No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Officer, I'm not feeling well and would like to go to the hospital."

The police officer looked at the man, who was coughing up his lungs, with a troubled expression.

"Since so many people have already given statements, it doesn't really matter if I'm one less or one more."

"Oh, no, sir. Our inspector says there might be accomplices of the robbers among the passengers. Don't worry, you can leave once we confirm your identities."

Shuichi Akai was shocked. When did the notoriously lazy Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department become so efficient?

"Haha, actually, if it were before, I would have let you go long ago, but the current Inspector Kitahara is a very serious superior."

"Won't your workload be very heavy?"

"No, a lot of the work has been handed over to the newly hired clerks. We mainly need to write documents when dealing with these criminal cases."

In other words, Kitahara Masaki secretly helped the Metropolitan Police Department make systematic improvements. The possibility that such a person is an undercover agent for the organization... No! Perhaps this is what he was thinking: by improving the efficiency of the Metropolitan Police Department, he could obtain more intelligence!

Little did they know that this was merely Kitahara Maki's effort to escape clerical work.

However, Shuichi Akai needs to think about how to get out of this situation. If he ends up in the police station, it will be difficult to get out. As an ace investigator of the FBI, it would be a laughing stock if he were reduced to needing bail to get out.

"Ahem, officer, could you let me out to buy a face mask when we pass by the convenience store?"

"Oh, that's no problem."

The naive police officer didn't suspect that Shuichi Akai would run away, and even kindly asked him if he had any change.

Unfortunately, Shuichi Akai took advantage of the officer's distraction and slipped out the back door of the convenience store. It wasn't until ten minutes later that the officer realized something was wrong.

"Inspector Kitahara! Someone has escaped!"

"He escaped? How did he escape? Did he assault a police officer?"

“He didn’t assault a police officer. He said he wanted to buy a mask, and I noticed he was coughing quite badly, so I let him go buy it. Then he ran away when I wasn’t looking!”

Ah... How could Kitahara Masaki not shed tears at this? A teammate that even a god couldn't save!

"It's alright, you should have gotten his ID photo by now, right? I remember you were the ones who were tasked with verifying the passenger's identity."

"Oh! That's right, as long as we have his picture, we won't have any trouble finding him!"

The Metropolitan Police Department currently holds a photo of Yukihiro Kato, not Shuichi Akai. They only look somewhat alike, but the details don't match up at all. Therefore, Masaki Kitahara felt a deep sense of powerlessness towards this officer who actually thought, "With a photo, he can't escape." There are many people like him in the Metropolitan Police Department. It's not that they turn a blind eye to crime, nor that they are not serious about their work; they are just too simple-minded and unable to multitask.

Even though they had already 'captured' Shuichi Akai, they still let him escape. It didn't feel like anything special. In fact, if they had caught him so easily, it would have made people feel like they were being tricked.

From the very beginning, Kitahara Masaki deliberately avoided getting too close to Akai Shuichi to avoid the Red Team's strange intuition. He basically treated him as a possible, potential accomplice of the robbers, without giving him any special treatment. That's why Akai Shuichi had the opportunity to escape from ordinary police officers.

However—perhaps his escape is actually a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Because knowing how to report people appropriately is one of the qualities of a qualified insider.

Chapter 135 Learn to Report Properly; Insiders Are Responsible

"Oh, Officer Kitahara, it was you who contacted us first. What information have you obtained this time?"

Kitahara Masaki shook his head dejectedly, then took a stack of documents from his briefcase and handed them to Amuro Tooru.

"A bus hijacking? Oh, I've heard about it too. I heard that three jewelry robbers hijacked a bus to get the police to release their leader. In the end, it was all resolved satisfactorily, wasn't it? All three robbers were killed, and the robber leader's crime was compounded."

"Sigh, that's just what they say. In reality, I think those three robbers were just three small fish, but because of my officers' negligence, a big fish got away."

"A big fish?"

"Yes, he used a fake identity. The photo on the photo did not quite match his real appearance. We confirmed that his identity was indeed fake after comparing his whereabouts."

"Is that so? There aren't many people in Japan who use fake identities. Even many gangsters who have fled to avoid punishment or retired from the underworld simply don't show their faces in public. It takes a lot of effort to create a fake identity... So you want us to investigate the staff in charge of identity information? It's only convenient for us police to investigate that."

Kitahara Masaki took a sip of wine with a heavy expression, then took out one of the documents. The photo on it surprised Amuro Tooru, even through his disguised disguise.

"Officer Kitahara, what's this?"

