The Arsonist and Murderer of Shimokitazawa / The Girl from Shimokitazawa

She never expected that just because she offered to make a cameo appearance in a film that the other company was currently shooting, Jiang Hang seemed completely satisfied and had even started thinking about the plot of her cameo.

Is the person in front of me really a member of the Templar Knight Order that has lasted for thousands of years?

Vermouth couldn't help but have this thought.

But Jiang Hang's identity is beyond question.

However, apart from this secret identity, Jiang Hang's other identities are also quite subtle.

A newly minted master detective, a kind-hearted man who helps others on the streets every day, who also bought an art museum, two film and television companies, and a movie theater while solving cases, and is now considering acquiring a television station—a super sucker.

In any case, Jiang Hang seems to really care about the businesses under his name now. If we want to cooperate in the future, perhaps we can continue to start from this aspect?

Vermouth pondered this and made a decision in her heart.

Things became simpler after that.

Jiang Hang felt he had gotten a great deal, and Vermouth felt she had figured out one of Jiang Hang's preferences without spending much. Both sides felt they had made a good profit.

After agreeing on the time and place for their next meeting, Vermouth changed her appearance back to that of Tomohaki Niide and left.

After seeing Vermouth off, Jiang Hang didn't go straight home. Instead, he first cleaned up Vermouth's traces in his car.

For sensitive people, even a single hair or a faint smell can reveal important clues.

There are usually quite a few people getting on the cars in Jiang Hang.

The two female assistants at the agency, Conan occasionally wanders around the agency, and the Miyano Sisters.

Their observation skills are not bad, and these checks are quite necessary to avoid trouble.

Just thinking about Miyano Shiho gave Jiang Hang a headache again.

Miyano Shiho had just told him about Vermouth's hidden identity not long ago, and advised him to be careful around Vermouth.

Before long, this member of the organization, who had just announced his retirement from acting, was going to make a cameo appearance in a tokusatsu drama filmed in Jiang Hang.

How should he explain this to Miyano Shiho?

It is said that in order to get close to Vermouth, a member of the Black Organization, and obtain useful information, he did not hesitate to use his good looks to persuade her to participate in Ultraman.

Even the kids in the Detective Boys wouldn't easily believe such a flimsy excuse, let alone fool Conan and Miyano Shiho.

Chapter 446: Chapter 442: The Arsonist of Shimokitazawa

Although Jiang Hang initially thought Vermouth's cameo request was promising, he figured that once Ultraman was officially released, there would be no need to worry about its popularity or viewership.

He's certainly gained some attention, but now that he's calmed down and thought about it carefully, he'll likely encounter a lot of new troubles.

Conan and Miyano Shiho's side are just appetizers. Jiang Hang can simply shift the blame to the Pioneer Foundation, saying that Vermouth might want to get close to him to investigate the Pioneer Foundation's background.

The real trouble was that FBI team that had chased Vermouth all the way from the United States to Japan.

Both Shuichi Akai and Jodie Starling have a deep-seated hatred for the Black Organization, and Vermouth also has a very close relationship with them.

Shuichi Akai's father, Tsutomu Akai, disappeared while investigating the Black Organization and his fate remains unknown. Akai himself infiltrated the Black Organization five years ago with the help of Miyano Akemi, but his identity was exposed two years ago, leading him to defect from the organization and return to the FBI.

It can be said that the reason why Miyano Akemi was targeted so much by the Black Organization, and why they even wanted to eliminate Miyano Akemi without any regard for Miyano Shiho, was Shuichi Akai was the root cause.

Shuichi Akai has returned to Japan now, probably with the intention of avenging Miyano Akemi and finding Miyano Shiho to protect her.

Unbeknownst to him, his mother Mary Akai, who works for MI6, was also forced to take APTX4869 because of Vermouth and, like Conan, her body shrunk. She is now trying to investigate the Black Organization and find a way to return her body to its original size.

As for Jodie Starling, it's even simpler. Vermouth is her father's killer, and she even uses Vermouth's old saying, "Secrets make women more womanly," as her catchphrase. She joined the FBI to catch Vermouth.

