No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

It seems this is indeed the location of the newly appointed supervisors. But what is the person behind it all planning to do by bringing them here?

Before the drone circled the rooftop, Kitahara Masaki finally noticed something amiss. He climbed up the water tower, opened the lid, and found the person submerged in the water to be none other than Officer Miki, who was in charge of monitoring the coffee shop!

The officer's face had been beaten so badly that it was unrecognizable; the only way to identify him was by the police handbook, which was also submerged in water.

After jumping off the water tower, Kitahara Masaki knew that the death of the person in charge of surveillance would definitely not be kept from Yoshigen Superintendent General, and the news that Kitahara Masaki had come to Kuromizu Town a few days ago should have reached his ears as well.

That means Kitahara Maki can no longer hide this matter.

Thinking of this, he dialed Director White Horse's number and explained the situation. Upon hearing that a policeman had been killed, Director White Horse understood the gravity of the matter and said:

"I will hand over the reins to Yoshiyuki for the next search operation. With his capabilities, finding clues shouldn't be difficult. During this time, he will definitely resist your participation, so I ask Inspector Kitahara to take on more responsibility. I hope you can find out what Yoshiyuki is trying to hide and the murderer of Officer Misaki in the coming days."

ha?

Kitahara Masaki remained silent for a long time after hearing such irresponsible words. Now, he was investigating far more than just the so-called missing police officer case; he was investigating a case far more troublesome. And yet, Inspector Hakuba still wanted him to investigate alone? Was he still thinking about a secret investigation?

"Ahem, I know that with so many cases happening at the same time, you can't handle it all by yourself, so I've already spread the word."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you'll understand in a couple of days."

The shrewd and experienced Chief Inspector Hakuba made no guarantees, only saying that he would have helpers. Sure enough, Superintendent Yoshihara appeared in the newly established investigation headquarters for the police murder case, and subtly excluded Kitahara Masaki. Little did he know that this was exactly what Kitahara Masaki wanted. Originally, these cases were already a mess, and Blackwater Town was a place where all sorts of people mingled. If it weren't for Chief Inspector Hakuba's request, he would have left long ago.

Two days later, Kitahara Masaki, who was hesitating about how to slack off, finally got his helpers—Hattori and Conan.

So that's what releasing the information means! Director Bai Ma, you've released all this information, so you've told these nosy detectives about the case!

The two arrived at Kitahara Masaki's hotel, eagerly awaiting his explanation of the case. However, Kitahara Masaki knew that the mastermind behind the case was targeting him, and if these two kids were implicated, where would he, as an adult, put his face?

"Since you're both detectives, I'd like to ask you two favors. I hope you won't refuse?"

"Huh? We'd rather investigate the case."

"Hehe, this is my request for you to protect two people whose lives are in danger."

When Hattori and Conan heard that it was a matter of life and death, the two kind-hearted kids naturally agreed. Then Kitahara Masaki asked Conan to protect Superintendent Yoshihara, while Hattori was asked to protect Sometani Hotaru.

Needless to say, Yoshiyuki knew that Someya Hotaru might indeed be silenced by the person behind the scenes, so he wasn't lying to them that these two were in mortal danger. However, Kitahara Masaki still wanted the two of them to leave Blackwater Town, this place of trouble, as soon as possible.

After persuading the two kids to leave, the police team led by Ji Yuan quickly made a discovery. In the surveillance footage near the apartment building, a figure was clearly seen leaving hurriedly at the estimated time of death. The result of facial comparison was that it turned out to be the owner of the coffee shop!

The police in charge of the search immediately began interviews, and the results were the same as those in the surveillance footage. The middle-aged and elderly people in the building all said in unison that they did see a young man entering and leaving the building on that day.

The final, decisive evidence came from the fingerprints found on the handrail of the ladder above the water tower. These fingerprints matched those of the taciturn coffee shop owner, who had a criminal record. A comparison with the Metropolitan Police Department's database yielded the same result.

With conclusive evidence and witness testimony, Ji Yuan immediately ordered his police officers to arrest the young man.

