Chapter 193: Modification in the Plan

Ueno's residence in the first half of this year was very close to the coffee shop where Heiwa Seiji worked. The distance between the two was about two or three minutes.

Then, due to some accidental encounter, the two of them met, which led to Heiwa Seiji becoming Ueno's companion.

Based on the investigation of their movements and activities, this was entirely possible.

But as mentioned before, a criminal investigation must be grounded in solid evidence.

Even if you know something might be true, you still need to investigate, gather more compelling evidence, and go through the arduous process of confirming it.

Speaking of which, finding a button at the parking lot and believing it was a clue left by Heiji Hattori relied entirely on Senichi's understanding of Heiji Hattori.

He knew that a detective of Heiji Hattori's caliber would definitely do his best to leave behind clues even if he was caught.

Especially with him around, it would be even more so.

Just put yourself in Senichi's shoes. If it were Senichi who was captured by criminals and knew that Conan or Heiji Hattori was nearby, he would certainly strive to leave behind information.

However, the understanding between these clever individuals and the signals they leave behind have no evidence.

In this case, all these are speculations, fantasies without any basis or evidence.

Therefore, although Senichi reported this information before, suspecting this person to be Ueno's accomplice, the search headquarters led by the authorities still focused their efforts on Ueno.

Of course, the intelligence provided by Senichi was not ignored. At least the bigwigs at the Metropolitan Police Department valued Senichi's judgment.

After all, even if the authorities didn't know about Senichi's achievements. How could they not know?

Since joining, Senichi has achieved numerous great accomplishments.

For example, he used his unique judgment to find the stolen money in the "One Billion Heist" case, and in the "Eastern Gunpowder Warehouse Theft" case, he pointed out that Teiji Moriya might want to destroy the asymmetric buildings from his early career due to his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In these major cases, Senichi's unique insights and precise judgments made the higher-ups hesitant to overlook his opinions. After all, these were all achievements that Senichi had earned through actual ability!

But rules are rules,

If all criminal investigators were like Senichi, making baseless judgments and speculations, things would be chaotic.

What if this person with a criminal record happened to pass by and happened to drop a red button similar to the clown's coat?

If they hastily included him in a wide-scale investigation and later found out they had arrested the wrong person, no one would be able to bear that responsibility.

Therefore, with the authorities taking the lead, the Metropolitan Police Department tacitly allowed Senichi to lead his team and act based on his judgment, forming a special group that deviated from the standard operating procedure.

This was mainly because the authorities, by intervening and disregarding the lives of hostages, had angered the top brass of the Metropolitan Police Department.

After all, those guys would definitely push the blame onto the Metropolitan Police Department in the end!!

They were responsible for eliminating terrorists, and the Metropolitan Police Department was responsible for taking the blame... ahem, I mean rescuing the hostages.

When responsibilities are divided, the scene... tsk tsk...

That's why they had high hopes for Senichi and the Third Division working together, hoping that Senichi could achieve another remarkable feat.

And the fingerprints they found on the ticket stub before were also their accomplishment, even if they didn't achieve anything later, it was enough to justify their actions.

Senichi naturally sensed the underlying meaning. Apart from the displeasure of the top brass, he even felt that there must be some involvement from Heizo Hattori behind the scenes.

After all, his son was currently among the hostages, and if the authorities launched a full-scale assault, he would at most be given special treatment and become the primary focus of the rescue operation. The danger would still be very high.

From this, you could also see the power of the authorities. Especially after receiving orders from above, even if the son of the Chief of the West Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters was among the hostages, they still didn't withdraw their plan for a forced assault.

But this was not what Senichi wanted to see, so he needed to find an alternative approach while the authorities were conducting their investigation into Ueno Hirayama.

And Heiwa Seiji was precisely the breakthrough he needed!

After a series of investigations, they finally found a possible connection between Ueno Hirayama and Heiwa Seiji, confirming that their investigation direction was not wrong.

And just as this preliminary investigation made progress and uplifted the spirits of the Third Division, they wanted to continue the investigation and make further breakthroughs.

In the early morning, in a place unknown to others.

Things had quietly undergone a change.

...

A red sun slowly rose on the horizon, emanating a golden and vibrant sunlight.

The rising sun symbolized new life and new beginnings.

As Ueno Hirayama watched the rising sun, he sincerely hoped that this country would be filled with the same vitality as the morning sun.

He had such aspirations, but mere thoughts were useless, so he chose to take action.

Although his methods were extreme, he had no intention of harming the hostages. He would release them once the government agreed to his demands.

And he would choose to take his own life, to show that he was different from those destructive individuals.

While seeking redemption, he also hoped that his death would awaken people.

And today was the day his plan would begin.

He exhaled blue smoke from his lungs, flicked the cigarette butt away, and walked into the room.

He took the coffee handed to him by "Rabbit," took a sip, and then spoke in a deep voice, "Well, let's begin!"

Upon hearing this, Rabbit chuckled and immediately dialed the Metropolitan Police Department's phone number.

After a brief wait, a rough male voice came through the phone. Ignoring the caller's threats, Rabbit clicked to play the pre-recorded audio that had already been prepared.

"We have eight children in our hands. In order to exchange their lives, we demand that the Government release five political prisoners and pay a ransom of 2 billion yen.

The deadline is tonight at 22:00 at the Tokyo City Heliport. Prepare a helicopter, load the five political prisoners, 2 billion yen, and have the pilot ready.

The five political prisoners are..."

"What is going on?!"

Upon hearing the recording, which was completely different from what he had imagined, Ueno was furious. He stood up abruptly and looked at the three individuals, questioning, "A 2 billion yen ransom, a heliport... What is all this about?!"

But the three remained silent, offering no response.

In the next moment, pain surged through Ueno's entire body. As his strength disappeared, the cup in his hand involuntarily fell to the ground, and he collapsed onto the floor.

As Ueno looked at Kōmō's sinister smile, Heiwa Seiji's cold gaze, and Rabbit, who turned away and dared not look at him, everything became clear to him.

"Heh... you... you all..."

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