Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 178 Playing Chess
The shogi competition is of course not held in a gymnasium, but in a chess hall, and not many people can watch the game live.

The chess hall is completely Japanese in style. During the game, the players will play in the game room. Apart from the referee, there are only recorders and a few reporters in the game room. Absolute silence is required.

Those who watched the chess game were in a side room, watching the chess game being recreated by others...

Therefore, there is actually not much difference between watching the game live and watching the broadcast. After all, you cannot see the chess players playing the game in person.

Bai Shi arrived very early and arrived outside the chess hall at 8:50.

There were also many people outside the hall. On the one hand, there were reporters who didn’t get admission but wanted to get first-hand information. On the other hand, there were many shogi enthusiasts who, although they didn’t get admission tickets, still liked to watch from outside. After all, outside the hall, there were also people setting up chess boards, and there would be folk commentators who would watch the live broadcast online while replaying the game for everyone to see…

Forced sense of presence!
Shiraishi's height also attracted a lot of attention at this time. Many people were quietly discussing whether he was a sumo or wrestling enthusiast who had walked into the wrong gym!
It was almost nine o'clock and time to enter, and Bai Shi looked at his watch anxiously.

Just then, Bai Shi heard an annoying voice...

"Isn't this Inspector Shiraishi Masaharu? I didn't expect Inspector Shiraishi to start studying shogi?" Ninomiya popped out from nowhere - Ninomiya, the director of the First Investigation Division, doesn't get along with Shiraishi and was severely scolded by old man Ono before. It is estimated that his "big brother" Inspector Moroboshi will not give him a good face either.

With so many people at the scene, it was not easy for Shiraishi to see Ninomiya, but Ninomiya saw Shiraishi at a glance...

"Inspector Ninomiya... It's nothing, it can't be considered research. Someone just asked me to come and take a look." Shiraishi said with a smile.

"Really? I thought that Officer Shiraishi was cramming at the last minute because he knew that Director Hakuba liked shogi!" Ninomiya said disdainfully at this time - he is so arrogant at ordinary times, isn't he just trying to curry favor and "flatter"?
"Huh? Inspector Ninomiya, you know that Director Hakuba likes shogi, so... you came here specifically to catch Director Hakuba skipping work?" Shiraishi looked behind him and said in pretended surprise.

"What do you mean by skipping work? Do you think Director Bai Ma is you? I think you are... Although the director arranges his own shifts, I have to check later to see if you have skipped work..." Ninomiya immediately denied it.

"Shiraishi, I'm sorry, it's a little late... Hmm? You are..."

At this moment, Director Hakuba's voice sounded behind Ninomiya.

When Ninomiya heard this, he was immediately frightened.

Director Bai Ma was wearing an ordinary suit at this time, which was very different from his usual appearance - most police officers had never seen him without the "director's police uniform".

"Director Bai Ma..." Bai Shi was about to speak when Bai Ma immediately said, "This is a private occasion, so don't call me by my title." Bai Ma quickly looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one noticed.

"Mr. Hakuba, Chairman Ninomiya heard that you like shogi, so he came to see if you have skipped class." Shiraishi said specifically.

"No... no! I came here because I like Director Hakuba... No! I came here because I like shogi!" Ninomiya explained quickly.

"Hahaha, you almost caught me... But I have scheduled some time for myself to rest, this is my personal time!" Director Bai Ma knew that Bai Shi was deliberately embarrassing him, so he half-jokingly resolved the situation.

"Of course! Everyone knows that...well, Mr. Baiba, you are the most diligent." Ninomiya immediately agreed.

Bai Shi's face was calm - you all came here on your own initiative, so it's normal to count it as a rest, but I was called here by the leader, so it should be counted as work!

"By the way, Ninomiya, which chess room's chess viewing ticket do you belong to?" Bai Ma asked specifically.

"It's the Songzi chess room! I like shogi, so I booked it early..." Ninomiya said hurriedly.

"Loose? Unfortunately, Bai Shi and I are Yue, so you go first." Bai Ma said directly.

The game will not start until 10 o'clock. Now you can only enter the chess hall, not the chess room. But since Director Bai Ma said so, Ninomiya also knows that the director must have something to say to Shiraishi...

Although I was extremely jealous, I still wisely left.

……

"Come on, let's go in first. There are too many people here." Based on the fact that the two of them were spectators, Bai Ma brought Bai Shi into the chess hall as well.

The chess hall is not a building, but an entire courtyard. Once you enter the courtyard, there are fewer people.

Of course, Shiraishi is still just as eye-catching.

At this time, everyone is in the courtyard, and can only enter the chess room before the game.

"Bai Shi, do you like shogi?" Bai Ba asked deliberately to change the topic.

"No, I know nothing about it." Bai Shi told the truth.

Shiraishi estimated that if he became a professional chess player, he would definitely be able to earn points. From the ranks to the seven major titles, they are all obvious "achievement rewards."

However, Bai Shi did not choose this path at the beginning, and the points added to the supporting abilities are completely inconsistent. Now the efficiency of choosing and harvesting points will not be very high, and it may even be less than what is consumed!
"After becoming the director, I have more time for self-study. I can choose similar things to calm myself down. I have always known that you are not just tall. When you were in the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department, you did not just rely on your tall stature to do whatever you want..." Bai Ma's hint at this time was already very obvious.

