Six in the evening!
Officer Sakata led Yusaku Kudo to the Tsutenkaku Tower.
"Mr. Yusaku, you can see a lot of Osaka from here. However, I do not know if it will help you."
Yusaku nodded after hearing Officer Sakata's words. He walked into the elevator.
Soon, the two men appeared on the observation deck.
The area was open and covered with glass. They could see very far away.
Yusaku walked to the glass and looked out. He could see everything around him.
He was looking for a building shaped like a ribbon or something similar.
But there were no such buildings or objects around.
Did I guess wrong? Yusaku thought deeply.
If it is not a building or a train, what else looks like a ribbon? Is it the literal meaning?
It cannot be the literal meaning.
Or, am I being played?
Yukiko has been kidnapped for five or six hours. But I still do not have a single clue. Damn it.
Yusaku clenched his fists tightly. His mind was in a mess again.
"Great mystery writer, you let me down too much. I will give you one more hour."
"If you have not solved all my codes by seven o'clock, you will never see your beautiful wife again."
Yusaku's pupils shrank suddenly. A feeling of anger rose in his heart.
"Great mystery writer, your breathing has changed. Do you want to kill me?"
"You are a world-famous detective writer. If you cannot solve such a simple code, you should just jump off Tsutenkaku."
The anger disappeared instantly. Yusaku looked around quickly. His eyes scanned every person on the observation deck.
"Remember, one hour. When you solve it, call me."
Yusaku slowly put down his phone. He lowered his head and looked very serious.
The criminal's words actually made him calm down. He felt very clear-headed.
Time passed slowly. Night began to fall.
The lights of Tsutenkaku started to turn on. The lights of the buildings around also lit up.
From above, the lights looked like stars. They decorated the buildings and looked very beautiful.
The street lights were all turned on. From above, they looked like a long dragon crawling along.
Yusaku stared at the street lights for a while. A light of hope slowly appeared in his eyes.
"Officer Sakata, is there a river near here?" Yusaku asked.
"A river?" Officer Sakata paused, then he nodded. "There is the Yodo River."
"Officer Sakata, please take me there right now."
The two men left Tsutenkaku immediately.
Soon, they arrived at the road next to the Yodo River. Yusaku got out of the car.
He went to the sloped river bank. He looked down and a smile appeared on his face. He looked confident.
"I was right. It is here."
"Mr. Yusaku, is this the blue-green ribbon?"
Officer Sakata looked around with a confused face. He saw a river with lights and dark grass. He did not see a ribbon.
"The blue-green ribbon. During the day, the sky makes the Yodo River look blue. The grass around it is green."
"Also, the Yodo River curves through Osaka. It looks very much like a ribbon."
Officer Sakata's eyes lit up. He remembered how the river looked during the day. It matched the description perfectly.
"Mr. Yusaku, you are truly amazing."
Yusaku gave a small smile. He picked up his phone and started to dial.
It was already dark outside.
Heiji felt a bit speechless. He thought the clues were too simple.
Yukiko lay on the sofa. She was in a lot of pain, but she did not dare to make a sound. She could only hold it in.
However, holding it in was very painful. Her red lips were turning a bit white.
There were no lights here. Only the lights from outside came in. It was just enough to see things.
Heiji saw Yukiko's condition and frowned. He picked up the water and walked over. "Drink."
Yukiko opened her eyes. She saw the water in Heiji's hand. Her eyes showed fear. "I... I am not thirsty."
Heiji sighed. "Your voice is dry, and you say you are not thirsty? Drink."
He opened the bottle and held it to her lips.
In Yukiko's mind, the water looked like a scary monster. Her face turned very white.
"Are you afraid of poison?"
Heiji frowned. He took a drink himself first. Then he gave it back to Yukiko. "Do not worry. I did not touch the bottle with my mouth. Drink!"
However, she still did not drink.
"You do not have the strength to open your mouth, right? Do you want me to feed you mouth-to-mouth?"
Suddenly, her closed lips opened.
Heiji put the bottle in her mouth and gave her a few drinks.
Yukiko did not dare to spit it out. She had to swallow it. The feeling inside her was about to explode.
Then, the phone rang.
"It seems the great writer finally solved the first code." Heiji answered the phone.
"The blue-green ribbon is the Yodo River."
"Not bad. You guessed right. Too bad there are only forty minutes left."
"I guessed right. You should let Yukiko go."
"Did I say the game was over?"
The other end of the phone went silent suddenly.
"The next code: the cracked potato. A friendly tip, great writer. You have forty minutes and one last code."
Heiji hung up the phone.
"The cracked potato?" Yusaku frowned deeply.
Officer Sakata looked confused.
Buildings, nature, large signs...
A thought flashed in Yusaku's mind. "Officer Sakata, let's go back to Tsutenkaku."
"But Tsutenkaku is closed at night."
"Please talk to the person in charge. I am asking you." Yusaku bowed slightly to Officer Sakata.
"Mr. Yusaku, do not do that. I will try my best."
Soon, they went back to Tsutenkaku. Because of Sakata's job, they were allowed to go up.
On the observation deck, they could see everything clearly.
Yusaku walked to a corner. He looked at a building nearby. A confident smile appeared on his face. "The cracked potato. That is it."
"The Osaka Sports Arena. From the cracked roof, it really looks like a cracked potato."
Officer Sakata's eyes opened wide in surprise.
Yusaku was full of confidence. He started to call.
Heiji was surprised for a moment. Then he understood. "Hello, great writer. You guessed it so quickly this time?"
"The Osaka Sports Arena!" Yusaku's voice was very confident.
"The answer is correct. Then, the next code..."
"Wait, let me talk to Yukiko," Yusaku interrupted Heiji.
Heiji shrugged his shoulders. He held the phone to Yukiko. "The great writer wants to talk to you."
Yukiko pressed her lips together. Her face was white. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.
Heiji pulled the phone away. "She does not seem to want to talk to you."
"The last code: the bloated square bamboo."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.