He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

From beginning to end, everything became clear.

The culprit caused metal fatigue in the high-voltage line early this morning, connected Masato Yukimatsu to the wires, hid him in the tree, and electrocuted him first after the high-voltage line broke. Then, due to a short circuit, the power was cut off, and he continued to fall.

The homeless man, who had been waiting patiently, stepped forward, pretended to be electrocuted, and notified the real culprit.

The real culprit arrived quickly, switched the blame, and had Itahara later approach the scene again cautiously, making people mistakenly believe that the area was leaking electricity.

But actually, he was clearing away clues!

With a sharp look in her eyes, Sato Miwako rolled up her sleeves and swiftly climbed the camphor tree, searching for any possible clues.

Shinichi Kudo watched her leap nimbly from branch to branch, his eyes filled with anticipation.

But deep down, he knew that the real culprit who could devise such a method would probably not leave such a loose end...

"Found it! There are words on it!"

"Nani?!"

All those below who had been eagerly waiting were filled with surprise and delight. Under their intense gazes, Sato Miwako tossed down a cigarette case—a women's cigarette case!

Megure Juzo rushed over to catch it, and after flipping it over, he immediately discovered a character written on the side.

【バ】

???

What does it mean?

A flurry of phrases flashed through Shinichi Kudo's mind, and a sense of foreboding immediately welled up within him.

The next second, his premonition came true.

"asshole!!!"

Sato Miwako roared from the treetop, clutching a tattered red kite in her right hand, and leaped down, landing heavily. Kudo Shinichi's sharp eyes immediately spotted the single character written on the kite.

【power】

Combined with the previous character, it becomes バカ...

In short: You idiot!!!

"Damn it! That bastard is mocking the police!"

"Heinous crimes! Absolutely heinous crimes!"

"What exactly did he take the murder case for?!"

The police officers, who had been busy all day, were furious at this blatant mockery, and even Megure's face turned ashen.

"Brother Kudo, can you confirm the suspect?"

Actually, he had another thought before: was his younger brother overthinking things? In reality, it was just an accident.

But now... this is a direct, face-to-face taunt!

What an arrogant criminal!

Shinichi Kudo looked at the cigarette pack and said in a deep voice, "Last night's burglary, the unreachable phone at noon, the hairband in the deceased's hand, the crushed cigarette butt on the grass, and this cigarette pack..."

I can only say that Yukimatsu Nami is the most suspicious, but I cannot rule out the possibility that someone framed her.

Most importantly… sigh, Inspector Megure, we don't have any concrete evidence. Aside from the suicide bomb left behind by the perpetrator, I don't even have any other physical evidence to verify my description of the crime.

“Brother Kudo, you’ve done more than enough. If it weren’t for you, we would still be in the dark.”

Inspector Megure sighed deeply. "In other words, we still have to start with her alibi. Yukimatsu Nami... the police will check again. Starting tomorrow, we will visit each of her social connections one by one!"

He patted Shinichi Kudo on the shoulder, "Thank you for your help today, little brother. Let me take you home."

Shinichi Kudo nodded, but he couldn't move his feet.

A huge sense of frustration pinned him to the spot, making him repeatedly think about what he had missed and why the case had developed this way.

Although Inspector Megure said he would launch an investigation, he knew very well that if no physical evidence was found, the matter would end there.

The Third Investigation Division has limited manpower and cannot afford to waste it indefinitely on cases where there is no hope.

Even if their mockery motivates them to focus all their efforts on targeting the real culprit for a period of time, as time goes on...

and many more!

If the real culprit's purpose was to commit insurance fraud, why would he expose himself?

It couldn't be just arrogance; someone who could devise such a method would certainly not be unable to control their emotions.

Unless... he has ulterior motives!

Otherwise, that wouldn't be reasonable!

Chapter 12 Moonset and Sunrise

"There's nothing unreasonable about it."

The next morning, Hotaru walked to Teitan High School. Three blocks away, Kiyoko asked him through her earpiece why he had mocked the police.

Ying Sheng laughed and said, "That's a special attack on smart people. They always tend to overthink. If I give them something that defies common sense, it will definitely take up their brain's CPU, preventing them from discovering the truly important clues."

