Not a detective

Page 41

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Twenty-Three Impossible Crime

Asakawa Riku and Matsuyama-sensei put the living room sofa and dining room chairs together and placed them next to the fireplace.

It's just enough for four people to sleep in, though they're separated. With blankets draped over them, it looks quite cozy.

"Finally, I can get a warm night's sleep." Principal Xiao Gong breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the tension did not dissipate, when people are extremely tired, they always want to let go of everything and relax without a care in the world.

"Yes."

Yukie nodded, a smile that seemed to be rarely seen on her.

Asakawa Riku then remembered that their room was on the third floor, which should be even colder than the second floor, and every night must be very torturous.

Sleeping next to the fireplace finally gave me a chance to get some rest.

"Good night, then."

He silently wished to see everyone safe and sound tomorrow. He then lay down in his corner.

He didn't close his eyes.

Asakawa Riku did not give himself a chance to sleep peacefully.

Normally, a human being can go 16 hours without sleep, and occasionally even 24 hours. Sleep is an important physiological phenomenon for the human body, allowing organs such as the heart, lungs, spleen, and kidneys to get sufficient rest and maintain basic physiological functions. Staying up all night can easily lead to symptoms such as insufficient qi and blood, kidney yin deficiency, and spleen yin deficiency, directly threatening health.

If the symptoms persist for more than 30 hours, they will intensify, leading to mental distraction, decreased attention, low work and study efficiency, and reduced executive function.

After 50 hours or more, symptoms may begin to appear, including dizziness, headache, blurred vision, chest tightness, palpitations, nausea, abdominal distension, acid reflux and belching, constipation, decreased appetite, oily skin, sallow complexion, unsteady gait, and a tendency to fall.

If the time exceeds 70 hours, the risk of sudden death will increase significantly, and the incidence of serious diseases such as cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, and pulmonary embolism will increase significantly.

The world record for the longest time without sleep is said to be 264 hours, or about 11 days.

After the experiment, the participants experienced severe cognitive dissonance, mood swings, memory confusion, and paranoia, and were completely mentally deranged.

Asakawa Riku hasn't reached that stage yet. Counting from the first day he arrived here, he has been without sleep for almost 48 hours, a full three days.

Moreover, it was in extremely cold conditions, not just ordinary all-nighters.

Before any signs of poor physical condition appeared, he remained energetic and vigorous every day, even able to continue hunting and chopping wood. This was thanks to his strong physical abilities and complete self-control, which allowed him to block out the urge to sleep and prevent him from accidentally dozing off.

But he is not Superman after all. If this continues, his strength and reflexes will gradually weaken and he will eventually lose control.

Whether the killer can be defeated by then is still unknown...

Asakawa Riku knew this was like "training a hawk," and he couldn't give up easily. He had to see whether the murderer would lose his temper and jump out first, or whether his strength would be exhausted first.

He maintained a calm breathing, dozing in the quiet living room. Almost no one made a sound; in fact, it's likely that no one would fall asleep so quickly.

But there was no sound from the surroundings, as if everyone felt that if they turned over, they would be targeted by the murderer... This invisible pressure was like sleep paralysis.

All that could be heard was the crackling sound of firewood roasting, and the fire and shadows were projected on the ceiling, their floating forms like ghostly apparitions.

Asakawa Riku is still waiting.

...

Komiya Riho let out a sharp scream.

She wanted to describe it that way, but she couldn't actually do it.

The act of “speaking” may seem simple, but it actually requires the coordinated efforts of four parts: the respiratory organs, the vocal system, the resonance system, and the articulation organs. Simply put, under the coordination of the nervous system, the motor organs generate power, the vocal organs produce sound, and the resonance organs resonate to produce a distinctive individual voice.

In a complex sense, it requires the coordination of hundreds of muscles, including the trachea, lungs, and related respiratory muscle groups, as well as the articulatory organs such as the vocal cords, lips, teeth, and tongue, and the oral cavity, sinuses, pharynx, larynx, chest cavity, soft palate, and lips. This is necessary to complete even a single word or a single sentence.

This is a remarkably sophisticated system, which is why animals can only make monotonous noises, while humans can produce a wide variety of sounds, and even recite and sing.

