No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Zoo, on the other hand, maintains the most primitive transaction mechanism: you do something for me, and I'll pay the balance after it's done. This kind of organization has a more convenient way of trading, but at the same time, its cohesion is much lower, and its overall strength is naturally inferior to Distillery. However, Zoo's intelligence network is distributed all over the world, and it has transactional relationships with officials at all levels in many countries. So, unlike organizations that only target the upper echelons, Zoo's intelligence network is vast, and that's exactly what Kitahara Masaki wants. Rather than a criminal organization, Zoo is more like a platform led by a giant.

The results of this operation were so-so. Due to a lack of subordinates who could handle the dirty work, Kitahara Masaki now had to do everything himself. He was already looking forward to seeing what kind of prisoners Vermouth would bring back.

But let's hurry home now. We can't let these useless guys ruin our habit of going to bed early and waking up early.

"Kaito, the matter has been resolved."

"Oh, so fast? Did the zoo staff provide any information?"

"Hehe, you'd never guess, their leader, Lion, is currently in Japan! But let's not rush things. We'll wait for news of their capture to reach the zoo. Once that news spreads... a criminal organization leader, to maintain their authority, will usually send someone of higher rank and greater skill to handle this... cough cough, so—"

"I'm not afraid of danger. I want those who want to harm my dad to be punished as they deserve!"

Heh, Kitahara Masaki had already anticipated Kaito's answer before even asking. People on the red side wouldn't say they chose to hide out of fear, but for Kitahara Masaki, who was neither entirely red nor entirely black, if he were truly afraid, it would be best to slip away quickly. After all, the only things that could frighten him were probably a corrupted version of the sorceress Koizumi Akako, or a corrupted version of Super Saiyan Kyogoku Makoto.

In short, things have come to a temporary halt. The news of Snake and Toad's disappearance while investigating Phantom Thief Kid will definitely take some time to spread, and it will also take time for the people sent by the Lion to arrive in Japan. So let's talk about something lighter now.

"Kaito, I remember you said you were going to celebrate your childhood friend's birthday, is it over now?"

"Kitahara-nii, not yet. I'm on the rooftop of a building in Beika right now, controlling its glass curtain wall to display 'Happy birthday!' and add fireworks. What do you think?"

Alright, now that he knows his dad is just on vacation abroad, Kaito is more focused on making Aoko happy, which is truly a return to the magician's original intention.

"Ahem, teach me this trick too."

"Oh, no problem. But I think with your financial resources, you could rent an entire building and hire a professional lighting technician. Also, things like festival fireworks are quite expensive, so I can only borrow it for now."

After chatting with Kaito, Kitahara Masaki unexpectedly encountered Koizumi Akako on his way home. Or rather, she was waiting for him. Watching her fly through the air on a broomstick, Kitahara Masaki felt a sense of unreality. Although the world of Detective Conan revolves around Conan, Newton could still lie peacefully in his coffin most of the time. However, what Kitahara Masaki was seeing now was magic; the witch before him was one of the few remaining magicians in this age of declining magic.

When he first met Koizumi Akako, he subconsciously understood that neither of them were simple people, so they kept to themselves and didn't know why she had come looking for him.

"Miss Magician, you really dare to be so open about yourself in front of me."

“Mr. Fraudster, I don’t think you’re surprised at all. It seems you knew all along, but I don’t know when you found out.”

Kitahara Masaki ignored Koizumi Akako's reason for calling him a con artist, after all, he had fooled far too many people, and simply chuckled:

Does that even matter?

“It’s not important. I’m here for something more important.”

"What is it? If it's about your magic, I'm afraid I can't help you."

"It's not about magic, I just wanted to ask you... do you think I still have a chance to win Kaito's heart?"

Kitahara Masaki, who was leaning against the car door, was startled and took two steps forward. This witch was actually asking him about matters of the heart.

He quickly realized that although Koizumi Akako was a magician, she was also a high school student at the time.

"I think one of the signs of maturity is learning to let go."

Koizumi Akako, who understood that she should let go, sighed and looked very sad.

"Sometimes, many things are beyond your control, but you should know very well what kind of person you want to become: a high school student who can cry freely and sing praises of youth, or a cold, beautiful, and unfathomable witch."

"Yes, I made that decision from the beginning."

Koizumi Akako, roused, mounted her broom and flew away, leaving Kitahara Masaki to marvel at how many fancy tricks high school students these days have.

Chapter 172 Conan, did you infect your mother?

"Brother Kitahara, is your job alright?"

"Of course not. How could an excellent police officer like me abandon my job to come watch Kamen Rider?"

"But I heard that you encountered another transnational criminal organization? They were able to steal gems from all over the world in search of the so-called Pandora gem, which shows that their level of expertise is not low."

