The neon lights flickered as Takagi-keiji was taken away by the ambulance.
"I wonder how Takagi-keiji will be..." Ayumi-chan looked at the departing ambulance, sounding worried.
"He just fainted," Miwako Sato comforted her. "The Beika Batman just used his dart to prick Takagi-kun, he'll wake up before long."
"But Takagi-keiji seemed like he was about to say something just now. Isn't it troublesome if he fainted?" Conan suddenly said in a childish voice. "Just now, listening to the sound on the phone, it seemed like he wanted to say something, and afterward, that big bat guy even said he was the culprit who killed Sato-keiji's father. So, Takagi-keiji must have discovered that culprit then, which is why he was attacked, right?"
"Yeah, it should be like that." Sato-keiji nodded. She wasn't quite sure what Takagi-keiji's intention was when he called her earlier. After all, he was interrupted every time he tried to speak... However, from his tone and from what that guy said about having caught her father's killer, she was sure that the person who just tried to attack Takagi-kun was that person. But now Takagi-kun had fainted, and Fujino-san didn't get a clear look either. For now, they could only wait for Takagi-kun to wake up and ask him directly.
"..." Shiratori-keibu was silent for a moment. He understood why that guy's actions were so suspicious just now... But this Takagi-kun, he actually found out who the culprit was and didn't even tell him, planning to secretly claim the reward alone... Thinking about it, why did he suddenly feel like this guy kind of deserved it?
Conan suddenly spoke up, "If that's the case, then Fujino-oniichan should have also seen what the culprit looked like, right?"
"Judging by the commotion on the phone just now, Fujino-oniichan definitely saw someone attack Takagi-oniichan, didn't he?"
"That's right!" Sato-keiji also snapped back to attention. "Fujino-kun, did you see what the person that guy dragged away looked like?"
"His appearance?" Fujino thought for a moment. "It was a bit dark at the time, and I didn't get a very clear look at the person being dragged away by that guy, but I vaguely saw it was an old man."
"An old man?" Miwako Sato rubbed her chin, a contemplative look in her eyes.
"Let's just wait until that Takagi-kun wakes up before asking him," Shiratori-keibu said with a gloomy face. "After all, Takagi-kun is the only one who knows the suspect's identity."
"Looks like we can only wait for him to wake up. Honestly, finding something and not telling others beforehand..." Sato-keiji expressed her agreement helplessly, a bit puzzled by Takagi-kun's behavior. However, she suddenly remembered what she had said earlier that day about granting a wish to whoever found the culprit... This guy, could he really be doing something that childish? But thinking about it, if it was Takagi-kun, it was quite possible...
Sato-keiji was speechless for a moment, then thought again, "The priority now is to find the arsonist... Since he commits a crime every day, if that's the case, that guy will definitely act again today."
Fujino looked around. "He should be somewhere nearby."
"Somewhere nearby?" Sato-keiji was surprised. "Fujino-kun, have you figured out his modus operandi?"
"More or less..." Fujino recalled and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, the culprit's motive is to draw a pattern on a map. The first location was Ikebukuro, the second was Asakusabashi... That means that person probably wants to draw a big character '火' (fire) on the map of Tokyo."
"A big '火' character..." Ai Haibara thought for a moment. "Sato-keiji, there's a map in the back of your car. I'll go get it now."
Fujino took the map, picked up a pen, and connected the locations where the arson attacks occurred, forming the character '火'. "Connecting the points on the map... The only missing location is Shinagawa, where we are now."
"Putting it together from the locations on the map... Then the final stop should indeed be here." Shiratori-keibu looked at the map, a bit hesitant. "But just drawing the character '火', that seems a bit..."
"That's how it is with mental illness." Fujino put away the map and looked around. "While it might seem irrational, that's really how it is."
"Mm, I think Fujino-kun's idea is correct." Sato-keiji also agreed. "If the culprit's next arson location is here, then it's worth giving it a try. Anyway, we haven't found out who the culprit is yet, and if it really turns out like Fujino-kun said, and a fire happens just because we didn't believe this theory... It would be too late to regret it then."
...
Around 8 PM.
A strange middle-aged man wearing a long trench coat and a hat drove near Shinagawa Station. And with Fujino-san's spoiler, the moment the strange middle-aged man appeared, a report from the plainclothes police officers already deployed near Shinagawa sounded on the police's internal radio channel: "Possible target spotted, just passed through Shinagawa 7-chome!"
"Okay, continue tracking the target, we're heading that way..." Miwako Sato replied. "As expected, the arsonist's target today is here, just as you said, Fujino-kun." Seeing no response, she turned around and saw the empty seat behind her.
