Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

"Mr. Uei, I would like to ask you something."

"Excuse me."

Sato watched the video countless times at home, but still couldn't figure it out. Even if she continued watching, she wouldn't gain anything, so she went out to seek help from a psychologist.

The psychologist was introduced to Sato by a high-ranking official from the Metropolitan Police Department. He had just come to Japan from Europe for an exchange program and would be returning to Europe tomorrow.

“He did something that I don’t know how he did, so I want to know more about him to see if I can help,” Sato said.

"Oh?" Ue-i nodded and asked, "Male or female?"

"male."

Uejima tapped the tabletop twice with his fingertips, as if he were organizing his thoughts.

"Officer, you are meticulous in handling cases, focusing on clues and logic. Understanding a man is like solving a unique case."

Since our target is men, we need to change our approach and start with their psychological traits and behavioral patterns.

Is the "he" you want to know about your colleague, a suspect, or someone important in your life?

"Do I really have to answer?" Sato asked.

Uei looked directly at Sato, his tone calm: "This determines whether we analyze it with a criminal investigation mindset or an empathetic mindset. You decide on a direction first."

"Suspect."

Shangjing's expression instantly turned serious, and he leaned forward again.

“A suspect is someone who is being investigated with disguises, motives, and defense mechanisms. To help you draw this psychological profile more accurately, I need you to provide a few key investigative coordinates.”

"Reconnaissance coordinates?"

"Yes, what was his role in the case? Was he the principal offender, an accomplice, or a related party who withheld information? How much solid evidence do you currently have, and what were the unusual things he did during the interrogation?" Shangjing asked.

Sato shook his head: "He is the main culprit, but I have no evidence and cannot interrogate him."

Ueji's brows furrowed slightly, his fingers unconsciously tapping a rapid rhythm on the table, a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

"The ringleader, and a hidden ringleader at that. So let's not talk about interrogation, let's just talk about psychological profiling."

Since he's the mastermind, he must be deliberately concealing some kind of desire for dominance or control. Give me a general outline first; what kind of person is he exactly?

Sato looked at the table and pondered, "I don't know either, but many people can guess that he is the mastermind, but he is completely fearless."

"During the investigation of this case, did he show even a momentary loss of composure? Or, what did he care about? Was it reputation, status, money, or some kind of specific interpersonal relationship?" Shangjing asked.

Sato shook his head again: "He has never lost his composure. I don't know what he cares about. Things like reputation, status, and money, he has them all."

Kamii frowned as he looked at Sato.

You know nothing about this person, yet you expect me to understand them through your own words?

You're asking too much of me.

Ue-i said, "Officer, you should learn more about this person. If you don't really understand him, you'll never be able to see through his mind, let alone crack his criminal methods."

Sato nodded.

"So, I'd like to ask you, how exactly can I truly understand him?"

Sato felt that simply looking at these surveillance videos and files was far from enough.

“Officer Sato,” Kawai’s voice was deep and magnetic, “you want to understand him? You want to see through that twisted brain and find the threads that manipulate people?”

Sato nodded solemnly: "Yes. If I don't understand his psychological logic, I will never be able to crack his criminal methods. Those surveillance videos... they are just the surface."

"To understand him, you must first become him."

"Become him?" Sato frowned, somewhat puzzled.

“That’s right.” Uei turned around and pulled a yellowed notebook from the bookshelf. It was a collection of case studies on antisocial personality disorder from his early years.

Uei opened his notebook, pointed to a section on the analysis of empathy deprivation, and continued:
“Read the books he read, listen to the music he listened to, and try to understand why he felt happy.”

Do what he enjoys, share his interests and perspectives. When your thought processes align, you'll no longer be 'guessing' what he'll do, but rather 'predicting' what he'll do.

"I roughly know what to do."

……

Since taking Uei's advice, Sato's life trajectory seems to have taken a subtle turn.

She began to consciously, even obsessively, imitate Zhengyi's preferences and habits.

He even imitated Zheng Yi's tone of voice.

