No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

beep beep.

Hearing the notification sound of a text message, Kitahara Masaki guessed it was from that brat Conan again. He picked it up and saw that it was indeed a challenge from that kid, saying that he would share the information he found and wanted to compete with him to see who could solve the case faster.

My only comment is, 'Wagyu beef is really delicious.'

Next, the police found an alibi for one of the people, because that person went to the convenience store to buy cigarettes, so they were quickly able to confirm it.

Hmm, then the murderer must be someone else.

Upon seeing the text message, Conan looked like an old man, surrounded by the subway and his cell phone. He ruled out one of the culprits simply because he knew their alibi and concluded that the other person must be the murderer.

Is Kitahara-kun trying to fool himself? Oh well, since I'm in charge of solving this case anyway, let's bring the sleeping Kogoro back into the game.

The subsequent investigation made Conan's expression increasingly serious, as the evidence indeed pointed to the other person Kitahara had mentioned.

Having figured out how the culprit committed the crime, Conan skillfully used a tranquilizer dart to knock out Kogoro, then picked up the voice-changing tie and began his deduction.

"Inspector Megure, I know who the culprit is!"

“Oh, Kitahara, you know... cough cough, sorry, Mori, please continue.”

Conan also had a chuckle on his face, it seems that Inspector Megure has already forgotten about Uncle Mori.

"Ahem, the person who killed Mr. Kaneda was Mr. Iwama Nobuo! It was you!"

Oh! Everyone present finally remembered Kogoro Mouri, who hadn't appeared for a long time, and began to listen to how his reasoning differed from that of Masaki Kitahara.

"Let's review the case. Initially, Mr. Iwama and his two companions were dining in private room number eight. Then, at seven o'clock, the waitress discovered that one of the three—Mr. Kaneda—was dead in private room number four. There are only two paths leading from private room number eight to private room number four: one is the entrance hall where waiters are always on standby, and the other is the waterway used to serve food in the pavilion. Therefore, the murderer must have taken the waterway."

“Brother Mori, but we asked all the guests in the private rooms, and none of them saw anyone walking on the waterway, and there was no trace of water dripping in the fourth private room where the deceased was.”

Conan gradually got into the zone, listening to Inspector Megure's familiar questions. The straight man always saved Conan a lot of trouble.

“That’s right, but I don’t mean the murderer walked on the waterway, but rather used the boat on the waterway.”

What?!

Inspector Megure exclaimed in surprise.

"There are six remote-controlled boats used for serving dishes at Ryusui-tei, including one large boat and five small boats. The space under the deck of the large boat is large enough to accommodate a small person! And Mr. Iwama's physique just happens to fit this feature."

"So how did he get to room number eight?"

"It's very simple. He first arranged to meet the victim in room eight. Then, when the food was served in room four, he hid inside the large ship. As soon as the ship arrived at room eight, he would press the sensor under the hull. This way, even if no food was ordered from room eight, he could still get there through the ship. After killing the victim, he repeated the same plan, returning to room four by hiding inside the large ship."

Everyone was astonished by the audacious idea of ​​using the restaurant's unique way of serving food to commit a crime. They mostly looked at Mr. Iwama with some fear, after all, he was a university professor, and it could be said that he had put his wisdom into evil ways.

“Where’s the evidence, Mr. Mori? I spent ages looking for it back then because my contact lens fell on the ground.”

"Hmph! The sounds you made in the room were just from a tape recorder, which is why you needed to ask another professor, who was also eating, to go to the convenience store to buy cigarettes. Anyway, as long as you have evidence, you can't refute it, right?"

"That's right! I'm innocent!"

"Before you say that, take a good look at the caviar stains on your shirt! The deceased had the same caviar marks on his thumb, so your shirt probably has the deceased's fingerprints on it too! Also, you can have the forensic team check inside the ship for any hair you left behind! Either side of the evidence is enough to send you to jail for the rest of your life, working on a sewing machine!"

Seeing Conan kneeling on the ground, tearfully explaining his motive, Inspector Megure suddenly felt refreshed. Meanwhile, Inspector Megure was puzzled; why was Kogoro Mouri, usually so cheerful, so angry today, giving the culprit a thorough dressing-down?

