Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 445 Illegal Immigrant Attack Case

On Monday, May 15, a murder occurred at the border between the jurisdictions of the Mihana Police Station and the Shinmuro Police Station.

Before Shiraishi called the police station, detectives from the Mihana Police Station had already arrived at the scene. Although the report was not transferred to the Mihana Police Station, patrol officers from the nearby Mihana Police Station notified the station after discovering the murder.

Afterwards, two teams of detectives from the Beika Police Station, namely Gen and Yamada, as well as Kuroki and Kanzaki, arrived at the scene.

However, after a preliminary investigation, it was found that the murder was indeed in Kamurocho, and it seemed that the Beika Police Station was not involved, so they did not notify Shiraishi.

The crime scene was an underground passage. The entire underground passage, as well as the other side, was within the jurisdiction of the Kamuro Police Station. Only outside of the passage was Beika Town.

However, the two sides still cooperate to some extent...

"It appears that the deceased had already reached Beika Town and was attacked at the exit of the underground passage. He then turned and ran back, but was chased... If there are no surprises, the cause of death is a contusion to the side of the head," Kanzaki reported to Inspector Amamiya.

The Kamuro Police Station is certainly not as assertive as the Beika Police Station, which often conducts independent investigations. Therefore, an Inspector from the First Investigation Division arrived at the scene, and this time it was Inspector Amamiya from the Fifth Division.

Because some of the traces were in Beika Town, and there happened to be people from the headquarters there, it made it easier to coordinate the search.

After confirming that the Kamuro Police Station would open the case, the detectives from the Beika Police Station were about to leave after a quick search of their own area. However, they received a call from the station – because the deceased was someone the chief knew, they were told to “pay close attention.”

"Huh? Is it someone Chief Shiraishi knows?" Amamiya was also taken aback when she heard that Detective Beika wanted to help.

“That’s right, I heard it’s… a staff member at a restaurant where the director often eats beef rice.” Kuroki asked Amamiya for instructions.

Among the four Beika detectives at the scene, Kuroki was the most tactful, or rather, the most street-smart, so he was the one to communicate with the head office.

“I see. Indeed, the case requires the cooperation of the Beika Police Department,” Amamiya said casually.

Kuroki understood that there was really no point in cooperating; Amamiya was just saying that to give Shiraishi face.

“Kuroki, there are a lot of bicycle tracks here… they’re very likely left by the murderer.” Kanzaki made some discoveries at the scene.

Upon hearing "bicycle tracks," Kuroki frowned.

"What's wrong?" Kanzaki asked, knowing that Kuroki had thought of something.

“No, it’s nothing…” Kuroki hesitated for a moment, but then said nothing.

The Beika Police Station and the Kamuro Police Station were conducting their investigations separately, but at that moment, the detectives in Kamuro Town who were at the scene suddenly received a phone call and immediately moved the police cordon to Beika Town's side!
"Hey? Wait, what are you doing?" Kuroki asked quickly after noticing.

"You can leave this to us. The guys from the Mihua Department can go back now," the other party said with a stern face.

Kuroki opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a loud female voice rang out from the side: "What? Go back?"

Amamiya then shouted into his phone.

Kuroki then noticed that Amamiya was also talking to the Kamuro Police Department personnel with a grim expression, and then the search team actually left.

Upon realizing something was amiss, Kuroki called over the patrol officers at the scene and said, "Let's set up a cordon too, right next to them!"

……

Meanwhile, the directors had finished their meeting and were having dinner together.

During the meal, Yan Tu first took a phone call and went out, then Zeden also took a phone call and went out. Before returning, Yan Tu went out again, seemingly to say a few words to him.

Seeing the two's strange behavior, Bai Shi couldn't help but take a few more glances—however, Yan Tu was clearly wary of Bai Shi, and being quite a distance away, and separated by the door of the private room, Bai Shi had no idea what the two were saying until…

Immediately afterward, Shiraishi's phone rang!

Upon seeing that it was Kuroki calling, Shiraishi frowned slightly—it was Kuroki's call, not the Criminal Investigation Department's, indicating that something urgent had happened at the scene…

"Excuse me." Bai Shi also got up and left his seat, glancing at Yan Tu and Ze Deng before leaving.

However, Zeden didn't look at him, while Yan Tu looked at him with a smile.

Seeing this, and noticing the three of them taking consecutive phone calls, the other chiefs vaguely realized what was going on and could only awkwardly try to ease the atmosphere by saying, "As expected, the regional chief and your chief of the police department are really busy... haha... heh..."

