Conan: Do You Really Take Me for a Police Dog?

A short while later, Shiratori Ninzaburo and Mori Kogoro, led by Conan, arrived at the driver's seat at the scene.

"I am Shiratori from the First Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department."

Shiratori Ninzaburo first showed his police ID, then looked at the captain's body and asked, "Fujino- kun, how is the victim?"

"The person is already dead."

Fujino calmly picked up a rope. "The deceased is Captain Shida Tomoaki. There was a rope lying next to the seat. He must have been strangled. There was no Yoshikawa line around his neck. The body was discovered by two service officers who delivered drinks, Ms. Momoyama Miss Kaga."

"So, does that mean the deceased was drugged and then strangled?"

Shiratori Ninzaburo rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and said to Momoyama Akari, "Miss CA, could you please prepare one or two towels, preferably large ones?"

"Yes!"

Momoyama Akari immediately took action and brought out a blanket from the cubicle.

Then, Shiratori Ninzaburo and Mori Kogoro worked together to remove the captain from the cockpit, covered him with a blanket, and began to examine the body.

"There were Blood Stasis on his face and bluish-purple marks on his neck. Fujino was right. Captain Shida was indeed strangled to death."

Shiratori Ninzaburo squatted on the ground, examining the corpse, and said, "In that case, the time of death can be limited to a more precise range. It takes at least four to five minutes to hang someone, let alone a pilot. That means the time of the crime was at least six to seven minutes."

"The captain was near the passengers when the riot occurred."

Momoyama Akari mentioned, "He didn't return to the cockpit to relieve Koganei until after the riots ended."

"Do you remember the time of the alternation?" Shiratori asked.

Momoyama thought for a moment, "At the time, I didn't pay much attention to the time..."

"It's 3:20!"

Conan glanced at his watch. "The body was discovered at 3:30. I saw the co-pilot order the two female flight attendants to go to the cockpit to bring drinks."

"So, the murderer committed the crime during those ten minutes between 3:20 and 3:30?"

Shiratori glanced at Conan, then pondered, "Ten minutes is plenty of time to use a rope to strangle the pilot."

"I understand! The killer's method!"

Mori Kogoro suddenly understood, and with a serious expression, he deduced. "The murderer first used smoke bombs to create chaos in the cabin, which also obscured the view. Then, taking advantage of the chaos, he ran into the compartment next to the cockpit and hid. Afterward, when the co-pilot Koganei came out, he entered the cockpit and killed the captain!"

He wagged his finger and continued, "After doing all that, he returned to his seat with an innocent look on his face!"

"That should be correct."

Shiratori Ninzaburo agreed with Mori Kogoro's reasoning, "The smoke only permeated the second floor. The passengers on the first floor did not have enough time to commit the crime. We can shorten the questioning time. As long as we investigate which passengers on the second floor disappeared for more than five minutes during the riot, we can identify the suspect."

"Of course, the flight attendants are also suspects..."

He paused, then looked up at the two flight attendants beside him. "Ms. Momoyama, Miss Kaga, do you have alibis for that period of time?"

"I was in the cabin asking about the passengers' situation at the time."

As flight attendant Kaga spoke, she turned to Momoyama beside her and asked, "As for proof, I think we can prove each other, right, Momoyama?"

Yes, that's right.

Momoyama chimed in, "While Koganei captain was in the cockpit and making his rounds in the cabin, First Officer Koganei and I were always together."

"If that's the case, then we can rule out First Officer Koganei's suspicion. Next, we'll ask the other pilots for their alibis."

Fujino stood aside, silently watching the corpse without saying a word.

According to the classic gross profit exclusion method.

Uncle Mori's reasoning is definitely wrong.

Of course, it would be inaccurate to conclude that this method of committing the crime is wrong simply by applying the process of elimination.

However, Fujino felt that this matter was not so simple.

And there was always a vague sense of uncertainty in his heart.

This hazy feeling began the moment the cabin filled with smoke.

It was a feeling I couldn't quite describe.

Thinking of this, Fujino brought up the System Task and glanced at the time: [Remaining time: 26 minutes]

"Time is a bit tight..."

Fujino took a deep breath, then silently pulled up the video recording in his Vision Enhancement Glasses and began to review the entire incident.

At 2:10, smoke began to spread from the rear of the second floor into the cabin, causing considerable disturbance. During this time, the captain came out of the cockpit to reassure the passengers and had a conflict with a woman named Ishida Maria.

At 2:20, the source of the smoke was found. The captain returned to the cockpit, and the first officer came out to inspect the cabin. The two flight attendants on the second floor did not leave the cabin at all, as did the chief flight attendant.

