Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Mito Shinzo lunged forward two steps, his thick fingers grabbing the hotel manager's collar with such force that it almost tore the man's thin shirt apart.

He spat everywhere, spraying the manager's face with saliva.

“I saw Taozi lean against the railing with my own eyes, and the railing broke as soon as she tried to use it! Don’t try to shirk your responsibility! This lousy hotel must be held accountable for Taozi’s life! I’ll make you pay until you’re bankrupt and send you to jail!”

The hotel manager was choked until his face turned red, his feet almost leaving the ground, and he could only futilely wave his arms to try and explain.

"Mr. Mito, please calm down! We really checked the railings, there's absolutely nothing wrong with them!"

The surrounding crowd began to discuss the matter. Some agreed with Mito Shinzo's statement, believing that there must be safety hazards in the hotel. Others questioned the possibility that the railings were broken, since they had just been inspected.

The scene was chaotic.

Cries, roars, explanations, whispers from onlookers...

The dazzling fireworks, still going on in the distance but seemingly no one really appreciating them, create an absurd and cruel contrast.

Just as the scene was in chaos, Maeda Yoto, who had previously disappeared, struggled to push his way through the crowd.

His expression was serious, and he held up a broken wooden railing in his hand, with some dark red paint still stuck to the edge of the railing.

Upon seeing the broken railing in Maeda Yoto's hand, which resembled a hotel balcony, Mito Jun, who had been standing at the edge of the crowd as if he had lost his soul, swayed uncontrollably and subconsciously took a half step back.

"I found this broken railing in the bushes near the hotel entrance; it had..."

Before Maeda Yoto could finish speaking, Mito Shinzo suddenly reached out, snatched the railing, and charged at the manager like he was carrying a trophy, slamming the railing hard onto the ground.

"See this? This is the safety facility you were talking about! This piece of junk that breaks with the slightest bend, and you dare say it's been inspected?"

As he spoke, he grabbed the railing and smashed it directly over the head of the manager who had just gotten up.

"Bang!" A dull thud that made your teeth ache.

The manager let out a short scream, and blood gushed from his forehead, staining half his face and the ground beneath him.

"Mr. Mito! Please calm down!"

Hattori Heizo's expression changed drastically. He rushed forward and his burly body decisively blocked the hotel manager, who was groaning in pain, and faced the enraged Mito Shinzo directly.

"Get out of my way! This is none of your business!" Shinzo Mito, who was furious and whose eyes were blazing with anger, ignored all advice and kicked Hattori Heizo, who was blocking his way, hard!
At the critical moment, Lin Xiu reacted quickly, reaching out and forcefully grabbing Mito Shinzo's arm.

Mito Shinzo's leg, which he kicked with all his might, immediately lost its balance, and he staggered, almost falling to the ground.

"you……!"

Mito Shinzo steadied himself, turned angrily to Hayashi Hideichi, and sized up the unfamiliar young man.

"Who are you people? How dare you interfere in my affairs!"

“Mr. Mito, we deeply sympathize with the murder of your wife, but harming innocent people solves nothing.”

Kawada Haeko stepped forward and said sternly,
"The hotel manager was just following the rules. Your actions of physically assaulting someone are illegal."

"Innocent?!" Mito Shinzo seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He pointed at the hotel manager, whose head was bleeding profusely on the ground, and let out a piercing laugh.

"Him? As the hotel manager, his negligence in supervision led to the death of my peach! How is he innocent?! He is the murderer!"

Whether this is a problem with the hotel facilities or something else, we will have to wait for the police investigation to determine.

Ikeba Shizuka slowly walked forward.
"Uncle Mito, you're a senior figure in Osaka's business world, you must know that impulsiveness won't solve anything, right?"

"You are... a maid from the Ikenami family?" Mito Shinzo narrowed his eyes, recognizing Ikenami Shizuka.

Perhaps it was because he saw someone he knew, or perhaps it was because his stumble had made him a little more sober.

Shinzo Mito's chest heaved violently. After letting out a heavy groan, he finally stopped attacking, managing to regain a semblance of composure, though the ferocity in his eyes remained undiminished.

"Hattori, Hayashi, look at this,"

Taking advantage of the brief moment, Maeda Yoto quickly picked up the piece of railing that had been thrown away from the ground, finally having a chance to finish what he had been saying that had been interrupted.

"The breakage mark above... there's something wrong! A very obvious problem!"

Hattori Heizo was immediately drawn to the railing and took the bloodstained piece from Maeda Yoto's hand.

His gaze froze at first glance.

Under the bright lights of the hotel porch, the break above the railing was not the twisted and torn piece one might imagine, but rather a relatively flat cut surface with fine friction marks!
Those are definitely not traces that could be formed by natural fracture!
“There are similar cut marks at the bottom as well,” Maeda Yoto pointed to the other end of the railing. “Although they were damaged by the impact and twisting when the fall occurred, they are still visible.”

Lin Xiuyi glanced at the railing and, together with Yoshida Aoi, helped the hotel manager, who was bleeding from a head injury and still in shock, to his feet.

Yoshida Aoi took out a clean handkerchief she carried with her and pressed it against the wound on the manager's forehead to temporarily stop the bleeding.

Lin Xiuyi calmly asked, "Manager, you said you conducted a comprehensive inspection of the balcony railings during the day. What were the specific times the inspection started and ended?"

The manager, clutching his bleeding forehead, said in a trembling voice, "We started inspecting at nine o'clock this morning. We tested the load-bearing capacity of the balcony railings on each floor with professional tools. We finished the inspection around noon, and all the railings were in good condition and met the load-bearing standards."

"What's the point of asking these questions?!"

Although Mito Shinzo was temporarily calmed down by Ikenami Shizuka, he immediately became agitated again upon hearing Hayashi Shuichi's question, pointing at the manager and roaring.

"If their examination had been useful, would my peaches still be lying here?!"

"Lin asked these questions precisely because the broken railing was very likely not a natural accident, but rather sabotage!"

Hattori Heizo turned around, raised the section of railing in his hand, and showed the clearly cut end to Mito Shinzo and the surrounding crowd.
"There are obvious cutting marks at both ends of the broken railing. The murderer must have used a tool to cut most of the railing, leaving only a small part connected."

"In this way, as soon as someone leans against it, the railing will break immediately, creating the illusion of an accidental fall."

"This is not an accident, it's murder!"

"What did you say?! Murder?!"

Mito Shinzo was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place. (End of Chapter)