Chapter 185 (Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain)
"This weather... is so unpredictable."
The driver would occasionally glance at the rearview mirror and see the passenger in the back seat staring at the snow falling heavier and heavier outside the window. He sighed and turned on the radio.
"...A blizzard is expected to continue in Nagano, with snow accumulation potentially increasing rapidly in some areas, especially the northern mountainous regions. Residents are advised to avoid these areas. The meteorological bureau also urges everyone to be aware of the potential impact of the blizzard on transportation..."
"The northern mountainous area...?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu listened to the weather broadcast and discovered that Z Zero and his group were heading to a destination in the northern mountains.
Sigh... it's like what I said came true; this abnormal situation just happened.
"Yes, but luckily there aren't many people there," the driver chimed in. "There are only a few households on the mountain. However, the transportation department gave advance notice, so no one should be going there on their own initiative."
“…Yes.” Morafushi Kagemitsu replied softly.
However, he secretly wondered to himself, "Zero and the others probably won't just blindly head into the mountains like that, will they? Even with a commission, they don't need to go to such lengths. Besides, in this terrible weather, the client wouldn't be so unreasonable as to demand immediate arrival."
[Anti-Fraud King #234: Um... actually, they've already gone. And judging by the distance, this group is still quite a distance from the eye of the storm. When it comes tonight, the snow is very likely to be very heavy.]
...Everyone must have caught Rum's impatient nature, otherwise how could they be so careless? Anyway, it's all Rum's fault!
[Anti-fraud King #234: ...Yes, that's right. I think Kogoro Mouri bears some responsibility as well. He didn't do his research before setting off, rushing off just to get enough people for a mahjong game. He's really not very responsible towards his two disciples.]
Number 234 spoke with such conviction, demonstrating an unparalleled understanding with Morofushi Kagemitsu when it came to shifting blame, easily diverting the responsibility to others.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: However, the signal on the mountain is probably completely unreliable now. If we want to ensure that my brother and Rum don't run into each other, we'll probably have to start with the police.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu wasn't entirely sure about the feasibility of this matter.
He knew Morofushi Takaaki's character; even in such terrible weather, if someone sent out a distress signal in the mountains, a responsible older brother would definitely rush to their rescue.
[Anti-Fraud Guru #234: What if we stall him with other cases? If the situation becomes more urgent, he might not go in person.]
...What do you mean? Are you telling me to kill someone right now and then turn myself in?
[Anti-fraud expert #234: Of course not. What I mean is, we can find some major criminal cases that have been piling up in the Nagano police station for a long time, and then provide some useful clues. Wouldn't that attract his attention?]
Morofushi Kagemitsu thought about it and thought the method was good. However, this important clue wasn't so easy to obtain. Or perhaps you have some special unsettling techniques? Like, did you go and browse the Golden Vault again?
[Anti-Fraud Guru #234: ...I'm not like 205 or their group. However, some secrets can indeed lead to very valuable clues. But today our focus isn't on intelligence that requires high-level internal access to unlock, but rather on a case related to the train station.]
The train station? You don't mean the station we just left, do you?
[Anti-Fraud King #234: That's right, that's the one. Don't forget, you still have a mission to complete after this time travel.]
……Task.
He couldn't help but sigh helplessly at the thought of not being able to see the report in time again.
He knew he couldn't expect the anti-fraud team to transmit the task text yet, or come up with any solutions in the meantime. The expected bug reports still hadn't appeared.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: Fortunately, we're not completely clueless. See, you immediately thought of it as soon as I mentioned it.]
The opportunity for this journey was indeed very clear: wind, snow, or cold were all elements that would appear or be appearing in my environment before and after the journey.
Moreover, whether it's the space where I was stuck or the station where I landed, I think the fact that the little ancestors connected to those apps in the past would subconsciously set the landing location there is probably related to the data they left behind when they were making predictions and simulations.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: So I went through those old cases, and apart from the one where someone hanged themselves on the mountain, only this train station terrorist attack case remained.]
As he spoke, Number 234 projected the case file he had found into Morofushi Kagemitsu's mind, and together they carefully reviewed the case from beginning to end.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: That's roughly it. Although they had apprehended the most suspicious person, they couldn't put him in jail due to a lack of conclusive evidence. The statute of limitations for this case will expire in three years, and despite the victim's family's considerable efforts over the past seven years, they haven't made any significant progress.]
What have you discovered?
