Sumi Ebihara's Concealment

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's reply, both girls gasped in surprise.

Although in the past few months, they have indeed received some bizarre requests from murderers who came directly to their door, wanting them to fabricate alibis.

However, such commissions are basically a case of the client trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead, and in the end, the client almost always ends up in jail.

This is the first time they've encountered a situation like this, where the client genuinely feels like a victim, but is also the perpetrator from several years ago.

"In order to verify whether the Miyo-sama is truly immortal, they actually did these things."

Shizuka Sakaki felt a little disgusted just listening to these things.

Heiji Hattori's perspective is naturally completely different from the girl's feelings.

After listening to Jiang Hang's explanation, he did not dwell too much on the fate that had been passed down through four generations of the Shimashiro family.

As a detective, he has witnessed far too many regrets in his years of detective work.

Compared to those regrets, at least thanks to Jiang Hang's intervention, Shimadai Kimie has not taken that final step and become an irredeemable murderer.

Now, Heiji Hattori only has one last problem left.

"So where exactly is Saori Kadowaki right now?"

If Shimadai Kimie truly sought revenge for her mother, then Saori Kadowaki's disappearance was clearly not a simple case of running away from home.

Even if the other party was truly afraid and had the idea of running away, Shimadai Kimie, who should have genuinely harbored murderous intent, would obviously not allow the other party to have a chance to escape.

Jiang Hang smiled at the other person.

Where do you think the other person is most likely to be right now?

"Could it be in that warehouse that caught fire three years ago?"

Heiji Hattori is, after all, a famous detective. Although he can't solve cases as quickly as Jiang Hang, he can immediately figure out the key with just a little prompting.

He quickly realized that Saori Kadowaki was currently in the most likely location.

If Shimadai Kimie truly wanted to commemorate her mother's death with these people's deaths, then that warehouse would be the most suitable place.

Jiang Hang nodded slightly.

"I've already confirmed it, she's still alive, but it's fine to let her suffer a little first."

"As for what to do next, we'll move to another spot and wait for the fish to take the bait."

Chapter 519: Chapter 515: Sumi Ebihara's cover-up

Night fell.

Even after the annual Mermaid Festival has ended, Mermaid Island remains quite lively, with tourists enjoying seafood feasts around various stalls.

Compared to those who seemed somewhat uneasy after learning the truth, Jiang Hang appeared much more relaxed.

He took on the role of barbecue chef that very evening, cooking seafood barbecue for the people around him.

"Are you sure that person will make a move tonight?" Heiji Hattori Jiang Hang busy in front of the barbecue grill.

Even though Jiang Hang already knew the truth of what happened back then from Miyano Shiho, who had escaped from the Black Organization, before he arrived at Mermaid Island, Heiji Hattori was not one to give up easily.

Not to mention that Jiang Hang had already told him this information, it was he himself who had never been able to connect these things together.

Just the fact that Jiang Hang could immediately deduce upon first meeting the drunkard Muzo Kadowaki that he had secretly sold his daughter's Dugong Arrow and used the money to buy himself a lot of good wine was enough for Heiji Hattori to admire Jiang Hang's still incredibly sharp observation skills.

At least at the time, apart from smelling an unpleasant odor of alcohol, he had no idea what kind of alcohol the other person was drinking that would suit his status.

However, after being hit hard many times, Heiji Hattori gradually came to terms with it.

At least Jiang Hang has suffered one defeat.

After Yusuke Sakata escaped police pursuit and seemingly joined the Black Organization, Jiang Hang returned to Tokyo and apparently went into seclusion for a period of time.

Heiji Hattori wasn't entirely clear on the specifics. He only heard from Conan and Kazuha Toyama that Jiang Hang was spending his days in seclusion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's cyber division, seemingly learning advanced cyber technology.

It is said that in just half a month, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's cybersecurity technology has been greatly improved. Even his father mentioned this when he was at a meeting at the Osaka Police Headquarters. However, since Osaka does not have talents like Jiang Hang, even if they wanted to promote these technologies, they were powerless to do so.

It was precisely because his father and he often discussed Jiang Hang's affairs during this period that his mother had the idea of testing Jiang Hang.

Thinking of Jiang Hang, who was more perceptive than himself, and how he was still working hard to learn new skills after experiencing failure, Heiji Hattori felt that his so-called seclusion was still too immature.

Regardless of the circumstances, he did not want Jiang Hang to continue to widen the gap between them.

Heiji Hattori gritted his teeth and decided that he would continue to train hard after returning to Osaka. Even if he couldn't master so many new skills, he wanted to broaden his horizons.

After hearing Heiji Hattori's question, Jiang Hang nodded at him.

"A person's eyes can reflect their true thoughts. Unless you have special training, you can usually tell what someone's intentions are by looking at the changes in their eyes after hearing something."

"The desire in Sumi Ebihara's eyes was very pure. Because of what happened three years ago, she now firmly believes in the mermaid legend on the island. She even let it slip in her excitement."

After grilling a large skewer of squid, Jiang Hang took out the voice recorder he had prepared beforehand and played back what Sumi Ebihara had said at that time.

"She didn't say that three years ago. It's just that when she saw the mermaid's corpse was only a step away from her, she couldn't help but tell part of what happened back then."

"Actually, just this alone makes her a prime suspect, but her defenses haven't been completely broken down yet. So I subtly hinted to her that I was investigating what happened back then, which made her feel a sense of urgency to retrieve the mermaid's remains as soon as possible."

"I checked the weather forecast, and it looks like the weather will be great tonight, perfect for doing this kind of thing."

"There is an 80% chance that the other side will choose to make their move tonight, in order to avoid any unexpected events later."

"However, I've already had Altair keep an eye on their movements from the sky, so all we need to do now is wait patiently here," Jiang Hang said, then called over the girl next to him to eat some barbecue.

"Altair," Heiji Hattori sighed again.

He had certainly seen Jiang Hang's eagle, which was so docile it was almost unlike any other animal.

He even saw a hint of Jiang Hang in the eagle's eyes.

I don't know how Jiang Hang trained such an obedient animal companion; it can complete any task perfectly.

While Hattori Heiji was marveling at the Heiji Hattori, several girls gathered around to sample Jiang Hang's barbecue skills.

After just one bite, their eyes couldn't help but show admiration.

This is not an exaggeration; it simply means that Jiang Hang's barbecue skills are indeed quite good.

Jiang Hang's cooking skills before transmigrating were only so-so, but after transmigrating, he obtained a bunch of random skills from the system. Although he didn't get any cooking skills from the system, his mastery of heat control is now superb—even poison preparation requires precise control of heat.

Then, his various assassination and first aid skills also gave him an incredibly steady pair of hands, which naturally allowed him to quickly master most jobs that required precision.

Seeing that a beginner-level barbecue skill had appeared in his skill bar, Jiang Hang showed no surprise whatsoever.

Aside from the hacking skill, which was clearly overpowered and took him more than a month to complete, and nearly ten days of intense work to add it to his skill list, the other everyday skills didn't really take him that much time.

Because he plays games every day, his skill level as a gaming expert in his skill bar has even reached the intermediate level.

It's not because his skill level is only intermediate, but because he doesn't play many games, so his breadth of experience is lacking, and he can't be invincible in all games.

If Jiang Hang really wanted to, he could simply use the skill upgrade book to stay in the learning space for two days, play most of the world's popular games, and with his hacking skills that were already ahead of their time, he could become a gaming god no less powerful than "Blank".

However, Jiang Hang doesn't actually have any plans in that regard right now. At most, he might follow the example of the Saudi Arabian tycoons and organize a Pioneer Cup e-sports tournament to crush some of the world's top gaming players.

The group happily finished their barbecue, but perhaps only Shimadai Kimie had just learned the whole truth, had no appetite.

She may still be hesitant about what she should do in the future.

Should we stay on Mermaid Island, or go out and see the world?

Jiang Hang did not interfere with the other party's thinking.

Regardless of what decision the other party ultimately makes, she will become one of his employees.

Soon, it was late at night.

As the tourists returned to their accommodations, Mermaid Island, which had been bustling for several days, finally began to gradually return to peace.

The bright moonlight shone on Mermaid Island. Jiang Hang glanced at the time; it was already midnight, and it was about time to set off.

They sought out elderly people willing to act as witnesses and made their way in the darkness to the place where Shimadai Kimie's mother was buried.