"Alright, as long as the case is solved," Inspector Megure said, taking the handcuffed Professor Iwama back to the Metropolitan Police Department.

"Hehe, Kitahara-nii, how about it? I've found the evidence and solved the case in half an hour."

"Hmm—that's pretty impressive."

He'd rather skip delicious food than solve a case; he truly is a mystery fanatic.

"Ahem, Kitahara-nii, besides these, don't you have anything else to say?"

Conan's real intention was to ask if he could solve more cases, but Kitahara Masaki, engrossed in his food, casually replied:

"Uh—something else I wanted to say. Oh, by the way, did that criminal get a fatal piece of evidence because of a stain from a piece of caviar?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Okay, then what I'm trying to say is—stains are not acceptable!"

Chapter 88 Crushing a Raw Egg with Bare Hands

After eating at Ryusui-tei that day, Kitahara Maki went there several more times. After all, the way the food was served was really interesting, and the dishes were indeed quite good. But for some reason, despite the murder that had occurred there, the number of customers had actually increased. It could only be said that the residents of Beika were all Gotham City citizens in reserve.

Mihua Town is a place of simple and honest folk customs, and a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. (Metropolitan Police Department)

Kitahara Masaki is fine as long as no Joker comes along, he just won't become Batman.

After chatting with the pretty young lady for a couple of minutes, Kitahara Masaki, who was about to go home, received a call from Ran.

“Miss Mori, Kudo is still working on a case. If you need anything, I can let him know when the time comes.”

"No, I'm not calling this time because of Shinichi. I want to ask you a favor, Kitahara-nii."

"Oh, tell me about it."

"Here's what happened. Yesterday, Sonoko and I went shopping, and we met an old man on the bus. He said he needed to see my dad, and then he disappeared. He hasn't come to see my dad since."

"Did you ask the old man his name? Or did he say where he was going? Or maybe he had something come up and didn't go to see Detective Mouri."

"Yes, he even wrote it on the bus window for me. His name is Shigekichi Setara. On the bus, he said he was going to the municipal hospital station, but I fell asleep. When I woke up, the old man was gone. I was worried about him, so I went to the hospital at that bus stop to ask about him, but the nurses didn't see him among the people who came to visit patients or to see doctors. Also, something strange happened. A CD (MO) that didn't belong to me suddenly appeared in my bag."

It's really strange. If it were anyone else, Kitahara Masaki would have told him to go home, wash up, and go to bed long ago, and not to think about so many things. But Ran is telling me this now, so it's very likely that the old man has encountered some danger.

“I’m coming over here now. Give me that MO document, and I’ll start investigating immediately.”

"Thank you, Kitahara-nii, for troubling you so late."

"Haha, it's alright, it's alright. Anyway, if there are any new cases, I'll just hand them over to Kudo. That guy has been incredibly motivated ever since he confirmed his relationship with you."

"Yeah……"

Kitahara Masaki smiled, guessing that Conan, who was eavesdropping nearby, would be even more cooperative with Ai Haibara's research in the future. "Hmm... this time, my enthusiastic help to Ran isn't for some non-existent thing like the dignity of a Japanese police officer. It's because if I don't help her, I'll still be responsible for a more serious case in the end. So, I'd rather resolve it as soon as it happens."

"By the way, Xiaolan, you didn't call the police, did you?"

"Ah, not yet. I think if I just hand it over to Kitahara-nii, it should be solved."

"Okay, it's probably a false alarm, so let's not call the police so easily. If anything strange happens again in the future, tell me first, understand?"

"Ok, I see."

Very good. A kind child like Xiaolan wouldn't ask too many "whys" to people she trusts.

For Kitahara Masaki now, from any perspective, he has done his best at work. The most important thing is that in order to maximize his benefits in the early stages, he has appeared on the internet and in the media too many times. Going forward, he hopes to be less flamboyant and let most people remember him as "a policeman who can solve cases quickly" rather than "an annoying guy who often appears on TV and the internet".

