* * *
That one-room building is not a hallway style on both sides. It’s structured for people to live on only one side.
“Could they have been in the bathroom and we missed them?”
[No. They were found in a room we passed by while climbing the building’s exterior yesterday.]
“Then we would have seen them through the window. But we didn’t see anyone? I might miss it, but you shouldn’t be able to.”
[There was no sign of a living person or any movement or living noise detected in the residence along the route.]
“The fire was that big; no sane person would stay put. Could they have been drunk and deeply asleep under a blanket?”
AI Zinji displayed consecutive photos of the interior of the rooms they passed while climbing the building through the AR lens.
[There was no one on the bed.]
“Then they might have fallen and slept under the bed.”
Blind spots in the AR photos were marked.
[They might have been drugged and in the blind spot under the bed.]
Na Kang-in thought of another possibility.
“Or they were already dead by then.”
Na Kang-in turned his chair sideways.
“Zinji, do you have any infrared vision skills?”
[I collect video information through the agent’s eyes. Therefore, I can only see what the agent sees.]
“My eyes have AR lenses installed.”
[AR lenses are devices that show augmented reality to the user, not infrared vision devices.]
“I thought it was worth a shot.”
He twirled the business card given by Detective Park Ki-jung around his fingers.
“Anyway, it means it could be a murder case. I need to meet this detective again.”
[The agent is currently in a secure identity, so it is safe to meet with the detective. Becoming friendly with the local police will be helpful for future missions.]
“Such help is just a bonus that comes with catching the killer.”
Detective Park Ki-jung sat down at his desk in the Criminal Investigation Department.
“I had a feeling this might happen.”
His colleague sitting next to him asked, “What? Isn’t it the guy who was tightrope walking between buildings?”
“No, it isn’t. He just got lost while watching the fire.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s not a suspect, so I didn’t look into that. But since the part-timer knew his name, he either works at that PC Bang or is a regular customer.”
“A loafer?”
“Looked like it… Oh?”
Na Kang-In walked into the office. Park Ki-jung stood up and smiled.
“Coming all the way here for a lost item. Haha. We can’t just accept drinks or anything… Oh, you’re empty-handed?”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“Oh, really? So what brings you here?”
“I looked up some news articles and found out that there was a casualty in the building that caught fire.”
Park Ki-jung’s face turned a bit somber.
“Ah, yes. It’s really unfortunate.”
The casualty was the most regrettable part of it all. Due to this incident, Park Ki-jung’s workload increased, and his vacation was completely cut off. That upset him too.
Na Kang-In said, “I think it’s a murder case.”
“It’s not strange to have suspicions about a case with a casualty. We’re also investigating that possibility.”
“This isn’t something to just brush off as a possibility. There’s a high chance it’s a murder.”
Park Ki-jung often encountered civilians making wild guesses about cases.
“When making such claims, you need to provide evidence. Without that…”
“When I climbed past the window of that room, there was no one moving inside. Who stays still when there’s a fire? It means something was wrong with the victim.”
“Yes, climbing past the window… Excuse me?”
Park Ki-jung was bewildered.
“Hold on a second. So…”
He gulped, looking at Na Kang-In.
“Are you saying you were the one tightrope walking between buildings yesterday?”
Detective Park Ki-jung’s face lit up.
“Ah! That’s why the shopping bag was there!”
Na Kang-In responded, “I couldn’t climb the wall while carrying it.”
“Of course. That’s why when I returned the bag to you, I had a feeling… You didn’t mention it earlier, so I thought it wasn’t you…”
“You didn’t ask, did you?”
“Oh, right. Haha. Anyway, you’re amazing. Climbing the building with bare hands and tightrope walking with someone in your arms. How did you do it? Are you a cultural asset or something?”
“That’s not the point right now, is it?”
“Oh, right.”
Park Ki-jung took out his notebook.
“Could you tell me again why you suspect it’s a murder?”