If you hadn't found some useful clues, you wouldn't have told me so much on your own initiative.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: The lawyer who defended this case back then is currently working at Eri Kisaki's law firm. Furthermore, if I could obtain sufficiently detailed case information, I could work with the anti-fraud team on another front to reconstruct the situation. This would potentially allow us to obtain evidence.]
Simulating the scene of the crime... is it similar to a profiling method?
[Anti-fraud expert #234: Our method is naturally far more advanced than the still-developing human brain's associative abilities. Although years have passed, by accumulating historical databases across both past and future time periods, reconstructing the events of that time is not difficult.]
That sounds very promising.
However, it would be even better if we could find the surveillance footage from that time. But so much time has passed, and it's probably impossible to find any records from four years ago.
However, at that time I had just graduated from police academy...
Morofushi Kagemitsu spoke ambiguously, subtly hinting at something.
As a fragment of his consciousness, Number 234 seemed to understand his meaning.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: ...Regarding why they chose you to link to their account, they rarely mentioned it to me, but finding a suitable candidate definitely requires a long period of observation.]
Therefore, as an essential step, you will definitely turn your attention to Nagano.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: Okay, I understand. I'll go ask them now.]
As he spoke, Number 234 went to try and retrieve the Anti-Fraud King's memories.
With this hope, Morofushi Hiromitsu didn't sit idle. He took out his phone and started looking for Mori Ran's number, intending to ask her for Eri Kisaki's contact information so that he could contact the lawyer hired by the victims in that case.
He had just sent Ran Mouri's phone number when the taxi stopped. The smart voice assistant that the driver had just installed started working at that moment:
"You have arrived at your destination. Based on the mileage, the cost for your trip is..."
Morobuchi Kagemitsu paid the driver's money, thanked him, and then entered the hotel he had chosen.
The weather brought a lot of people to the hotel, but most of them stayed in the lobby to avoid the heavy snow. The staff didn't shoo them away, but just kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't make the hotel environment worse.
He pulled his coat, which was covered in snowflakes, tighter around himself, walked to the front desk, and booked a room. At the front desk, the receptionist smiled approvingly as he took his room key, talking to Ran Mouri as he made his way to his room.
"...Oh, so this is the number. Thank you so much, Ms. Mori."
"As for Nagano, I am indeed here. I haven't been able to contact Mr. Mori because of the weather. Of course, I will let you know as soon as the signal is restored or if I hear any news about them."
"No, no, it's me here..."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Morofushi Kagemitsu hung up the phone and then called Eri Kisaki.
This time, he explained the reason in more detail, saying that he was asked by a friend to investigate the case. After hearing this, Eri Kisaki did not hesitate and recommended a lawyer named Sosuke Okumura to him.
And so, after going through layers of unpacking, he was finally able to contact the lawyer from back then.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: Yes, it's him. If he hadn't changed his phone number in the past two years, we wouldn't have gone through all this trouble.]
After being quiet for half a day, number 234 finally showed up. Seeing that Morofushi Hiromitsu had obtained Okumura Sousuke's contact information, he gave a brief explanation.
Changed his number? Was the number he left with the court different from his current one?
He frowned.
For a lawyer, changing phone numbers is a hassle, especially for someone like Kousuke Okumura who has moved to a new workplace. It would be extremely inconvenient if his former clients tried to contact him.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: Not only that, it turns out he didn't keep the phone numbers of most of his customers; they were all deleted along with their original phone numbers.]
...Hearing you say that, I have a feeling that our inquiry won't go too smoothly this time.
"Beep beep beep..."
Sure enough, Okumura Kousuke's phone was busy.
Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at the time displayed on his phone and secretly hoped that Kudo Shinichi wouldn't encounter a murder case so soon this time. He thought it best for them to stay at the Snow Mountain Lodge and avoid the storm.
If it weren't for the inappropriate setting and the lack of suitable decorative items at hand, he would have even darkly cursed Rum as the victim.
[Anti-fraud expert #234: Um...that's a new type of organizational attrition.]
It would be even better if Zero and the others could split up. Rum's bodyguards aren't around right now, making it a perfect opportunity to strike.
[Anti-fraud King #234: ...Based on what I know of you, you probably don't want to miss this opportunity... You wouldn't actually be planning to use this chance to kill Rum, would you?]
Morofushi Kagemitsu remained silent, only slightly raising the corners of his mouth, and then made another phone call to Okumura Kousuke.
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Author's note: My darlings, I'd like to ask, how does Uehara Yui usually address Morofushi Takaki?
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