Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 169 Study Materials (Please subscribe!)

On the way to Masami Hirota's house, Officer Takagi checked the rearview mirror a few times.

"Officer Takagi, is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?" Natsukawa asked, puzzled.

What's wrong with Takagi?

"No, it's okay."

Cold sweat broke out on Takagi's forehead. He sat up straight and stopped looking back.

He was just curious.

Having just transferred from another place not long ago, he was very curious about everything, especially Xia Chuan.

Kogoro Mouri is understandable; he used to be a detective and is now a well-known detective. It's understandable that Inspector Megure would ask him for help in solving cases. But this Natsukawa doesn't seem to be very famous.

It seems that the other party has never been seen to give a statement at the Metropolitan Police Department, so they shouldn't be a detective.

Conan clearly noticed Takagi's confusion and explained, "Natsukawa-nii isn't a detective, but he has a strong deductive ability. He can always discover details that ordinary people can't. He's seen through the truth in front of Uncle Mori several times."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Takagi forced a smile, driving while fantasizing about when he would become someone like Natsukawa.

Not only is he handsome, but his reasoning ability is actually comparable to that of Kogoro Mouri.

I heard he's Instructor Joel's boyfriend.

Honestly, this is truly impressive.

The man who can conquer Instructor Yor must be a better fighter than Instructor Yor, right?
The thought of Yoru made Takagi a little scared. Although he had only been in the first class for a short time, he had already been beaten up quite a bit.

According to senior officers in the Metropolitan Police Department, this is a perk for new recruits; only by enduring Instructor Joel's beginner's tutorial can one become a qualified detective.

If I were like Xia Chuan, the goddess I secretly admired might be...
The image of Sato Miwako flashed into Takagi's mind.

Compared to the other police officers who admired Sato Miwako, I was utterly inadequate!

He's bad at fighting, a complete novice in investigations, dull-witted, and indecisive. It's a miracle he even made it into the Metropolitan Police Department.

No, I absolutely must help Mr. Xia Chuan find the murderer this time. Maybe I can even get a reward!
Seeing the shifting expressions on Takagi's face, sometimes happy, sometimes worried, Conan couldn't help but ask, "Officer Takagi, watch where you're going! You almost ran a red light just now."

"Oh oh oh, okay!"

Hehe, he wasn't afraid at all. He was quite familiar with Miyamoto Yumi, and since it was during working hours, he could get away with running a red light.

Takagi wasn't worried about that.

"Are you police officers?"

Downstairs in the apartment building where Masami Hirota lived, the building manager looked at the two young men and a child in front of him, somewhat disbelieving.

What kind of police officer brings a child along when they go out to investigate a case?!

"I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. Who goes on a police call with a child? Don't try to fool me just because I'm old."

The building manager, with his hands behind his back, squinted and warily sized up the two people, hesitating whether to call the police, thinking they might be child traffickers.

"Yes." Takagi nodded helplessly, "Conan is a witness in the case, that's why I brought him here."

The building manager was still somewhat skeptical.

"Officer Takagi, show your police ID to the building manager. He's experienced and still very capable; he'll definitely be able to tell if you're a police officer or not."

The building manager liked to hear this and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, show me your police ID. The Metropolitan Police Department's police ID is easy to recognize, especially with my extensive experience."

The building manager nodded with his head held high, clearly pleased with Xia Chuan's compliment.

A few minutes later.

"That's settled then?" The building manager took off his reading glasses, handed back his police ID, and also gave the keys to Takagi Wataru: "Go upstairs, but be careful not to disturb the other residents, or I won't be able to explain it to them."

To be honest, he couldn't understand the police officer's ID.

It's normal that he doesn't understand since he hasn't committed any crimes. The reason he checked it was just in case, and I don't think anyone would impersonate a police officer.

The group nodded and headed towards the elevator.

"Natsukawa-kun, why do we bring Conan along when we're investigating cases?"

Inside the elevator, Takagi couldn't help but ask a question.

After chatting with Natsukawa the whole way, Takagi and Natsukawa have become quite familiar with each other, and Takagi is now calling Natsukawa "brother".

Judging from their brotherly demeanor, they have the flair of Inspector Megure, and their future is limitless.

Xia Chuan paused for a moment, then smiled and patted the dog's head, saying, "Conan is the chief detective of the Junior Detective League. Not only is his reasoning ability strong, but he also often discovers details that ordinary people cannot. He has provided Uncle Mori with important clues several times. With him around, the chances of finding the clues left behind by Masami Hirota will be higher."

