Chapter 12 The Little Detective The little detective's eyes held a resentful, silent accusation. ...
The trees planted along the roadside flashed by, forming a blurry silhouette.
At this moment, Kitagawa Ryusei, who was "kidnapped," was speeding down the highway in the kidnapper's van.
The busy phone line remained connected to the police officers in the Criminal Organization Countermeasures Department.
Fifteen minutes earlier, Kitagawa Ryusei, who thought everything was over and she could go back to school to rest, was silently staring at the walkie-talkie with two children.
The emergency phone, which remained on call, also fell silent.
Just as he was about to throw caution to the wind and speak, the clever child ran up, fiddled with his little red bow tie, and took the walkie-talkie from Kitagawa Ryusei's hand.
He spoke in a mature male voice: "The little brat is a bit noisy; it took a while to confuse him."
Kitagawa Ryusei slowly lowered his head, and a question mark slowly appeared above his head: ?
Are all kids in this new era so all-around talented?
In short, Kitagawa Ryusei's plan to return to school to rest was completely ruined.
After hearing the kidnapper's name, the call was transferred to the Public Security Bureau of the National Police Agency, who stated that they would take full responsibility for the case and hoped that he could temporarily keep the other accomplices calm.
This kidnapping gang was indeed not a big deal; the police's target was the criminal organization that was connected with these kidnappers.
However, the police's plan clearly did not include having undergraduate police academy students take the lead in the battle.
However, the kidnappers had installed a GPS tracker in the van, and if they didn't drive to their destination soon, the kidnappers might become suspicious. The police couldn't get there in time, so they could only keep in constant contact with Kitagawa Ryusei after notifying the police academy.
Kitagawa Ryusei, who doesn't know any magical voice-changing tricks, can't keep the kidnapper in check, but someone else does.
He found some professional kidnapping tools in the van, tied the three kidnappers to the spot, left the little boy to guard and wait for the police, and then drove away with Shinichi Kudo, who had already gotten the rendezvous point from the walkie-talkie.
The only unexpected thing was that Shinichi Kudo didn't expect the other party to actually agree to take him along, instead of borrowing his voice-changing bow tie and then warning him that children shouldn't get involved in dangerous cases.
Shinichi Kudo was puzzled and asked.
The curious kid has so many questions. Kitagawa Ryusei glanced at him and had a question too: "Tell me first, how did you know I'm a police academy student?"
Kitagawa Ryusei was certain he had never seen the boy before, at least not at school or while he was in uniform.
Before he could finish speaking, he saw the child in front of him with an excited look on his face, as if to say, "You finally asked." But the child then cleared his throat as if to say, "Oh dear, brother's mistake is quite obvious."
"Smug kid," Kitagawa Ryusei thought to himself.
He feigned enthusiasm and pressed further, "Where exactly?"
Despite his young age, Shinichi Kudo's childlike innocence was still evident as he counted on his fingers: "First of all, there are calluses on his hands. My brother has calluses on his hands from using various weapons, with the thickest callus on his index finger from guns. He must be someone who frequently handles firearms."
Kitagawa Ryusei seemed thoughtful and didn't interrupt, letting him continue: "Secondly, there's the position of your watch and your attire. Your watch face is on the inside of your wrist, making it easier to check the time; the belt buckle is fixed on the left side, making it convenient to access your weapon at your waist. From these two points, it's clear that you've received systematic combat training."
"But the most important thing is his movement habits. Even when he sits down, his back is straight, his stride is about 75 centimeters, and he habitually turns at right angles. These are things that ordinary martial arts practitioners don't have. Plus, the police academy is near the convenience store, and my brother's age seems to fit the bill perfectly."
"So it's not hard at all to guess that my brother is a police academy student!" Shinichi Kudo proudly concluded, tilting his head back.
"Very keen observation skills." After patiently listening to his words, Kitagawa Ryusei sincerely praised him and introduced himself, "My name is Kitagawa Ryusei, and I am indeed a police academy student."
The child politely replied, "My name is Shinichi Kudo, and I will become an excellent detective in the future!"
Kitagawa Ryusei smiled but made no comment on Kudo Shinichi's dream.
This made the young detective like him even more.
Children are actually very sensitive to how adults treat them; they can tell at a glance whether an adult likes or dislikes them, let alone a child like Shinichi Kudo who has a very strong sense of observation.
More than one person has praised him for his intelligence, but these people have very different attitudes towards him.
Like a school teacher, even if he thinks he's smart, it doesn't stop him from treating Shinichi Kudo as just a child.
When faced with something important, the teacher's first reaction is not to consult with the child, but to skip him and inform the Kudo couple.
The Kudo couple belonged to the other extreme – they both believed that Shinichi Kudo had acquired survival skills no different from an adult and was already capable of surviving independently. So they quickly made detailed plans to go abroad for a romantic getaway once their son entered junior high school.
But Kitagawa Ryusei is neither.
He belongs to a type that Shinichi Kudo has never encountered before.
Treat him like a ten-year-old child, but also communicate and talk with him as if he were a ten-year-old child.
For example, when someone asks to catch up, he will readily agree after only a moment's thought.
"So Ryusei-nii hasn't answered my question yet!" Realizing his thoughts had wandered off course, Shinichi Kudo quickly pulled himself back, naturally changing his form of address and complaining softly.
His question was why the other party agreed to take him along when facing danger.
Unexpectedly, Kitagawa Ryusei's reason was overly simple: "You wanted to come, and you can be of help, so I agreed. Do I need any other reason?"
"Huh? Aren't you worried that I might be in danger?" Shinichi Kudo asked incredulously.
“I believe in my abilities,” Kitagawa Ryusei replied succinctly.
