Chapter 50, Chapter 49: The Bomber's True Identity
You must tell me if you're sad.
Let me know that you've finally met your match.
Zhuge Tongzhi skillfully found an excuse to pass the task of taking a statement to Conan. She stood on a small stool that Takagi Wataru had somehow found for her, and watched as the young police officer showed her the progress of the investigation into the Qingchuan Tower bombing case over the past half month.
Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the rapidly progressing investigation records on the computer and couldn't help but open his mouth slightly. Every time Takagi Wataru mentioned a clue that had been pointed out incisively, he would praise how reliable and excellent Officer Date Wataru was.
Although every sentence contained a lot of personality cult and personal bias, even with the most rational and critical eye, Zhuge Tongzhi had to praise Date Hang's keen yet meticulous investigative ability.
Despite being a new technological era with the emergence of artificial intelligence like Noah's Ark, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department still uses a rather outdated paper database, claiming it's for effective information security.
However, in reality, cumbersome paper documents are easily damaged, and information that is not uploaded to the database cannot be effectively retrieved.
The conclusion was that when Ida Wataru tried to search for bombers with prior convictions based on the clue of 'revenge,' he did not obtain any useful photographic information.
Several sets of empty names were listed on the first page of the investigation document, with no further information following. As the timeline drew closer to the present and the cases became more numerous, the various documents gradually became complete.
Faced with a difficult situation, this police officer demonstrated investigative abilities that were in no way inferior to those of his four outstanding colleagues.
In just three days after the incident, he reviewed all the surveillance footage around the apartment building and Qingchuan Tower, the two bomb-planting sites. After identifying the suspect, he meticulously collected all the subtle details that showed a clear connection between the two locations.
Soon, the perpetrator's gender, approximate age and height, and various physical descriptions were compiled into a blurred portrait, which became an important basis for the police officers to use when questioning the public.
Meanwhile, Ida Aircraft continues to exert its efforts.
Unbeknownst to him, Zhuge Tongzhi had taken control of the mouse and scrolled through the progress bar, flipping over the key questions he had asked the community security guard and then over the list of sanitation workers for Qingchuan Tower that had been highlighted.
Each person's name was followed by their on-duty status for that day. Some names were highlighted with a highlighter, some were marked with illegible question marks, and some were crossed out.
Zhuge Tongzhi took out his phone and found the photo of the mailbox on the floor that he had taken back then in his favorite album. He compared it with the names on the computer and quickly found a name that existed in both lists.
Ah, just as I thought. A knowing glint flashed in Zhuge Tongzhi's eyes as he looked at the name marked 'deceased' after it had been crossed out with a stroke of a pen. He gently bit his lower lip and then smiled.
I've found a way for you to hide, you disgusting rat.
She typed the name into the memo and continued scrolling through the document. Ida Hang's sharp handwriting was scanned and printed as an image. In his mission report, he carefully described his several hypotheses about the bomber's whereabouts.
Within two pages, the records of how Ida Wataru led his officers in point-to-point raids over the past week quickly came to life, revealing a blatant and vigorous operation to round up fugitive criminals.
Although each search only resulted in the elimination of one or two names, and even the correct answer was unexpectedly ruled out from the start.
But behind Ida Wataru's concise, clear, and meticulously detailed narrative, Zhuge Tongzhi still saw a shadowy figure struggling to move forward due to this siege.
However, this large-scale search clearly exceeded Date Hang's authority and responsibility. Zhuge Tongzhi saw the style of public security operations in several of the raids that subtly touched the edge of the law.
Zhuge Tongzhi turned to another page and quickly found a photo of a man's profile. The clear image quality made her recognize it at a glance—it was the video she had asked Noah's Ark to airdrop.
"Hey, Officer Takagi, is this the bad guy we're looking for?" Zhuge Tongzhi pointed at the man's profile on the screen, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Why didn't the previous sketches have faces?"
"Oh, this is a file that suddenly appeared yesterday."
Takagi Wataru didn't mind that his mouse was taken away. He sat down next to her and, looking at the page the girl had stopped on, explained patiently, "Besides, the other party is a highly skilled hacker. This file was forcibly uploaded to all the computers in the First Investigation Division, forcing everyone to open it."
