No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Yes, it's Conan and his friends..."

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Masaki sighed, then hung up the phone, put his gun back in its holster, and delivered a flying punch to the kidnapper's face, sending him spinning 360 degrees in the air before crashing to the ground.

"No, officer, why did you hit me!"

The kidnapper, whose speech was already slurred from being punched, begged for mercy loudly.

"Why? There are no so many whys. You're too ugly, which makes me uncomfortable. Is that reason enough? I think it's more than enough."

When Takagi and Chiba arrived at the factory, all they saw was a guy with a head full of bumps and Kitahara Maki sitting to the side, seemingly contemplating life.

Chapter 169 A Melancholy Birthday

"Oh ho, so the hostage is actually that brat named Conan?"

"Yeah, that group of kids went to visit their friend, and in order to let him go to the amusement park the day before he was discharged from the hospital, they had Conan pretend to be a patient. But when the kidnappers went to the hospital, they kidnapped Conan instead. So, by some twist of fate, everyone thought that the sick child had been kidnapped, but actually, it was that detective kid who was kidnapped. What's most infuriating is that after that detective kid was locked up, he escaped by using the ventilation duct in the ceiling, leaving me with nothing and ruining a pair of gloves and shoes."

"It sounds like the police officers in the First Investigation Division have a really tough job, at least tougher than those in the Second Investigation Division."

Kitahara Masaki looked at the young man beside him, who was now dressed as Phantom Thief Kid, shrugged, and replied:

"But Inspector Nakamori is also pitiful. Not only was he completely fooled by you, but you also tricked him out of his daughter."

"Hey, Kitahara-kun, Aoko and I aren't in that kind of relationship!"

Kitahara Masaki gave him a 'I don't believe you' look, then waved and headed to the museum that was responsible for exhibiting India's largest sapphire—Blue Birthday.

Today, a sapphire that was originally in the possession of a high-caste noble in India has somehow ended up at an exhibition in Japan. Kitahara Masaki investigated the reason for this and found that the story was quite interesting. It turns out that a Brahmin wearing this gem went to a poor area, but when he found that a Vaishya refused to kneel down and pay his respects, the Brahmin became so angry that he burned down the poor man's house, declaring that people of noble blood are not afraid of fire.

Then, the Vaishya planted a homemade bomb in the high-caste man's car while delivering seafood. The consequences weren't as simple as killing the Brahmin; the homemade bomb wasn't very powerful, so it only killed the driver. The terrified Brahmin was dragged from the car by the Vaishya and taken to an open sandy area.

Then the Vaishya started a live stream, doused the Brahmin with gasoline, and set him on fire. The sapphire, however, remained undamaged and was taken by the Vaishya and sold to a local neon gem merchant.

After much wrangling, the Indian authorities used the sapphire to exchange for the Vaishya, and thus—the largest sapphire in India came to be exhibited at the Mihua Museum.

In short, when Kaito saw that this world-famous gem had come to Japan, he was determined to find out if it was Pandora. Most importantly, the people from the zoo would definitely come too. They had already made contact several times before, and that guy named Snake would try to kill him whenever he had the chance. Just thinking about how those people had pressured his father in the same way eight years ago made him furious. However, after Kitahara Masaki promised to help him, he felt much more confident.

"By the way, Kitahara-kun, didn't you check how that Indian pearl came to Japan? Did you find out anything?"

"Ah, that's because the Indian authorities want to develop more cooperation with Japan, so they sent this gem over."

Kaito spoke through his earpiece, saying he didn't believe such an excuse, but he was too lazy to ask any further questions. After all, if Kitahara Maki wasn't willing to say, it meant he didn't need to know.

After my performance tonight, I still need to celebrate Qingzi's birthday.

As Kaito began his preparations, Kitahara Masaki arrived at the entrance of the Beika Museum. Because he had informed Inspector Nakamori in advance, the middle-aged man was already waiting for him at the gate.

"Haha, Inspector Kitahara, with you here, I'm sure Kid will be caught!"

"Haha, Inspector Nakamori, I don't know the process of solving theft cases, nor do I know Kid's modus operandi. I just came here to see Kid's magic show. You don't need to care about me so much."

"Ahem, it's not that I'm arrogant, but Inspector Nakamori has been tracking Kid for so many years that I know Kid's style very well now. But before we say more, can I confirm that you're not Kid in disguise?"

Kitahara Masaki pinched his cheek hard, and his face immediately turned red. At this moment, Inspector Nakamori finally felt relieved and handed Kitahara Masaki a device that looked like night vision goggles, indicating that he should put it on first.

After Kitahara Masaki put on these special glasses, he saw a net-like pattern of light.

