No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Heh, so you just sent me here to watch the police make fools of themselves? How boring."

Ireland's eyes were lifeless, and the atmosphere around him was as still as a stagnant pool. It seemed that Pisco's 'suicide' right before his eyes had hit him harder than Kitahara Masaki had imagined.

However, this is also a good thing, as it will allow Kitahara Masaki to turn him into a companion more quickly.

Just as Kitahara Masaki was thinking of what to say, the suspect, Fukayori, whom the police believed to be the main suspect, officially met with his girlfriend, so Inspector Megure and his men surrounded them.

Just as Yamato Kansuke was about to use his cane to get closer to the suspect, Yamamura Misao suddenly fell flat on his face before he even got close to the suspect. The police notebook in his hand flew out and slid to the suspect's feet.

This operation stunned everyone, including the suspect and Kitahara Masaki and Ireland, who were watching the spectacle from the lower level.

This guy, Yamamura Misao, actually pulled off a fall straight out of a comic book while arresting a criminal!

Chapter 268 Ireland, I will avenge you.

Shen Lai, who had pulled out a dagger, grabbed a passerby. Just as he was backing away towards the escalator, intending to leave the mall, a high-speed soccer ball suddenly flew from his side and knocked Shen Lai unconscious.

Watching a soccer ball actually make an adult man fly into the air, Kitahara Masaki sighed inwardly, "First there was Chenxiang splitting mountains, now Conan is kicking a soccer ball."

Fortunately, only Kitahara Masaki saw this scene. Ireland, who was watching the police, was also completely bewildered by the suddenly flying soccer ball that could kill people.

"Alright, it seems he's been caught. I'll check later to see if he's the person we're looking for."

"What! You really only called me out here to see a clown show?"

"Hehe, of course not. Actually, it's like this: I heard from Vermouth that you seem to be collecting information about the organization's past missions lately, right?"

Ireland was suddenly reminded of his actions, and he squinted at Kitahara Masaki.

"Not going to answer? That's alright, I just want to make something clear to you: Gin already knows you're investigating him."

Ireland, whose investigation's purpose had been thoroughly exposed, froze on the spot, glaring at Kitahara Masaki's retreating figure. Several times he wanted to stop him and question how he knew he was investigating Gin, but considering Kitahara's intelligence network and capabilities, finding his access records wasn't impossible—

But he clearly investigated other people's missions as well, but not Gin's. Could it be about Pisco—

Having successfully attracted Ireland's attention, Kitahara Masaki quickly left the scene. After all, if the police or Conan were to run into him, they would probably assume that Kitahara Masaki was there to investigate a case. However, Kitahara Masaki had no interest in the case; his sole purpose was to guide Ireland—to make him believe that he, like him, had a grudge against Gin.

A few days later, the joint investigation headquarters finally found a clue that could connect the victims—they had all stayed at the same hotel two years ago on Tanabata (the seventh day of the seventh lunar month). Coincidentally, on that day, the hotel was destroyed by fire, and a woman named Nanako Honjo died as a result.

Finally seeing a glimmer of hope, the police rushed to investigate the family and friends of this Ms. Honjo. Koshimizu Nanatsuki also breathed a sigh of relief, since this time the search was on the right track, unlike last time when an innocent passerby was dragged into the process of arresting the criminal.

In fact, she shared the same view as Kitahara Masaki—that in investigating such serial murder cases, it is very difficult to completely deduce what the information left by the perpetrator means. After all, people who commit serial murders usually have some serious illness, and using common sense to interpret information often leads to many detours. Therefore, the most appropriate approach is to prioritize investigating the relationships between the victims. Once the motive is found, it will not be difficult to find the real killer.

However, it was too late to say anything now, because while they had found the wrong criminal, another person was killed. However, the mahjong tile left behind by this person was also a seven of bamboo, but the back of it was no longer an English letter, but a triangle.

"What?! Can't you find Ms. Honjo's boyfriend, Mizukami Kosuke?"

"Yes, I asked his neighbor and the information I got is that Mr. Minami is likely to go stargazing on Tanabata, because he and Ms. Honjo share a hobby of stargazing. But I still have no idea where they will go."

