The Case of the Shibuya Revelation Serial Murders Pt. 2

The Case of the Shibuya Revelation Serial Murders Pt. 2 (渋谷黙示録連続殺人事件②, Shibuya Mokushiroku Renzoku Satsujin Jiken ②) is the 23rd chapter of the Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective manga.
==Summary==
Toto confirms: the murder is a challenge from the M family? Ron says yes, directed at him. Toto says that it is true the code is in the same spot as the mark on his neck, and that the verse matches the numbers on him, but could that be a coincidence? Ron says definitely not, they are mocking him. The crime method and the incomprehensibility, he does not know enough about the M family to say for sure that it was them based on the two aspects alone. But the ridicule he feels from them is the same as from the Bloody Field Trip and that is enough. It makes him so angry he could puke. 
Toto, in also trying to calm him down, asks if it is a challenge to him, does that mean they want him to solve the code? Ron says yes. Amamiya asks about the zero and ten o'clock, what kind of code is it, is it meant for someone in particular. The policeman also muses that it may be some kind of jargon used by the hacker group, since they perform their scams in 3-person cells. 
Ron thus says aloud: it is announcing the next murder. "Officer Isshiki told him" that he can clearly sense the killer's anger and bitterness through the cruel murder method. The victim's biggest mistake was making the cryptocurrency theft widely known. If there was someone who had their eye on the enormous profit they made from the theft, they would be enraged over the massive loss, and their wrath would fall on the entire hacker group. Amamiya confirms, so then the code is announcing their intent to kill the other two hackers? Toto understands, and says probably. Amamiya says if 10 o'clock is the time of the next crime, then what does the zero stand for? But Toto is not sure. Also, Amamiya notes, it will 10:00 in 30 minutes! Amamiya loudly calls for backup, to find out what the zero means, and to find any objects or buildings that could be related to zero. 
Winter keeps observing from atop a building, carrying a crossbow, cursing the descendant of Holmes, saying it is time for Ron Kamonohashi to taste despair. Winter aims the crossbow, saying the game is afoot.
Ron and Toto walk together, as Toto asks if Ron figured out something. Ron says no, only that the crime scene will be near the area. Toto asks how he knows. Ron says they are making a challenge to him, and there is no point if it is not somewhere he can reach in under 30 minutes. Toto is sent the pictures of the other two hackers. The police searched both their homes yesterday morning and both were totally empty. Ron says the M family got to them first and helped them escape. All so they could kill them before they could be arrested by the police. Toto adds that police officers have been stationed at all businesses in the city with zero in their name, and Toto says he thought about that as well. Ron agrees that the zero refers to the location, but he does not think the M family would make it so easy to solve. Toto thinks he is right, but in a panic asks where is a place Ron would not think of so easily. 
But someone greets Ron and Toto, and they find Chicory. She says his wonderfully anguished face tells her he is investigating the Shibuya mall park murder. She is there to gather material for a story, but why is barista Kamokyu there? Ron deflects saying they happened to run into each other, and that Toto was asking some questions about the area. Toto asks if Chicory could think of any places around there that have to do with zero, and that it is an emergency. Ron adds that they do not ned any opinions that just anyone could think of. Chicory grumbles that Kamokyu is always acting so high and mighty, that he is no detective. But she does say there is a spot where recently she wondered "is this really zero?". Both Ron and Toto take notice. Chicory says at the Shibuya station bus terminal they have a platform 0. 
Toto says it is amazing, close by, and not the sort of thing on would normally think of. But Ron does not move. He says the zeros in the 10:00 also have a diagonal line in them, and the numbers look similar to the zero to the left. But it bugs him that the four corners of the zero are not connected. Toto says isn't it probably because they did not make the mark clearly? He says they will not get there in time if they do not leave now. Toto and Chicory start running, as Ron tells them to go ahead. 
Toto and Chicory do arrive at Platform 0 with five minutes remaining. Meanwhile Ron keeps walking around the Shibuya mall park sidestreet and watches the food stalls. He pauses as he hears a man complain that his grilled chicken is all sticky, the stick is covered in sauce and thus there is nowhere he can avoid touching it. Ron muses on the avoiding touching, avoiding four corners, and thus the four corners not touching. He realizes something and starts running as he calls Toto. He knows the place. The code is NOT a number: the place is the Shibuya Scramble Crossing. The four missing corners are the areas where there is no pedestrian crossing paint. 
But Ron and Toto with Chicory separately make it to the crossing at 9:59. At exactly 10:00, as the two look all over, smoke appears from several grills, covering the crossing in a smokescreen. It is during the smokescreen that Ron hears a sharp whoosh. The smoke eventually clears, but they find a man laying on the street, an arrow piercing his heart. They look all over and could not find a shooter. Toto tells Chicory to get away since it is dangerous. Meanwhile they identify the man as one of the hackers. Ron confirms that the arrow pierced the heart, that the victim is done form. But how could someone make such a perfect shot through that smokescreen? 
A man wearing a face mask gasps and trembles nearby, saying "They got Hibino", then running. Toto realizes the man is the third hacker and starts running to catch him. Ron stays with the victim, saying he cracked the code but the murder still happened right under his nose. He then notices that the arrow shaft has a triangle and a digital 11:00. The case is still unfolding. 
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
* Totomaru Isshiki
* Ron Kamonohashi
* Amamiya
* Winter Moriarty
* Chicory Monki
* Kizo Takanashi
==Navigation==
Category:Chapters
Category:Shibuya Revelation Serial Murders Case