"Those are laser beams, and not ordinary laser fibers. Any object that touches them will be blasted away the moment it comes into contact with them. Add to that this unbreakable special alloy fence, and Kidd, as a mere mortal, has no way of breaking through these two lines of defense."

Kitahara Masaki looked at Inspector Nakamori, who was constantly setting himself up for failure, and couldn't help but find it amusing. The person in question lived right next door, yet after all these years, he still hadn't realized it. What a pity.

"Ah, Kid is inside!"

At this moment, Kaito also began his operation, throwing an inflatable doll through a small hole in the ceiling into the fence.

To the officers of the Second Investigation Division, it seemed as if Kid had already sneaked in to steal the jewels. Inspector Nakamori waved his hand and shouted:

"Quickly shut down the mechanism, then go and capture Kidd!"

When Kitahara Masaki watched as the inspector shut down the numerous mechanisms that could have protected the jewels, and then sent a bunch of police officers to arrest an inflatable doll, he felt that the First and Second Investigation Divisions seemed to have completely different styles; this one was more like a comedy.

As expected, Kidd, disguised as a police officer, easily stole the jewel.

"Heh, Inspector Nakamori, as stated in the notice—I'll accept this melancholy birthday gift!"

Kitahara Masaki remained motionless throughout, simply watching Inspector Nakamori's antics. Just as he was about to say something to comfort the inspector, Inspector Nakamori suddenly burst into laughter after Kid left, saying:

"Hahahaha!!! Kidd! You never expected that I would install a tiny, high-sensitivity detector on the jewel chain. When you get home and are about to pop open the champagne to celebrate, that's when I'll catch you!"

"I see! Inspector Nakamori, you used the tactic of feigning indifference to lure me in. That's quite a clever move!"

Kitahara Masaki clapped his hands in praise, then asked in a low voice:

"Kidd, did you hear that?"

"Of course, Inspector Nakamori really dared to do this this time, even though this sapphire is clearly genuine."

It's likely that the Japanese higher-ups understood that India would definitely do everything in its power to recover the sapphire in the future, so they didn't care whether it would be stolen or not. Therefore, it's not surprising that Inspector Nakamori dared to install a transmitter on the genuine article.

Chapter 170 Snake, why do you look like you've been bitten by a snake?

Because Inspector Nakamori intended to let Kaito go, Kaito easily ran to the rooftop, intending to fly back directly using a hang glider, thus saving travel time, since Aoko's birthday party was about to end.

Just as Kidd was about to jump off the roof and deploy his hang glider, a gunshot rang out, stopping him in his tracks. Turning around, he saw a man in a black suit, a wide-brimmed hat, and an inverted 'L' shaped mustache holding a pistol that was emitting blue smoke.

And the gun was pointed at him.

"I never thought that the idiot who lost his life eight years ago for eyeing the gems we coveted would still be alive. We've met several times before, but this is the first time we've met face to face like this. When you first returned, we only sent a few small fry to warn you, but now that you're so stubborn, the organization has sent me—Snake—to deal with you."

Looking at the revolver in Snake's hand, Kidd muttered to himself:

What should we do?

"Heh, what should we do? Hand over the gems quickly, and maybe I can spare your life."

However, Kaito wasn't asking Snake, but rather Kitahara Masaki, who was listening to their conversation through his earphones.

“Kidd, if you feel it’s dangerous, then retreat. We have plenty of time and opportunities, so there’s no need to rush. Besides, since your father faked his death and fled, you don’t need to risk your life like this.”

"Yes, but if the gems fall into their hands, they might cry."

Kidd said this, but he still threw the gem.

"Hmph! You're stubborn as a mule. I'll give you a gift right now—eternal time in the Western Paradise!"

Snake raised his hand and fired a shot, hitting Kid's body. Watching the Phantom Thief Kid fall backward helplessly, Snake couldn't help but laugh to himself:

This guy with the big name in Japan is exaggerating. It seems that no matter how skilled a thief is, when faced with a bullet that's much faster than a human, he'll still get killed.

"Ouch—it still hurts so much even though I'm wearing a bulletproof vest."

"Nonsense, if it weren't for the bulletproof vest I gave you, you'd probably have to pray that he shot you in the sapphire in your chest."

"Haha, then I'll leave the rest to you, Kitahara-nii."

"Yes, I will have a good talk with him. As a police officer and a disciple of Master Kuroba, I cannot turn a blind eye to the zoo under any circumstances."

When Kaito heard Kitahara Masaki say that, he naturally handed over the task of investigating the zoo to him. On the one hand, it was indeed safer to leave it to the police to investigate, and on the other hand, he had to rush back to celebrate Aoko's birthday. After he learned that his father was still alive, the zoo naturally became less important to him, because he knew that his father would come back one day, and he would come back with information that could solve the zoo problem.

