No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Yes, yes, Kitahara-senpai. Would you like me to deliver it to you?"

"No need, no need, just read it to me."

“Okay, in previous cases, the suspects would impersonate deliverymen to deceive property management and security guards, and after each crime, they would use unique spray paint patterns to announce their crimes. But in the case in our jurisdiction, he used fluorescent materials, which caused quite a disturbance when people saw them at night.”

Kitahara Masaki frowned and continued to ask:

"Why doesn't anyone create a criminal profile for such an outspoken criminal like him? And why can't we trace the source of this fluorescent material?"

Stunned by the questions, Takagi stammered, clearly trying to think of a few words to say for the police investigating the case and to tell Kitahara Masaki not to be so angry.

Kitahara Masaki didn't intend to make things difficult for Takagi, and after hanging up the phone, he came up with two solutions.

"Since you like showing off so much, I'll give you another chance to show off."

Kitahara Masaki chuckled.

Chapter 19: A New Identity Full of Sarcasm

Kitahara Masaki released a drone, a silent, high-tech system that flew to the ceiling. Kitahara Masaki then walked to the main switch in the restaurant and snapped off the power, plunging the brightly lit restaurant into darkness.

"Fine, I don't believe you can hold back."

The infrared drone clearly captured everyone's movements, including one person who got up from his seat and crouched down as if observing something.

However, probably fearing that the power would suddenly be restored, he did nothing and silently returned to his seat.

"I gave you a chance, but you didn't do it."

Kitahara Masaki then returned to the Miyano sisters and said to them:

“I’ve found that person. Now you need to put on a show to lure him out.”

Without giving them any room to refuse, Kitahara Masaki immediately began to give them simple disguises.

They quickly transformed from a well-behaved JK style to a rebellious girl style.

Is it really necessary to wear makeup like this?

Shiho Miyano looked in the vanity mirror, her tone tinged with helplessness.

"The police may investigate later. The more distinctive your style is now, the less likely the eyewitness testimonies will be to be related to the two of you."

After Kitahara Masaki finished drawing her eyebrows, he wanted to tease her a bit, but then he remembered that his persona was serious and mature, so he kept quiet.

Suddenly I realized that not being able to say anything sarcastic is really frustrating. I'll just vent my frustration on that thief later.

Back in the restaurant, to passersby they looked like a Yakuza uncle and two young delinquents. Kitahara Masaki was still thinking about how to sit at the table near the criminal, but as soon as he got close to the table, the customers sitting there were so frightened that they ran away.

Then things unfolded as expected. After Kitahara Masaki started his stand-up comedy, the two girls, with their thin skin, had their blushing faces visible even through their thick makeup.

With his provocation skills maxed out, Kitahara Masaki had become a veritable Zaunite madman, insulting him from his appearance to his very nature, from his arrogant and vile personality to his shortcomings. Coupled with his blond thug-like face, although everyone around thought he was just bragging, they still pricked up their ears to listen to the boasts of this arrogant thief.

Soon, seeing that the criminal was close to the red temperature, Kitahara Masaki called the two girls and left the restaurant, seemingly unaware that someone was following them.

"You two go back to the car first, I'll be back in a bit."

The thief following behind realized the danger. He had no idea he would suddenly encounter a Yakuza who knew so much about his deeds and even sat down at the table next to him.

A chill ran through him. The serial thief, who had been about to turn and run, was grabbed by the back of the neck and dragged into a dark alley like a piece of trash.

"Kid, did you know that a person's mental state can be overwritten?"

Kitahara Masaki grabbed the salesperson dressed in counterfeit goods, his voice low.

"It's like someone suddenly vomits blood next to you, but in the instant you're surprised, a UFO descends overhead. At that moment, your emotions and attention will no longer be focused on the person vomiting blood."

"We could have taken things step by step tonight and gradually built their trust in me, but because of your theft, they're feeling down and not ready to say anything more."

Kitahara Masaki clenched his right fist and shattered his shoulder with a single punch, then pressed his left elbow against his throat. The intense pain caused him to arch his back, only able to whimper.

"I hate surprises. It's like when you're writing a paper and you're running regression analysis on data, and you've assumed that the data are positively correlated, but the results show that they are negatively correlated. It's just as unsettling."

The thief, tears and snot streaming down his face, was thrown up with one hand, and after a dizzying spin, he crashed into the wall of the alleyway, his vision going black.

"I understand your desire to have the whole world's attention on you, but you've disrupted my plans this time."

Her right fist transformed into a claw, her steel-like fingertips nearly twisting through the thief's stomach. Then she pulled a wallet from his pocket—the very wallet that had been stolen from Miyano Akemi.

"Sigh, I still need to think of a way to deal with you."

After a series of pleasant conversations, although it was mostly Kitahara Masaki talking and the thief listening, the thief still felt he couldn't refuse Kitahara Masaki's hospitality and was picked up and thrown into a corner.

After finishing, Kitahara Masaki returned to his car with the wallet, handed it to Miyano Akemi, and said:

"It's all taken care of, let's go."

Shiho Miyano then asked:

Did you kill him?