“There was no one moving in that room despite the fire. The victim was either already dead or incapacitated by drugs or alcohol. While it doesn’t conclusively prove murder, the police don’t investigate only sure things, do they?”
Park Ki-jung understood what Na Kang-In was implying.
“So, you’re saying someone set the building on fire to cover up a murder?”
“When I read about the casualty, that’s the first thing that came to mind. I made sure there were no survivors in the building as I climbed the wall yesterday.”
If someone had committed arson to cover up a murder, leading to a fire in a five-story building, it would be a major case. Without Na Kang-In, there might have been additional casualties on the rooftop.
Park Ki-jung said, “We haven’t ruled out the possibility of murder.”
That’s why his vacation was completely canceled.
“We’ve requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service.”
Colleagues from the same team approached. The second team leader asked Park Ki-jung, “Have we heard back from the National Forensic Service yet?”
“Of course not. It takes time for autopsy results. Given how big the fire was, they said the autopsy might not yield any results.”
“What about the cause of the fire?”
A fellow detective answered, “We just heard from the fire department. They said it’s likely an electrical short circuit.”
“A short circuit… Is there any CCTV around the building?”
The youngest member of the team reported, “I checked, but there are no CCTVs around that area.”
The second team leader said to Na Kang-In, “As you can see, we’re doing everything we can. Given the circumstances, we just have to wait for the autopsy results.”
Na Kang-In provided more information.
“Yesterday, while walking towards that building, I saw four people walking away from that direction. One of them might be the culprit.”
Park Ki-jung quickly suggested, “Oh, that’s great. Could you help us create composite sketches? Our sketch artist is currently unavailable, so if you could wait a bit…”
Na Kang-In whispered, “Zijin, can you draw?”
[Direct input/output from combat support AIs implanted in the body is prohibited, including printers. Instead, we can draw what we see by hand after reconnaissance missions.]
“Can you draw with a pen?”
[Of course. I can even draw in the dirt with a stick.]
Na Kang-In offered, “I can draw them myself.”
Park Ki-jung asked, “Oh… Are you good at drawing?”
“It’s just a hobby.”
“Please wait a moment. I’ll get the tools for the composite sketches.”
Na Kang-In picked up a pen from the desk.
“This will do. Just give me some paper.”
“What? Oh, sure. Here.”
Na Kang-In placed a white A4 paper on the desk.
Through his AR lens, he saw the faces of the four people he had seen in the alley the previous day. Overlaying the semi-transparent images on the A4 paper, he could easily trace them with the pen.
He gave a quiet instruction.
“You draw. One person you saw earlier on each sheet of paper.”
[Understood.]
The AI fully controlled Na Kang-In’s hand, and he began sketching on an A4 sheet with a ballpoint pen. There were no special techniques involved; it simply looked like he was drawing a portrait with a pen.
The detectives watched in awe.
“Wow. He draws incredibly well.”
“It looks like a black-and-white photo rather than a drawing.”
“His hand moves so fast, you can’t even see it!”
“Huh? He’s already finished one, even though it seemed like he just started!”
A portrait was completed. Alongside the face, he sketched the clothes the person was wearing at that time.
Na Kang-In spoke, “This is the first person I encountered in that alley. They were on a call with someone.”
“We’ll start by checking phone records.”
Each portrait took only a few minutes to complete. As he drew the second person he had passed by, he explained the situation.
“This person turned back once while walking. Their walking speed was normal, but their eyes looked a bit unfocused.”
Detective Park Ki-jung was impressed.
“Wow. You remember the situation exactly, as if you’re seeing it right now.”
He was indeed seeing and explaining it in real-time. The AI was showing the video from that moment through AR lenses, so Na Kang-In only needed to describe what he saw while the AI controlled his hand to draw.
To the others, it seemed like he was recalling and drawing the scene from memory simultaneously.
The detectives whispered among themselves.
“Is he an artist?”
“He must be, right?”
“I’ve had help from an artist during a case before, but they didn’t have skills like this.”
“Is he a genius?”
* * *
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