However, after overhearing the conversation between Inspector Megure and Takagi, Nanatsuki Koshimizu suddenly remembered the locations of the seven victims' deaths. Combined with their love of stargazing, Koshimizu immediately switched into detective mode and said to Inspector Megure:

"The 'One of Bamboo' and 'Seven of Bamboo' represent the North Star and the Big Dipper, respectively. The English letters actually represent the Greek capital letters of the stars. The vertical black lines represent elevator doors, and the entire mahjong set represents an elevator. This is to remind everyone that Nanako died because of the people who pushed her out, which is why she died in the fire. Of course, this is just my reasoning, and we still need to find conclusive evidence."

Compared to Uncle Mori's bizarre reasoning, such as the motive being a mahjong dispute and the death location hinting at the Loch Ness Monster, Nanatsuki Koshimizu's hypothesis was much more reasonable. However, Inspector Megure noticed that the members of the First Criminal Investigation Division were not as active as usual in this case. But the priority now was to find Kosuke Mizukami as soon as possible.

"Oh, by the way, Miss Ben's family members are also highly suspicious. The real murderer might even have taken the victim's personal belongings and put them on someone else to divert the police's attention."

As one of the few people who had studied the laws of detective fiction with Kitahara Masaki, Koshimizu Nanatsuki also understood that she could not trust her own reasoning too much. She could not pinpoint the culprit to any one person before finding absolute evidence. She remembered that when Kitahara Masaki told her this, it was as if he was recalling something bad.

Because they deduced that the culprit set up the crime scene according to the Big Dipper constellation, hundreds of police officers immediately went to the location of the last star to conduct interviews, asking around with photos of Kosuke Mizukami, and soon got the answer at the front desk of Tokyo Tower.

"Inspector Megure, the receptionist at Tokyo Tower told us that the suspect is very likely in the observation deck!"

"Great! We'll head over there immediately. You guys evacuate the surrounding area first!"

However, Conan, whose speed increases by 1000% when investigating alone, has already arrived at the observation deck of Tokyo Tower. At this time, he is using talk therapy to try to make Kosuke Mizukami understand that his girlfriend voluntarily gave up her elevator seat and was not murdered. At the same time, the real culprit also appeared on the observation deck, and he is none other than Nanako Honjo's brother, Kazuki Honjo.

"As expected! Since stargazing is a shared hobby of Mr. Minakami and his girlfriend, how could Mr. Minakami possibly kill someone at the location corresponding to Polaris and the Big Dipper? Mr. Honjo, you lied to Mr. Minakami, saying that Ms. Nanako was pushed out of the elevator, but on the anniversary of Ms. Nanako's death, all seven people sent flowers, which clearly proves the respect of the survivors for her! Mr. Honjo, you killed the seven people your sister risked her life for! This is not revenge at all; you are simply venting your anger!"

Mr. Honjo, whose defenses had been broken by Conan's words, pulled out his pistol and cursed fiercely:

"You brat! What do you know? The person who died was my sister! Even if those seven people didn't kill her intentionally, they are still unforgivable! Originally, I wanted you to commit suicide first, and then put those people's belongings on you, but it seems I'll have to do it myself now!"

clap clap-

Kitahara Masaki emerged from the shadows, put the recorded phone back in his pocket, and clapped as he approached Mr. Honjo. When this man, who had started killing without any explanation, pointed his gun at Kitahara Masaki, a joint lock snapped his wrist.

After knocking the real culprit unconscious, Kitahara Masaki successfully retrieved the memory card, which was placed in the victim's amulet bag.

"Alright, kid, you investigated quickly enough. Entrusting it to you was definitely a wise choice."

Eh?

Conan, looking completely bewildered, seemed to realize something—Kitahara Masaki was using him as a tool to solve cases again!

"Oh, right, I have something to do. You can explain to the police when they come up. I'm leaving now, bye."

Chapter 269 Ireland, a condition you can't refuse.

Ireland stood outside Tokyo Tower. After receiving a notification on his phone that Kitahara Masaki's mission was completed and successfully retrieved, he suddenly realized that the mission didn't seem to require him at all. He sighed, feeling that Yawen Yi was hiding something, but he couldn't figure it out. The most crucial thing was that he knew he was investigating Gin!

Could it be that he also has a grudge against Gin?

But if he wasn't lying, it meant Gin had his eye on him, which was a major crisis. After all, Gin was a manager in Japan, and tasks assigned by the boss were first passed through him before reaching them...