However, Kitahara Masaki wouldn't be fooled so easily. The evidence seemed to be manipulated by someone behind the scenes. In order to obtain more information, Kitahara Masaki sent the information of the coffee shop owner, Shinno Mari, to Haibara Ai, asking her to investigate what this young man had done.

After the police officers responsible for arresting Shinno Mari went to the coffee shop and learned that he had gone to the mountains to pick herbs, they immediately searched the mountainous area near Blackwater Town.

However, what they found was shocking: the police officers who searched the mountains with their dogs did not find the suspects, but instead found the four missing police officers.

That's right, they were all buried in the mountains and had been dead for several days. They were also beaten beyond recognition, and their identities were only confirmed by the police's diary, which was buried with them.

The four corpses were also considered by Superintendent Yoshihara to be the crimes committed by Mari Shinno. Kitahara Masaki, who had obtained a lot of information about Mari Shinno, realized that the mastermind behind this was trying to frame this young man. After all, Mari Shinno was not silent and dull because of his personality, but because he had been mute since birth!

Chapter 293 An Alternative Form of Group Hypnosis

Looking at the information sent by Haibara, Kitahara Masaki finally learned about the connection between Superintendent Yoshimoto and Mari Shinno. Eight years ago, on the first day that Yoshimoto stopped teaching judo and was absent from work without reason, Mari Shinno was arrested after committing a crime in the jurisdiction of Chofu Kita Police Station.

Why would a 14-year-old boy living in Kuroshui commit a crime in the unrelated Chofu Kita Police Station jurisdiction? The people who could answer this question are naturally Shinno Mari and Superintendent Yoshihara, but one of them would never answer Kitahara Masaki, and the other has disappeared without a trace.

Oh, actually there's one more person who should know the truth, and that's Inspector Arimoto, who's already dead.

Furthermore, there's something strange going on—Mari Shinno committed assault, but the victim's detailed information was deleted.

"Could it be that the person who got injured was Ji Yuan?"

"Yes, very likely. About eight years ago, Shinno Mari injured Yoshimoto in something, and Arimoto happened to find out about it and helped Yoshimoto cover it up. After all, Yoshimoto, who was undefeated in judo, naturally didn't want the news of being defeated by a teenager to get out. So, for the next two weeks, he was hiding somewhere to recover from the injury on his face, which is why he was absent without reason. Having caught Yoshimoto's weakness, Arimoto came to Blackwater to sell drugs and develop his own power, using Yoshimoto to cover up the fact that the four of them were involved in drug trafficking."

"Hehe, the more a man admires strength, the more he will try his best to hide his weaknesses."

Kitahara Masaki was no longer in a hurry. He took out his laptop and waited for the others to investigate. This time, he asked his good deputy, Koshimizu Nanatsuki, to do it.

After a brief meeting, Koshimizu Nanatsuki immediately joined in and sent two photos to Kitahara Masaki.

"The first photo was taken by the surveillance camera of the building where Officer Misaki died, which happened to be within the estimated time of death. It shows Mari Shinno's face. The second photo is a picture of Mari Shinno taken by the surveillance camera at the entrance to the mountain. Both photos were taken on the same day."

Kitahara Masaki carefully examined the two photos and was shocked, because Shinno Mari in the two photos were exactly the same. This does not refer to her appearance, but rather her posture. She was carrying a backpack, had her hands in her pockets, and was taking the same steps at the same angle. Even the direction her head was looking was exactly the same.

"Show me these two photos—you mean the first one is a composite? This…"

The first photo was one of the pieces of evidence that the police firmly believed in during the search, but now there is evidence to suggest that the photo may have been fabricated.

“Yes, although I don’t want to believe it either, this means that the Metropolitan Police Department’s surveillance system may have been secretly manipulated. And what’s even more terrifying is that the residents of that apartment building clearly didn’t see Mari Shinno, but they said they saw him and Misaki on the rooftop. Everyone is lying!”

Kitahara Masaki gasped. He suddenly remembered what Vermouth had said: "You have to be hypnotized or on drugs to ignore her charm." What if everyone in this building was really on drugs?

"Thanks, Yue Shui. Don't get close to the police investigating this case recently. It could be dangerous. That's an order."

"--Understood."

