Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Perhaps Can Detect Tumors Early

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Tominaga Yousuke's hobby was indeed quite special; he had set up a collection room on the second floor, filled with various specimens, even equipped with professional constant temperature and humidity systems and lighting, resembling a small-scale specimen museum.

As soon as Kiyomi Liuli pushed open the door, she saw a room full of animal specimens emitting a cold light, many of them skeletal, providing a strong visual impact. No wonder she was so frightened that she nearly "murdered" Nanahara Takeshi—the sight was unexpectedly shocking. Just one scream and two steps back would be considered brave among boys, so it was really not her fault.

But specimens are after all just specimens, not some ghouls or monsters. Once mentally prepared, they aren't that scary anymore.

Kiyomi Liuli, following Nanahara Takeshi into the "collection room," was full of curiosity, bombarding him with questions. "Hey, what's this? Oh, what kind of animal is that skeleton?"

Nanahara Takeshi looked at each one, casually answering with "hamster," "cat," "otter," "badger," and so on—mostly common small animals. It seemed Tominaga Yousuke's resources were limited, unable to acquire large carnivorous beasts, but the specimens were exquisitely made, almost perfect, and very beautiful.

The walls were also adorned with framed pictures, but this time not just butterflies. There were also a lot of other rare insects, all genuine.

Kiyomi Liuli couldn't quite understand why Tominaga Yousuke liked animal specimens, especially since many were purely bones, but after looking at them for a while, she had to admit that these animal corpses and skeletal specimens had a unique allure. They were masterpieces of nature that were pleasant to the eye, inspiring reverence and awe, making one can't help but want to exclaim in admiration.

Especially there was a huge piece of amber with a colorful beetle sealed inside, very likely to be a precious amber fossil, especially beautiful, which even made her want to collect it.

However, there were no clues about Tominaga Yousuke's whereabouts here, so Nanahara Takeshi took her, his assistant and whipping boy, to the bedroom.

This place was much more modest and cramped compared to the collection room, with only a single bed, a small desk, a seven-inch TV, and a video recorder. There was not much else, but everything was neatly arranged as well.

Kiyomi Liuli, imitating characters from detective TV shows, started rifling through the desk with her hands wrapped in tissue, hoping to find some useful clues. But Officer Okuno and Hidaka had already checked here, and of course, she found nothing. Instead, Nanahara Takeshi turned on the TV and started watching a videotape.

When Kiyomi Liuli heard the noise, she turned her head and also watched for a moment, discovering that it wasn't the kind of adult film boys usually hide. Instead, it was a black-and-white movie, which made her curiously ask, "What is this film?"

Nanahara Takeshi said offhandedly, "Bone Village, a classic from '63. Directed by Shikoku Renta, written and screenplayed by Fujimoto Yukio, starring Takakura Yuichi and Hidari Sachiko. It belongs to the cult genre. It wasn't well-received during limited screenings, failed to win any awards at festivals, and ultimately didn't get a wide release."

Kiyomi Liuli was dumbfounded and asked in surprise, "How... how do you know so much? Are you a movie buff?"

"Just flipped through this novel and Fujimoto Yukio's autobiography, that's all," answered Nanahara Takeshi offhand. "This film was adapted from a novel written by Fujimoto Yukio, inspired by a nursery rhyme, and he was very satisfied with it. The film, however, was poorly received. He ranted in his autobiography, calling Shikoku Renta an arrogant egomaniac who had no respect for the original work, betraying his intentions, and completely ruining what he considered a masterpiece."

Having crossed over, his senses had sharpened, and his memory had greatly improved. Moreover, being in a foreign country, in order to "communicate with spirits" more efficiently, he needed to understand all aspects of society and culture. He even went through the Sapporo Public Library, not sparing biographies, novels, and even old newspapers which he skimmed through, roughly remembering them so that when needed, he could recall most of the details.

Kiyomi Liuli hadn't expected Nanahara Takeshi to have read so many miscellaneous books, feeling slightly defeated, as her hundreds of read detective novels suddenly seemed less impressive, making it harder for her to brag in the future.

She pouted and said, "Instead of studying properly, you read all this nonsense... Alright, stop watching the tape, let's continue the search!"

