Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 381, Section 375: Has it begun? Has it ended?
"Two years ago, all the victims in this case were guests of the Kyoto Oriole Hotel. Coincidentally, they were all staying in rooms on the 7th floor of the hotel at the time."

On the night of Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), a fire broke out due to the negligence of guests on the fifth floor. Several victims chose to escape via the elevator.

Using an elevator to escape a fire is a very wrong choice. If the elevator malfunctions during operation, the elevator car will eventually turn into a metal steamer.

Turn the survivors in the elevator car into victims. Or rather, victims who died tragically.

These survivors certainly understand this principle, especially since many of them are associate professors from Dongdu University and secretaries of members of parliament.

The survivors chose to escape via elevator simply to gamble with their lives.

Because the fire escape doors on the 7th floor of the hotel were inexplicably locked, taking the elevator was the last resort for the survivors as the fire intensified.

In retrospect, the survivors were lucky; at least the hotel elevator took them to the first floor, allowing them to escape.

But they were also unfortunate, because two years later, these survivors were put on the killer's kill list.

Without exception, they were all brutally murdered by the killer.

"Our colleagues in Kyoto City and I carefully investigated the list of survivors and victims from that day and discovered the following clues."

Shiratori spoke confidently and eloquently on stage, while Matsumoto Kiyonaga looked on with approval from behind.

Although he was a fake, it didn't stop Binga from appreciating the white bird.

Just two days ago, he hinted to Shiratori that he could ask a detective for help, and two days later Shiratori presented a well-founded judgment.

Who wouldn't like having such efficient subordinates?

Unfortunately, Shiratori is not only a detective, but also comes from a very good family. Even though Binga had his eye on Shiratori, he rationally didn't consider recruiting such a talent for the organization.

Even when recruiting subordinates, there are still basic principles to follow.

Apart from a few members who were tricked into joining, the organization recruits people based on the principle of mutual consent and mutual benefit.

Compared to other institutions or forces, the biggest advantage of an organization is its generous benefits and willingness to pay.

Even a well-established network of relationships built up over many years can give some poor souls with no background a fairly solid connection.

This is the benefit the organization provides for taking action.

People have all kinds of needs, and organizations will always tailor their recruitment strategies to meet those needs.

But Shiratori is different. He comes from the Gold Watch Division and is the most orthodox and loyal member of the Metropolitan Police Department and even the entire police force.

In addition, being from the Shiratori Group, Shiratori has neither a lack of money nor a lack of connections.

Furthermore, Shiratori's beliefs remained intact; although he wanted a promotion, he didn't resort to underhanded methods. Shiratori followed the proper, honorable path.

To the organization, someone like Shiratori is an impeccable individual; their methods are useless against him.

No matter how much Binga envied it, he could only salivate and enjoy the pleasure of this "SSR" trial card.

Matsumoto Kiyonaga's emotions were complex, and at that moment, there was another individual with equally complex feelings listening to Shiratori give a "case analysis report".

After learning about this major serial murder case from Kogoro Mouri, Conan became very interested in the case.

Despite having practically worn out newspaper reports about the serial murders, Conan found himself in the same predicament the detectives had faced. He lacked sufficient clues and evidence to even begin reasoning.

Detectives solve cases by first finding clues, and only begin reasoning once they have enough clues.

Once the real culprit is found, the evidence is also gathered. This is a standard detective's procedure for solving a case.

It's fair to say that there's not a single clue at hand, let alone Conan, even if his father came, it wouldn't be of any use.

Yusaku Kudo can't just make a deduction out of thin air, can he?

Conan also knew that the police were definitely holding onto some case information that they hadn't revealed.

But Conan is just an elementary school student. At most, he can use Kogoro Mouri's voice to ask the detectives for help with something.

But he couldn't possibly use Kogoro Mouri's voice and just find a public phone to have Inspector Megure dictate the case to him over the phone for such seriously confidential information, could he?

Even the most unreliable detective wouldn't dare to do that.

Fortunately, Kogoro Mouri accepted Inspector Megure's invitation to attend a joint investigation meeting initiated by the Metropolitan Police Department and involving detectives from police headquarters in various prefectures.

At this meeting, Conan believed he would definitely get the information he needed.

This major serial murder case is yet another challenge set by Conan himself!

I'm betting my title as the "Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei Era" that I, Conan Edogawa, will find the real culprit in this serial murder case!
Before the meeting began, Conan was "kicked out" of the main conference room as an outsider. But he wasn't annoyed at all.

He had anticipated being kicked out of the meeting room; there was no way a primary school student would be allowed to sit in on a joint investigation meeting.

Even if he came with Kogoro Mouri, it wouldn't make a difference.

Unless he comes up with some outrageous "elementary school detective" or something similar, he'll be "disliked" wherever he goes if he has an elementary school student.

Because he foresaw this, Conan was able to prepare in advance.

Before leaving the conference room, Conan planted a listening device inside. A piece of advanced technology from Professor Agasa.

Small in size, low in energy consumption, clear in sound, and without noise.

With the built-in mini bone conduction player on the tracking glasses, Conan doesn't even need to wear headphones to give demonstrations; he can simply find a corner to eavesdrop.

As expected, Detective Shiratori of the Metropolitan Police Department revealed a lot of information at the meeting that had not been released to the public.

But it is.
Isn't this releasing a bit too much information?! If we keep going like this, won't the case be solved immediately?
The more Conan listened, the more uneasy he felt. Wasn't the police investigation supposed to be at a standstill? How come this case didn't seem to be at a standstill at all, but rather being solved very smoothly?
Does this seem right?!
Since when have detectives in the Metropolitan Police Department been able to make such efficient deductions? Do I still need to gamble away my title as the "Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei Era"?
It all feels pointless now!

Just as Conan was questioning his existence, Shiratori revealed important information on stage: "Based on our urgent visits to the victim's relatives and friends, as well as those of our colleagues from other areas, we have obtained some hidden details."

"When the Kyoto Oriole Hotel fire occurred two years ago, there was another guest on the 7th floor who was also in the elevator at the time."

However, because the elevator was overloaded at the time, the passenger voluntarily gave up his seat, leaving the hope of escape to the survivors.

"Honjo Nanako, that's her name. I have reason to suspect that the murderer in this case might be connected to Honjo Nanako."

(End of this chapter)