The Black Organization has stopped its propaganda campaign against me, but for the Metropolitan Police Department, someone like me who can both be on camera and solve cases is extremely rare, so they certainly won't let up on their propaganda efforts. After all, the higher-ups have been using all sorts of tactics, from flattery to sabotage, to try and link me to the Metropolitan Police Department.

However, this is indeed the style of the Japanese police's top brass. They're not very good at solving cases, but those who can reach the rank of Superintendent General are actually very skilled at dealing with all sorts of trivial and messy matters.

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

Kitahara Masaki drove to the Mouri Detective Agency, where Ran was already downstairs. After receiving a strange CD, he went to Professor Agasa's office to find Ai to see what information was on the CD.

"Judging from the labels above, it's definitely bad information inside."

Indeed, the "top secret" and "do not take out" markings on the disk were clearly written, making Kitahara Masaki even more eager to know what secrets were hidden inside.

"Hmm—a password is required to access this disk."

"Is it possible to crack?"

"It is possible, but it will take time."

"Okay, then I'll wait here."

Because there might be some secret here, Kitahara Masaki deployed drones to guard against anyone who might follow him here.

Then, about half an hour later, a strangely behaving vehicle actually stopped there, seemingly waiting for something.

Hmm... No one should have been following me when I came out of Ran's place, so it's very likely that someone was staking out outside the Mouri Detective Agency and then told Kitahara Masaki's accomplice about the appearance of his car, and now his accomplice has found this place.

In other words, they are waiting for an opportunity, and it's unclear whether they will use force to reclaim the disk.

What a hassle! I'm a pacifist, so why do I always have to deal with these lackeys?

After giving a few instructions, Kitahara Masaki left Professor Agasa's house alone, seemingly going to a nearby convenience store to buy something, so he didn't drive and just walked slowly.

When Kitahara Masaki walked alone into a dark alley, he immediately saw that people were blocking the entrance from both sides. The thug behind him reached out to cover Kitahara Masaki's mouth to prevent him from shouting.

"You guys are disgusting for touching other people's mouths with your hands."

With a classic over-the-shoulder throw and a casual joint lock, the thug's outstretched right hand was broken instantly. Another thug ran forward, his wide-open stance leaving everyone speechless.

Taking advantage of his long arms, Kitahara Masaki grabbed his face as if he were catching a basketball with one hand, and then used the same force as if he were crushing a raw egg on his fingers. This clueless idiot, who thought I was just some random passerby, immediately fainted.

"Hey! Tell your companions you've found the disk and have everyone go back. Got it?"

Seeing that his companion's head seemed to be deformed, the henchman swallowed hard and nervously dialed the phone.

"Take a deep breath, a deep breath. Yes! That's it, if you lose control of your bladder here—I can only..."

"Hey! Finish what you're saying!!!" the thug, nearly wetting himself with fear, roared inwardly before resignedly obeying the order.

Chapter 89 The Infiltrator in Preparation

"Brother Kitahara, I've already hacked that disk."

"Very good, what information is inside?"

"These are dual accounts, from a company called Mihua Construction. This document must have come from their management department. One is an external, adjusted set of accounts, while the other is a symbolic internal set. Most importantly, it contains a list of shareholders that Mihua Construction colluded with, and the amount of the underground transactions is recorded in detail."

Upon hearing about something that could easily extort large companies, Kitahara Masaki became interested and asked:

"Are the shareholders listed under their personal names, or are they acting through companies they control?"

"It's a pity that it appeared under the company's name."

Well, it's a bit of a pity, but if we keep investigating, we'll find out who was involved in this underground deal.

"But it's already pretty good. From now on, they'll be our puppets. Or rather, it would be even better if they were all public figures who value their reputations."

However, Kitahara Masaki also knew very well that the fact that the internal ledgers were stolen and the reaction was so slow could only mean that most of the people in the ledgers were small fry or white gloves that big shots would never need.

But even white gloves want to survive. Many famous white gloves were actually from poor families and only submitted to vampires for money.

In short, as long as someone is afraid of death, Kitahara Masaki only needs to know their name and whereabouts.

Thinking of this, Kitahara Masaki kicked the one of the two thugs who was still awake and asked: