Pollution throughout the territory

It was the rush hour for getting off work, and the buses in the evening were crowded.

Aikawa Satoko was squeezed next to the back door, her eyes hidden under the brim of her hat, observing her target through the reflection of the car window glass from time to time.

A short but fat man wearing a gray down jacket named Liu Huai.

Although it was determined that Guo Licheng was wrongly accused in the morning, the real mastermind behind the scenes was extremely hidden, leaving almost no clues. The surveillance in the community, including the crime scene, was all clean. Except for Guo Licheng and the two corpses, There were no traces of the others, which was one of the main reasons why the police station determined that Guo Li was the murderer.

Now, whether there is a witness or no evidence, it is extremely detrimental to Guo Licheng. If the police station had not been able to find Guo Licheng's murder method and weapon, he would have been convicted long ago.

In order to find the murderer, Aikawa Riko made a detailed search of all the people who had interacted with Guo Licheng, from neighbors to colleagues to customers and the owner of the breakfast restaurant where he went to eat every day. After personally visiting and checking out several possible suspects, After the suspected person, there are actually no other suspicious targets.

Aikawa Riko paranoidly believes that the murderer must be related to Guo Licheng, otherwise it would be impossible for the murderer to commit the crime twice, once by the landlord and once by the new tenant, and the crime was committed in a rental house. If it were a random crime, the murderer could not have committed the crime twice. Don't leave, just focus on Guo Licheng to cause trouble.

While re-screening the list, Aikawa Riko noticed a man named Liu Huai.

He and Guo Licheng work in the same company, but their positions are far apart. They usually don't work in the same department. The only similarity between them is that they are both otakus in the eyes of other colleagues.

Continuing the investigation, Liu Huai's experience is unremarkable. He has been working since he graduated from college. Because of his appearance and personality, he has never had a girlfriend. His family background is also relatively ordinary. His father fell ill and lost his job two years ago. My mother is a full-time housewife, and Liu Huai is the only one in the family who is still working and earning money.

Consumption records show that Liu Huai was once keen on buying anime character figures, but he has not bought anything similar in the past two years. This must be because his father is sick and unemployed, which makes the entire family's economic situation not optimistic.

Such a person does not look like the murderer who caused this pollution incident. Moreover, the two people's addresses are far apart, and they have no contact with each other on a daily basis. It is even more difficult to figure out what his motives are.

But Riko Aikawa determined at a glance that there was something wrong with Liu Huai.

She herself couldn't tell what was wrong with Liu Huai, maybe it was her sixth sense as a detective.

So, while off work, Riko Aikawa decided to follow Liu Huai.

On the bus in winter, the heating was turned on fully, and there was a layer of water droplets hanging on the glass. From time to time, Riko Aikawa took out a tissue and wiped it, pretending that she was looking at the scenery outside the window.

Then the announcement announced the arrival of the station. When Riko Aikawa saw Liu Huai starting to squeeze in this way, she thought he was going to get off at this stop because she was closer to the door. In order not to attract attention, Riko Aikawa got off the bus one step ahead. .

But she didn't wait for Liu Huai until the bus left.

"Is it intentional?"

Aikawa Riko frowned, glanced around, and met the eyes of a little boy riding a children's bicycle.

As a qualified detective, you must be good at using all the tools around you.

Three minutes later, Riko Aikawa rode her bicycle and finally followed the bus to the next stop.

Liu Huai's figure was not conspicuous on the sidewalk, but he could not escape her keen sight.

"Isn't he going home?"

According to the information, Liu Huai's home is not nearby.

With doubts, Aikawa Riko rode a children's bicycle and followed him quietly.

After walking for half an hour, Liu Huai had walked out of the busy urban area and arrived at a relatively quiet place.

The prosperity of the city has not affected this place too much. It is surrounded by low buildings, the highest of which is only three floors, full of the atmosphere of the old times.

At this time, the sky was completely dark, and a few houses turned on their lights, but more houses were uninhabited. The depths of the street were still dark, and the cold wind whimpered, making people shiver.

"Did he discover that someone was following him and deliberately lured me here?"

With a vague premonition in her heart, Riko Aikawa clenched the box in her hand, put the bicycle aside, and followed on foot at a not too far distance away.

After walking for a few more minutes, in the darkness, Huichuan Lizi vaguely saw Liu Huai turning a corner and disappearing.

She walked to the corner and found a wall there.

"Where have people gone?"

It can never disappear into thin air.

At this moment.

"Dingling bell~"

On the quiet street, a string of bells suddenly rang.

Aikawa Riko subconsciously reached out her arms.

It wasn't her bell that was ringing, it was the car bell.

…

"In the blue sky and the Milky Way~"

"There is a little white boat~"

…

Under the flickering street lights, a little girl with double ponytails came from behind her on a bicycle.

The little girl looked forward, as if turning a blind eye to Aikawa Riko, humming a song in her mouth, and passed her slowly and leisurely.

The moment the figures intertwined with each other, Aikawa Riko's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and a biting chill than the surrounding cold wind filled her whole body.

The children's bicycle that the little girl was riding was the one she had just discarded.

But there wasn't even a streetlight further ahead. Where was she going?

Aikawa Riko glanced at her watch. The hands on it seemed to be damaged and were spinning erratically.

When she raised her head and looked again, the little girl had disappeared into the darkness at some point, but the bicycle she was riding was lying crooked on the road, and the wheels kept spinning.

"The little girl..."

There is an ominous atmosphere everywhere here, but Aikawa Riko has seen scenes even weirder than this many times, so she has no intention of backing down.

When she came to the bicycle, she knelt down and touched the seat.

cold.

When he was about to stand up, Aikawa Riko saw from the corner of his eye that the weeds on the roadside were slightly different.

Looking along, she discovered that there was a hidden path next to it. If someone had never been there before, it would be easy to ignore it.

Liu Huai probably walked into this path, no wonder he didn't find it just now.

But this is an obvious trap. To go or not to go?

Aikawa Riko only hesitated for a second before taking steps.

The leather boots stepped on the dirt path, rubbing against the gravel, making a slight sound, which was immediately covered up by the sound of the wind.

Aikawa Riko tightened her collar and walked along the path for less than a minute. There was no road ahead.

Instead, there was a low building, square and covered with a layer of gray cement, like a dilapidated factory building.

The iron door of the house was somewhat rusty, and dim light shone through the cracks in the door. There must be someone inside.

Aikawa Lizi stood in front of the door, hesitated for a while, and then chose to open the door.