Chapter 31 begins
The next morning, Shinichi went to the Metropolitan Police Department very early.
Shinichi went to find Takagi first and asked, "Officer Takagi, did you receive a call about the stroller?"
"What?!" Takagi exclaimed in surprise.
Meanwhile, all the gossipy ears in the office were already perked up.
"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..." Takagi waved his hands repeatedly to his colleagues to indicate that he had nothing to do with the matter. "It was Date-senpai who bought it."
After saying that, she pulled Shinichi out.
"Kudo-kun, what are you doing again? Where's the stroller?" Takagi asked irritably.
"It seems they're lying," Shinichi mused. "There's also a less likely possibility that the boss hasn't come to work yet."
Takagi was completely confused: "Who are they?"
Shinichi didn't intend to answer that question, but instead asked, "Officer Takagi, who is the head of the First Investigation Division?"
Takagi suddenly became alert: "Why are you asking this?"
Shinichi replied with a serious expression, "I have something very important to discuss with my superiors!"
"Can't I just ask Inspector Megure?"
"No! He must be at least a police inspector, and a superintendent or even a superintendent general would be even better!"
"You still want to see the Superintendent General of Police?!"
Takagi gasped in surprise, nearly fainting from fright.
"Takagi, the Superintendent General is having a meeting on the 6th floor! Do you want to see him?"
As luck would have it, Sato happened to be passing by at that moment.
Unfortunately, she only heard the second half of Takagi's sentence.
Shinichi was overjoyed upon hearing this and hurriedly ran up to the 6th floor.
Takagi chased after him with all his might.
The two disappeared in a flash, one after the other, leaving Sato bewildered in the wind.
She thought to herself: Should I not have answered that question?
"Kudo-kun, wait a minute! Don't be impulsive, let's talk this out! Why do you insist on finding the Superintendent General of Police?" Takagi wailed all the way, completely forgetting the rule against making loud noise.
This drew everyone's attention, and they whispered among themselves, "What's going on today?"
In fact, Shinichi didn't know whether the police superintendent was definitely not controlled by those people.
However, the higher the position, the greater the power, so it would be exponentially more difficult for a prisoner to turn a high-ranking police officer against him.
Therefore, he was making a desperate gamble.
It's a gamble on both the "purity" of the Metropolitan Police Department and the strength of the criminals.
Winning is fine, but losing is... well...
However, Shinichi doesn't have time to think about what to do if he loses right now.
A group of police officers gathered in the corridor to watch the commotion, seemingly not treating him as a troublemaker.
They were simply watching with great interest to see what this high school student was up to, and some of them who knew or had heard of Shinichi were even enthusiastically spreading the glorious deeds of the little detective.
There were even a few people who, not wanting to miss out on the drama, directly stopped Takagi.
A kind police officer even gave Shinichi directions, saying, "Look! The Superintendent General is having a meeting in that conference room!"
And so, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Shinichi knocked on the door of the conference room.
The door opened, and Shinichi went inside.
Upon entering, Shinichi immediately realized from the ages of the attendees that this meeting was of a high level.
"Perhaps superintendent is already the lowest police rank."
Shinichi glanced at the slides on the screen and realized that they were probably having a meeting about strengthening security for the Winter Olympics.
The bigwigs all turned to look at Xin Yi, sitting up straight, showing a hint of curiosity but not revealing it on their faces.
The police officer who was speaking on the platform was interrupted and asked, seemingly displeased, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The police officer who was questioning him was tall and imposing, which startled Shinichi.
Actually, the other person's tone wasn't very harsh; it was mainly that their face was truly terrifying: most of their face was covered in burn scars, making them unforgettable at first glance.
If a timid person saw this, they would probably have a face in their nightmares every night.
"Ah, um, I..." Shinichi had never seen anything like this before, and his mind went blank, forgetting all his lines.
"I think this student must have gone to the wrong room?" an officer asked kindly, while the others smiled slightly.
"No! I didn't go to the wrong place!" Shinichi said firmly, regaining his senses. "I've found a lead on a group of fugitives, so I'm requesting the police's assistance!"
"Young man, you should just call the police for this kind of thing. We have a meeting to attend, please leave!"
"But these are not ordinary criminals. They have escaped from the police multiple times! None of them have been caught yet. Moreover, they have committed murder, arson, and even run an illegal surrogacy and baby trafficking industry! They have recently started operating again, and it's hard to say what kind of trouble they might cause during the Winter Olympics."
Shinichi spoke emotionally, deliberately emphasizing the last sentence.
The bigwigs frowned slightly and began exchanging glances.
Finally, the officer who had spoken on the stage stepped down and said, "Then please tell us about the clues you have found!"
Shinichi composed himself and went up to begin recounting the mysterious deaths of Ms. Horii and Mr. Shintani.
He showed everyone the forensic report and a handwritten analysis of the suspicious points in the autopsy, which he had asked Dr. Oda to write.
"All the evidence suggests that Horii and Shintani died from the same unknown drug. In order to destroy the evidence, the perpetrator broke into the forensic hospital, stole the specimens, and cremated the bodies without authorization."
Next, Shinichi showed Ms. Horii's diary and the results of his investigation.
“Near that suspicious baby store, a restaurant waiter confirmed that Shinya had dined at the store on June 25, which coincides with the date in Horii’s diary. Moreover, I found a large quantity of medicine in the warehouse behind that baby store, which far exceeded the scope of their business license.”
"Young man, I remember you just said those people also set fires?" the terrifying-looking police officer suddenly asked. For some reason, Shinichi felt that the officer's expression had been gloomy ever since he started talking to him.
