No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

The profits from infrastructure construction are substantial, even for large conglomerates. More importantly, the projects developed by the Japanese government reveal the direction of local development, allowing conglomerates to strategically position themselves in the investment field by observing construction trends.

Having clarified the priorities, Kitahara Masaki then asked:

"Noda, what do you usually take those important people with you for?"

"Heh, I take the bosses to various clubs in Ginza to enjoy fine dining, provide quiet and beautiful venues for business meetings, and also give many down-on-their-luck female stars the opportunity to return to the stage!"

"Oh, so you're ostensibly a senior secretary, but in reality, you're just a pimp who takes those vampires to have fun."

Hearing the blatant contempt made Noda tremble with anger, but it wasn't because the dagger had pierced his thigh again.

“Tell me the exact locations of the restaurants you’ll take them to, the Japanese-style buildings in the suburbs, and the clubs where you’ll do those dirty deals.”

After he reported the sixty-seventh location, the matter finally came to an end.

"Was the divine oracle recorded?"

"It has all been recorded. North... Napoleon, please make sure to destroy those locations."

"No, no, no, destroying those locations is pointless. What we should destroy are the people who go there to do their dirty work. By the way, write down the phone numbers on this secretary's phone. Although most of them will probably be spam calls from restaurant managers or celebrity agents, there should still be one or two valuable numbers."

After interrogating him for two whole hours, he was almost drained of blood, looking like a pig being hung up in a slaughterhouse. Looking at this pitiful man in front of him, Kitahara Masaki still delivered the final blow, plunging the dagger that originally belonged to these thugs into his heart.

"I hope you never meet me again in your next life. Hmm... But even if you didn't meet me, the things you did would probably still make you a victim of a case someday in this Detective Conan world."

Crackling sound

The thug standing behind Kitahara Masaki was trembling with fear, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. He had initially thought the assassin was a cruel person, but now he realized that the assassin was an abnormal 'non-human'.

"What's wrong? Why are you shaking like that?"

"You...you gave him..."

“Torture—yes, I tortured him severely for over an hour.”

"He's already confessed everything, so why torture him?"

"Why? Haha, you ask me why? When he was deceiving those poor girls, did he ever think about how they would be tortured? When he sent you to deal with the stolen disk, did he ever think about how an honest old man would be murdered?"

Kitahara Masaki looked down at the terrified thugs and pulled out the dagger that had been stuck in Noda's heart.

"When people like yourself suffer like this, it seems you're starting to get scared too, right? I find it strange. Didn't you ever think that it's perfectly normal for such a day to come? You don't think this is some kind of belated justice, do you? This day is just the bitter fruit of your actions."

After knocking out the only thug who was still conscious, Kitahara Masaki took out a gas can from the trunk of the car and poured gasoline all over the warehouse. Then he took out Noda Akira's lighter from his pocket.

chap——

The lighter he carried was clearly not some cheap knock-off. After it was lit, it was thrown directly into the warehouse. As it burned fiercely, the lighter gradually melted away. Unfortunately, the crimes he committed would not disappear like his lighter.

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

"Miss Hanai, you did a good job."

"Sir, I was just a driver."

"I heard you've resigned from President Takei's position, but you're still taking care of Naoko Takei, is that right?"

"Yes, I still can't tolerate President Takei's money-grubbing and family-disregarding personality, but Naoko is like family to me, so I won't take my hatred out on that child."

"Since that's the case, I'll give you a suggestion. You can use another 500,000 to short Mihua Construction. You can use the money you make to buy that child a couple of outfits."

Kitahara Masaki didn't explain further, and then called Nishitani Rinka:

"Miss Nishitani, will that old man be able to adapt to the weather in Hokkaido?"

"It's alright, the rooms all have heating, and the 500,000 I brought can be used to buy some warm clothes, but afterwards..."

“I will leave him a bank account and give him a sum of money every month, don’t worry.”

"Oh! I'd like to spend a few days in Hokkaido, is that alright?"

"No problem. And I heard your dream is to open a bakery, right?"

"Yes what's the matter?"

“I have already bought a shop in Tokyo in your name. Once you return to Tokyo, I will need you to take a look at how to decorate it.”

"Eh? No... I thought..."

"This is a reward for completing the mission, and I'm only giving you an empty shop. You'll have to rely on yourself to stock and sell the goods from now on."

"Thank you! I will definitely repay this kindness!"

After dealing with a series of trivial matters, it was already dawn. I was just about to lie down and go to sleep when the phone rang again.

"Hey, Inspector Megure, what's up now?"

"Brother Kitahara, another warehouse has burned down! And this time, preliminary assessments indicate there are several bodies..."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming over now."

Kitahara Masaki put on his coat and began investigating the case he had committed again.

Chapter 92 Uncle Mori has only six months left.

"Sigh—in the end, it was still handed over to the police."

"There's nothing we can do about it. The body at the scene had its teeth smashed, making it impossible to identify. However, it was originally a warehouse rented by an economic research institute, so it's very likely that it belonged to someone from their company."

"If that's the case, why don't you continue investigating, Brother Kitahara?"

“In most previous murder cases, there was enough evidence for me to deduce the truth, but in this case where everything was burned to the ground, I can do nothing more than deduce their identities.”

