blogombal Chapter 396 The Sound Wall
Chapter 396 The Sound Wall
Chapter 398 Echo Wall
Skilled fighters often possess keen hearing, which gives them an advantage in hand-to-hand combat and Pokémon battles. The sound of an opponent's clothing rubbing together, changes in breathing rhythm, the soft thud of toes on the ground, and the tapping of a Poké Ball—when their eyes are blinded by defensive actions, they must use these sounds to construct a three-dimensional battle scene in their minds, thereby predicting the direction of each of their opponent's attacks.
In such intense battles, filtering is more important than gathering information—filtering out irrelevant noise in the chaotic street fight, hearing the trembling of fear in the feigned calm of an opponent's breathing, discerning the enemy's next move amidst the deafening roar of Pokémon attacks...
Lian Wu possessed this combat intuition, which is why he was able to detect something amiss in the recorded conversation between the kidnapper and the victim.
"A cave? Are you sure?"
Deputy Director Jun Sha almost instinctively raised her eyebrows, then immediately realized her lapse in decorum and quickly apologized to Lian Wu.
"I apologize; verifying this should be our job. I hope you find this amusing."
She quickly turned to the analysis team and named several senior investigators: "Extract the background audio from those two recordings."
Look for any traces of echoes.
The investigators immediately complied. After a brief analysis and discussion, one of the female investigators, wearing black-rimmed glasses, stood up and said, "After specialized analysis by the technical team, we did find a slight echo phenomenon, but this could also be microphone interference caused by the phone playing calls aloud."
The sound waves output by the speaker may be collected a second time by the microphone. The audio signal picked up is amplified by the speaker and then captured and amplified again by the microphone. This process repeats itself, much like the echoes that are constantly reflected between walls. This is what is known in the professional field as the "positive feedback of sound and electricity".
This phenomenon can cause a teeth-grinding shriek when the speaker and microphone are pressed together, and it also occurs when playing a phone aloud in an open space.
This will produce an echo-like noise.
"Have you compared the recordings from other time periods?" Seeing that the two sides' accounts were inconsistent, Officer Jenny frowned slightly and asked her subordinates.
"Of course."
The investigator adjusted his thick glasses and turned his computer screen toward the group. "Besides the two recordings pointed out by Wu Tianwang, we also sampled the kidnapper's own speech and the background audio of him abducting the girl. Both showed the same slight echo. This is not an isolated case but a common phenomenon—which is why we concluded that the echo was most likely caused by the kidnapper speaking through his phone."
The deputy director was a little undecided, so she turned her attention back to Hugo and Lian Wu.
"To be honest, I don't really understand professional analysis—" After listening to the investigator's explanation, Lian Wu touched the back of his neck, his tone hesitant, but he still insisted, "But those two recordings—always remind me of echoes in a dark cave."
"What do you think of Hugo's championship?" Officer Jenny pressed.
The detective stared at the curves on the screen for a long time before finally asking the investigator, "The echoes from those two audio recordings..."
Is the volume of the echo as loud as the volume of the other parts?
"Ah, this—this part is indeed a little strange." A hint of panic appeared behind the investigator's black-rimmed glasses. "The audio echo phenomenon that Tianwang pointed out is slightly larger, but that's just a difference in the degree of equipment error, and we don't think we need to worry about it—"
"No, the existence of this error is already quite telling. Miss Investigator, please be sure to conduct further analysis on this audio."
"Just because of those 'errors'?" The investigator hesitated slightly. "Never underestimate the intuition of a Champion Trainer," Hugo said seriously, then turned to Officer Jenny, "Director..."
Please allocate some personnel to immediately gather information on all caves, tunnels, and abandoned mines near Shuanglong City.
"That's easy, we can just retrieve the information from the database," the deputy director said crisply. "Do we also need to dispatch patrol teams from the corresponding jurisdiction to conduct a search?"
"No, the number of manpower available in the area around Shuanglong City is limited. We need to further narrow down the scope first, otherwise it will just be a waste of police resources."
"Can you pinpoint the location even further? Just based on these two phone calls that combined last less than ten minutes?"
Officer Jenny felt that all the analyzable parts of the phone conversation had been exhausted. Did this champion really want to find the murderer based solely on this audio recording?
"After all, the audio analysis team found new clues."
United Champion rubbed his chin with his fingertips. "I find it hard to believe that a kidnapper with such strong counter-surveillance awareness would put his phone on speakerphone for no reason. And if we rule out that possibility, the remaining faint echo needs a new explanation."
"Do you have a clue?" Lian Wu asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Rather than a clue, I'd say I've figured it out." The detective snapped his fingers lightly.