……

"Hello, this is Shiraishi."

"Chief, something's happened at the scene of that foreign worker's death..."

Realizing something was wrong, Kuroki ordered his men to hold the area in place while he immediately called Shiraishi.

Upon hearing Kuroki's account, Shiraishi immediately recalled Yantu and Zeden's reactions—it seemed someone had intervened!
"Don't rush, stay on the scene and maintain order. I'll call the police right away." Shiraishi praised Kuroki's previous "standoff" approach.

……

When Shiraishi returned to his seat, he didn't say anything. However, Zeden took the initiative to speak up: "Director Shiraishi, it seems I really have to treat everyone this time. There's no room for splitting the bill... I hope you'll go easy on me."

While the other chiefs were wondering, Shiraishi said, "No, it seems we have no choice but to split the bill this time... The victim's family just filed a formal report at the Beika Police Station, and the detectives at the scene discovered that the other party started the attack in Beika Town."

“Eh? But Kamurocho has already filed a case…” Zeden said with a slight embarrassment, glancing at Yan Tu as he spoke.

Yan Tu's eyes turned slightly cold, then he smiled and said, "Director Shiraishi, the Mihana Bureau is already very busy. Let's give the Kamuro Bureau a chance to show its strength this time."

"The Mihana Police Station has already accepted the report," Shiraishi said, shaking his head.

"The murder occurred in Kamurocho," Yan Tu said solemnly.

“No, the attack occurred in Beika Town, but the chase took place in Kamuro Town… and the family has already filed a formal police report.” Shiraishi said frankly, completely ignoring Yan Tu’s cold gaze.

Seeing this...

This time, everyone, including Zeden, lowered their heads to eat. Shiraishi noticed Zeden's sly smile and already knew what was going on—although he didn't know who it was, the other person's connections were clearly with Yan Tu, and the benefits Yan Tu could offer Zeden were very limited.

He himself suffered a loss, but others remembered more the favor he owed Yan Tu, so Zeden was clearly not very willing either.

Zeden and Yan Tu were not entirely in a superior-subordinate relationship. Zeden was not exactly clinging to Yan Tu's coattails, since Yan Tu was only one grade above Zeden and couldn't promote Zeden...

Taking the case to Kamurocho and avoiding the involvement of the head office was not actually in Zeden's interest. If it became a "cold case," it would be a black mark on the Kamurocho Police Department's record. Even if it might not cause a big stir because the deceased was an overseas worker, it would still be a "cold case"!
If the person behind this directly approaches Zeden, and he can receive sufficient compensation in all aspects, then Zeden doesn't really have any principles...

But now the person behind it is Yan Tu Haici!
Although Zeden was willing to take some responsibility for this matter, he wasn't exactly enthusiastic, and even enjoyed watching the show when Shiraishi got involved.

Yan Tu Haici was secretly annoyed: How can I uphold justice when I'm with these scumbags! How could Shiraishi Hei be so evil!
Yan Tu understood that it was because of Bai Shi's "insubordination" that his prestige within the headquarters had been affected, and now other directors also dared to outwardly comply but inwardly defy him!

……

The dinner afterwards ended on a sour note. Apart from the lack of a proper argument, the tension between Bai Shi and Yan Tu was already quite high.

Finally, Shiraishi made an excuse that he still had cases at the station and left first.

Although he knew there must be something going on, Shiraishi still didn't know what it was...

When Shiraishi returned to the police station, he saw Kuroki leading Boss Fukuman and a woman with darker skin back to the station.

The woman was also a waitress at Manman Beef Bowl Restaurant, and like the man in Shiraishi's memory, she had dark skin, but compared to pure black people, she was closer to the broader category of Asians.

“Chief Mika, Maria, this is Chief Mika. She’s different from the others. She will definitely avenge your brother!” Fu Man said, patting the female employee next to him as soon as he saw Shiraishi.

The woman's face still showed sorrow; she appeared to be the deceased's sister...

"Director..." Upon seeing this, Kuroki quickly looked at Shiraishi.

Because Shiraishi contacted Fukuman, he directly brought the deceased's family from the Kamuro Police Station to the Beika Police Station, and the Kamuro Police Station did not provide much resistance.

"Yes, don't worry, we will definitely seek justice for the deceased." Shiraishi didn't know what was going on, but he still made a promise.

Afterwards, Shiraishi instructed the criminal investigation department to take statements and called Kuroki and Kanzaki to his office to inquire about the details of the case.

