No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Kuniyoshi Bunta, this guy's name itself contains the shapes of rectangles, circles, crosses, and triangles.

Chapter 163 Common Phrases That Trigger PTSD

In order to quickly write down the prisoner's name before his death, the detective omitted the character "国" (guo) to "口" (kou). The bottom part of the character "吉" (ji) was also written as a circle to quickly write the name. The characters were changed to crosses. The last character "太" (tai) was probably written as a triangle because of the power outage.

As for why only the bottom half of the last three characters remained, it wasn't because he didn't write the top half, but because the prisoner snatched it away after he finished writing it.

The incident should have unfolded as follows: when the perpetrator stabbed the victim, the victim collapsed onto the escalator step, tightly gripping the evidence in his hand, and simultaneously writing the perpetrator's name with his blood-stained fingers.

Just then, a power outage occurred, and the perpetrator didn't see the message the deceased was writing. So, the perpetrator only took the documents from the cardboard bag, leaving the bag in the deceased's arms. Even after discovering the message after the crime, the power was restored, preventing him from retrieving the bag.

The reason why only the bottom half of the murderer's name was written on the cardboard bag is because the top half was written on the documents. After the murderer took the documents, only the bottom half of the name was left on the cardboard bag.

Therefore, when solving a case, don't get stuck on the details and always think that the deceased left behind some very clever or profound message, because he may have just written down the murderer's name.

He patted Conan on the head, and the great detective actually realized what it meant, as if he had a sudden flash of inspiration.

"Did you train your brain in Hawaii? You can just tap it and have a flash of inspiration, right?"

"Haha, no, although I've flown planes and tanks in Hawaii, I've never tried to develop my brain."

"No, what I mean is that your brain is probably like an old appliance; you can just tap it and it'll work again."

"Hey! We came up with this idea almost at the same time this time. My brain works much faster than old appliances."

Cough!

Inspector Megure noticed that Kitahara Masaki wasn't focused on solving the case and was instead chatting happily with a child, so he quickly reminded him, "Kitahara, this kind of brain-intensive work of solving cases has to be left to you."

After regaining his senses, Kitahara Masaki explained the situation to Inspector Megure, telling him that the murderer the deceased was referring to was a man named Kuniyoshi Bunta, and then went over the reasoning again.

After seeing Inspector Megure lead his men to arrest the person, Conan tugged at Kitahara Masaki's sleeve and asked:

"Brother Kitahara, there's something I want to ask you."

"what's up?"

"Well, today Xiaolan's English teacher taught them a symbol, which is to use multiple crosses (XXX) to represent a certain meaning. But I just can't figure out what it means. However, they said that this is something girls should know, and it is often used at the end of letters."

Kitahara Masaki squinted at Conan and said:

"Are you dating Xiaolan now?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you ask her instead of me? Is your brain rusted? You have such a good opportunity to get to know each other, and you're still playing your reasoning game here."

Conan blushed deeply after hearing Kitahara Masaki's suggestion. "Yeah! How could I not have thought of that? Kitahara Masaki is really experienced. How could I be so stupid? Wouldn't it have been better if I had just asked Ran directly?"

Looking at the kid in front of him whose expression changed many times, Kitahara Masaki understood what the kid was thinking. He sighed and said that the power of love was indeed strong, making even the reasoning that usually stole Conan's soul pale in comparison. However, he guessed that it was only temporary. Conan was one of the eternal blockheads in the world of Conan studies, and it was not so easy to change him.

"Ah! But the unsolved mystery is still frustrating me! What if she refuses to tell me?"

Seeing Conan scratching his head into a mess, Ran was quite concerned and asked:

"Conan, are you feeling unwell? I noticed you looked quite troubled earlier."

"Hehe, Miss Mori, you don't need to worry about him. He's just stumped by the code words the girls are using."

"Oh! It seems this cool kid is still struggling with that puzzle."

Even Judy, who was standing to the side, started teasing the shrunken Grim Reaper. It can only be said that this kid's expression was completely written on her face, and she couldn't hide anything at all.

"Sorry, cool kid, this isn't something children need to know. It's a code that only girls use. But I imagine Officer Kitahara probably receives Miss Evelyn's XXX quite often."

“I used to receive them, but now many of the things she used to say are expressed in a different way. When I ask her why, she doesn’t want to say. Instead, she says things like ‘a secret makes a woman woman’ to brush me off.”

