Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Who is he?" Hattori Heizo asked.

“Inspector Furukawa from the Osaka Third Investigation Division,” Lin Xiuyi sighed. “He seems to believe my reasoning somewhat, but unfortunately, he’s not the one in charge of the Third Investigation Division.”

While the two were talking, Officer Furukawa had already walked up quickly.

He stopped, took a breath, and nodded slightly to Lin Xiuyi with a hint of guilt on his face: "I'm sorry, Lin-kun, about Inspector Takeuchi..."

He sighed helplessly, his tone full of apology, clearly unable to persuade Inspector Takeuchi to change his mind.

After a brief pause, Officer Furukawa seemed to suddenly remember something, and his gaze turned to Lin Xiuyi.

"By the way, are you here because you want to see the list of volunteers who were in charge of the Terracotta Warriors exhibition area this morning?"

"We suspect that the person who sent the notice was among the volunteers."

Lin Xiu nodded, then turned to the side and introduced Hattori Heizo and the others to Officer Furukawa.
“They are all helping me investigate this matter.”

Officer Furukawa's gaze swept over the crowd, he nodded slightly, then pondered for a moment, as if he had made a decision.
"Let me help you."

"you?"

Lin Xiuyi's face was full of surprise, and she could hardly believe it.

Inspector Takeuchi has just stated that he believes the Phantom Thief Lady's advance notice was just a prank and has forbidden them from interfering in the investigation.

If Officer Furukawa were to privately check the list of volunteers, he would be blatantly disobeying orders from his superiors.

Japanese police have strict rules and place extreme emphasis on hierarchical relationships, requiring subordinates to absolutely obey orders from their superiors.

If Officer Furukawa is caught doing this, he could face severe criticism at best, and at worst be reassigned, demoted, or even have his future career affected.

Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Officer Furukawa waved his hand and explained casually,

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Besides, the Terracotta Army is a treasure that the Osaka Municipal Government borrowed from China. If something really happens, it will not only be a loss for cultural exchange between the two countries, but the Osaka police will also lose face. Everyone will be held responsible."

"However, I can only help you with a little bit by secretly showing you the list of volunteers. As for the subsequent investigation, you'll have to do it yourselves. It's not convenient for me to get too involved."

His words left Lin Xiuyi and Hattori Heizo still somewhat doubtful, knowing full well that Officer Furukawa was deliberately downplaying the situation to ease their psychological burden.

But the situation is urgent. The notice has already been sent, and the other party may take action at any time. They have no time to hesitate or agonize.

Rather than missing the only clue, it's better to get the list first and identify the suspicious individuals.

"Thank you very much, Officer Furukawa." Lin Xiuyi bowed deeply, his voice full of gratitude.

Hattori Heizo and the others also thanked Officer Furukawa, their eyes filled with admiration.

This seemingly ordinary police officer possesses a sense of responsibility and justice that transcends his duties.

Officer Furukawa led the group through the side corridor of the exhibition hall to a room marked "Volunteer Rest Room".

He knocked gently on the door, and a woman in her sixties with an elegant demeanor opened it.

"Officer Furukawa?" the woman asked, somewhat surprised. "Is there something you need?"

“Ms. Yamada, excuse me,” Officer Furukawa bowed politely, “I would like to inquire about the volunteers who were in charge of that area at the time. Could you perhaps provide some information?” The volunteer coordinator, referred to as Ms. Yamada, scrutinized Lin Xiuyi and the others with a wary look in her eyes: “Didn’t the police say it was just a prank? Why are they still investigating?”

"Even if the notice was a prank, the fact that it could be placed next to the Terracotta Warriors without being noticed shows that there are blind spots in the current security system."

Lin Xiuyi explained with a smile,

"We hope to identify potential vulnerabilities by analyzing the volunteers' workflow."

This explanation seemed to have put Ms. Yamada at ease.

She hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay, I can provide the list of volunteers on duty this morning and the duty roster, but you can't record the volunteers' personal information, you can only view it here."

“That’s enough, thank you very much,” Lin Xiuyi nodded politely.

Ms. Yamada returned to her room and soon after took out a folder.

Once opened, it contains the schedule and basic information of all volunteers for this morning.

"The Terracotta Warriors exhibition area is the core area of ​​the special exhibition. We have arranged for four volunteers to be on duty, changing shifts every two hours,"

Ms. Yamada pointed to the form and explained,

"Before the museum opens at 7 a.m., it's Sato, Nakamura, Suzuki, and Takahashi."

Hattori Heizo carefully examined the list and noticed a detail: "Of these four volunteers, only Takahashi is male, while the other three are female?"

“Yes,” Ms. Yamada nodded, “Is there a problem?”

Yoko Ono said softly, "Although the identity of the Phantom Thief Lady is unknown, based on her modus operandi and the traces she left behind, many criminal psychologists speculate that she may be a woman. Of course, this is just speculation."

Ms. Yamada frowned: "You suspect that some of the volunteers are connected to the notice?"

"That's impossible. Our volunteers are all rigorously screened. Most of them are retired teachers, cultural heritage enthusiasts, or students majoring in related fields. They have clean backgrounds and are passionate about cultural relics."

“We are not suspicious of the volunteers,” Lin Xiuyi explained gently, “we just want to understand the morning work process and see if any outsiders are taking advantage of the volunteers’ breaks to get close to the exhibits.”

“That’s even more impossible,” Ms. Yamada shook her head somewhat unhappily. “Apart from the volunteers on duty and the official staff of the museum, no one else can get in before the museum opens.”

Officer Furukawa adjusted his glasses: "Could we meet the four volunteers who were in charge of the Terracotta Warriors exhibition area this morning? We just need to ask them a few simple questions."

"You don't suspect them, do you?"

Ms. Yamada's brow furrowed even more, her voice revealing clear displeasure and a desire to defend her.

"The notice that came out this morning was first discovered and immediately reported by those four people!"

"If there really was a problem, why would they report it proactively?"

“We have complete faith in the volunteers’ integrity,” Officer Furukawa said with a slight bow. “It’s just that, according to investigative procedures, we need to get information from the people who were first in contact with the scene. This is not out of doubt, but to reconstruct the whole story as accurately as possible and eliminate all possibilities.”

Seeing that Officer Furukawa was sincere but unyielding, Ms. Yamada remained silent for a moment before finally sighing.

She turned and whispered a few words to a young assistant beside her, then looked at Officer Furukawa.
"I can arrange it, but please be mindful of your approach when inquiring. These volunteers are serving selflessly out of love for cultural relics, and I don't want them to feel offended or wronged." (End of Chapter)