No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Is not it?"

Hattori Heiji looked puzzled; his detective mind hadn't quite caught up yet when he saw Kitahara Masaki wave, and Takagi hurriedly running towards them from afar.

"Kitahara-senpai, the civilians injured by the explosives only suffered minor injuries. The only fatality was Tachibana Eisuke, the president of Goi Electric. We have already searched the area around the crime scene, and there should be no possibility of a terrorist attack."

Kitahara Masaki listened to Takagi's report on the various situations at the scene, patted Takagi on the shoulder, and asked:

"What's the first thing we police officers should do when we arrive at the scene?"

"To ascertain the victim's situation and prevent the harm caused by the murder from escalating further."

Kitahara Masaki gave him a "you get it?" look. Hattori Heiji finally understood the difference between a police officer and a detective. The most important thing for a police officer is to protect citizens, unlike a detective who can solve a case, pat his butt, say a few words to the media, and leave.

Upon entering the scene, Hattori Heiji, now more knowledgeable, asked:

"What should Kitahara-nii do next?"

"If we were detectives, we'd probably be starting to deduce the truth from the physical evidence we found by now. But we don't need to do that."

Kitahara Masaki didn't take out a magnifying glass this time; he simply waited for the forensic department's report. Soon after, the forensic department arrived with a fragment.

"Inspector Kitahara, we found a piece of golf ball fragment here. Inside, we found a fuse. The detonator for the explosive was placed inside the golf ball."

Kitahara Masaki nodded without saying anything, but simply instructed the forensic personnel to search for suspicious items.

Looking at Hattori Heiji, who was eager to try behind him, he said:

"You can share your thoughts."

"Now that we can confirm that the explosives were placed inside the golf ball, why not ask who prepared the golf ball beforehand?"

"First of all, the scene hasn't been searched yet. If we start questioning the people who came to play golf with the deceased, wouldn't that be giving the murderer all the information the police have? Secondly, the presence of a golf ball with a fuse at the scene doesn't mean the deceased was killed by that ball. Hattori, don't make the same mistake as last time. A planned criminal is much bolder than an ordinary person. This golf ball might actually be a prop used to frame someone."

After these three moves, Hattori Heiji was completely convinced of Kitahara Masaki's abilities. He also realized that if he wanted to become a police officer like Kitahara Masaki, he had to change his impulsive and rash personality.

And just as Kitahara Masaki had predicted, they found another charred golf ball in the distance of the golf course, still smelling of gunpowder.

Upon seeing this piece of evidence, Hattori Heiji instantly understood the murderer's method.

"Uh, what's going on here? Brother Kitahara, how come there's a golf ball that looks like it's been blown up by explosives?"

Unfortunately, Inspector Megure made a mistake. Wasn't the deceased killed by a golf ball containing explosives? How could a ball with signs of an explosion have flown so far away?

"Therefore, preconceived notions are very dangerous. If the investigation is misdirected, the perpetrator may have the opportunity to destroy evidence, thus achieving the result that the evidence is invalid."

“I understand, Kitahara-nii.”

The details of the crime were then left to Hattori Heiji to explain:

“Inspector Megure, President Tachibana didn’t hit a golf ball with a bomb. The explosives were pre-loaded into the clubhead.”

"What! But—"

"Yes, a golf ball with fuse fragments was indeed found at the scene, but this could have been placed there by the perpetrator after the incident. Only in this way can we explain why another golf ball with bomb-like marks was found on the golf course."

The incident occurred when the deceased swung his club to hit a golf ball. The explosive inside the club detonated upon impact, turning the ordinary golf ball into a ball with blast marks due to the impact and the ball flew to a certain point on the course.

The golf ball fragments with the letter tube that were initially discovered were merely a smokescreen placed on the course by the murderer afterward.