Come to think of it, Charlotte Holmes wasn't this young either.

Conan blushed slightly at the praise. He couldn't compare to the famous Sherlock Holmes, but he was still very confident in himself compared to the young Holmes.

"That's it"

Takagi rolled her eyes, unsure what to say. This was practically the same thing Conan had just said.

Are these two people, one big and one small, praising each other?
"Speaking of which, does Masami Hirota have another residence?" Conan asked worriedly.

Xia Chuan let out a soft "Eh," realizing that Conan had guessed it all.

However, it's not a big problem. In order to allow Conan to be more involved in the plot, Natsukawa still left him some clues.

"Let's take a look, just in case."

At the entrance to Hirota's house, Takagi unlocked the door with his key.

"Is this the house of Masami Hirota?" Conan couldn't wait to barge in.

"Hey!" Takagi tried to stop him, but Natsukawa patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Conan is very sensible."

Then, Takagi saw Conan quickly put transparent plastic wrap on his feet and put on rubber gloves.

"So professional," Takagi exclaimed, suddenly feeling a bit interested in learning more about the Junior Detective Club.

"Of course, after all, Conan has been following Uncle Mori for a long time, so he will pay attention to these details."

When the two arrived in the living room, Conan was already lying on the floor examining it.

Conan's main goal is to find and store some of Masami Hirota's hair.

After all, he was a member of the Black Organization, so he needed to make some records, in case he needed them later.

Dr. Agasa's clinic can perform genetic testing on hair and blood.

With the two adults on his back, Conan carefully tucked a single hair into his handkerchief and put it away.

Since it was at Masami Hirota's house, he wasn't worried that picking up a single hair would affect the investigation.

Moreover, handing it over to the police might not be as quick as having Dr. Agasa do the testing.

It's not that I don't trust the police.
Okay, it's just a lack of trust.

"Have you found any clues?" Xia Chuan asked, squatting down in front of him.

Conan shook his head and stood up, pretending that nothing had happened: "No, I just accidentally fell down."

"Falling on flat ground?"

Unlike Takagi Wataru, Natsukawa noticed Conan's subtle actions but kept quiet.

"."

Conan offered no explanation and began searching the living room intently.

I carefully inspected the TV cabinet, sofa, table, balcony, and ceiling.

"There don't seem to be any useful clues in the living room." Conan frowned, feeling uneasy. It seemed that Masami Hirota hadn't left any clues.

Before Xia Chuan could answer him, he ran back to the bedroom.

Xia Chuan watched the whole thing but showed no intention of helping with the investigation.

Takagi Wataru was a little confused. What was Natsukawa doing? Was it really okay to just let Conan, a child, look around without doing anything himself?
He still didn't quite trust Conan; after all, he was just a kid, and it wouldn't be good if he ruined some important evidence. Takagi hurriedly followed him towards the bedroom.

"Conan, be careful not to touch anything. The forensic team hasn't examined the scene yet, so you absolutely cannot touch anything!!!" Takagi earnestly advised.

Kids are so annoying, especially this kind; they really keep you on your toes.

Can Conan really find any clues?

"I understand!" Conan agreed outwardly, but his actions didn't stop for a moment. This was the first time he had felt so exhilarated by solving a case.

Xia Chuan completely ignored him, unlike Uncle Maoli, who would punch him whenever he saw him investigating a case.

Officer Takagi seemed to be a new recruit, a bit inexperienced in his work. He told him to be careful, but didn't physically stop him from checking the situation.

Ah, that feels great! I can finally examine the scene and deduce the facts of the case properly.

however.

Ten minutes later, Conan walked out of the bedroom looking somewhat dejected.

So annoying!

He rubbed his tired eyes, sighed, and thought to himself that he was unlucky; it seemed that Masami Hirota hadn't left any useful clues in this place.

"Didn't you find anything related to the case?" Xia Chuan asked.

"No," Conan replied, shaking his head, completely forgetting that a child like him shouldn't be showing such a bitter and resentful expression at this moment.

"Uncle Xia Chuan, have you discovered anything?"

When Natsukawa asked this question, it seemed to have a teasing tone, which made Conan quite dramatic.

I searched for a long time but couldn't find any clues. It seems the other party was only checking the situation in the living room. What could they possibly find?
Did I forget something?
"Look over there."