However, this was indeed the case. By bypassing surveillance cameras and destroying surveillance footage, and due to the scarcity of information about the thugs, the police investigation stalled when it came to confirming their identities.

At the same time, because the conglomerate discovered that the disk could no longer be recovered, it withdrew its investment from Mihana Construction and erased all traces of underground transactions that had taken place there.

This morning, Mikasa Construction's stock price plummeted, but Kitahara Maki was too lazy to short it beforehand. Large transactions could easily arouse suspicion, and small transactions wouldn't earn much, so he decided to let it go.

What Kitahara Masaki wants most right now is to intercept some of Beika Construction's computer records. Naturally, he doesn't want to blackmail those money-grubbing chaebols, but rather to expose them directly and then tear a piece of flesh off their bodies.

However, the most convenient method now is to go to the locations that Noda Akira previously instructed to install pinhole cameras and listening devices. After a good meal and drinks, people who have been up and down are most likely to say interesting things. Even though they so decisively cut off the path of Beika Construction this time, they never expected that the methods of espionage would be used on them.

However, installing so much equipment would take a lot of time, and there weren't enough surveillance devices on hand, so they had to buy more. But this time, the intelligence hadn't been handed over to the organization, so they couldn't come up with an excuse when asking the organization for equipment.

It seems I'll have to buy these things from the black market, but I can't find a suitable supplier right now...

"Ai, can you help me find a seller of surveillance equipment online?"

"Brother Kitahara, are you going to install surveillance equipment in those restaurants and clubs frequented by wealthy tycoons?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"Ahem, well, after I documented those locations yesterday, I hacked into some of them and discovered something interesting."

Ai Haibara typed on her computer, looking at the results displayed on the screen with a speechless expression.

"I discovered that there were multiple signals in those places. It's safe to say that in addition to the signals from the facilities inside the stores, many other forces had also placed surveillance equipment there. I discovered this because these stores were consuming more electricity than they normally would."

"So, the person who installed the surveillance equipment inside connected those devices to the store's power grid?"

"Yes, because the batteries in current surveillance equipment might only last a few days if they're not plugged in. It's obvious that people who install these devices are doing it for long-term monitoring."

"Collecting evidence, but is it merely collection?"

Ai Haibara covered her forehead. This incident alone showed that the struggle between the big shots in Japan had been going on for a long time. People like Kitahara Masaki, who were new to the game, would probably just laugh it off.

"Brother Kitahara, is it possible that even after collecting so much evidence, we still can't bring them down?"

Honestly, Ai Haibara's words make a lot of sense, but the feeling of finding a path only to have it blocked is really not a good one.

"Wait, when will smartphones appear?"

Ai Haibara didn't understand Masaki Kitahara's meaning, but she still answered the question seriously:

"It should still take some time, but not long. After all, even bulky computers are about to be replaced by smaller, more efficient ones, so the upgrade of mobile phones won't be far off either."

When everyone has a mobile phone, things become much simpler. Just find a foreign account to expose those surveillance videos, and those people will either die or be crippled, or at least have to bow down and apologize.

"Hmm...no rush, let me look for other ways to use it."

Simply put, it's open for business.

Kitahara Maki is going to the hospital for a follow-up examination today. The previous case has been considered a work injury, and if there is no hospital record, it is very likely that there will be no reimbursement.

When Kitahara Masaki arrived at the hospital, he was startled to see that Uncle Mori's family had come. Could it be that something bad was going to happen at the hospital?

No way, don't add to my workload when there are no cases.

"What a coincidence, Mr. Mori."

"Oh, Kitahara-kun. Ahem, by the way, I have something to tell you."

After a brief greeting, Uncle Mori pulled Kitahara Masaki aside and said with a grim expression:

“When I came to the hospital before, the doctor told me to bring my family next time I came, and said that I only have six months left to live.”

What?! Uncle Mori has been diagnosed with a terminal illness?! That's impossible!

"Cough cough, don't panic. Let's hear what the doctor has to say. It's probably just a false alarm, right?"

"No, kid, I've been feeling weak and listless lately, and there might actually be something wrong with my body. I think you should know where that Kudo kid is. If you can, bring him over as soon as possible. I have something to say to him."

Hey, sir, are you going to entrust your child to someone else? I wonder if you're acting like this because you've been drinking too much or smoking too much.

As I expected, Uncle Mori only developed alcoholic liver dysfunction and only had six months left to control his alcohol intake.

The doctor asked him to bring his family so that they could help Maori control his alcohol intake.

Good heavens, Uncle Mori was so frightened that he took a couple of sips of wine to calm his nerves.

"Hey! Are you the famous police officer Kitahara Masaki?"

Kitahara Maki, who had only come to watch the spectacle, was suddenly spotted by the doctor. Judging from the doctor's appearance, he was probably someone who had seen Kitahara Maki on TV before.

"Yes, that's right, I'm here for a follow-up check-up."

"Follow-up examination, may I ask who you are...?"

"Oh, it was just some minor injuries from the previous bombing."

Seeing that Mori had finished his examination, the doctor quickly brought Kitahara Masaki a chair, his attitude changing 180 degrees in an instant. He smiled respectfully and said:

"I wonder if Officer Kitahara is going to investigate a case today? If so, why don't you come to my house for a casual meal?"

He then looked at Uncle Mori and asked: