No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"The target is heading north along National Highway 4 and will soon enter the tunnel."

Kitahara Masaki didn't hesitate any longer and stepped on the gas to follow. Although he didn't think Amuro Tooru would be taken down so easily, this time the opponent was likely Rum. Even though Kitahara Masaki had been in the organization for so many years, he had never seen Rum's true face. He basically used some disposable fake identities.

In other words, this is also an opportunity. The Rum we see in a head-on confrontation is much more real than the Rum we usually see.

By this time, the tow truck had already entered the tunnel with the escort vehicle. Looking through the glass windows, everyone inside appeared to be lying on the ground, as if they were all asleep. The tow truck stopped and began using glass-cutting equipment to open the windows. Five minutes later, the professional team opened a hole large enough for one person to pass through. A short man then crawled through the hole, retrieved the handcuff keys and the car door keys, and immediately carried Nata out of the vehicle.

Then another delivery truck came through the tunnel. The short man threw Nata onto the back of the truck, then returned to the cab of the trailer and drove away.

"They changed vehicles; Nata was moved to a truck with a courier company's advertisement on it."

"Understood, there were no landmark buildings before this."

Looking at the images Haibara showed her, and drawing on her past experience, Vermouth pointed to a factory and said:

“Masaki, they might have gone to that factory. That textile factory has been abandoned for a long time, and there is a large open space used for unloading goods.”

Kitahara Masaki understood what she meant. Before, it was used to unload cargo, but now it was used to escape. After all, escaping by car would be discovered sooner or later, so switching to a helicopter would allow them to leave Tokyo quickly!

"Ai, check if there's a helicopter takeoff permit."

Yes, right now!

Kitahara Masaki glanced at the departing trailer, but still chose to follow the truck.

The drone quickly flew to the open space of the factory and found that people were already waiting there. They were all armed with guns and dressed in the most ordinary cleaning worker clothes. Although they were all wearing masks, their sinister eyes could still be seen. It was a mystery where the organization found so many desperados.

As the truck arrived at the entrance to the open space, the helicopter circled around the factory, seemingly preparing to land.

Kitahara Masaki then spoke through the earpiece:

"I'll leave the remote control of the car to you."

Then, with Vermouth's remote control, Kitahara Masaki left the pilot's seat and leaned out of the sunroof. Full magazines of submachine gun bullets rained down on the helicopter's windshield. Before the windshield could be shattered, several bullets hit the propeller, and the resulting flashes caused the helicopter to plummet. In the end, the pilot managed to climb back up to altitude only by desperately gripping the control stick.

However, at that moment, the helicopter left its back exposed to Kitahara Masaki, and a single sniper bullet pierced the glass and blew the pilot's head off.

After discarding the submachine gun with its empty magazine and putting down the troublesome sniper rifle, Kitahara Masaki took out his rifle, straightened the sling, and unleashed a burst of fire. Before anyone could react, the lower-ranking members of the organization were shot down. Then, a van parked sideways was pierced through, and the bullets poured out, hitting the fuel tank and instantly turning the organization members who boarded the van into a failed barbecue.

"stop!"

Just as Kitahara Masaki was starting his "Tonight, let's hunt to our hearts' content," someone else arrived from behind. Kitahara Masaki returned to the car through the sunroof and saw a trailer truck speeding at top speed in the rearview mirror. Amuro Tooru inside was loudly trying to stop Kitahara Masaki's massacre, but for Kitahara Masaki, eliminating Nata was to lure out Rum. Even if Rum wasn't lured out, Kitahara Masaki could still eliminate someone who would definitely seek revenge against him.

As for finding clues about the organization from other people? It's obvious that these people at the scene are executors, not planners, so even if you arrest them all, you won't be able to gather enough information to fill a single sheet of paper.

However, no matter how loudly Amuro Tooru shouted, no one would stop now. The remaining enemies who had come to their senses pulled the trigger on Kitahara Masaki. They were all afraid of having their fuel tanks blown up, so they slowly scattered in all directions. At this time, the helicopter had crashed into the abandoned factory, turning into a fireball, which made these lower-level members even more afraid. Not to mention that there was a madman driving a trailer rushing over at the very back.

