Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 375 Shiraishi: I'll only demonstrate once!
After Shiraishi single-handedly drove away the wild boar, he soon arrived at a main road where he could get on a vehicle. From a distance, he saw a row of police cars from the Beika Police Station waiting there with their high beams on.

"Director! Is that you?" Yuan called out softly.

"Why are you speaking so softly? Come over here and get handcuffed!" Shiraishi said irritably.

Yuan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and several criminal police officers quickly stepped forward to take over the two suspects—though it was called "taking over," they were just following along with Bai Shi without any real restraint.

Of course, they didn't intend to run away.

Before encountering the wild boar, I didn't intend to run; after encountering the wild boar...

I have no intention of running away!
Kaneko and Yasuda thought that even if they ran separately, neither of them would be able to escape a monster that could hold off a wild boar with one hand.

"Huh? Why is there blood?" Shiraishi frowned as he noticed bloodstains on the ground.

but……

The smell doesn't quite resemble human smell!
“Ah! Chief, I’ll submit the firearms report as soon as I get back… Suzuki was just attacked by a black bear, we fired two shots, and we’ve already reported it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,” Gen explained.

"How's Suzuki?" Shiraishi asked immediately.

"The ambulance took him away... He should be alright." Yuan quickly reported that he was safe.

"What's going on? You guys went into the mountains?" Bai Shi asked, puzzled. With so many people on the main road, how could a black bear have gotten close?

“This…” Yuan said, a slightly embarrassed expression on his face, as if he didn’t know what to say.

Fuji, who was dressed in casual clothes and had followed along, calmly revealed, "The black bear didn't come over, but Suzuki wasn't wearing his glasses. When he saw the black bear's shadow, he thought it was you, Chief, so he went over to it..."

Shiraishi:……

No wonder Yuan was so cautious just now!

You know what, most black bears only weigh about the same as Shiraishi...

"Well, if it's nothing serious, I'll grant him two days of sick leave," Shiraishi said magnanimously.

Minamoto, Fuji: ...

He was at least attacked by a black bear!
At the same time, Shiraishi put Manami down for Fuji to watch over, then loosened the bandage on his left hand a little and put it back around his neck.

"Is your arm injured? Didn't you just hold off a wild boar?" Conan couldn't help but tease.

"Wild boar?" Yuan looked at the director in shock.

"Hmm? Of course he's injured, otherwise why would I be bothering him!" Shiraishi said matter-of-factly.

However, Shiraishi's "injuries" mainly manifest as "inability to perform subtle maneuvers" and "weakened strength," and the newly acquired [God's Left Hand] can only exert a partial effect—even with "partial effect," it's still easy to hold off a wild boar...

"Yuan, after this, take Manami back to the Takada family home. Take this kid to the police station to give a statement; he saw Yasuda attempt to kill someone." Shiraishi unceremoniously took Conan back to the police station.

Conan: ...

Regardless of whether it's usable or not, let's take it back first, and then have Ran and Mori come to the police station to pick it up. That way, Conan can have a complete... review of his complete childhood.

Upon learning that Conan had returned safely, Ran breathed a sigh of relief, but as expected, she stormed into the police station in a rage. Judging by her demeanor, she might just be ready to team up with her father for a beating.

……

Perhaps it was because Conan behaved himself for a few days after this lesson.

The countdown at the entrance of the Mihana Police Station reached four days in a row on Friday!
It has been 4 days since the last murder in Beika Town. Please don't let the number be reset because of you!

Looking at this "4" now, it even gives one a slightly unsettling feeling...

Of course, the Mihua Office wasn't idle during those four days.

After solving the kidnapping case, the port bombing case, and taking down two former ministers of state in one fell swoop, the Miho Department has had more time in the past few days, in addition to its own cases, to assist the First Investigation Division, Third Bureau in investigating the "500 Million Dollar Heist" from years ago and to catch up on the statute of limitations!

During this period, the most outstanding performer was Miwako Kobe...

It could even be said that Kobe was the only detective who "performed".

After all, at this point, whoever the suspect is, they will absolutely not reveal themselves voluntarily.

Therefore, the Mikasa Police Station is implementing Kobe's strategy—luring the snake out of its hole!
Try to get Tetsuya Hatano and Jun Suda to spend money...