"Don't worry, their level is much lower than the Black Organization. After all, all they want are gems, and they often obtain them without using violence, which is quite civilized. What I'm after is their intelligence system, which is why I got involved in the zoo's affairs."

Besides the zoo's leader, Toad also revealed several intelligence agents in Japan during the previous interrogation. However, making contact rashly would easily be detected by the lion, who is also in Japan, so Kitahara Masaki needs to plan carefully.

This time, he was in charge of driving Haibara to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art to see Kamen Rider. To be precise, Conan's mother, Yukiko Kudo, had returned to Japan, so she planned to see her son's current friends. When inviting Haibara to go, she also hinted that Masaki Kitahara should come along.

Conan explained to his parents that Kitahara Masaki saved their son's life and that Kitahara Masaki also knew something about the Black Organization, of course, only after Kitahara Masaki agreed.

So, Yukiko Kudo probably wanted to invite Masaki Kitahara along this time, hoping to have a good chat with him while the children watched Kamen Rider. However, what she didn't know was that Masaki Kitahara also really wanted to see Kamen Rider. As someone who had watched all the Heisei Riders in his previous life, he naturally wanted to see what kind of surprises the Kamen Riders from the Detective Conan world would bring him.

After searching for a few minutes, when they arrived at the gate of the Tokyo Phenomenon Institute, a woman with a sweet appearance yet exuding a mature aura appeared. With long, brown curly hair, she looked like another older sister to Ai Haibara, smiling and waving at them.

It seems she is Yukiko Kudo.

"It seems that the great detective's reasoning ability is inherited from his mystery novelist father, while his sometimes impulsive and reckless nature is inherited from his mother. I found out that his mother was a popular actress in Japan more than ten years ago, but she married Yusaku Kudo when she was twenty and stopped acting."

Do you think it's a pity?

"Don't you think so? I've seen her movies before, and she didn't reach that level just because of her looks. It's her amazing acting skills that have made so many viewers like her."

Kitahara Masaki smiled, indicating that Haibara could ask her herself later. Actually, Kitahara Masaki didn't want to say too much to Yukiko, since she and Vermouth had both studied disguise and voice-changing under Kuroba Toichi. If her unreasonable female sixth sense detected anything, it would be troublesome.

"Hello, Officer Kitahara. At first, I thought you were too busy to come. Thank you so much for these days. Conan has caused you trouble."

Conan chuckled to himself, thinking that Kitahara Masaki had caused him quite a bit of trouble, but considering that he had given him and Ran a chance to confirm their feelings, he would forgive him.

"Mrs. Kudo, it's true that seeing is believing. I heard that you were once the most famous actress in Japan, and even Ai Haibara is a fan of yours."

"Oh, really? Ai-chan, if you want it, I can give you an autograph right away. Also, Kitahara-san, you can just call me Yukiko-neechan, I don't mind."

Kitahara Masaki subtly steered the conversation toward Yukiko's past films, while casually tucking Haibara into her arms to prevent her from asking any troublesome questions.

"By the way, Mr. Kitahara, where is your girlfriend? I heard she's a rich heiress from America."

Okay, I was just thinking that this big star would let me off the hook, but it seems I was too naive.

"Evelyn went on a trip because it was her first time in Japan, so she planned to have a good time. I, on the other hand, had work to do and couldn't leave."

"Oh, is that so? Then let's go into the Dongdu Phenomenon Institute first. It seems that the real children are already impatient."

This time, they weren't going to the cinema, but to the Tokyo Metropolitan Film Studio. This was because the Kamen Rider movie hadn't actually been released yet, and the studio was still doing final adjustments for the upcoming film. The reason they were able to come and watch the preview was because Yukiko had a lot of influence, after all, she was a female star who had helped Japanese movies become popular.

However, the problem was that after Yukiko asked the staff, she learned that because the movie still needed to be tested, it could only be played at 10 p.m. at the earliest.

"What should we do? The kids are really looking forward to this movie."

Seeing that the young woman was in trouble, a staff member stepped forward and said that his rental house was nearby and the children could rest there until 10 p.m.

Upon seeing this development, Kitahara Masaki immediately sensed a case. He would put on a mask as soon as a case was published and silently observed the staff. Then, to his great dismay, he discovered that there were exactly three people who had spoken to them and introduced the Phenomenon Institute.

"Ms. Yukiko, please agree. They mean well."

"Is that so? Since you have no objections, Mr. Kitahara, then I have no objections either."

When the children went up to the rented room to sleep, Yukiko suddenly stopped Kitahara Masaki and said she had something important to tell him.

