No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Even today, phone booths still contain large yellow books recording phone numbers, also known as Yellow Pages address books. Rumor has it that the pages of these books are made of the same material as American banknotes.

After further investigation, two families were identified as the most likely candidates: Masakazu Shima from room 305 on the third floor and Michihiro Ishida from room 705.

Just as the kids were about to ring the doorbells at the two houses, Mitsuhiko suddenly looked at the bicycle parked to the side and shouted:

"Oh, right, we can go check the bicycles; there might be a husband and wife's bicycle there!"

"Wow, that's impressive, Mitsuhiko."

Mitsuhiko came up with something that Conan had forgotten to consider. Conan was probably hungry and had low blood sugar, so his brain started to work slower.

"Oh, the savior of the Japanese police has been defeated by an elementary school student. We can then conclude the following inequality: Elementary school student > Savior >> Japanese police."

*Pfft*

Ai Haibara was amused by this not-so-funny joke, mainly because Conan's half-moon eyes after being teased elevated the joke to a level it wouldn't normally reach.

The bicycle clues revealed that Masakazu Shima's wife in room 305's name started with the letter A, so the kids decided to ask her about it first.

"Hello, are you Mr. Shima Masakazu and Ms. Shima Masakazu Asuka?"

"Yes, that's right. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The couple, dressed in leather jackets, with the man sporting red hair and the woman blonde hair, were about to head out. They were carrying shoulder bags on their backs, making them essentially a motorcycle gang couple.

"Here's the thing, these kids found a ring downstairs with 'M to A' engraved on it, so could it possibly be yours?"

"We didn't lose the ring."

The two of them extended their ring fingers, and the rings on them were both on properly.

“I see. By the way, I was wondering what the name of the lady of apartment 705 is? Because the name of the man of the house starts with M, I think this ring might be theirs.”

"It shouldn't be theirs either. Mr. Ishida's wife's name is Fumiko, which starts with F. Speaking of which, honey, do you remember? It was the kid from apartment 705 who accidentally locked himself in their storage room while playing, and then hung toilet paper out the window to ask passersby for help."

"Oh, I remember now, this is quite famous in our building."

Upon hearing this, Conan immediately asked:

"Is the path next door right outside the storage room window?"

Yes, that's right.

After asking around, the kids realized that the remaining two families didn't match up, and they were feeling troubled.

"Don't be discouraged. You should have heard it just now. There's a precedent of people asking for help from pedestrians on the sidewalk in this building, so it's very likely that a case did happen here, but you just haven't figured out the corresponding floor yet."

Mitsuhiko pondered, and as he held the ring and looked at it, a possibility suddenly occurred to him, and he exclaimed:

"Could this ring be a gift from the wife to the husband? M corresponds to the wife, and A corresponds to the husband. If so, it means that the family on the sixth floor is correct. They are not exactly opposites; the opposite is the family on the third floor!"

"Wow! Mitsuhiko, you're amazing!"

Having received Ayumi's praise, Mitsuhiko scratched his head sheepishly, while Genta beat his chest in frustration, lamenting inwardly how he hadn't thought of that.

"What's wrong, Kudo? Weren't you quite interested at first? Why aren't you saying a word now?"

"Haibara... I can see it all. Kitahara-nii just wants the three of them to investigate the case. If I tell him the answer, then it won't be fun."

"Oh my, the great detective has finally figured it out and knows not to compete with children for attention."

"Hey, Haibara, I never intended to compete with kids. I'm a mature high school student now."

"Hehe, just like an easy-going person never says they are easy-going, a mature person doesn't say they are mature. It seems you are still just a child. And I heard that if Kitahara-nii hadn't given you a push from behind, you and your Ran-neechan would probably still be childhood friends."

"Damn it, Haibara, you bastard."

Kitahara Masaki found it quite amusing to watch these kids bickering. He clapped his hands, signaling everyone to head to room 605 on the sixth floor to investigate.

However, Kitahara Masaki already knew the result. The drone's infrared beam did indeed detect a woman lying in storage room 605. Her vital signs were tense, but she was not in immediate danger. Otherwise, Kitahara Masaki would not have been so leisurely playing detective games with these children.

Chapter 114 Conan, did your brain shrink along with your brain?

"Hello! Are you from the Uehara family?"

Mitsuhiko knocked on the door of 605. A woman answered the door. Unlike the couple who had been answering questions patiently despite having something to say, this woman with a handbag exuded an impatient atmosphere that made the sensitive children take two steps back.

"What's the matter?"

"We found a ring downstairs. Is it yours?"

Before Mitsuhiko could hand over the ring, the woman said:

"It's not mine, get out of here."

He tried to close the door after saying that, but having already confirmed that she was the culprit, Kitahara Masaki naturally wouldn't let her go back inside. He grabbed the door and said:

"Miss, is there anything urgent that you need to do? Perhaps I can help you."

"Ha, what's it to you! If you don't leave, I'm calling the police!"

"Oh, please go ahead. But I am a police officer. You can tell me your questions directly."

The police notebook she pulled out made her take two steps back, not to mention the name on it that was far too intimidating for a criminal.

Seeing her gradually fall silent, Kitahara Masaki turned to the three kids and said:

"When you arrive at a place that might be a crime scene, remember to observe carefully. First, you'll see a pair of women's shoes in the entryway, but the size is clearly different from what this woman is wearing. Then, observe her actions. When she sees strangers, who are also us, she clearly protects her handbag, which may contain something she doesn't want others to see, or it might be something dangerous. Finally, make good use of the clues you have. Pay attention to this woman's attitude towards the ring. Even though she doesn't have a ring on her ring finger, why is she completely uninterested in the ring we found? Is it because she doesn't have a ring, or did she immediately realize it wasn't her ring? These are the observation skills that detectives and police officers should have. Do you understand?"

Oh! I've got it!

All three of them took notes in their detective notebooks, which shows that these three kids are quite interested in reasoning.

"So, miss, may I see the storage room in this house?"

The criminal, whose weakness had been exposed, pulled out a handkerchief soaked in chloroform from her bag. Just as she was about to grab a child as a hostage, Kitahara Masaki grabbed her hand and slapped the anesthetic handkerchief directly onto her face.

"Kids, remember this: when you're explaining your reasoning, the suspect might do something rash, so make sure a reliable police officer is with you before you start reasoning, understand?"

Oh! I understand.

Genta poked the unconscious prisoner, wanting to see the handkerchief, but was scolded by Kitahara Masaki.

The group then found the unconscious female homeowner in the storage room. After seeing Kitahara Masaki's police notebook, they were completely relieved, as she had been worried that her SOS signal had not been seen.

"Madam, do you know the identity of the criminal who drugged you?"

"Sorry, I don't know."

"It's alright. By the way, why is your husband's ring with you? It's engraved with M to A, so it should be a ring you gave to your husband, right?"

"Haha, that's right, this is my husband's ring..."

Kitahara Masaki initially thought it was another relationship problem, but this is how the housewife responded:

“Because my fingers got thicker after we got married, my original rings no longer fit, so I started wearing my husband’s rings. He said it was because he made me overwork, which made me feel really bad… Besides, my husband always brings the lunchboxes I make to work, and everyone knows he’s married, so I think it’s okay for me to wear his rings.”

Ah, this is a reason that even Kitahara Maki didn't expect. She wore her husband's ring because her knitting had become rough.

After returning the ring to the woman, Kitahara Masaki called the nearby police station to bring officers to take away the criminal who had broken into someone else's home and drugged the woman's wife.

The male head of the household returned quickly. After questioning, he learned that the female perpetrator was originally his colleague, but because he exposed her embezzlement, she was now unemployed. It seems the motive was revenge, not the emotional issue that Kitahara Masaki initially suspected. However, those who were killed for infidelity were mostly presidents of large companies or wealthy people with huge assets, which is not comparable to this ordinary family.

"You deserve most of the credit for saving this woman in time."

"Really? But it was Kitahara-nii who caught the culprit in the end."

"Haha, the final arrest will naturally be handled by the police, how could it be left to you?"

This case was so normal that it caught Kitahara Masaki off guard. After all, those filial sons who killed people to avoid inheriting hundreds of millions of dollars were just doing it for their own hobbies. But this case, motivated by revenge and hated for exposing the crime, was a rare and normal way of thinking.

"Alright, we've collected both the motive and the evidence. It's dinner time now, so it's time to take you home."

The children, who had been playing all afternoon, were getting sleepy and fell asleep as soon as they sat in the back seat of the car. It was a fulfilling afternoon, you could say.

"Kitahara-kun, you seem to really enjoy playing with these kids."

"Yes, because seeing their carefree appearance allows me to relax a little and also serves as a tribute to my lost childhood."

Arriving in the world of Detective Conan, the days of being an undercover agent are actually the easiest now. Before, Kitahara Maki was basically walking on thin ice in the training camp, and the daily training was almost enough to turn his brain into mush. After the training camp ended, he was thrown into the desert as high-level cannon fodder. He couldn't get a good night's sleep for a single minute every day. In short, he was desperately trying to escape. Because no matter how good your marksmanship is, if you step on an anti-personnel mine when you enter the real battlefield, even if you are a sharpshooter, you will die.

So, having spent the past ten years or so struggling to survive, Kitahara Maki would naturally not have any loyalty to the organization. However, for some reason, the boss believed that he had completely won Yawen Yi's loyalty to him.

“Brother Kitahara, it’s not too late for you to come and play now. We can spend plenty of time with you now that we’re in this situation.”

"Haha, you're one thing, but it would be terrible if I also caught the aura of death on you."

"Ugh—I was trying to comfort you!"

Ai Haibara shook her head. Had the great detective's brain shrunk along with her brain?

Chapter 115 Mickey's Mysterious House

(Get the volume up,

Speeding along the colorless highway.

Turn me on during this stagnant time.

The truth is always blind.

False words also overlap today.

The reason for this urgent desire is clearly visible at the edge of the city sky.

The world is Like a Shooting Star,

If anyone knew my heart's desire, they would be captivated by a dream that is fleeting yet eternal.

If you know my sorrow, you can return to zero—Tears in Lies.

Even knowing the sins of good and evil, one must still look up and lock onto the target...

This song... seems somewhat familiar, but I can't quite place where I've heard it before.

Amuro Tooru listened to the music playing in the bakery and began choosing his breakfast.

"Hmm... let's buy a couple more. It's very likely that Kazama will come to work without having breakfast again. If he has low blood sugar symptoms like last time when he was chasing a criminal, it will be troublesome."

Amuro Tooru stayed up a little late last night to maintain his firearms, so he planned to have bread for breakfast. Coincidentally, a new bakery had opened near the police station, and just by smelling the aroma outside, he knew that the bakery used high-quality ingredients.

This is an evaluation from a pastry chef.

"Miss Nishitani, is this what I want to buy? Please pack these two separately."