"Yingsheng-kun really thinks highly of him."

"Because his performance was indeed quite good, most people wouldn't even have the right to hear my sarcastic remark."

Don't worry, we will not let this cause all our efforts to be in vain.

Ultimately, this was essentially a case of "roadside curse," a nonsensical, random murder. The detective's reasoning was already brilliant, but this case was anything but classic crime; all I can say is apology.

"It's a pity we're still neighbors."

"Yes, you should move out as soon as possible. Will you be able to receive the 500 million insurance money anytime soon?"

“Last night I accidentally revealed my mother’s current address to my father’s creditors. I think she will hire a lawyer today to sue the insurance company.”

"The police might keep an eye on that money, keep a portion for a legitimate reason, and give the rest to her."

"Huh? What about your safe house?"

"It was originally intended to protect against that organization. Now that I've joined them last night, it won't be that quick to turn against them. We can figure out the money later."

"Alright, goodbye, Hotaru-kun."

"Goodbye."

With the school in sight, Ying Sheng took off his headphones, stretched, and loosened his muscles.

A hotel bed is never as comfortable as home, thankfully the guys who were searching didn't cause any major damage.

I wonder if they found what they were looking for...

wrong.

The original owner's body doesn't look like it's been modified at all; those two were definitely imposters. Even if the organization finds something, if it doesn't meet their expectations, they'll still cause him trouble.

Tsk, this is really baffling.

"Good morning, Shuiyue." A girl's gentle voice came from the other side of the crossroads.

Good morning, Mori.

Without even glancing at her, Ying Sheng knew she was a remarkable young woman, so she casually responded and continued forward.

"Ugh... that's so rude."

Footsteps quickened behind him, accompanied by a faint fragrance of orchids. A vibrant, youthful figure flashed past Ying Sheng's eyes, turning back with a smile.

"Is something bothering you, Shuiyue? You can tell me."

The pale golden morning light shone on the girl's face, outlining her delicate features and making her profile exceptionally beautiful. The clarity in her light blue eyes was like a clear spring, flowing quietly and making the world feel fresh.

Ying Sheng asked somewhat helplessly, "Do you have any chocolate?"

"Yes." Ran Mouri, already prepared, took out two large bars of chocolate from her handbag and handed them over. "Mizuki's face looks a little pale today than yesterday. Is it because you didn't eat breakfast?"

"Actually, I went to donate blood yesterday."

"What? The doctor didn't advise Shuiyue?"

"Not only did she not have any needles, but her needlework was also terrible. I had to help her in the end. Oh, and she also had a butterfly tattoo on the corner of her eye, just like a yakuza."

"Hmm... I hope Mizuki-san hasn't been tricked?"

"I don't know. There were two men in black behind her, and they didn't look like good people. I didn't dare to ask."

Hotaru glanced at Ran Mouri, who was frowning in thought, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Just kidding. I was with Kudo all yesterday afternoon. Where is he?"

"Huh? Oh. Shinichi is still sleeping in, I can't wake him up no matter what I do."

"Perhaps the case is a bit tricky. Would you like to hear what happened?"

"Never!"

Ran's lips curled up slightly. "I've figured it out, Mizuki. Every time I talk to you, you change the subject by talking about Shinichi. I won't fall for it this time."

"But Kudo was completely fooled by the suspect, aren't you curious?"

"Shinichi wouldn't do that. Let's get back to you, Suigetsu." Ran stopped, turned around, and bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused you by misunderstanding that you had suicidal thoughts!"

Ying Sheng quickly dodged, "Just apologize with chocolate, don't force me to bow back."

"Pfft..."

Xiao Lan smiled and said, "Actually, I have a better way to apologize."

"Well, if it's really an apology, please forget about it."

"Mizuki-san has recently realized the importance of physical fitness, but simply changing your diet isn't enough." Ran extended her hand, her face beaming with a warm, sunny smile. "Join our karate club, Mizuki-san!"

The wind has risen.

Ying Sheng stared blankly at Xiao Lan for two seconds, "Have you noticed where we are?"

Xiao Lan turned around in confusion, and there were four large, gold-plated characters: Emperor, Dan, High, and Middle!

huh?