A Cry for Help from the Deceased / You Want to Sell Me Information? You Clearly Don't Know the Power of Money

Jiang Hang couldn't help but sigh inwardly at this.

Although Inspector Megure's talents are not particularly outstanding, if we had to rank them, his reasoning ability might not even be as good as the wildly imaginative Kogoro Mouri.

But at least Inspector Megure and his subordinates are quite hardworking people. No matter what case they encounter, they will try their best to find the real culprit, and they can quickly adjust back if they realize that they have made a mistake.

However, there aren't many police officers like Inspector Megure in police stations across Japan. At least, neither Natsuki Kosimizu nor her friend ever encountered a police officer like Inspector Megure back then.

What Jiang Hang was slightly concerned about was that the news did not mention the identity of the other high school detective whose reasoning process went wrong.

Jiang Hang searched in other places, but still couldn't find any information on this topic.

After all, there are quite a few people in Japan who have the title of high school detective.

Shinichi Kudo, Shiratori, Heiji Hattori... These are the three Jiang Hang knows so far. Of course, these three are all well-known figures in the detective industry. Cases they are involved in are basically made in the newspapers. There is no possibility that a case will be made in the news but no one knows who the detective who solved it is.

Therefore, the most likely outcome is that an unknown high school student adopts the title of high school detective, encounters a murder case, and makes his own deductions to the police at the scene. Ultimately, his deductions are wrong, and he also misleads the police's judgment.

"A high school detective who's not very famous, and the location is... Shikoku Island. That's all the information we have so far. It seems like this is going to be a difficult case to investigate." Jiang Hang didn't ask Natsuki Kosimizu for her opinion; this kind of thing was, after all, a very personal matter.

Furthermore, Jiang Hang suspected that Natsuki Kosimizu was also trying to find this so-called detective and wanted to take revenge on him.

Therefore, it's best to investigate this matter secretly, find out the truth and Natsuki Kosimizu's attitude before revealing the truth.

Of course, such investigative matters naturally require the assistance of Shizuka Sakaki and Koharu Yoshino, whose intelligence capabilities have both reached an intermediate level.

Upon hearing that Jiang Hang suddenly wanted to investigate a case that occurred a year ago, Shizuka Sakaki had some doubts, but as Jiang Hang's assistant, she didn't ask why and went straight to investigate the case.

Before leaving, Shizuka Sakaki mentioned to Jiang Hang, somewhat helplessly, the maid, Ranta Miyuki, from the Spider Mansion.

According to the other party, she actually knew Rob, but several years had passed and he had not reappeared. In addition, she did not know about the "shine" he left behind, so she forgot to mention it.

"According to her, it was only when your the Pioneer Foundation approached her to ask about her impression of 'Rob' that she remembered that there was indeed such a person."

"Your the Pioneer Foundation is really amazing. You investigated something that people had almost forgotten about in just a day or two," Shizuka Sakaki said, her tone tinged with shame, as if she felt guilty for not being able to help Jiang Hang at all in the last case despite receiving such a high salary.

"They are professionals after all. You are not bad either, you just missed the on-site investigation step. If you go to the Spider Mansion yourself, it should save a lot of time." Jiang Hang naturally had to cheer on his assistants at this time.

The Black Organization has been operating in Tottori Prefecture for over half a century. If they can't find out about this kind of thing, they might as well just disband on the spot.

Shortly after giving Shizuka Sakaki a little encouragement to help her regain her energy and get back to work, Jiang Hang suddenly received a call from Seiji Aso.

Jiang Hang, who had been feeling a little sleepy in the afternoon after lunch, instantly became wide awake upon receiving the phone call.

It came from UDI, or more precisely, from a personal request from forensic pathologist Mikoto Misumi, whom he had long wanted to meet but had never had the chance to.

Chapter 449: Chapter 445: A Cry for Help from the Dead

Nishimurashino, the Institute for the Study of Unnatural Deaths.

When Jiang Hang drove to the research institute, he could see three people, including Seiji Aso, standing at the entrance of the institute waiting for him.

Jiang Hang's gaze quickly swept over the other two people.

One was a young man in his early twenties wearing glasses, while the other was a woman with shoulder-length short hair, dressed simply but still attracting attention.

Seeing that the adult woman's face was 70% similar to that of Satomi Ishihara from his previous life, Jiang Hang confirmed her identity with just one glance.

