No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Okay, no problem. Thank you for your patronage."

Amuro Tooru saw the shop assistant's name tag—Nishitani Rinka—and initially thought she was just a shop assistant, but then a shop assistant ran out from inside and said:

"Manager! Leave the cashier work to me."

"It's okay, just bring out the freshly baked egg tarts first."

"Oh fine."

The store manager? The girl in front of me with the perfect smile is actually the store manager. No wonder the store has many types of bread that only young people would like.

"Haha, you must be surprised that the manager of this store is so young, right?"

"No, the success of a store depends on the skill level of the manager and bakers; age is not an important factor."

"It's wonderful that you say that. Since we're a new store opening, we're having a promotion. If you get a VIP card now, you can enjoy a 20% discount in the future."

Amuro Tooru naturally declined with a smile. He would never do something like getting a VIP card; the fewer things in his wallet that could reveal his whereabouts, the better.

Watching Amuro Tooru leave with the bread, Rinka Nishitani said, "Welcome back next time," and then didn't look at him again.

Besides disguise, Vermouth also taught her acting skills. At this time, although she had opened a brand-new bakery with the help of Kitahara Masaki, because it was not far from the police station, she still had to accept the task given to her by Kitahara Masaki—to find out the whereabouts of the Public Security Bureau through communication.

The thought that she had stepped into a bottomless pit made Rinka Nishitani feel a stomachache, but since they had also obtained evidence of her crimes, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue.

As a public security officer with Amuro Tooru's status, he naturally wouldn't enter through the main gate. In fact, he wouldn't even go into the police headquarters. He went to meet Kazama in front of a convenience store he had arranged to meet beforehand. He had met Kazama at a coffee shop before, and if he went there too many times, his face might be remembered. Apart from his workplace, he didn't want more ordinary people to remember his face.

Good morning, Mr. Amuro.

Good morning, Kazama. Have you had breakfast yet?

"Uh, not yet, I'll go in a bit..."

Amuro Tooru took out two pieces of bread from his hand and handed them to Kazama.

"Eat quickly, then tell me your thoughts. This is an order from your boss."

If he didn't say that, he would probably make excuses again, so to avoid meaningless conversation, Amuro Tooru stopped talking to him.

"Mmm! It's delicious!"

Really? If the taste is good, I can go to that shop occasionally in the future to see what secrets they have for making pastries and bread, as nourishment to enrich my own part-time job skills.

"Kazama, so to what extent has the investigation of the Tsukuyomi hacker's confession progressed?"

"Yes, Mr. Amuro, we have verified most of the statements from the Metropolitan Police Department. Much of the intelligence is correct. The hacker was indeed not lying. Friction between the Hojo Alliance in Kanto and the Yoshikawa Alliance in Kansai is becoming increasingly apparent. The Yoshikawa Alliance in Kansai has sent a man named Tozawa as their vanguard, and he has already caused damage to several bars belonging to the Hojo Alliance. They are even using shell companies to engage in usury by driving debtors to their deaths."

"Did you drive a debtor to suicide?"

"Yes, the loan agreement states that insurance will be purchased for the borrower, and then those who cannot repay on time are driven to suicide—then the lending company, as the beneficiary, can receive a compensation payment."

asshole!

This method, even more cruel than killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, was a deadly move prepared by the Kansai underworld in order to invade the Kanto region.

"What about the related loan shark companies?"

"The leader of Tsukuyomi gave us information that three loan shark companies had completely disappeared. By the time our people arrived at the scene, the place was deserted. We've already started with clues from the banks, and we believe we'll be able to freeze their accounts in China soon."

"Besides this, what other useful intelligence did the hacker produce?"

Kazama gave a wry smile after hearing the question and said:

"His first condition was that Officer Kitahara should not interrogate him."

Amuro Tooru paused for a moment, then sneered:

"Then the Metropolitan Police Department should definitely ask Officer Kitahara to interrogate him."

"Yes, and then Officer Kitahara seemed to have used some rather special methods to break down his psychological defenses. He then revealed the reason for the internal strife within the Hojo Alliance—the Suminoe Association was extremely dissatisfied with the Hojo Alliance's attitude of taking a beating without fighting back, and bought some weapons from the Ross people, some very dangerous weapons!"

Heavy weapons? It seems the Suminoe-kai wants to decide the outcome directly and take over the role of the Hojo Alliance. The Suminoe-kai has been making a lot of moves lately, and the reasons for this are still unclear. However, the police have not yet found any conclusive evidence.

"Is there any other information?"

"There are also some that are not so high priority, and we will check them one by one next."

"Okay, the briefing will be sent to my email later. Right now, the top priority is to prevent a direct war between the two major alliances."

Amuro Tooru did not mention that he was looking for decisive evidence to force the two major yakuza alliances to withdraw, because these two yakuza alliances were originally the work of Japanese members of parliament. After all, how could yakuza with wicked intentions form an alliance without the push of someone behind the scenes?

Given this situation, Amuro Tooru, as a public security officer, could only place his hopes on people in the future.

Chapter 116 The Science-Based Diviner

While Amuro Tooru was working hard to resolve the dispute, Kitahara Masaki was still slacking off. However, one day he received a letter from a woman named Su Fang Hongzi, inviting him to attend a charity gala for children who had lost their families in a car accident. Su Fang Hongzi was the organizer of the event.

On the eve of the gala, a banquet will be held at the female host's villa to allow guests to get to know each other in advance. If you want to attend the charity gala, you must first attend the banquet held at the host's house.

These pampered, wealthy people spend a lot of money on appearances when it comes to charity, but it's hard to say how much of it is genuinely intended to help the children. However, since the goal is to do good, let's not question their sincerity.

Kitahara Masaki naturally supports these truly beneficial charity galas, but whether the funds ultimately reach their intended destinations remains a question...

So, with that in mind, Kitahara Masaki called Conan to ask if he had received an invitation, and the answer was yes.

"Looks like I'm destined to be busy. That villa will probably be thrown into chaos soon because of your arrival. This is forcing me to attend the banquet."

"What's wrong? Kitahara-nii, did you also receive Su Fang Hongzi's invitation?"

"Yes, but more than that, I think you should stick to your detective persona."

Because Conan has been criticized so much, he has become resistant to the Grim Reaper trope and seems to be getting used to being the one who triggers cases. As for someone like Kitahara Masaki who is good at reading people, I have to remind him not to give up on treatment, not to tear off his detective identity in front of the world, and to continue to insist on the conclusion that 'he is not the Grim Reaper'.

"Damn it, it's all your and Haibara's fault! And now all the requests I get from Mr. Amuro are about finding cats and dogs, or missing elderly people. I've almost forgotten that I'm a detective!"

"Well, you're just interns, and since you're minors, he'll only give you simple and safe assignments. But once you're adults, he might give you some different assignments..."

"What commission?"

"Haha, cases of finding mistresses are the most common cases that detectives receive."

Although these kinds of cases are generally time-consuming and labor-intensive, once decisive evidence is found, clients are very generous with their money. After all, most people who hire detectives to find mistresses are wealthy. So, Uncle Mori may seem to be always idle, drinking and gambling on horses, but it's precisely because of these kinds of cases that his detective agency is able to survive.

"What?! That's not like a detective's job at all!!! I want to be a criminal investigation consultant like Sherlock Holmes!"

"Hmm... Good luck then. See if you can find a doctor to be your Watson first."

After hanging up the phone, Kitahara Masaki naturally contacted Su Fang Hongzi, who was on the invitation, to express that he would also attend the dinner and do his part for the children.

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

A few days later, Kitahara Maki drove alone to Su Fang Hongzi's villa to attend a dinner party. He listened to MJ's songs on the way and drove slowly on the empty highway. It just so happened that it was winter and snowy, even though the TV had been talking about the autumn harvest just two days before.

Su Fang Hongzi's villa is located in the suburbs of Tokyo, a place far from the hustle and bustle of the city. However, after Uncle Mori and Conan's visit, Kitahara Masaki believed that even the quietest places would become lively.

In the end, one of them will come out in handcuffs.

Not far away, a log blocked the road. After seeing that there was a vast expanse of snow on both sides and sending out a drone to scout the area, Kitahara Maki got out of the car to check what was going on.

"Never assist Su Fang Hongzi's charity gala, or you will regret your choice. —The Messenger of the Cursed Mask."

After reading what was essentially a threatening letter, Kitahara Masaki scratched his head. Why do murderers these days like to use such fancy tricks? And the name "Cursed Masked Messenger" is just too awkward; it has absolutely no element of frightening anyone.

It would be more interesting if the crossbeam blocking the road had the inscription "Pang Juan died under this tree." Making a letter from newspaper clippings is just too low-class.

After removing the crossbar, Kitahara Maki naturally continued driving forward. He didn't want to get involved in trouble, but as a righteous "Officer Kitahara," how could he let this threatening letter scare him away?

Upon arriving at Su Fanghongzi's villa, compared to the elegance of the European-style villas I had seen before, this villa possessed more of the eerie atmosphere of a European castle. Even a single streetlamp had an angel embedded in it, holding up a luminous dome. The main gate leading to the courtyard was wide enough for a truck to pass through, but it was currently blocked by heavy snow.

"Kitahara-nii!"

"It's been a long time, Ms. Mori. And little Conan too."

"The little one is superfluous, and besides, didn't we just see each other yesterday!"

"Haha, you guys have such a good relationship."

Cough!

Uncle Mori took out a letter and handed it to Kitahara Masaki, asking:

“Officer Kitahara, we encountered a log blocking the intersection, and there’s a threatening letter on it.”

Kitahara Masaki took it and looked at it, and also took out the letter written by a patient with severe chuunibyou.

"Hmm, it seems we've all received the same letter."

"What! Could it be that someone wants us to leave this place?"

Kitahara Masaki smiled and replied:

"The real question should be who wanted us to come here."

"why?"

"After seeing this kind of threatening letter that's like a prank, a police officer and a detective would probably be even more eager to come here."

"I see."

"But so far we've only seen guests who were invited like us, but we haven't seen any of the hosts."

Among those invited were a world-traveling photographer, a baseball home run king, and a popular tarot card reader. Unfortunately, the reader's name wasn't Klein; she was a young woman.

"This house gives off an ominous feeling; I sense that a great disaster is about to occur."

After speaking, the female fortune teller drew a tarot card—the 'Tower' card. Her cool, aloof expression uttered words that sounded like those of a prophet…

Could it be that she really can tell fortunes? Did she use yellow crystals or coins to perform a divination before even entering the villa?

Whatever the reason that led her to this conclusion, Kitahara Masaki was very interested in this young lady who seemed to have drunk a magic potion, even more so than in the chuunibyou patient.

Conan saw all the men in the room staring at the fortune teller with shining eyes, and couldn't help but sigh—men are all big pigs.

Chapter 117 Landry's Torture

However, since they are all adults, they would look away after a few glances. Only Uncle Mori kept staring at the young lady, which made Ran give him another punch.

"Speaking of which, there are two doors to get into the villa. I wonder which door we should go through?"

As soon as the words were spoken, both doors opened, and a maid walked out from each door. They looked almost identical, and unlike Rem and Ram, they couldn't be distinguished by their hair color. They were probably sisters.

"A warm welcome to all of you."

"A warm welcome to all of you."