"..." Miwako Sato was silent for a moment, then sighed. Could he have gone off on his own?
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The arsonist middle-aged man carried a gasoline can, humming a tune. He found a secluded corner of a wooden warehouse, found a hemp rope, poured the gasoline, and then took out a lighter.
"Good child, good child, grow up quickly..." The arsonist middle-aged man looked at the gradually rising flames before him, a somewhat perverted smile gradually appearing on his lips. In his eyes, his 'masterpiece' was like his child.
But just as he had been warming himself by the fire for a while and was about to stand up, a shout came from behind him: "Hey! Playing with fire will wet your pants pocket!"
He was stunned, and just as he was about to turn around, suddenly, a dark figure carrying a wooden sword kicked him hard in the back.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, the arsonist middle-aged man was directly kicked into the fire. The flames stuck to his clothes and instantly began to burn.
"Ah—!" The arsonist immediately felt flames igniting on his body. Even though he saw his fire as like his child, getting burned himself... While he was mentally ill, he was still afraid of dying.
Before he could even cry out twice, Fujino-san immediately grabbed him and pulled him out. Looking at the middle-aged man whose small flames were about to turn into a big fire, Fujino-san's mouth curved slightly, then he grabbed the wooden sword and thrust it hard into his stomach!
"Ah!!" The stinging pain from the wooden sword hitting his stomach felt like a real knife had been plunged into him, causing the middle-aged man to let out screams of agony. Then, Fujino-san grabbed the middle-aged man's arm and instantly threw him to the ground. Without saying much, he picked up the wooden sword and began hitting him again.
Sato-keiji and her team arrived and saw a figure like a demon illuminated by the fire behind him, holding a stick-like object. Against the orange glow behind him, he was brutally beating the criminal's body, eliciting cries of pain.
That person, was it Fujino-san? Sato-keiji hesitated for a moment, then snapped back to her senses and shouted, "Stop hitting him!"
"Ah, Sato-keiji, you're here." Fujino-san gave him one more hit with the wooden sword, then looked up and greeted Sato-keiji and the plainclothes officers, who had strange expressions on their faces.
"He's...?" Sato-keiji was speechless for a moment, looking at the middle-aged man whose clothes were partially burned, looking hesitant.
"Ah, he accidentally set himself on fire just now, I was putting out the fire." Fujino-san wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied with a light laugh. Honestly, this big fire was really hot. Even with his physique, he was sweating just moving around.
"The culprit set *himself* on fire?" Sato-keiji looked at the middle-aged man, looking somewhat doubtful. But seeing the burn marks on his body, she actually believed Fujino-san's explanation. The people behind her also reluctantly believed it. Hmm, brutally beating a suspect with a wooden sword to put out a fire seemed quite reasonable too, apparently.
"Uh ah! Officers, it was *him* who kicked me..." The middle-aged man, hearing that the police had arrived, suddenly felt that the police officers he used to fear now seemed somewhat kind and approachable, especially that cute female officer! He wailed, trying to explain, but before he could finish, Fujino-san hit him on the head with the wooden sword again. "Shut up!"
With one hit, the middle-aged man went still. The whole world quieted down considerably, leaving only the sound of the fire behind them.
Miwako Sato: "..."
The plainclothes officers behind her: "..." Just now, he did say something about kicking him, right? Could this guy have kicked the suspect into the fire, then pulled him out and brutally beat him under the guise of 'putting out the fire'? Although what he did wouldn't cause problems in a normal procedure – even if investigated, it could be explained as an accident caused by the criminal resisting arrest during apprehension – and hitting him could indeed be said to be a necessary procedure for 'putting out the fire.' But this guy's actions, wearing all black and holding a wooden sword, were simply too ruthless, too professional... It was hard not to suspect he was from Osaka.
"Ahem, everyone, quickly put out the fire! The fire isn't big right now, we can still control it!" Miwako Sato didn't care whether Fujino-san was actually putting out the fire or just brutally beating the suspect just now. She turned around and called out to the plainclothes officers.
With the cooperation of the plainclothes police, the big fire that had started was quickly extinguished. Although it had burned quite strongly, there were no chemical accelerants. Moreover, the nearby shops also had fire extinguishers.
"Officer, this person..." Two doctors lifted the arsonist middle-aged man onto a stretcher, preparing to ask Miwako Sato if he should be sent to the hospital and if someone needed to accompany him, but Miwako Sato suddenly interrupted them. "Does he have any burn injuries?"
