Conan: No, why aren't you following the script?

The strength is just right, and it's not nerve-wracking.

After being struck by a punch from Kogoro Mouri, a habitual offender, Conan unsurprisingly let out a howl of pain.

Xiao Lan, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward to check his injuries.

However, this action only fueled Kogoro Mouri's rage, his eyes blazing as if he wanted to devour Conan whole.

Finally, with no other option, Hattori Heiji, who arrived late, stepped between the two, which temporarily eased the tense atmosphere.

"Humph!"

Kogoro Mouri snorted coldly, clearly still somewhat dissatisfied. However, seeing Professor Agasa and Isao Kitagawa arriving one after another, he finally coughed twice, temporarily suppressing his emotions, and briefly explained to everyone why he had come here.

"So... the owner of this twin-tower skyscraper, Tokiwa Mio, attended the same university as you, Uncle Mori, and the reason you came here is because you received her invitation?"

"That's about right, but this isn't just an ordinary invitation! Mio is my junior from university, and she really admired me back in school!"

The moment women were mentioned, Kogoro Mouri's expression instantly became excited.

However, Xiaolan stepped forward at this moment and ruthlessly exposed his lie, "What admiration or not... Mom told me before that you didn't know her at all when you were in school. If you hadn't been interviewed on TV before, you probably wouldn't know that you have such an amazing junior sister, right?"

"Ran, you... cough cough, anyway, it was indeed Mio who sent me the invitation, that's an indisputable fact!"

"You make it sound so easy... They were only interested in your reputation as a famous detective, plus you happened to attend the same university, so they were just being polite on the phone, and you actually took it seriously..."

"No, you little rascal..."

Having been stabbed in the back by his own sweetheart, Kogoro Mouri immediately clutched his chest and stumbled back two steps, looking quite badly injured.

When this scene came into view, the atmosphere at the scene immediately became cheerful.

Kitagawa Isao chuckled twice, choosing not to join the majority of those mocking Kogoro Mouri. Instead, he took two steps back, quietly distancing himself from the crowd.

Seeing this, Ai Haibara quickly followed. After confirming that they wouldn't hear her conversation, the little girl shook her head with a cold, speechless expression.

“I used to think that this only happened in the United States, but I didn’t expect that it would happen in Japan as well. However, it’s not that surprising, since Japan’s social structure is largely copied from the United States, so it’s not hard to understand why there are similarities.”

"Oh? Then be more specific, what do you mean?" Kitagawa Isao asked upon seeing this.

Upon hearing this, Ai Haibara let out another cold laugh: "Don't you understand? This kind of factional division based on attending the same university, ignoring ability and only considering whether the two parties attend the same university, forming a community of interests in this way, is already quite common in Japan."

"Let's not go too far. Take the Metropolitan Police Department, which you know best, as an example. You should know Kitagawa-kun, right? In the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, there is a distinction between professional and non-professional officers. For example, Inspector Megure and Inspector Takagi, whom you are most familiar with, are members of the non-professional team. If they continue in this position, becoming a police inspector is already their limit."

"But if that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. However, there are also subtle divisions within the professional group... Police officers who graduated from the University of Tokyo will take care of new recruits who also graduated from the University of Tokyo, while they will mostly be hostile and suppress those who come from other universities,"

"Of course, this situation is not unique to the Metropolitan Police Department. In fact, dividing people into factions based on university alumni is a problem throughout Japanese society. Just as Detective Mori mentioned earlier... people from the same hometown or classmates are automatically bound together into the same faction. Through this method, they build relationships and gradually form a community of shared interests..."

"I suppose that's how it was with Tokiwa Mio. She had never heard of Kogoro Mouri before, but ever since Edogawa helped her make this mediocre detective stand out, she's been looking for a connection between the two of them. In the end, she tried to win him over through their shared school connection... It's quite ironic, isn't it?"

At this point, Ai Haibara shook her head with a cold laugh, feeling an increasing disgust for this vile custom.

However, this is a common drawback of Western societies, and it is not uncommon even in mainland China.

The camaraderie among people from the same hometown, like the three factions of Qi, Zhejiang, and Chu during the Ming Dynasty, and the friendship among classmates, like the "Han University Clique" in television dramas, are the most concentrated manifestations of this...

As Ai Haibara said, it would be fine if they just banded together for warmth, but once these communities of interest were formed, the first thing they did was to eliminate dissidents and suppress all members who were not part of their faction.

Instead of basing distinctions on ability, these completely unrelated relationships, after being packaged, can be presented openly and legitimately...

It must be said that, at times, these people performed worse than the bureaucrats of feudal society.

However, Tokiwa Mio probably never imagined...

Her attempt to find a backer for the Tokiwa Group to facilitate future inspections by the Metropolitan Police Department ultimately led to her death.

Of all people to ask, they had to pick Conan and Kogoro Mouri...

It's worth noting that even Kitagawa Isao himself wouldn't dare bring these two legendary figures to his home, let alone an 'ordinary person' like Tokiwa Mio.

All I can say is that life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are determined by fate. I hope that in her next life, Tokiwa Mio will understand this principle.

In this world, not just anyone can be easily won over by her.

There are some people she's destined not to mess with...

……

Returning to reality, this comes at a time when Ai Haibara is satirizing this social ill.

Not far away, a very well-dressed female secretary was walking towards the group.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Kogoro Mouri? I am Chinami Sawaguchi, the secretary of President Mio. I heard that Mr. Mouri was going to visit our Tokiwa Group today, so President Mio specially arranged for me to show you the way. Please come this way and we will visit the exhibition hall first."

"Where's Mio? Didn't she come with you?" Kogoro Mouri frowned slightly, seemingly displeased with his junior's disdain.

This is understandable, since it was her junior classmate who invited them to visit, and now that they have arrived, the other party has only sent a secretary to receive them.

This made Kogoro Mouri, who still harbored a sliver of hope, somewhat unhappy.

However, Secretary Sawaguchi was prepared for this. "I'm sorry, Mr. Mori. President Mio originally intended to come and greet you personally, but unfortunately a very important guest came to visit at the last minute, and President Mio was unable to leave. That's why I was arranged to come and greet you. Please forgive me if there is any negligence."