In other words, if any part of this massive machine malfunctions, it will cause gears to lose their proper function, links to break, and ultimately the whole machine to fail and become ineffective.

Komiya Riho felt as if one of her organs had been frozen; she could only babble like a baby, but couldn't make a sound.

Like a drowning person, he gradually lost his breath.

She couldn't even tell where the problem was, because the chill was like a bone-eating worm, as if a saw was grinding against her spine, the pain was so intense that she couldn't think straight.

His hands...he couldn't move, his body...he couldn't get up, and he just lay there unable to move, slowly sinking into the ice cave.

"Principal Komiya!" At that moment, she finally heard the call.

Fortunately, her eyes and ears were not frozen, and she was overjoyed to see the boy who rushed over immediately.

Asakawa Riku noticed Principal Komiya's unusual behavior. Perhaps he heard the extremely faint cry for help, or perhaps he smelled the scent of despair and terror.

I immediately grasped her hand and felt its icy coldness, as if I were touching a block of ice.

Principal Komiya's body was dehydrated, perhaps by sweating, or perhaps as a sign that it was about to freeze; in any case, it was soaking wet.

"Hold on!" he shouted, and immediately carried her to the fireplace.

But this was of no use.

They threw in some firewood and even turned the bellows up to its maximum, but even in such scorching heat, Principal Komiya was still rapidly deteriorating.

Her eyelashes were frozen stiff, she exhaled white breath, and her limbs were frozen stiff like popsicles.

"Damn it...!" Asakawa Riku desperately wanted to save her, but he couldn't think of any way to do anything, even if he witnessed it happening firsthand.

His method of warming himself by stimulating his heart and vibrating his body was something only he could do, and it couldn't help Principal Komiya escape his predicament.

Although she wasn't frozen like the others, her internal organs were gradually failing due to the extreme cold, and there was no hope of recovery.

In her final moments, as if aware of her impending doom, she struggled to muster her last ounce of strength and managed to squeeze out a few words:

"Black... watch out, black..."

"Black?" Asakawa Riku followed her gaze, but all he saw was a dark shadow on the ceiling; there was no one there.

Turning back again, Principal Komiya had completely stopped breathing and was staring wide-eyed.

Asakawa Riku remained silent and put it down.

The room remained completely silent. On the chairs and sofas on either side, Mr. Matsuyama and Yukie were asleep with their eyes closed.

The commotion didn't wake them; they were fast asleep. Asakawa Riku stayed up all night and was absolutely certain that they hadn't gotten up at all.

...The murderer, how could he kill someone like that?

...Who is the murderer?

Summer of the Snow Woman: Chapter Twenty-Four: Falling Apart

"...We...we were planning to get engaged, this year..."

The next morning, Mr. Matsuyama knelt before Principal Komiya's body, hysterically pounding the floor.

He scratched his hair with his hands, almost tearing it off.

He regretted not waking up last night, and questioned Asakawa Riku about why he hadn't stopped the murderer despite witnessing everything:

"Didn't you say you could protect everyone?!"

"I couldn't do it, I'm sorry." Asakawa Riku lowered his gaze, the truth was: "If there really is a murderer, then his ability can even be activated remotely."

On the first day of the attack, he saw the dark figure and mistakenly believed that the killer needed to get close to freeze people.

But that's not the case. Perhaps the killer didn't need to get close, or even make any movements or sounds, when activating their abilities.

...If that's the case, not only is being near the fireplace useless, but closing the door in the room is also useless, even if Asakawa Riku is there to guard it.

This ability is too bizarre.

His plan failed, and yet another victim appeared before him.

"I don't want to hear about the murderer, the murderer!"

Mr. Matsuyama roared, rushing over to grab Riku Asakawa's collar: "What's the point of this kind of reasoning! If you hadn't stopped us yesterday, Riho wouldn't be dead!"

Asakawa Riku lightly swayed his feet, easily dodging the opponent's attack:

"I am sorry, but you can't say that. If I hadn't stopped you yesterday, you would have died in the snowstorm long ago."

He felt guilty, but he didn't simply copy everything.