Upon hearing Vermouth's famous quote, Judy shuddered as if she had PTSD, then forced a smile and, unable to hide her eagerness, asked Kitahara Masaki:

"Eh, when did Miss Evelyn start saying that?"

"Ah, I asked her too, and she said it was something a friend of hers liked to say because it sounded like it made her a more mature person, so she just used it."

"Could it be that Miss Evelyn wants to make her speaking style more mature?"

"Yes, I've thought about that possibility, but in reality she's always been clumsy. Even if her speaking style changes, it won't hide her personality."

Judy swallowed hard and continued her rambling question:

"Haha, Officer Kitahara, have you ever considered that Evelyn might have been replaced by another, more mature lady?"

Upon hearing this question, Kitahara Masaki knew that Judy had taken the bait, but he wasn't in a hurry to answer. He simply gave Judy a 'I think you understand' smile and then gestured with his eyes that there were elementary school students and high school students present.

“Ms. Judy, if you’re going to make a joke, please watch out for these children.”

"Oh! That's true. Even though you're a teacher, you've still brought American influences with you. I'm really sorry."

Ran, Sonoko, and Conan looked at Kitahara Masaki and Jodie. These minors had no idea what the two adults were implying, and just stared at them blankly.

However, Conan immediately realized that Kitahara Masaki was definitely acting; otherwise, why would he be chatting with an English teacher?

Could it be that this English teacher...

She was his lover!

P.S. XXX stands for "mua".

Chapter 164 Fishing Bar: It Has Everything Besides Fish

At this moment, Inspector Megure also brought the criminal down. After all, they had identified a certain name and found bloodstained documents in the shredder. All the evidence left this guy, who had embezzled public funds and killed someone in public, with no room for defense. He lowered his head and followed Inspector Megure into the police car.

"That concludes today's case. You can all go home now. Goodbye."

Without saying anything more to Judith, Kitahara Masaki got into the police car and left.

"Ms. Judy, what were you and Kitahara talking about just now? Why did you apologize just because Kitahara smiled?"

"Haha, this is not something you minors need to know. Just make good use of XXX first."

Judy now understands that Evelyn, as Kitahara Masaki's bedmate, couldn't possibly be Vermouth in disguise. So who exactly is Evelyn's friend? Could she possibly be Vermouth? But a single catchphrase doesn't prove anything. However, considering Evelyn's background, it seems suspicious. If she is Evelyn's friend, she is most likely American, and being connected to the Lauder family, this friend must be someone of considerable importance.

With these thoughts still unresolved, Judy followed after Kitahara Masaki and asked:

"Officer Kitahara, I wonder where Miss Evelyn is now? I think we had a lot of fun at the arcade last time, so I was wondering if there would be another chance to hang out with her again. After all, we had so much fun last time that I forgot to ask for her phone number."

Kitahara Masaki remained calm and simply replied:

"She's gone on another trip and probably won't be back for a while. After all, this is her first time in Japan, so she's putting extra effort into her travels. If you want to find her, I'll let you know when she gets back."

Kitahara Masaki then gave his phone number to Judy, seemingly forgetting that there was another option: 'Kitahara Masaki can give Judy Evelyn's phone number.' After exchanging phone numbers, Kitahara Masaki didn't give Judy any time to think, said goodbye, and drove away.

If Judy asks for Evelyn's phone number later, just brush it off with an excuse like "my girlfriend doesn't like having decisions made for her without her consent."

Because Judy now has two clues about Vermouth—one is her fingerprints, and the other is her famous quote (A secret makes a woman woman). Since the first clue has already been used on Evelyn and the fingerprints did not match, when the second clue suddenly appears, Judy will naturally bite the hook like a fish that has only seen bait.

Next, you can lure Shuichi Akai to her side by guiding her whereabouts, at which point you can notify Tooru Amuro to come and arrest him.

So hopefully Jodie can step up her game, otherwise she won't be able to impress Shuichi Akai.

Over the next few days, Kitahara Masaki either went to learn magic from Kuroba Kaito or went to the set of "Women's Police Counterattack" to see how the four actresses formerly known as the "Earth Ladies Team" were doing.

After all, this is his first work as a screenwriter. Although it was written based on his memories from his previous life, and the details were improved by professional screenwriters, he has the final say.

Learning magic was something Kitahara Masaki had always wanted to do; after all, learning to cheat at cards might come in handy later. He also wanted to learn card throwing, so he could use playing cards as projectiles. Since these techniques involved many small steps, Kitahara Masaki learned very quickly after Kaito taught him. Especially now that Kitahara Masaki could use various card-cutting techniques, he was becoming increasingly adept at playing cards.

