Chapter 32: Why is the Elevator Overloaded?

The library was pitch black at night, devoid of any human sound.

As per his habit, Jiang Xia borrowed the Ghost Infant's night vision.

After surveying his surroundings, he determined his direction and walked straight toward the elevator.

...

In Jiang Xia's memory, only one case had ever occurred in this library.

—The director was trafficking drugs and was discovered by an employee. Afterward, the director killed the employee and hid the body on top of the elevator.

Originally, the body had been well-hidden.

Unexpectedly, this afternoon, Conan happened to be at the library doing homework with several of his classmates.

Although Conan didn't know where the body was, he had keenly sensed the scent of a corpse.

Combined with the news that an employee had gone missing, he became increasingly convinced that the missing employee was likely dead and that someone had hidden the body inside the library.

Consequently, after the library closed, a group of children had secretly stayed behind, hoping to find the employee's body.

At the same time, the director had noticed through the lights that someone had not left the library.

Thus, the director was currently wielding an iron bar, intending to move through the darkness to find those "rats" hiding in the building and silence them.

...

The first-floor lobby.

Jiang Xia quickly arrived in front of the elevator and looked up at the electronic display above.

According to the number displayed, the elevator was currently stopped on the third floor.

Jiang Xia reached out and pressed the button, arrogantly summoning the elevator down.

While this was likely to cause noise, unlike the children who were desperately hiding, Jiang Xia had no intention of "not alerting the director."

On the contrary, he hoped the director would quickly notice the disturbance and proactively come before him, bringing the ghost and the shikigami along for the ride.

...

As the elevator descended, Jiang Xia walked toward the nearby stairs.

By the time he reached the second floor, the elevator had already arrived on the first floor.

Jiang Xia walked to the elevator doors, pried them open, and looked down.

He saw a corpse lying on its back on top of the elevator, eyes wide in death. A length of rope was wrapped around its neck, and a small pool of blood had spread beneath the back of its head; it appeared to have been strangled first and then tossed into the elevator shaft.

There was no shikigami clinging to the corpse's legs.

"..." He wasn't sure if the ghost had failed to manifest, or if it had manifested but was currently clinging to the director's leg instead.

Disappointed, Jiang Xia let go and allowed the elevator doors to close again.

It seemed he would have to find the director to get his ghost back.

...

Jiang Xia looked up at the ceiling, listening to the faint movements in the distance of the building.

He remembered that on the director's way home after work, the brats from the Detective Boys had turned on the library lights, causing the director to realize someone was inside and return with a grim expression.

In other words, during this period, the director should be playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek with the Detective Boys—the kind where "if Uncle catches you, he'll strangle you."

Thinking of this, Jiang Xia took out his phone, glanced at the elevator which would block signals, and turned toward the stairwell.

He called Inspector Megure.

As a friendly policeman who loved taking in "little brothers," Megure had long ago given Jiang Xia his private number.

Calling him was more convenient than calling an operator; there was no need to leave a name or contact information—he could initiate the "summoning" directly.

...

At the Metropolitan Police Department.

Inspector Megure was working overtime yet again tonight.

He was searching for the missing library employee.

When he answered the phone and heard Jiang Xia say he had found a corpse in the library elevator, Megure immediately realized that what Jiang Xia was describing might be the very target he was looking for.

...

During the day, Megure had led a team to search the library, but they had failed to find the body.

Now, learning that the body was actually on top of the elevator—and remembering that he had actually ridden that very elevator... Megure felt a silent chill run down his spine.

"I'll be there immediately." He hurried out of his office, calling for several subordinates.

Suddenly, he felt a bit puzzled: "Why were you at the library at this hour?... Never mind, we'll talk about that later. Just leave as quickly as possible! The fact that the killer dared to hide a body on top of an elevator suggests they might be an insider who is very familiar with the environment. Furthermore, out of guilt, they might still be lingering in the building after hours. You—"

"Ah—!!!"

A muffled scream from a child suddenly erupted from Jiang Xia's end of the line.

Hearing it through the phone, Megure froze: "What was that sound? Are there children in the library?!"

On the stairs, Jiang Xia's footsteps paused slightly.

He looked up through the gap in the stairwell: "Possibly."

...

As he spoke, Jiang Xia slightly quickened his pace.

At the same time, not forgetting Megure's question, he casually improvised a cover story for his actions

"I remembered the library's closing time incorrectly. I went to return a book, but the library was already closed. However, I saw a light suddenly turn on in a room on the third floor for a few seconds, and I could vaguely see the silhouettes of children through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I was worried some children might have missed the closing time and been accidentally locked inside, so I broke in to check on the situation..."

Megure was frantic with worry: "Stop talking! If the killer is truly in the building, you're exposing your location!"

"Mm, okay." Jiang Xia followed his advice and lowered his voice, whispering into the receiver, "I'll go take a look first. You guys get here as fast as you can."

He hung up.

"Wait..." Megure wanted to remind him to stay safe and use strategy... but Jiang Xia had hung up too quickly.

Calling back now would make the ringing sound dangerous. He could only put down his phone and anxiously urge his subordinates: "Move faster!"

A helpful detective was walking toward a cold-blooded killer; he might be in danger!!

Oh, right, and those brats who broke into the library.

...

At the top floor of the library, a little earlier in time.

While Jiang Xia was dialing Megure.

Conan wiped the dust from his hands and climbed down from the mechanical room.

He walked to the elevator, pried the doors open with force, and pressed the switch next to the elevator.

Then, Conan turned back and said with relief to his three first-grade classmates, "I found the body—the reason the elevator showed an overload when we rode it earlier was because there was an 'invisible passenger' inside."

...

As he spoke, the elevator gradually ascended.

The corpse on top of the elevator slowly appeared within the beam of Conan's flashlight.

The other three children turned pale, letting out a synchronized, terrified scream.

Conan didn't realize that this was far too heavy for the three children to handle.

He frowned: "How cruel. This person must have been killed by the director. We have to hurry and—"

Before the words "report it" could leave his mouth.

A light suddenly rose from beneath his feet.

—After the elevator lifted the corpse, it continued upward, gradually revealing the brightly lit elevator car below.

Standing there was a man filled with murderous intent.

The elevator doors were wide open. As the elevator rose, Director Tsugawa's head appeared before the children, followed by his neck, his body... The director stood inside the elevator car, gripping a metal pipe, wearing a sinister grin.

Conan's heart tightened. He turned and quickly whispered a few instructions to the children.

Then, as Director Tsugawa stepped out of the elevator, Conan used deductions about "hiding drugs" and "murdering an employee" to divert the director's attention.

The other three children took the opportunity to slip into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor.

The elevator began to descend slowly.

When the elevator had descended more than halfway, and the car was less than half a meter above the floor, Conan performed a sliding maneuver, passing right under the director's crotch and narrowly sliding into the elevator.

(End of Chapter)