I'm a Pokémon Master from School City (by mistake)

"Have you ever thought about this?" Chiyo took out the calculation data and pointed to the ability notes on it, saying, "This time, the ability doesn't need to be too strong; LV2 is enough at the very least."

"You could say that as long as you can bend a spoon, you can accomplish this task."

“But we’ve investigated those with lower abilities too.” Hei Zi shook his head and said, “They all have alibis. Even if they don’t have an alibi, we don’t have any solid evidence pointing to a particular suspect.”

"Um..."

Chiyo crossed her arms and pondered for a moment, then organized her thoughts and said, "Exactly, is it possible that this was another case of a group committing the crime?"

"A gang?" Hei Zi asked doubtfully, "Why would Big Sister think that?"

“The frequency of the crimes is a bit high,” Chiyo said. “It’s different from that guy named Kikuto Hatsuya. That guy would do it once a day at most, and it was rare for him to explode in different locations with the same method in a short period of time. Secondly, if it’s one person, then that person would need to scout the location in advance every day, find a suitable place, and finally choose the time to plant the bomb.”

"If the frequency is high, there could be three or four places in a day where explosions occur within an hour of each other. One person would definitely not be able to handle it all and would inevitably miss some places."

“Of course, with more people, it’s easier for things to go wrong,” Chiyo said. “But if the camera only catches something once or twice, it can be overlooked, which is a way of spreading the risk.”

"Finally, it's about buying these things."

Chiyo pointed to the things on the table and said, "Make a detonator, make an explosive device, and finally, make the biggest sound and the biggest noise possible while limiting the power."

"There are quite a few things needed. If it's all purchased by one person, we can conduct a large-scale investigation to see if anyone else is purchasing these things in large quantities at the same time or one after another."

“This way you can catch people quickly, but if it’s spread out among many people, even if it’s spread out among two or more people buying different things, you can find a suitable excuse.”

They are all for civilian use and can be sold legally. Fireworks are disposable products, while toys can be excused by saying they were lost or broken.

Of course, there were other things Chiyo didn't say.

She currently lacks the authority to organize or apply for a large-scale investigation.

Therefore, based on the limited information available, the fact that the other party was able to conduct reconnaissance in advance and then make arrangements using blind spots in the cameras shows that they were meticulous in their planning.

Multiple explosions within a single day, even with delays, could not possibly occur so closely together.

Unless it's specifically planned, it's either manufactured in advance and then multiple people go to place it.

If it's just one person...

Chiyo had a headache; she felt like something was missing.

There's no team from my past life, no qualified and hardworking comrades from my past life...

Sigh... to put it bluntly...

We're missing a huge number of professionally trained cattle and horses!

Chapter Ninety-Five is the key point!

Ox and horse... oh no, I mean professional grassroots work organizations.

Chiyo once again lamented the difficulty of the problem.

In her previous life, Chiyo read many time-travel novels where the protagonist traveled to a different era, especially ancient times, and could easily gather a group of people and mobilize the masses.

Think about it now.

Complete bullshit!

Without qualified grassroots leaders... any grassroots organization can only spout nonsense.

Even if they're trying to make money, they're only enriching others while they themselves are taking the blame.

Well, Chiyo wasn't trying to criticize the grassroots organizations of Academy City.

I just want to say that they really can't afford to use the kind of massive human wave tactics they used in their previous life.

If this had happened in my previous life, I wouldn't have been fighting this alone in my city; it would have been the police station, the neighborhood committee, and the people of Chaoyang District all involved.

It is the result of the coordinated efforts of multiple organizations and departments, dozens of grassroots organizations belonging to different units, and thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of people working together as one, leaving criminals with nowhere to escape.

But now...

Chiyo could only make some reasonable assumptions and judgments based on the existing clues.

For example, this might be a gang crime.

For example, what role does this ability play in it?

"Um..."

Chiyo looked at the detonation device, which was so simple that it could be described as just a few parts put together, and felt a headache coming on.

"A bit..."

"What's wrong?" Kuroko asked, puzzled.

At this time, Kofumi Miwa had already taken Haruhi on patrol, leaving only Kuroko and Mikoto in the disciplinary committee branch.

The two were also looking at the case files, trying to find new clues that could solve the case.

But even after looking at it repeatedly for a long time, they still couldn't figure it out.

As soon as Chiyo said this, both of their eyes turned to her.

"It's weird."

Chiyo looked at the device and said, "I feel like there's something...

"It's a bit hard to say."

Mikoto asked, puzzled yet eager, "What difficulties have you encountered? Perhaps we can help you solve them."

Although I am very powerful, as a LV5, I have extremely strong combat power.

