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

Kitagawa Isao watched as Natsukawa Mo waved vigorously at him from the doorway, and returned a smile.

But after she left, Kitagawa Isao quickly locked the bathroom door from the inside, and without even taking off his pants, he plopped down on the toilet.

As someone who doesn't like to meddle in other people's business, Kitagawa Isao had no patience to soothe the emotions of a rookie policewoman. To put it bluntly, even if she cried for three or five hours at Professor Agasa's house, it was none of his business.

He had more important things to do, of course, that was why he came to the restroom.

Kitagawa Isao first held his breath and listened to his surroundings. After confirming that there were no listening devices or eavesdropping, he quickly took out the white letter he had taken from his home.

This was not what he and Ai Haibara had said; it wasn't just an ordinary payment notice.

To be precise, this was a ransom note.

The sender was, of course, the same mysterious person who had called him yesterday, claiming to be a teammate of Shi Kaobingpu Siqinglan.

【Dear Mr. Kitagawa Isao, please forgive me for inviting you in this way. It's simply that your security is too tight, making it extremely difficult to harm either of you or that young girl with brown hair.】

However, as the saying goes, there's always a way out. I'm not some inflexible, rigid person. Since Mr. Kitagawa and that young lady aren't giving me a chance, I can only ask that young lady's classmate to do it.

[Of course, this is also because I have observed on several occasions that Mr. Kitagawa and young master Edogawa have had some interactions. In order to compete with Mr. Kitagawa as soon as possible, I had no choice but to resort to this tactic.]

[Please rest assured, Mr. Kitagawa, that young master Edogawa is safe. As long as you can find my residence, he will soon be on his way home. This can be considered the first test of our contest. I believe that with your reasoning abilities, you will not disappoint us, will you?]

"Hmph, trying to force me to submit using Conan? These guys... they really don't know how much trouble they've gotten themselves into."

After quickly reading the letter again, a cold smile soon appeared on Kitagawa Isao's face.

The truth is quite clear: this group of guys, who are very likely members of the Zoo Organization, turned their attention to Conan Edogawa after failing to kidnap Ai Haibara in order to lure him out.

Kitagawa Isao wasn't particularly interested in this.

However, if he could do Kogoro Mouri a favor and get rid of these annoying flies that might bother him again in the future, he wouldn't mind creating some trouble for himself to pass the time.

With that thought in mind, he casually tucked the letter into his pocket, then took out his phone, edited a short message, and sent it out.

[It's pretty much confirmed now that Conan Edogawa was kidnapped by those people I mentioned before. Their intention was to challenge me, so they're probably still in Tokyo. How's it going on your end?]

This message was naturally sent to Kaito Kid.

Back in the apartment, Kitagawa Isao had taken the opportunity of pretending to go to his room to pack his clothes to contact Kaito Kid.

Firstly, this phantom thief has a special status in Tokyo, so it would be relatively easier to find the other party's hiding place if he were to come forward.

and……

Those people in the zoo organization already had intricate connections with Phantom Thief Kid.

Strictly speaking, Kitagawa Isao shielded Kid and the Metropolitan Police Department from disaster this time, so he can be said to have no psychological burden in dragging them down.

Meanwhile, upon learning that Conan had been kidnapped, Kid was also very anxious.

The most direct manifestation of this is...

This time, he replied to Kitagawa Isao's text message almost instantly.

"So it really was those guys... Speaking of which, Mr. Kitagawa, were those people really accomplices of the men in black who appeared in front of me before? I still can't quite believe it..."

Don't worry, their codenames are all animal names; there's no such thing as a coincidence in this world.

"Okay, I understand... By the way, I just disguised myself as a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department and checked the surveillance footage in Tokyo. Just as you said, Conan was forcibly dragged away on his way home. Although I lost track of the car halfway there, I'm certain they didn't leave Beika Town!"

"Not bad, Kidd, you're getting more and more efficient. In that case, you go and confirm further. I'll try to contact the kidnappers and see if we can get that pretentious brat out before you."

【receive! 】

Without replying, Kitagawa Isao let out a soft sigh and put his phone back in his pocket.

After his conversation with Kidd, everything was exactly as he had guessed, without the slightest error.

Next, all we need to do is find out where Conan Edogawa is hiding.

But where should we begin?

How can you find the kidnappers among the rows of houses in Beika Town without any clues?

This is a formidable challenge for Kitagawa Isao.

……

Soon, accompanied by the sound of flushing water, Kitagawa Isao wiped his hands and walked out of the toilet.

At this moment, Inspector Megure and the others were still gathered around the table discussing the case. He glanced at them but did not choose to join them. Instead, he went to a chair in the restaurant and sat down directly.

At this moment, Ai Haibara, who had successfully calmed Professor Agasa down, saw Kitagawa Isao come out and abandoned Professor Agasa, coming to the side of her roommate.

"Brother Kitagawa, do you have any clues now?"

"No," Kitagawa Isao shook his head honestly, "What did Inspector Megure and the others say?"

"They are planning to continue waiting for the criminals to make contact before making any further arrangements."

Ai Haibara was powerless to offer any advice regarding the Metropolitan Police Department's actions.

Without any clues, they could only wander around in circles like headless flies, which was not their fault.

It's just that Edogawa is too careless in his work.

To be kidnapped at such a critical moment, without leaving a single clue, is truly inconsistent with his usual behavior.

For a moment, Ai Haibara even suspected that Conan Edogawa might not have been kidnapped at all, but simply didn't want others to find him for some reason.