After determining the correct direction of the investigation, it was quickly discovered that the cue stick had been given to one of the three suspects, Mr. Minami Tomofumi, for repair. After the repair, the cue stick was in Mr. Minami Tomofumi's hands for a whole day. After a detailed investigation, traces of black powder were indeed found in his home.

After hearing the report and faced with irrefutable evidence, Minami Tomofumi, as the murderer, began to explain his motives.

Watching Minami Satoshi being handcuffed and taken to the police station, Hattori Heiji felt a strange sense of bringing the culprit to justice, an emotion he had never experienced before as a detective.

"Hattori trainee, do you think this is the end of the matter?"

“The murderer has been caught… Ah! Right, the source of the gunpowder is still unknown. Mr. Minami Tomofumi is just an ordinary company employee. How could he have come into contact with such a strictly controlled and dangerous substance as black powder?”

Kitahara Masaki nodded in satisfaction, then said to Inspector Megure:

“Inspector Megure, it’s time to contact the people in Investigation Section 4 [1].

While Inspector Megure was contacting the people in Section 4, Kitahara Masaki pointed to his cheek at Hattori Heiji.

"Look at my expression right now!"

"Uh, very calm."

“That’s right. Police officers have to maintain this expression. Look at you grinning like that. If the media writes you as a jerk who’s mocking the dead, you won’t need to come out to crime scenes anymore.”

[1] Investigation Division 4: Anti-Organized Crime Measures, Section 4

Chapter 24 Did you see that fist the size of a sandbag?

"Kitahara-kun, how do you guys usually keep such a serious look?"

Hattori Heiji, who had finally gotten into the car, couldn't hold back any longer and asked.

"You remember that the three suspects all had conflicts with the deceased, and these conflicts were quite significant, right?"

Seeing Hattori Heiji nod, Kitahara Masaki continued:

"Therefore, I believe that it is inevitable for someone who does not pay attention to interpersonal relationships and is arrogant to meet such an end. So I do not think it is an accident, nor do I feel sad or happy about it."

"Brother Kitahara, this..."

"This doesn't sound like something a police officer would say, does it?"

"No, I'm just a little surprised."

"Hahaha. You're absolutely right, don't take it to heart. Let's take advantage of the fact that no new murders have occurred now and go to Toriya Town to see if we can find any information about the source of gunpowder."

After getting on the train, they soon arrived in Toriya Town. However, to Hattori Heiji's surprise, the place Kitahara Masaki arrived at was very different from the Toriya Town he remembered.

There were illegally constructed small houses here, and the dark environment made Hattori Heiji feel uncomfortable. What was even more disgusting was that the narrow roads were full of sour household garbage, and the stagnant water was foul and filthy.

"Kitahara-kun, where is this place? I don't think I've ever seen this place before in Toriya Town."

Kitahara Masaki pointed to a large bridge in the distance, and the low-rise buildings here were mostly in the shadow of this bridge.

"Everyone knows about slums, but how many people actually go inside to see what it's really like?"

If you look at Colombia from the plane, it's a beautiful country covered in vegetation, but who would know that this country smuggles hundreds of millions of US dollars worth of drugs every year?

The small area of ​​Toriya Town is a byproduct of urban planning and construction. Lacking municipal services and funding for surveillance, it is homeless and bankrupt, and most people would assume from the bridge that it is a slum due to its dilapidated state. However, after seeing the desperate faces of everyone there up close, it becomes impossible to ignore this area.

"In short, this place provides shelter for some down-on-their-luck people. But because of this, some gang deals and serious crimes happen here."

As the two were walking down the street, a car stopped not far away next to a little girl, and several burly men got out of the car and surrounded the little girl.

"Um, Kitahara-kun, is that the heinous crime you were talking about?"

"That's right, but this kind of situation is quite rare. I guess that girl has gotten into some trouble."

Kitahara Masaki calmly took off his coat and threw it to Hattori Heiji, then ran towards the group of burly men.

Hattori Heiji had initially thought Kitahara Masaki would reveal his police notebook to identify himself as a police officer, but instead—

Bang!