These two people would try to find out the background of anyone who gets close to Vermouth, or who is approached by Vermouth.

As for Jiang Hang's background, his identity as the heir to the Pioneer Foundation is indeed somewhat complicated.

Who knows if, after these two discovered his identity, the FBI might mistakenly believe that the Pioneer Foundation behind him was preparing to engage in some shady cooperation with the Black Organization?

Besides, if Shuichi Akai also finds out about the Miyano Sisters, whom he secretly rescued from the organization, it will cause a lot of trouble.

He doesn't mind his employees dating, but Shuichi Akai FBI agent, Miyano Akemi and her sister were once members and even executives of the Black Organization, and the APTX4869 developed and improved by Miyano Shiho was used as a poison by the organization to kill many of its enemies.

Under these circumstances, the relationship between the two is quite delicate.

For the two of them to rekindle their relationship, not to mention that Jodie Starling was Shuichi Akai's girlfriend before he infiltrated the Black Organization, and she is also trying to get back together with Shuichi Akai, just getting through the FBI background check, that is, the political vetting process, will probably not be easy.

However, judging from the current situation, Miyano Akemi seems to have gradually moved on from her relationship with Shuichi Akai and started a new phase of her life.

It's hard to say what would happen if Miyano Akemi and Shuichi Akai reunited at this point in time.

Although Jiang Hang said he wanted to see the live performance of "White Album" and the love triangle, he started to feel a chill run down his spine when such a thing actually happened to him.

"Forget it, I won't think about these things anymore. Why should I, as a boss, worry about these things for my employees every day? I'll just tell Miyano Akemi about this and let her make her own decision," Jiang Hang thought, and stopped dwelling on the matter.

Shuichi Akai really pushes him too far, he's not one to be trifled with.

In any case, his fighting prowess had already reached a new high after mastering Bajiquan, reaching an unbelievable level. Even Makoto Kyogoku couldn't gain any advantage in front of him. Although Shuichi Akai's fighting prowess was not bad, it was obviously not enough in front of him now.

With this in mind, Jiang Hang lay peacefully in bed and entered his study space to continue his study plan for the evening.

The next morning, Jiang Hang went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department first thing.

There's no rush for Ultraman's guest appearance. After all, Ultraman is an episodic series, and as long as the script is up to par, Vermouth's guest appearance can happen anytime. Besides, Japan has a popular production model of filming and broadcasting simultaneously, so there's no need to rush the timing.

Therefore, Vermouth was put on hold for a month, which gave him time to observe the FBI's actions before making a decision.

In comparison, the serial arson case that Natsuki Kosimizu mentioned to him last night was actually a four-star case that he found on the bulletin board in the office this morning.

The commission even mentions in the commission prompt that if left unattended, it may even become a five-star commission in the future.

It should be noted that Jiang Hang has only completed a few five-star commissions since he transmigrated here.

The Moon Shadow Island case uncovered a drug trafficking route, which is what makes it a five-star case.

Judging from the system's track record, a five-star commission will affect not just a few people, but a very large group of people.

It's easy to imagine that the perpetrator of this series of arson attacks won't stop after committing three crimes; he'll likely continue his criminal journey in the days to come, and perhaps even eventually set fire to every corner of the city.

With this in mind, Jiang Hang went to the Investigation Division One of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department after arriving there, and asked Inspector Megure to introduce him to the team that specializes in investigating arsonists.

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's purpose for coming, Inspector Megure's expression was clearly one of surprise.

After all, since Jiang Hang became an advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, he has never taken the initiative to come to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to inquire about the progress and status of a case. He usually only calls Jiang Hang for help when he encounters a troublesome case that he cannot solve.

However, this time, Jiang Hang's plan failed.

The reason was not that Inspector Megure was unwilling to introduce the members of the arson investigation team to Jiang Hang.

However, late last night, another fire broke out in the Shimokitazawa area of Tokyo, and a stabbed body was found near the scene of the arson.