“But thanks to that hacker, the complete portrait has been made and will be published in the news tomorrow.” Takagi Wataru said, pulling out a black and white sketch from the pile of documents next to him and handing it to the girl standing on the stool. “Look, this is it.”
"Ugh—you're really ugly." Zhuge Tongzhi, who already knew what the other person looked like, slapped the paper face down on the table with disgust. His rather childish behavior made Takagi Wataru smile.
"Takagi, what are you saying?" Date Wataru's boisterous voice came from behind. Zhuge Tongzhi and Takagi Wataru turned around and saw Date Wataru, who had finished taking a statement, walking towards them with Conan.
"Senior, Zhuge is very interested in the Qingchuan Tower case. Since she's also involved, I mentioned it to her." Takagi Wataru blinked his innocent and simple eyes at his admired senior and repeated the story Zhuge Tongzhi had told him to obtain the information.
But, Officer Takagi, even so, you can't show the information to a child. Date Wataru sighed and touched his forehead, his thoughts mirroring those of Conan beside him.
"Officer Date, you're amazing!" Zhuge Tongzhi stood on a small stool, looked up at Date Hang, and praised him loudly in a clear voice: "I think that bad guy can't get far now and will be caught soon."
"Haha, I'm not as good as you say," Date Kou said with a laugh, pointing to the names that were being crossed out one by one on the document. "If it weren't for that document, I probably wouldn't have been able to find that person using my method."
Indeed. Zhuge Tongzhi thought of the name that had been crossed out in the first batch, and tapped his phone in his pocket. In the phone's bookmarks were photos of the mailboxes in the apartment building where the bomb was planted.
The name on one of the mailboxes was that of a criminal who died unexpectedly in a robbery a year earlier, and the ultimate source of two cases of retaliation against the police.
Who would have thought that a dead person could 'climb out of the ground' and commit a crime? She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she should offer any hints now, since the bomber's wanted poster would be on television the following day.
At this moment, Date Wataru, who was saying that he couldn't find it, reached out and cleared a small blank area on the table, took out his notebook and spread it out on the table.
"However, after thinking about it carefully and reflecting on it, I realized that I may have fallen into a misconception from the very beginning."
When Date Kou started talking about the case, his voice unconsciously became lower, carrying a kind of imposing authority. But the two fake children next to him moved closer and peeked over to see what he had written in his notebook.
“Perhaps the bomber never used his identity to his advantage in the first place.” Ida Kou tapped on a few names in his notebook, then circled the security guard’s name, and said, “So, I visited those people again in private, and what this security guard said caught my attention.”
“He said a child from that apartment building recently came back,” said Ida Ko, circling the name that Zhuge Tongzhi had found after comparison. “But this person was involved in a crime almost a year ago and died unexpectedly long ago.”
"And there were several other people who committed crimes with him." Ida Wataru turned to a new page, and one of the three names was circled in red pen. It was none other than the bomber who had escaped from prison some time ago.
“I did a thorough investigation and only found out yesterday that these two people are cousins and have been living together.” The short-haired police officer stated his deduction methodically, pointing to the two people’s different surnames, and said, “The security in that community is very strict, so the security guard may have mistaken them for someone else.”
“Officer Date, isn’t this the one!” Takagi Wataru stood up as he saw the name, looked up at Date Wataru who had a toothpick in his mouth and a smile on his face, “The timing is perfect, and if we’re talking about revenge… it’s perfect too.”
“Yes, if the information isn’t updated in time, then he can easily use his cousin’s identity.” Conan stood on the small stool that Zhuge Tongzhi had given him, pushed up his glasses, and said confidently, “After all, very few people would dare to go back to the house they lived in before they were arrested.”
“But it just so happened that his bold move coincided with the lost data, which allowed him to hide for so long.” Zhuge Tongzhi said softly from the side, “Revenge is only perfect when it is carried out by ‘the person himself’.”
So, even though surveillance footage didn't offer much help, as long as enough clues are gathered, the truth isn't actually that hard to find.
However, clues are time-sensitive, and important details can only be uncovered when guided by perceptive individuals. The police also assisted in advancing Ida Ko's investigation.
Matsuda Jinpei, who ultimately boarded the Ferris wheel, spent four years resolutely giving up everything he had before finally securing a mere week to transfer to the First Investigation Division and gain investigative authority.
