…

Everyone was silent.

Atsushi Nakajima could almost see a crow flapping its wings and flying over everyone's heads.

He then looked at the culprit who had caused all this, who was still standing at the side with a smug look on his face, as if he was waiting for others to praise him.

Obviously, everyone present knew Osamu Dazai's character, so even though he said such a sentence, no one showed any disappointment or surprise. If translated, it would probably be …

"Haha."

Kokida's hand that was holding onto the notebook was bulging with veins, and his eyebrows were furrowed. From the corner of his mouth, it was clear how much effort he was trying to restrain himself. Tanizaki Junichiro had a speechless expression on his face that said, "I've been defeated by you." Akiko Yosano crossed his arms in front of his chest with a subtle smile on his face. He tilted his head and looked at Taizai, as if to say, "I'll just quietly watch you act." Akutagawa, who had always looked cold and unfriendly, had a broken expression on his face.

As for …

Atsushi Nakajima's worried gaze locked onto Nakahara Chūya. Chūya's expression did not show any dissatisfaction, as if he felt that he had become the center of attention. He even smiled and slowly walked to Taizai's side while holding his gloves.

Taizai saw him walking over and winked at him. "Central Plains Police … Ah!"

Accompanied by an exaggerated scream, Taizai fell forward heavily on the ground, a gray footprint imprinted on the bend of his knee.

Kokida, who had expected this to happen, raised the "Ideal" booklet to cover his face. Atsushi Nakajima instinctively rushed forward to help him up, but when he saw the unfriendly Nakahara Chūya standing behind Taizai, he did not dare to step forward.

"Central Plains Police, this is considered an assault on a senior officer."

Osamu Dazai simply maintained his posture and did not move. "I wonder how this crime will be judged?"

He turned his head to Kokida's direction. "Kokida, did you see that? Hurry up and tell the Central Plains Police how serious the situation is."

"I didn't see anything." Kokida maintained his posture of holding the notebook.

"What …" The Grand Chancellor grumbled as he turned his head. He accidentally knocked his head on the ground again, causing him to gasp in pain.

Nakahara Chūya behind him laughed without sympathy. "If you don't tell the truth, the consequences will be more severe than a simple fall, Mr. Detective.

The Grand Chancellor seemed to be more or less intimidated by his tone that could no longer be considered a threat. He stopped fooling around and obediently sat up. While rubbing his slightly bruised forehead, he organized his words.

"Hmm … where should I start?"

He pondered for a moment. "Anyway, we have already stated the case so many times, so I won't repeat it.

I'll just tell you the modus operandi I speculate. "

"I'm all ears."

"It's very simple. Thief N didn't take the key, so he changed the lock."

"Eh?

Changed the lock? "Atsushi Nakajima was the first to react." This … How is this possible … "

"Taizai, you better explain more clearly." Kokida's notebook slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground.

He didn't bother to pick it up. Instead, he stared straight at Osamu Dazai, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground. "Changed the lock?

You mean the lock … "

"Ah, that's it."

Taizai patted the dust off his hands. "I think it was probably during the final inspection. Tanizaki was inside confirming 'Rose', and 'Tachihara' outside changed the already opened lock to a similar one.

When they left, the lock on the warehouse door was no longer the original lock.

Thief N certainly has the corresponding key to his own lock. After committing the crime, he changed the real lock … "

Taizai snapped his fingers. "That's it."

"Wait, wait …" Atsushi Nakajima obviously hadn't come around. "Mr. Taejae, this … This is impossible … Changing the lock directly, this …"

"Indeed, the key has always been with me. There's no mistake about that.

But the lock was hanging on the door, and 'Tachihara' was standing at the door … "Tanizaki rubbed his chin and recalled the scene at that time." When I was checking the safe in the warehouse, 'Tachihara' had enough time to commit the crime. "

"And, as I said just now …" Taizai glanced at the lock in the transparent bag again. "This company's lock looks the same in appearance."

"But at that time, the two of us were randomly assigned. What if the assigned person wasn't 'Tachihara' but someone else …" Tanizaki raised a question.

"It's unlikely that it would be someone else."

Taizai scratched his head. "As the operation commander, Akutagawa can't leave the monitoring room. Kokida is responsible for the execution of the plan and the overall situation, so she can't leave. The other people's positions are too low to be trusted. Basically, they could only choose the two of you."

"Besides, even if they chose someone else, 'Tachihara' would find an excuse to sneak away. They only needed to change the lock when you weren't paying attention. It's a piece of cake for 'Thief N'.

What's more, all you can think about is keeping the key safe, not staring at the lock. "

"Indeed …" Tanizaki lowered his head. "I was careless."

"Don't blame yourself. Even I would fall for it."

Kokida picked up the notebook and scribbled on it. "After all, all of our attention was on the key."

"But …" Atsushi Nakajima still found it hard to believe. "Tanizaki locked the lock that was changed. But if he wanted to enter the warehouse again, wouldn't he be exposed?"

"No." Taizai smiled. "The lock only needs to be closed directly. There's no need for the key.