"Yes, that was two years ago. The main culprit was a blond man driving a white RX-7. But ever since I confronted him, he has never dared to show his true face again."
Upon hearing this, the officer's face darkened even further.
"Kuroda, why don't you take charge?" a police officer who looked to be of high rank said.
Kuroda nodded silently and extended his hand to Shinichi: "Kuroda Heibei, Inspector of the First Investigation Division."
"Shinichi Kudo, the detective!"
Kuroda smiled slightly and asked, "Kudo-kun, how old are you?"
"At 17, it's time to start the second year of high school."
Kuroda nodded in satisfaction, muttering to himself, "Truly, the younger generation is formidable!"
Those watching from outside were puzzled by the unusually quiet atmosphere inside: "Could they actually be having a conversation?"
As they were talking, Shinichi and Kuroda walked out of the conference room.
Kuroda swept his gaze across the crowd, and they scattered like birds and beasts.
Only Takagi, Date, and others who were relatively familiar with Shinichi were left standing there, at a loss.
"Kudo-kun has provided the police with crucial information about the perpetrator. Therefore, I have decided to establish a special task force for this case, with myself as the leader. In addition to the First Investigation Division, which is originally in charge of this case, I will coordinate with other departments to allocate resources. Furthermore, Kudo-kun, as the informant provided by the police, will also be involved. Report directly to me with any issues, understand?"
"Yes, I understand!"
Shinichi's old acquaintances were completely bewildered, wondering: What kind of spell did this kid cast on the supervisor?
However, they could not disobey their superiors' orders, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and do as they were told.
The most excited person was Shinichi, whose actions naturally faced fewer obstacles after Kuroda gave his approval.
But just as they were working on a plan to lure the baby store owner into a trap, an unexpected incident occurred—
That shop is on fire!
Shinichi immediately went with the fire truck after receiving the news.
Upon arrival at the scene, thick smoke billowed out, accompanied by a strong, pungent odor.
It is likely that the fire was caused by some chemical ignition.
The fire was too large, and traditional fire extinguishing equipment was completely ineffective against this type of fire.
Several streets in the surrounding area were evacuated.
"Were there any casualties? How are the people in the store?" Shinichi asked anxiously.
"Many people suffered respiratory injuries, but others were fine. Fortunately, no one was in the store when the fire broke out, so there were no fatalities."
"Nobody here?! Are you closed for the day?"
"Yes! Apparently, business was so bad that they couldn't keep the shop afloat, and they moved everything out last night. I wonder where the fire started?"
Shinichi was completely stunned.
He knew that this group of people were always cautious and left no trace.
If they had known that Horii had a habit of keeping a diary, they probably would have burned down the rented room as well.
But he didn't expect the criminal to be so ruthless and decisive.
"He didn't even care when the shop caught fire?"
Shinichi gave a wry smile, thinking that the prisoner was probably mocking him.
He carefully recalled every face in that conference room that day, and felt that they were all cunning and shrewd.
"They moved everything out last night, and are only burning it now."
"Could it be a coincidence? Or did I lose my bet?"
"Kudo, it's too dangerous here. The fumes from the fire might be poisonous; you shouldn't stay here," Date said.
Shinichi asked dejectedly, "Officer Date, what are you planning to do next?"
"The trail has gone cold, there's nothing we can do. We'll investigate the owner of that shop."
"Is that all? What if it was bought under someone else's name? What does Officer Date intend to do then?"
"Then we'll think of other ways."
"What method?!" Shinichi's voice suddenly rose.
Ida was startled and frowned, saying, "I know you care about this case. But many things can't be accomplished overnight; things will eventually work out if we take it slow."
"Take your time?" Shinichi yelled at Date with a hint of sarcasm. "I can wait, but what about them?! Have you ever thought about how many people like Ms. Horii are still living in dire straits, in darkness where they never see the light of day? Don't they deserve to live with dignity?"
"Of course I wanted to save them! But you've seen the consequences of acting without authorization. Don't do this again, understand?"
Shinichi suddenly chuckled after hearing this: "Is Officer Date worried about my safety?"
Ida was very pleased, thinking that the boy had finally come to understand her good intentions.
However, Shinichi's next words left Date completely baffled.
"Officer Ida's wife is due to give birth next month, right? You must be extra careful at a time like this. You surely want both mother and child to be safe and sound, don't you?"
"What do you mean?" Ida asked, puzzled, wondering where the other person had gotten the information.
Shinichi then changed the subject, asking, "In the game Dr.Virus that Mr. Nakagawa developed three years ago, the player who survived to the end could resist all viral infections and ultimately achieve immortality with the help of various medicines. What is the meaning behind this game?"
Date, even more confused, asked, "Kudo, what exactly are you trying to say?"
“Games are a reflection of reality. What does Nakagawa want to gain?” Shinichi revealed a slightly eerie smile. “Or rather, what does the person who inspired Nakagawa to design this game want to gain? As Mr. Miyazaki once said, profiting from kidnapping doesn’t seem like Nakagawa’s style. So, who is the mastermind behind all of this?”
"Sorry, the police have not yet determined the cause."
Ida was completely confused by the other party: Could these things really be connected?
Shinichi suddenly asked, "What's the score?"
"What?"
"I asked about the football match, what's the score now? Officer Takagi told me that Officer Date likes to listen to the football commentary while wearing headphones."
Ida repeated stiffly, "0 to 3."
After saying that, he turned and left.
After losing three games in a row, they were utterly defeated.
Zero is naturally 0!
"Ha! Liar!"
"The match hasn't even started yet!"
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