Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 565 An Unsafe Safe House

Shiraishi, along with Yabe, Gen and Yamada, drove his QX56 and a plainclothes police car to a villa on the outskirts of Okuho Town...

This place is neither a tourist attraction nor does it overlap with famous hiking and sightseeing routes. It is rarely visited. If Amano hadn't told Yabe, and Yabe hadn't given the address to Shiraishi, Shiraishi really wouldn't have been able to find it.

There was only a low wall around the villa, which was practically nonexistent, and there wasn't even a security camera!

Shiroshi didn't think that a safe house that only offered concealment but lacked security could be truly safe—a point also mentioned in Harry Potter...

Upon learning of Shiraishi's arrival, Director Amano and the company's executives came out to greet him.

"Chief Amano really does everything personally, staying here to protect everyone's safety?" Shiraishi said sarcastically.

"After all, the problem arose because of our internal investigation... and we can't even pinpoint the exact source of the problem," Amano said with a stern face.

Amano understood that there must be an assassin's inside man in the internal investigation!

Amano trusts Miko the most, and now it's just the two of them here. The other people transferred inside don't know the location of this safe house.

“However, I think it would be safer to be protected by the police,” Shiraishi said after looking around.

Amano paused for a moment before saying, "Those police officers are definitely planning to wait until they're dead before arresting the murderer. How could we possibly place our hopes on them!"

"So... as a former minister, you also think the Public Security Bureau is too extreme?" Shiraishi looked at him with a strange expression.

Amano didn't answer, but that was the gist of it.

This left Shiraishi unsure which side was truly the extremist...

Afterwards, Amano glanced at Gen and Yamada, whom Shiraishi had brought, frowned slightly, but didn't say much, and led them directly into the villa.

Shiraishi only brought two people because he didn't want to provoke Amano too much...

Of course, on the other hand, it's also because this isn't Beika Town at all. Shiraishi can't just lead the Beika Police Station detectives recklessly, otherwise it might cause unnecessary tension.

after all……

The last time the Mihana Police Department conducted a large-scale cross-jurisdictional operation was to arrest a former Supreme Court Justice; the time before that was to arrest the head of the Dunsheng faction…

Moreover, this is Okuho Town. After the case of Shiragami, Shiraishi had a good relationship with him. Shiraishi didn't need to specially recruit people from the Beika Police Station. Before coming, Shiraishi contacted the head of the National Olympic Committee of the Okuho Police Station and the head of the Criminal Division, Akimoto—without telling them the specifics, just reminding them that there was a "big shot" in Okuho Town and they should be ready to move out at any time!

He also had to thank Shiraishi for notifying him in advance.

Upon entering the villa, Shiraishi also saw three other people... no, four people.

There were three people sitting, the one sitting the most imposing, with someone standing behind him.

If Shiraishi is not mistaken, the person sitting there should be Congressman Hidekazu Shimoyama, who is involved in the "leak" scandal, and the person standing behind him should be his secretary.

As for the other two people sitting there, one was Ise Mitsu, an employee of a precision electronics parts factory, and the other was an employee of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government—both of them were low-level employees and vehemently denied the "leak."

"Please have a seat, Mr. Yabe Hitokuni," Amano said politely.

However, Shiraishi could sense the anger hidden beneath the calm surface of this guy's demeanor.

Yuan's expression changed drastically, as if he had activated his entire Persona...

"Could the four of you introduce yourselves? After all, you're all 'talents' who betrayed the country!" Amano suddenly changed his expression and slammed his hand on the table.

This is where their skill comes into play...

The other three lowered their heads in shame, while only Representative Shimoyama calmly confronted him, saying, "What betrayal... Chief Amano, you need to provide evidence for your words."

"Oh? So, Representative Shimoyama has found a reason to explain his unexplained income?" Amano said sarcastically.

Upon hearing this, he descended the mountain and said with an air of authority, "I became a member of parliament to save this country, and to become a member of parliament and participate in elections, money is required... Never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you. If you have any evidence to arrest me, feel free to do so."

