Point Allocation System

"This kind of wound could actually kill someone... It seems either the victim was too unlucky, or the attacker took a very long time." Shiraishi Kuro parted the victim's hair at the back of his head and looked at the wound on his neck.

The body was slumped against the wall, with the only wound being a slightly bleeding "dot" on the back of the neck.

Based on Shiraishi Kuro's experience, stabbing the spinal cord like this would generally impair mobility, but the probability of dying directly from it wasn't high.

"Inspector Shiraishi, do you recognize the victim?" Shinichi asked sensitively at this moment.

He noticed a change in Officer Shiraishi Kuro's eyes when he saw the victim...

Of course, he didn't think Shiraishi Kuro was the killer!

Because he hadn't been asleep and had an extraordinary memory, Shinichi clearly remembered who had gone to the restroom within the estimated time of death.

Officer Shiraishi Kuro had been in first class and hadn't come over at all.

Moreover...

Honestly, even someone with a terrible memory would surely notice if someone as imposing as Shiraishi Kuro walked past!

"Hm? Brother Shiraishi..." Megure immediately tensed up upon hearing this, thinking to himself: Just as I suspected... Brother Shiraishi wasn't on vacation at all!

Seeing this, Shiraishi Kuro didn't hide anything and said, "Ootaka Kazuhiro, 29 years old, freelance photographer. Although he had some award-winning works, his main source of income was through secret photography and extortion."

"Secret photography and extortion..." Megure's head immediately started to ache – this was a "high-risk profession," and he must have had many enemies!

"I see. That explains why his pants pocket got wet," Shinichi muttered at this moment.

"Pants pocket got wet?" Megure immediately paid attention to Shinichi's statement.

"Inspector Shiraishi must have noticed too, right?" Shinichi had just noticed that this Officer Shiraishi from the Organized Crime Countermeasures seemed to be very thorough in his investigation of the crime scene.

Shiraishi turned his head at the words and, after glancing at the somewhat show-offy, arrogant kid, nodded and said, "Yes, the lining of his pants pocket was wet; there were bloodstains on the wall behind him, but their position didn't match the wound, much lower than it; also, there were scratch marks next to the fatal wound on the back of his neck."

Discovering these suspicious points was subjectively very easy for Shiraishi Kuro.

After all, in addition to basic abilities, some skill-based abilities were also within the scope of the Point Allocation System!

Shiraishi Kuro had already put points into Evidence Collection up to Lv7...

And because Shiraishi Kuro had also put points into the basic ability Insight up to Lv10, the effect of Evidence Collection was Lv7 (+2)!

The system couldn't directly influence Shiraishi Kuro's thoughts, making him think of things he wouldn't have originally thought of, but...

From Shiraishi Kuro's perspective, when he saw "suspicious points at the scene," they would automatically be marked with a "flashing special effect" visible only to him.

Therefore, at this level of suspicion, it was "crystal clear" to Shiraishi Kuro!

Having said that, Shiraishi Kuro, who had initially looked disappointed, perked up a bit and said, "It seems someone moved his body after he died and gave him a cursory search."

"A search? That means..." Megure also realized at this moment.

"Exactly. He was carrying photos or negatives that were unfavorable to someone. He was likely silenced during an extortion transaction," Shiraishi Kuro deduced.

Shinichi also noticed that compared to the "murder case" at hand, Shiraishi Kuro seemed more interested in the blackmail photos involving "Ootaka Kazuhiro."

"In that case, it'll be easier!" Shinichi suddenly said.

As the three police officers at the scene looked over, Shinichi said proudly, "There were a total of four people, besides the victim, who could have committed the crime – those who went to the restroom during the incident. My seat is in the last row, and I remember them."

"Can you remember their faces? Let's call those four over," Shiraishi Kuro said quickly.

Seeing this, Shinichi became even more certain that this Officer Shiraishi must have been on the plane specifically for this victim, and he hadn't expected the person he was tailing to be killed during the flight!

"Ah... then I'll leave it to you." Megure knew he couldn't stop Shiraishi, and as an officer from the First Investigation Division, his job was to solve the case, so he didn't want to interfere further.

Watching Shiraishi Kuro and Kudo Shinichi leave, Takagi curiously asked, "Inspector Megure, who is that young man? It's hard for an ordinary person to remember someone's face after just one glance, let alone four people who just passed by... and in such dark conditions..."

Takagi had already realized how astonishing the memory was behind the clue Kudo Shinichi was currently providing!