That's true. Someone like Gin, after killing Pisco, would never care about me, who was on good terms with Pisco.

so what should I do now?

Just as Ireland was about to fight Gin to the death, Kitahara Masaki walked up to him and said:

"Ireland, if you're planning to go all out, then I suggest you strap on a bomb vest right now and run straight to Gin's Porsche. That way, you might be able to get the explosion into his Porsche before he fires."

"When will you—never mind. Where's the memory card?"

"Oh, you're ignoring it? The memory card isn't the problem. The problem is, how do you plan to deal with Gin? By finding dirt on him? That's useless. The fact that he allowed the Miyano sisters to escape the organization means he's still the head of the Japanese branch, which already shows that the boss has handed over the affairs in Japan to him. You'd better think about how to make him lower his guard against you."

As they talked, Ireland was taken by Kitahara Masaki to a bar he frequented. Although Ireland wasn't the type to reveal his true feelings after a couple of drinks, he immediately became alert after seeing the video Kitahara Masaki had shown him.

The video on the phone shows a man pulling out a handgun and talking to another middle-aged man. The man with the gun quickly pulls the trigger, killing the middle-aged man who was begging for mercy.

"The person who was killed here, wasn't that Tonguchi Shigehiko? I remember he was killed by someone who hated him, and you were there at the time!"

Ireland and Pisco were like father and son, so Ireland knew that Pisco had received orders to assassinate the under-investigation member of parliament, Tonguchi Shigehiko, before his death. However, before Pisco could take action, a man who had a grudge against Tonguchi rushed into the meeting room, made a statement, and then killed Tonguchi.

This allowed Pisco to complete his mission directly, but he was still killed by Gin a few days later, which was the intelligence Ireland had.

"Of course, I was there! My mission was to help Gin kill Pisco."

"What! You—why are you telling me all this!"

"Don't you understand? Pisco, a veteran of the organization, was so easily abandoned by Gin simply because he could no longer send out useful intelligence! Gin's creed is basically that if you don't obey his orders, he will arrange a dignified death for you! Ireland, think about it carefully, if you are eliminated, who will be next?"

Under the influence of alcohol and Kitahara Masaki's suggestion, Ireland felt that Arvind had already successfully completed several missions in Japan and was riding high. Moreover, most people in the organization knew that he had a close relationship with Vermouth. Therefore, Arvind, who was unwilling to obey Gin's orders, must be a thorn in Gin's side. There was even a possibility that Gin would be replaced by Arvind!

"Heh, so you're thinking of forming an alliance with me? But you were also involved in the operation to kill Pisco! Are you kidding me?"

"What if I told you that I was the one who caused that senator's premature death and disrupted Gin's plans?"

Then Kitahara Masaki played a second video, in which he handed a pistol to the man who killed Senator Tokuguchi and told him how to perform, how to kill his enemy while also destroying his reputation.

After watching the video, Ireland still had some doubts, but Kitahara Masaki immediately provided the man's information and said:

"I gave that man's family tens of millions in the video. You can investigate that yourself. You can also find out which prison he's in. If you have any questions for him, just go there. Ireland, I deeply regret your father's death. I tried my best to keep him alive, but Gin, in order to purge these old members and to better control the Japanese branch, actually personally killed Pisco—"

Kitahara Masaki paused slightly, then silently poured Ireland another glass of wine.

Ireland now believed that Kitahara Masaki, like him, was a man who had a grudge against Gin, which was exactly what Kitahara Masaki wanted. After all, it was unrealistic to persuade him to betray the organization and defeat the boss with him. So, it would be much easier if they set their common enemy as a 'boss in the company who often targeted them'.

If the opportunity arises in the future, Ireland can be allowed to target gin. Whether it succeeds or fails, it will have nothing to do with Armagnac.

"What should I do?"

"Next, we'll pretend the mission is over and we go our separate ways. We absolutely can't let Gin think we're on good terms. Then you can tell Gin that you don't want to take on any more missions for a while and just want to rest. After that, you can approach Chianti and Cohen, using sniping as an excuse to build a good relationship with them. Their attitude towards life is basically that whoever is the best sniper is the boss, so as long as you understand that, they're actually quite easy to get along with."

"You want me to find out information about Gin from them?"

