Kudo Shinichi's Challenge

## Chapter 23: Kudo Shinichi's Challenge

Hearing the words "murder" from Kudo's own mouth, Mouri Ran's eyes widened.

"They really killed Uchida-kun?!"

Kudo, however, motioned with his eyes for her not to show her excitement, then whispered in her ear:

"Right now, it's just a guess. I can't be completely sure yet."

"Don't do anything rashly, and don't get into a conflict with those two."

"Let me investigate further first."

"Only by finding more clues can I confirm this theory."

With that, Kudo pretended to be a peacemaker and quickly pulled Mouri Ran away from the two bullies.

Mouri Ran glanced at Ishikawa, who still showed no sign of remorse, with a hint of reluctance, then turned to Kudo and asked:

"How are you going to investigate, Shinichi?"

"Can I help?"

Even without using her fists, she instinctively wanted to contribute to this case.

"Don't worry," Kudo Shinichi said confidently. "Just leave it to me now."

Without hesitation, he turned and slowly approached the old, rusty fire escape ladder, welded to the outside wall of the department store in the alleyway.

"Hey, what are you doing going over there?"

As soon as Ishikawa saw Kudo Shinichi approach the fire escape, his expression subtly changed.

He said with a dark, yet inwardly fearful, face:

"Th-this is a crime scene. You shouldn't be running around."

"Oh?"

Kudo Shinichi didn't stop for a second.

"I really can't tell..."

"As a delinquent, you have the awareness to help the police guard a scene?"

"But wasn't Uchida-kun's death a suicide?"

Perhaps it was because Miyano Shiho had lectured him before, but this great detective had learned to be sarcastic.

"It's a suicide scene with no suspense at all. It shouldn't be a problem if I just walk around a bit, right?"

"..." Ishikawa was thoroughly choked.

His face stiffened as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stood there, his words caught in his throat.

Kudo, without looking back, stepped onto the fire escape and began climbing higher up the ladder.

The iron ladder was so corroded it was barely recognizable.

With each step he took on the rungs, he could hear the unsettling tremor of the ladder.

The rusty handrail was even worse; a slight touch would make it sway as if it could fall off at any moment.

"Shinichi!"

Mouri Ran called out with some concern.

She recalled that when she and Shinichi were traveling in New York, they had once saved a person who almost fell to their death from a dilapidated fire escape like this because the railing had come loose.

Having had such a harrowing experience, she naturally felt uneasy about Kudo climbing the fire escape so rashly.

But Kudo Shinichi continued to climb steadily, his eyes filled with nothing but focus.

Finally, he reached the top of the fire escape.

The department store had six floors, but this fire escape only reached the fourth floor.

After climbing to the fourth floor, Kudo Shinichi tried to touch the iron door set into the building's exterior wall.

"Sure enough, this door is completely rusted shut."

"I can't get inside the building from here."

He gently rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then lowered his head to meticulously search the small platform at the top of the fire escape.

But Kudo found nothing here.

He only observed the gap in the railing up close.

After comparing the length and shape, he became even more certain that the section of railing found next to the body had detached from this very spot.

"Not enough clues..."

"Looks like I'll have to look elsewhere."

With that thought, Kudo Shinichi quickly descended the ladder and returned to the ground in the alley.

His investigation, however, further piqued Ishikawa's interest:

"Hey, kid, don't you think you've done enough??"

"Stop running around a death scene like you're some kind of detective!" Ishikawa snapped at Kudo Shinichi.

But Kudo merely chuckled softly:

"Your intuition is quite sharp."

"I am indeed a detective."

"Kudo Shinichi from Teitan High School, have you heard of me?"

"K-Kudo Shinichi?"

Hearing that name, Ishikawa's face turned a little green.

Aoki, who had been silently keeping his head down, suddenly looked up, his face extremely pale:

"You're that famous high school detective?"

"Yes, that's right." Kudo Shinichi nodded seriously, smiling very kindly.

Ishikawa, Aoki: ""

Their lips moved, but they couldn't speak, their expressions remarkably vivid.

Kudo Shinichi ignored them, turning directly to Lin Xinyi:

Lin Xinyi was still crouched beside the deceased, carefully examining the various wounds on the body's surface.