This face of constantly talking about the country and society reminds Shiraishi of Atsumori—no wonder he's a politician; even though he's doing the same thing as everyone else, while the other three are ashamed and silent, he can still talk eloquently and fluently…

At this point, Miko Shimoyama, unable to bear it any longer, said, "Councilor Shimoyama, perhaps you think the things you leaked are just minor matters, and difficult to investigate under the current legal framework. However, perhaps one day, these seemingly insignificant matters will bring huge losses to the country. You..."

“That’s really good…woman, I admire your courage.” As he descended the mountain, he suddenly looked at Miko with an admiring gaze.

society:……

They've completely lost control of the community.

"Show some respect!" Amano scolded him when he saw him harassing his subordinate.

"You're the one who should learn what respect is!" he retorted as he descended the mountain.

Although Amano is the head of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, Shimoyama is also a powerful and well-established member of parliament. Since he believes he cannot be convicted, he is not afraid of him at all.

"But speaking of which..." Shimoyama then looked at Shiraishi and said, "Inspector Shiraishi, this Mr. Yabe, you were attacked in Beika Town, weren't you? Haven't you caught the culprit yet?"

"The Mihana Police Department, the Public Security Bureau, and the Internal Investigation Department are all working hard." Shiraishi also spoke in an official tone, without directly answering "they haven't caught them yet."

"Speaking of this attacker, was he really a... foreigner?" Xia Shan asked skeptically.

Before Yabe could answer, Shiraishi spoke up: "Actually, I also have this question. Looking at the three murders that have occurred, one happened in our Beika Town, where the victim fell to his death from a long staircase. In the other two cases, putting aside the university professor surnamed Kusaka, Wakashima Hirofumi, an employee of a pharmaceutical company, died from excessive blood loss after being stabbed in Toriya Town..."

"In other words, the death of Kenji Ogura was highly unpredictable. Although many people had fallen to their deaths from that long staircase, most of the time they were injured but did not die; the actual number of fatalities was only about one-tenth..."

"Wakashima Hirofumi, who had lost too much blood, was even more obvious... He couldn't even kill with a single blow. It's hard to imagine that this was done by a professional killer."

After a moment of silence, the group asked, "What do you mean by 'many people have died from falling down those long stairs'? What kind of long stairs are so prone to accidents?"

"That's not the point." Shiraishi didn't answer—don't pry into Beika Town's affairs!
As for the "professional assassin" thing, Shiraishi was actually quite confident, after all...

In Shiraishi's left eye lives an international "famous assassin"!
Even Pu Siqinglan herself is a professional assassin from Mao...

She not only analyzed the professional habits of hitmen, but also felt that the methods used in these three cases were too crude, and that even if the killer was a rookie, he must have been a complete novice.

Moreover, she compared her impressions of her Maoist counterparts and found that none of them were as "casual" as her!
and so……

"So... you really saw what the assassin looked like?" Shimoyama asked, turning to Yabe.

"What do you mean?" Yabe asked, displeased. "Do you suspect I'm lying?"

"Of course not, Mr. Yabe is also seriously injured!" Gen said with a smile, speaking up for him.

However, Yamada then added, "It's just a bit strange. At the time, Minamoto and I were watching the only safe passage where we could escape, and no one came out. So why did that person disappear like a ghost during the subsequent search?" Yamada sounded puzzled, but it all sounded like he was suspecting Yabe.

“You…” Yabe fell silent at this point.

Amano also said, "Now that Inspector Shiraishi is here, we can feel a little more at ease... Unlike those people, Inspector Shiraishi and your capable subordinates will definitely prioritize everyone's safety, right?"

"Those people" clearly refers to the "public security officers".

“Of course,” Shiraishi nodded.

Amano seemed to have a disagreement with these people, so he went back to his room. Sha only told everyone the time for dinner and then turned and left.

Shiraishi guessed that the person in charge of cooking was Shiraishi, so...

"Ms. She, if possible, I'd like to calculate based on ten people... um, as long as there's enough staple food," Shiraishi calmly requested.

"Okay..." She glared at him helplessly—of course, she'd cook! After all, she couldn't just order takeout, could she? Otherwise, what would be the point of this safe house?
Because of Shiraishi's presence, the already demanding tasks of the company have become even more challenging.

Bai Shi wasn't just sitting idly by; he went straight out the door, saying before leaving, "I'll first check the possibility of external intrusion."

Seeing that the director was busy, Gen and Yamada naturally followed suit.