"From the burn marks on his clothes, there should normally be some," one of the doctors thought for a moment. "But after our examination, he doesn't have any injuries and is still unconscious. We suspect he inhaled too much thick smoke..."
A police officer sounded confused. "Are you sure he has no injuries?"
"Of course!" The doctor patted his white coat as if to affirm his professionalism and continued, "We have examined his entire body, and his pupils are in a normal sleep state, so we suspect he fainted from inhaling thick smoke."
"..." The surrounding police officers looked like they had seen a ghost. What in the world was going on? Just now, this guy was hit so many times and was beaten to the point of looking completely disfigured, how could he not have any injuries?
"Good, if he has no burn injuries, then just leave him to us police to handle." Miwako Sato was not surprised that the culprit had no injuries. She had seen this many times before – brutally beating a criminal until they were unconscious without leaving any external injuries, or brutally beating a suspect's head without causing a concussion.
Seeing this, the doctors could only make the poor criminal get off the stretcher and hand him over to two police officers, who helped him into the police car.
After dealing with the crime scene, it was already quite late. Shiratori-keibu sent the kids home, while Fujino-san followed Sato-keiji and a group of police officers back to the police station to observe the interrogation. As a former detective, it wasn't convenient for him to participate in such matters... But now that he was a consultant, following the principle of using any power he had, Fujino-san also participated in the interrogation.
The interrogation began quickly, with Sato-keiji as the main questioner and Fujino-san observing. However, although he was called a middle-aged man, this bearded guy named Yamamoto was apparently only twenty-eight this year. His surname was Yamamoto, and his profession was a programmer... Looking at his straggly long hair, Fujino-san felt that his technical skills probably weren't very good, otherwise, he wouldn't have been fired.
Regarding Sato-keiji's standard questions, such as his motive and method, the man didn't say a word in response to Sato-keiji's questions, only talking about 'noble ideals' and 'where the sacred fire burns... life thrives endlessly', etc.
"What is he even talking about..." Sato-keiji scratched her head, her hair messy, feeling a headache, and sighed. She felt like she had encountered a mentally ill person. It looked like she would have to pull an all-nighter again...
"Sato-keiji, can you leave him to me?" However, Fujino-san wasn't patient. He glanced coldly at the man, wanting to stand up and turn off the camera.
"Uh..." Sato-keiji swallowed and whispered softly into Fujino-san's ear with a suitable tone, "Fujino-san, calm down, calm down, you can't... well, you should understand."
"Oh..." Fujino-san nodded thoughtfully. "Then later at the detention center."
Yamamoto's expression immediately turned strange. Sato-keiji also noticed the change in Yamamoto's expression, thought for a moment, and added, "At the detention center, the environment should be fine. He should be willing to talk after staying there for twenty-four hours."
Yamamoto: "..." There are no cameras in the detention center, right? Yamamoto recalled the terrifying scene from earlier, and cold sweat immediately dripped down his spine.
Soon, he confessed the entire criminal process, including planning to blow up a gasoline tank to plunge all of Tokyo into flames again...
Coming out of the interrogation room, Miwako Sato considered persuading Fujino-san not to brutally beat suspects next time. After all, if he missed, he could directly kill them. But on second thought, Fujino-san had done it so many times and never missed, so she didn't bring it up again.
...
Leaving the police station, Fujino-san rushed back to Shinagawa Station. He changed into a white robe and mask, then took out a grappling hook and shot it onto the rooftop. Following his memory, he quickly found the previous location.
"You're awake." Fujino-san walked up and saw Shikano Shuji tied up with red rope, struggling on the rooftop. However, because his mouth was stuffed with two pairs of socks and some rags, and was even taped and tied shut with rope, he couldn't make a sound.
"..." Shikano Shuji looked at Fujino-san, looking bewildered. Before he fainted, he didn't know what had kicked him. When he opened his eyes, he felt nauseous and even swallowed back what he threw up... But now, it seemed it was this person.
"How is it, Mr. Shikano, feeling better?" Fujino-san slowly walked up, his tone somewhat teasing. "The true culprit who killed Masayoshi Sato and robbed a bank eighteen years ago?"
"...??" At this moment, Shikano Shuji realized that the person in front of him was... the Beika Batman? But why... for no reason... He prided himself on his perfect disguise, unseen by anyone for eighteen years. He racked his brain, unable to understand.
"Hmm, you should still have 550 million yen in cash, right?" Fujino-san slowly walked up, looking at Shikano Shuji's face, and smiled slightly. "If you share a bit with me, I'll consider letting you go."
(End of Chapter)
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