"Mr. Lin Xinyi."

Kudo Shinichi immediately addressed Lin Xinyi, who had just touched the body:

"How's the deceased's surface temperature? Is there any heat?"

"Oh?" Lin Xinyi raised an eyebrow.

He knew that, although their methods of discovery might differ, this great detective had definitely noticed something was off as well.

Asking about the body surface temperature was essentially asking about the time of death.

If the deceased had just jumped from the building, as they had seen, and the body was fresh, there would certainly be residual warmth on the surface.

However, if the deceased had been thrown from the building after dying, having been dead for some time, the heat from the body surface would quickly dissipate into the environment, and it would feel cool to the touch.

But this was merely the basic impression most people had of body temperature.

The reality often differed:

"The deceased's body is still warm, and there's residual heat on the surface."

"However, it's summer now, and the sun hasn't set, so the ambient temperature is quite high."

Unlike the dawn when he first met Kudo, Tokyo was still quite warm at the moment:

"The higher the ambient temperature, the slower the body temperature drops."

"And when the body temperature drops to match the ambient temperature, it practically stops dropping further."

"The current ambient temperature isn't much lower than human body temperature. Therefore, if we only rely on the residual heat felt on the body surface, it's impossible to accurately determine the deceased's time of death."

Kudo Shinichi quickly caught the underlying meaning in his words:

"So, the deceased might not have just died?"

"That's one way to interpret it."

Lin Xinyi nodded, and as he spoke, he was about to share his own findings as well:

"Actually, I've already—"

Before he could finish, Kudo Shinichi directly interrupted him:

"I understand!"

He didn't say what he understood.

He simply turned around, saying with a confident expression:

"Mr. Lin, I'll leave the scene to you to secure."

"I'm going to check out the department store next door first."

"Uh..." Lin Xinyi's expression was subtle as he tried to say something.

But Kudo Shinichi, as if racing against someone, had already hurried out.

"Wait!" Ishikawa's eyes flickered, and he followed closely, unwilling to let go: "I, I'll go with you."

"You want to come along?" Kudo Shinichi's tone was very meaningful.

"Exactly," Ishikawa said, bracing himself. "I—I'm also very interested in great detectives. I want to see how you handle cases."

"Alright, no problem if you want to follow along and watch."

Kudo Shinichi shrugged, indicating he had no objections whatsoever.

He continued walking forward, with Ishikawa following stiffly behind him.

"Shinichi, I'm coming too!"

Seeing Ishikawa's sturdy, imposing build, Mouri Ran also hurried to catch up.

She couldn't possibly feel at ease letting this suspected killer and bully stay by Shinichi's side.

And so, led by Kudo Shinichi, the three of them left the quiet alley together.

Just before they fully emerged from the alley—

Kudo Shinichi suddenly stopped at the entrance, turned around, and looked intently at Lin Xinyi.

"Mr. Lin Xinyi."

"It might not be good to say this, but this could be our chance for another competition."

Lin Xinyi: "..."

He wasn't keen on competing with people over things like this.

But Kudo Shinichi was already quietly immersed in the excitement of facing a challenge:

"Let's use this opportunity to see who's better."

"I'll use my investigation methods, you use yours, and let's see who can find the truth of this case first."

"Um..." Lin Xinyi hesitated, wanting to say more.

But the great detective Kudo had already disappeared around the end of the alley without looking back:

"See you later, I'm going to investigate first."

Ishikawa and Mouri Ran followed, leaving only Lin Xinyi, the quietly observing Miyano Shiho, and the nervously trembling Aoki in the alley.

"Hmm..."

"Forget it, it's good if he investigates more."

Looking at Kudo's spirited retreating figure, Lin Xinyi's expression was a little subtle:

"But then again, what's there to compete about?"

"Can't a simple case like this be solved just by looking at the body?"

He muttered to himself, his tone full of helplessness.

Then, Lin Xinyi stood up from beside the body and said calmly, "Aoki."

"Huh?" Suddenly called out, Aoki couldn't help but jolt.

He looked up to see Lin Xinyi staring at him with a gaze as sharp as a knife:

"Still clinging on with that mindset?"

"Stop faking it. Come here and confess to me."