He glanced at the powder found in Inspector Yumoto's home and sighed slowly. After all, he never imagined he would one day become an arsonist.

Because the residents in that building were all lying, we had to resort to some extreme methods to ascertain the situation inside their homes, since we didn't even have a reason to apply for a search warrant.

The plan was simple: Kitahara Masaki would pretend to be a drunk thug and throw a Molotov cocktail into a family's house, after everyone had left. Then Vermouth would pretend to be a member of that family and enter the house to find evidence in a short time.

As for unlocking, Vermouth chose to kick the door down directly, while for fire extinguishing, fire extinguishing equipment would be prepared in advance.

With the police searching the mountains, their simple plan was very successful. Vermouth quickly inspected the house of one of the residents and took pictures of it with her phone. Then, Kitahara Masaki pretended to be a firefighter and put out the fire, planning to give the family some money after the incident was over.

In short, the two had successfully obtained the clues and left the scene before the actual firefighters arrived.

However, the clues obtained were far more numerous than Kitahara Masaki had anticipated. First, there was an altar in the resident's home, with a white cloth hanging on it that read, "Slaughter is the best medicine." Then, a cell phone in the home contained text messages instructing the residents to ignore Kitahara Masaki and then collectively fabricate evidence. Surrounded by several candles was a photograph of the building's residents, including someone Kitahara Masaki hadn't considered—Shinnori Mari. Also, the identity of the long-haired man standing in the center of the group, surrounded by others, was unknown.

Furthermore, in the small room, the resident was growing some kind of plant that looked very similar to the exclusive product that the police inspector had previously sold! It's very likely that the plant was able to be grown after variety improvement and artificial environment.

"Masaki, the people in this apartment building are probably all members of some religious group, and they're also under the influence of drugs, which is why they were able to collectively commit perjury. The mastermind behind this—could it be that unfamiliar long-haired man in the photo?"

“It can’t be him. Based on the facial comparison, it’s certain that he committed suicide eight years ago. According to the Metropolitan Police Department’s records, after he and the residents harbored a fugitive, they got into a dispute with the police. Yoshimoto, who was in charge of the regional headquarters at the time, directly issued an arrest warrant for this long-haired man named Takahashi. As a result, this man committed suicide in protest.”

"In other words—this should be the motive for Shinno Mari to beat up Yoshimoto! After all, in the photo, Shinno Mari is standing with the residents, and their relationship should have been very good eight years ago. In his eyes at the age of fourteen, Yoshimoto was the one who drove Takahashi to his death, so it is logical for him to beat up a police officer in a moment of impulse."

Kitahara Masaki turned his attention to the photos taken inside the residents' small rooms. Behind the black curtains, they had planted hallucinogenic plants. Most importantly, they also used these substances. This meant that it was very likely that Inspector Kitahara had discovered the residents' secret of growing these plants, and that's why he had directly stolen the herbs they had grown to sell for money.

Then, the sender of the text message on the residents' phones was marked as Takahashi. These middle-aged and elderly people, who had long been mentally confused, probably thought that their former spiritual leader had been resurrected, so they acted according to the content of the text message.

Really...

The spiritual leader those residents believed in was nothing more than someone who controlled them with hallucinogenic plants; he was hardly a good person. The reason why Shinno Mari obediently opened a shop after being released from juvenile detention and didn't return to the apartment building is probably because he realized he had only been bewitched by the drug. It seems that drug rehabilitation has cleared his mind considerably. Unfortunately, in this case, he is already considered a prime suspect.

However, this was all orchestrated by the mastermind behind the scenes, and Kitahara Masaki would never fall for it.

However, the mastermind behind this must be quite skilled. Kitahara Masaki tapped his index finger on the table, considering whether to call in reinforcements.

Chapter 294 Kitahara Misdachi

"Hello, is this Ms. Kujo?"

"Oh, Officer Kitahara, I heard you recently went to Kuromizu Town and there were quite a few cases there. Is there anything you'd like me to help you with?"

"Haha, as expected of a top prosecutor, it's so convenient for you to talk to me. I'd like you to help me get in touch with your old friend from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department."

"Of course, no problem. But could you tell me why?"

......

...........

After obtaining the information he wanted from Reiko Kujo, Kitahara Masaki thought it was already evening and he should get some rest. However, a ringing bell interrupted his drowsiness.

"Brother Kitahara, something terrible has happened! Superintendent Yoshihara has been arrested!"

Conan, that kid, is just like Sha Wujing, shouting, "Big Brother, Master has been captured by demons again!"

"what happened?"

"Inspector Yoshihara went to a secluded Japanese restaurant that evening, apparently to attend someone's banquet. Before he even came out, a group of masked men with rifles suddenly rushed in, killing anyone they saw. They found Yoshihara in the restaurant and took him away! By the way, there were two people taken away, but they were both wearing black hoods, so we can only confirm that one of them was Yoshihara!"

"Rifles! They only captured two people, and the rest were all silenced. This is really—never mind, how are you now?"

"Hehe, I'm following them from a distance right now. I felt something was wrong after they broke in, so I put a transmitter in their car."

Okay, this kid finally understands how to use the gadgets that Professor Agasa gave him.

“I’m not in Tokyo right now and can’t get back anytime soon. Once you know where these people are hiding, have Haibara anonymously report them to the police. After that, leave the rest to the SWAT team.”

Conan sighed as he listened. He had originally thought of using a soccer ball to save the person, but after thinking about it, he realized it was too dangerous, so he decided against it.

Kitahara Masaki originally thought that with Conan's location tracking, they would definitely be able to rescue Yoshimoto. Although Kitahara Masaki himself didn't care about the life or death of a strange old man, he was clearly one of the people who knew the truth of the case, and it would be troublesome if he died like this.

However, things didn't go as planned. The criminal was extremely cautious and switched cars midway through the journey. Even Conan could only tell the police that a suspicious person had switched vehicles somewhere.

There was no news for the rest of the night. The next day, after the special forces surrounded the target location, they found Ji Yuan with his head mangled and bloody, and a police notebook stained with blood next to him.

Upon receiving the news, Kitahara Masaki sighed; it seemed he had no choice but to go back.

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

"Why did you meet with Superintendent Gil Won that night?"

“I wanted to explain to him that it’s pointless to keep harping on people with criminal records. The policies in Kuromizu Town are starting to show results, and everyone is getting used to living with them. But if things get this ugly… well, it’s no use saying all this now. Mr. Yoshimoto was killed by Shinno. It’s too late to say anything now.”

"So you're saying that among those who kidnapped you and murdered Superintendent Yoshihara was Mari Shinno, is that right?"

"Yes, he did it with a group of masked men."

Kitahara Masaki stood in front of Hohley's hospital bed, watching the man put on a somber expression. Although he desperately wanted to expose his pretense, Kitahara Masaki had no evidence at the moment.

Then we can only wait and see what his purpose is in wanting to see Kitahara Maki.

Kitahara Masaki moved a chair over from the side and sat down next to Hohe Laien, slowly saying:

"Mayor Hehe, are you aware that in this case, I discovered traces of tampering with the Metropolitan Police Department's surveillance system? The perpetrator's methods are so sophisticated that they even used the police system to fabricate evidence. However, we haven't found any signs of external intrusion, so we started investigating the internal situation. We've always maintained strict management of our staff, but this time, no matter what we do, we can't find the problem. As the president of the IT company, I'd like to ask Mr. Hehe for some advice. What do you think?"

Lying on the hospital bed, Hehelian pondered for a moment before speaking:

"I have provided consulting services on cybersecurity countermeasures. In this case, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate whether the staff's operation was correct. Sometimes, staff members may open an email out of curiosity, which can lead to virus infection."

"Oh! But unfortunately, as I just said, there were no signs of external intrusion. As for how I figured out how the culprit did this—it's all thanks to a friend who knows a lot about computers. She told me that countries like Germany have replaced all their government computers with domestically made ones to prevent American espionage. Following Superintendent Yoshihara's instructions, the Metropolitan Police Department has also replaced its office computers with domestically manufactured ones. But as the saying goes—you can guard against anything, but it's hard to guard against a thief within your own ranks. If the purchased computers already have viruses, then there's no way to prevent it at all, right?"