Inside the car.
Sato Miwako tried to calm herself down and, while driving, recounted in a heavy tone the events that had occurred seven years ago and three years ago.
Seven years ago, two bombers planted bombs in two buildings in Beika City and demanded a ransom of one billion yen.
Although the police disarmed one bomb, they had to compromise in exchange for the stop code for the second bomb. As a result, the criminals escaped after succeeding, and one of them unexpectedly stumbled upon great luck during his escape and was reincarnated into another world.
Another criminal harbored resentment towards the police and launched a frenzied revenge.
Three years ago, her partner, Matsuda Jinpei, chose to stay in a Ferris wheel cabin in order to obtain information about the location of the next bomb, and was ultimately killed in the explosion.
"And now... he's back."
Sato Miwako's voice was filled with suppressed anger and grief, "This time, I will never let him succeed again!"
After finishing the story, the car happened to reach an intersection.
A brief silence fell over the car, broken only by the roar of the engine and the whistling wind outside the window.
Just then, Ai, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up, her icy blue eyes flashing with rationality: "Officer Sato, could I take a look at the notice sent by the bomber?"
“Huh? This…” Sato Miwako hesitated.
This is crucial evidence in the case; is it appropriate to show it to a child? Besides, the code is so complex that even police experts are struggling with it…
"Does Officer Sato think we won't understand and will cause trouble? Or... are police secrets confidential?"
Yuzuru replied with a smile.
Ai, on the other hand, crossed her arms and raised her face slightly, revealing a nonchalant expression that said, "Why would I hesitate about something this simple?"
When Sato Miwako saw the two people in the rearview mirror—one smiling and the other cold, yet both exuding a powerful aura—she felt a strange pressure, as if she were being watched by some extraordinary being.
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant!"
She quickly denied it, but just then the light ahead turned red, so she stopped the car, took out a copy of the fax from the glove compartment, and handed it to the back. "Here... take a look, but be careful, this is evidence."
Ai took the note with the crazy baseball terminology written on it, her eyes quickly scanning it, her small brows furrowing slightly as she fell into deep thought.
As the green light turned on, Sato Miwako restarted the car, sighing, "It's going to be difficult, isn't it? We used so much manpower and consulted so many experts with the previous codes, and we still couldn't completely crack them... This time it's probably going to be the same..."
Her tone was filled with a deep sense of powerlessness and self-doubt.
However, before her words had completely faded, before the sorrowful autumn moon had fully formed—
"It's Nanbeihu Railway Station."
Ai's cool voice rang out calmly, interrupting her sentiments.
Miwako Sato: "???"
What?
She almost thought she had misheard, and suddenly looked in the rearview mirror at the calm-looking brown-haired loli in the back seat.
"W-Where did you say? Minamibei Station? The one on the Toto Chuo Line?" Sato Miwako's voice rose a few decibels in surprise.
"That's right."
Ai picked up a handy Tokyo transportation map from the back seat of the car, skillfully flipped to a certain page, and gently ran her fingertips across it.
“Actually, the ‘home plate’ in the code doesn’t refer to the actual base on the ground.” She began to analyze clearly, her tone as calm as if she were explaining a simple math problem. “We can look back at the two locations where the perpetrators planted the bombs three years ago: the Ferris wheel at Beika Department Store and Beika Central Hospital.”
Her fingertips traced across the two points on the map.
“Connect the main roads extending from these two locations, the only place where they intersect…” Ai’s fingertip finally stopped at a point on the map, “that’s Minami-Beihu Station.”
Yu Sheng Nan watched his little girl's shining moment with a smile, his eyes full of admiration and pride that "my child is so great".
Having a god-like perspective, he naturally knew the answer long ago, but how could he possibly steal the limelight from his own little girl?
Appreciation is enough; my father's happiness is that simple.
As Sato Miwako drove, she tried hard to recall the map in her mind. Combining this with Ai's analysis, her eyes suddenly widened!
Following this line of thought...
“Then what does ‘the steel home plate’ refer to…” Her voice trembled slightly with excitement.
Ai closed the atlas, her tone still calm and even: "It's a tram. And what he meant by 'making you policemen step on blood-stained bunkers' should be the red train that's currently in motion."
After finishing her analysis, she even had time to look up and glance at Officer Sato in the front row with her icy blue eyes, adding casually:
"Such simple spatial geometric mapping and basic logical reasoning, combined with exhaustive reverse deduction based on limited known conditions... Did your police... not figure it out before?"
Sato Miwako: "..."
I'm sorry, I'm useless.
No, it's us police officers who are useless and have dragged you down. We're so sorry to have troubled you to come and guide our work!
She felt a burning sensation on her cheeks.
The code that the police couldn't crack despite deploying so many elites and experts was easily deciphered by a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old, just by looking at a map in a few minutes!
The slaps were so loud, they echoed far and wide.
Are kids these days... all ridiculously smart?
The Metropolitan Police Department's "flower" has once again come to a profound realization: never try to outsmart a brown-haired loli; you'll end up in a terrible mess.
But now is not the time for shock and shame!
"I'll contact Inspector Megure immediately!"
Sato Miwako instantly perked up, steadied the steering wheel with one hand, and quickly grabbed the car communicator with the other, almost shouting Ai's deduction report.
Megure Juzo on the other end of the communicator was clearly shocked, but the situation was urgent, and it was better to be safe than sorry. He immediately ordered all available resources to be mobilized and rushed to Minami-Beihe Station to evacuate the crowd and check for bombs!
After ending the communication, a fierce fighting spirit burned in Sato Miwako's eyes.
"Hold on tight!"
She yelled, jerked the steering wheel, and slammed her foot on the gas!
The red Mazda RX-7 let out a furious roar, its tires screeching violently against the ground. With an extremely beautiful, textbook-perfect drift, the car abruptly changed direction in the traffic, speeding towards the Minamibei Station like a wild red horse.
The title of "Rice Flower Car God" is well-deserved!
Hanyu Nan and Ai tacitly grabbed the overhead handrail, feeling the strong push against their backs and the street scene outside the window rushing past, almost turning into blocks of color.
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