Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 444 The Tension at the Director's Meeting
"Sorry, it seems I underestimated things," Sawai said sheepishly upon seeing Uchida.

“Sawai-senpai, you… if you try to force someone to open up, I’m afraid… you’ll never get what you want.” Uchida’s words sounded like another rejection, but his tone was full of emotion.

"Really? But I think if it were you, Uchida, you could change any man's mind, right?" Sawai said in a sycophantic tone again.

Shiraishi then gave a wink to the firefighters at the scene, who then took him away.

Although firefighters in the eastern island nation are not actually police officers, they are still civil servants and cooperate closely with the police force. Helping to hand over suspects is just a matter of course.

Similarly, when the firefighters arrived at the scene and learned that Shiraishi was a "supervisor," they simply followed his instructions.

“No, I’ve made the same mistake too…” Uchida couldn’t help but comfort Sawai.

"Hmm?" The firefighter next to him sharpened his eyes.

"Of course, it's not exactly 'the same'," Uchida said, indicating that he wouldn't stoop to arson.

"Is that so..." Sawai was taken away with a slight sense of relief.

……

After Ayako was taken home, and Shiraishi took Conan home, Ai, taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around, asked with a hint of amusement, "How was it? Hearing that your first love goddess once tried to beg other boys to change their minds?"

"Huh? What first love..." Conan rolled his eyes.

"Huh? Didn't you confess your feelings before? Could it be... there was something even earlier?" Ai asked Conan, feigning surprise.

"Back then, she confessed to me, and after I rejected her, she spread rumors that someone else had confessed to her and been rejected... I really don't understand what girls are thinking!" Conan said matter-of-factly.

Ai didn't expect that this would actually give him an opportunity to "brag"...

Conan then realized that, given Ai Shiraishi's technical skills, she must be quite old, so he casually remarked, "Well, you probably don't understand girls this age, do you?"

Ai: ...

"Edogawa-kun, there's an experiment that needs your cooperation," Ai said calmly.

"No, this... today..." Conan was about to refuse when...

Click click click——

Shiraishi had already locked the car doors and was driving towards the laboratory!
Conan: ...

……

May 15th, Monday, was also the day of the Eleventh Headquarters' Regular Meeting.

However, Shiraishi's early arrival at the police station this morning caught many officers who were hunched over their desks, expecting the chief not to come, off guard. They immediately tensed up and made sure to perform well...

The reason Shiraishi came in the morning was not for anything else, but mainly to see Yuto!

……

"There's nothing I can do... You've worked hard," Shiraishi said helplessly.

Yuto had tried his best, but he still couldn't pinpoint the person who sent the email to Minato Yuriko!

Although Bai Shi was 70-80% certain that Yan Tu Haici was the one who did it, without evidence, there was naturally no way to prove anything.

Yuto had finally located the phone number the other party had registered with, but the real-name registration system for phone numbers wasn't widely implemented in Japan, so finding it on an anonymous SIM card was pointless...

Unfortunately, Shiraishi had to attend the director's meeting empty-handed!

At the regular meeting, Yan Tu Haici indeed took the initiative to bring up Minato Tetsuro's case.

On the surface, Yan Tu Haici expressed his approval of the Mihua Police Station's successful resolution of the case, but then he changed the subject...

“However, as the chief of a local police station, you are responsible for all matters, big and small, of the station. You must not act on emotion, and you must not allow your subordinates to conduct illegal searches…” Yan Tu Haici seemed to be talking to everyone, but everyone knew the real purpose of his conversation. He then added, “Chief Shiraishi did a very good job in this regard.”

I originally thought that Shiraishi would be more obedient and accept criticism after being caught red-handed by Chief Yan Tu. After all... although Shiraishi was commended by the head office again, he "lost" a police officer from the Beika Police Station who had won an award in the police station competition. Everyone has heard what happened!

Who knew that at this moment...

“That’s right. As the head of the district, the most important thing is to coordinate with the various police stations, actively cooperate in handling cases, and be meticulous about every case in the jurisdiction. I should learn from Head of District Yan in this regard.” Shiraishi actually took the initiative to speak up and returned the question.

The other bureau chiefs were momentarily stunned...

I originally thought that Director Shiraishi was accepting the criticism unilaterally. Such a scene is not common. Everyone knows that even though the head of the Yan Tu faction doesn't get along with him, he can only praise him hard at every regular meeting - after all, the Beika Department really does produce "good work".

