Stay away from Conan.

"What? You're telling the truth, my dear friend!"

After bringing Conan and the others back to the Metropolitan Police Department, Inspector Megure, who was troubled by the lack of progress in the serial murder case and the intrusion of Kogoro Mouri's office by an unknown person, immediately perked up after hearing what Takato said on the phone. He hurriedly shouted and asked Takato on the other end of the line.

Thus, with Inspector Megure's sudden loud shout, all the police officers present, as well as Conan and the others who had been brought there, including "Matsumoto Kiyonaga" who had just arrived, couldn't help but be concerned about Inspector Megure's reaction.

what happened?

Unsurprisingly, everyone present looked at Inspector Megure with the same question in their hearts.

Inspector Megure clearly realized the importance of the matter after hearing Takato's words, and at that moment he happened to be inside the Metropolitan Police Department. Because of the incident involving Shindo Sumire earlier that day, most of the members of the joint investigation team were here.

Therefore, after looking around and confirming that everyone was basically there, Inspector Megure said to Takato on the other end of the phone, "Wait a moment," and then Inspector Megure loudly and sternly shouted to everyone present:
"Colleagues! Meeting time!"

As they spoke, the officers present in the large office, including those from the joint investigation team, naturally looked towards Inspector Megure. Although they weren't quite sure what was wrong with Inspector Megure, they could tell from his expression that this was no ordinary matter.

"—Megure, what's wrong?"

And coincidentally, Matsumoto Kiyonaga arrived just in time to overhear Inspector Megure's remarks. Without hesitation, Matsumoto Kiyonaga, with a serious expression, calmly inquired about the reason for Inspector Megure's sudden request for a meeting—

After all, for Ireland, who was impersonating Matsumoto Kiyonaga, what he cared about more at this moment was undoubtedly the brat who had been brought to the Metropolitan Police Department along with him because of the "detective agency intrusion incident".

He rushed here in order to take advantage of his position to see if he could find an opportunity to directly contact that kid, or even subdue and take him away from the Metropolitan Police Department.

But now Inspector Megure suddenly wants to hold a meeting, which undoubtedly disrupts his rhythm.

However, the fact that the joint investigation team was being called along with everyone clearly indicated that this matter was unlikely to be related to the "detective agency intrusion," but rather to the serial murder case. Therefore, Ireland's thoughts raced, but outwardly he maintained Matsumoto Kiyonaga's dignified and composed expression, quietly awaiting Inspector Megure's explanation.

Without a doubt, if we really talk about the progress of this matter, this is Ireland's primary objective as the initial goal of this mission.

In response, Inspector Megure simply gave Matsumoto Kiyonaga a serious look and said briefly:
"Things have made progress!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately changed their expressions, but not with a sense of sudden clarity; rather, it was a subconscious, cautious skepticism.

Ultimately, the suspect found during the day was not the murderer, while the other person who reported the crime, Sumire Shindo, went missing and was suspected of being taken away by the murderer. These consecutive unexpected events prompted everyone to be more cautious and at least hear the situation before speaking.

Undoubtedly, from everyone's perspective, this series of murders has already occurred several times. Although a joint investigation team has been established, there are few clues, and the killer's actions are completely unpredictable. This has left the police officers who have come from all over the country feeling frustrated and helpless.

It's hard to believe that there's been progress suddenly, without any clear beginning or end.

Matsumoto Kiyonaga thought the same thing, but given his current position, what he should do at this time was not to question, but to seize the time.

Immediately, Matsumoto Kiyoshi could only nod solemnly and look at everyone present. The officers then gathered on one side of the large office, near Inspector Megure, and the meeting could begin.

After looking around and confirming that most of the members of the joint investigation team were present, Inspector Megure didn't have time to make any arrangements for Kogoro Mouri and the others who had been brought there. Thinking that Kogoro Mouri was a frequent attendee of meetings anyway, Inspector Megure spoke into his phone:

“Brother Mingzhi, we can begin.”

With that, Inspector Megure placed his phone on the table in front of him and pressed the speakerphone button.

Then, under everyone's gaze, Gao Yuan's clear voice came from the other end of the phone— "I'll get straight to the point—"

"Regarding this series of murders, I discovered that the locations where the killer chose to dispose of the bodies actually followed a pattern, and they were very likely related to the orientation of the Big Dipper. Moreover, the seven-bamboo mahjong tile left at the scene also had a similar arrangement of dots to the Big Dipper!"

"The Big Dipper?"

Upon hearing this, Yokomizo Shigego, the police inspector from Kanagawa Prefecture, frowned first. He seemed a little impatient, not fully understanding what Takato was saying, and pressed for an answer:

What exactly does that mean?

The other officers, meanwhile, frowned and began to think.

As for Conan, who was standing nearby, he had come here to try to find out "Ireland's" disguised identity from the crowd. However, after hearing these words, he immediately recalled the events and began to recall the locations of the incidents on a map.

Meanwhile, after a brief moment of thought, Saitama Prefectural Detective Ayami Ogino quickly opened her laptop, pulled up a map of the case, looked at the locations marked where bodies had been found, and then her pupils slightly contracted—

"How about it?"

Seeing this, Yamato Kansuke seemed to understand what Takato had said and quickly stepped forward, both to confirm his idea and to take a look at the map screen that Ogino Ayami had brought up.

Ayami Ogino didn't answer immediately. Instead, her fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up a star chart of the Big Dipper directly from the internet. Using image editing software, she lowered its opacity, making it appear blurred and transparent, and then dragged the mouse to overlay this image onto the existing map.

At this moment, almost everyone in the office was drawn to Ayami Ogino's actions, crowding around behind her and staring at the computer screen, and then...

A brief silence fell over the entire office—

The five points on the map perfectly match the positions of the five stars in the Big Dipper!

"This……"

A gasp of surprise escaped Yokomizo Sango, who was somewhat shocked and at a loss for words.

"Could this be a coincidence?"

Upon seeing this, Yamamura Misao scratched his head and subconsciously asked, although he didn't quite understand what had happened, but judging from everyone's expressions, he knew that things were not simple.

"It can't be a coincidence!"

Seeing this, Yamato Kensuke decisively confirmed it loudly:
"The perfect matching of the locations is definitely a deliberate design!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, realizing that it was undoubtedly true, but...

It seems there's nothing that could further advance the investigation.
Thinking of this, Matsumoto Kiyonaga pondered—

This clue...

How should we utilize it? (End of Chapter)