Chapter 3
"Huh?" A startled cry rose from the crowd.
Everyone instinctively backed away, leaving an open space around Lin Xinyi.
"It was actually him?!"
The onlookers' voices were full of horror, as if they were only now afraid that they had just stood so close to a murderer.
"It was actually him!!"
The officers at the scene, however, sounded somewhat angry and indignant already.
Anyone would have been fine as the culprit, so why did it have to be this guy who had just mocked the police for being incompetent?
He had killed someone, disposed of the body, and instead of running, he had stayed here to taunt the police to their faces.
That was utterly insane!
The young officers' blood surged as they immediately surrounded him aggressively.
"How dare you provoke the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department like this?"
"Bastard, you're under arrest!"
"Hey, hey, hey, hey—"
Lin Xinyi's expression remained habitually calm, but he could not help feeling stunned.
"That high schooler pointed at me casually, and you immediately decided I'm the murderer?"
"As police officers, don't you know that investigations have to be based on evidence?"
He vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
He was clearly just a high school student, yet he possessed the kind of authority that made both the police and ordinary people instinctively trust him.
In this world, the police seemed to have a rather weak presence, while the prestige of a famous detective appeared absurdly high.
"Evidence."
Lin Xinyi met the gazes fixed on him without changing expression.
"No body, no case. The most important evidence is often the body itself."
"You haven't even examined the body. How can you jump to conclusions?"
"Uh..."
The officers looked at one another, yet they remained wary of Lin Xinyi.
Kudo Shinichi spoke up at once.
"Everyone, calm down."
"I have no direct evidence proving that Mr. Lin Xinyi is the murderer."
"Asking him to cooperate with the investigation is merely because my deductions indicate that he is a criminal suspect."
"I understand."
Inspector Megure nodded and promptly stopped his subordinates from taking coercive measures against Lin Xinyi.
Then, he naturally put on a warm, approachable smile and spoke to Lin Xinyi in a mild tone.
"Mr. Lin Xinyi, correct?"
"A remarkable young man like you doesn't look like the sort of villain who would murder and dismember someone. I also believe you have nothing to do with this matter."
"I trust that our police investigation will clear you of suspicion."
His words sounded warm, as though Inspector Megure were not a strict law enforcement officer at all, but a kindly uncle sincerely considering Lin Xinyi's position.
But Lin Xinyi silently rolled his eyes.
Well, Inspector Megure.
The moment he opened his mouth, he sounded like a seasoned criminal investigator.
He had been a forensic examiner in his previous life and had not participated in interrogations, but he had learned quite a bit of extracurricular knowledge from criminal investigator colleagues working cases alongside him.
In interrogation psychology, Inspector Megure's tactic was called the Emotional Involvement Method. It was mainly used during the opening stage of an interrogation. By expressing trust from a personal standpoint and proactively speaking in ways that excused the suspect, it made the person being interrogated lower his guard and dispel feelings of hostility.
And the young officers' impulsiveness might not actually have been impulsiveness at all. It could have been part of the routine of cooperating with Inspector Megure's interrogation.
That tactic was called the Positioning Stimulation Method. Right at the start, it slapped the suspect with the label of criminal, allowing the interrogator to observe the suspect's subtle reactions to being openly accused and gauge the extent of the suspect's Set Psychological State—
A Set Psychological State was the relatively stable mental preparation a suspect made in advance to deal with interrogation.
Whether it was the Positioning Stimulation Method or the Emotional Involvement Method, both were preparations for breaking through the suspect's Set Psychological State later on.
Combined, these two tactics formed that well-known old routine.
One played the bad cop, and the other played the good cop.
After applying pressure to the suspect with those two tactics at the start of an interrogation, the interrogator would generally ask some unimportant questions first, further closing the psychological distance between himself and the suspect.
Following procedure, they would usually begin with questions whose answers they already knew, such as gender, age, and hometown. That also allowed them to create a psychological inertia in the suspect to instinctively respond to the interrogation through a string of simple, mechanical questions and answers.
But in a situation like this, where they knew nothing at all about the suspect's identity or background, the police first needed to learn about his personal circumstances through a series of questions.