I think if Tanizaki asked to enter again, 'Tachihara' would definitely say something like 'You've been there before. In order to avoid suspicion, it's better to change it this time.' After receiving Tanizaki's key, it wouldn't be difficult to change it immediately. "

"I see …" Atsushi Nakajima thought for a moment. "It does make sense."

"Although it sounds unbelievable, I think it's feasible," Ryunosuke Akutagawa said slowly. "But six minutes is still too short."

"Unlocking the lock, opening the safe, and locking the door. Six minutes is enough."

Taizai stood up and walked a few steps to Chūya. "Central Plains Police, are you satisfied with this explanation?"

"You …" Chūya's calm expression was shaken for the first time. "Although it sounds ridiculous, it's feasible.

And … "He forced a smile and looked around." Under such circumstances, I can only believe in this modus operandi. "

"That's amazing, Mr. Taejae …" Atsushi Nakajima seemed to have just gotten out of his thoughts. "I've been thinking about the key and the lock. I didn't think that this lock was not the original lock from the beginning."

"You probably took advantage of this. Everyone has a psychological blind spot." Taizai was still staring into Nakahara Chūya's eyes. "You can't see the bigger picture.

You're trapped in solving the puzzle, but you don't know that the puzzle has been secretly changed. "

"You …" Nakahara Chūya looked up and said reluctantly, "Thank you, Taizai."

"You're welcome." Taizai narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a few seconds. He then turned around and said to the others, "Let's go to the crime scene."

The police officers nodded and the few of them left the warehouse and walked to the curator's office on the third floor.

Nakajima Atsushi took a few steps forward and saw that the Prime Minister was still standing on the spot, deep in thought.

"Mr. Taejae?"

"Yeah," Taizai responded, still looking down at the ground. He slowly followed behind the team.

Atsushi Nakajima wanted to say something, but Akutagawa gave him a look that said, "Don't disturb Mr. Taejae." Atsushi Nakajima had no choice but to keep quiet.

Nakahara Chūya, who was walking in front of the team, was also looking at Taizai. There was an indescribable coldness in his eyes.

As if he had noticed Atsushi Nakajima's gaze, Nakahara Chūya stopped looking at Taizai and smiled at them. He then walked over and asked,

"Taizai, what are you thinking about?"

Taizai raised his head and looked at Chūya for a long time. Then, he slowly said, "I'm thinking, where did Thief N hide Rose?"

As soon as he said that, everyone was shocked.

"Mr. Taejae …" Akutagawa looked surprised, "Do you mean … 'Rose' is still here?"

"I don't know."

Taizai raised his eyebrows and smiled, "But if it were me, I wouldn't run away with this painting."

"Why do you say that?" Chūya looked at him and asked.

"30 x 40." The Grand Chancellor made a comparison. "Although it's not big, if you include things like picture frames, it's definitely not friendly for those who are running for their lives in a hurry … If you don't bring a picture frame, a thin piece of paper can easily be damaged on the way. Once the painting is lost, it'll be a busy night."

"So …" Taizai walked to the corridor, "If it were me, I would hide this painting somewhere … somewhere along the escape route. It's convenient, but not easy to find …"

Atsushi Nakajima looked around, "There's a corridor after coming out of the warehouse, then there's a staircase. Is it an office?"

"It can't be …" Taizai frowned and walked forward, "The office must be the first place to be checked, right, Akutagawa-kun?"

Akutagawa nodded, "As you expected."

"A place on the escape route that's convenient and not out of place, where one can hide things …" The Grand Chancellor walked up a few steps and suddenly raised his head. "I can't be wrong. It should be there."

Everyone followed his gaze and found that it was a box of fire extinguishers next to the stairs.

"This …"

Taizai put on his gloves first and carefully opened the small iron door on the wall.

"Sure enough …" Kokida murmured.

Between the fire extinguishers and the wall was a scroll of painting wrapped in transparent paper.

Taizai carefully took out the scroll of painting, while Akutagawa had already ordered the appraisal experts to come over.

"Mr. Taejae."

"What's the matter, Dunjun?"

Atsushi Nakajima thought for a moment, "Even if it's inconvenient to take the painting, how will you take it out in the future if you leave it here?

As far as I know, you have to leave your clothes and bags when you visit the art gallery. Won't it be strange if you suddenly have a scroll of painting in your hand? "

Taizai laughed softly, "This is difficult for me. Does the Central Plains Police have any good ideas?"

Nakahara Nakajima was deep in thought as he stood by the side. When the Grand Chancellor suddenly called out his name and met everyone's gazes, he was stunned for a moment before he reluctantly replied, "Perhaps … we'll find a way to sneak out."

"How?" Taizai still did not let him go, his eyes burning.

"Isn't there a souvenir shop in the art gallery?"

Chūya decided not to keep him in suspense, "Mix the painting with the poster at the souvenir shop, and no one will deliberately come to check."

"I see."

Atsushi Nakajima's face immediately brightened, "That's a good idea. Moreover, without the painting, even if we can't get away in time and get investigated by the police, we won't know who the real monster thief is."