Kitahara Masaki said goodbye to Inspector Nakamori and left. Unaware that he was being followed, Snake arrived at the door of a large neon-lit residential building. The person who opened the door for him was a short, fat middle-aged man who looked as ugly as a toad, or as disgusting as Tam coming ashore and turning into a human.

"Don't worry, I took care of that little thief in one go this time, and I also brought back the melancholy birthday gift."

Although this group of idiots is the villainous organization on Kaito's side, it can be said that compared to the Black Organization, they are far inferior in terms of appearance, and now they can't even match the Black Organization's vision and intelligence.

Therefore, what Kitahara Masaki really wanted to get from the zoo was not a few fools who only knew how to brandish knives and guns. Such people are plentiful in the international market. There will never be a shortage of mercenaries who are greedy for money and desperate criminals who only know how to kill.

What Kitahara Masaki truly wanted was the zoo's intelligence system. Their system operated internationally and specifically targeted the wealthy, since most famous large gems were in the hands of the rich. Most importantly, they had discovered that the Phantom Thief Kid was actually Kuroba Toichi; this level of intelligence was not to be underestimated. If it could be used to locate the boss, it would definitely save a lot of effort.

"If this gem truly is the treasure that great man seeks... there has been an ancient legend—offer the Stone of Life to the full moon! Then the gem will shed tears, and whoever drinks those tears will achieve a dream that no one has ever realized before—immortality! Unfortunately, our organization can only confirm that the gem capable of shedding tears exists only within the Great Gem. That's why we call that gem the Pandora's Gem!"

"So how can we be sure that this melancholy birthday is a Pandora gem?"

"It's very simple. Just look at the moon like this and you'll know! If that gem is the one with that power, then the other gem sleeping inside will glow red under the moonlight!"

"This Pandora gem is like a mille-feuille, with one layer after another... perhaps it's to keep out scheming guys like you."

Ah!

The sudden sound made Snake and the toad uncle turn around sharply, only to see a middle-aged man with a cane, his eyes bright and his face bearing a playful smile.

In fact, Kitahara Masaki didn't believe that the boss hadn't investigated the legend, but the fact that the boss didn't compete with the zoo for the world's largest gemstone already proved that either the boss didn't believe in such a thing, or he had investigated all the world's famous gemstones and found that it was just a hoax.

"Who exactly are you?"

"You can call me Napoleon, but that doesn't matter anymore. In the next part, please tell me about your organization with this Mr. Toad next to you."

Click.

Seeing Snake raise his revolver, Kitahara Masaki smiled and asked:

"It's already 10 p.m. If you fire a shot in such an open area, even if the surrounding residents are far away, they can still hear the gunshot. If the police are called, I think you'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Ha, playing tricks. I thought you weren't afraid of bullets, but it turns out you're just a coward like Kaito Kid. Don't worry, after I kill you, we can escape through the secret passage in this house."

Kitahara Masaki nodded after hearing this.

"Good girl, you've already started talking before I've even begun asking questions. It seems you're quite open-minded. Let's start the interrogation with you from now on."

boom!

It was still the American-style iaido, but Snake's hand speed, even with his top hat, was far inferior to that of a cowboy in the American West. So, he only realized what was happening after his pistol was knocked away.

"Snake, isn't that your code name? Why does your face look like it's been bitten by a snake?"

Chapter 171 The Witch's Love Talk

Kitahara Masaki shook his hands, went to the bathroom to wash the blood off his hands, and then changed into spare clothes.

Sigh, not much useful information was actually obtained through interrogation. The most meaningful information was that the zoo's boss's code name was Lion, and that he was currently in Japan!

Besides, Snake is just like a mercenary; he's paid to do things and doesn't know much about many things.

The other man's codename was indeed Toad, and his role was like a liaison, responsible for collecting and appraising gemstones and regularly contacting the zoo's leader.

If we're talking about where in the world the most gemstones are, Europe should be the top choice. This is because many European countries still retain their royal families, and these royal families possess an enormous amount of jewelry and gemstones. As a result, most of the zoo staff are now concentrated in Europe, and very few remain in Japan.

Kitahara Masaki would then have the Lion send more men, and to do so, he would have Snake disappear. The explanation to Kaito would be simple: just tell him that Snake had been sent to an international prison by the Public Security Bureau.

Seeing the two zoo members in front of him, who had been tortured to the point of being unrecognizable, Kitahara Masaki, who did not have any explosives on him, simply set the mansion on fire.

The distillery has a multi-layered selection process. Although it appears to be full of moles, very few people actually have access to the organization's core. Information such as the location of the boss and Rum, or the progress and details of the elixir of immortality research, are top secrets of the organization and simply inaccessible to moles. Even Vermouth is unaware of these matters, and anyone showing interest would be silenced immediately upon detection.