"Isn't the farm that uncle and the others visited different from this one?"

Conan asked while changing into protective clothing.

"Uncle?"

Ishida Domoto thought about it for a moment, and then suddenly realized:

"Oh, you mean the tourists! It's different indeed. That's a small breeding farm we set up specifically for tourists to visit. After all, people come and go every day. Even if they don't get infected with germs, it's not good to scare the calves!"

“So that’s how it is…”

Conan nodded and looked at Sakaki Makoto:

“Will tourists scare the animals in the farms when they visit?”

"No, generally speaking, among all animals, cows are the ones that are closest to humans."

Sakaki Makoto put on his hat and put his hair under the brim while saying:

"But animals in farms are kept in captivity for a long time and have little contact with the outside world. If a group of strangers suddenly appear, they may become nervous. Whether it is animals or humans, when they are nervous, the pituitary gland will secrete a large amount of adrenaline and stress hormones and trigger the sympathetic nervous system."

"Excessive adrenaline secretion will weaken gastrointestinal activity, especially under long-term stress, which will cause a series of psychological problems in animals and lead to various diseases."

“That’s right…”

Ishida Domoto nodded repeatedly:

"So the farms that we actually use to produce beef are closed to visitors and only internal personnel can enter."

During the conversation, several people put on protective clothing. Ishida Domoto pressed the switch on the wall, and everyone first entered a room that was isolated from the inside and outside. When the door behind them was closed, white steam gushed out from the air vents on all sides. Sakaki Makoto smelled the smell of disinfectant inside.

After completing the whole body disinfection process, everyone came to the breeding farm.

In Factory No. 12, the floor was wiped clean. Unlike the pens one might imagine, it was not dirty or messy at all. The calves were moving around in their own pens, lying on the hay. Both the water troughs and the hay were managed automatically and in order.

"Every cow here is extremely precious. They are purebred Tajima cattle. If they were put up for auction in the market, they would be sold for at least several million."

Ishida Domoto introduced his farm with great pride and an expression of great satisfaction.

The two employees in charge of the management here, seeing the Ishida Domoto brothers coming, hurriedly walked out of the main control room and called out "boss".

"Well, these are the detectives we hired to investigate the previous incident."

Ishida Domoto turned to Sakaki Makoto and the others and introduced:

"These two are our old employees. They have been working in the farm since my father's generation and have rich experience."

"I dare not..."

One of the employees, who looked quite old, said with a wry smile:

"In the past two years, all the farms have been replaced with automated machines. We old antiques are out of date. In the future, these things will have to be handed over to young people..."

"That's right."

Speaking of young people, Ishida Domoto suddenly remembered something. He looked around and asked:

"Where are Makita and the others? There should be three permanent personnel on duty."

"He went out to the bathroom and will be back soon."

"Makita?"

Sakaki Makoto, Miss Miyano, and Conan looked at each other and frowned:

"Which Makita?"

"It's Junichi Makita! Oh! I forgot to tell you!"

Ishida Domoto patted his head and said with a smile:

"In our farm, no matter which plant, there will be three staff members on duty. One is responsible for treating diseases, one is responsible for management and monitoring, and the other is responsible for operating the latest automated machines. After all, high-tech things still require experts. People like us have never been exposed to them and don't understand them at all!"

As bosses, the Ishida brothers certainly can't spend all day at the farm. They hire employees just to relieve their work pressure, which is fine, but...

The last name Makita reminded Makoto Sakaki of the employee who was fired by the proprietress of Taketori-tei last year.

"Mr. Ishida, when did this Mr. Makita start working for your farm?"

“It was at the end of last year!”

Ishidadou didn't even think about it and just spoke:

"At that time, the master who was in charge of managing the automated machines in the field had reached the age to get married. His family was urging him to go home and get married, so we hired a new master from the city, Junichi Makita."

The time and place are right.

Sakaki Makoto frowned and wondered to himself, could there be such a coincidence in the world?

After Junichi Makita left Taketori-tei, Taketori-tei received a threatening letter. After he came to the Ishida Brothers Farm, a strange death of a calf occurred in the farm. Both of them were related to him...

"What's wrong, Mr. Makita?"

Noticing Sakaki Makoto's strange expression, Ishida Domoto asked cautiously:

"He... has a problem?"

"It's still uncertain at this point. We don't have evidence and we can't accuse the other party out of thin air."

Sakaki Makoto shook his head and said:

"Mr. Ishida, could you please take us to the pen where the accident happened and see if there are any clues?"

"No problem, Toshiya, you stay here and look after the machine, and when Mr. Makita comes back, bring him to me immediately."

"Got it, big brother."

"Mr. Oguri, let's go."

Ishida Domoto led the way in front and soon brought Sakaki Makoto and others to the fence near the innermost part of the factory.

Unlike the other numbered pens, each containing a few calves, this one was empty except for a pile of hay.

“This is it.”

Ishida Domoto sighed:

"It just happened two days ago. We just took the calf's body outside and burned it. No one should have touched the scene."

"Burned?"

Conan asked doubtfully:

“Why burn it?”

"Because we are not sure whether the calf is infected with some disease or poisoned."

Spreading his hands, Ishida Domoto said helplessly:

"Although the veterinarian said there was nothing wrong with the animal and it was just a myocardial infarction, I still don't dare eat this kind of meat. If something goes wrong after eating it, it would be more trouble than it's worth."

"Can I go in and take a look?"

"Can."

Conan nimbly climbed over the fence and entered the pen, observing the ground while touching and smelling everything.

“He is…”

Ishida Domoto was extremely surprised. He thought Conan was just a child, but he didn't expect that he had started collecting clues.

"Don't worry about him. He is my assistant. Although he is young, he has a sharp eye and a meticulous mind. He will become a great man in the future."

“Ohhh….”

After handing the pen to Conan, Sakaki looked up at the roof and suddenly pointed at the camera in the corner and said:

“Is the surveillance video still there?”