At 2:30 p. m., under the co-pilot's arrangement, the co-pilot sent two flight attendants to deliver drinks to the captain and, incidentally, to report the discovery of the body.

The whole process took only twenty minutes: ten minutes of smoke and ten minutes of calming the passengers...

Fujino quickly noticed some clues.

Staring at the image on his glasses, he murmured to himself, "If that's the case, then the murderer should be identified... But if that person is the murderer, then in those ten minutes, he shouldn't have had time to commit the crime."

Fujino thought about it and felt that he still wasn't very confident.

He immediately activated his Detective Intuition.

[Detective Intuition Enhancement is now active!]

[Enhance the host's reasoning ability by 150%!]

The All Attribute Enhancement provides a 230% increase in reasoning ability, while Detective Intuition adds a 225% increase in reasoning ability.

The system's voice rang in my ears.

With a 455% enhancement in reasoning.

In Fujino's mind, the details of the case gradually became clear.

After gathering his thoughts, he raised his head and scanned the crowd present, a glint of light gradually appearing in his dark eyes.

"...?"

Conan, who was also pondering the case, suddenly noticed Fujino's thoughtful expression and immediately frowned.

He thought to himself:

Fujino, did his Detective Intuition kick in again?

Thinking of this, he stepped forward, tugged at Fujino's sleeve, and whispered, "Fujino, have you found any clues?"

"Clues? I have indeed found some..."

Fujino looked down at Conan, then suddenly realized something.

He immediately crouched down, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, and whispered in Conan's ear, "Little Brother Conan, I'm afraid we'll need your help this time."

"Help?"

Conan looked somewhat puzzled.

"I need you to smell the two female flight attendants and the chief mechanic from this flight crew."

"Ha?!"

Upon hearing this, Conan's expression immediately turned strange, and his gaze towards Fujino was full of suspicion.

This guy... actually made him smell the flight attendant's scent?

Let's not even talk about whether doing this will be seen as a pervert.

What's the key to smelling it?

Are they really treating him like a police dog?

Fujino naturally noticed Conan's resistant expression.

He patted Conan on the shoulder. "This is all to find the culprit."

Conan: "..."

You old bastard, you're really wicked! I don't believe you for a second!

But after a pause, he still hesitated and asked, "Can we really find it?"

Fujino thought for a moment, then adopted the demeanor of a Senior comforting a junior, and patted Conan's shoulder meaningfully. "Only you can handle this."

Conan was taken aback by what he heard.

Suddenly, a damn sense of mission welled up inside me.

Yes, it's all about finding the murderer...

Let's do it!

Fujino silently stood up and nodded with satisfaction.

It would be a bit awkward for him to do this...

But if we were to hand it over to this kid...

Hmph, after all, he's just a child. Even if he did it, it wouldn't be considered sexual harassment.

And this kid is a master at things like smelling other people's scents.

Soon, the suspects who met the criteria were secretly identified by Shiratori Ninzaburo and Mori Kogoro.

There are two individuals who do not have an alibi of more than five minutes. One is the actress Ishida Maria from before, and the other is the Scarface that Fujino encountered earlier. The Scarface's name is Oegoe Rei, and he is a cameraman.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Conan also successfully acted as a police dog, sniffing the three members of the maintenance crew.

[Time Remaining: 11 minutes]

Fujino glanced at the time, squatted down, and whispered to Conan, "How did those three people smell?"

"..."

Conan glanced at Fujino. "The mechanic and that brown-haired CA have a faint smell of sulfur on them, just like the smell of the smoke earlier."

At this point, he rubbed his chin. "But strangely enough, the black-haired CA didn't have that smell on her..."

"That's right."

Upon hearing this, Fujino stood up, connecting the clues in his mind, and then looked at Shiratori Ninzaburo: "Officer Shiratori, I already know who the murderer is. Please bring the suspect and all the crew members here."

The compartment in front of the driver's cab.

The crew members, Kagaya Yui and Momoyama Akari, and chief mechanic Sekiguchi Shinobu, came to the scene.

"Has the culprit been identified?"

Upon hearing the news, the co-pilot also hurriedly ran out of the cockpit.

"Co-pilot Koganei?"

Fujino turned to look at Koganei, "Is it alright for you not to be piloting the plane from the control panel?"

"No problem, the plane has switched to autopilot mode now, so there's no need to worry for a while."

Koganei explained, "Since we're going to point out here who killed Captain Shida, I also have to be a witness..."

At that moment, Mori Kogoro and Shiratori Ninzaburo, along with Maria and Oegoe Rei, lifted the curtain and entered.

"Wait, why did you bring me here?"

Ishida Maria was clearly displeased. "Does going to the restroom mean I'm being treated like a murderer?"

"Murderer?"

Upon hearing this, Fujino frowned and pressed, "Where did you hear the news that the captain died?"

"I heard that someone died on this plane..."

Ishida Maria was stunned. "Wait, you mean the captain died?!"

Once she came to her senses, she immediately put on a panicked look and screamed as she tried to run away again.

"What's wrong with you, woman?"

Oegoe Rei, who was standing nearby, restrained him again and said in a deep voice, "Even if the captain dies, isn't there still a co-pilot?"

After restraining the woman, he turned to the group and calmly said, "So you called us over because you think we're murderers?"

"Of course not."

Shiratori explained, "It's just that only the two of you don't have alibis, so it's still necessary to bring you here. In addition to you, the maintenance crew members from the second floor of this flight are also here."

"Um, are we also suspected?"

At this moment, Sekiguchi Shinobu couldn't help but speak up, "We all have alibis, and we've already ruled them out..."

"You all did have alibis after the riots ended."

At this point, Fujino interrupted, "But Captain Shida wasn't killed after the smoke cleared; he was killed just as the smoke started causing the commotion."

"What?"

Everyone present was taken aback upon hearing this.

Conan, on the other hand, calmly turned his gaze to Fujino.

Fujino paused for a moment, then continued, "The captain died during the riot. In that timeframe, anyone could have used the smoke to kill Captain Shida within those ten minutes."

"But, Detective Fujino."

At this moment, Momoyama Akari interrupted Fujino and asked doubtfully, "The captain was still alive when the cabin was smoking, and he even spoke to the passengers before returning to the cockpit after the commotion subsided."

"That's true."

Fujino agreed with Momoyama Akari's statement, but then changed the subject. "But the premise is that the captain has to be the real Captain Shida."

"I remember that when Captain Shida came out, he was wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a jacket. To prevent inhaling smoke, he covered his face with a handkerchief, only revealing his sideburns. His voice was also muffled and low because he covered his mouth."

Fujino asked the crowd, "The reason you all think he's the captain is because he's wearing a captain's shirt and hat, right?"

"That's right."

Oegoe Rei was present at the time, thought for a moment and said, "We really didn't see the captain's face clearly at the time, and his voice was very deep."

"It seems that's indeed the case."

Ishida Maria was also present at the time. After thinking for a moment, she nodded in agreement.

There were two murderers in total.

Fujino glanced at everyone and said, "One of the murderers first drugged Captain Shida to ensure the plane entered a stable autopilot mode, and then instructed another murderer to kill Captain Shida. He then impersonated Captain Shida to reassure the passengers and create an alibi."

"And in order to prevent everyone from seeing his face, the smoke bomb became an essential part of the whole plan..."

Fujino turned to look at Koganei and said in a deep voice, "Co-pilot Koganei, you must be the murderer, right? You're the only one who could impersonate the captain in the cockpit and put the plane into autopilot mode."

"Are you kidding me!"

Koganei shouted, "Do you have any evidence? On what grounds...?"

"We have as much evidence as we need. Whether it's the handkerchief you used to drug the captain or the fake beard you used when you were impersonating the captain, it should be found inside the plane after landing."

Fujino calmly looked at Koganei. "Actually, I had my doubts from the beginning. Why would the captain come out when this happened on the plane? If Murder Plan was being carried out in the cabin at the time, that would make a lot of sense."

"Just because of that?"

Koganei took a deep breath. "Although I don't know exactly why the captain did that, isn't this just your baseless guess?"

"Of course it's not without reason. You might not even have noticed, but there are clues on your body that could confirm your suspicion..."

Fujino turned to Kagaya Yui: "Of course, your other accomplice didn't notice either, right, Miss Kaga?"

Upon hearing this, Momoyama looked at Kagaya Yui with surprise. "Kaga- Senior, she's also... the murderer?"

"What exactly are you suspecting, detective?"

Kagaya Yui panicked upon hearing this. "Don't just guess without evidence! Tell me, what's the clue?!"

"Smell..."

Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly. "The main component of the smoke bomb just now was sulfur. The smell of sulfur is very difficult to remove, and even after washing, a faint smell will remain, right, Officer... Conan?"

Conan's face darkened upon hearing this.

That guy was definitely trying to say "police dog," wasn't he?

Absolutely!

Taking a deep breath, Conan calmed himself down, managing to suppress the urge to use Tranquilizer Dart on Fujino.

"Oh yeah! I noticed just now that Kaga-neechan doesn't smell at all, even though Momoyama-neechan and Brother Fujino both have that smell."

Conan said in a childish voice, turning to look at Koganei: "And I smelled it too, the co-pilot smelled that way too!"