"According to our deduction, the murderer was discovered during the arson, and then killed the victim to prevent his identity from being revealed. So the case has been handed over to us. However, to avoid public panic, we haven't made it public yet. We were just wondering whether to ask you for help, but I didn't expect you to come directly, Brother Jiang Hang," Inspector Megure explained, his gaze towards Jiang Hang somewhat strange.

According to Jiang Hang, he overheard someone casually mentioning the case while chatting with them last night, which is why he came over early this morning to inquire about the case.

Who could have known that an arson case that hadn't resulted in any casualties until yesterday would suddenly have an extra body?

After thinking to himself that Jiang Hang was indeed a bit strange, Inspector Megure explained the details of the arson case from the previous night to Jiang Hang.

"First it was Ikebukuro, then Asakusa... then Tabata, and yesterday it was Shimokitazawa. Have you noticed any commonalities in the places where the murderers committed their crimes?"

"If we're talking about commonalities, we can only say that the places the perpetrator set fire to were places that no one usually goes through, and the places that caught fire were mostly old wooden houses. After all, it's not that easy for a normal house to be set on fire. Apart from that, we haven't found any other characteristics yet."

After listening to Inspector Megure's words, Jiang Hang looked at the locations of the four points on the map, but after a while he still couldn't figure anything out.

It's supposed to be a cross, but it looks a bit crooked right now. Also, Ikebukuro, Asakusa, and Tabata are relatively close to each other, Shimokitazawa is a bit far from these three places.

"Since we haven't found any patterns at the crime scenes, I'll go check them out first. Maybe I can find some useful clues there," Jiang Hang shrugged.

After all, deciphering codes has never been his forte. He can take it back and show it to Shizuka and Conan. He can also try it on Natsuki Kosimizu, since he just mentioned that he would contact her if he had any information.

But Shimokitazawa...

Although it sounds like just an ordinary place name, this place was practically a laughing stock on the internet before I traveled through time.

Unexpectedly, he is now going to this place to conduct on-site reconnaissance.

Considering that the world itself is full of a bunch of messy works, especially with the crime rate soaring in Conan, it wouldn't be surprising if he really encountered the legendary Beast Senpai in Shimokitazawa.

However, jokes aside, Shimokitazawa is located in the northeastern part of Setagaya Ward in Tokyo, and it is also a hub for secondhand shops and a center for the spread of subcultures, which is just as famous as Akihabara.

If Akihabara is more of a stronghold of otaku culture, then Shimokitazawa can be considered a vibrant area for underground rock culture.

However, when Jiang Hang arrived at Shimokitazawa with Takagi Wataru, the streets were deserted and there were not many pedestrians because it was still morning.

After all, how many people who are into rock music can get up early in the morning? The really exciting part here starts after 8 p. m.

Of course, Jiang Hang came to investigate the case, and the goal was to have a small team.

It would be troublesome if there were too many onlookers.

Soon, Jiang Hang followed Takagi Wataru to the scene of yesterday's arson case.

The area around the scene had already been cordoned off. Although there were many curious passersby, they only dared to peek at the cordon from outside and did not dare to approach the area.

Jiang Hang's identity was already known within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Upon seeing Jiang Hang 'Jiang Hang arrival, without him even needing to show his consultant badge, the police officers respectfully led him to the crime scene and began explaining what they had discovered.

"The fire should have started from here. The murderer's method was very simple: he used a pile of discarded newspapers, poured oil on them, set them on fire when no one was paying attention, and then left the scene."

"Because the perpetrators chose areas that were usually deserted, the fires went unnoticed in their early stages when they were still small. By the time someone discovered them, the fires had already grown to a point where they could not be easily contained."

Jiang Hang basically understood all of this by simply looking around the site with his Eagle Eye, and he could see much more than the on-site personnel could find out.

The arsonist did not leave many traces at the scene. His method was actually nothing special. As long as no one else passed by the crime scene, he would take a bottle of gasoline and a few newspapers, find a secluded place, set the fire, and leave. It was that simple. As long as no one discovered his identity, he could remain hidden forever.

But last night was different from usual; a passerby appeared during the murder.

