The cross-dressing master in the world of Detective Conan

However, when these semi-finished marijuana products were discovered, the eerie stench seemed quite strange, as if it had been deliberately created to conceal the existence of something.

That thing is the raw material for this pile of semi-finished products, something that is completely prohibited by law, and even planting a single plant would be punished.

So Kazama Kaoru and Conan went back to check the wanted criminal's residence, this time with a more targeted approach, because that thing couldn't possibly grow up to the ceiling.

Not long after, Kaoru Kazama successfully discovered the target: poppies planted in the cracks of a cement slab.

That wasn't just a small area, but a huge expanse. I don't know how these poppies survived in such a foul-smelling environment.

Moreover, it seems to be quite different from normal poppies. Not only does it have a very peculiar fragrance, but it also seems to be able to survive without needing normal amounts of sunlight. This is probably a variety that has undergone targeted induced evolution.

This matter suddenly became serious. The area under this cultivation is probably comparable to some small villages in the Golden Triangle.

Moreover, the concrete slab interlayer of this building is specially made, and with the genetically modified poppy flowers produced under special conditions, these two people definitely do not have the ability to manipulate such a large operation. Therefore, we must consider whether there are other forces behind this matter.

Thinking about it this way, the unusual behavior of Kikuji Banmachi, who has been refusing to confess, seems to have a new explanation, at least in the great detective's imagination.

The detective, who suffers from Black Coat Stress Syndrome, immediately connected many things to his mind, and his expression turned gloomy.

Chapter 680 The Unexpected Truth

"Looks like this is none of my business."

Kaoru Kazama shrugged. This kind of thing was outside the scope of their First Investigation Division's duties; it was usually handled by the Third Investigation Division.

It is worth mentioning that the four investigation divisions of the Metropolitan Police Department have different responsibilities and generally do not interfere with each other when they encounter cases.

The First Investigation Division is where Kaoru Kazama works. Generally speaking, the First Investigation Division is responsible for various cases that occur daily, especially those involving locked-room murders. This division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department places more emphasis on crime scene investigation and the search for clues.

The Second Investigation Division is where Inspector Nakamori works, and its highest-ranking officer is Chaki Shintaro. Generally, they are responsible for major criminals, such as international thieves, and targets that do not involve murder but have a negative impact.

Of course, the main focus now is chasing after Kaito Kid. Generally speaking, the equipment used in this area is geared towards capturing and interfering with him. It's worth mentioning that the vehicles owned by the Second Investigation Division make up the majority of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's fleet.

Otherwise, Inspector Nakamori wouldn't always act so extravagantly, sending out dozens of police cars to chase and intercept Phantom Thief Kid, and even having helicopter support all the time.

The Third Investigation Division is mainly responsible for cases involving violent organizations such as organized crime groups. In Japan, organized crime is legal, but that does not mean they can commit crimes freely. It is necessary to send people to keep an eye on them for a long time, and even undercover intelligence gathering is very common.

In this respect, although the brewery is almost crammed with spies and agents from various countries, to be honest, the number of spies there is less than a third of that of the Third Investigation Division.

Moreover, sometimes the distinction between the police and the underworld is not very clear. For example, the head of the Kanto region, the president of the Kanto Federation, is someone who can openly attend banquets hosted by the Superintendent General of Police. Everyone knows that they are mortal enemies, but this does not affect their interactions, and they may even help each other sometimes.

After all, those gangsters come from all walks of life, making it much easier for them to gather information than the police.

However, Kaoru Kazama doesn't know much about this part, and given her personality, she wouldn't be interested in it, since it's not easy to slack off in a place where black and white intertwine.

As for the Fourth Investigation Division, they are responsible for handling these contraband items. Since smuggling is involved, the police in this division are more lenient in obtaining firing permits than others. At least they won't be taken to psychological counseling after firing a single shot, since this situation is quite common there.

So when those things were discovered, Kaoru Kazama's duty was basically complete.