All eyes of the organization members were focused on the car that Kitahara Masaki had driven. In order to speed up the slaughter, Kitahara Masaki rolled off the other side of the car door, which was not under concentrated fire. While the enemy's guns were still chasing Kitahara Masaki's vehicle, Kitahara Masaki had already gotten to the ground and kept firing his rifle in short bursts. When the rifle bullets ran out, he switched to his spare pistol and continued to work like a robot on an assembly line—aiming, firing, headshot; aiming, firing, headshot.

Seeing the criminal who had been so formidable that he had even managed to hold off the Japanese police being dealt with by one person like harvesting wheat, Naota's composed expression gradually crumbled. After he was dragged off the bus, the head of the person next to him who had been pulling him exploded like a watermelon.

However, for some reason, Kitahara Masaki stopped after doing this much. Vermouth's remotely controlled car forced Amuro Tooru's trailer to stop and returned to Kitahara Masaki's side. But even at this point, the real mastermind was still not forced out, which means that person had given up on the mission, or that from the beginning, Nita was just part of the plan.

After making a "see you later" gesture to Amuro Tooru, Kitahara Masaki immediately left the scene, leaving only the mentally broken Nata and a pile of corpses.

However, even Kitahara Masaki did not expect that the mastermind behind the scenes, several kilometers away, saw everything through the camera on the helicopter. Although the final scene was a sea of ​​fire, the live broadcast was still reflected on that person's computer.

After a moment's thought, he uploaded the video to the dark web, making the entire Japanese underworld aware of this horrific battle.

Chapter 266 Three days of fishing, two and a half days of drying nets

"Ah—Kitahara-senpai, did you go to the snow mountain?"

"Pretty much. The series of cases in Tokyo last time really hit me hard. First, I couldn't figure out the culprit's intentions, which gave him the opportunity to stab a politician. Then, a helicopter crashed in Tokyo, and I still couldn't figure out anything about that. Sigh, I think I should take a break, so my girlfriend and I went on a trip. I'll bring you some souvenirs when we get back! That's all, bye—"

The phone beeped, and Kitahara Masaki then lay down on the bed, looking at the messages on his computer:

Hakuba Saguru issued a warning to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, saying that the zoo's spider was coming to Japan to deal with Phantom Thief Kid.

Vermouth, who had just applied a face mask, asked:

"Your hardworking junior has sent you several text messages, saying there's been a serial murder case. If it's about protecting Mr. Kuroba's son, I can handle it all by myself."

“But there are risks… Spider is different from the snake before. He is one of the world’s top assassins and magicians. If we were to fight on the stage he set up, I wouldn’t dare say I could beat him 100%. Besides, although Kaito is a talented kid, he is still a long way from his father. So I want to prepare a big gift for Spider in advance.”

Since he's a 'magician,' if we can find a way to seal his 'Flame Leap' and 'Paper Doll Substitute,' Kitahara Masaki will have a chance to capture him directly.

In short, if Kitahara Masaki wants to obtain information about the zoo's intelligence network, he must prepare fully for the duel with the spider and try to capture him alive during the battle. Only then can he extract information about the zoo's leader, the lion, from him.

As for the serial murder case, let's leave that to Kogoro's son-in-law, who is currently in a deep sleep.

------------------

Conan, who accompanied Kogoro to the Metropolitan Police Department, had a chuckle on his face. Kitahara Masaki had simply dumped the case on him while he went on vacation. As a police officer, he certainly knew how to enjoy himself. However, it was because of this that Inspector Megure was able to remember Uncle Mori again and ask him to help the police solve the case.

Conan, on the other hand, was regarded by the Metropolitan Police Department as a disciple of both Kitahara Masaki and Mouri Kogoro, so he was also given high hopes.

At this moment, Takagi and Sato came out together to greet the Mori family. They seemed completely used to detectives bringing their families along when solving cases, and Takagi began to explain the case to Uncle Mori:

"At the murder scene that occurred on the toll road in Odawara City the day before yesterday, we found another mahjong tile. There have been five other cases in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Nagano, and other places where mahjong tiles have been found at the scene. Please come to the meeting room with us to discuss this in detail, Mr. Mori. Oh, by the way, Ran and Conan, you can wait in the lounge."

Conan skillfully installed a bugging device on Mori, then went to the lounge with Ran.

As soon as Mori entered the meeting room, he saw Yokomizo Sango, who had seaweed-like hair, and his younger brother Yokomizo Shigego. Although the two were brothers, Sango was a police officer in Shizuoka Prefecture, while Yokomizo was a police officer in Kanagawa Prefecture. The Mori family had encountered several cases in the area during their trip, so they already knew each other.

