No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Nothing resembling a murder weapon was found in room number 5 where the deceased was located. Kitahara Masaki was about to ask Hattori if he had any leads when he saw Hattori's face turn pale, as if he had been frightened by something terrible.

"Conan, what happened to Hattori?"

"I don't know, he looked like this after he came back from the bathroom."

Ran and Sonoko were also very curious about what had scared Osaka Kuroko so much that he turned into Osaka Shiroko.

Hattori had originally planned to go out with Conan today, and also invited Ran and Sonoko to go to karaoke. But then this happened. It's normal for a murder to occur when the Kanto and Kansai Death Gods meet, but it's quite something that something could scare Hattori, who has seen hundreds of corpses, like this.

"Hey, Hattori, Hattori! What did you see? You're so scared your skin has turned white."

"Ah—Kitahara-nii, you're here. I—I accidentally went into the wrong room and saw those two guys in room 4..."

"What happened to the two men?"

"They're kissing."

Kitahara Masaki looked at the two people in room 4. One was a burly man with very strong muscles, even taller than Kitahara Masaki. The other had dyed blond hair and a fierce look in his eyes. Judging from the muscles in his arms, he was not much different from the burly man. It was estimated that both of them had worked out in the gym for a long time.

Then Hattori actually saw the two of them kissing...

Well, as long as it's all voluntary and everyone is an adult, it's nobody else's business to interfere. However, that scene was indeed too stimulating for Hattori. No wonder he turned pale with fright. Even Conan, Ran, and Sonoko, after hearing about Hattori's bizarre adventure, understood that Hattori almost ended up in Mickey's House of Mischief.

"How rude of me! I'm a woman!"

The man with short, dyed yellow hair and fierce, slanted eyes suddenly said this. And his—no, her voice did sound like a woman's, but judging from her muscular appearance, even Kitahara Masaki initially mistook her gender.

"Ahem, I'm so sorry, miss. This young man meant no harm. He's just too innocent. Even his first love was his childhood sweetheart."

"Hey! It's me—she—"

After explaining the situation, Kitahara Masaki officially ended the farce. The blood from the deceased had already cooled, and it was time for them to begin investigating the case.

Fortunately, the store has security cameras, but unfortunately, they are installed above the cashier and face room 4. Room 5 is located on the shorter side of the L-shape, so the cameras cannot capture room 5 and therefore cannot determine who entered room 5.

However, it was still important evidence, so Kitahara Masaki quickly reviewed the surveillance footage first.

The result was very much in line with the laws of Detective Conan: people from rooms 1 to 4 went to the short side of L, which is the area that the surveillance cameras could not capture. After eliminating Hattori, there were only three suspects.

Naturally, this is another multiple-choice question.

"Kitahara-senpai! Before you arrived, we found a small camera among the victim's belongings. Since it takes pictures using film, we quickly developed it. And these are the photos taken of the deceased."

Kitahara Masaki took the photo and saw that it was full of Sonoko. Then, the kids came over and looked at it. Hattori, probably still not quite understanding, said:

"Was that dead uncle your stalker?"

"Ugh—that's disgusting. I have to talk to Zhen about this next time. I wonder when he'll be back in the country."

"Ahem, this guy is probably trying to kidnap Sonoko. Look, there are a lot of road signs and landmarks in the photo, it's obvious he's trying to figure out Sonoko's route to and from school. But, this man is probably acting alone, so you don't need to worry too much. But remember to talk to your parents about it when you get back."

After giving Sonoko a few instructions, Kitahara Masaki put down the photo and went to question the three suspects.

After all, the Suzuki Group has no shortage of money to hire bodyguards.

Chapter 300 The Vanished Murder Weapon

"I'm Yu Jingbang, who was resting in Room 1. I came here to sing a song after I finished fishing. On the way, I bought a pack of cigarettes at the vending machine."

"I'm Kyota Honma, practicing singing in room number 2. I came here because our company is having a concert tomorrow. I also went to the restroom once."

"I'm Koji Arimoto, number 4. I came with my girlfriend. Well, that kid saw it too, but it was probably a bit too exciting for him. Hahaha!!! By the way, I also went to the restroom shortly after I arrived."

After the three suspects finished recounting what they knew, Kitahara Masaki was able to confirm that what they said matched the video footage. However, whether they went to the toilet or to commit murder still needed further investigation.

Because the surveillance clearly captured the three people's whereabouts, and it was the cashier who went to room 5 and called out in less than a minute, Conan also sprang into action like a dog smelling sausage, rushing to the scene of the crime as fast as lightning. Therefore, the cashier did not have time to commit the crime.

Therefore, the murderer must be one of these three people.

But the most important murder weapon is nowhere to be found. No, it should be said that it cannot be found in the room where the victim was, but it must have been placed somewhere by the murderer.

"Kitahara-kun, you usually find evidence and things in no time, how come you're acting like Hattori today?"

"Hehe, today, no... I think I won't use cheat codes in these ordinary cases anymore, so I don't have to take care of your fragile self-esteem every time."

"Damn it, I'm so sorry my pride is so weak!"

Hattori was still in shock when Conan, as if seeking to be tortured, asked Kitahara Masaki to have a deduction competition. Since Kitahara Masaki was in a good mood, he agreed and was too lazy to use the system items.

Now, finding the evidence would be enough to end things, but without a magnifying glass, we would need to observe and reason, which makes things more difficult for ourselves.

Logically speaking, the murderer would not usually take the murder weapon back to their room, so it is very likely that they threw the murder weapon into the toilet when the security camera could not capture it.

The search team even checked every single tile on the floor and found no space to hide anything.

"Hmph, kid, you're lucky today. I'll take you to see what's inside the private room of the three suspects."

"Oh that's fine."

Although his mouth is still as sharp as ever, he's still allowed to wander around the crime scene. Has Kitahara Masaki encountered something good lately? He hasn't even solved the case of the police inspector's murder yet, but he still looks happy. Is it that demotion is what he really wants?

What a strange person.

After muttering a few words to himself, Conan, thinking that the case was more important, followed Kitahara Masaki into Room 1 first.

The person in room number 1 was a fishing enthusiast with all the necessary equipment, but no blood was detected on either the fish box or the fishing rod box, and they didn't look like they had just had their heads smashed open.

"Could it be a huge block of ice?"

Sonoko, who was standing nearby, gave her reasoning without fainting, but unfortunately, it was quickly debunked by Conan.

"If the ice had hit the skull, it would have shattered, but there were no other traces at the scene besides blood. There was no splashed ice water, and there was no melted ice water in the man's box. Could it be that he drank it all?"

Sonoko nodded after listening, but still felt that this kid in front of her was just as annoying as that reasoning maniac.

Then came room number 2. This room was a mess, with cigarette butts scattered everywhere, and a whole carton of cigarettes on the table. However, after Kitahara Masaki emptied the cigarettes out, he didn't close the door again, since cigarettes are soft and couldn't possibly be used as a murder weapon.

Next up was room number 3 where Conan and the others were. Just in case, Kitahara Masaki went in to take a look. However, Officer Takagi picked up a maracas from the table and started shaking it, which resulted in him being scolded by Inspector Megure.

The sand hammer's exterior is made of plastic, so that can also be ruled out.

Finally, there's room number 4, where the muscular couple lives. The woman, who looks like the Protein Queen, glares angrily at Conan and his friends, while Kitahara Masaki smirks as he observes their table. There's a bottle of beverage and various other foods.

"Oh no! Could it be that the drink was frozen first, and then the plastic bottle became a murder weapon because of the ice inside?"

This time it was Ran's turn to deduce. The girl whispered to Kitahara Masaki and the others, afraid that the muscular couple would hear her.

"Hmm—I think it's very unlikely, Miss Mori. Less than an hour passed between when that muscular man went to the restroom and when we started our investigation. In an air-conditioned environment, it wouldn't be enough to melt such a large block of ice back into a drink-like state, even with body heat. By the way, I also considered the possibility that the victim was punched to death, but there were no signs of injury on either of the gentleman's hands, so I don't think it could be either of those two people."

After searching for a while, they still hadn't found the murder weapon, which surprised Kitahara Masaki. He thought about doing a body search instead. He walked to the vending machine at the end of the corridor and, feeling thirsty, bought a bottle of green tea. Then, thinking that Takagi and Megure must also be thirsty, he was about to take out more coins when his hand froze in mid-air.

Kitahara Masaki, as if struck by a thought, turned to look at Conan. Their eyes met in mid-air, and they immediately realized that the other also knew what the murder weapon was.

"We only know that the murder weapon is that thing, but we still can't determine who did it."

"He needs a container to hold all of that, and that container must still be on him!"

"Oh, Conan, in that case, the culprit must be that person, right?"

"Yes, that's the murderer!"

Although the two were speaking in riddles, the person they were looking at had already revealed to everyone who the police had identified as the murderer. And the person being stared at was Mr. Honma from room number 2!

"Mr. Honma, why do your shoes look so swollen? Are you wearing two pairs of socks? Just to hide the blood on the inner pair?"

"By putting hundreds of coins into a sock and then tying the top of the sock tightly, it becomes a murder weapon that can be disposed of quickly."

After saying that, Conan patted the vending machine behind him. In addition to single packs of cigarettes and drinks, the vending machine that allows you to buy things with coins also sells whole cartons of cigarettes. As long as you buy a whole carton of cigarettes and put all the coins into the vending machine, the blood-stained coins will naturally 'disappear'.

The blood-stained coins inside would definitely have fingerprints, and the bloodstains on the socks, which couldn't be cleaned in time, are already irrefutable evidence.

Through their combined deduction, the culprit was also brought to his knees, weeping bitterly.

Chapter 301 The Detective's Unusual Thought Process

"Hey, Hattori, you're not going to rest any longer, are you?"

"No, that's not it! It's just a shame I didn't participate in the reasoning this time. And after I came to my senses, I..."

Hattori lowered his head and pulled his hat down. Kitahara Masaki was speechless looking at this innocent-looking boy. Did all teenagers have so many thoughts? Why not just go for it?

It seems they wanted to create a sense of ritual.

Kitahara Masaki thought for a moment, then asked Sonoko, who was standing nearby:

"Ms. Suzuki, I remember that Kid recently sent you another notice, saying he was going to steal the amethyst sandals that Consultant Suzuki recently bought at an auction, right?"

"Yeah, that's right! I think Uncle is going too far. He's thinking of all sorts of ways to capture Lord Kid every day, but he's not satisfied with any of his secretary's methods. He hasn't even been able to eat lately. And those amethyst sandals are really outrageous. Two huge amethysts, each over 100 carats, are set in the sandals. I don't know what the person who made those shoes was thinking."

Haha, Suzuki Jirokichi bought it just to attract Kidd, just like that.

In fact, Kitahara Masaki had considered whether to tell Kaito that he had completely dismantled the zoo, but if he did, there would be too much for Kitahara Masaki to explain, and he would also need to use the zoo's intelligence network to gather information. So in other words, he, Kitahara Masaki, is now the 'lion' of the zoo.

As for Pandora, the legendary gem that can grant immortality, it will never actually be auctioned on the market. According to the investigation by the deceased lion, the real Pandora is likely in the hands of the Karasuma family, and is among the black diamonds passed down through generations of the Karasuma family!

Kitahara Masaki was not surprised at all when he saw the survey results. Karasuma Renya, who had started searching for the way to immortality even earlier than the lion, must have found Pandora long ago. However, after so long, he was still pursuing immortality. In other words, the legend of Pandora was just a legend, and what the lion was pursuing was just a mirage.

So, from now on, Kaito just needs to be careful not to get caught by detectives and police when he steals things, since the real Pandora has already been taken away.

Getting back to the main point, Kitahara Masaki, who wanted to lend Hattori Heiji a hand, made the following suggestion:

"Then Kidd will definitely steal that amethyst later. Why don't you catch Kidd at that time? If you can do that, wouldn't that create a great atmosphere?"

Kitahara Masaki suggested this to Hattori Heiji. Although Kid wouldn't be caught, and even if he were, the atmosphere wouldn't be good, Hattori Heiji immediately agreed without hesitation after thinking about wiping away his shame and his childhood friend.

Looking at the enthusiastic young man in front of him, Kitahara Masaki thought to himself that high school students with love-struck minds are really easy to fool. Meanwhile, Conan, listening to Kitahara Masaki's three worst strategies, could only keep silent with half-moon eyes, because he suddenly realized that he had been just as easily fooled back then.

A few days later, Sonoko led them to the center of the Ginza intersection. Heiji Hattori also brought Kazuha this time, so it seemed he was serious this time.

"Oh! I didn't expect that Advisor Suzuki would place those two amethysts right in the center of Ginza."

Unlike previous gem exhibitions which were held in museums or villas, this one was prominently displayed in the middle of the road. The two unusually large amethysts could be seen through a glass pane. Only four security guards were standing around the area, but the crowd waiting for Kidd had completely surrounded the place, making it impassable. It was estimated that there were at least tens of thousands of people.

Before coming over, Hattori had already done a thorough review of Kid's past deeds, so he was now practically a 'Kid expert'. While he was looking around for anyone suspicious, he and Ye Zheng stared intently at Amethyst. When they saw that they were a couple, they would suddenly blush. However, Hattori was busy looking for Kid, so he didn't notice his childhood friend's expression at all.

Kitahara Maki and Vermouth, who were just watching the show, felt a pang of worry about the future of the two children.

"Ahem, Masaki, if you don't explain things clearly to that magic boy, he'll probably still think the people from the zoo are nearby."

"Yes, that's for the best. Anyway, that kid needs more training."

At this moment, Xiaolan looked at the huge crowd around her and asked worriedly:

"Sonoko, is this alright?"