Next, it's time for the colleagues from the Fourth Investigation Division to make their appearance.

“I have already informed them. Now Kikuji Bancho and his accomplice can’t deny it. It’s no wonder he’s afraid to confess when it comes to this kind of thing.”

Kaoru Kazama sighed with emotion. He never expected that such a seemingly vagrant young man would be involved in such a large amount of contraband. It really shows that appearances can be deceiving.

"Could someone be pulling the strings behind the scenes?"

Conan still doesn't give up his guess, or rather, he associates all illegal transactions with the Black Organization. He even mistakenly identified the group that counterfeited money as such.

"Things aren't necessarily that complicated. Sometimes, thinking in a simpler way can reveal many things you didn't notice before."

Kaoru Kazama offered this reminder.

There wasn't anything particularly special to discover; if I had to explain it, it was probably just a gut feeling.

Anyway, she just felt that this incident wouldn't be too complicated.

As it turns out, Kazama Kaoru's intuition was correct. Perhaps it was due to the change in gender that Kazama Kaoru gained the legendary "woman's intuition" divine buff.

With the evidence irrefutable, Kikuji Banmachi did not resist for long and quickly confessed what had happened.

The victim who was burned to death four years ago was indeed killed by the two of them, but the motive was not hatred or anything else, but simply extortion.

But the target was not the female victim, but the construction site owner who hanged himself afterward.

The two guys initially discovered while strolling around in the evening that the construction site owner seemed to secretly leave his room at the construction site every night and come to this building that was still under construction to do something.

Out of boredom and curiosity, the two followed the building to investigate, and that's how they discovered the secret hidden in the concrete slab layer of the building.

It turns out that the person who initially prepared this secret base was the construction company boss. This guy planned to use this building under renovation to grow these specially induced genetically modified poppies, intending to get rich through this highly profitable business.

Unexpectedly, the two thugs discovered them. They had originally planned to use this to blackmail them, but unfortunately, they encountered a third witness who appeared in the same place in the middle of the night.

This extortion turned into murder to silence someone, and it happened by two different people using different methods.

One was burned to death, while the other was tied up for several days before it was faked as suicide.

Because the two people died at different times and were unrelated, and because the area was sparsely populated and lacked surveillance equipment, the traces were completely wiped away by a sudden downpour.

The cases that the police fear most are not meticulously planned locked-room murders, but rather those where the perpetrator strikes suddenly and escapes far away. If a heavy rain wipes away the traces, then it's basically a cold case.

Even if these two people confessed what happened, it would be hard for most people to imagine that the two cases that occurred four years ago were caused by the mere wandering and curiosity of two unemployed youths.

"So, all my reasoning was completely useless this time."

Conan said with a resentful look.

This is the second day since the incident, and Conan has come to the Metropolitan Police Department to submit a statement.

If other children or strangers want to come in, they have to wear a pass to show their identity.

This guy is completely useless. He comes over almost every two or three days, either to make a statement or to report a crime. He comes more often than Kazama Kaoru, the police officer.

This is no exaggeration. After all, she has a laid-back personality and avoids working overtime whenever possible, and she almost never comes to work on Saturdays and Sundays.

Conan encounters quite a few cases on a regular basis, and when he's on vacation, he's practically unleashed by death, and wherever he goes, death follows. So, if you really count it, he probably visits the Metropolitan Police Department more times than Kazama Kaoru.

Chapter 681 Kaoru Kazama's Daily Life of Slacking Off

"Aren't any of your friends from the Junior Detective Club coming with you this time?"

Kaoru Kazama looked at Conan, who was all alone.

For these energetic kids, Conan usually plays the role of a babysitter and rarely finds himself alone.

"I made up an excuse to leave today; they're still in class."

"What, is it because the school is organizing a large choir performance today, and you're afraid of embarrassing yourself?"

"Please, how could that be? Even if I'm not good at it, there's no need for me to be so scared that I run out."