First, it was to tell Shiraishi not to always cause trouble, not to get too deeply involved in the case, and learn to treat the case like a normal senior police officer; second, it was also to implicitly tell Shiraishi that if he accumulates himself, he will be reused sooner or later - after all, the premise of "do not use a hidden dragon" is that you have to be a "hidden dragon". Although Shiraishi understood, he still evaded the question: "Director Bai Ma doesn't know that the Mihua Police Department has a lot of cases, and... many of them are very complicated."

What is considered complex?
In Shiraishi's opinion, the crime was committed with sophisticated means and the murderer's tricks were ingenious, which was not considered "complex". Such cases could be handed over to the criminal police to slowly advance. What really made the case "complex" was often something outside the case...

Hearing Shiraishi's words that were like a rejection, Bai Ma seemed to be stubborn again. He said in a persuasive tone: "That's right, Director Shiraishi, after you took office, the crime rate in Beika Town... has increased a bit! Especially the incidence of serious crimes, which has increased by nearly double!"

Shiraishi didn't expect it to be only twice as much...

In other words, there was also this half before, right? That’s enough to say, right?
"Yes, I also keep an eye on the weekly report of the headquarters. In the past two months, the crime rate in the entire East City has increased, and it has also affected Beika Town." Shiraishi said very pertinently.

White Horse: ...

Indeed, Bai Ma is not very tough when speaking now. After all, there are more serious crimes in the whole Dongdu!
As for the reason?

Hakuba didn't find anything special. The Metropolitan Police Department's legal education activities were carried out as usual, and the overall patrols of the regional department had not decreased. But for some reason, the crime rate suddenly increased rapidly...

Could it be that... the younger generations are getting worse than the previous ones? Is society becoming impatient?
"No, no, no, the current crime rate in Beika Town leads the entire East Capital. It is Beika Town that drives the entire East Capital!" Baiba must emphasize this point.

Shiraishi:……

White Horse: ...

Both of them were silent for a moment, as if this was nothing to brag about!
"If you were asked to play shogi, which piece would you like to be?" Hakuba changed the subject.

"I like being a chess player." Bai Shi said without blushing.

White Horse: ...

The white horse was choked for a moment.

Shiraishi did lie. In fact, Shiraishi didn't even know which pieces there were in shogi. But Shiraishi knew that according to the pattern of the conversation, no matter how he answered, Hakuba would say that he wanted to be a shogi player.

So Bai Shi shut his mouth first!

If Shiraishi himself needs it, he doesn't mind being a chess piece, but... he doesn't like people who claim to be chess players and insist on playing chess against him.

"It's good to be a chess player... hehe... I have always believed that professional chess players are very wise. If everyone could often use the thinking of chess players to look at this society and this world, then there wouldn't be so many stupid crimes." Director Bai Ma first sublimated the theme in a way that sounded quite like the Big Flag Party.

Then Director Bai Ma reiterated: "However, to be a chess player, you cannot care about the gains and losses of a single move, you must focus on the overall situation..."

"I don't agree with that."

This was not what Shiraishi said. After hearing this voice, Director Shiraishi and Bai Ma could not help but turn their heads.

It turned out to be a young man wearing a haori who walked over.

"Ah! Sorry, I expressed a different opinion without permission... But in shogi, although there is a saying of sacrificing pieces to gain the upper hand, just like in go, every sacrifice must be made with advance preparation and afterthoughts. This does not mean that you don't care about the gains and losses of each piece and each step. On the contrary, you must care about the gains and losses of each piece and each step to play this kind of chess."

The young man with feather ornaments inexplicably began to preach to Hakuba, seeming to be completely immersed in his own world.

At the same time, Ninomiya, who had never dared to approach but had been hovering in the distance and paying attention to this side, approached after discovering that this "young man" seemed to be rude to Director Bai Ma. When he heard that he was preaching, he immediately stood up...

"Who are you? You are so rude. Do you know what shogi is?" Ninomiya immediately scolded the young man.

"Eh? This... I can't say I understand it, I just have some small experience! So I couldn't help but exchange it with my chess friends." The young man said modestly while scratching his face with his index finger.

"you……"

Ninomiya wanted to say something else, but Hakuba had already stepped forward, shook the young man's hand and said, "Master Taiko! It's an honor to hear you talk about chess pieces. I have always been your fan, hahahaha!"

Ninomiya: …

　Dongdong: In the original work, Haneda Hideyoshi first won the title of "Meijin" three years ago. He wanted to tell Yumi at that time, but Yumi praised the "sumo wrestler for winning six games in a row", which inspired Haneda Hideyoshi's determination to "propose to her after winning seven crowns"...

　　After that, Haneda Hideyoshi did not see Yumi for three years, but he would write to Yumi every time he got a new title (which was indeed confusing behavior).

　　Until he officially debuted, he lost the title of [Celebrity], but got three other titles (no specific details were given), and as the plot progressed, he got [Celebrity] back...

　　Therefore, Haneda Hideyoshi had the nickname "Taikoku Meijin" three years ago. The Meijin battle in the plot was not the first time he got the title of "Meijin".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)