"Mr. Mori, I never expected to see you in Tokyo this time!"

"Well, as a former police officer, it's my duty to help the police solve cases. By the way, who's that person behind you?"

The seaweed-headed monk stepped aside and introduced the situation to Mori:

"This is Inspector Ogino, the Prefectural Police Officer of Saitama Prefecture."

"I am Ayami Ogino. I have long admired Detective Mouri."

"I never expected there to be such a beautiful police officer in the Saitama Prefectural Police."

The young policewoman immediately caught Mori's attention, and the older man couldn't help but praise her a few more times.

Because this serial murder case involved a wide range of locations, including one of the victims who was murdered in Tokyo and whose residence was in Saitama, people were even sent from the small town of Saitama.

"Heh, to actually have to ask a detective for help, how embarrassing."

"Don't say that. I'm also a former police officer, Officer Yamato. We need to work together on this investigation. Oh, and you too, you lousy officer from Gunma Prefecture."

With a cane, a frightening X-shaped scar on his right eye, and long hair, Nagano Prefectural Police Inspector Daiwa Kansuke joined the conversation, though he himself wasn't really keen on the detective's help.

"Really, Mr. Mori, thanks to you, I, Yamamura Misao, have now been promoted to Inspector!"

Conan, who was listening to the conversation through the bug, chuckled to himself, wondering if there would be a lot of wrongful convictions in Gunma Prefecture in the future.

After everyone had gotten to know each other and been seated, Officer Shiratori began to recount the events of the six cases:

"The common thread in the first five cases is that all the stabbings were committed with large knives. Judging from the wounds, the killer's dominant hand should be right. Moreover, it appears that all five victims were first kidnapped with stun guns, taken to the scene, and then murdered. This raises one of the questions—why did the killer take the victims to a specific location before killing them?"

After Shiratori finished pointing out the first point of doubt, he pointed to the photo on the notepad.

"Next, mahjong tiles with red circles, English letters and vertical black lines on the back were found next to the six bodies. These mahjong tiles consisted of one 'one' of bamboo and six 'seven's of bamboo. The English letters were two A's, two B's, two E's, two H's, two Z's, and one L's upside down. Finally, after the victims were killed, one of their personal belongings was taken from each of them."

Yokomizo Shigeo then added:

"There is also a sixth victim who left a death message—'Qixi, Beijing,' and we are also investigating this clue."

With just these few clues, the police were at a loss. Then, Uncle Mori bravely shouted:

"I understand! Since the murderer used mahjong as a clue, the motive for the murder must have been a dispute over mahjong. Leaving the seven of bamboo tiles means it was a mahjong game with seven people. And if each victim corresponds to a circle marked in red on the seven of bamboo tiles, then the remaining circles that are not marked in red represent the last victim!"

"Ahem, Mori, this doesn't explain the English letters and the death message behind it."

Inspector Megure waved for Mori to leave, thinking to himself that Mori, who wasn't asleep, was basically just joking around. If this case had been handed over to Kitahara Masaki, it should have been resolved quickly, but Mori had actually applied for leave at this time, and the supervisor and higher-ups had all agreed!

Inspector Megure, who didn't understand what was going on, didn't bother to guess. However, in order to solve this serial murder case as soon as possible, he still sought help from Kogoro, hoping that he could fall asleep quickly.

P.S. The upper half of the Seven of Bamboo is composed of three circles forming a diagonal line from the upper left to the lower right, while the lower half is composed of four circles forming a 2x2 square.

Chapter 267 The Inept Policeman Yamamura Misao

There are several reasons why Kitahara Maki did not participate in the investigation of this serial murder case:

First, when high-ranking police officers asked him for his opinion on the case, Kitahara Masaki concluded that the existing clues were sufficient to catch the culprit. After discussing the matter, the older officers hoped this case could become a model of multi-regional police cooperation, so they wanted Kitahara Masaki to step aside—to avoid the embarrassment of the case being solved too quickly. In other words, they were implying that this case would allow a large group of people to benefit, and that his position as superintendent shouldn't be contested by his subordinates. Kitahara Masaki was happy to have some peace and quiet, so he took leave and instructed Koshimizu Nanatsuki to remain invisible at the joint investigation headquarters.

Then, one of the victims in this serial killing spree was a NOC—an unofficial undercover agent. This murdered individual was a member of the organization disguised as an ordinary person. Although he was a member without a name, he possessed a memory card containing the organization's list of undercover agents. He had originally handed the case over to Ireland to handle, but before Ireland could take action, he was killed by the serial killer, who also happened to take the memory card.