"Maybe the teacher is worried that you'll lead the other children astray, so she wants you to stay away from them."

"Hey, don't make it sound so real. I'm just here to give a statement today. It's not strange that I took the day off. Don't make wild guesses."

Seeing Conan's somewhat evasive gaze, Kaoru Kazama became even more interested.

However, now is a perfect opportunity for her to slack off, and watching Conan make a fool of himself now would be a waste of time.

"Come on, didn't you have some details about the scene that you can't remember? I'll take you back for a walk, and that way you'll remember."

"what?"

Before Conan could even voice his question, Kaoru Kazama had already quickly prepared for her fieldwork, it seemed she was determined to go out and slack off today.

"It must be so boring to stay in the Metropolitan Police Department all the time. How could a seventeen-year-old kid like you understand the troubles of adults?"

"Tch, you're only twenty years old, what are you pretending to be so mature for?"

"Being three years older still makes you a senior. I think you should learn a thing or two about respecting the elderly and caring for the young at Teitan Elementary School. By the way, did you gain any insights or lessons from your retraining there?"

Kaoru Kazama asked with great interest.

Honestly, after entering the workforce, I often find myself reminiscing about my school days, feeling that those were truly carefree times.

If we're talking about the most relaxed time, it would undoubtedly be elementary school. The academic burden wasn't so heavy, and there weren't as many exams and tests. It was much freer than junior high and high school.

"I don't feel anything special. I just feel like I'm wasting my life, but I did get to review the first-grade curriculum, hehehe."

It sounds like the great detective is under a lot of pressure.

Perhaps for this precocious guy, being thrown into a group of elementary school students would be the real torture.

Looking at it this way, 73 really is a great demon king who sees through people's hearts; my own cultivation is still insufficient.

"Does Ai Haibara pay attention in class at school?"

Kaoru Kazama took the opportunity to find out Ai's whereabouts. After all, she had been in the Naruto world for a long time. Even though time passed slowly here, it was still more than three months for her, and some of her memories were not very clear.

"She listens to lectures quite attentively, and sometimes she even raises her hand to answer questions. She doesn't seem like someone who has taken that kind of drug at all."

Compared to the fake elementary school student who only goes through the motions like the Great Detective, Ai is much more dedicated.

However, it's probably also because she didn't have much of a normal schooling growing up. After all, living under the surveillance of the organization all her life, it would be impossible for her to have a normal life.

Now that such an opportunity has come up, it's normal to want to experience something you've never had before.

"Really? As long as she's happy, that's all that matters. Her sister and I both hope she can forget that experience. After all, she's only a twenty-year-old."

As he said this, the great detective gave him a big, dead-fish-like look.

After all, in his opinion, Kaoru Kazama and Ai Haibara are actually the same age, but this guy is acting all old and profound. Does this kind of behavior give people some kind of pleasure?

While pondering this question, the great detective was completely unaware of why he was happy to present himself as Conan and call himself a detective in front of criminals.

This kind of perverse sense of humor is much stranger than Kazama Kaoru's.

"But speaking of which, why did you bring me out here? It feels like you're just wandering around aimlessly."

Conan sat in the passenger seat, watching Kaoru Kazama drive slowly at 40 miles per hour, occasionally turning his head to admire the scenery along the street.

He found it all very strange. What was so interesting about the scenery in this steel jungle? He had grown up here and was already tired of it.

Isn't the allure of someone suddenly dying incredibly strong?

It might be difficult for a normal person to understand the great detective's fervent pursuit of the case, which in some ways even surpasses Ran's.

"I was just strolling around and happened to chat with you about my thoughts after watching the movie."

Why do you want to communicate with me?

"Because you're the only one free, Ai is still in class, and Akemi has gone out, so I'm a bit bored. But we can go find Professor Agasa and see if he has any new inventions that can help me pass the time."

With that, Kaoru Kazama turned the car around and drove towards Professor Agasa's residence.