bookbashuk Chapter 147: Lecture Notes on Later Detective Problems
Chapter 147: Lecture Notes on Later Detective Problems
Chapter 157 Lecture Notes on Later Detective Problems
"In mystery novels that pursue unexpected twists, the solutions often falter and collapse as information is updated, which is far removed from the logical reasoning sought by perfectionists. But I want to prove that although there are no perfect mystery novels in the world, there are perfect deductions."
The detective begins like this.
"Blind men touching an elephant might stumble upon the truth by chance, but the 'perfection' I'm referring to doesn't just mean the cheap concept of 'correctness' that's readily available, but rather a more rigorous, elegant, and even perpetually accurate methodology."
Hugo delivered his speech with unbridled confidence, his outstretched hand waving in the air like a pointer, drawing Officer Jenny's attention.
“The difficult cases laid out before us are like locked treasure chests. While you are all busy rummaging through the trash in the room looking for the key, I only need to take out an ordinary wire, move the teeth in the keyhole in sequence, and the chest will obediently open automatically, revealing the truth inside.”
"Then let's start by unpacking the box related to the bombing, Detective."
Officer Jenny urged impatiently—
"In addition to your investigations, I will provide you with all the details that the police already know, but all of this is contingent on the existence of the master key you mentioned, and not just some big-mouthed liar."
The reason this high-ranking woman in the police department patiently sat there listening to Hugo's nonsense like a student was partly because she admired the detective's achievement in exposing the Aqua Team, but more importantly, she was also helpless to uncover the truth behind the Liyong Power Plant explosion.
Why are the Electric-type Pokémon staging a demonstration? In terms of the treatment of Pokémon, William's factory is well above the city's average standard. The Electric-type Pokémon have no reason to target the Liyong Power Plant like this. Is there some kind of conspiracy behind this?
What happened between the Electric-type Pokémon and William the Factory Manager during their negotiations? Why did the former ultimately choose to self-destruct, while the latter remains silent to this day? If it were a normal failed negotiation, William should have reported it to the police as usual.
Judging from the factory manager's past reputation and his initiative to contact the police immediately after the "kidnapping," William is an upright and rational factory operator. What made this normal person do such a strange thing?
What did his phone call with Arnault signify? No one knows the content of their conversation, but the minute-long call was undeniably recorded in William's phone call log.
Officer Jenny knew far more than the nine clues the detective had listed. In addition to having an intimate knowledge of the local area, she also possessed social information on all the employees who had escaped from the factory and their whereabouts, as well as a roster of energy companies hostile to the Li Yong Power Plant, and surveillance footage from several important intersections near the crime scene.
However, the various complex clues intertwined and the sense of strangeness they converged did not lead to a decisive conclusion; the accidental occurrence of the accidental event remains the most reasonable explanation at present.
As Hugo said earlier, the truth did not surface as more clues appeared; instead, it was buried even deeper.
"That's why I said you made a mistake right from the start of your investigation."
This time, Hugo was impatient.
“The first step in solving a case is to identify the victim. Officer Jenny, you've even missed such a basic step, let alone the subsequent investigation.”
Under the sheriff's astonished gaze, the detective continued—
"You've been mistakenly treating Manager William and his power plant as the victims of the incident, which is a fundamental error. The seventy-one Electric-type Pokémon that died in the explosion were not the still-living capitalist boss."
“Isn’t this just a difference in perspective?” Officer Jenny couldn’t help but argue. “In the trial, anyone who suffers losses in a case can be considered a victim. From this perspective, the police’s thinking is not wrong.”
Hugo shook his finger: "William's factory was really the victim? Once you accept that, your reasoning goes astray. After that, no matter how much you doubt the factory manager's actions, you can't escape the premise that his factory was completely destroyed and suffered serious losses."
"The first rule for solving late-stage detective problems: only death is irreversible."
The detective, with his legs crossed, said confidently, "I'm not saying there's no room for faking a corpse, but rather that once death occurs, it cannot be repeated. In this modern society where miracles have vanished, the miracle of Ho-Oh reviving the Pokémon burning under the tower hundreds of years ago is impossible to replicate. Therefore, even a detective who doubts everything can only treat the victim's death as an undeniable reality."
"Is it really necessary to be this rigorous?" Officer Jenny was still puzzled. "Using death itself as the basis of reasoning..."
“Anyone who isn’t dead is likely to lie,” Hugo said coldly. “In the end, is the information William gave to the police necessarily true? I recently heard someone say that William colluded with other power companies in Liyong City to exploit the elves, defraud them using clean energy policies, and then used an explosion to cover up the crime.”
"That's impossible." The sheriff pondered for a moment, then immediately realized what kind of trick this was, and gave a wry smile—
"Putting aside the fact that those factory owners wish they could tear William apart alive for cutting off their source of income, the clean energy subsidies allocated by the alliance are not even a fraction of the actual turnover of the factories. How could those factory owners possibly make such a fuss over such a small amount of money?"
"The method of eliminating possibilities is still wrong. You are still relying on evidence obtained by chance to make inferences, which is not logically sound. The factory owners may just be putting on a show to deceive the police, and the subsidies may also be used by those ruthless capitalists in all sorts of ways."
The detective, being overly critical, pointed out: "To understand the logical origins of the case, we can't focus on the details; we must start with the victim's death—what kind of Pokémon corpses did the police find at the explosion site? How many kinds were there? What was the condition of the corpses?"
“It’s a combination of two species, Voltorb and Magnemite. The corpses are charred black and show no signs of life,” Officer Jenny said without hesitation.
"And there are photos from the scene..."
Just as Officer Jenny was about to open her police tablet, the detective stopped her—
"There's no need to provide further proof. Since we're working together to deduce the case, there's no need to doubt each other. Although I will conduct a rigorous analysis of the evidence you present to investigate whether it could have been forged, I will not question the evidence itself."
"This is the second rule for solving later detective problems—evidence of interaction with the detective must actually exist. Just as death is irreversible, the fact that an object exists cannot be easily shaken. Even if it is deliberately destroyed, traces of its existence will remain."
"Is there something after death...?"
Officer Jenny seemed to be desperately trying to digest these profound and unfathomable concepts; rather than solving a case, the two of them were more like studying philosophical questions.
Hugo clapped his hands: "That's it. Based on the evidence of the body that you personally confirmed, Officer Jenny, we have verified that the victim is indeed dead."
"Your reasoning is really impressive..."
"But the logic it establishes is unshakeable. No matter what new clues emerge, it is impossible for a single misstep to ruin all the previous reasoning. The inferences and solutions we put forward based on this logical chain can never be overturned. Moreover, if you follow this path of reasoning to the end, you will find that by advancing steadily step by step, you can reach the truth sooner and faster."
"Next, I will introduce the third and final detective principle to you. This principle can connect evidence and clues like gravity pulls stars and chemical bonds connect atoms, ultimately forming the standard answer that we usually call the solution."
"You're not suggesting that only scientifically unbreakable laws, like equations and physical laws, are worthy of belief, are you? While some Pokémon's abilities can temporarily distort the rules, in the long run, those eternally existing laws of nature cannot be faked."
Upon hearing Hugo mention stars and atoms, Officer Jenny's thoughts also opened up, and she asked uncertainly.
A crisp snap of fingers immediately echoed throughout the office—
"Congratulations on learning how to answer first!"