The More Deranged, the More Fun

Afternoon.

Under the setting red sun, Fujino and Juzo Megure team up and begin their mission.

After leaving the hospital, the first place the two went was the open-air soccer field.

The stadium was now cordoned off with police tape, and officers from nearby areas had blocked off the area around the stadium.

The purpose was to stop reporters who wanted to rush in and report.

Fujino and Megure took out their badges and entered the stadium.

Inside the stadium, some police officers were still busy investigating any remaining evidence at the scene.

As soon as Fujino stepped onto the court, a screen of light suddenly appeared in front of him.

[A new System Task has been detected. Please check your inbox!]

[System Task: Homeless Man Explosion and Serial Murder Case]

Mission summary: The detective who just witnessed the explosion that killed two police officers should have realized that this was an attack targeting the police...

It seems someone desperately wants to attract attention and exact bloody revenge on the police through this twisted and pathological means... but one case alone is probably not enough to satisfy their distorted and morbid psychology.

Mission objective: Find the murderer (dead or alive).

Mission Rewards: 5 Detective Token, 10 million Yen, 1000 Detective Reputation (additional reputation or experience rewards may be provided depending on the host's choice)

"A series of murders of homeless people..."

Fujino examined the system interface in front of him and gleaned the key information from the mission: "If that's the case, then more homeless people will be killed, and more bombs will appear."

Turning his gaze away, Fujino turned his attention to the large crater in the center of the field caused by the bomb.

I walked up and took a look.

The pit in front of us is estimated to be one meter deep and about four to five meters in diameter.

Based on his memory, Fujino felt that this was like a bomb made from homemade gunpowder.

This refers to the so-called "fellow villagers making bombs".

As for its power...

It can only be said that every person in Mika is a genius. One of the obsessive architects once used stolen gunpowder to create a bomb comparable to a 406mm cannon.

Fujino even suspected that the talented architect might have just happened to steal the mold's missile warhead.

It can only be said that the bombs in the Conan World can no longer be understood using common sense.

"Starting with bombs is probably not very realistic... but that guy should have been watching from nearby, right?"

Fujino glanced around, his gaze lingering on the buildings not far away.

He was all too familiar with criminals who attacked police officers and left "Handle with Care" notes on the bodies.

Such psychologically twisted perverts usually linger near the scene to admire their masterpiece.

After all, when Beika Batman delivered packages to the police officers in the past, he would watch the goods arrive before leaving.

"Tsk, this situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light is really annoying."

Fujino clicked his tongue and muttered, "I don't know the other party's name or scent, so White Wolf-chan probably won't be of any use... The other items won't be of any use either."

Without the cheats such as full map view, detective alert, foresight, or God's-eye view.

Fujino thought it would take some effort to catch the guy who made the bomb.

The most difficult cases are those where the perpetrator plants a bomb at the scene, infiltrates the crowd, and then flees without warning.

Moreover, bomb-throwing people like this are usually mentally ill.

Mentally ill people have a lot of fun; they'll chop down anything that doesn't please them!

They would attack random places for all sorts of inexplicable reasons.

They won't give detectives or police any choice between three or four options.

It's even possible that killing is simply for their own pleasure...

Fujino had encountered similar mental illnesses before.

For example, there's Kazeo Kyosuke, in order to cover up his own murder, targeted and killed a police officer without cause.

The motives behind this kind of murder are so outrageous that even Batman would shake his head in disbelief.

"Brother Fujino!"

At that moment, Juzo Megure suddenly ran over anxiously. "Another body has been found in the stadium of a nearby high school!"

"So fast?"

Fujino turned around. "Can we confirm that it was the same murderer?"

"Yes, I can confirm it."

Juzo Megure said in a deep voice, "There was a note on the deceased that was the same as the one on the body here."

"Handle with Care..."

The area around the high school stadium where the incident occurred was cordoned off, just as it had been before.

This time, however, due to the possibility of a bomb being hidden at the scene, the number of police cars on the road outside the gate was double that of before, and there were even bomb disposal trucks from the mobile unit parked on the side of the road.

Fortunately, this isn't a major urban thoroughfare; otherwise, there would be traffic jams in the area.

"First it was middle school, and then it was high school."

Juzo Megure parked the police car on the side of the road, opened the door and complained, "Why is this guy targeting schools?"

"Perhaps it's because places like schools attract more public attention."

Fujino pondered for a moment and guessed, "Judging from the first case, that guy seems to really enjoy using this kind of attention-grabbing violence to attract public attention and satisfy his strange desires."

"What a twisted guy."

"It's quite common in Mikasa... After all, this is Mikasa, and there are a lot of mentally ill people here."

"Hmm, what you said seems to make sense."

With that, the two entered the stadium.

As soon as I entered, I saw Sato Miwako squatting in the middle of the court.

Beside her lay a corpse.

The body was dressed simply, not too dirty, but not exactly clean either.

The stubble on his chin and the black and white hair hidden under his hat gave him a sloppy look.

A bloodstained knife was stuck in the corpse's chest.

On the lower abdomen of the corpse, there was a red sticker with the words "Handle with Care" on it.

"Sato, how is the situation?"

Juzo Megure stepped forward and asked, "Did you find any bombs?"

"The Explosives Disposal Unit has checked and found no bombs."

Sato Miwako turned around, answered a question, then glanced at Fujino out of the corner of her eye, a hint of sadness in her eyes. She sighed and continued, "This victim died in the same way as the first case—stabbed in the heart by the assailant. He also had stickers on his body and was also a homeless person..."

"It seems that guy has his eye on the homeless population."

Fujino pondered for a moment, "But this is indeed a good target to use as bait."

After all, homeless people are the lowest of the low in any world.

People like this, who are homeless and wander the streets all day, would not be noticed if they suddenly disappeared.

Some powerful individuals even collude to take the lives of homeless people and sell their body parts for organ harvesting...

Did anyone witness the perpetrator?

"No, it's summer vacation now. The caretaker wasn't here this morning. He found the body when he came over in the afternoon."

Juzo Megure went straight to the point, but Sato Miwako had already begun her investigation upon arriving at the scene, so she could only shake her head slightly in regret.