Stay away from Conan.

The following morning at nine o'clock, in the same meeting room of the Metropolitan Police Department where the first joint investigation team was discussing matters, the atmosphere was heavy.

In front of everyone in this conference room, new evidence, reports, and other materials obtained by the police officers through their hard work over the past two days were laid out on each person's desk.

Files, on-site photos, maps, and densely packed notes.

The different intelligence reports from these different action groups were now being examined by everyone, with each person looking at the parts they were still unclear about. As time went on, many people's expressions became increasingly serious. With the bitter smell of coffee and a faint scent of tobacco spreading in the air, the atmosphere in the conference room became even more somber, as everyone seemed to be thinking about what conclusions the meeting would reach.

Meanwhile, Inspector Megure sat in the main seat, his brows furrowed as he looked at the situation before him.

To his left is Kogoro Mouri, who seems quite relaxed. He's currently crossing his arms, leaning back slightly, and his expression is one of rare frustration and confusion. Even his signature mustache seems to droop a bit.

Meanwhile, Takato sat to the right of Megure, towards the back, and unlike Kogoro Mouri, he was engrossed in reading the reports.

Then, one minute past nine, with the arrival of Matsumoto Kiyoshi, the meeting officially began—

"Let's begin."

Without any unnecessary pleasantries, upon Matsumoto Kiyonaga's arrival, the Metropolitan Police Department official stated directly that the meeting could begin.

At this point, Yamato Kansuke from Nagano Prefecture was the first to stand up, summarizing in his distinctively rough voice, his single eye flashing with scrutiny:

"Based on the supplementary investigation over the past two days, detailed inquiries with the families, colleagues, and friends of the six victims whose identities have been confirmed have revealed no connection between them and the mahjong tiles."

He paused, glanced around the conference room, and finally fixed his gaze on Kogoro Mouri:

"The conjecture proposed by Detective Mori... seems unlikely to be true at present."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kogoro Mouri's face flushed slightly. He loosened his arms and tapped the table with his fingers in frustration.

"Well... but those mahjong tiles were definitely at the scene. It couldn't have been just randomly placed there by the murderer, could it? Perhaps... it wasn't them playing by themselves, but something else related to mahjong?"

"for example?"

Yokomizo Sango, who already had reservations about detectives like Kogoro Mouri, immediately pressed for an answer.

"for example……"

For a moment, Kogoro Mouri was speechless when asked this question.

A brief silence fell over the meeting room. Officers from various locations exchanged glances; some shook their heads, while others continued to peruse the documents. A sense of helplessness, as if the trail had been broken, filled the air.

As for Gao Yuan, he calmly swept his gaze over everyone present, saying nothing, simply watching the scene unfold, his gaze finally settling on the face of the "Matsumoto Kiyonaga" manager—

The man impersonating Matsumoto Kiyonaga, an Irish member of the organization, was sitting upright with his hands folded on the table, his fingertips steady, showing no sign of emotion.

But in Gao Yuan's peripheral vision, he did vaguely notice that this "Matsumoto manager's" gaze had briefly swept over him when Kogoro Mouri was speechless, and there was a fleeting scrutiny in the depths of that gaze...

A barely perceptible indifference.

Given that the current meeting was almost identical to the original story, Gao Yuan was well aware that it would be extremely difficult to make any breakthroughs before discovering the true connection between the victims in this incident. But now was not the time to point that out.

As for the present moment, the real challenge for me is this "Matsumoto manager"—

Clearly, he was still testing the waters between himself and Kogoro Mouri.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Matsumoto Kiyonaga's deep voice rang out. He didn't look at Mori, but instead turned his gaze to Takato—

"Wise Detective, what are your thoughts on the current stalemate?"

So directly, everyone's eyes in the meeting room immediately turned to Gao Yuan.

"Manager Matsumoto, the current clues are indeed very scattered. The victims' identities, occupations, and geographical locations are quite diverse, and on the surface, they don't seem to have a strong connection. However, the killer deliberately left mahjong tiles and chose different locations to commit the crimes, showing swiftness and meticulous planning. I believe... "The killer will continue to commit crimes, but we haven't found a real breakthrough yet in determining what kind of connection links these victims."

—This point was already mentioned by Gao Yuan at the very beginning of the discussion.

Therefore, everyone felt somewhat helpless about this cliché, because even if it made a lot of sense, it ultimately failed to provide any further direction for the investigation.

"If that's the case, who will be the next target? Where will they appear? If more victims emerge, will it involve a new jurisdiction?"

Inspector Megure frowned in distress—

So many police forces are already involved in this operation. What if another related case arises?
"Or... could it have already happened?"

Inspector Megure couldn't help but say.

This is not impossible, and this has already been communicated to police forces across the country, instructing them to report similar cases immediately. It's just unknown...

Is it possible that there are cases that have already occurred but have not yet been discovered?

At this point, the meeting reached a stalemate. After listening to these words, Matsumoto Kiyonaga glanced over everyone present, finally focusing his gaze on Takato and Mouri Kogoro—

If these two detectives might be connected to Sherry's disappearance...

Ha, I can't see anything special about Kogoro Mouri. This young man just looks like an ordinary person who is slightly better than Kogoro Mouri, but is also trapped in the fog.

Too cautious, too lacking in vigor.

After at least two encounters, I couldn't see anything particularly special about it.

At this moment, Inspector Megure couldn't help but sigh, and said with a touch of melancholy:

"Ah, if only Kudo were here... That kid is always elusive, but sometimes he can come up with some unexpected ideas when it comes to these kinds of complicated cases."

This topic seemed to immediately pique the interest of some of the officers present—

"Yes, Shinichi Kudo..."

Saitama Prefectural Police Inspector Ayami Ogino said with slight interest:
"I heard he solved a lot of strange cases, but I haven't heard from him recently. It's a bit of a shame that I won't have the chance to meet this high school detective."

When this matter is mentioned, everyone present is naturally aware of it, since it was also discussed after the previous meeting. Shinichi Kudo is actually still involved in the case, but there hasn't been much news about him lately.

While Matsumoto Kiyonaga maintained a cold and stern expression, he was inwardly calculating rapidly—

After all, after that day, he had accessed many files through the "Matsumoto Kiyona" privileges. Although none of the files mentioned that Shinichi Kudo was involved, it actually seemed more suspicious, especially after he had confirmed that Shinichi Kudo had been involved in the "Fantasy Park" incident.

Within the organization, this high school detective was already presumed to have been dealt with by Gin. If he were still alive and deliberately hiding...

Considering Sherry's escape and the recent undercurrents targeting the organization...

Thinking of this, Matsumoto Kiyonaga's gaze once again seemingly unintentionally swept over Kogoro Mouri and Takato—

If we think about it from this perspective, if these two are connected to Shinichi Kudo, then...

“Speaking of which, Brother Akechi, you and Brother Kudo are both rare young talents in Tokyo. Even you are clueless now, I'm afraid even if that kid comes, he will be scratching his head.”

At this moment, Inspector Megure said this to Takato beside him, as if he was helplessly comforting himself. After all, in his opinion, there was not much difference between Takato and Shinichi Kudo. Now that even Takato was helpless, it was unlikely that even if Shinichi Kudo came, there would be no great progress.

These words were spoken casually, but Matsumoto Kiyonaga's attention was instantly drawn to them.

At that very moment, Gao Yuan also noticed Matsumoto Kiyonaga's gaze... (End of Chapter)