"Sato, you've been acting strange lately," Takagi said, looking at Sato.

“Is there?” Sato replied.

Takagi nodded.

It's so different. For example, Sato's answer to "Really?" this time was different from usual. It was so playful that Takagi was a little unaccustomed to it.

Things changed after Sato went to the boss's office.

He first took several days off and stayed at home without going out. When he went to visit him, Sato wouldn't let him in.

After finally getting a job at the Metropolitan Police Department, her personality has changed drastically, and her usual hobbies are different from before.

Takagi asked cautiously, "Sato, what's been going on with you lately?"

"It's nothing, you're just being too sensitive," Sato said.

As they were talking, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a sharp-looking figure wearing a baseball cap walked in.

Sera Masumi, with her schoolbag slung over one shoulder and an unlit lollipop dangling from her mouth, instantly drew the attention of everyone in the Criminal Investigation Department's First Investigation Division with her nonchalant demeanor.

"Officers, nice to meet you all!"

Sera waved his hand casually, his voice loud and clear.

Inspector Megure, who led her in, began to introduce her to everyone: "Everyone, everyone! Please be quiet. This is the very famous high school detective—Ms. Sera Masumi."

Starting today, she will be working part-time with us as a 'special observer' to assist us in our case.

"To assist us in solving the case?"

The officers at the police station were not in a good mood.

They're the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department; do they really need a high school student to help us with a case?

What is this? What do you think our Metropolitan Police Department is?
In the past, when Shinichi Kudo and Kogoro Mouri got involved in cases, it was all by chance, a case of "passive involvement." We, at most, just "coincidentally" met at the scene.

But now, they've actually invited the detective into the office and are treating him like an outsider? Isn't this tantamount to openly admitting that we can't solve cases ourselves and have to rely on outsiders to tell us what to do?

Everyone has their pride; what kind of image would this have if word got out!
"Hello everyone! My name is Sera Masumi, nice to meet you!"

Sera took off her hat, revealing a bright smile. Her eyes curved into crescent moons, showing off her cute little tiger teeth.

The last time she met Brother Xiuyi, Brother Xiuyi had a lot of complaints about her attitude towards Brother Zhengyi.

Shuichi believes that Shoichi is a bad guy and cannot be associated with, even after learning about Ai and her family's background, he still thinks so and tells her to stay away from Shoichi. But as a high school student with her own ideas, she naturally doesn't listen to others completely, so she begins to argue with Shuichi.

Unable to win the argument, Hideyoshi asked a friend to arrange for her to work at the Metropolitan Police Department.

Sera Masumi can still recall the helpless look on Shuichi's face when he spoke back then.

"Sending you to the Metropolitan Police Department is to let you see with your own eyes how those who should be enforcing the law have become his henchmen, and how he uses these people to launder his crimes."

"Now that you've witnessed these dirty deals firsthand, Zhenchun, I'd like to see if you can still convince yourself that man is a good person."

The officers at the Metropolitan Police Department neither disliked nor welcomed Sera Masumi; after greeting her, they went about their own business.

Sera Masumi lay listlessly on the table, chewing her lollipop loudly.

Her eyes, like radar, scanned the office, trying to identify Zheng Yi's lackeys.

Suddenly, a very faint sound entered her ears.

That was the static coming from the headphones, followed by a man's voice that sounded a bit like Zheng Yi's.

Sera Masumi's ears perked up instantly.

She looked up abruptly, following the sound, and saw Sato wearing headphones by the desk not far away. Noticing that his headphones were malfunctioning, he quickly took them off.

Sera Masumi was stunned.

How could Zheng Yi's voice be coming from Officer Sato's earpiece?

Are they on the phone?
But when Sato noticed Sera Masumi looking at her, she had already put away her headphones and phone.

This made Sera Masumi even more curious.

Why do you have to make phone calls secretly?
A hint of suspicion flashed in her eyes. Could the lackey that Brother Xiuyi mentioned be Officer Sato?

The moment the thought crossed her mind, Sera Masumi shook her head.

As many people know, Sato has a deep misunderstanding of Masakazu, always believing that Masakazu is guilty and wanting to bring him to justice.

Over the next few days, Sera Masumi continued to drift through her days at the Metropolitan Police Department, while secretly observing Sato.

Sato could also sense that Sera Masumi had her eye on him.

She felt a little uneasy.

Sera Masumi and Masakazu have a good relationship, so it wouldn't be a good thing if she found out that she was investigating Masakazu.

One morning, only Sato and Sera Masumi remained in the office.

"Officer Sato..." Sera Masumi called out tentatively.

Sato took off one earphone, turned his head and asked, "What is it, Sera-kun?"

"Um... Officer Sato, have you been... having something on your mind lately?"

Sato frowned, unsure of what Sera Masumi was trying to say, and could only shake his head: "No."

She looked at Sera Masumi strangely and asked, "What exactly do you want to ask?"

"Stop pretending!" Sera Masumi narrowed her eyes, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"I heard it clearly before, wasn't that the voice of Brother Zheng Yi in your headphones?"

She deliberately dragged out her words, leaned close to Sato's ear, and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You wouldn't happen to have a crush on Masakazu-nii, would you?"

"Snapped!"

Sato suddenly dropped the pen he was holding onto the table.

"Sera Masumi! What nonsense are you talking about!" Sato's voice rose eight octaves.

"Why do you have this idea?" Sato asked.

Sera Masumi took a step back, crossed her arms, and looked at Sato's "I'm protesting too much" expression, her smile widening even more:

"Oh dear, such a strong reaction? Looks like I hit a nerve."

Sera Masumi continued, "The headphones you always wear are playing Masakazu's voice, and I've observed that your preferences are actually very similar to Masakazu's. You're consciously imitating Masakazu in many ways."

She took out her phone, pointed to a photo on it, and said to Sato, "Every time you get off work, you go to Masakazu's museum to see the collection."

"I heard from Officer Takagi that you don't have a hobby of antiques. If it's not to see antiques, then who are you looking at?"

Sato looked at Sera Masumi with suspicion and uncertainty.

She went to Zhengyi's art museum because she knew that Zhengyi had a hobby of collecting things, and she wanted to observe what he collected in order to try to understand Zhengyi's psychology, not to try to bump into Zhengyi.

"Am I right?" Sera Masumi asked.

“What you’re saying is utter nonsense,” Sato said.

However, he did not explain to Sera Masumi the purpose of his actions.

Sera Masumi still trusted her own judgment and thought that Sato was just shy.

Sera Masumi continued, "Did you ask Ran about Masakazu's preferences?"

Seeing that Sato was unable to defend himself,

She leaned closer to Sato and said, "I never imagined that you, who always thought Masakazu was guilty, actually had a deep affection for him."

If you want to arrest him, wouldn't that mean imprisoning him...?

"Shut up!" Sato said, finally losing his temper. "If you say another word, I'll poke my ears out with this pen!"

……

"Ah!"

"You two continue talking, don't mind me." Shoichi rubbed his nose and looked at Shiho and Momiji.

He said in a low voice, "I wonder who is cursing me."

Interrupted by Zheng Yi, Hongye's emotions, which she had just been building up, dissipated instantly, and she pouted in dissatisfaction.

Sure enough, Zheng Yi was on this woman's side.

Koyo looked at Shiho and asked, "It's been more than ten days, why haven't you turned into Ai yet?"

"This will take time."

“This is not what you said before.” Koyo stared at Shiho and asked, “You said before that you might change several times a day, but it’s been more than ten days and I haven’t seen you change even once.”

Shiho nudged Momiji's shoulder: "This time it might take a little longer."

"Heh, you're still trying to fool me with such a clumsy lie, aren't you?" Hongye said, "You really do have an ambiguous relationship with Zhengyi. That day in the bedroom, you were..."

"No! No!" Shiho quickly interrupted Momiji: "I really am Ai Haibara."

"When will you transform?" (End of Chapter)