"This man is the big fish I mentioned that got away. Although his photo on the identification information is fake, his face was seen by the police officer who questioned him. So, we drew this picture based on that officer's memory."

Amuro Tooru remained silent for a long time, his hand holding the photocopy of the sketch trembling slightly, before continuing in a deep voice to ask:

"Officer Kitahara, this man is likely involved in a certain incident, so are you sure he really looks like that?"

"Of course, this is the portrait I had the police officer draw that day, there's absolutely no mistake. And the basis for me thinking he's a big fish is that he kept pretending to cough and never took off his mask. A normal person would probably be so scared that they couldn't breathe if they encountered a sudden event like a bus hijacking, but according to the testimonies of other passengers, this man never took off his mask, which means that his breathing was completely smooth, not like a patient should be."

Shuichi Akai!

Having heard so much corroborating evidence, Amuro Tooru finally understood who this big fish really was. Most importantly, this clear frontal portrait, apart from the fact that the hair had become short, and those dark green eyes were imprinted in Amuro Tooru's mind.

Several years ago, Amuro Tooru and his childhood friend Morofushi Hiromitsu were both undercover agents sent by the Japanese Public Security Bureau into the Black Organization, with Morofushi Hiromitsu's codename being Scotch. Later, after his identity was exposed, he committed suicide with a revolver before the organization could ask him for his name, fearing that his friends and family would be implicated.

As for Amuro Tooru, what he witnessed was that Akai Shuichi, who was also an undercover agent in the organization, killed his best friend with a single, fatal shot, leaving him no room for maneuver.

After that, Amuro Tooru continued to investigate Shuichi Akai's case and later learned that he was an undercover agent sent by the FBI. However, the hatred in his heart made him unable to let go of that matter—that he killed Hiromitsu Morofushi!

Now, Amuro Tooru has been sent to Japan by the organization on a mission, and he has also taken on the duties of the Public Security Bureau. He originally thought that he would never see Akai Shuichi again, and could only put aside his resentment towards him for the sake of national security, but now...

"Thank you, Officer Kitahara. This man's true identity is an extremely dangerous armed man. He could lose his life if he is not careful. I guess he was involved in the bus robbery and had no choice but to escape in this way in order to avoid attracting attention."

"Oh? If you could, could you tell me who he is? There can't be many people who can make Inspector Sasae so emotionally affected."

Upon hearing this, Amuro Tooru realized that he had revealed his hatred for Akai Shuichi. He quickly calmed down and replied:

"This is a confidential matter, and I ask that you keep the details confidential. In short, I hope that the Metropolitan Police Department can hand over the task of investigating this person to our Public Security Bureau."

Kitahara Masaki sighed, as if giving up on something:

"Actually, I wanted you to help me find this guy, the officer who let him escape. He's currently facing the risk of suspension... But since Officer Sasae insists, I can't bring it up anymore."

"You've already said everything!" Amuro Tooru said helplessly, cursing Kitahara Masaki in his heart. Kitahara Masaki was a nice guy during TV interviews, but when he was making deals with the Public Security Bureau, he acted like a shrewd businessman. He was a cunning old fox who was unwilling to suffer losses.

"This man must be involved with a lot of people, so I don't think Officer Kitahara will let this opportunity pass him by."

"Of course! I just don't know if the police are willing to give me such an opportunity."

Amuro Tooru no longer wanted to negotiate with Kitahara Masaki; he just wanted to find out where the man had run off to. Although there was now a 90% chance of finding out where he was, Amuro Tooru wanted to be 100% certain!

"No problem. I think our cooperation has always been so smooth that it won't be ruined by something like this."

After taking all the information about the bus robbery, Amuro Tooru paid the bill and left, clearly in a hurry. Kitahara Masaki, on the other hand, stayed in the bar a little longer before leaving.

They left, laughing wildly.

Most of the information given to Amuro Tooru was true. The fact that the police officer let him escape from the convenience store due to negligence was true. All the information was true, except for that portrait.

That's right, the portrait was forged by Kitahara Masaki, but the man's identity was indeed Akai Shuichi, so it wasn't actually fake.

This means that Shuichi Akai did not remove his mask when questioned by the police. He kept wearing a mask to hide his true face. However, Masaki Kitahara, who had met him once in New York, naturally knew what he looked like, so he gave the drawing to Tooru Amuro.

Unexpectedly, the effect was so good that Amuro Tooru was completely convinced that this man was Akai Shuichi, and he would definitely mobilize the Public Security Bureau to find Akai Shuichi in the future.

As a result, the FBI naturally had no spare capacity to investigate the true identities of Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth.