An adult's life was basically made up of two parts: work and family.
So Inspector Megure would most likely ask next—
"Where do you work?" Lin Xinyi murmured softly.
"Where do you work?" Inspector Megure asked in unison.
"..."
Silence descended.
The scene became strangely quiet.
Inspector Megure's expression turned subtle as he grumbled inwardly.
This kid is a little uncanny... and that reaction feels familiar, too.
Right. I once interrogated a corrupt cop who knowingly broke the law. That suspect had acted just as professionally.
This is troublesome.
The suspect's Set Psychological State is extremely stable. He won't be easy to handle.
Inspector Megure inwardly sensed trouble, yet he also felt relieved.
Lin Xinyi had displayed such strong resistance from the start. That clearly made him even more suspicious as a criminal.
"Then, Mr. Lin, could you tell me what your occupation is?"
Inspector Megure continued his questioning in an orderly manner.
Lin Xinyi: "..."
Inspector Megure persisted through the awkward silence. "Where do you live? Who is in your family?"
Lin Xinyi: "..."
"Do you have a girlfriend? Are you married?"
Lin Xinyi: "..."
"What were you doing from last night until this morning?"
Lin Xinyi: "..."
Question after question, silence after silence.
After several rounds of questions and answers, everyone present began looking at Lin Xinyi differently.
He would not cooperate even with such simple questions? That was far too abnormal.
The police asked you questions, and you did not say a word. If you were not a criminal, then who was?
The suspicion hanging over Lin Xinyi grew increasingly heavy.
The officers at the scene were even more enraged by Lin Xinyi's behavior.
Silence. He maintained silence on every question—
This was no longer merely the guilty conscience of a thief. It was blatant arrogance.
This suspect was openly provoking the police without even trying to hide it, haughtily issuing them a challenge.
"I won't explain anything. Suspect me if you want. If you have the ability, bring evidence and arrest me!"
Thinking of this, the officers whom Lin Xinyi had inadvertently humiliated earlier sharpened their gazes even further.
Yet Lin Xinyi was being stared at so intensely that he had no way to explain himself.
How is this me provoking you?
I want to know the answers to those questions too!
Getting transmigrated without receiving the memories was such a scam. I got thrown straight into a situation where it would send me to prison!
Should I just confess that I have "amnesia"? No.
That would make it look even more like I was spouting nonsense with my eyes open, blatantly provoking the police.
"Um..."
After a long silence, Lin Xinyi, who had maintained a poker face throughout, finally spoke.
But he still did not answer Inspector Megure's questions. Instead, he turned to the high school detective who had captured everyone's attention.
"Kudo Shinichi, may I ask..."
"What clue did you use to determine that I was a criminal suspect?"
At those words, everyone suddenly came to their senses again.
That was right. They had all been distracted by Lin Xinyi's abnormal behavior and had even forgotten to watch the most exciting part: famous detective Kudo Shinichi's deduction performance.
According to a certain well-known unspoken routine, the criminal was generally supposed to fall to his knees in tears and confess only after the famous detective had finished delivering his cool, impressive deductions.
It really was too early to arrest the criminal now. It was understandable that the "criminal" stubbornly refused to speak.
Thus, everyone present turned expectant gazes toward Kudo Shinichi.
The young high school detective smiled without the slightest stage fright.
"Of course I have evidence."
"I would never accuse someone without basis."
"Then, everyone, please listen to this exceedingly simple deduction."
Kudo Shinichi confidently stepped forward, drawing the attention of everyone present, including Lin Xinyi.
Only Inspector Megure quietly shifted his gaze away and stared fixedly at Lin Xinyi with extreme vigilance.
This kid did not answer the questions and instead turned around to ask one himself.
With just a casual remark, he had completely disrupted the interrogation rhythm the police had established.
Hiss... what a tactic to turn the tables!
The moment he opened his mouth, he sounded like a seasoned criminal.
There might even be more than one life on his hands.
Sweat appeared on Inspector Megure's forehead. He felt only that he had encountered the strongest opponent of his twenty years in the police force.
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