Stay away from Conan.

Just a fleeting moment after noticing Matsumoto Kiyonaga's gaze, Takato looked up, then met Inspector Megure's eyes, giving a slightly apologetic wry smile:

"Inspector Megure is giving me too much credit. After all, Kudo and I often do analysis together, so maybe he has some ideas."

In this way, Gao Yuan was responding to Inspector Megure's earlier remark.

Seeing this, Matsumoto Kiyonaga showed no reaction, but his doubts were not completely dispelled—

At least from various details, it is entirely possible that Akechi Takato and Kudo Shinichi, as de facto neighbors and detectives, had a connection.

Furthermore, if Shinichi Kudo really has been investigating cases in various places for so long, as the police believe, then the police officers present at this moment cover quite a few areas. However, it seems that they are not very aware of Shinichi Kudo's recent activities. If even they do not know, then where has Shinichi Kudo gone to investigate cases?
What case is he investigating?
Suddenly, when Matsumoto Kiyonaga's train of thought reached this point, a logical line of thought emerged spontaneously—

He's investigating the organization!
He had probably already investigated something, so he knew exactly what kind of power the organization was. Therefore, he didn't even dare to tell the police about the situation before he had conclusive evidence, so he could only hide it.

And in that case, the detectives around him...

Are Akechi Takato and Mouri Kogoro truly completely unaware of Shinichi Kudo's situation?
Thus, Matsumoto Kiyonaga already harbored suspicions.

Ultimately, the meeting lasted for about half an hour, discussing other minor clues and directions for further investigation, but without any breakthrough. Finally, Inspector Megure announced that the meeting was temporarily adjourned, and that they would discuss it again when new clues emerged.

So everyone got up, packed their things, and left the meeting room in twos and threes, some to smoke, others to buy drinks from the vending machine.

Gao Yuan had just finished organizing the documents in front of him and was about to get up and leave when he heard a deep voice from the side calling out to him, "Matsumoto Kiyonaga":

"Detective Akechi, please wait a moment."

Gao Yuan paused slightly, as if expecting this, and turned his head to look. He saw that Matsumoto Kiyonaga had already stood up, looking down at him with a blank expression, but with an undeniable air of authority, and said:

"There's something I need to talk to you about privately."

coming……

Gao Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but he showed a suitable expression of doubt before nodding:

“Of course, no problem, Manager Matsumoto.”

And so, the two walked out of the conference room one after the other and came to a relatively quiet window at the end of the corridor. Matsumoto Kiyonaga turned around and faced Gao Yuan. Since he was slightly taller than Gao Yuan, he seemed to be looking at him with the scrutiny of a superior.

"Regarding this case..."

Matsumoto Kiyonaga got straight to the point, speaking in a low voice:
"You just said you believe the killer will continue to strike. Do you have any other thoughts on this? Or... any guesses that you'd rather not say outright?"

As he spoke, his single eye was fixed on Gao Yuan's eyes, as if trying to catch any subtle change.

"I can't say for sure, but the act of leaving specific markings at the scene has a strong ritualistic or declarative quality. I suspect that the killer may have had a 'sequence' or 'list' that had to be completed."

Gao Yuan spoke with great seriousness about some of the minor details:

"Currently, we haven't found any connection between the victims, making it difficult to confirm who the killer's next target might be. However, in several of the previous incidents, the locations where the bodies were found were often not the primary crime scenes, but rather locations where the bodies were clearly moved after the murders..."

"So, I'm wondering if there's some connection between the places where the murderer deliberately placed the body to be discovered."
"However, the only problem is the victim named Ryuzaki who was found at the Hayakawa toll station on the Odawara Expressway. It is clear that he was still conscious when the staff found him after his vehicle crashed through the toll station. So, could his murder location be considered to have been arranged by the murderer?"

Upon hearing this, Matsumoto Kiyonaga remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly processing the analysis.

Then, the manager changed the subject, his tone sounding as if he were just casually mentioning it:
"So... what do you know about Shinichi Kudo? I've reviewed some old files; his deductive style seems somewhat similar to yours, but each has its own strengths. If he could be involved in this matter, perhaps our thinking would be broader. I wonder... if you could contact him?" Hearing this, Gao Yuan's face showed a thoughtful expression:
"Hmm...Kudo..."

When asked about the topic of "Matsumoto Kiyonaga," Gao Yuan gave a slightly thoughtful response:
"I'll try to contact him, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to."

"I see..."

Upon hearing Takato's ambiguous words, Matsumoto Kiyonaga replied with a hint of regret, then casually added:
"Sigh, Shinichi Kudo, this high school detective, has helped our police a lot, but he's been so low-key lately, which seems very unusual... I wonder if he's run into some kind of trouble he can't get out of..."

"Hmm... if you put it that way, that's true to some extent."

Faced with Matsumoto Kiyonaga's somewhat deliberate questioning, Takato echoed this, his face appropriately revealing a hint of concern and confusion:

"I'd also like to know the reason. Kudo... as a detective, he's incredibly quick-witted, has amazing observation skills, and sometimes he's very proactive, even a bit..."

"An adventure. Perhaps..."

"He might really be investigating some potentially dangerous secret matter. But he hasn't said anything, and I can't ask him for details."

In this way, Gao Yuan did not directly deny the speculations revealed in Matsumoto Kiyonaga's words, but his words were quite meaningful, both responding to the question and not revealing any specific information.

Upon hearing this answer, Matsumoto Kiyonaga narrowed his one eye slightly.

His wise and insightful answer was watertight, and some of the possibilities he offered even coincided with his own conjectures.

Is this his true thought, or... something he did on purpose?
With this in mind, Matsumoto Kiyonaga decided to take another step forward, changing to a seemingly more unrelated angle—

"Oh! Right, and that kid named Conan who's with Detective Mouri."

Matsumoto Kiyonaga said, seemingly unintentionally:

"I heard he's very smart, sometimes even noticing details that adults overlook. Megure said that in many cases, this kid occasionally points out some key points... Sigh, I wonder if this kid can be of any help this time..."

After saying this as if making a sigh, Matsumoto Kiyonaga then added, somewhat apologetically:
"Ah, I'm sorry, I might have been... a bit delusional. To rely on a child's nonsense for such an important case is really..."

At this point, Matsumoto Kiyonaga shook his head, looking slightly tired, and rubbed his forehead.

"Conan..."

Upon seeing Matsumoto Kiyonaga's reaction, Takato's face revealed a natural, slightly helpless smile—

"That child was indeed remarkably precocious, with a boundless curiosity, and always loved imitating detective games. Mr. Mori and Miss Ran doted on him. Sometimes, a child's wildly imaginative ideas can indeed offer a different perspective..."

At this point, Gao Yuan paused, then added casually, his tone tinged with emotion:

"Sometimes looking at him can even give you a strange illusion..."

"Oh? What misconception?"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga asked casually, but there was a hint of tension in his voice.

Hearing this, Gao Yuan raised his eyes, turned his gaze to the window beside him, as if recalling something through the window, and said in a slightly wistful and vague tone:
"It's like... seeing a Shinichi Kudo who hasn't fully grown up yet, but whose thinking and observation are already as sharp as a knife." (End of Chapter)