Looking at the small mound of earth in front of them, the elderly people on the island also had mixed feelings.

Because official records indicate that Shimadai Kimie's mother died in a shipwreck with her husband, she doesn't even have a proper grave on the island; there are only a few memorial tablets in the shrine.

And after the other person actually died, they could only be buried in this inconspicuous place.

These are all sacrifices made by the Shimadai family for Mermaid Island.

"Don't say sorry anymore. No matter how many words you say, you can't bring the dead back to life."

Jiang Hang looked at the elderly men with guilty expressions and interrupted their apologies, "Let's get to the bottom of what happened back then first."

Thanks to Altair's reminder, he had already seen Sumi Ebihara leave under the cover of night.

To his surprise, Sumi Ebihara even brought her fiancé with her when she went out.

It seems she is deeply in love with her fiancé. She didn't tell her best friend, with whom she set the fire years ago, about this, but only told her man, asking him to help her dig up the mermaid's remains.

It seems she's planning to leave Mermaid Island with her fiancé after doing all this.

But that's not surprising.

According to his investigation, Rokuro Fukuyama's parents had also passed away a few years ago, and Sumi Ebihara's family did not only have one daughter.

Even if they leave Mermaid Island together, it won't have a significant impact on their families.

The only problem is Rokuro Fukuyama's own choice.

Jiang Hang thought about the young man's hidden feelings for Shimadai Kimie. His parents had long since passed away, yet he continued to stay on Mermaid Island as a fisherman, and at 28 years old, he still hadn't married Sumi Ebihara.

She probably still harbors some fantasies about Shimadai Kimie.

He probably really wanted something to happen to Sumi Ebihara so he could break free from his engagement and pursue Shimadai Kimie without any ties.

Perhaps in the original story, he was considered a suspect because he had no feelings for his fiancée.

I wonder if he will follow the same path as Shimadai Kimie, given that he has encountered another opportunity in this world.

He glanced at Shimadai Kimie him, wondering what she would think if such a thing really happened.

But regardless, if the plot really develops like this, then this case will become quite interesting.

About 10 more minutes passed.

Under Jiang Hang's instructions, the group hid in places not far away where they wouldn't be noticed by Sumi Ebihara and the others.

Then, right in front of them, Jiang Hang used his superb skills to quickly clean up any traces of their presence.

As a detective, it's normal to have some skills in cleaning up crime scenes.

With Eagle Eye's assistance, not to mention ordinary people, even a detective of Heiji Hattori's caliber wouldn't be able to find any flaws in the crime scenes he cleaned.

Shortly after they finished doing all this, Sumi Ebihara and Rokuro Fukuyama appeared in the vicinity with flashlights.

"I remember it's around here."

Sumi Ebihara reminisces about today. It was the evening she walked along the path with Shimadai Kimie and the others.

Fortunately, she remembered the path from there all the way to the bottom of Mermaid Falls on her way back, so she quickly found her way back based on her memory.

Seeing that the marks she had made were all correct, she pointed to the small mound and explained it to her fiancé.

"This is it, the mermaid's remains."

She and Rokuro Fukuyama were both holding shovels, ready to start digging.

"Are you sure this is the place? This place is way too remote!"

Rokuro Fukuyama glanced around at his surroundings and asked a series of questions.

"It's precisely because it's remote that it goes unnoticed. We need to act quickly. That detective has already started investigating a case from three years ago. If we don't hurry, we might miss our chance."

Upon hearing his fiancée's somewhat strange words, Rokuro Fukuyama frowned slightly.

It seems he hasn't figured out what the connection is between the case from three years ago and the present.

But Sumi Ebihara is indeed a woman obsessed with romance.

Seeing that her fiancé was still fixated on whether the mermaid's remains were real or not, she no longer cared about hiding the truth and directly revealed the truth about the fire from back then.

Or rather, the truth as she concealed it.

According to her, Saori Kadowaki was disappointed that she didn't draw the Dugong Arrow back then, so after the festival, she took the two of them out for drinks and a stroll.

Then they walked to the old warehouse and found Miyo-sama, who had entered the warehouse alone.

Then, Nao Kuroe jokingly asked whether Miyo-sama had gained immortality by eating mermaid flesh.