"Nonsense! You...!" Teacher Matsuyama was stunned by the movement and became even more furious. He had only intended to teach her a lesson, but now he was serious and threw a punch.

Asakawa Riku had already caught the opponent's preparatory movement for throwing a punch, and slightly extended his foot to trip him when he lost his balance.

Due to the excessive force, Mr. Matsuyama fell heavily to the ground.

boom!

The large man fell with a loud thud, indicating that the impact must have been severe.

"You two... stop arguing..." Yukie watched blankly from the side, and couldn't help but reach out her hand worriedly, wanting to stop the two from arguing.

"Do not touch me!"

Mr. Matsuyama rubbed his swollen chin and got up in a disheveled state. He looked ugly and angry, but there was nothing he could do.

Judging from his physique, you can tell that he has a habit of working out and is a boxing enthusiast. He is one of the best boxers in the local gym.

But in front of Asakawa Riku, those straightforward and simple movements were like a toddler learning to walk. Even if Asakawa Riku hadn't slept for days, he could easily defeat her.

"Monster...you're the monster! If there are superpowered people, Asakawa Riku, you're the most like one! With such terrifying power, you're no normal high school student...! I get it, it's all your doing. I don't know what you've been doing these past few nights. You might have killed all these people!"

This was the only way he could vent his anger.

"I don't accept this reasoning." But even when he was being pointed at and insulted like this, Asakawa Riku remained unusually calm: "If I were the murderer, I could easily starve and freeze you to death without hunting or chopping wood. I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. In fact, I could break everyone's necks one by one on the very first day."

He wouldn't use "freezing" to kill someone, because he simply doesn't have that superpower.

"You... monster!"

Looking at the boy's calm reply, Naoya Matsuyama felt as if he had witnessed something strange, as if his stomach was churning and he was about to vomit.

He turned sharply around, packed his schoolbag, put on his blanket, and prepared to leave.

"Alright, I'm leaving now. If you stop me, you're the real culprit, okay?"

“…Please do as you wish.” Asakawa Riku sighed. He knew that in the current situation, he could not stop anyone. “If Professor Matsuyama thinks we can get out of this blizzard.”

When Mr. Matsuyama reached the door, he suddenly turned back.

But he wasn't just threatening; he carried Principal Komiya's cold body on his back, secured her with rope, and wrapped her inside the bedding.

He wanted to take his lover with him.

The door opened again, and the wind and snow outside continued. The cold wind and snowflakes were like the tentacles of hellish messengers, whipping the body and ravaging the soul.

With his body trembling, Mr. Matsuyama walked out step by step. The snow was up to his calves, and the weight on his back made each step extremely difficult.

He never looked back, but left behind a final sentence:

"...You wait here. If I come down the mountain, I'll send a rescue team to find you."

...

Asakawa Riku watched Matsuyama-sensei leave, only closing the door when his eyesight reached its limit.

He was silent for a long time.

Is Mr. Matsuyama a bad person? Probably not at all. In the harsh living conditions of these past few days, he did the most labor after Asakawa Riku. He is a person who wholeheartedly considers the interests of the group. Moreover, even knowing that he might be targeted by the Yuki-onna, he still agreed to protect Asakawa Riku. He is a qualified teacher and a qualified adult.

Riku Asakawa can completely understand why people might act out of extreme pain and anger to vent their emotions.

In the end, Mr. Matsuyama surprisingly overcame his emotions and uttered those gentle words, which was astonishing.

Riku Asakawa felt deep regret for not being able to save Principal Komiya from death.

There was nothing he could do to stop Mr. Matsuyama from going into the blizzard.

As a camping enthusiast who has experienced wilderness survival, how could Mr. Matsuyama not know the terror of the bitter cold? Judging from that man's eyes, his heart was probably already dead.

This was not an escape, but an act tantamount to "committing suicide for love." Asakawa Riku felt that he was no longer qualified to make decisions for others.

He could only remain silent.

In the silence, I heard a soft murmur beside me.

The girl clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and was praying softly.

"...What are you praying for?"

"I pray for Ms. Komiya's peace, and for Mr. Matsuyama's safety."