Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 341 Detoxification – The Invisible Poison

stab-

The detective pulled out an armchair from the row of chairs next to the long table and, like a dark raven taking over its nest, unceremoniously sat down.

"As Miss Pachira said, those who arrived at the scene immediately after Douzi and the others discovered that Akroma had been poisoned are my prime suspects."

"Could the murderer be hiding among them?" the news anchor asked impatiently after receiving an affirmative answer.

“It’s not only the murderer who should be suspected, but we can’t rule out that possibility either.” Hugo shook his head.

"Although poisoning generally does not require the perpetrator to be present in person, every crime inevitably involves some unintentional oversight. Many criminals will deliberately return to the crime scene for fear of missing some clues. However, my suspicion of those present was not based on this reason."

“Of course I understand that, but why is that?” asked the detective’s assistant, Azure.

"Number of people".

The detective in the white coat spoke succinctly, his gaze as deep as the hardwood table before him—

"Do you remember how Miss Touko described the scene of the crime when she was on the phone?"

Azure recalled: "She seemed to say... this place is like an underground nest of iron ants, it's packed with people."

“Don’t you find it strange?” Hugo spread his hands. “This exclusive champion’s reception room is already more than spacious enough that twenty people could sit comfortably without feeling cramped, but Douzi still felt crowded in that environment… How many people actually entered the reception room at that time?”

"Forty... no, at least fifty people. That includes the first aid equipment they brought, as well as the space occupied by the Pokémon assisting in the investigation."

Lingju squinted and looked around the room, drawing her own conclusion.

He tossed a gold coin between his fingers, the golden disc moving up and down between the gambler's fingers like a living thing—

"But Your Excellency, do you also have doubts about the medical staff who came to provide emergency care?"

"No, judging from Akromar's near-death condition at the time, if any of the emergency personnel had had malicious intentions, that guy would probably be dead by now."

Hugo shook his head regretfully.

"What I want to point out is—does the rescue and on-site investigation really require so many people to rush in at the same time? Putting aside the medical personnel and alliance officials, those responsible for the on-site investigation and evidence collection personnel must have understood the importance of protecting the crime scene as soon as possible, right? But at the time, no one stood up to point this out. Everyone let the crowded people, like leaf-eating gnaws, constantly destroy the traces and evidence at the scene."

During the conversation, Hugo gently tapped the long table at the crime scene with his knuckles, producing a monotonous sound like the ticking of a second hand. One couldn't help but wonder what stance he had on that allowed him to so brazenly criticize others' awareness of protecting evidence.

However, no one criticized the detective's actions at the moment.

There is only one reason—Hugo's current title is Unova Champion. Even if he is not well known, even if he has some unspeakable secrets about his fighting ability, even if even Azur Lane sometimes forgets this setting... he is still a genuine League Champion.

Even though a murder had occurred there, this meeting room remained his private space, and he undoubtedly had the right to use any of the equipment there.

"Could it be a case committed by one of the high-ranking security officials here?" Pachira speculated with interest.

"To cover up their crimes, the perpetrator deliberately caused chaos and disturbance, letting too many outsiders into the meeting room to disrupt the scene... No, in this situation, wouldn't it be more advantageous to sneak into the crime scene and destroy the evidence personally?"

"As I've already said, my focus isn't on guessing the murderer," Hugo Award winner retorted.

"While screening based on the 'opportunity to control the number of people entering the scene' would likely significantly narrow down the pool of suspects, there are still quite a few people within the United Federation who could do just that. Even if we find the person who first proposed the intrusion investigation, they could be pawns or bait deliberately manipulated by the real culprit to achieve their goal. After all, this was an open poisoning incident. Even if there's a high possibility of insider involvement, if we try to identify the perpetrator by eliminating suspects, the process will become endless."

"So that's why we need to start with the criminal's motives and methods?" Azure asked.

The detective, seated in his chair, nodded: "Yes. And the key point is—why would the culprit put so many people into the room at the crime scene?"

"Isn't it to destroy evidence?" The Fire King raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"A large number of people will certainly bring some chaos and may also destroy easily overlooked criminal traces such as footprints... But on the other hand, more intruders will also bring more eyes."

The second hand, which had been tapping on the table, stopped ticking. The detective, his gaze deep and unfathomable, said—

"For a criminal who wants to destroy evidence, whether he intends to eliminate the hidden dangers himself or wait for the chaos to cover up the evidence on its own, introducing so many random variables at once is very dangerous. Among so many investigators and intruders, there might be some insightful people who will discover those clues before the criminal does—but why did the criminal ultimately choose this method of handling the aftermath with so many people watching?"

"Perhaps out of desperation, the criminal had no choice but to use the crowd as cover to achieve his goal; or perhaps he was confident that the traces he left behind would not be detected by normal search methods... or perhaps both of these are true."

Seeing Azure and Pachira remain silent, the Dark-type Elite Four member, who was used to devising schemes, sighed and stopped flipping through the gold coin chips in his hand.

"So what exactly is the method?"

Azure looked back and forth between Hugo and Blueberry, unsure of who to ask for the answer to this question.

“I think King Yueju should be able to guess this method.” Hugo leaned back in his chair and said to the gambler, “Most casinos of any size are prepared for that kind of trick.”

Blueberry shook her head: "It's really unfortunate, Hugo. I'm not a detective. Although I know the rules of the casino very well, I still have no clue about this poisoning case."

"This is simply because your thinking is constrained, and that is exactly the effect the killer wanted to achieve."

The champion, seated in his chair, chuckled softly.

"Try not to think of this as a poisoning. Imagine this scenario—if Mr. Akromar was seriously injured due to suffocation or other physical injury, and the meeting room was locked until it was discovered—what would your gambler's intuition say if such a locked-room incident occurred within the Alliance?"

"When Akroma was discovered, the gate wasn't locked," Blueberry subtly reminded the reporter, avoiding a direct answer to the question.

"However, the camera in the outer corridor can capture the area outside the meeting room door. In terms of restricting access, this camera, which doesn't capture anyone other than Akromma, can serve the same purpose as a door lock. Similarly, no footprints or Pokémon energy were detected in the ventilation ducts connecting here. The possibility of Pokémon capable of passing through walls and 'teleporting' intruding has already been completely ruled out by Ms. Pachira. Therefore, it's certainly plausible that it's a surveillance-type locked room."

Hugo observed the Dark Elite Four member's expression with great interest; his attitude of knowing the answer but deliberately waiting for others to guess was particularly annoying...

As Bilan watched the two's conversation, doubts arose once again—Hugo's usual style of revealing answers was not like this. Was it because his mentality changed after becoming the champion? Or was it for some other reason?

Hopefully, he has a reason for doing this...

At the same moment, the gold coin chip at Yueju's fingertip flipped instantly, and his suddenly dilated pupils were reflected on the metal surface.

"You mean...invisibility?"

Upon hearing this, the detective's lips immediately curled into a subtle smile—

"That's right. This is also the truth behind why the Plasma Cluster scientists are afflicted with a deadly poison. I imagine those on the other side of the Alliance headquarters who have been keeping a close eye on Mr. Akromar's safety should also be taking action soon."