From Jiang Hang's perspective, it must have been the passerby who discovered the flames rising at the scene of the crime and wanted to help put them out.

Unexpectedly, the murderer, who had been lurking not far from the crime scene, noticed it.

To avoid ruining his plans, the murderer made a desperate decision and secretly stabbed the victim in the back before fleeing the scene. He didn't even think to take the body to the fire and let the flames engulf it.

"In other words, the murderer's main purpose was always arson, which should be due to some kind of mental illness. He killed people because someone might try to stop his arson plan, so he hurriedly killed people and fled the scene."

People with mental illnesses like this are clearly not going to stop now.

Recalling the notice on the bulletin board, Jiang Hang's expression turned serious. This task could indeed be upgraded from four stars to five stars.

To be honest, this was indeed the first time he had faced an opponent who might have mental issues.

To deal with a culprit whose mind is a jumbled mess, who has no idea what they're thinking, and who can't pinpoint the next arson location, all Jiang Hang can do now is use some clumsy methods to investigate.

He looked up at the sky.

Altair was circling in the sky, completely unaware that its master was already planning to have it work overtime for the next few days, conducting reconnaissance missions throughout Tokyo.

Chapter 447: Chapter 443: The Girl from Shimokitazawa

The fire did indeed destroy many of the clues left at the scene, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's investigators could not find any useful information in the ruins.

Feeling the expectant looks from the other investigators at the scene, Jiang Hang rested his chin on his hand and carefully scanned all the information at the crime scene with his Eagle Eye.

"Judging from the location and angle of the stab wound when the deceased was stabbed..." Jiang Hang simulated the deceased's struggles and reactions before death around the body.

"Yesterday was the first time the murderer killed someone at a crime scene. Judging from the way he did it, he was not very skilled. It is highly likely that the murderer killed the victim on a whim."

"If you strike from this angle, blood will definitely splatter on him. By looking at the location of the bloodstains on the ground around the body, you can roughly determine which parts of the murderer's body were stained with blood."

In addition, the faint footprints he saw on the ground with his Eagle Eye, although he couldn't tell the killer's specific identity, he could still make a 80-90% judgment based on the killer's foot size, height, and arm span.

"He was about 178 cm tall, wore size 45 shoes, and started the fire with matches instead of a lighter."

"In addition, the perpetrator has committed four arson cases this month. Under normal circumstances, the perpetrator would not choose to commit the crime in his own residential area, which means that he must have come to Shimokitazawa by some means of transportation."

"Subway, taxi, or his own motorcycle or car—these are the modes of transportation the murderer could choose."

"Given the bloodstains on him and the likely strong smell of gasoline, which couldn't be cleaned off immediately, he certainly couldn't have left by subway or taxi. If he had driven himself, his car or motorcycle would definitely have been parked on the street nearby."

"But no matter what the situation is, even if he wants to walk back, he has to take off his blood-stained coat to avoid being noticed. So later, everyone can go around and ask if anyone remembers seeing someone in a hurry who took off his coat and met the conditions I just mentioned in this area last night."

As an advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Jiang Hang theoretically did not have the authority to directly mobilize police officers. However, when the officers at the scene saw that he had completed almost all the work that would take them a whole day to finish in just a few minutes at the crime scene, they could only admire the detective's abilities.

Therefore, after hearing Jiang Hang 'Jiang Hang instructions, they acted quite consciously in accordance with them.

Jiang Hang was also using Altair's vision to observe the surrounding streets while using his firm's case investigation function to search for cases and commissions in his vicinity.

The firm has been at level four for a long time. Now, Jiang Hang can see cases and commissions within a 16-kilometer radius of the firm and within a 200-meter radius of himself on the firm's bulletin board. In terms of area, that's more than 800 square kilometers, which is about one-third the size of Tokyo.

Furthermore, as the scope expands, a filtering function has been added to the commission announcement board, which can more accurately display commissions within a specific area at the top of the commission board.

Shimokitazawa is only about 8 or 9 kilometers away from Beika City, so Jiang Hang can naturally see the requests from Shimokitazawa.