Kitahara Masaki, a man of few words and ruthless nature, delivered a straight punch that sent one of the burly men flying through the air. After spinning twice, the man crashed into a pile of garbage.

The criminals, caught off guard, didn't even ask who he was before lunging at Kitahara Masaki.

The burly man who charged forward first had all his good teeth smashed, and screams of agony filled the entire street. The previously lifeless pedestrians immediately perked up and ran into the dilapidated wooden house to watch the fight in the street.

The remaining burly men couldn't even get close to Kitahara Masaki. Their fighting skills were on completely different levels. The physical attributes that those burly men were so proud of were useless to Kitahara Masaki. The burly men, with their defenses wide open, were defeated one by one by Kitahara Masaki.

The leader, hiding in the car, hurriedly pulled a pistol from the glove compartment. It was unclear whether he felt that the metal object would give him some courage, or whether he thought that Kitahara Masaki would back down because of it.

Upon seeing someone pull out a gun, Kitahara Masaki smashed the car window, snatched the pistol, and used his other hand to pull the screaming man out of the broken glass.

Hattori Heiji looked at Kitahara Masaki, who remained expressionless, and then at the man whose hands were covered in blood from cuts on his body caused by broken glass. He involuntarily shuddered.

Do you have any tissues?

"There are some."

Seeing Hattori Heiji's startled expression, Kitahara Masaki laughed:

"This is all to save that little girl, isn't it? By the way, Hattori trainee, in this situation, if you encounter multiple criminals, and there's even a possibility that they're armed, quickly call for backup on the channel."

Finally realizing what was happening, Hattori Heiji took out his phone and called Inspector Megure, glancing at the child hiding nearby. At that moment, Kitahara Masaki finally pulled out his police notebook, revealing his identity as a police officer.

"Alright, kid. Can you tell me what happened? Why are these people trying to capture you?"

"Are you Inspector Kitahara, the one who often appears on TV?"

"Yes."

Kitahara Masaki handed the little girl a tissue, telling her to wipe the black ash off her face.

"You're amazing, those people are gangsters."

“The gangsters are nothing to worry about. Let me take you to the police station first.”

The little girl seemed conflicted; she was reluctant to explain why she was trapped, and also reluctant to leave. Just as Kitahara Masaki and Hattori Heiji were about to go somewhere with fresher air to wait for Inspector Megure, the man lying on the ground suddenly shouted:

"You're Kitahara, the rising star in the police force on TV, right? This matter originally had nothing to do with you, and we didn't really want to make a big fuss about it, but your high-profile actions have put us in a difficult position."

Hearing this blatant threat, Hattori Heiji was about to speak when Kitahara Masaki stopped him.

Kitahara Masaki let out a long sigh, silently carrying the still trembling little girl as they walked out of the area.

"I guarantee they won't have another chance to find you. If they threaten you later if you call the police, this is the outcome."

After receiving Masaki Kitahara's assurance, the little girl finally took out a cassette tape from her backpack and couldn't help but cry out:

"My mom overheard a conversation between gangsters and then she got arrested. She hid this tape somewhere only my mom and I knew about, and then I took the tape and ran and ran, ran for a long time—"

Kitahara Masaki picked up the little girl and gently patted her back to comfort her; it was truly not easy for a child.

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

"Brother Kitahara!"

Inspector Megure, who had received a notification from Heiji Hattori, quickly arrived at the scene, followed by a group of police officers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying police revolvers.

“Inspector Megure, those lying on the ground are the attackers, and this little girl’s mother is waiting for us to rescue her.”

Inspector Megure nodded, and after understanding the reason, immediately gave instructions:

"Chiba! Take these gangsters back to the police station for questioning. Sato! Take this little girl to the hospital and protect her. Takagi! You and the rest of you work with Inspector Kitahara to investigate and rescue the little girl's mother as soon as possible!"

Hello!