This could be considered a case of using one tiger to devour another. It would be hilarious if Shuichi Akai were actually caught by the Public Security Bureau in the end. It would be ridiculous for an ace investigator to be reduced to using diplomatic means to escape Japanese legal sanctions.

Chapter 136 The sheepdog is called Conan

Wow! What an adorable dog! What's its name?

The little devils were petting the dog, their satisfied expressions were truly hilarious, and the Shiba Inu kept licking Ayumi's face.

"Haha, its name is Arthur, which is taken from Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes."

"Ah! Then this dog can form a detective duo with Conan!"

Ayumi's words left Conan speechless. He sadly realized that his status as a handsome detective was only recognized by Ran. Even these kids thought he was on par with a puppy... No! I'm a man with a girlfriend. How can I feel down about something like this? If I just give up like this, am I supposed to face Ran like this in the future?!

Seeing Conan's mood fluctuating between low and high, Ai Haibara couldn't help but worry that she might have been too harsh on him, resulting in his current frightening mental state.

"No! I can solve cases all by myself! I will prove it one day!"

"Don't be so picky, girls just have more vivid imaginations!"

"Can you please stop hoping for this? Some people can't even be dogs."

Hearing Mitsuhiko and Genta's outrageous words, Conan couldn't even say "yes, yes, yes, yes."

"Haha, you guys play with Arthur first, I'm going to pick up Kitahara-nii."

Amused, Ai Haibara ran off to find Masaki Kitahara. It was Sunday, several days after the bus robbery. Because of that case, Haibara had become close to Vermouth, the two acting like best friends. However, Vermouth didn't know that this mature-looking girl was actually Sherry, whom she disliked, and Haibara didn't know that this beautiful, well-endowed older sister was the Vermouth she feared. Watching the two chat so enthusiastically, Masaki Kitahara didn't know what to say.

You can't exactly say something like you're jealous and that's why you're preventing Vermouth from talking to Haibara anymore; that kind of obviously false lie is just too stupid.

After some time of reflection, Kitahara Masaki decided to take on the role of the safety valve. Whether Vermouth discovered Haibara's identity or Haibara saw through Vermouth's disguise, Kitahara Masaki had to handle these matters personally. After all, he was the one who had been hiding their true identities, and he was confident that he could prevent things from escalating to such a bad state.

They came today at Professor Agasa's invitation. His friend, Hiroki Koyama, is moving to the UK and plans to give away all his belongings. He also has several dogs and cats, so he wanted to ask a few more people if they were interested in adopting pets.

"Sister Evelyn, what kind of pet do you like?"

"Hehe, as long as Masaki is willing to be my pet, that's enough."

"But I don't think Kitahara-nii is that kind of person."

"Of course, how could I possibly be interested in a man who only wants to be a pet?"

Hearing this dangerous conversation, Kitahara Masaki quickly stopped them.

"Ahem, we're going to be in front of strangers soon, so let's not talk about such unusual topics. Quickly think about whether you should get a cat or a dog."

Haibara quickly led the two to the house of Professor Agasa's friend, where several other guests had already arrived.

"Excuse me, are you Officer Kitahara Masaki?"

"Yes, I am Kitahara Masaki, and I am currently resting. I don't want to attract too much attention, so please treat me as an ordinary guest."

"Yes! Ah, okay, Mr. Kitahara, please feel free to look around. If you see anything you like in the room, just let me know and you can take it. After all, I'm leaving Japan soon, so I don't need to take these things with me. The most important thing is that I want to find good homes for my cats and dogs. By the way, let me introduce these three guests to you."

Kitahara Masaki nodded. Only Professor Agasa and his friend knew that he was here today. The other guests assumed that Kitahara Masaki, who was wearing a mask, was also there to pick up bargains.

"This is Mr. Yoshio Tsunashima, whom I met at the dog club. And this is Mr. Kitahara, a public official."

"This is Ms. Tosa Rin, whom I met at the dog club."

"This last one is my fiancée, Ms. Renki Shino. She will be traveling with me to the UK later, where we will hold our wedding ceremony."

After listening to Professor Agasa's friend's introduction, Kitahara Masaki suddenly noticed that there were exactly three unfamiliar faces gathered here, and Conan was also present. So—immediately stack three eight-star monsters and Xyz Summon NO.88 Mechanical Puppet - Lion of Destiny!

Oh no, I should say that there's a high probability of another murder.

Looking at Koyama Hiroki's house, it wasn't big, only two stories, so even if something happened, it would be known immediately, and with so many people present... something would probably still happen.