"No, he'll be found by the police in a few days and then spend the rest of his life in the hospital."

"It sounds like your exchange was quite intense."

"Fortunately, he won't have any thoughts like 'being my enemy' again for the next hundred years."

After a moment of silence, Akemi Miyano couldn't help but ask:

"Mr. Yawenyi, how did you find him? Didn't three other people brush past me before?"

In the previous entrapment, Kitahara Masaki's purpose was very clear, and Miyano Akemi naturally realized that he had already locked onto the real thief.

"His movements and footsteps."

The way he shook the sauce bottle was more like shaking a spray paint bottle than the others, and his movements in the dark didn't have the same unsteady stance as the others.

There are thousands of explanations for facial disguises, but there are no such explanations for body movements.

------------------

"Inspector Megure, this is where he was found!"

Looking at the sallow-faced, emaciated man in front of him, who looked like a beggar, it was hard to imagine that this man was actually a serial thief who had escaped from the police multiple times.

This morning, the Metropolitan Police Department received a package containing a cassette tape, the contents of which surprised everyone.

In the short ten minutes of the recording, a middle-aged man was basically asking questions while a young man answered, detailing the theft committed by the younger man. After asking all the questions, the middle-aged man left his address and then went silent.

After listening to the tape, the First Investigation Division quickly dispatched officers and found the young man in the tape at the address it led to. However, he looked to be in terrible condition, as if his spine had been broken. The youthful energy and spirit that was unique to young people had been worn away by something terrible.

"Takagi, take him to the hospital first. The rest of you go and ask around to see if anyone saw what happened."

"Inspector Megure! The suspect also has a letter on him."

"Open it and take a look."

A message was printed on the white letter paper:

"Police officers;"

You all rushed out of the Metropolitan Police Department like a flash flood, and the sirens blaring were probably enough to scare any potential criminals to death.

The followers rescued from Aum Shinrikyo showed a natural affinity between the police and sarin gas.

Tokyo is yours; cherry blossom flags are flying everywhere in the skies over the entire area.

The serial thief was able to escape with his life entirely thanks to your magnanimity.

The criminals who claimed to be able to threaten you have nowhere left to hide in the shadows to resist your courage. Gangsters, stalkers, juvenile delinquents—these so-called formidable figures seem utterly vulnerable. You arrested them as swiftly as if you had won the Koshien Grand Slam.

Honor belongs to the brave police officers! Honor belongs to your brilliant investigative work!

The policeman's face darkened immediately after being ridiculed, and he remembered the signature on the envelope—Napoleon.

Chapter 20 This old baijiu is extremely precious.

"Kitahara-senpai, aren't you going to the meeting?"

"A meeting? What kind of meeting?"

Takagi answered in a low voice:

"Napoleon! The Napoleon who caught a serial thief and then provoked the police."

Kitahara Masaki turned on his computer and started browsing today's news, looking rather uninterested.

"Takagi, what clues do we have now?"

"Uh, no. The serial thief, who was tortured beyond recognition, didn't have the courage to testify, and the provocative letter was printed on ordinary A4 paper without a single mark on it."

The public service advertisements on the screen mostly encouraged people to have more children, and Kitahara Masaki waited boredly for the advertisements to end.

"What else is there to say? There are basically zero useful leads. This meeting is just a channel for a bunch of middle-aged men to vent their frustrations. Oh, the commercials are finally over. Let's talk about something really important later."

The video streamer is a modern detective enthusiast, and the clipboard is mostly filled with famous high school detectives such as Shinichi Kudo, Heiji Hattori, and Saguru Hakuba.

"Sigh, these young people nowadays are all incredibly capable."

Hearing the voice behind him, Kitahara Masaki paused the video and turned around to see that it was the supervising officer Matsumoto Kiyonaga. Matsumoto Kiyonaga, who had the rank of police inspector, could be considered Inspector Megure and Kitahara Masaki's superior (a police inspector is the superior of a police superintendent).

"Haha, Manager, you're still got it."

Having infiltrated the police force, he naturally wouldn't underestimate Matsumoto Kiyonaga, who was able to become the head of the First Investigative Division.

"Alright, you don't need to flatter me. I just have a small matter to discuss with you."

"Since it's the manager who gave the order, I'll handle even ten things properly, let alone one."

"Here's the thing, Hattori Heiji, the son of Osaka Prefectural Police Chief Hattori Heizo, will be coming over soon. He probably wants to exchange ideas with you about deduction. Well, Hattori Heiji has a good reputation within the police force, so if he proposes a contest..."

"Just give him three points?"

"No, no, no, just go all out. Since our Kanto police no longer need high school detectives, then a kid from Kansai shouldn't get the better of you. In short, you don't need to worry too much. The higher-ups have high hopes for you."

"Hahaha, then I'll take the supervisor's good advice and teach that kid a lesson that police officers are much better than detectives!"

"Yes, that's the spirit."

After saying a few more words of encouragement, Matsumoto Kiyonaga left.

After leaving the First Investigation Division's office, Matsumoto Kiyonaga's amiable smile returned to his usual serious expression.

"He speaks to people in a human language and to ghosts in a ghost language. This kid is something else."