"This is part of the search," Nanahara Takeshi sped up the playback of the tape, "Haven't you noticed? This is the only videotape in the room."

Kiyomi Liuli realized in astonishment; that might be true—did that mean Tominaga Yousuke often watched this movie?

That could be an important clue. However, Nanahara Takeshi sped up the playback, even fast-forwarding occasionally. She couldn't make out what the movie was about, but seeing how engrossed Nanahara Takeshi was, she didn't have the heart to say the pace was too fast for her, so she forced herself to watch.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Nanahara Takeshi to finish the film, and she let out a sigh of relief, suppressing the urge to retch, and pondered, "I didn't notice anything of interest. How about you?"

Nanahara Takeshi pondered for a moment, "The film was okay. The entire village was dead, and the protagonist respectfully prepared them to look their best as when they were alive. That part was filmed brilliantly; it had an unusual aesthetic but was also chilling. For a film during the anti-war sentiment era, it was adequate. It just didn't excel. The director and screenwriter had different points they wanted to emphasize, and the narrative logic was a bit chaotic."

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"I'm asking about clues..." Kiyomi Liuli was speechless. She couldn't care less whether the movie was good or not. With not even a hint of color, even if it were good, how good could it possibly be?

"Didn't find any clues." Nanahara Takeshi turned off the small television.

Exasperated, Kiyomi Liuli blurted out, "Then why did you waste so much time!"

Nanahara Takeshi stood up and headed for the door, unperturbed, "I'm the BOSS. I do what I want. Got a problem with that?"

Someday I'll get you!

Mumbling quietly to herself, Kiyomi Liuli followed him down the hallway to another room at the end—the last room on the second floor—a study belonging to Tominaga Yousuke, spacious in size.

There were even more things to flip through here, and she immediately started searching around like an industrious and dutiful search dog. But after a while, just like before, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

There was a disassembled skeletal model on the desk, which might have been in the process of cleaning and maintenance. She had an instinctive reaction, suspecting it might be related to the case, perhaps a missing piece of bone could point to the culprit. But Nanahara Takeshi glanced at it and told her all the bones were there, not one was missing.

In the study, there was also a large bookshelf that stretched from wall to ceiling, filled with various books. She checked each spine and found nothing but anatomy, specimen preparation, and animal insect-related books—nothing particularly noteworthy. It was normal for a homeowner who liked specimens to have such books.

The floor was clean, the tools were neatly arranged, and even the decorative items were in their rightful places. She had even lifted the wall decorations to check behind them. Behind them was just a wall; nothing was hidden, no secret messages.

It was a failure. They found no clues about the whereabouts of Tominaga Yousuke.

Kiyomi Liuli said gloomily, "We're out of options. I'll go down with you and apologize to Officer Okuno and the others."

"You spineless fellow, why do you always think about apologizing?" Nanahara Takeshi was pacing around the study, touching nothing. Liuli had already checked everything for him. He just stood there, stroking his chin in thought.

Kiyomi Liuli retorted angrily, "I'm not always thinking about apologizing. But if people pin their hopes on us and we let them down, shouldn't we apologize? It's the least bit of decency and manners one should have!"

"Okuno and the others pinned their hopes on me, not you. You should get that straight. Whoever pins their hopes on you really should check their head at the hospital. They might discover a tumor sooner."

"You!" Kiyomi Liuli was furious. "Then let's see what you're going to do!"

"Then just watch."

Nanahara Takeshi ignored her. He was sure something was off, but it was like an instinctual intuition, something subtle making him uncomfortable. His conscious mind just hadn't caught on yet.

He circled the study a couple of times, then retraced his steps through all the rooms he had visited earlier, went down to the first floor for another round, and finally simply walked out into the courtyard and began circling the house.

Kiyomi Liuli, following him with bewilderment, couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing exactly?"

Nanahara Takeshi suddenly stopped, his body relaxing and he said with ease, "So that's it. I was wondering why I felt something was off earlier."

Kiyomi Liuli was baffled, looking at the house's exterior and then at Nanahara Takeshi, like a monk, no, like a nun, utterly confused.

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