However, what I heard was Director Shiraishi's sarcastic retort.
Of course, if Yan Tu's "sarcasm" is reasonable, then Bai Shi's "sarcasm" is obviously also reasonable!
After all, it was a murder case involving police personnel, and Beito-cho had almost missed the truth before.

Although everyone believed that Yan Tu's head was influenced by "the orders from above" and was therefore eager to close the case, since Shiraishi had solved the case, no matter what, the Beihu Police Station also had a considerable fault this time!

"Chief Shiraishi, you flatter me. As the chief, it is especially important to pay attention to the management of your officers..."

"As the head of the department, I must be even more cautious in the appointment and promotion of my subordinate officers..."

"As the director..."

"As the head of the department..."

Seeing the two directly confronting each other, all the bureau chiefs lowered their heads—clearly, the conflict between the two had escalated further. For a moment, the other bureau chiefs kept their mouths shut and dared not utter a word…

Only Zeden, who was also a "supervisor," looked up at this moment, but did not say anything.

……

Yan Tu stared intently at Bai Shi, seemingly not expecting that Bai Shi Hei would publicly escalate their conflict today!
At this moment, he seemed to be angry because his power as the head of the division was challenged, but in reality, he was wondering if this guy had discovered something.

Although Yan Tu believed he wouldn't be caught red-handed, and even Minato Tetsuro's notes were burned by Minato Tetsuro's wife under his orders, before the meeting, Yan Tu was still hesitant, wondering if Shiraishi would discover something!
If there were a ranking of "people who least want the SL-9 incident to attract someone's attention," Shiraishi Kuro would be in the top three in Yan Tu's mind.

Before the director's meeting, Yan Tu had been thinking of testing the waters. Given that the Mihua Department seemed intent on using him to gain merit, Yan Tu decided to be "unrestrained" and speak with a bit of barbed sarcasm. However, he didn't expect Bai Shi to be even more fiery than him!

Now Yan Tu Haici was unsure whether Baishi was simply angry because of his sarcasm, or whether he had some doubts about him... or whether he had really discovered something.
After all, if Yan Tu put himself in others' shoes, if he had really discovered something, he probably wouldn't have been so brave, or even... in either case, he shouldn't have been so brave!

Before the two could reach a point of no confrontation, and seeing that neither could gain the upper hand in a verbal exchange, Yan Tu tactically took a sip of water and then said, "However, recently our headquarters has had too many serious criminal cases, um... especially murder cases!"

Shiraishi:……

Shiraishi was hit on the point he had no way to refute!

Although murder cases are increasing across the country and even the world, ... when it comes to murder cases in the Eastern Island Country, you have to look at the Eastern Capital; when it comes to murder cases in the Eastern Capital, you have to look at the Eleventh Division Headquarters; and when it comes to murder cases in the Eleventh Division, you have to look at Beika Town.

Even though everyone else is increasing their numbers, Beika Town is experiencing particularly rapid growth!
"From now on, everyone's focus should be on preventing problems before they arise. Hmm... I think the Mikasa Police Station is doing a good job in this regard. Chief Shiraishi also cares a lot about this and even set up a countdown in front of the police station." Yan Tu Haici said something that no one believed.

"That's a timer, not a countdown," Shiraishi corrected expressionlessly—setting up a countdown... am I in a hurry to solve a murder case?
"Alright, to encourage everyone's initiative, let's have another competition. Starting now, whoever's police station has a murder case first has to treat everyone to dinner!" Yan Tu said with ill intent.

Given the frequency of murders at the Beika Police Station, it's highly likely that Shiraishi was the one who treated everyone!
“Hehe…” Zeden couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

During the New Year's Eve celebration, that little brat from the Arakawa Group killed someone in a split second, causing Zeden to lose directly and get thoroughly thrashed by Shiraishi. This time, he's determined to win back his losses!

"Hmm, let's go with the restaurant where Director Zeden stayed last time. I thought the food was pretty good." Yan Tusheng was afraid that Baishi would choose a cheap place.

Bai Shi nodded and said, "Okay! I think we should also compile statistics on unsolved murder cases and cases of wrongful searches. If any of these occur, we should treat everyone to a meal immediately."