Or rather, create an occasion for them to "spend a large sum of money," and it must be a "urgent expenditure of money," to lure them into accessing the stolen funds before the statute of limitations expires!
Miwako Kobe has invested heavily in this endeavor, starting with being a "40-year-old programmer who has been actively participating in civic activities recently," and has recently encountered a "formidable foe."

The waste treatment plant, which had always simply "ignored the protesters," suddenly and inexplicably hired the renowned Miki Law Firm to sue the protesters for interfering with the company's normal operations...

"Why is everyone so listless? Are we just going to sit idly by and watch our forest be destroyed because of the filthy greed of these people?" Suda encouraged the older men and women.

“Suda, we didn’t want to either… but that lawyer seems really capable.”

"That's right, they even sent us a lawyer's letter... saying that if we continue like this, they will sue us."

"Should we just forget about it? The compensation has increased quite a bit..."

Upon hearing this, Suda angrily retorted, "Shut up! Do you think you can get rid of me for such a small amount of money?"

"But..." The elderly men and women remained silent.

Just then, a young woman in the crowd of people fighting the epidemic exclaimed dramatically, "Ah! If only we had a great lawyer too!"

"We don't have the money to hire a lawyer..."

"That's right. If we had the money to hire lawyers, why would we be here protesting?"

"And the Miki Law Firm is supposedly very prestigious," the elderly folks said dejectedly.

“However, I heard that Miki Law Firm always suffered a crushing defeat whenever they encountered a certain lawyer before… I think it was a lawyer named Komekado!” the young woman said enticingly.

"Miss Kobe, can you contact Komikado? Your family is in business, right?" Suda asked her immediately.

That's right, this young woman is none other than Miwako Kobe...

In the past few days, she and Suda have become quite familiar with each other.

After all, apart from Suda, who was a fanatic on the surface and skipped work to come to the protest every day, the rest of the people who had time to come to the site to protest were mostly elderly men and women. The sudden appearance of a young woman was quite conspicuous.

More importantly, Miwako Kobe consistently praised Suda, extolling his virtues to the skies...

For a moment, Suda felt elated, but he even had some doubts—could this be a fantasy before I die from coding overload?

How come a rich and beautiful woman suddenly appeared and is so "fascinated" by me?
“I can get in touch with him, but…” Kobe then looked troubled: “Attorney Komikado’s fees are among the highest in the legal profession, very… expensive!”

Kobe reluctantly commented that it was "expensive".

In her eyes, whether it was Komekado or Miki's agency, it was simply a matter of affordability versus cheapness... "Eh? Is it expensive?" Suda looked embarrassed, as if he was short of money.

"Well, this kind of lawsuit would probably cost around 100 million... I do have 20 to 30 million in pocket money, but I'm still short..." Kobe said somewhat awkwardly.

Kobe was embarrassed to tell such a lie—how could there only be 20 or 30 million?

The elderly people around had fallen silent.

or……

You've divided the 20 or 30 million among us, and this is the end of it?

"So much left..." Suda looked anxious and frustrated.

Kobe even employed the strategy of playing the long game, but at this point, he didn't reveal his true intentions directly. Instead, he pretended to be anxious and didn't ask Suda how much money he had.

However, Suda really kept his composure!

Of course, it's also possible that they genuinely don't have the money, and besides being anxious, they don't have any further action.

……

In the morning, during a community event, Kobe recommended Komikado, an item that most people couldn't afford, to Suda. In the afternoon, Kobe brought Tetsuya Hatano to the research institute...

This research institute is, of course, one of the research institutes sponsored by Kobe Industries in Tokyo!

In the past few days, Kobe, posing as an "invention enthusiast," met with Tetsuya Hatano at the registration office, who was there to apply for an invention license. He expressed his love for invention and his appreciation for "people who are obsessed with invention."

even……

It was the rich young lady who introduced Hatano Tetsuya to the research institute, saying that she would help him complete the final stage of his invention!
At first, Hatano did have his doubts, but...

The research institute is right in front of us!
He even met Professor Agasa, a renowned figure in the invention world, who visited him and praised him during the visit.

Now Hatano realized it couldn't be fake—otherwise, the cost of counterfeiting would be too high!
"Hamano-senpai, you're amazing! When reporter Edward came to the Eastern Island, he specifically asked to interview you!" Kobe showered Hamano with praise once again.