"Logically, everyone on the second floor of the cabin should have smelled of smoke... It's probably because you were killing someone in the cockpit at the time... The other co-pilot was impersonating the captain, which is why he smelled of smoke, while the real captain didn't have any smell."

Fujino looked at the two men and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, is there anything else you want to say? Once the investigation is thorough and the police find the disguised beard and the item smeared with the drug, the case should be solved."

"It wasn't me! I was just helping out!"

Koganei panicked immediately.

He knew that all the evidence now pointed to him.

If this continues, he will take the blame for all the crimes...

Thinking of this, he quickly shifted the blame to Kagaya Yui: "She said she wanted to kill the captain who had dumped her before, so I helped her! That's right, she's the one who killed him, it has nothing to do with me!"

"How can you be like this? You were the one who said the captain found out about your drug smuggling, so you asked me for help, right?"

Kagaya Yui was also displeased upon hearing this. She grabbed Koganei by the collar and cried out with tears in her eyes, "What did you say, 'Please, the only one who can help me now is you, my fiancée? Didn't you get dumped by that guy before? If I get arrested by the police, I'll definitely lose my job, and our future will be ruined!' It's all because of what you said..."

"Where did I say such a thing? Do you have any evidence?"

Koganei turned his head away, not daring to look her in the eye. "You're the mastermind behind this murder... Officer, arrest her immediately!"

"You've really gone too far! I did this all for you..."

Blinded by rage Kagaya Yui pulled a pen from her pocket and, yelling, stabbed it into Koganei's chest, shouting, "You scum!"

"Stop it!"

Fujino rushed forward and kicked Kagaya Yui.

He crouched down, looked at the pen's location, frowned slightly, and shouted, "The pen has pierced my heart! Quick, get the first-aid kit!"

After the first aid kit arrived, Fujino quickly performed first aid on Koganei.

However, even with emergency treatment on the ground, a heart-piercing injury like this might not be fatal.

Even if a male-style Divine Doctor came, he would have to shake his head.

Four minutes later, accompanied by a scream, Koganei suddenly choked on a mouthful of blood.

At the same time, there was no pulse.

Fujino stood up, his face grim. "The person is already dead..."

"The captain and co-pilot are both dead, who will fly this plane now!"

The flight attendant panicked for a moment, "The plane is about to land in forty minutes. If no one takes over the pilot, I'm afraid..."

"Let's announce it over the intercom first."

Fujino took a deep breath and said to the chief mechanic, "Even if it causes panic, it's still better than having no one to fly."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

The chief mechanic's announcement caused a commotion in the cabin.

However, the disturbance was quickly brought under control by the crew.

A few minutes later, the chief mechanic received the results and said to everyone with a grim face, "There are 400 people on board, and no one else knows how to fly... We only have thirty minutes left before landing... If no one flies the plane..."

Shiratori Ninzaburo, with a gloomy face, continued, "I'm afraid that if it just keeps circling in the sky like this, even if it does nothing, it will eventually crash."

Amidst the clamor of the crowd, a System Task suddenly appeared before Fujino's eyes:

[Pilot Profession Mission: Emergency Landing]

Mission objective: Pilot a Boeing 747-100SR to land at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Ryukyu.

Mission Rewards: 500,000 yen, 500 Pilot Profession proficiency points

"So, the Pilot Profession even includes flying airplanes?"

Fujino stared at the System Task in front of him, muttering to himself.

He suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone. "Speaking of which, Chief Craftsman Sekiguchi, isn't this aircraft a Boeing 747-100SR?"

No... that's right.

The chief mechanic looked at Fujino, puzzled, and asked, "You mean..."

"Leave it to me," Fujino said calmly.

"You can fly a plane?!"

Conan looked at Fujino with surprise.

Fujino nodded upon hearing this and said, "I learned to fly airplanes when I traveled with my dad before, and I also simulated the flight of a large passenger plane in a flight simulator. With ground guidance, there shouldn't be any problems."

Fujino wasn't lying; the original owner had indeed gone on a flight experience with her father, but... she learned nothing.

However, this is a very good excuse.

After all, his adoptive father is dead, and now that he's in this world, no one knows how well he's actually learned.

Given the current situation, only he can drive it.

He's definitely much better than Conan, that half-baked guy.

Although he had never handled an airplane before, his profession as a pilot meant that a mere Boeing 747 shouldn't be a problem.

Conan: "..."

Why does it feel so familiar?

"But..."

The others still had some concerns.

Are there any other options?

Fujino looked up at the crowd and said in a deep voice, "If it were a Boeing 747-400, it would be fine, but this passenger plane is a Boeing 747-100SR Japan- exclusive, and it does not have automatic landing."

"If this continues, the only outcome for the plane will be running out of fuel in the air and crashing."