"A group of people were walking along while listening to music and singing. A sudden downpour struck, and everyone quickened their pace. In the end, they all reached their destination together. Everyone was drenched except Carter, who wasn't wet at all."
"Why?"
Shiina was a little surprised that U Amakusa had called over a staff member, but she didn't ask about it.
Everyone had their own secrets. And wasn't figuring out how U Amakusa had gotten the staff member to come help him part of the fun?
"Carter wasn't wet at all? Shiina, what do you think happened? Did he have an umbrella?" U Amakusa asked with a smile.
Shiina carefully analyzed what U Amakusa had said, then gave her judgment.
"Obviously not. Amakusa, I know what you're getting at. If there was an umbrella, it couldn't have been just him using it. Even if there was only one umbrella, you're saying the key is that Carter didn't get 'wet,' right?"
"Why do you think that, Shiina?"
Shiina met U Amakusa's eyes and said seriously, "Because I think you're the clever type, Amakusa."
"Is that so? Maybe you've guessed wrong, Shiina."
U Amakusa shrugged, unconcerned.
"How about this, then? If I win, you have to make me lunch boxes for a month. Deal?"
"Sure."
Shiina agreed without hesitation. It was no trouble for her. She already brought a homemade lunch every day; she'd only need to make a little extra.
"And if I win, then... tell me how you got Mr. Bu Xiang to come. Is he an older friend of yours?"
"Sorry, your guess is wrong. He isn't." U Amakusa wagged a finger, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Fair enough. It couldn't be that simple."
Bu Xiang Quming, standing nearby, was utterly speechless. Were they going to play or not? Was he supposed to sit here and watch them flirt?
Was this part of their game too?
Shiina didn't drag things out and asked first, "Was Carter walking with everyone else?"
"Yes."
Shiina continued, "Were they all walking together?"
"Yes."
After asking those two questions, Shiina fell into thought. They had all been walking together, yet only Carter hadn't gotten wet. Why?
Could it be...
Shiina asked again, "Was the downpour man-made?"
Her question had gone straight to the heart of it. If the answer was yes, they'd already have half the solution.
But Bu Xiang Quming's answer was...
"No."
Shiina fell into thought again. Then what if...
After listening to a few questions, U Amakusa finally asked one of his own.
"Was Carter human?"
"Yes."
U Amakusa continued, "Did the group have a fixed formation?"
"Yes."
Just as he thought...
Once they got a yes, both U Amakusa and Shiina had their own ideas. The formation was fixed.
Did that mean they were holding some kind of ceremony?
U Amakusa asked another question. "Were the people happy?"
"No."
"Were they very sad?"
"Yes."
At that, U Amakusa grinned. He already had the answer. He only needed to ask one more question to confirm it.
Just then, Shiina asked Bu Xiang Quming, "Was Carter moving under his own power?"
"No."
Shiina gave a rare smile, looking as if she already knew everything. She turned toward U Amakusa, only to find him looking at her too.
They exchanged smiles. It was clear they had both solved the riddle.
U Amakusa raised his hand. "I have one last question. Was Carter dead?"
"Yes."
Now U Amakusa was completely certain of the answer. Seeing that Shiina seemed to have reached the same conclusion, he suggested, "Shiina, shall we both write down our answers on paper?"
Shiina nodded. She took the paper and pen from U Amakusa, and the two of them began writing.
To be fair, this Turtle Soup riddle didn't seem too difficult. They had both quickly homed in on a few key details.
Before long, they had both finished and showed their answers to each other.
U Amakusa had written: "Carter was dead, inside a coffin, so he didn't get wet."
Shiina had written: "They were holding a funeral. Carter didn't get wet because he was in a coffin."
The solution was: "Carter was in a coffin being carried by the others, so he didn't get wet."
U Amakusa wasn't surprised by Shiina's answer. He would have been surprised if she hadn't gotten it right.
"Looks like it's a tie."
"No, you won, Amakusa."
Shiina didn't look at U Amakusa's answer. She knew it would be the same as hers.
After all, U Amakusa had been the one asking the questions, and she had reached her answer by following them.
So, strictly speaking, Shiina felt that U Amakusa had won.
"No, I said it's a tie. Why don't we just play another round?" U Amakusa spread his hands, unconcerned.
Shiina smiled helplessly. Since U Amakusa had put it that way, she wouldn't argue. Besides, she had already decided to make him lunch boxes.
"Then let's keep going."
I won't lose again.
Shiina's competitive spirit had been roused.
"A-Qiang was an electrical maintenance worker responsible for maintaining the city's power grid. One day, his wife suddenly had something to take care of, so he brought his young son and older daughter to work with him.
A-Qiang left the two children in the backyard of a maintenance station, then went off to work.
Suddenly, his young son ran over, crying. 'My sister touched the white wall behind the tree, and disappeared!'
A-Qiang hurried to check the backyard. His daughter was gone, but there wasn't any white wall like his son had described."
"This is an interesting riddle," U Amakusa said, resting his chin on his hand as he leaned on the table and began to think.
"Indeed."
Shiina began writing down her thoughts. "Amakusa, what do you think happened? What's the key to this riddle?"
"The key..." U Amakusa tossed the question back to her. "What do you think it is, Shiina?"
Shiina didn't mind and shared her thoughts first:
"The white wall is part of the solution we need to uncover, while the daughter's disappearance could be the key.
"We should also look into the maintenance station's backyard. It might be crucial to solving the mystery. And what exactly happened to the young son? He was the first witness."
U Amakusa nodded, then slowly gave his opinion.
"Hmm, I can't argue with that. To be honest, I don't think it makes much sense that A-Qiang was responsible for maintaining the entire city's power grid. Was he the only worker? Of course, that might not matter at all.
"As you said, we need to know more about the maintenance station. How did this white wall appear? If it can disappear, then it must be able to appear too. Did the girl disappear as soon as she touched it?
"If someone had deliberately disguised a huge sheet of white paper as a wall, it wouldn't make sense for them to kidnap a worker's child for money. In other words, it must have been a personal grudge. But then why would they let the young son go?
"I don't think it was kidnapping or abduction. So what could it have been?"
Before you continue