After all, he often had to ask witnesses or victims about the suspect's appearance during interrogations.

Very few could describe it clearly. For a suspect in a sudden crime seen only once, most people couldn't clearly recall their appearance even after facing them, and it would be difficult to describe them after more than five minutes. Once their clothing or appearance changed, it would be impossible to identify them clearly within an hour.

"He's the son of an old friend of mine. His father is a mystery novelist, and I used to ask for his help on some cases... Thinking back, when he was still a child, he was always running around crime scenes. It seems that also cultivated his on-site analysis skills..." Megure said with emotion.

Kudo Yusaku hadn't been in the country recently, and Megure hadn't seen his old friend in a long time.

"Huh? Then we have a backer now?" Takagi accurately grasped the key point.

Afterward...

He was reprimanded by Megure!

Newcomers in the First Investigation Division these days are getting worse and worse!

Meanwhile, led by Shinichi, Shiraishi Kuro met the four people who had gone to the restroom...

Shiraishi Kuro also noticed at this moment that he was genuinely looking at "faces" rather than positions!

Because it was a night flight, Shinichi's seat had already been reclined halfway, so he couldn't see people getting up. He only caught a glimpse of their faces as they passed by him – this was a habit of a "mystery fan."

Moreover...

Remembering someone's appearance just by passing by in the dark, Shiraishi Kuro estimated that, according to the system's rating, Kudo Shinichi's basic attribute Memory should be at least Lv7!

In this regard, Shiraishi Kuro himself was also only Lv7. Because basic attributes consumed too many points, he only had Physique, which he had specifically focused on, and Spirit, and Insight at Lv10 – Insight could be maxed out because after Physique reached a high level, his "five senses" also greatly improved, and after Spirit reached a high level, his concentration became better, thus reducing the requirements for upgrading Insight.

Generally speaking, at Lv6 in basic attributes, one is already at the level of "very excellent" and "out of the ordinary," while at Lv6 in technical abilities, it signifies an accomplishment of "entering the hall."

At the same time, Shiraishi Kuro noticed that the four people Kudo Shinichi pointed out were all seated around the victim's seat, meaning they were all in the same row!

They were a young woman with short hair, "Amano Tsubame," in the same row as the victim "Ootaka Kazuhiro"; a stout uncle, "Ukai Tsuneo," across the aisle and next to him; a scruffy, bearded man "Saganuma Noboru" directly behind; and a middle-aged Caucasian man "Edward Crow" directly in front.

Seeing Shiraishi Kuro approach, the four... no, including another long-haired woman "Tachikawa Chizuru" who was with Amano, all five became somewhat nervous.

Unfortunately, with just this kind of emotion, Shinichi couldn't discern anything...

After all, with Officer Shiraishi standing there, anyone would be nervous!

Shinichi also felt that this Officer Shiraishi was not only large in stature but also... possessed a unique aura full of intimidation. He secretly marveled, "As expected of a detective from the Organized Crime Countermeasures division, with that demeanor... members of violent organizations would probably tremble before him?"

Of course, it wasn't strange for Shinichi and the others to feel this way. After all, Shiraishi Kuro's technical ability—[Intimidation]—was already Lv7, boosted by Lv10 [Spirit], resulting in an effect of Lv7(+2). In this regard, he could be said to have reached the pinnacle of mastery.

Unless one's [Spirit] was very strong or they had "overwhelming numbers," they would inevitably be affected when facing Shiraishi Kuro.

"Did something happen? Kazuhiro... our companion went to the restroom and hasn't come back," Amano asked nervously at this moment.

"You four, come with me. Don't try any funny business!" Shiraishi said directly.

"Huh? That... what are you going to do... Okay..." The chubby Uncle Ukai from the next seat hesitated, looking at Shiraishi, then chose not to object.

"Officer Shiraishi, you forgot to show your badge..." Shinichi reminded him softly.

"Oh, this is what I do... I'm truly sorry, I'm from the Organized Crime Countermeasures division, and I'm not used to interacting with ordinary people," Shiraishi said, feigning awkwardness as he took out his badge.

Indeed, as a detective from the Organized Crime Countermeasures division, he usually only dealt with members of violent organizations who didn't speak politely, leading to the officers in his division also speaking in slang and being quite impolite!

Of course, this was only the superficial reason...

Shinichi noticed that this Officer Shiraishi had been observing the Caucasian gentleman in the seat in front the entire time. Just as he mentioned the Organized Crime Countermeasures division, the Caucasian man's expression indeed changed!