Fujino pushed the stone slab away with all his strength, and what came into view was a winding staircase.

Go down the stairs and there is a dark tunnel at the end.

There are puddles everywhere in the tunnel, and dew from the top and bottom of the stone walls falls into them, making a ticking sound.

Fujino looked around and found a half-open iron door.

There is still a little light revealed inside the iron door.

Suddenly, a wailing sound came from it.

Fujino's head tightened.

Looking inside through the crack in the door, what comes into view is a cell-like room.

A man with a long beard and long hair is locked in a cage.

At this time, he was tearing at the worn sheets and screaming painfully at the gray-haired woman wearing a linen black dress outside the cage: "Mom! Let me surrender!"

"No! Akio!"

Mrs. Yamada’s eyes flashed with tears, “As long as the prosecution period is over, we will be able to welcome a new and beautiful life!”

"I've had enough of this life where I dream of my father's face every night!"

As he said that, Akio banged his head against the iron railing desperately. While banging, he screamed: "Let me die!"

"Akio!"

Outside the iron cage, the helpless Mrs. Yamada protected his head with her hands. The rough hands left scars after repeated impacts.

After a while, Akio Yamada finally calmed down.

At this time, Mrs. Yamada knelt down, stroked his long hair and comforted him: "Things have already happened. No matter how painful the death is, it is impossible for people to come back to life. If you wait a little longer, when the prosecution period has passed, everything will be over."

Everything will be fine!"

It seems that the two of them are the real culprits in the haunted house murder case?

In the corridor, Fujino looked at the scene in the room and already understood it in his heart.

Fujino has a certain understanding of the prosecution period.

No matter which country it is, there will be a prosecution period for criminal cases.

If this time is exceeded, there will be no further prosecution.

In other words, if a crime is committed but not discovered, after the statute of limitations has expired, the murderer no longer needs to bear responsibility, and the judicial authorities have no right to try.

But for people like Yamada Akio who still have a conscience, what will happen if the prosecution period has expired?

The irreparable trauma will forever permeate his heart, and he will recall the face of the murdered person in his dreams every day.

"The dead will not resurrect, but the guilt will always permeate the murderer's heart."

Putting away his thoughts, Fujino leaned against the wall and sighed.

"Who?!"

Mrs. Yamada who heard the sound immediately wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes, picked up the fruit knife on the ground and turned around to look.

[Tip, detective time has started, countdown 0-0-59]

Hearing the system prompt, Fujino silently clenched the cards in his hands and took a deep breath.

Looks like you need to hurry up?

Then, he lit a cigarette and pushed in the door: "My name is Fujino, and I am a detective!"

"Detective?!"

Mrs. Yamada looked at the young man in front of her, feeling a little panicked, "Why are you, a detective, here?!"

"Of course I came here to investigate the murder case five years ago."

Fujino took a deep breath from the cigarette and slowly said: "Five years ago, a home invasion and murder case occurred here. Now the victim's wife and children have moved away long ago, and the murderer of the case has not been caught yet... But something strange

Yes, ever since the mother and son moved away five years ago, weird stories have been circulating in this house."

After a pause, he chuckled: "But now the truth about the ghost story seems to be clear."

"If I guess correctly, you should be the Yamada mother and son in the case five years ago, right?"

"The case five years ago was not a home invasion and murder case, but an intentional murder case disguised as a robbery case! The murderer is among the two of you!"

"Shut up!"

Mrs. Yamada turned her head and glanced at Akio Yamada, then pointed the fruit knife at Fujino and gritted her teeth: "I am the murderer! He is just imprisoned here by me!"

"Really?"

Fujino threw the half-smoked cigarette to the ground and raised his chin: "It is indeed a reasonable explanation for the wife to kill her husband and imprison the son who witnessed everything."

After a moment, he raised his head again and stared at Mrs. Yamada with sharp eyes: "However, there is another explanation, that is, Mrs. Yamada, you are trying to take over all the crimes and deliberately exclude your son who is a murderer!"<

/p>

"Five years ago, Yamada Akio killed his biological father. When he was at a loss, you helped him fake the murder scene to get away with it!"

"Logically speaking, no one would think of the truth of this matter if this continues... But you didn't expect that he would want to go out and surrender because his conscience couldn't bear it!"

"And in order to prevent him from ruining his future, you imprisoned him in an iron cage in the basement, planning to live in seclusion until the prosecution period of the case has passed, and then take him back to the sun!"

"I heard the conversation between you two just now. The real culprit in that case five years ago was actually your son!"

"Shut up!"

Mrs. Yamada's expression gradually became distorted. Seeing that she could no longer hide the matter, her hand holding the fruit knife became tighter and tighter, and her scarred hand continued to tremble.

Originally, she had planned to take on all the crimes by herself when the matter was revealed.

But this detective broke her last fantasy.

Her eyes flashed with strange ferocity, she picked up the fruit knife and stabbed Fujino in the chest: "Go to hell!"

"Mom, no!"

Akio Yamada held the iron railing tightly and shouted at Mrs. Yamada.

But how can Mrs. Yamada, who has lost her mind, care so much?

Her only thought now is to kill the detective in front of her.

"Are you still stubborn?!"

Fujino crushed the ability-enhancing card in his hand.

[Perception increase and strength increase have been activated for the host; countdown 0-0-59]

Suddenly, the world around me seemed to slow down.

With the double increase in strength and perception, in Fujino's eyes, Mrs. Yamada's movements were clearly visible, and even the gaps in the knife she held were captured.

"Wake up!"

Fujino kicked Mrs. Fujino in the hand holding the knife.

The silver blade flew high into the sky and fell to the ground with a long crisp sound after a moment.

"Give up."

Fujino retracted his legs and stared at Mrs. Yamada expressionlessly.

"I will not allow you to jail Akio!"

Mrs. Yamada struggled to get up, dragging her dislocated wrist hysterically, and flew toward Fujino again.

"To be honest, I really don't want to use my full strength..."

Fujino frowned slightly, looking at Mrs. Yamada approaching, looking a little embarrassed.

The blow he just gave her by not sending her to the hospital was enough to give her face.
Chapter completed!