“That’s right. And sometimes you don’t even need to ask; they’ll tell you themselves. Gin entrusts many of the sniping tasks to the two of them. After the mission is completed, you can find out what Gin has been up to by talking to them. If you really want to kill Gin, then you must do it when he is isolated and helpless. So getting information about his missions is the first step to doing this.”

That's right. Whether the information he obtained is useful or not, Ireland will be able to become a thorn in Kitahara Masaki's side within the organization. Since Kitahara Masaki's current identity is no longer suitable for him to return to the organization's building and talk to other members, he can only entrust Ireland with this task.

After successfully fooling Ireland, Kitahara Masaki immediately left the bar, since he would have to deal with the spiders at the zoo soon and didn't have time to waste here.

Chapter 270 White Horse Scout: I Want to Pretend a Little Longer

"Brother Kitahara, isn't that guy a magician too? He's quite famous in Europe, so how did he become the 'spider' in the zoo?"

Kaito Kuroba asked curiously. He could understand the cooperation between him and Masaki Kitahara, but he was puzzled that the zoo had sent a magician to kill him. How come no one had discovered that a public figure was actually an assassin?

Kitahara Masaki patted him on the shoulder and sighed that the kid was still too naive. The great magician Kuroba Toichi was also a first-generation phantom thief, and the famous police officer Kitahara Masaki was also an undercover agent in the black liquor company. The adult world is very complicated.

"Well, anyway, he's the Zoo member that Hakuba Saguru has been investigating, and a hitman that can be hired with money. It's really hard to understand how a Zoo with such a loose organization could collect gems all over the world. But—it's already strange enough that even a high school student can outmaneuver a group of police officers."

"Hehe, after all, I am Phantom Thief Kid, so shall we proceed according to plan this time?"

“That’s right. I’ll take care of the zoo member spider that appeared this time, but you’ll have to deal with Hakuba Saguru yourself.”

"Hmph! How could that young master detective possibly catch me!"

The confident phantom thief immediately disguised himself as a deliveryman and sent out the announcement:

Tonight at 9 PM, I will be going to receive the bronze statue with violet pupils from the Ekoda Museum!

Upon receiving the notice, Inspector Nakamori took action once again. The manhunt for Kidd lasted for eight years. Even though he didn't know whether Kidd was male or female, he still maintained a burning passion and firmly believed that he would be able to bring Kidd to justice one day.

Because of Hakuba Saguru's arrival, the media, eager to report on the famous detective versus the phantom thief, surrounded the museum. Kitahara Masaki, who was only there to catch the spider, couldn't help but feel troubled by the scene. However, the large crowd made it easier for him to take advantage of the chaos. He was also glad that he hadn't come over disguised as 'Kitahara Masaki'. If he had been caught by the media, it would have taken him a long time to catch up.

"My arrival here means that Phantom Thief Kid's thefts will only last until tonight, that's for sure. But my real target isn't this petty thief—"

Hakuba Saguru spoke fluently to the reporters surrounding him, showing no stage fright whatsoever, befitting the son of the Superintendent General. The young man was even dressed in Sherlock Holmes's signature outfit, complete with a deerstalker hat.

"Inspector Nakamori, could you please tell me how the police force is allocated?"

"Hahaha!!! There are eight helicopters on the roof, and more than fifty police officers inside the building. I'm surrounded by ten bodyguards, including myself, near this bronze statue. The basement is completely empty. Kidd couldn't possibly pass through the infrared scanner!"

After listening to the conversation, Bai Ma smiled slightly and left the first floor, heading to the basement alone.

Kitahara Masaki, mingling in the crowd, immediately spotted Hakuba Saguru's movements using a miniature camera placed in the museum. He thought to himself that these detectives were all very proud people, willing to personally go to places where culprits might appear in order to verify their deductions. Fortunately, Kaito was a good person; if he had encountered a real notorious thief, no one would care whose son you were. Once they saw their father's face, how could they possibly let you live?

However, Hakuba Saguru was right; Kaito's plan was to break through the weakest point in the defense.

Kaito, now known as 'Phantom Thief Kid,' ripped off the ventilation duct cover with a bang, peeked out, put on glasses that allowed him to see infrared light, and then took out a gadget grappling hook from his four-dimensional pocket. He aimed at the gap between the infrared beams and fired a shot, then used his impressive skills to climb onto the hook's rope and slowly ascend to the ceiling, planning to make a dazzling entrance when the timer was up.