He could bring him along because Kitagawa Ryusei believed in himself; he was willing to bring him along because Kitagawa Ryusei believed in Kudo Shinichi.
Age has never been a criterion for judging a person by Kitagawa Ryusei.
If all else fails, just tie the person to your body; I don't believe there will be any problems. Kitagawa Ryusei thought to himself as he asked again, "Where did you get your bow tie?"
“The professor next door is an inventor, and this is one of his little inventions,” Shinichi Kudo said. “How did Ryusei-nii figure out that boy was suspicious at the convenience store?”
What started as a one-sided inquiry by Shinichi Kudo gradually turned into a back-and-forth question-and-answer session, much like an exchange of information, as Ruki Kitagawa had taken control of the conversation.
"It's just a gut feeling. If you feel something's not right, then it's much simpler to look for evidence."
Huh? Shinichi Kudo's beady eyes.
Is this how it should be?
The rearview mirror reflected the boy's incredulous face. Kitagawa Ryusei was still driving with his eyes fixed straight ahead, but a rather pleased smile curved his lips.
Now I finally understand those awful adults who tease children...
Seeing a child trying to appear mature reveal a strange expression is truly delightful.
On Kitagawa Ryusei's phone, the police officer who had remained silent until now finally spoke.
"Kitagawa-kun, please report your location and situation."
"We're almost at the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse." The scenery outside the car window flashed past quickly. Facing the familiar sights, Kitagawa Ryusei paused, a hint of nostalgia flashing across his face, almost as if it were an illusion.
"Everything is normal."
"Our people have already arrived at the destination ahead of time. All you have to do is make sure the other side doesn't notice anything unusual before we take action."
Without letting his emotions show too much, Kitagawa Ryusei composed himself and smiled, "I understand."
Getting the kidnapper out of the city is his small contribution to Yokohama in this world.
Stepping on the gas, Kitagawa Ryusei changed lanes and overtook a van behind him that was trying to accelerate.
Slow down before you get to that car.
The next second, a hateful voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Daigo Ohara!"
Seeing Kitagawa Ryusei lower the car window, Kudo Shinichi, who already had a certain understanding with him, helplessly pulled up his collar tie: "What? The wind is too strong, I can't hear you!"
After saying this, he immediately threw away the walkie-talkie, and the window rolled up.
"Ryusei-san, how did you know these two groups would be competitors?" Shinichi Kudo asked curiously once again.
Along the way, Kitagawa Ryusei's familiarity with the way kidnappers interacted exceeded his expectations; the young man could see right through their thoughts and actions.
With a face that screamed "kids are just naive," Kitagawa Ryusei offered no explanation, instead asking matter-of-factly, "What kind of relationship do you expect them to have? Partners? Friends?"
Could it be intuition again...?
Shinichi Kudo was even more helpless than him.
Just like when they were in the alley, the other person made him doubt his reasoning from time to time.
In some ways—especially in his logical reasoning and manner of doing things—Kitagawa Ryusei is nothing like a policeman.
If he weren't curious about a difficult puzzle, he wouldn't be Shinichi Kudo.
He blinked his blue crystal-like eyes, filled with a child's curiosity and desire to explore: "Brother's martial arts skills weren't all taught at the police academy, were they? If I'm not mistaken, the stick techniques you used earlier showed traces of the 'twelve-angle attack system' from Filipino martial arts."
Do elementary school students these days know this much?
Kitagawa Ryusei was genuinely surprised: "You know this? Where did you learn it?"
Shinichi Kudo answered him frankly, "My dad introduced me to him when I was in Hawaii!"
His father was a famous detective novelist with a wide range of knowledge, which meant that Shinichi Kudo had access to far more knowledge than his peers.
“Oh, so I studied in Italy.” Kitagawa Ryusei subtly changed the subject.
Shinichi Kudo widened his eyes and protested, "I'm telling the truth."
Kitagawa Ryusei remained unmoved: "What I said is true."
The protest went unanswered, Shinichi Kudo: ...
He takes back what he said earlier; Kitagawa Ryusei is exactly the same as those wicked adults!
No, it's even worse!
The little detective was so angry that he stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, only occasionally glancing at the driver with a resentful look.
Finding it somewhat amusing, Kitagawa Ryusei coughed twice before even speaking, then remembered that he had a fever and raised his hand to check his forehead temperature.
"Detective, could you please get me the water and fever reducer from the bag?" he asked.
"So you really were sick," Shinichi Kudo said, forgetting his anger, as he handed over the medicine and opened the water bottle, muttering under his breath, "I thought..."
"What did you think?" Kitagawa Ryusei asked casually, not having heard the second half of the sentence.
Shinichi Kudo shook his head rapidly, his ahoge (cowlick) almost falling over: "It's nothing!"
It's best not to use such a childish excuse as thinking it's the other person's entrance pose!
After taking his medicine with cold water, Kitagawa Ryusei glanced at the cars behind him in the rearview mirror. He didn't look at Kudo Shinichi, but answered his earlier question.
"I used to learn Filipino wands with friends in Italy for a while, but I was always ridiculed for not being fierce and sharp enough, so I don't really want to admit it."
Not fierce or sharp enough...
"Ha, ha, is that so?" Shinichi Kudo chuckled dryly upon hearing this, finally skipping over the topic and not intending to delve into it any further.
We're almost at our destination.
The vehicle gradually drove into a remote area.
The kidnappers will complete the transaction with the criminal organization at the abandoned container drop-off point ahead.
Unbeknownst to them, the police had already taken control of the surrounding area and cordoned it off.
Having successfully completed the mission, Kitagawa Ryusei glanced at the rearview mirror once again.
The van was still following closely behind.
His gaze darkened, and he murmured to himself, "I still find these city flies really annoying..."
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