However, Kitahara Masaki's name was naturally not on that memory card. After all, how could someone of his caliber be known to a low-level undercover agent? The memory card mainly contained undercover agents working in ordinary municipal departments. These people were all people the organization had bought with money. If the police found that memory card, they would lose a large number of undercover agents who were working at the grassroots level for money. So, this matter was not a big deal, but it was still quite urgent.

Even though Kitahara Masaki was pulled from the investigation by higher-ups in the police force, he was still able to keep track of the investigation through Koshimizu Nanatsuki and the First Investigative Division. Moreover, with Conan around, he was never worried about not finding the culprit.

Gin, on the other hand, was looking forward to seeing Kitahara Masaki make a fool of himself. He only told Kitahara Masaki that Ireland would cooperate with him to destroy the memory card. He was unwilling to give him any more information. In any case, even if this mission failed, it would only result in the loss of some ordinary undercover agents, which could be bought off later. After all, the organization had no shortage of money.

Unfortunately, Gin didn't know that he had given Kitahara Masaki a perfect opportunity, a legitimate excuse to get close to Ireland.

The mission wasn't particularly difficult; the goal was to retrieve or destroy the murderer's memory card before the police caught him. For Kitahara Masaki, who had already risen to a mid-to-high-ranking position in the police force, obtaining the latest investigative intelligence was not a challenge. Therefore, this was a golden opportunity for him to meet with Ireland. After all, if one had to pinpoint the exact time, it was when Kitahara Masaki disguised himself as Gin and killed Pisco. At that time, Ireland mistakenly believed, through the computer's webcam, that Gin had eliminated Pisco. It's likely that his hatred for Gin is even stronger now than before.

Just as Kitahara Masaki was pondering the progress of the search, Koshimizu Nanatsuki called and said:

"Inspector Kitahara, Officer Yamato Kansuke from Nagano has received intelligence that a man named Fukayori had a conflict with one of the six victims. A year ago, Fukayori stabbed one of the victims. The intelligence indicates he will be meeting his girlfriend at the Beika shopping mall. However..."

"That guy is definitely not the murderer, but this is a good opportunity to see how well the police officers in different regions are cooperating, and then let the higher-ups judge for themselves whether this case can become the example they want."

Hearing this, Koshimizu Nanatsuki understood that for the sake of the entire police force, the First Criminal Investigation Division would have to play a supporting role this time. However, Koshimizu herself was very dissatisfied. After all, someone with a history of impulsive violence was obviously not the perpetrator of a serial murder case, but the Joint Investigation Headquarters people still stubbornly believed that people with criminal records were more suspicious.

"Inspector Kitahara, if our Criminal Investigation Division is to participate in this kind of case, can we send someone else instead?"

"Hehe, Yueshui, now that you're on board, it's time to pay the fare. Take a good look at the inconveniences of large organizations. While you're smart, you also have to tolerate their slow information exchange."

Hmph! You talk as if you saw it with your own eyes, but in the end, you still made me act as the substitute for the Criminal Investigation Division.

Knowing that Koshimizu was definitely complaining about him, Kitahara Masaki immediately hung up the phone and then told Ireland about it, asking him to come to Beika Department Store in advance so that the two of them could meet first. Although logically speaking, this guy was definitely not the murderer who took the memory card, it could be used as an excuse to make initial contact with Ireland.

Upon arriving at the mall, Ireland, whose original appearance was too conspicuous, disguised herself as a cleaner and waited at the location designated by Kitahara Masaki.

As this was just a routine cooperative mission, Kitahara Masaki didn't need to tell Ireland that he was the police officer 'Kitahara Masaki'; he only needed to use the codename 'Arvind'. Furthermore, the mission assignment was that Arvind would be responsible for intelligence gathering, while Ireland would be responsible for destroying evidence.

"034532."

"423435."

After exchanging the code words, the two began their conversation. Incidentally, the numbers they used were merely for identification purposes and were not a poet's birthday or extracted from pi; they were simply two meaningless numbers.

"The police identified a suspect, and after we confirmed the situation at the scene, we decided on the next course of action."

"If he is the murderer, should we try to stop the police from arresting him?"

"It's alright. It's like the victim's personal belongings. How could anyone still carry them on their person? They would at least put them in a safe place."