Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 569 James

"Inspector Shiraishi, since Professor Nagae has said so, remember to consult AI whenever the Beika Police Station encounters a case in the future," Uno Yoshimasa said sternly.

“It’s ‘James’,” Namiko Nagae emphasized.

"Huh? Is that so... Professor Changjiang, does James have the function of generating case reports?" Baishi asked curiously.

“Of course.” Namiko Nagae nodded.

“That’s great! I think James will be very popular at the Mikado Department!” Shiraishi said sincerely.

Whether this thing is reliable for solving cases is another matter...

A good AI is one that can write reports for people!

“Then Director Shiraishi may be disappointed… While writing reports is simple for James, he can’t yet use it for large-scale reporting. To avoid information contamination, he is currently prohibited from connecting to the internet and can only access and receive specific information in the research lab,” Namiko Nagae said calmly.

“I see…” Shiraishi nodded—since it’s a locally running program, we can’t have everyone take turns going in and making it write reports.

Immediately, Bai Shi asked with great concern, "When will the server be deployed and accessible on the intranet?"

“James’ growth rate is five times that of a human. It has been tested for a year and is now equivalent to a five-year-old child. He will need to be at least fifteen years old to grow up enough to face these things independently… that is, two years from now.” Namiko Nagae’s tone softens and becomes more emotional only when she mentions “James”.

and……

Judging from her tone, she seems to genuinely regard "James" as a child, an independent human being!
Many of the bureau chiefs were seasoned veterans who weren't interested in listening to a woman rambling on and on. However, upon noticing her mental state, they couldn't help but feel a chill... and they didn't want to pay any attention to this mentally ill woman!
Shiraishi is alright, although I feel she has some psychological issues, but I suppose these "geniuses" must have different minds.

But speaking of geniuses...

"Teacher Changjiang, speaking of AI, the AI ​​from the Syndora Group has been quite popular lately... I wonder which one is better, 'James' or 'Noah's Ark'?" Bai Shi asked curiously.

At this point, Changjiang said somewhat angrily, "James is a child who is still growing up, while Noah's Ark... is just a dead corpse that has been manipulated by others."

Upon hearing Changjiang's "obsessive" remarks, the directors couldn't help but whisper among themselves—they were all at least inspectors, and some were even inspectors-general. Even though Changjiang was under the "flag" of the Ministry of Justice, he was not considered an important figure in the Ministry of Justice, and they didn't have much respect for him.

The main reason I sat obediently below was out of respect for Councilor Uno...

"Ahem, Superintendent Shiraishi, these are not the same thing. Don't ask unreasonable questions," Uno interrupted awkwardly.

Bai Shi also glanced at the Yangtze River for a strange reason, feeling that her metaphor was inexplicable yet contained some hidden meaning!
Shiraishi didn't know what was going on with her "James," but...

Shiraishi remembered some things, such as the performance of "Noah's Ark" in the movie - it was indeed somewhat like a continuation of Hiroki's will. Not only could the Sindora Group not completely control it, but it even seemed to have its own consciousness and chose to "self-destruct" later.

And this strange change in "Noah's Ark" seems to be related to Hiroki's death...

It sounds like a product of science, but it doesn't perform scientifically at all!

Before Shiraishi could think further, his phone rang.

"Ah, my apologies." Shiraishi took out his phone and glanced at it.

Although it was a meeting, the nature of everyone's work meant that they would never turn off their phones during the meeting, and it was normal to have to answer some calls in the middle of the meeting.

especially……

This is Shiraishi's phone!

When Director Mika's phone rang, most of the people in the conference room looked over, either nervously or expectantly.

Upon seeing that Shiraishi was about to accept the offer, everyone's expression changed drastically.

Uno, who was chairing the meeting, also waved his hand with a stern face, signaling him to go out and get it, while feeling somewhat uneasy himself.

"Hello, this is Shiraishi..." Shiraishi said as he bowed his head and left the conference room.

Everyone's eyes, and even their attention, followed Shiraishi out.

Unfortunately, they didn't have Shiraishi's hearing; they could only watch the door close before they could no longer hear what Shiraishi was saying...

