Turtle Soup 2

"A group of people are walking while singing and listening to music when they are suddenly caught in a downpour. Everyone quickens their pace and eventually reaches their destination together. Everyone is soaked to the bone except for Carter, who isn't wet at all."

"May I ask why that is?"

Shiina was somewhat surprised by the staff member U Amakusa had called over, but she didn't pry.

Everyone has their own secrets, and isn't it a pleasure in itself to deduce the method U Amakusa used to summon the staff member for help?

"Carter wasn't wet at all? What do you think, Shiina? Is it because he had an umbrella?" U Amakusa said with a smile.

Shiina carefully analyzed U Amakusa's words before stating her judgment.

"Obviously not. U Amakusa, I know what you're trying to say. Even if there were an umbrella, it's impossible for only him to be holding it. Even if there were only one, you're trying to say the key is that Carter's body didn't get 'wet,' right?"

"Why would Shiina think that?"

Shiina met U Amakusa's eyes and said earnestly, "Because I think U Amakusa is the type of person with a sharp mind."

"Is that so? Perhaps you've guessed wrong, Shiina?"

U Amakusa shrugged nonchalantly.

"How about this? If I win, you have to make me a bento every day for a month. How about it?"

"Sure."

Shiina agreed without hesitation. It was nothing to her; she already made her own bento for lunch, so it was just a matter of making a little extra.

"Conversely, if I win, hmm... just tell me how you managed to get Bu Xiang Quming to help. Is he a senior you know?"

"Regrettably, your deduction is wrong. That's not it." U Amakusa wagged his finger, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"I suppose so. How could it be that simple?"

Standing to the side, Bu Xiang Quming was speechless. Are you two still going to play? Am I just here to watch you flirt?

Is this part of your little game?

Shiina didn't drag things out and asked the first question: "Was Carter walking with the group?"

"Yes."

Shiina continued her questioning: "Were they all walking together?"

"Yes."

After two rounds of questions, Shiina fell into deep thought. Since they were all walking together, why was Carter the only one not soaked?

Could it be...

Shiina asked again: "Was the downpour man-made?"

It could be said that Shiina's question hit the nail on the head. If the answer to this was yes, half the mystery would be solved.

But Bu Xiang Quming's answer was...

"No."

Shiina fell into thought once more. Then, if it were to be said...

Having listened to a few questions from the side, U Amakusa finally asked his own.

"Is Carter a human?"

"Yes."

U Amakusa continued: "Did this group of people have a fixed formation?"

"Yes."

I see...

Once this question was confirmed, both U Amakusa and Shiina had their own ideas. The formation was fixed.

Does that mean they were holding some kind of ceremony?

U Amakusa asked again: "Were these people happy?"

"No."

"Then, were these people very sad?"

"Yes."

Thinking of this, U Amakusa grinned. He had the answer in his mind; he only needed one more question to confirm it.

At this moment, Shiina asked Bu Xiang Quming: "Was Carter moving on his own?"

"No."

Shiina revealed a rare smile, looking as if she already knew everything. She looked toward U Amakusa, only to find that he was looking at her as well.

The two exchanged a smile; it was clear that both of them had found the answer to this lateral thinking puzzle.

U Amakusa raised his hand and said, "I have one last question: Is Carter dead?"

"Yes."

Now U Amakusa was completely certain of the solution. Seeing that Shiina seemed to be as well, he proposed, "Shiina, how about we both write down our answers on paper?"

Shiina nodded in agreement, took the paper and pen from U Amakusa, and the two began writing their answers on the paper.

To be fair, this turtle soup story did not seem too difficult, and both were able to quickly lock onto the keywords in the soup scenario.

Soon, both finished writing and showed their answers to each other.

U Amakusa wrote: "Carter is already dead, inside a coffin, so Carter did not get wet."

Shiina wrote: "A funeral is being held; because Carter is in a coffin, he did not get wet."

The solution was: "Carter is in a coffin, carried by several other people, so Carter was not rained on."

Seeing Shiina's answer, U Amakusa did not feel surprised; it would only surprise him if Shiina had failed to get it right.

"Looks like it's a draw."

"No, you won, Amakusa-kun."

Shiina did not look at U Amakusa's answer, as she knew his answer would certainly be the same as hers.

After all, these questions were raised by U Amakusa, and she had arrived at her answer through the questions he asked.

So, strictly speaking, Shiina felt that U Amakusa had won this round.

"No, I said it's a draw. Why don't we just go another round?" U Amakusa shrugged nonchalantly.

Shiina smiled helplessly. Since U Amakusa had said so, she did not intend to argue further, though she had already decided to make the bento.

"Then let's continue."

Next time, I won't lose.

Shiina's competitive spirit was ignited.

"A-Qiang is an electrical maintenance worker who needs to maintain the city's power grid. One day, his wife suddenly had something to attend to, so he took his young son and eldest daughter to work with him.

A-Qiang placed the two children in the backyard of a maintenance site and went to work.

Suddenly, the young son ran over, crying: 'Sister touched the white wall behind the tree and disappeared!'

A-Qiang rushed to the backyard to check. His daughter was gone, but there was no white wall at all, as the son had described."

"This is truly an interesting soup scenario." U Amakusa rested his chin on his hand, leaning on the table to think.

"Indeed, it is."

Shiina began to write down her train of thought on paper. "Amakusa-kun, what do you think is the reason? Where is the key to this soup scenario?"

"The key, huh... what does Shiina-san think the key is?" U Amakusa kicked the ball back to her.

Shiina did not mind and began by stating her views:

"The white wall is a piece of the solution that needs to be explored, and the fact that the daughter disappeared can be considered a key.

Also, the backyard of this maintenance site—I think that needs to be explored; it is very likely to be the key to solving the case. And what exactly happened to the young son? He is the first witness."

U Amakusa nodded, then slowly stated his own views.

"Hmm, I can't refute that. To be honest, I think it's a bit unreasonable that A-Qiang needs to maintain the city's entire power grid. Is he the only worker? Of course, it's possible that this isn't important at all.

As you said, we need to know the specific situation of the maintenance site. How did this disappearing white wall appear? Since it can disappear, that means it can appear. She touched the white wall and then vanished?

If the white wall was deliberately disguised by someone, perhaps it was actually a giant sheet of white paper. Kidnapping a worker's child for money is unreasonable, which means it's a personal vendetta. So why would the young son be spared by that person?

I don't think kidnapping or abduction is correct, so what other reason could there be?"