From Kanzaki, Shiraishi obtained specific information.

The victim, Mani, 22, from Salvin, usually worked at Manman Beef Bowl Restaurant. Yesterday, after finishing get off work, she went missing on her way back to her shared dormitory in Beika Town. This morning, her body was found in an underpass between Kamurocho and Beika Town...

Preliminary examination results indicate that the direct cause of death was a severe contusion on the right side of the head caused by blunt force trauma, and there were other wounds on the body besides this one.

"Judging from the marks on the ground, the deceased was probably about to emerge from the underground passage when he was chased by a group of four or five people on bicycles, wielding sticks. They beat him all the way back into the underground passage, and he eventually collapsed and died due to a head injury," Kanzaki reported, holding his notebook.

"A violent gang on bicycles? Kuroki, do you have any leads?" Shiraishi noticed that Kuroki seemed to want to say something.

Kuroki didn't hide anything at this point: "Well, Chief, actually, starting about two years ago, there was indeed a group of thugs riding bicycles who specifically attacked foreigners, appearing in Beika Town and Kamuro Town... But starting a year ago, they disappeared... Oh, no, they disappeared in Beika Town and haven't committed any more crimes."

"A year ago?" Shiraishi frowned upon hearing this.

"Hmm, this kid... cough cough, it seems like it happened once or twice when Detective Kanzaki first joined the company, but it hasn't happened since." Kuroki nodded.

In other words, this happened when Shiraishi first took office, but it has never happened in Beika Town since.

When Shiraishi first took office, the handover was still in progress, and these people hadn't caused any major trouble, so they didn't report to Shiraishi. Later, they stopped appearing in Beika Town, so neither Shiraishi nor Kanzaki had any impression of them.

However, as an "old-timer" in Beika Town, Kuroki still remembers this gang that committed crimes for a year!

"Two years ago to one year ago... and they still haven't caught them?" Shiraishi frowned.

“Yes, because back then they were just considered minor public security cases, and most of the time… the victims didn’t actually want an investigation, so they were all closed hastily.” Kuroki nodded.

"Targeting foreigners specifically? Not including white people, right?" Shiraishi guessed confidently.

After all, if it had been an attack on Americans, the case would probably have been solved long ago...

Kuroki nodded in agreement, saying, "They mostly target foreign workers. Black people don't usually attack them... because many of the people who are attacked have visa issues, so they don't want to make a big fuss."

"They really bully the weak and fear the strong!" Kanzaki said angrily after hearing this, then asked in surprise, "Visa problem... Does Beika Town have a lot of illegal immigrants?"

Kuroki rolled his eyes and said, "There aren't many. Most of them are doing odd jobs in Kamurocho... Well, it can't really be considered illegal immigration. Back when Tokyo was short of manpower, they signed a lot of Southeast Asian laborers, right? Later, they didn't renew their visas, and many of them didn't go back. Naturally, they became illegal immigrants."

Kuroki didn't say the phrase "discard the donkey after it has served its purpose" directly, but the meaning was pretty much there.

Compared to Kanzaki, Kuroki, who spends most of his time wandering around, has a better understanding of the underlying logic of society and knows that many things cannot be accomplished with a single decree or explained with a grand principle.

"Could it be... someone from Kamurocho?" Kanzaki frowned—he still disliked violent organizations.

“No, those attacked were all laborers. On the contrary, those white and black people who often get drunk and cause trouble are not included. It should be… um.” Kuroki didn’t say it aloud.

However, Shiraishi already understood what he meant, and at this moment, without any hesitation, he said directly, "Is it very likely... a political thought prisoner?"

Indeed, the continuous violence against all foreign workers, rather than any one individual, does not appear to be simply due to resentment and cannot be attributed to ordinary violent crimes. It is highly likely to be a political thought crime – that is, a group that resorts to violence to express political demands.

Violent organizations obviously wouldn't do something so thankless and exhausting!
“Tell the cybersecurity class, now…” Shiraishi glanced at his watch, then continued, “Give them three hours to immediately search through major forums and social media platforms, especially those frequented by Beika people, and compile a list of users who have posted extremely hostile remarks against foreign workers, especially those with extreme views. After that, when Yuto gets out of school, have him follow the list…”

As he spoke, Shiraishi opened a small box on his desk, but didn't say anything.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dongdong: I had already planned to put this case here, especially after Yan Tu tricked Bai Shi (you'll find out why later), so this is the North American blond guy riding on my coattails, not me riding on his coattails!

(End of this chapter)