Later in the meeting room, Namiko Nagae began to introduce James's abilities to everyone, and Uno also emphasized the main purpose of this meeting - that in the event of a murder, there would be dedicated forensic personnel to handle the case... These forensic personnel from the Metropolitan Police Department were well-trained and, in addition to conducting normal on-site inspections, were also responsible for formatting the search materials according to a format that could be provided to James.

Just then, Shiraishi re-entered the conference room...

Immediately everyone's attention turned to him, including Uno!

"Inspector Shiraishi, has something happened in Beika Town... a murder?" Uno asked directly.

Uno roughly understood that at least a murder case or a case involving the Beika Police Station would warrant a direct call to Shiraishi. Considering that Shiraishi was currently "in a meeting at the head office," a direct call at this time likely indicated that it was not an ordinary murder case!

“That’s right, a body was just found at the Mihana Hotel,” Shiraishi nodded.

“That’s perfect, let’s try James next…” Uno was about to speak.

However, Bai Shi interrupted at this moment, saying, "But... the deceased's identity is somewhat special. I wonder if James, as Teacher Changjiang's 'child,' should recuse himself?"

“No need. James will only give the most correct answer in any situation,” Changjiang said calmly.

"Who was the deceased? What do you mean by 'avoidance'?" Uno was completely baffled.

"The deceased has been identified as Yukio Fujii, head of the Planning Office of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice," Shiraishi said.

Well, it's roughly the feeling that "the deceased was James's mother's colleague"...

Upon hearing this, Changjiang frowned slightly, then said, "Perfect. If James catches the murderer, it will be avenge for Chief Fujii."

Uno was at his wit's end, and the other directors also lowered their heads as if they had a toothache—was this the time to consider whether AI needed to avoid suspicion?

The Ministry of Justice is not theoretically in direct control of the police, but it is the superior department of the Public Prosecutor's Office...

The prosecutor's office's superiors can basically be considered the police's superiors as well!

Especially since the person who died was the head of the Criminal Investigation Department...

Although in theory the head of the "Planning Office of the Criminal Division of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice" cannot compare to the head of the "Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office"—the latter being directly under the Cabinet's command—the former is undoubtedly more relevant to the police.

"Are you sure he killed him?" Uno couldn't help but ask.

Bai Shi nodded upon hearing this, saying, "Yes, he died of cyanide poisoning, but there was neither a suicide note nor a container for the poison in the room." This basically confirms that someone else poisoned him!
After this incident, Uno did not keep Shiraishi any longer, but instead asked him to return as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation.

Changjiang also volunteered, "Counselor Uno, I'll go to the research lab to prepare as well."

"Hmm? Okay, then thank you for your hard work." Uno had already agreed that Changjiang could participate in the investigation of the subsequent murder case as a test and learning process for "James".

Although the murder was sudden and unusual, Uno did not intend to change his mind.

and……

Since the deceased was an employee of the Ministry of Justice, it is reasonable for Changjiang, recommended by the Ministry of Justice, to use AI to assist in the investigation. Whether it was helpful or counterproductive, the people from the Ministry of Justice had little to say.

Bai Shi and Changjiang took the elevator downstairs together.

During this time, Changjiang asked with a hint of curiosity, "Chief Shiraishi seems quite calm? Fujii works for the Ministry of Justice; if he dies, it will be a real problem for the police, right?"

"It is indeed tricky, but our Mikasa Department has encountered far too many tricky things... As for this situation, it can't be called a small matter, at most it's just a medium-sized one," Shiraishi said calmly.

"Really? Then I hope this collaboration between James and the Mihua Department will be very pleasant." Changjiang also appeared quite calm.

Seeing this, Shiraishi asked another question: "Are Professor Nagae and Fujii Murano acquainted?"

"Yes, the project's research funding was approved by the planning office, and I am very grateful to Director Fujii," Changjiang said, his tone not particularly emotional.

Shiraishi:……

We're so close, and this is all you can do?

"I see. Does he have any enemies?" Bai Shi pressed.

"Then I don't know." After Changjiang finished speaking, the elevator doors opened, and the two of them came out one after the other, and then left the Metropolitan Police Department.

……

When Shiraishi returned to the police station, he discovered that the case had made progress!

"Director, because of the emergency, I called Yuuto over directly..." This was the first thing Munakata said when he reported.

Shiraishi was also greatly surprised by this...

“Just call them when you need to! We can’t keep waiting until night to have them come and help us for free every time!” Shiraishi didn’t expect Munakata to be so frugal.