Because of her long-term contact with corpses and various irritating substances, the real-life Mikoto Misumi's skin and makeup are naturally not as refined as those of the actresses on television. However, even if the actors on television are good at acting, they still find it difficult to compare with real forensic practitioners in terms of temperament.

However, one thing is certain: both the Mikoto Misumi on TV and the Mikoto Misumi in front of them are quite pure people.

Jiang Hang obviously couldn't bring this kind of character, who was like a female lead in a morning drama, into the Assassin Brotherhood, but Jiang Hang never had such an idea in the first place.

A person who adheres to their beliefs and stays on the right path is admirable. Let her continue on her own path in this world.

"This must be Ms. Misumi, whom you mentioned to me before, and this must be Mr. Kube," Jiang Hang greeted Seiji Aso as he got out of the car.

Mikoto Misumi wasn't surprised to hear Jiang Hang call out her name, but Kubo Rokuro on the other side looked rather astonished.

"Mr. Jiang Hang, do you recognize me?" He pointed to himself somewhat nervously.

He was just a medical student who had to repeat his senior year of high school three times to get into a third-rate university. Now he's just an ordinary recorder at UDI, and he hasn't left anything in this world that's worth remembering.

"That night when I asked Narumi and Doctor Nakaudou to help with the autopsy, I saw your Your Name at the door of the autopsy room, and I also heard Aso mention you later," Jiang Hang nodded slightly, and then reached out his hand to Mikoto Misumi beside him.

"Hello, Dr. Misumi, I am Jiang Hang from the Pioneer Detective Agency."

Mikoto Misumi also extended her hand and gently shook hands with Jiang Hang: "Eagle-Eyed Detective Jiang Hang, I've been hearing your Your Name a lot lately, whether from Aso or the police from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department."

"Although I'm a little embarrassed, in a recent autopsy case we handled, we found a victim whose death was staged as a suicide, and we also found a note wrapped in tin foil in the victim's stomach that was pleading for help." After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she got straight to the point of the case.

"Logically speaking, this kind of thing should be handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but I heard that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department wants to close the case as soon as possible. I heard Aso mention that you have some influence in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, so I thought of asking you to investigate this case."

After listening to Mikoto Misumi's explanation, Jiang Hang pondered for a moment and then nodded, "Tell me the specific case information and about that note."

"Judging from your expressions, since you specifically waited for me at the door instead of in the reception room, you probably already have some guesses, right?"

Mikoto Misumi nodded in amazement. "You truly are a renowned detective. You're right. I happen to have some ideas that I'm about to verify... Although I haven't been very hospitable, if it's alright, to save time, could I explain the details of this case to you in the car?"

Jiang Hang was quite impressed with the woman's strong execution skills. He nodded and then looked at Seiji Aso: "In that case, Aso, can you drive?"

After Seiji Aso became the driver, Kubo Rokuro sat in the passenger seat, while Jiang Hang and Mikoto Misumi sat in the back seat and talked about the case.

With the help of Mikoto Misumi and Kubo Rokuro, Jiang Hang quickly learned the details of the case.

First, UDI was commissioned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to conduct an autopsy on a case of mass charcoal burning suicide.

There were four dead at the scene. One of the deceased was the homeowner of the house where the crime occurred. The police found a Suicide Website on his computer and confirmed that the deceased was one of the other suicide victims recruited on that website and committed suicide.

According to their autopsies, three of the four bodies did indeed die from carbon monoxide poisoning, and the identities of these bodies had been confirmed by the police. However, when they examined the last unidentified body, they unexpectedly discovered that the cause of death was freezing, which was extremely similar to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Later, they found a piece of paper wrapped in tin foil in the deceased's stomach.

It's just a pity that the content of this note seems incomplete. The words on it are "Yukio's イ" written in katakana and the sentence "Save the flower".

Regarding the first sentence of the note, because there are too many words starting with "i", neither the police nor they have figured it out yet, but the second sentence, "Save the flower," is already in the works.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department quickly located another high school girl named Matsukura Hana who had gone missing a few days earlier. However, based on the judgment of her parents, they denied that the body was their daughter.

Ultimately, the police investigation only uncovered the place where the girl worked and that she used the name "Mike" at her workplace.