Shiraishi then tested and tutored Gen and Yamada on their knowledge in this area—asking them to find the external flaws in this "safe house".

The conclusion is...

It's full of flaws!

This low fence-like wall was about the same height as the hurdles in a hurdle race. Yamada could easily push himself over it, and Shiraishi could step over it with a single stride...

The villa's security is also questionable. Without a very perceptive person guarding it, anyone with a bit of "infiltration" ability could probably sneak in.

Gen and Yamada had already noticed enough flaws, and Shiraishi later pointed out some more that they hadn't discovered themselves.

This can no longer be called a "safe house with flaws," it's more like "a safe house built on a flaw"... Can this still be considered a safe house?
When Shiraishi, Gen, and Yamada returned to the house, they saw four "informants" exchanging pleasantries.

"Of course I'm in it for the money. I'm a pro-American, but there are too many pro-Americans, so I can't get money from the Americans. That's why I'm making some extra money from Mao. Hahaha..." the congressman said with a smile—basically, "In front of you, I don't need to pretend to be a gentleman."

He then descended the mountain and asked, "And you? As an officer in the Self-Defense Forces, you wouldn't have done this for ideals..."

"I'm doing this for the money! The Self-Defense Forces... earn just too little," Yabe said helplessly.

"Hahaha, I understand, I understand... What about you guys?" Xia Shan asked imperiously.

The other two stubbornly insisted, "I don't know anything. It's just some trivial stuff that isn't prohibited from being leaked. Even if I don't say anything, you can find it online!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Shan curled his lip.

When everyone saw Baishi enter, they immediately stopped talking.

If Shiraishi hadn't had amazing hearing, he wouldn't have heard what they were saying.

Of course, even if he heard it, Shiraishi had no intention of saying anything...

This kind of thing is not something that Shiraishi, the head of the Beika Division, should be concerned with, especially since...

As they themselves said, the things they leaked were things that would be difficult to prosecute in court under information protection laws or treason.

Shiraishi was more concerned about the "Raven Legion" matter.

I wonder if it's a coincidence...

Of the seven people, the three who were leaked information, most likely the three that the White Whale collected for the "Raven Legion," were the first to die.

At first, Shiraishi even suspected that the "Raven Legion" was behind it.

but……

Just as Pu Siqinglan judged, the methods used in all three cases were too crude. They didn't even destroy the evidence and made the mistake of leaving the documents not far from the crime scene. It certainly didn't seem like the work of the "Raven Legion".

Before dinner, Shiraishi received calls from Munakata and Akasaka—the investigation into the crime scene had finally yielded results, and... these results also provided Shiraishi with new ideas.

The next step is to wait for the murderer to reveal a flaw!

However, just as Shiraishi was confidently sitting at the dining table and eating his fifth serving, he suddenly realized something was wrong—Member Shimoyama had not yet come out of his room, and he could still hear his secretary knocking on the door.

Usually at times like this, if someone doesn't come for dinner...

Bai Shi was still worried, so he went upstairs to the room at the foot of the mountain and said, "Let me take a look."

"Ah? Okay..." The secretary was slightly wary of Shiraishi, but did not refuse.

Shiraishi stepped forward and simply turned the doorknob—it was merely a matter of locking the door, of course, it couldn't stop Shiraishi from opening it with magic.

but……

To the secretary's surprise, Representative Shimoyama was not in the house, and to Shiraishi's surprise... Representative Shimoyama's body was not in the house!
"Huh? Could it be that Representative Shimoyama left first..." the secretary wondered—normally, even if Representative Shimoyama was leaving, there would be no reason for him not to take her with him.

The two then returned to the restaurant, where Shiraishi confirmed with Amano and Yasushi.

"What? They left? That's really... completely undisciplined!" Amano said with dissatisfaction.

"It's not certain yet..." Shiraishi reminded him.

“It just so happens that it was raining outside this afternoon, Chief, let’s go see if we can find any tire tracks,” Yuan said.

Shiraishi nodded, but Gen returned shortly after...

The good news is that no tire tracks were found, proving that the person left without saying goodbye.

bad news……

The body was right outside the gate.

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Dongdong: Today is October 16th. 1335 years ago today, Wu Zetian changed the Tang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty and ascended the throne as Empress. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)