Knowing Yukiko's character, Kitahara Masaki naturally understood that this so-called important matter was likely to be another troublesome affair.

"Actually, this is what happened. Today, when I brought Shinichi and those kids to the Phenomenon Center, someone was following us."

Do you know who the other person is?

"I only know the car model and license plate number, but I don't know who it is. I drifted away from them when the yellow light was flashing, but I don't think they'll give up so easily. Well, they might be my die-hard fans, hahaha. After all, even today, there are still young girls going to see my movies. It seems that many people still remember me."

Um, I haven't seen any of your movies. But Kitahara Masaki wouldn't dare say that.

Then there's the person who's following them... but who is it?

However, just as Kitahara Maki was wondering who it could be, a scream suddenly came from the rented room.

Sigh, it still happened.

Chapter 173 Conan has gotten used to his height

"The deceased, Tokuhiro Furumura, 39 years old, worked at the Toto Phenomenon Center. The cause of death was a stab wound to the heart. Because the stab was made through a thin blanket, there was no blood splatter."

Seeing the deceased lying on the sofa with a kitchen knife stuck in his heart, it seemed he had been stabbed to death while sleeping. Kitahara Maki and Kudo Yukiko rushed into the rented room after hearing the screams, only to find five kids pointing and gesturing around a corpse.

After calling the police, Kitahara Masaki flicked each of them on the forehead, and after looking at the deceased, asked them what had happened.

"Mr. Furumura was sleeping on the sofa in the living room, and the five of us were sleeping sideways in the bedroom. Suddenly, we heard a very loud noise. When we opened the door and looked out, all we saw was Mr. Furumura's dead body. What struck me as strange was that we only heard one sound—the sound of the murder—but we couldn't hear the killer leaving at all. I was sure the lights were off before we turned them on, which means the killer murdered Mr. Furumura in complete darkness and left without making a sound."

Leaving in complete darkness without making a sound? That was indeed quite difficult, because this rented room was the residence of an employee of a phenomenon institute, and as a single man, he didn't have the habit of tidying up. Various things were scattered all over the place. Even Kitahara Maki wasn't confident that he could leave quietly in such a messy environment without touching anything.

"Is it possible that the murderer used a flashlight or other lighting equipment?"

"But I wasn't asleep at that time, and I couldn't see a single ray of light through the crack in the door."

Hmm... that is indeed a mystery, but let's find the suspect first.

The prime suspect is Mr. Suijima, an employee of the Phenomenon Institute who originally lived in the rented apartment.

"Sir, what were you doing when the incident occurred?"

After showing his police ID, Mr. Suijima replied:

“I was sleeping on the sofa next door at the time, but I woke up after hearing the noise. When the group of kids turned on the light, I saw Mr. Furumura who had been stabbed. Also, I wasn’t the only one with a key to this place; my colleague from the same studio also had one.”

"So how many people still have the key to this place?"

"Um—there should be only two people, Mr. Karata and Mr. Negami, because they and Mr. Furumura often come here to play mahjong, so I gave them the spare key."

Three choices, such a classic multiple-choice question, naturally there will be no more external errors.

"Then call them both over here now."

Mr. Suijima, the tenant of the rented house, immediately went to the balcony to make a phone call.

Meanwhile, Kitahara Masaki looked at the cramped rental room filled with clutter, then at the deceased whose eyes were wide open and mouth agape. Suddenly, he noticed something: the button on the left breast of the deceased's shirt was missing, presumably because it had been ripped off by a knife.

The scene was a complete mess, with clothes, DVDs, and tapes brought back from work scattered everywhere. When Inspector Megure arrived with his team, the forensic team would have to examine the items slowly.

After driving everyone outside, Kitahara Masaki stood alone at the door of the rented house. The door was some distance from the sofa where the deceased had been sleeping, and it was also blocked by various things. So how could he leave without making any noise?

Just as Kitahara Masaki was about to turn off the lights to recreate the scene, Conan snapped the lights off beforehand and laughed:

"Hehe, since this isn't in a public place, I think it'll be alright for me to come and take a look at the case, right?"

"Hehe, for Yukiko's sake, you'll be a good detective for now. But I think this case isn't too difficult. All you need to do is find out how the culprit managed to leave this chaotic environment silently."

After turning off the lights, Kitahara Masaki stood at the living room doorway, only to find his vision completely dark, unable to see anything in the living room.

"Hiss—could it be that the murderer is wearing night vision goggles?"

"Haha, the murderer didn't make things this complicated, Kitahara-nii. You were a step too slow this time."

The brat Conan, laughing, ran to the shelf in the living room and pointed to a spot that was about his height. It seemed the evidence had just appeared before him, so Kitahara Masaki responded: