Baishi Hui checked his clothes to make sure there were no flaws, then returned to his seat in the arena.
"Shirashi-kun, what took you so long?" Ran looked at him a little strangely.
"I Ran into someone I know and couldn't help but chat for a while." Baishi Hui casually found an excuse to brush her off, then immediately changed the subject, saying, "How are things now?"
As soon as Ran heard this, she was no longer sleepy and said excitedly, "Mizuno has advanced to the finals! Harada and Takeda just finished their match, and Harada won with a 3-point lead!"
"Oh, then I came back at just the right time," Baishi Hui said casually. "I think Mizuno is more likely to win the championship; he has long legs."
"You didn't watch the match just now, you don't know how fierce Harada's attacking style is! I bet he'll win!" Ran offered her opinion.
"He has thin arms and short legs; he can't win," Baishi Hui said. He actually didn't care who won, as long as he could distract Ran.
"Then we'll see!" Ran said cheerfully, her mind completely focused on the match.
Finally, after seeing Harada win the match, she cheered happily, feeling that her judgment was much better than Baishi Hui's!!
In response, Baishi Hui could only admit he had misjudged.
It was already past ten o'clock at night after returning to the Mouri Detective Agency.
For adults, the nightlife was just beginning, but for high school students like Ran, it was time to rest.
Stopping downstairs from the agency, Baishi Hui said, "I won't go up. You should go back and rest early."
"Okay... Thank you, Shirashi-kun, for taking me to watch the match!" Ran smiled sweetly and expressed her gratitude.
"If you really want to thank me, then win the championship... Don't let my efforts during this time be in vain," Baishi Hui said as he waved goodbye and turned to leave.
"Yes, I will definitely win the championship!" Ran vowed confidently, humming a tune and skipping upstairs.
The murder scene.
Inspector Megure temporarily blocked off the road section.
Looking at the burnt-out car, his brow remained furrowed without loosening.
Takagi Wataru jogged over and said, "Inspector, the identities of the three deceased have been confirmed. Like the previous three victims who were shot, they are all gang members!"
"It's another gang vendetta," Inspector Megure sighed, already labeling the incident as such.
He said with a headache, "Honestly, if you're going to kill, can't you do it in a more secluded place? Why do it in a place with so many people... It's just causing trouble for everyone!"
Just then, Sato Miwako walked back, carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and said excitedly, "Inspector! We found the weapon used by Azu the Bandit... It's my first time seeing this kind of launcher."
"Me too... Officer Sato, can I touch it?" Takagi Wataru's eyes lit up; he was very interested in this thing!
"Of course," Sato Miwako said, handing the launcher to Takagi Wataru.
"Ah... So this is what it feels like," Takagi Wataru exclaimed in wonder after taking the launcher. "I didn't expect it to be quite heavy... This must be where the rocket goes, right? Let me try."
Saying this, he shouldered the RPG and began aiming, imitating what he had seen.
This made Inspector Megure, who was standing nearby, say angrily, "What do you think you're doing? This is a murder weapon, is it something to play with? Give it to me!!"
"R-Right... Sorry," Takagi Wataru flinched, not daring to mess around anymore, and quickly handed the weapon to Inspector Megure.
Inspector Megure took the RPG with a blank expression, looked left and right, shouldered it, and said, "So that's it!! This is how the culprit committed the crime... There's even a sight here!!"
Seeing this, Takagi Wataru couldn't help but remind him, "Inspector, standing like this will result in a strong recoil. I've seen on TV that they all shoot while kneeling."
"Like this?" Inspector Megure knelt down and asked.
"..." Sato Miwako watched the two of them start playing around and was speechless.
At this moment, traffic Police officer Miyamoto Yumi walked over.
Looking at the two of them, she said in astonishment, "Miwako, is this how you Criminal Police handle cases?"
"What is there to investigate about this case?" Sato Miwako retorted.
"Uh..." Miyamoto Yumi looked back at the murder scene and realized that this case didn't seem to have much to investigate either.
The case details were clear, the victims' identities were confirmed, the method of murder was known, and the murder weapon had also been found.
The only thing left to do was to find Azu the Bandit.
Sato Miwako continued, "This case wasn't originally supposed to be handled by our First Investigation Division. We'll leave once the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department arrives."
"That's true," Miyamoto Yumi nodded understandingly.
Now, looking at Inspector Megure again, she realized he wasn't foolish; he was smart.
No matter how much they investigated, they would eventually have to hand over the information to the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department.
In that case, they might as well just slack off honestly and wait for someone to take over the scene.
"I heard that bandit shot at you traffic Police? You weren't injured, were you?" Sato Miwako asked with concern.
"I'm fine! If something happened, would I be standing here chatting with you?" Miyamoto Yumi smiled, indicating for her not to worry, and said, "He just shot out our tires... That guy's aim is really accurate."
"That's good," Sato Miwako said, taking two steps forward and lowering her voice. "If you encounter something like this in the future, don't rush too far ahead, understand? They even have RPGs. If they get desperate... that's what will happen to you!"
She glanced at the destroyed vehicle and said with lingering fear.
"Don't worry! With this little salary a month, I wouldn't risk my life," Miyamoto Yumi nodded, indicating that Sato Miwako didn't need to worry.
The next morning.
Baishi Hui checked the news on his phone while on his way to school.
Sure enough, this time almost all major news outlets reported on his heroic deeds from last night.
[Shocking! Red-Masked Man Kills on the Street!!]
[Ni-san Society Members Shot Dead on the Spot, Gang Warfare Breaks Out Again!]
[Miho Town Suburbs, Red-Masked Man Destroys a Sedan with an RPG!]
[Police Announce Bounty on Red-Masked Man, Code-Named Azu the Bandit!]
This time he acted in broad daylight, and too many people saw him.
Moreover, this time Baishi Hui not only robbed the money but also burned the goods.
Infuriating all sides!
The Police, facing pressure from all sides, had no way to suppress the buzz, so they held a press conference, severely reprimanded the culprit, and offered a bounty.
Of course, this wasn't the first time they had done something like this, and the effect was minimal.
After Baishi Hui finished reading the news, he turned to the 2ch forum to catch up on gossip.
[I saw it with my own eyes! Azu the Bandit killed someone directly!]
[The dead were gang members, it has nothing to do with me, I can only say... serves them right!]
[How can you guarantee he only kills gang members? He might have also killed innocent people where you can't see?]
[Putting that aside for now... How did that guy get such a high-lethality weapon like an RPG? What are the Police doing?]
[Sigh, they're just a bunch of tax thieves, what can you expect them to do? Solving cases still depends on Kudo Shinichi.]
[I think we might as well just give the tax money to Kudo Shinichi.]
[Tokyo is doomed! This country is doomed too!!!]