Unfortunately, too many clues were long ago lost to the tides of time...
Well, it seems I was just a little too early; Date Wataru could have found the answer himself.
Zhuge Tongzhi pressed the delete button on his phone in his pocket, jumped off the bench with Conan, and followed Takagi Wataru and Date Wataru into the archives.
The two opened the household registration query website and entered the answer that Date Wataru had deduced into the search box that contained the household registration information of all citizens.
The old search page displayed the words "Searching," and after a while, the identity information of the corresponding person popped up. The man in the ID photo was the same person in the wanted poster that was about to be released.
Then, all that remains is to bring the other party to justice.
"It should be fine now." Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the police station, which was in an uproar because of the new discovery. He should have been relieved, but the two terrible things that Matsuda Jinpei had drawn kept replaying in his mind.
No, I can't think like that! She suddenly raised her hand and patted her cheek, thinking firmly under Conan's startled gaze: There's still a small lucky card left, now she's definitely in the 50% chance of success.
"Young detectives, your families have come to pick you up." Takagi Wataru led the two elementary school detectives, who had solved a murder case in the library, to the police station entrance.
Ran Mouri and Hikaru Midorikawa were chatting when they saw the person and came over to lead them away. After a brief farewell, they each took the child with their backpack.
"Kiri-chan, I bought you some desserts." Morofushi Kagemitsu shook the small cakes he had packed in his hand and handed them to Morofushi Kirito, who had been looking down and seemed to be thinking about something.
"Um, ah! Thank you, Xiaoguang." With his mind completely on the bomber, Zhuge Tongzhi was a beat slow to accept the dessert in the Poirot bag. He didn't even have the energy to look through the bag and guess whether the two police officers he met had discussed her case.
She was thinking about the giant Ferris wheel coming to an abrupt stop, about carriage number 72 suspended at the highest point, about the Knights of the Round Table and the crossed crosses, about the no-smoking signs…
She thought of the three-person photo taken in front of the church in Osaka.
Zhuge Tongzhi reached into her pocket and gently squeezed the maple leaf amulet hanging on her phone. The hard, flat feel of it reassured her.
If you hold firm to your beliefs, you'll eventually find peace! The black-haired girl with the backpack cheered herself on. Conan's involved? There'll definitely be no problem!
Morofushi Kagemitsu looked away from the girl who was clenching her fists and led her up the stairs to the apartment.
He suddenly remembered the information that Rei Furuya had given him during their meeting that afternoon.
'Hiro, Rum already knows that Ireland is alive.'
The blond man, wearing a waiter's apron, placed the USB drive under the plate, politely pushed the dishes in front of the guests, and smiled gently.
"He's now demanding Gin's forgiveness, and it's causing quite a stir. Vermouth and I are watching the drama unfold on the channel."
A graduate student from Dongda University who frequents this restaurant pulled at his tray, then caught the falling USB drive by swiping his hand across the edge of the table.
Then Gin asked him, "What right does someone who raised two traitors have to speak?"
Unlike the other new customers, the college student with a small braid down her back didn't keep looking up at the handsome waiter at the counter; she simply enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere of the coffee shop.
'Rum claimed he would prove himself with real success, at which point Vermouth's attitude quickly turned sour, and I didn't have time to probe further.'
'They're about to make their move, Hiro.'
Wearing headphones, Morofushi Kagemitsu listened carefully to the recorded audio conversation on the USB drive. When the progress bar reached the last two minutes, he heard Bourbon switch to a private channel with Vermouth.
However, before the tentative greetings could be finished, Vermouth's smiling voice abruptly interrupted the conversation. In the background, the suggestive sound of showering water could be heard. The woman's voice, which usually carried a hint of ambiguity and flirtation, now sounded faintly amused.
The ageless witch, said to be the most favored by the organization's BOSS, fiddled with her hair and said to the silent Bourbon on the other end of the phone, "Darling, don't be impatient."
"If you're on the list for this operation, you'll naturally have a deep 'memory' of that successful person."
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Author's note: My head hurts a bit today. OuO
Keep it up tomorrow!
…
I've received everyone's watering and landmines!! (Heart emoji)
Mwah—
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