Munakata:......

"What I mean is, without waiting for approval, they directly called Yuto to hack into the phone and check the deceased's social media accounts," Munakata further explained—"I'm not as inhumane as some people!"
"Oh? It seems you've made a discovery?" Bai Shi could tell from his tone that he had gained something.

“That’s right. Just the night before, the deceased was arguing with another ‘netizen’ in an internal chat channel of a private forum, and the content was… this.” Zong Fang had already printed it out.

Shiraishi glanced at it and saw it was a classic argument: "Why haven't you gotten a divorce yet?" and "I've been busy, don't rush me"—clearly, this was a conversation between the deceased and his mistress!
Shiraishi was speechless at the mistress's intelligence—she specifically chose a website as her online communication channel, clearly indicating that she didn't want the news to leak, meaning she didn't want anyone to discover her affair. How could she possibly get a divorce?
"Can we confirm the other party's identity?" Shiraishi pressed.

Indeed, the fact that he died at the Beika Hotel is suspicious in itself—the deceased lived and worked in Tokyo and had a home... yet he booked a room at the Beika Hotel, the implications of which are self-evident.

In this situation, the person you need to meet in a hotel room is most likely your mistress!

"Yuto has already found the IP address. It belongs to a nearby business company. They are investigating the social life of the young and beautiful female employees there. They should have results soon."

“However, the hotel’s surveillance footage didn’t reveal anything. The deceased checked in alone… The murderer must have entered the room after the deceased had checked in,” Zongfang explained.

"Okay, then let's work harder... Regarding that AI, has the head office handed over the precautions?" Shiraishi asked specifically.

Zong Fang nodded upon hearing this and said, "Yes, those are handled by people specifically from the head office."

"So, Section Chief Munakata, do you think this thing is reliable?" Shiraishi asked curiously.

"I don't know. I do hope that in the future, more cases can be solved by AI... At least AI shouldn't be able to learn about human relationships, right?" Zong Fang said, smiling wryly, clearly thinking of something.

Shiraishi didn't ask any further questions at this point—when there was an opportunity and it was time to speak, Munakata would naturally speak, and when it was pointless to speak, he wouldn't speak even if asked.

After learning that there were already significant leads, Shiraishi drove to Tsukishima.

Although this crime-solving AI is a project of the Ministry of Justice, the research lab is not located in the Ministry of Justice or Kasumigaseki, but rather in a research center in Tsukishima.

Soon Shiraishi saw James's terminal—several rooms around it housed its main unit, while this was where signals could be input and output.

The decor has a near-futuristic style, and Namiko Nagae is alone in front of a 3D projection screen.

"Teacher Changjiang, James has already learned about the current clues, right?" Baishi asked tentatively.

“That’s right, and the answer has already been given,” Changjiang said matter-of-factly. “Right, James?”

[Ayana Mimura and Yukio Fujii have an inappropriate relationship, but she is not the murderer.] James's synthesized voice rang out.

Although it doesn't sound very rigid, you can still tell it's an electronically synthesized voice.

Hearing James's answer, Shiraishi was also surprised—the Beika Police Department hadn't even found a candidate for the mistress yet, but it already knew? And it was so sure that the other party wasn't the murderer?

Just as Shiraishi was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed. After a pause, he continued, "How does James think? He doesn't just use big data statistics to calculate probabilities, does he?"

“Of course not, James can actually think… just like a human.” Changjiang said, turning to look at Baishi seriously, which gave off a somewhat eerie feeling.

“Professor Changjiang, I majored in psychology as an undergraduate… Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t believe that human thinking can be simulated simply by sufficiently complex calculations,” Baishi questioned.

Changjiang did not answer directly at this point, but instead said, "If Director Baishi has any doubts, he can try communicating more with James..."

Just then, Shiraishi's phone rang.

"I'm sorry, excuse me." Shiraishi glanced at the phone number—it was the Criminal Investigation Department's—and prepared to answer it. Shiraishi had specifically instructed him to contact them immediately if there were any developments, big or small.

"Chief, we've found the deceased's mistress, a company employee named Ayana Mimura, but she has an alibi for the estimated time of death..."

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: Today is October 20th, the 399th anniversary of Huang Taiji's ascension to the throne. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)