Faced with these cases, Mikoto felt like she wanted to help but was completely helpless, like she had the power but couldn't use it.

"That's right..."

Chiyo thought for a moment and said, "There's a problem. If the power is released on the clockwork to slow down the release speed, why not use gears? Like those old-fashioned clocks, you can put a gear set on it and achieve the same effect of delaying the explosion."

"In that case, wouldn't it be possible to hide even one's own abilities?"

"Isn't using an alarm clock too expensive?" Hei Zi asked. "Besides, it also requires a certain level of technical skill."

Chiyo remained silent, but what Kuroko said was indeed possible.

But Chiyo felt something was off.

“But speaking of which,” Mikoto said, holding the makeshift detonator she had cobbled together, “this spring feels too soft. Will it really ignite the primer after the firing pin is released?”

Chiyo's brows furrowed even more.

It wasn't that she didn't notice; she was also a little confused.

The spring used in the detonation device is a very soft spring, and it does not store much force.

The striking needle is a thicker embroidery needle with a deliberately blunt tip.

The primer consists of two small iron pieces with some gunpowder from a snap pop sandwiched between them.

Although this type of gunpowder is quite sensitive, it still requires a certain amount of impact to ignite.

The kinetic energy generated after the spring is released.

Chiyo felt it was unlikely to ignite the fuse.

"What went wrong?"

Chiyo took the crude detonator from Mikoto's hand and assembled one, just as Kuroko had said before.

First, the mainspring is wound up. Once the mainspring is released, it will quickly spin and expand. Then, the outermost end will hit the latch, opening the latch and releasing the firing pin to strike the primer.

Theoretically speaking, this could indeed ignite the explosives.

However, after actually trying it out, the problems that Mikoto mentioned also existed.

The spring is too soft; it seems unable to provide enough kinetic energy for the firing pin to ignite the primer.

so...

Chiyo was in a real bind. She disassembled the primer detonator and removed the spring.

If only this spring has a problem, and the other springs are fine.

The bomb probably won't detonate; it will be defused by the security forces.

But this bomb also detonated.

Therefore, the problem shouldn't lie with the spring itself.

Chiyo couldn't quite understand it, so she put the detonator back on.

Then it winds up the mainspring again, then releases it...

da~

This time, the spring did not push open the latch but instead held it in place from the other side.

"The spring is installed backwards..."

Mikoto pointed to the clockwork and said, "It should be installed backwards."

"Hmm." Chiyo took it apart, intending to reassemble it.

but...

She suddenly realized that something seemed amiss.

Delay? Firing pin? Spring?

this...

Could this be misleading?

Chiyo immediately looked at the buckle. The buckle was actually just a small piece of metal that had been temporarily cut and bent to connect to the main fixing plate.

This small metal piece is tilted at a certain angle, while the firing pin is a thicker embroidery needle with its tail bent into an L shape.

When not released, the hook of L is just right to catch the small metal piece.

Once the spring is wound up and expands, it can lift this up, and then slide along the tilt angle to release the spring's energy.

The direction in which the spring is placed also has a slight significance.

When releasing the spring, it's best to spread it counter-clockwise from the very edge. This way, the spring will eventually lift the firing pin and allow it to pass through the latch. If you release it clockwise, the outer edge of the spring will hit the small, curved tail of the firing pin.

In this way, the spring can only press against the firing pin from behind the small tail instead of from below, causing the firing pin to fail to release.

But look at it now.

Chiyo suddenly felt that her thinking might have been misled.

She examined the small buckle closely; it showed obvious signs of damage, as if it had been forcibly squeezed open.

Chiyo had noticed this sign at first, but she didn't think much of it at the time, just that it might be damage caused by an explosion.

Now that I think about it, maybe that's not the case.

"Hmm..." Chiyo pointed at the clockwork and said, "I suddenly thought, if the clockwork is made to move at a constant speed along a certain path, wouldn't the clockwork forcefully push the firing pin out of the latch? And the firecracker doesn't necessarily need to be hit; it can be ignited by pressing it down?"

To confirm her idea, Chiyo immediately removed the firing pin and carefully examined the bent little tail.

Sure enough, there were also marks on it caused by external pressure.

"Maintain a constant speed?"

Chiyo suddenly thought of this question and hurriedly asked Kuroko, "Investigate! See if anyone has the ability to keep an object moving at a certain speed, even when it encounters obstacles?"

She remembered that there was indeed such a person with this ability.

If it's that person...

So his real purpose couldn't be...?

Early spring?!

Chapter Ninety-Six: Heading Towards Early Spring

This is something that didn't happen in the story.

It's just a conjecture made by Chiyo based on the present situation.

There was little evidence and not enough manpower to begin a broad investigation.