Stay away from Conan.

From the start of the case discussion, Gao Yuan maintained a normal demeanor throughout, never showing any sign of "sudden realization" or volunteering to express his opinions like Kogoro Mouri.

However, at this point, after the officers present discussed some details based on Kogoro Mouri's analysis, Kiyoshi Matsumoto specifically called on Takato to ask for his opinion. Having already formed some thoughts on the matter, Matsumoto naturally suspected that this might be a deliberate attempt to target him.

Suspecting he might be connected to Sherry, he needs to test his abilities to determine if he is capable of helping Sherry escape danger several times.

Therefore, given that Takato was already aware of this and intended to let things develop in the direction of the original work, how could he possibly unravel the mystery in this situation?
So, when faced with this Matsumoto Kiyonaga, who was most likely an imposter, he wanted to ask for his opinion. Takato's response was indifferent; he simply gave a perfunctory answer about the most obvious clues currently available—

"Based on the clues we have so far, I agree with Mr. Mori's assessment that the murderer will continue to commit crimes. Moreover, the red dots on the mahjong tile 'Seven of Bamboo' and the single 'One of Bamboo' tile should refer to the deceased."

"So, if we understand it this way, each red dot corresponds to a victim, then the two remaining uncolored dots mean that the murderer should have killed two more people!"

"In other words, Mingzhi, don't you think that the eight points from the seven of bamboo and the one of bamboo include the murderer himself?"

After Takato expressed his opinion on the red-painted areas on the mahjong tiles, the differences between his analysis and Kogoro Mouri's became the focus of Inspector Megure's targeted questioning.

Gao Yuan nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I don't think so. If the mahjong tiles represent the murderer, then it means the murderer had another target, which would only require one more dot to be highlighted. If the murderer doesn't commit suicide, the remaining dot won't be highlighted, and in that case..."

At this point, Gao Yuan paused briefly, seemingly thinking, before offering a somewhat ambiguous analysis:
"Well, what I'm about to say only represents my personal opinion, not some insightful reasoning. Because, in my opinion, if the seven of bamboo tiles isn't completely covered up, it just feels like something's missing. So I feel that the murderer's elaborate crime-solving, leaving mahjong tiles at the scene and deliberately taking one of the victim's personal belongings, shows that the murderer planned the entire case very meticulously. Therefore, it's inappropriate to leave such an imperfect spot unpainted."

"Therefore, even if the murderer is among them, I think the final spot will be filled in, which means there should be two more victims!"

"So, if the killer didn't have two other targets, then the killer would also commit suicide to make up for all the points?"

After Gao Yuan gave a brief explanation of this analysis, which was not exactly a deduction, Yamato Kansuke listened to it, clearly thought for a moment, pondered for a moment, looked at Gao Yuan, and asked this question.

Gao Yuan nodded in agreement, indicating that Yamato Kansuke was right and that this was indeed what he meant when he said those words.

Kogoro Mouri, standing to the side, was clearly displeased. After all, while Takato's deduction accepted some of his reasoning, it essentially negated his idea that the murderer was in one of the other two locations.

After hearing the analysis, Matsumoto Kiyonaga remained silent for a moment before asking:
"Any more?"

Therefore, Gao Yuan continued to speak:

"I think the murderer's choice to leave the 'One of Bamboo' and 'Seven of Bamboo' tiles at the scene has little to do with the mahjong tiles themselves. Rather, it suggests the murderer abstracted something from the tiles' shape or rank that suited their taste. Otherwise, there would be no need for the murderer to draw a vertical line and write a letter on the back of each tile. "If...ignoring the meaning of the letters and only looking at the vertical lines drawn on the back of the tiles, I feel..."

"It seems to represent a door..."

"Given the killer's modus operandi, the targets chosen must be related. Perhaps, from this perspective, these victims might have all been inside some door?"

Gao Yuan gave this analysis in a vague and uncertain manner. After hearing this, the police officers present began to review the case materials that had been distributed to them. They basically agreed with Gao Yuan's conclusion that the "vertical line drawn behind the mahjong tile" referred to the "door".

Therefore, after this analysis, most police officers felt that Takato's explanation was more reliable than Kogoro Mouri's theory that the killer and the victim had a mahjong-playing relationship. However...

To be honest, it doesn't seem to be a very crucial clue. After all, it's just a door, which doesn't narrow down the scope of the investigation or help find any possible connections between the deceased...

……

"Humph……"

Meanwhile, outside the Metropolitan Police Department, Gin sat in his car listening to the meeting inside. After Takato finished explaining his guesses and analysis, there was still not much progress. So when it came time for Superintendent Matsumoto Kiyonaga to give his concluding remarks and urge the officers to investigate hard to ensure that there would be no more victims, Gin was clearly disappointed with the two detectives and all the police officers who appeared at the meeting.

Gin gave a clearly disdainful snort, seemingly having lost interest in the two detectives.

After all, Kogoro Mouri is a foolish detective, while Takato Akechi, although relatively better, makes analyses that are nothing more than nonsense that the organization could already roughly see through, and he is completely unlike the famous detective he is rumored to be.

Having turned off his phone, Gin said to Vodka:
"Let's go, no need to waste time here. Let's see how far those cops can get... As long as we have a clue, we can seize the initiative!"

Upon hearing Gin's words, Vodka nodded and started the car, leaving the area. Before leaving, Gin glanced at the Metropolitan Police Department one last time, but immediately turned back to look ahead, as if there were more important matters waiting for him to attend to.

At that very moment, as Gin and the others started their car, Conan and Ai were still by the window in the Metropolitan Police Department, occasionally glancing outside, especially now that Conan had overheard through the bugging device that the meeting was basically over—

At this point, Gin and the others left?

So, they were indeed paying attention to this meeting?
Thus, Conan has basically figured out Gin and the others' intentions... (End of Chapter)