Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 374, Chapter 368: A Good Candidate for a "Confidant" - Frequent Murders
"In fact, I didn't want to attract a large number of enemies as soon as I returned to headquarters."

Especially while Rum was still a target.

Was Ireland loyal to the organization? Of course he was. After all, he was a "great lad" trained by Pisco, and his loyalty to the organization was off the charts.

So, is Ireland loyal to the boss? Yes, he is. Just one sentence from the boss is enough to suppress Ireland's "hatred for his father's death." Who can say that Ireland is not loyal?

But after Pisco's death, especially given the message he left for him before his death, it's questionable whether Ireland will remain as loyal as before.

Pisco was loyal to the organization and the boss his whole life, but what happened to him in the end?
He was ruthlessly discarded after just one mission failure; when he had no further use, even his existence became superfluous.

Can such an inhumane approach truly win the loyalty of its members?
Nowadays, apart from Gin, which organization member doesn't think things through carefully and leave themselves a way out when doing things?

The same applies to Ireland.

When Rum is in decline, it's only natural to kick him while he's down. Otherwise, would they really go on a rampage against Gin and Ryoma the moment they return to Tokyo?

How many lives do you have to play like this, going to utterly antagonize both the Executive Department and the Isshin Society?
"So I would like to ask you, Chairman Lin, what good solutions do you have for my current situation?"

Lin Longma understood; it turned out that Ireland, who had rushed back to Tokyo, was actually an "ally"!
If that's the case, then the undercover plan we just discussed was somewhat ill-timed. It wasn't the plan itself that was ill-timed, but rather the choice of personnel.

Lin Longma was long past the point of judging someone's stance based on what they said, but before observing their actions, he didn't mind showing some goodwill towards Ireland.

They also don't mind Ireland's powerful actions against Rum.

"To be honest, it's a bit outrageous for the deputy minister of the department to go undercover. I don't really need your advice, but I do have a good suggestion."

As the organization's idea king, Lin Longma can always come up with all sorts of "ideas".

This moment is no exception.

“There should be a marginal figure in your intelligence support department, codenamed Binga. He used to be Rum’s confidant, but his ambitions were too great, and his abilities did not match his ambitions.”

After some mishaps during a mission, he was marginalized by Rum.

"Although Binga took various remedial measures, it was difficult for him to regain Rum's trust—his position in the intelligence support department was also quite awkward."

This was to be expected.

Binga and Curaçao's unique position in the Intelligence Support Department was entirely due to Minister Rum.

If Rum values ​​them, then they are essentially the department's unofficial vice ministers.

But when Rum grew tired of them, the "confidants" without any official titles were in a very awkward position.

A high-ranking official with only a code name but no official position is just a mascot, isn't he? Besides, Binga doesn't have any loyal subordinates in the island nation.

These days have been quite tough for Binga.

Fortunately, Binga endured all the hardships and witnessed a change in the intelligence support department. Ireland's airborne arrival added further turbulence to the situation within the intelligence support department.

If Lin Longma were Binga, he would immediately seek out Ireland to pay his respects.

Not everyone can be so decisive; Binga probably still harbors some "fantasies" about rum.
After all, he was once a trusted confidant.

Unfortunately, some people don't understand the principle that a broken mirror can never be mended. That's why Lin Longma pointed out Binga to Ireland.

I don't need to go to the mountain; the mountain can come to me. Whether Binga goes to Ireland or Ireland goes to Binga, the outcome is the same.

With just a small pledge of allegiance, Binga could once again become someone else's "confidant".

His ambitions and his calculations will also find a new vessel: Ireland, the new Deputy Minister of Intelligence Support.

Similarly, when Ireland chose to bring Binga under its wing, the rivalry between him and Rum officially began.

“Binga, that is indeed a very good choice.” Ireland is not going to fight unprepared.

Therefore, the preparations before joining the intelligence support department were very thorough. He only needed to mentally review the information about Binga before he remembered it.

Ireland also had to admit that bringing Binga under its wing was indeed a very reliable option.

Aside from having to fall out with Rum, everything else is beneficial.

Binga himself had been in Tokyo for much longer than Ireland, which meant he knew quite a bit about the ins and outs of the intelligence support department.

Furthermore, given that Binga was once Rum's confidant, the difficulty for Ireland to gain access to the intelligence support department would be greatly reduced as long as there was a reasonable "pretext".

Binga will be like a ferocious hyena, tearing open a hole for Ireland in the intelligence support department so it can "feed".

Similarly, when Ireland seized power in the Intelligence Support Department, Binga was also able to rise in rank and return to the center of the power struggle within the Intelligence Support Department.

Such benefits would be incredibly tempting for Binga, a "marginalized" individual.

"Thank you very much for your guidance, Chairman Lin. I hope we will have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future."

Ireland ultimately did not express its opinion on the idea, but Lin Longma knew that as long as it was not rejected on the spot, it proved that Ireland was quite interested in the idea.

They had only just met and were not in a superior-subordinate relationship, so Ireland naturally did not need to report everything to Lin Longma.

It may take Ireland a few more days to settle Binga, but the serial killer won't stop his killing spree.
.
Three days after the meeting ended, the body of the fourth victim, Kitajima Azusa, was found along the Horiwari River in Isogo Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The victim's makeup box was taken by the murderer.

Six days after the meeting ended, the body of the fifth victim, Kozo Zaitsu, was found in Mount Suonozu, Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The victim's guitar decorations were taken by the murderer.

On the eighth and eleventh day after the meeting ended, the sixth and seventh victims were killed at the Hayakawa toll station on the old Hakone Expressway in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and at the Kōryō Sports Park in Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture, respectively.

The killer also took one of their personal belongings from them.

In less than a month, this brazen killer murdered seven victims, and the police were still unsure whether he would stop.

The major serial murder case finally attracted the attention of the police leadership, and the head of the investigation headquarters (special task force) was finally chosen.

Kiyoshi Matsumoto became the head of the special task force at the strong recommendation of Chief Odagiri of the Criminal Investigation Department, and all the detectives from the headquarters in the jurisdiction of the murder case would join this task force.

Under the unified command and coordination of Matsumoto Kiyonaga, resources were integrated to solve the case as quickly as possible.

(End of this chapter)