"In other words, could this woman, whose identity is still unclear, have been with Matsukura Hana, who is still missing, before she died?" Jiang Hang asked Mikoto Misumi.

Mikoto Misumi nodded in agreement. "That's how we submitted the report to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. However, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department seems to have taken this note as a coincidence. They think that the deceased may be another girl named Hana, and they identify the murderer as the homeowner who posted the suicide appeal online. They believe that the homeowner worked in a cold storage facility before he froze the deceased to death and then moved the body into his house to die with him."

"But I don't think so, because we tested the carbon monoxide concentration in the house, and the concentration was much lower than normal. After ruling out other possibilities, there is only one possibility: someone secretly entered the house after the victims committed suicide. I think that person is the real murderer."

"I see. So that's why you contacted me. I understand now." Jiang Hang pressed his forehead with his hand. "However, the deceased didn't delete his website information before he died, so it seems he was indeed filled with disappointment in reality."

Anyone with even a sliver of hope for reality wouldn't want their web browsing history exposed to the world.

At least before he dies, Jiang Hang will definitely destroy all his electronic products, leaving no trace.

So where are we going now?

Mikoto Misumi took out a file. "We found some particles in the deceased's hair. After testing, they were found to be salt particles, and the concentration was more than twice that of seawater. In addition, meat with a glycogen level three times higher than that of beef was found in the deceased's stomach contents."

"Taking all these conditions together, I found a place that perfectly meets the above requirements."

Mikoto Misumi took out another promotional poster, which read in large, colorful letters, "Welcome to the Deer Town Yulu Hot Springs."

"This is a hot spring town in the suburbs of Tokyo that has become quite famous in recent years. It has natural, high-concentration saline hot springs, and venison is also a local specialty. So it is very likely that this is the last place the deceased visited before his death."

Sensing the certainty in Mikoto Misumi's tone, Jiang Hang couldn't help but glance at her again. "Do you know Ms. Ikumi Soda?"

Before Mikoto Misumi could answer, Seiji Aso answered for her, "It was Ms. Gunda who introduced me to UDI. They were senior and junior students at the same school."

Jiang Hang nodded slightly. "I think if Dr. Misumi became a detective, she would probably look like Ms. Gunda."

"I can't be like Yumi. I think it's good enough for me to continue being a forensic pathologist," Mikoto Misumi quickly waved her hand. Of course, she knew that after resigning from her job as a forensic Ikumi Soda was already a well-known and beautiful detective throughout Japan.

Because of her, the forensic medicine department has seen a significant increase in new students in recent years. Regardless of how many of them will persevere, this is certainly a contribution she has made to forensic medicine.

"You're welcome. You do have the potential to be a detective. After all, what you've uncovered is something many superficial detectives are completely unaware of," Jiang Hang praised Mikoto Misumi in a low voice, then took out a laptop. "Do you know the URL of that Suicide Website? I'll start my investigation from there."

After realizing that his hacking skills could be used in the case, Jiang Hang kept a high-performance laptop in his car to facilitate his investigation.

Mikoto Misumi quickly pulled out a memo saved on her phone and showed it to Jiang Hang.

Jiang Hang quickly logged onto the website.

Although the website administrator seemed to have noticed something was wrong recently and stopped running it last night, Jiang Hang's skills are more than enough to restore the website's data.

After that, under Mikoto Misumi's questioning gaze, Jiang Hang began to hack into the website's backend.

Mikoto Misumi had never seen such an operation with all sorts of codes displayed on the screen before. She couldn't help but let out a soft gasp, which made Kubo Rokuro, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turn around nervously to check on Mikoto Misumi's condition.

"Is this the legendary hacking technique?" Mikoto Misumi looked at Jiang Hang with some amazement.

I heard that the other party is only in his early twenties, and is a famous detective with such amazing hacking skills. Doctor Nakaudou said that Jiang Hang is also quite proficient in anatomy, and could easily be an assistant. I really don't know how someone so old has mastered so many skills.

It took Jiang Hang about ten minutes to break through the website's backend defenses and obtain the data from before the website shut down.

This Suicide Website is actually just a forum-like site, and to be honest, it's a bit of a borderline site.

The website's homepage states, "This is a website for people who want to commit suicide to help each other, not a website that encourages suicide."

However, the posts inside are mostly from people with a pessimistic attitude towards life, venting their dissatisfaction with the world. In addition, the website interface itself uses a dark and depressing style, and even indicates how many people "voluntarily commit suicide" on the website every day.

Jiang Hang glanced at the statistics and found that the total number of people who voluntarily committed suicide on this website was close to 2 million.

Of course, such data is obviously fake to the average person, and it would be quite normal for it to be more than 99% inflated.

In addition, many scoundrels who use sweet talk to deceive others also frequent this website. If someone's psychological defenses are already weak, seeing so many people who "feel the same way" on this website, and being misled by these people's feigned kindness, will indeed make them more likely to go to extremes and end their own lives than under normal circumstances.

In at least this case, three of the four bodies did indeed see this website and communicate with it for a period of time before deciding to commit suicide together by burning charcoal.

"Hmm... We've found the website administrator's IP address. Here it is. I'll contact a police officer I know and ask him to check if this guy has run away."

Jiang Hang naturally contacted Inspector Megure, whom he was more familiar with.

Upon receiving Jiang Hang's information, Inspector Megure on the other end of the phone was in a dilemma. After all, he had heard a little about this case. Although it was under the jurisdiction of their Investigation Division One, it was not a case handled by their team. If they were to intervene rashly, it might have a negative impact on the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

However, after some hesitation, Inspector Megure ultimately agreed, as it was a matter of life and death. He only asked that the team in charge of the case inform the administrator of the Suicide Website before arresting him.

However, after overhearing Jiang Hang's conversation with Inspector Megure, Mikoto Misumi hesitated and asked Jiang Hang, "Should we go find the website administrator now? Maybe he's the culprit in this case?"

Jiang Hang shook his head and turned the computer screen to Mikoto Misumi for a look.

"I just looked through it and found a very important place."

"This user named MIKE should be the deceased. When she vented her dissatisfaction with life, a person with the ID of yuki responded below and invited her to meet together."

"You said that the note had the phrase 'Yuki-onna's XX' written on it. If Yuki-onna refers to this person, then he is the most likely culprit in this case."

Chapter 450: Chapter 446: You want to sell my information? You probably don't know the power of money!

After hearing Jiang Hang's explanation, Mikoto Misumi quickly took Jiang Hang's notebook and started flipping through it.

Sure enough, many of the replies under the discussion thread posted by miki were made by the person with the ID yuki.

Judging from the wording and style of these replies, this Yuki seems to be a girl of similar age to the deceased who also had suicidal thoughts.

As the two chatted, "Xiaoxue" even began to warmly invite Miki to visit her.

"Snowman... so you mean this Snowman is actually a man?"

Seeing this, Mikoto Misumi had fully realized what was going on.

This girl, Xiaoxue, pretended to be a woman online to deceive naive young girls, then lured them to her residence, murdered them one by one, and faked their suicides.

Just like this case.

If it weren't for UDI's intervention and its strong insistence that all bodies undergo autopsies, some less responsible forensic pathologists, after simply determining that the other victims did indeed die from carbon monoxide poisoning, might not have insisted on performing autopsies on all the bodies to increase their workload, thus allowing the real murderer to remain at large.

"In other words, Xiaoxue lured Sanmao and another girl named Xiaohua to his residence on Suicide Website. In the end, Sanmao was killed by him first, but before she died, she wrote down a distress signal and ate it."

Although the information currently available cannot explain why the deceased died from freezing, nor can it be determined whether the girl was still alive two days after the incident, Mikoto Misumi will not give up as long as there is a glimmer of hope.

"So, where is Xiaoxue's address?"

This wasn't mentioned in the chat messages on the Suicide Website; it's likely that the group later used the website's private messaging function to communicate privately.

Mikoto Misumi looked at Jiang Hang with expectant eyes, hoping to get a positive answer from Jiang Hang.

At this point, Jiang Hang certainly wouldn't disappoint.

"I've already hacked into the website's backend and gained administrator privileges. Just by checking the other party's IP address, I can find out where they're accessing the internet. Although I haven't checked the specific address in detail, it's definitely in the Arima Hot Springs area, which is why I didn't let Aso stop the car first."

"Of course, besides checking the IP address, you should also be able to see their chat history by directly accessing their private messages."

Text is naturally much more intuitive than IP addresses.

Jiang Hang took back his laptop, fiddled with it for a while, and then pulled up their private messages. The message clearly recorded the location where Xiaoxue had invited the two girls to meet.