of his prejudice against women?"
"And most importantly!"
"What happened between Mori Takahiro and Akiko in the end? Did he confront Akiko directly? Did it end in a breakup? Or did he discover Akiko's secret and end up turning into another Kusami?"
After raising numerous questions, Yoshimasa Tataka let out a heavy sigh: "After reading the story of 'The Third Statute of Limitations' with so many doubts in mind, I realized that Ms. Maishiro is truly—"
"It can only be said that Professor Mai Cheng truly deserves to be hailed by numerous newspapers as a once-in-a-century genius!"
"Without any superfluous embellishments or flashy techniques, the case is swiftly and unexpectedly resolved through a final twist and brutal methods!"
"And that's how it turned out!"
"The cold-blooded Nanami is still the same cold-blooded Nanami!"
"There is no redemption, change, or influence as found in other detective novels. From beginning to end, he is just a terrifying, beast-like policeman who will stop at nothing to solve the case."
"Whether it's Takeuchi, Yukie, or even Arisa who might be implicated, Kusami simply cannot empathize with them."
"Therefore, they performed their duties without any bias!"
"A criminal is a criminal!"
"Whatever their hidden reasons, it's our duty as police officers to apprehend them!"
"In other words, the character of Sergeant Nanami, created by Ms. Maishiro, profoundly permeates the entire story's tone and, more importantly, adheres to the rules of police novels, creating a cold and ruthless police world!"
"And Mori Takahiro is still the same Mori Takahiro. Even though he finds out that the person he loves has not firmly chosen him, his strong empathy still leads him to propose."
"At the same time, he also wanted to adopt Xiao Shasha and make her his adopted daughter."
"Is the whole story a happy ending? In my opinion, yes."
"Because apart from the ending given by Ms. Maishiro, there seems to be no better possibility for this case."
Tatara Katsuyuki's speech was full of genuine emotion, which made everyone else present think about the layout and depth of "The Third Time Limit" from a different perspective.
Mikoshiba Yasunori stroked his chin, seemingly thinking of something interesting, and smiled: "After the analysis by Mitsuki and Mr. Tatara, Ms. Maishiro's creation of Class President Kusami really does resemble that kind of cold-blooded police officer."
"I remember when I was young in Kabukicho, when the police were arresting criminals, they would usually beg for mercy with tears in their eyes, saying things like, 'This is my first time!' 'Please forgive me!' 'I promise I'll never do it again!'"
"In short, they're all lies that sound so familiar they're sick of you."
"Similarly, if the police have their own methods, I'll only be responsible for arresting them; you can discuss the rest with the judge!"
Mikoshiba Yasunori smiled and looked at everyone, a smile on his face: "Don't you think this is the kind of thing a cold-blooded policeman like Sergeant Kusumi would say?"
'
Mikoshiba Yasunori's words left Eri Miyu somewhat bewildered.
Because according to Jiang Liumeili's "six dimensions of reasoning", there is really nothing to resonate with in "The Third Time Limit".
Because Nan Jian, the class monitor, is so cold-blooded that she's not even human, no matter how powerful such a character is, Jiang Liu Meili can't give her a high score.
However, after hearing Kenzaki Mitsuki, Tatara Katsunori, and Mikoshiba Yasunori's evaluations of Kusami, Eru Miri seemed to have a new opinion about Kusami.
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Liumei decisively awarded a perfect score of 100 to the resonance of the six-dimensional radar chart in her reasoning.