Stay away from Conan.

"New Tang Jin..."

"Still alive!"

Very briefly, Takato directly conveyed the news that Shindo Sumire was still alive to Sato Miwako.

Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako's pupils suddenly contracted, her fingers unconsciously tightening around her phone, and a multitude of thoughts raced through her mind—

Has Detective Akechi confirmed that Sumire Shindo is still alive?

He already knows who the murderer is, and he's even certain that the murderer hasn't targeted Sumire Shindo yet?
Subconsciously, Sato Miwako couldn't help but think this, uttering a serious and bewildered question:

"what?"

"I'm certain that Shindo Sumire is still alive. As for why, I'll tell you her whereabouts after everything is over. But right now, regarding the identity of the murderer, and the identity of the mole within the police force..."

"To unravel these mysteries, we need Officer Sato's assistance!"

Hearing Sato Miwako's confusion about what he had said about Shindo Sumire still being alive, Takato didn't offer any further explanation, but simply gave her these instructions.

Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako, though doubtful, ultimately considered the current situation and her trust in Akechi Takato himself, and nodded earnestly in agreement.
What do you need me to do?

"It shouldn't be long before your police force learns about the relationships between all the victims. Based on this new lead, they'll definitely send people to investigate. Officer Sato, you must take on this task, and after meeting with those who need to be questioned, you need to..."

Gao Yuan was quite certain that the police would soon learn about the Kyoto Tanabata fire through some channels. Based on this clue, the police would also be able to find out about Mizutani Kosuke and other related people. How the police would act at that time would also be a matter of great importance to the development of the case.

Therefore, since Sato Miwako has taken the initiative to come forward, that's perfect. It's just right to let Sato Miwako handle this matter.

After listening to Gao Yuan's instructions on what she needed to do over the phone, Sato Miwako was filled with shock and confusion about what Gao Yuan had said, but in the end she didn't ask any more questions. She simply agreed and hung up the phone.

As the phone call ended, Takagi Wataru, who had been wanting to rest due to exhaustion, suddenly felt no fatigue at all after vaguely hearing the conversation between Sato Miwako and Akechi Takato. He sat up abruptly, staring at Sato Miwako with a look of astonishment, unsure of what to say in the face of her extremely serious expression.

At this point, since Sato Miwako hadn't avoided Takagi Wataru earlier, she naturally trusted him completely. Therefore, after hanging up the phone, Sato Miwako turned to Takagi Wataru and said with a serious expression:

"So... Takagi, do you understand what we're going to do next?"

Upon seeing this, Takagi Wataru was momentarily stunned and bewildered, but looking at Sato Miwako's resolute expression, he finally nodded heavily...

……

Following Sato Miwako's sudden contact, Gao Yuan's initial thoughts began to shift. After the call ended, Gao Yuan stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. He then picked up his phone and began sending an email to—

Vermouth...

……

"What? A fire on Tanabata? In Kyoto?"

Just as Gao Yuan told Sato Miwako, when Inspector Megure and his team had been staking out two locations without any results, a call from Inspector Ayanokoji Fumimaro in Kyoto pointed them to a very clear clue.

Therefore, upon receiving this unexpected call, Inspector Megure almost exclaimed in surprise as he expressed his shock to Fumimaro Ayanokoji on the other end of the line.

In response, Ayanokouji Fumimaro, on the other end of the phone, calmly said to Inspector Megure:

“That’s right, the victims of the serial murder case you’re currently investigating are all survivors of that fire, therefore…”

"Is the so-called 'Tanabata-kyo' actually referring to the fire that occurred in Kyoto during the Tanabata Festival?"

Hearing this, Inspector Megure finally understood the clue completely. Just as he was about to thank Fumimaro Ayanokouji for informing him, Fumimaro changed the subject on the phone—

"Also, interestingly, I heard earlier today that Heiji Ikube also came to investigate related matters. I wonder if it will be helpful to your current investigation."

Having said all that, Ayanokouji Fumimaro had nothing more to say and hung up the phone. After all, the matter at hand did not involve Kyoto—

Or rather...

"Because the murderer deliberately avoided Kyoto, and even the Kansai region, our investigation has been unable to uncover any real connection between the victims..."

Faced with this situation, "Matsumoto Kiyonaga" couldn't help but understand the logic behind it. He realized why, after investigating for so long, he hadn't been able to find the real connection between the deceased. It turned out to be something that was generally unthinkable: that they had stayed at the same hotel together.

Faced with this situation, while Matsumoto Kiyonaga was considering his next move, Inspector Megure, based on what Ayanokoji Fumimaro had just said, dialed Hattori Heiji's number.

"Brother Hattori, I have a question for you. I heard about the investigation into the fire on Tanabata Festival..."

After all, there must have been a reason why Hattori Heiji would suddenly investigate this kind of thing. Could it be that he also had something going on with him?

Therefore, Inspector Megure asked this question.

When faced with this question, Hattori Heiji on the other end of the phone replied quite easily:

"Oh, Inspector Megure, you're asking me this? Well, Kudo asked me to investigate this, so I just looked it up while I was at it."

"Huh? Kudo?"

Upon hearing Heiji Hattori mention the name "Kudo," Inspector Megure immediately became interested. His trust in Shinichi Kudo and the fact that Shinichi Kudo was involved in this matter meant that Shinichi Kudo was also investigating it.

Inspector Megure suddenly felt confident that the case would be solved soon.

Soon after Inspector Megure hung up the phone with Heiji Hattori, Kiyoshi Matsumoto, who was standing next to him, asked in surprise:

"Megure, the Kudo you mentioned earlier, could it be...?"

"That's right, it's Shinichi Kudo. I didn't expect that he would start investigating this incident even though we don't know where he is! I wonder why Brother Kudo didn't tell us anything?"

"That's how it is," Inspector Megure casually complained, but at the same time he had already begun to contact his subordinates to start investigating the clues related to the fire as soon as possible.

For Matsumoto Kiyonaga, however, this situation was extremely perplexing.

Shinichi Kudo? What does it mean that this name suddenly popped up on its own?

That kid, isn't he still a child?

Subconsciously, Matsumoto Kiyonaga didn't have any further ideas about the case investigation for the time being. At least until information about the culprit came out, he didn't need to take action. However, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes with Kudo Shinichi's side...

……

"You've already met Shinichi Kudo, haven't you?"

Meanwhile, when Gao Yuan was standing in front of a phone booth and his call to Vermouth was answered, the first thing he said was this.

Vermouth, on the other end of the phone, was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but let out a cold laugh—

"Yes, that's right... If it weren't for you and Sherry intervening, he wouldn't have recovered at this point, would he? Tell me, what exactly do you want?" (End of Chapter)