Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

But that's how it is.

That person was quite skilled; they wiped away the traces very cleanly.

It's one thing for Sano to be able to discover it, but whether he can follow the clues to find the source is another matter entirely. In short, he didn't want to waste time.

Based on experience, they'll eventually slip up, so why rush it?

With that thought in mind, two days passed.

Just as Sano had expected, nothing happened.

Everything was calm and peaceful.

In other words, the case made absolutely no progress.

Well, that's the reality, though; on the surface, Kogoro Mouri is almost there.

But perhaps it was precisely because of this that change finally came.

Although Sano thought he wouldn't find anything, he still arranged for Daikoku to keep watch.

The report here is as follows.

Conan seems to have found an opportunity to plant a bug on Yuya Kazami to eavesdrop on the police investigation meeting, but he's not the only one whose body has been tampered with... Amuro Tooru seems to have planted a camera on the former.

Ok.

Anyway, Amuro Tooru went straight to Conan and even called out Kazami Yuya.

After a series of flashy maneuvers.

Amuro Tooru, with an air of wanting to beat up Kazami Yuya, pulled out the listening device left by Conan from the other's sleeve.

Then they dispersed.

So, what's the point of this?

However, during this process, Sano heard something quite interesting.

For some reason, Kazami Yuuya revealed a secret about the Ministry of Public Security to Conan.

They say Amuro Tooru is a murderer.

...Of course, it wasn't the kind of murder that was justified or legitimate, because of retaliation, saving someone, or an accident, but rather that occurred during an interrogation.

Amuro Tooru drove a prisoner to suicide.

Sano didn't care why Kazami Yuya was telling Conan this.

What Sano cared about was that Amuro Tooru, a public security officer who was by no means aboveboard, was absolutely incapable of doing anything bad; this had nothing to do with personal opinion.

The feedback from the hammer of justice is never wrong.

Therefore, this statement is undoubtedly problematic, especially at this point in time.

...Motive?

Before Sano could react, Daikoku suddenly sent another message.

Cell phones, computers, and even appliances like washing machines have been exploding one after another in various parts of Tokyo, and the incident has made headlines.

Currently, various news media outlets are conducting emergency live coverage.

Sano couldn't watch it because there was no television nearby. The problem was...

"After seeing the report, Conan called Inspector Megure and asked what it was about."

"IoT?"

IoT?

Sano raised an eyebrow, took out his phone and searched. The result showed "Internet of Things attack," which is basically smart appliances.

An attack, on the other hand, involves using hacking techniques to infiltrate and crash the system.

Of course, you can also choose to control it.

It's essentially the same as hacking, except the target is different.

It's understandable that the perpetrator used hacking techniques to intrude into electrical appliances, but controlling the electrical appliances to explode is just too outrageous. How would you even blow something up?

Sano looked at the phone in his hand with some hesitation.

...I did hear about a certain brand of cell phone in my past life; it was comparable to a bomb.

cough.

Okay, even if we could hack and control these things and actually blow them up, to what extent would that technology have to push the limits of human capability?

Anyway, Sano felt that he, as a keyboard warrior, was probably more than one level below.

Such talent, if he were to focus on research...

Is it possible that SAO has already started making money?

Before he could even have a second to doubt it, Sano witnessed the explosion firsthand.

...Right in the car with the white-clad man, Asai Narumi's phone exploded.

It could be considered an explosion, though. With a loud "bang," a visible electric current shot out from Asai Narumi's pocket.

Then came the firelight.

Since the source was just a mobile phone, and the response was quick and appropriate, it did not cause any serious accident; it just ruined a piece of clothing.

Even so, it's still outrageous enough.

"Are you okay?"

After helping to tear off his clothes to put out the fire, Corin looked at Asai Narumi with a worried expression.

"fine."

Asai Shigemi shook his head slightly.

He frowned as he looked at his still-burning phone on the ground.

Once Sano had regained his focus, he didn't even bother looking for an internet cafe. Instead, he went straight into an alley, pulled out his keyboard, and connected it to his phone.

Then the operation began.

Just a few minutes later, Corinne's phone in the white-clad car also caught fire... cough, this time it was Sano's own handiwork.

This wasn't Sano deliberately targeting Koren.

But for an experiment, there needs to be a clear target within sight, and right now, apart from Koren, Sano really can't find one.

In terms of results, Sano succeeded.

"...I didn't expect it to actually work."

Sano let out a sigh of relief, amused and pleasantly surprised. He didn't know whether it was because the technology on both sides had far surpassed the limits of human capability, or because there were significant differences in some details between the technology of this world and the technology of his previous life.

Anyway, Sano learned a new technique.

As for that guy...

Sending them in or killing them outright—only Sano would do something like that.

At least, that's how it is right now.

Coming to his senses, Sano continued operating the machine.

...Given the current situation, it's hard to say what the perpetrator's motive was, but the method was very clear: the false evidence that Amuro Tooru had prepared.

Aside from the contents of Kogoro Mouri's computer, there were fingerprints on the electrical box.

The rest is completely true.

A mix of truth and falsehood is more convincing, after all.

In other words, the key ignition device, which can now be almost certainly identified as an electrical appliance that was the source of the explosion, was ignited by the perpetrator after he used hacking techniques to open the gas valve and left no traceable clues.

...Of course, this part has no practical significance.

At most, it can be considered as icing on the cake in the reasoning process. The important thing is that although Sano does not understand why the culprit would suddenly carry out such a large-scale terrorist attack a few days after bombing the venue, this is undoubtedly a good opportunity to follow the clues. This person is so clever that he can wipe away the traces afterward, so that he cannot find the source at all.

But the present tense is different from what happens afterward.

Sano quickly locked onto all the systems around him, and finally successfully located a system that was being hacked, and immediately hacked into it.

The two robbers then engaged in a duel inside someone else's house.

...Okay, it's not that exaggerated. Sano seized the guy's weak point with an overwhelming advantage and locked his position directly. But the main reason for this development was that the guy did not put up any resistance at all.

To be precise.

Sano felt that he wasn't struggling with this person; the other party's intrusion seemed to be a pre-prepared, very fixed procedural method.

……Too.

No matter how fast a person's hands are, it's impossible to hack into so many systems simultaneously in such a short time. Such an operation is normal, but not personally monitoring it to prevent unforeseen circumstances shows that they were too confident.

But after Sano followed the location and went to check, he realized that he was the one who was overconfident.

...Since it's a pre-set program that doesn't require the user to operate it, it's naturally impossible for me to be at the location Sano locked.

Looking at the internet cafe in front of him, Sano raised a hand to rub his temples. It wasn't surprising that others were using the same methods he had used; what was strange was that he only realized it after seeing it himself. Had he become stupid...?

Wait a minute, there seems to be a concept called spiritual power.

Could it be because of this?

Sano tried hard to recall which pieces of equipment consumed his mental energy. He should have conducted some consumption tests before, right?

It seemed like there were no problems back then...

Before Sano could react, his phone rang. It was Ran Mouri calling.

I mainly want to talk about two things.

First, Kogoro Mouri has been cleared of suspicion and released.

Second, Shinichi Kudo, or at least Ran Mouri said, had his assistant from Eri Kisaki's law firm help him collect information about Kyoko Tachibana.

Ran Mouri said that since Shinichi Kudo asked her to investigate, it might be related to the case, and asked Sano if he wanted to go and take a look... about Kyoko Tachibana.

Sano frowned.