"The reason for the second echo is that when the kidnapper was on the phone, he was also standing in a similar enclosed space—only the location was slightly different from where he recorded the conversation with the mother and daughter to avoid interference. He might have been speaking into the open entrance of the cave, or there might have been enough obstacles nearby, so the echo recorded by the communicator would be smaller," Hugo explained the principle behind the echo difference.
"That's a reasonable guess," Officer Jenny nodded. "But how do we pinpoint their location?"
Let's review the current information—
First, the kidnapper was in a closed or semi-closed space during the call:
"Secondly, based on Lianwu Tianwang's intuition, that area might resemble a cave. Thirdly, the geographical environment of this area must be complex enough, with at least three distinct spaces, each serving as a separate location for the two hostages and the prisoner to make phone calls."
"The reason I believe the hostages were not held together is because Ms. Ryoko's voice was not heard at all in the recording when her daughter was crying. If her daughter broke down and cried in front of her, the mother should not have been unmoved."
Hugo methodically pieced together the connection from the vague clues. "Of course, it's also possible that the kidnappers made the mother lose consciousness while recording, but that would be too much trouble for the kidnappers. From the morning of the kidnapping to the time of the threatening phone call, it was less than five hours. I don't think the other party could have done such a complicated operation in that time."
"In other words, the hostages may be being held in a sufficiently complex cave, and given the short duration, the location should be near Shuanglong City, where the kidnapping occurred?"
Officer Jenny walked slowly to the investigator who was searching for information about the cave and asked a concluding question.
"Yes, and considering that the prisoner would have had to walk slower while holding two hostages," Hugo added, holding up a finger. "The cave is likely located near a road accessible by car."
"Then these conditions should be filtered out—"
Seeing that his subordinates had finished the search, the deputy director took over the computer keyboard, his slender fingers rapidly typing on the keys.
With a series of key clicks, the data analysis system restarted.
The next moment, the number of densely packed red markers on the screen was reduced by half, leaving only terrain of sufficient size.
Next, Officer Jenny entered the command again: "Secondary filtering: Keep only the points within 500 meters of the highway."
As the Enter key was pressed, only two flashing red markers remained on the map on the screen.
Upon seeing those two place names, the air in the conference room instantly froze.
"The training hut on the west side of Shuanglong City, and—" Lian Wutianwang couldn't help but gasp, "...the Path of the Champions!"
"It can't be a hermitage," Hugo and Officer Jenny said at the same time.
"Although it's close to Highway 10, there was a landslide there not long ago."
The deputy director opened the database, and a photo of a mountain full of rocks appeared on the screen: "According to reports from trainers who were training nearby, the entrance area seems to have collapsed due to a battle between powerful Pokémon and has been completely blocked by boulders and broken rocks."
"Moreover, this cave has no exit. A meticulously planned kidnapper would not choose such a place as a hiding place."
"
The detective then pointed out, "But at the foot of the Alliance headquarters, the Champion's Road, which was originally transformed from an Iron Ant Nest and has a network of interconnected routes, doesn't have this problem. Furthermore, this location can also explain the source of Lian Wu's previous intuition—presumably, King Lian Wu once trained in the caves there, which is why he subconsciously remembered the echoes in the caves."
"Doesn't that mean the two hostages are currently on the Champion's Road nearby?"
Lian Wu's forehead veins bulged as he suppressed his anger, saying, "Not only did they target the car that transported Champion Carlos to the League, but they also hid the driver's family as hostages right under the League's nose! Just how far does that person intend to humiliate the United States League?!"
At the league headquarters after Mr. Alderk stepped down as champion, no one valued the glory of the United States League more than Lian Wu.
The fighting game champion strode towards the hospital, but Hugo stopped him—
"Although this medical center is close to the Champions Road, the criminal has been on the run for at least half a day with two hostages. Chasing after them now would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. It would be more reasonable for the police and investigators to seal off the entrances and exits and then conduct a thorough search."
"But at this rate, how long will it take to find the hostages?"
The fighter stared at the Unova Champion blocking his way like a seasoned construction worker—
"I'm familiar with the terrain of Victory Road, and I can send Pokémon to assist in the search. Even so, are you still going to leave me here on the sidelines?"
"No, I have someone more suitable."
Hugo's hand remained in front of Lian Wu.
"As the champion of the Unova region, I know the recent movements of all the high-level trainers in the league. Among them, there is one person who has been training on the Champion Road in the north of Twin Dragons City ever since she failed to challenge Mr. Ardek. She is in those caves and can find the hostages sooner."
The detective raised the phone with his other hand, and the call connected at that exact moment.
"Hugo? What do you need me for?"
The Road to Champions is located at the foot of the United Alliance headquarters, with a dense network of base stations and communication lines nearby. Moreover, the caves are mostly situated on the edge of cliffs, so the call signal is hardly affected.
The voice of Ms. Iris, one of the two gym leaders in Twin Dragons City, was clearly heard by everyone.