The famous detective in the comic world

Chapter 274 The Sound of the Switch

"Topographic map?" Tom was puzzled: "Why do you say that?"

"You don't have to look at the map, you can just look at the topography of the basement. I drew the map because I'm not familiar with this place, and your basement corridor has too many twists and turns... It's just a habit to help you think." He Nan pointed to the topographic map and said : "The point is that you carefully look at the distance from the switch room to the stairs. As soon as the power went out, you rushed to the basement with a flashlight, right? He had to reach the lobby before you entered the narrow stairs and corridors, or Is it possible to be illuminated by light?"

"Uh... indeed."

"Then let's talk about hiding. This is even more impossible." He Nan pointed to the location of the power distribution room and the boiler room: "The sixth person entered the corridor from the boiler room, then went to the adjacent power distribution room, and pulled the switch... At this time, he has several options. One is to rush out directly, which is impossible—you will definitely see him. The second is to find a room to hide and wait for you to walk past his hiding place before coming out quietly. Then this place is It is impossible to consider both the switch room and the boiler room, since the switch room is exposed and the boiler room is deeper than the switch room. Then there is the storage room and the small room with the iron frame bed next to the entrance - very Unfortunately, they are impossible, too far away. When he pulls the switch and runs there, you will catch him."

"...What you said makes sense." Tom understood He Nan's explanation, and suddenly realized: "Then...you just mentioned the fourth possibility, what is it?"

"The fourth is to let you leave the hall, that is, as the husband of the deceased, you will be entangled in the bizarre death of your wife in the future, and you will not be able to see what happened in the hall during the time you left. After all, the basement is far away, except... ..." Having said this, He Nan stopped suddenly and frowned.

"Did you remember anything, He Nan?" Shirley looked at him with a smile.

"...Hmm." He Nan pondered for a moment, then quickly flipped through the testimonies of the three people he had written down before. After reading it for a long time, he felt more and more creepy.

... I said what is wrong.

So it's here?

really……

Talk too much, the fox tail will always show.

He Nan looked at the entrance.

The basement stairs are partly made of stone, and there is also an iron door.

Even if the door hadn't been opened at that time, the faint sound would not be able to travel too far after such a distance.

He Nan recalled the location of the living room on the first floor, and compared it with the area he was in now.

The warehouse is directly below the living room.

...the power distribution room is far away.

"Tom." He Nan spoke again: "Your electric box...is it loud when it restarts from the power-off state?"

"It's okay... I forgot." Tom frowned, seemingly full of confusion: "What's wrong?"

"It's not enough just to be 'okay'." He Nan shook his head: "I have a guess, and the power must be restored to verify. Is there a spare wire here?"

"No..." Tom said helplessly, "What do you want to verify?"

"Verify that there is no special sound when it is turned on - such as the violent roar of energy reflowing into the line. If there is really no spare, I'm afraid I have to go to the village to buy it... But Lorenzo said that there is no such thing as selling it in the village. ? That was so bad, we even had to drive back to New York to do some shopping to continue the investigation.”

"Ah... If you say so, there is no need to restore the power." Tom hastily declared: "There is only a slight electric current when it is turned on."

"How slight?"

"It's not as loud as pulling the brakes."

"That's good." He Nan nodded: "I'll ask you another question. Did you hear any unusual noises from the basement when the power went out?"

"No...no footsteps, no tripping."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure...er—no, I'm afraid..."

"It seems that your memory is a bit confused. We'd better verify the uncertain things. This way you will have less doubts when I tell you who is suspected." He Nan said so, and then asked Xiang Xueli: "Xueli, please..."

"Do you want me to go to the lobby to see if I can hear the sound of the brakes?" Shirley nodded with a smile: "Yes, leave it to me."

"Well, that's what I mean." He Nan felt that partnering with Shirley was like having another self who shared his thoughts, and he was deeply relieved: "Then we will pull the switch later. I will call you later Ask if you hear me."

Shirley made an "OK" gesture as she walked.

This gesture is now very dangerous.

Suspected of racial discrimination in Europe and the United States.

The little finger, ring finger and middle finger raised because of the OK gesture are interpreted as "W", which is "white".

The index finger and thumb circle form a circle, and the bottom of the middle finger goes down and the place where it sticks to the circle is a straight line, so it is interpreted as "P", which means "power".

white power - "white power".

They think white supremacists love this.

Living in the United States must pay attention to many details of political correctness.

This is one of the very deadly ones.

Fortunately, Shirley didn't do this in public, otherwise she would be labeled.

"Come on." He Nan led Tom to the power distribution room.

After arriving there, He Nan waited for a while to make sure Shirley was ready, and then pulled the switch.

At that moment, he felt that the sound of this old-fashioned electric switch was quite loud.

With a "click", it is extremely crisp.He even doubted his own reasoning.

However, when he called Shirley, and the other party answered "I didn't hear you" the moment he connected, He Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll pull it again, listen carefully." He Nan pulled the switch again, and asked again, "It's almost as loud as when it was activated before, did you hear even the slightest sound?"

"Still not." Shirley said on the other end of the phone: "I don't think there is any need to try again. Your conclusion is correct... After talking to Tom, take him to the terrace. I will go there earlier."

"Wait a minute, there are other experiments to be done." He Nan said, "I'm going to run to the exit next time. Listen to whether there is any sound this time."

"Ah."

So, He Nan hung up the phone and ran towards the exit.

Beside the exit, he yelled to ask Shirley if she heard it, and got an affirmative answer—she heard it when she was close to the warehouse.

There is the bottom of the living room.

And it's close to the exit.

To put it bluntly, this experiment proved that even if the sixth man ran fast and hid in warehouses and small rooms before Tom came down to see him, the sound of running would still be heard.

Afterwards, He Nan even conducted another experiment. He was talking on the phone, and walked as quietly as possible towards the exit from the moment he closed the distribution box, while Shirley hurried from the living room to the basement just like Tom, looking at Xue Li. Can Li run into him—the answer is still yes.

(End of this chapter)