In the world of Detective Conan, however, he was bound to the Naruto System.

Chapter 241 Victim Becomes Suspect

Chapter 241 Victim Becomes Suspect

Inspector Megure was quickly summoned to the scene after Ran called the police.

There's no need for a complicated autopsy; it can be basically concluded that the hotel manager, Daisuke Shiraki, was strangled by the tie around his neck.

However, unlike typical murders committed from behind, there are many suspicious points about this corpse.

"Brother Akutagawa, did you notice anything?"

Faced with Inspector Megure's earnest expectations, Akutagawa did not disappoint him. He first raised a point of doubt: "Well, first of all, the deceased was strangled from the front, because both the knot of the tie and the strangulation marks are on the front."

Looking much more refined, as if she had been specially dressed up, Officer Takagi asked in confusion, "If you're strangled from behind, there's nothing to say, but if you're strangled from the front, there should be fierce resistance, right?"

Since Kogoro Mouri calls himself the famous detective Kogoro Mouri, he naturally couldn't resist joining the discussion: "In other words, the victim was strangled without being able to resist, so the murderer must be a very strong man!"

Faced with such a cooperative display of support for Uncle Mori, Akutagawa Hiko raised the second point of doubt: "This is the problem. There are no signs of being beaten or subdued on the deceased's body, and there is no flesh or blood tissue in the fingernails of a person who has been strangled."

Inspector Megure realized with a start that something about the person who had been strangled was different from those he usually saw: "Yes—yes!"

This person died too cleanly. Being strangled is a very painful process, and if someone attacks from the front, one would definitely fight back desperately.

Even someone with a death wish would find it hard to resist the instinct to grab their tie.

However, there were no signs of resistance on the body of the deceased Manager Shiraki, which is completely illogical.

Who is Kogoro Mouri? Even when he was a detective, he could accurately lead his colleagues astray, turning what should have been a smooth case investigation into a series of twists and turns.

What does it rely on? Isn't it those absurd reasonings that seem perfectly reasonable at first glance?

After all, criminal police officers aren't stupid. If it were just a blatant lie, why would they do what he says?

This time was no different; he firmly believed that his reasoning was sound, except for the addition of a condition: "If the neck is strangled with tremendous force, the person will lose consciousness instantly."

It was a very reasonable guess, and everyone immediately pictured a giant who was over two meters tall and could easily lift everyone in the room.

The killer's identity is naturally guessed to be that of a wrestler.

One dared to speak and the other dared to believe; if Inspector Megure were to be seen, police resources would be wasted on clearing out the guests coming here. Akutagawa Hiko quickly stopped him.

Putting aside the fact that the scientific world may seem small, there are actually quite a few people with the power to split rocks and shatter monuments, and Xiao Lan next to me is one of them.

The perpetrator in this case wasn't actually a very strong person; on the contrary, she was a delicate and frail woman. That just goes to show how technology changes lives.

The nature of a gentleman is not different, and he is good at things.

A little girl can transform into a muscular man through technology and hard work.

"If it were truly a force that would knock someone unconscious in an instant, the ligature marks wouldn't be so shallow, and there would be other symptoms, but Manager Shiraki doesn't have any of those on his neck."

Akutagawa looked around, finally fixing his gaze on the flower blooming on the deceased's chest, a flower identical to those on their own: "Rather than being attacked head-on, the deceased seems more like he was drugged beforehand and then calmly strangled."

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After saying that, ignoring the expressions in the deceased's eyes—whether they were suddenly enlightened, extremely surprised, or secretly dissatisfied—he put on gloves, removed the flower from the deceased's chest, fanned it with the same gesture as smelling chemical reagents, and handed it to Inspector Megure with a frown.

"This flower contains chloroform, which is probably why the deceased was strangled without any resistance. He was already in a coma due to poisoning before he died."

The officers from the identification department quickly stepped forward to take this important official document and prepared to take it away for inspection.

"That makes sense, but who is the murderer, and how did they manage to control the situation so precisely that the victim only fell unconscious after being exposed to chloroform in the rest room?"

Chloroform is highly volatile. If it were applied to flowers, it should have evaporated long ago due to Manager Shiraki's activities, instead of causing someone to fall into a coma.

Akutagawa Hiko glanced at the waiter who had come to him for help and asked unhurriedly, "Is the flower that Manager Shiraki wears on his chest always open?"

The waiter thought for a moment and shook his head: "I don't think so. I don't remember very clearly, but Manager Shiraki did give us a speech before. The others should remember it clearly."

Seeing this, Inspector Megure quickly asked Takagi Wataru to call the other waiters, and received the answer from Manager Shiraki, whose chest had previously been adorned with a flower bud.

Akutagawa Hiko's lips curled slightly as he asked the pink-haired, bespectacled engineering student, "Do you remember what I said about Ms. Okano's flower arrangement magic trick—what was the most important thing?"

Subaru Okiya answered without hesitation, "It's temperature!"

After saying that, Akutagawa looked at Inspector Megure, who was already hot and loosening his tie: "First, freeze chloroform into small solid particles using liquid nitrogen, then place them in pre-opened flowers, and then use low temperature to make the flowers close again."

"When Manager Shiraki returns to the warm lounge, the flowers will bloom, the chloroform will sublimate, and Manager Shiraki will naturally fall unconscious without any warning."

Given this, Rika Okano, who knew about and popularized this avant-garde flower arrangement technique, is naturally the prime suspect in this case.

Moreover, as is well known, the Red Flower Group, represented by Manager Shiraki, was an investor that Okano Rika strongly supported even before she became famous. It is quite normal for such a relationship to have conflicts and rifts.

Before Inspector Megure could even give the order to bring Rika Okano over to cooperate with the investigation, she showed up herself and specifically asked to see Inspector Megure by name.

Completely unaware of the immense suspicion she bore, Okano Rika launched into a tirade: "No matter what you plan to do, I will not cancel the banquet. So many prominent figures have been invited; canceling it suddenly would be a huge blow to my reputation!"

Faced with the murder, Kogoro Mouri, still possessing a strong sense of justice, immediately rebuked him, saying, "You're being too selfish! This was a premeditated murder!"

Rika Okano said nonchalantly, "Of course I know that. The murderer's target wasn't me; it was obviously Manager Shiraki. So it doesn't matter. Besides, catching the murderer and protecting everyone is your responsibility as detectives and police!"

Inspector Megure's gaze sharpened, and he waved to his subordinates—