Once Shiraishi agreed, no one else would have any objections.

“Director Shiraishi, I’m all set. Do you know how much I spent last time?” Zeden said with ill intent.

"It's alright, if I'm treating... I'll just eat less myself," Shiraishi said frankly.

Zeden: ...

Zeden had forgotten about that!

If Bai Shi hadn't been so gluttonous, even if all of them had eaten together, they still wouldn't have been able to eat as much as he did!
Just then, Shiraishi's phone rang...

Because of the nature of their work, the directors don't turn off their cell phones during meetings, and no one can complain—after all, in this industry and in this position, there are times when even a very short time is needed to make a decision!
"Pfft, Director Shiraishi...you haven't already broken down, have you?" Zeden said with a grin.

"Be serious," Shiraishi reprimanded him sternly.

Zeden: ...

Since he really couldn't refute it, Zeden could only keep a dark expression and remain silent.

"Excuse me, everyone." After gesturing to everyone, Shiraishi went outside to answer the phone.

……

"What? Dead? Okay... I understand... Where is he? Okay, don't worry..."

The faint sound of Shiraishi answering the phone could be heard from outside the door, and Zeden couldn't help but chuckle again—finally, someone else lost in a second!
Soon after, the others didn't know why, but they heard Shiraishi hang up the phone and then make another call, seemingly arranging work, which left everyone puzzled—who made the first call?
When Shiraishi returned, his expression was not good either.

Before Zeden and Yan Tu could speak, Bai Shi gestured to Zeden and said, "Chief Zeden, I'm thinking of treating everyone to dinner after I solve the case."

Zeden: ? ? ?
"Why should I? You..." Zeden immediately got angry—are you bullying me?

"The person who called me wasn't from the Mikasa Police Station... it was an acquaintance of mine who owns a beef bowl restaurant. One of his employees didn't come to work today, and... he was just notified to go to the scene to identify the body."

That's right, the "acquaintance who owns a beef bowl restaurant" that Shiraishi mentioned is none other than Fukuman, the owner of "Manman Beef Bowl Restaurant"—Shiraishi and Matsumoto's first collaboration was several years ago when Shiraishi helped him find a wife, and last year he finally found one, along with his daughter...

Shiraishi still remembered his employee; judging from his skin color, he was probably from Southeast Asia, and he usually seemed very enthusiastic and efficient.

"So what?" Zeden already had a bad feeling.

“It was a beef bowl restaurant in Kamurocho. The location where the body was found was also in that underground passage near Kamurocho 6-chome,” Shiraishi said matter-of-factly.

Zeden: ...

Eastern island nations don't have a custom of "paying extra attention to foreigners," unless it's Americans...

When overseas workers die, the police usually don't take it too seriously. Not to mention, Zeden, who works at the Shinshuku Police Department, doesn't have the habit of "notifying me immediately if there's a murder."

Unless the deceased is an important person or the case is extremely sensitive, it is unlikely that Zeden will be called immediately.

Therefore, it was Shiraishi who received the news first...

However, Zeden then realized something and said, "Wait, the underground passage in 6-chome... isn't the other side your Beika Town territory?"

Zeden was so anxious he started using coded language...

“That’s right, but it was a detective from the Kamuro Police Station who notified him to identify the body,” Shiraishi said calmly.

Before Zeden could say anything, Shiraishi added, "And if there's a murder case at the Beika Police Station, the Criminal Investigation Division will notify me immediately."

It is clear that only the Kamuro Police Station responded to the call, which means that the incident did not occur in Beika Town!

"That's not necessarily true..." Zeden should have been stubborn at this point.

Shiraishi nodded and said without objection, "Hmm, how about... we split the bill?"

Zeden: ...

It sounds fair, but considering Shiraishi's appetite, it's not fair at all.
When eating with Shiraishi, splitting the bill is no different from simply paying half of his meal expenses!
At this moment, Zeden also remembered that Shiraishi had said "after I solve the case," which clearly meant that Shiraishi never intended to stand idly by...

The cost of a meal is a small matter.

Because he heard from Fukuman's boss that the Kamuro Police Station didn't care about these kinds of cases, and he could faintly hear the cries of the victim's family nearby, Shiraishi later called the station. Although the police didn't transfer the call, the Beika Police Station still went to the scene to "cooperate with the search" because it was so close!

(End of this chapter)