This is also one of the few "schemes" that Yoshihisa Kobe taught his granddaughter—the best way to make someone lose their way is to flatter them and make them feel high-spirited. Once their "feet are off the ground," their minds will naturally become clouded!
When I was young, countless rivals were defeated by Kiku Kobe in this way...

"Edward, the journalist? The one from Time magazine? Interviewing me?"

Hatano even suspected that this was a hallucination he had before he died suddenly from capacitor poisoning.

Afterwards, Hatano not only met Edward in person, but even...

He also received an invitation from Mr. Edward to attend a dinner for high-level talents in the United States!

Hatano's face immediately lit up, and he readily agreed, but...

After Edward left, Miwako Kobe asked expectantly, "Mr. Hatano, have you decided to go?"

"Of course I'll go! But... um... Miss Kobe... you know I'm a little short on cash lately... could you lend me some money? I'll definitely pay you back once my invention is sold!" Hatano simply didn't have the money to participate in this kind of event.

Although there is no "registration fee", travel expenses and even clothing are big problems.

Upon hearing this, Kobe subtly revealed a hint of disappointment—both of them are so tight-lipped!
"I'd like to... but my family recently stopped giving me my allowance." Kobe certainly couldn't let the money come from his own pocket.

……

Although Kobe has already paid a considerable amount of money, from the commission from Miki Law Firm to the travel expenses of reporter Edward, this does not include the hidden expenses of its own research institute, or the cameo appearance of Professor Agasa...

However, these two suspects are still holding on tightly, and if they can hold on for another ten days, the statute of limitations will expire!

Before leaving get off work, Kobe returned to the police station and ran into Gen and Yamada, who jokingly asked about the "enticement to spend money" situation.

"If you ask me, your plan is too complicated. And what's with all this Time magazine stuff... You should just find a couple of hostesses and seduce them!" Yamada said casually.

“No, those two would never spend money on something like that,” Kobe said definitively.

“Why not? I know a math teacher who does…” Yuan gave an example.

A Descartes fan sneezed while waiting in line to visit someone in prison...

“Actually… I think it’s a bit cruel, isn’t it?” Mu Gao said sadly. These two stupid men had been tricked quite a bit.

"How cruel?" Kobe tilted his head and asked.

"It's one thing for the criminal to do all this to cover up his crimes, but the other person... if he knew he had been deceived..." Mu Gao felt a little soft-hearted, but then felt that this was not the time to say it.

“I wasn’t fooled! I’ll help someone else realize their dream,” Kobe said matter-of-factly.

Everyone:...

Goodness, you really know how to do it...

Shiraishi was about to leave work when he happened to come to the criminal investigation office and saw that they were still working on the case, so he asked them a couple of questions.

Kobe then confided his troubles to Shiraishi—he had tried his best to praise them, not only verbally but also by hiring many high-profile "actors" to cooperate with him, but…

"The time is too tight. Grandpa didn't mention before that this method would take a long time..." Kobe said helplessly—after all, people don't rise to prominence overnight.

Although Kobe didn't think that the "legendary head of the Beika Police Station" could be better than his grandfather in this regard, he still asked him for advice.

After thinking about it for a while, Shiraishi actually had an idea...

"Well, the problem with your method is that it's not urgent enough," Shiraishi said calmly.

"Urgent?" Kobe didn't understand.

Gen and Yamada already had a bad feeling.

“Yes, things that require money are tempting, but not urgent. They will be financially free in ten days, so of course they won’t be in a hurry.” Shiraishi nodded.

"Then tell me... how can we make it urgent?" Kobe asked, tilting his head.

“Alright... I’ll demonstrate. Yuan, you pretend you have no money.” Shiraishi called out to Yuan, who was already backing away.

Upon hearing this, Yuan made a bitter face and could only pretend: "Waaah, I'm so useless, I don't even have money to buy my girlfriend a birthday present!"

Shiraishi felt the atmosphere wasn't quite right, so he gestured to Yamada with his chin. Seeing this, Yamada had no choice but to join in the act: "Hahaha, really? Really? Surely no one doesn't even have 100,000 yen?"

"Huh? A birthday present for only 100,000 yen..." Kobe said in shock, then realized he shouldn't be so shocked: "Yeah, you guys continue."

At this moment, Bai Shi waved his hand and said, "I'll pay for his money... Give me the phone!"

(End of this chapter)