During this time, he discussed many things with Kaito about the zoo and his father. Although Kitahara Masaki knew that Kuroba Toichi was the pinnacle of magicians in "Magic Kaito," he only truly understood how formidable the first Phantom Thief Kid was after gaining a deeper understanding of him.

He once outwitted MI6, stealing royal jewels and donating the crown to charity. He also sold the chieftain's gems in a desert country to buy clean water and food for the local poor.

So when Kaito appeared as the second Phantom Thief Kid, MI6 sent people to Japan to assist in the investigation, but they were driven back by the Public Security Bureau.

Besides learning magic from Kaito and sharing past secrets, he also met with Koizumi Akako and Nakamori Aoko. To be honest, Kitahara Masaki didn't want to meet this witch who could actually use magic. The world of Detective Conan was still in the fantasy stage, but suddenly a character from Western fantasy appeared. What's more, this witch could use all sorts of strange magic—such as chocolate that could capture people's hearts, a magic mirror that could perform divination, and even a magic furnace that could summon Lucifer.

Fortunately, as a woman who knew when to advance and retreat, she did not interfere in any of Kitahara Maki's affairs, but simply left a note that read, "Don't corrupt Kaito."

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

Judy sighed as she watched Kitahara Masaki pull a bouquet of flowers from a handkerchief. Kitahara's vibrant and fulfilling life left Judy, who was monitoring him, feeling somewhat helpless. After solving the 'Square, Circle, Cross, Triangle' case, Judy had been racking her brains trying to figure out how to get close to Kitahara and get him to inquire about Evelyn's friend. However, she couldn't find a good excuse. She was just an English teacher who loved video games; the idea of ​​her caring about a police officer's girlfriend's friend was simply too strange and would only arouse suspicion.

This awkward situation left her with no choice but to monitor Kitahara Masaki after finishing her teacher's work, hoping to discover something.

"It would be troublesome if I didn't handle this well and Officer Kitahara became suspicious of my intentions and identity."

As for Judy, she is still an unidentified FBI agent, and it would be troublesome if she were suspected by a famous Japanese police officer.

Unexpectedly, Kitahara Masaki is now Jiang Ziya, catching fish with a straight hook without any bait.

"Hey! What?! Okay, I'm coming right now!"

Judy watched as Kitahara Masaki immediately said goodbye to the magician boy after finishing the phone call and drove away. Judging from his anxious appearance, something must have happened again.

Hmm... Has the safety situation in Japan declined a bit lately? There weren't so many murders when I came here before.

While Judy was internally complaining, she was thinking about how she might just have a chance encounter at the murder scene, completely unaware of the tiny drone overhead that was no bigger than a palm.

Chapter 165 The Bull Warrior Will Never Take Off His Mask

"Wow, this is really tragic. What deep-seated grudge could they have committed?"

After receiving a call from Inspector Megure, Kitahara Masaki rushed to the scene. The deceased was found dead in the break room, surrounded by blood. He had been stabbed three times in the back, chest, and abdomen, and was bleeding profusely. The smell emanating from the enclosed break room was unbearable.

"Hmm, but why was the deceased only wearing underwear?"

"Kitahara-senpai, the deceased's name is Nagase Hyota. He's a member of the Imperial Capital Wrestling Association, and he's been quite popular lately. The stab wound to the chest was the fatal one. We also found a video camera at the scene, which clearly captured the entire process of the murderer's attack."

"video recorder?"

When Takagi brought over the video camera as evidence, Kitahara Masaki looked around and found that there were indeed familiar faces.

"This video recorder must have been discovered by Conan."

"That's right. Conan even helped us protect the scene before we arrived, saying that he learned it from you, Kitahara-senpai."

Hehe, this time it's Kitahara Masaki's turn to be dumbfounded. These things weren't taught to Conan by Kitahara Masaki, but rather Conan learned them on his own in Hawaii.

"This is truly an honor... but what's with this video recorder?"

"Ah, according to our preliminary investigation, the video recorder has the logo of Nichiri TV. This is a new program launched by the executives of the Imperial Capital Wrestling Association in cooperation with Nichiri TV. They say that they film the wrestlers' pre-match preparations and then select the footage to broadcast on television."

"Did they get the wrestlers' consent?"

"Well, when I asked them this question, they all hesitated and gave vague answers, saying things like the contestants would definitely agree for higher exposure."