Conan looked in the direction the finger was pointing, his gaze finally settling on the half-exposed electrical outlet on the side of the living room desk.

"socket?"

Takagi came out of another bedroom and looked in the direction the finger was pointing.

The socket next to the desk is nothing special, except that it's half-obscured by the desk.

This renders the socket unusable.

"Natsukawa-nii, is there something wrong with the socket?" Takagi asked curiously.

Xia Chuan shook his head and remained silent, waiting for someone to guess the answer.

For ordinary people, it is more fulfilling to guess the answer themselves; and for a detective like Conan, it is even more so, as guessing the answer himself is more convincing.

"There's definitely something wrong with this socket."

Conan stepped forward to examine it for a while and then said, "Normally, if a socket is not in use, it will be completely covered and will not have half of it exposed, affecting the appearance."

He hadn't noticed it before, since it was just an ordinary socket, but now that Xia Chuan pointed it out, he did realize that something was wrong with the socket.

The socket next to the desk must be used frequently, so it shouldn't be half-blocked.

Moreover, there is clearly some space on the right side of this table, so moving it a little further to the right to expose the socket would be more reasonable.

Next, Conan went over to check the four legs of the desk and found that the legs had been moved.

There is a mark the size of a table leg on the left side of each of the four table legs.

This spot is very clean, which is probably where the table legs originally stood.

This is definitely to hide something.

What is being hidden?
Conan and Takagi exchanged a glance, already knowing the answer in their hearts.

There's definitely something behind this socket!
Takagi stepped forward and forcefully pushed the desk aside, fully exposing the socket panel.

Conan crouched down to examine the details and found that the socket panel was a bit loose, as if it wasn't secured with screws; the socket panel was simply clipped onto the socket box.

He carefully removed the panel.

Click.

A USB drive fell out.

"Officer Takagi, quickly find a way to read the contents of the USB drive!"

Conan was overjoyed, his dejection vanished. Hirota Masami had hidden it so well, there must be some extraordinary information inside.

It might be the key to solving the case.

Ding! Guiding Conan to find the clues has been completed.
"I...I understand. There's a computer in the bedroom I was checking."

Before Takagi could get up, Conan grabbed the USB drive and ran towards the bedroom where the computer was.

"Has Conan always been like this?"

"Yes, kids are kids, it's normal for them to be a little impatient."

"He's so energetic, and Conan is really amazing. He's the smartest kid I've ever met."

While reflecting on this, Takagi began to imagine the reward he would receive for telling Inspector Megure the news.

The reward might be a bit uncertain, but praise is inevitable.

In this way.
Hehehe, finally some results!

Akemi Miyano's home computer is a bulky, old-fashioned CRT computer, which is very popular now and not something that most families would own.

Computers are still considered a luxury item.

Computers are not very useful nowadays; only a small number of people need to use them for work.

In an era before the internet was widespread, it was somewhat suspicious that a bank employee owned a computer.

After all, I can't watch TV series anymore.

Putting aside the use of diagrams, the price alone is not something a bank employee could accept.

"How about it?"

Xia Chuan watched as Conan executed a series of actions with lightning speed, clearly indicating that he frequently played computer games.

Kids from wealthy families are just different. If it were Takagi, he probably wouldn't even know where to plug in the USB drive.

"Wait a minute, the USB drive doesn't have a password, but it has too many empty folders."

It's quite rare to see a company using such a security method as not setting a password.

The folder on this USB drive definitely can't be too simple. If I set a password, Natsukawa is afraid that Conan won't be able to find the clues to solve the mystery, so he came up with this method.

Yes, Natsukawa secretly put this USB drive in yesterday while Miyano Akemi wasn't home.

In his past life, he had handled USB drives in this way: he created a large number of folders and hid his study materials within these folders, making them extremely secure.

Unless someone is patient, they won't click on each one individually, meaning only they can access the learning materials.

"Conan, you're amazing! You can even use a computer."

Takagi was filled with doubt and surprise; Conan's performance was definitely not something an ordinary child could do.

As expected of a child from Kogoro Mouri's family.

"Hehe, it's me."

Conan was about to say that his father taught him in Hawaii, but then he remembered that Natsukawa had once used the same excuse, and he was speechless.

"I often play games at Professor Agasa's house. The computers here are almost the same as the ones at Professor Agasa's house."

Soon, Conan found a folder named "Study Materials" among the layers of folders.

"Is it this one?"

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)