On the winding mountain road.
Kisara drove Luo Shu at a steady 40 miles per hour. Having grown more proficient behind the wheel, she asked while driving:
"Shu-kun, where are we heading next?"
"First, we'll meet up with Inspector Megure and his team. Then, once Yoshimura sends over the Ghoul data, we'll start compiling the investigative report."
Propping his chin on one hand, Luo Shu leaned against the car window, watching the passing forest with a contemplative expression.
"Kisara, you didn't lay a hand on those two from the Ministry of Environment's Countermeasures Division, did you?"
At this, Kisara stiffened slightly, her expression turning somewhat awkward.
"Didn't Shu-kun say there was no need to deal with them even if they were tailing us?"
Her voice grew tentative as she added, "Should I turn back and take care of it?"
Luo Shu shook his head. "No need. My intel leaking was inevitable anyway."
"But we can't let them freeload. Later, send the Countermeasures Division an invoice demanding five million USD as intel compensation."
He scoffed at this.
"Hah. Spying on me and thinking they can get away without paying? Takatsuki Izumi spent two million just to buy my whereabouts. Five million is letting them off easy."
"Uh..." Kisara blinked, thoroughly bewildered.
So the Countermeasures Division operatives had gone through all the trouble of tailing them, stealing intel, only to end up having to pay for it?
What was even the point of their surveillance then?
Kisara pulled a face, imagining the scene when the Ministry of Environment's countermeasures division received the bill, and couldn't help but feel a moment of pity for them.
Still, pity aside, since Luo Shu had said so, she had no choice but to comply.
Hmm, she'd ask Miss Chisato later about how to send the bill to the Countermeasures Division.
As Kisara muttered quietly to herself, the car rounded a corner and immediately spotted the police blocking the road.
Beside the police car barricading the street, the familiar figures of Juzo Megure and Miwako Sato were discussing something with their colleagues.
At that moment, the sharp-eyed Miwako Sato noticed the approaching car first and promptly elbowed Juzo Megure:
"Inspector Megure, that's Director Luo's car."
"Oh?!" Juzo Megure quickly adjusted his hat upon hearing this, turned around, and strode to the middle of the road to greet them.
Kisara slowed the car to a gradual stop as Luo Shu rolled down the window and looked at Juzo Megure:
"You're a bit slow, Megure boy."
"Megure boy?"
Beside them, a moustached man in a blue suit widened his eyes, glancing between Luo Shu and Juzo Megure with a very peculiar expression.
"My sincerest apologies, Director Luo."
Juzo Megure wiped the sweat from his cheeks with a handkerchief, looking somewhat embarrassed:
"While surveilling Anteiku, two unfamiliar staff members suddenly arrived and took over from the two female employees before heading off in your direction."
At this point, a hint of helplessness crept onto Juzo Megure's face:
"Since no arrest orders had been issued, I could only leave Takagi to continue surveillance while bringing the rest to follow. But then we ran into people from the Ministry of Environment along the way."
Here, Juzo Megure couldn't resist venting:
"They didn't explain anything, just ordered me to block the road. And they had a command signed by a superintendent, too—typical case of rank bullying."
In just a few words, Juzo Megure explained why he couldn't stop Touka Kirishima and Kaya Irimi, while deftly shifting blame to the Ministry of Environment—a testament to his professional finesse.
Truly a master of the laid-back approach in Luo Shu's eyes.
There was a reason why Conan had been his go-to tool for so many years.
After passing the buck, Juzo Megure leaned in and whispered to Luo Shu:
"By the way, Director Luo, did you run into anyone from the Ministry of Environment?"
Luo Shu shrugged. "No, but I did encounter the two who left the shop."
"You met them? Does that mean all three who left were with you at one point?"
Hearing that Luo Shu had crossed paths with the Ghouls who slipped past him, Juzo Megure's expression changed dramatically.
Though he knew Luo Shu wouldn't be here unharmed if anything had happened, he still worried the Ghouls might have acted recklessly.
Seeing Juzo Megure's flustered state, Luo Shu replied with amusement:
"Rather than asking if I'm alright, you should be asking about them."
Juzo Megure blinked curiously. "So... are they alright?"
"Gave them a little lesson."
Luo Shu didn't elaborate on what kind of lesson, instead saying to Juzo Megure:
"After my hard work, I finally convinced them with reason to willingly become our informants, to serve as our inside sources among the Ghouls."
'Informants? Inside sources among Ghouls?' Juzo Megure's expression turned rather peculiar.
'Would those man-eating monsters really turn on their own kind?'
'But to have beaten them so thoroughly that they'd drag their own kind down... Director Luo, are you sure you only gave them a slight lesson?'
Though he mentally griped, Juzo Megure understood that when it came to Ghoul-related incidents, Luo Shu was the authority.
Thus, after a brief moment of astonishment, he got down to business:
"Director Luo, how should I handle the report on my end?"
Luo Shu gave Juzo Megure a sidelong glance and said:
"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. Just write it according to your understanding. I'll prepare a separate version for higher-ups."
"Ahaha, is that so? Then I can rest easy. As you know, in our line of work, the most troublesome thing is dealing with superiors."
Juzo Megure laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, unsurprised that Luo Shu had guessed his concerns.
Nearing fifty, he knew the unspoken rules of Japan's Metropolitan Police Department meant he wouldn't climb any higher. In such circumstances, his priority was stability—avoiding conflicts and waiting peacefully for retirement.
To him, a superior like Luo Shu who didn't make things difficult and showed consideration for subordinates was truly first-rate.
Seeing Juzo Megure's candour, Luo Shu nodded in understanding before instructing:
"Aside from maintaining surveillance on Anteiku, we can wrap up here. Those who went into the mountains will return to the café soon—just monitor them there."
"Of course, if anyone enters or leaves the café during surveillance, don't tail them. Just record their comings and goings."
Pausing, Luo Shu added:
"Coordinate with the café's landlord. Since the owner is now an informant, confidentiality must be maintained."
"Speaking of which, the building's owner actually came along."
At this, Juzo Megure turned and beckoned to a moustached man in a suit nearby:
"Mouri, come over here."
"Inspector Megure."
Kogoro Mouri quickly approached, glancing between Inspector Megure and Luo Shu:
"And this is...?"
"Mouri, let me introduce Director Luo."
Juzo Megure leaned closer, lowering his voice:
"From the special division. You remember the special protocols, right?"
Kogoro Mouri's expression shifted slightly. Although he'd only reached the rank of assistant inspector before leaving the force, he was familiar with certain... unusual matters.
Any frontline investigator working long enough would encounter peculiar cases and thus learn classified information.
It was through such experiences that Kogoro Mouri had glimpsed the supernatural.
"So it's Director Luo. I'm Kogoro Mouri, currently running a detective agency. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
With his trademark goofy grin, he handed over a business card.
A veteran detective naturally knew how to make himself appear harmless.
Of course, after years of early retirement and playing the fool, Kogoro Mouri had sometimes genuinely become a bit slow.
After all, not exercising one's brain for so long inevitably leads to some degree of sluggishness.
Inside the car, Luo Shu took the business card, glanced at it, and immediately said to Kogoro Mouri:
"Detective Mouri, how much do you know about the situation?"
"Only that they're terrorists."
Kogoro Mouri's expression turned serious. Upon learning that Luo Shu was a management officer from a special department, he realised that Yoshimura, the elderly gentleman renting his shop space, likely had an identity far beyond that of a mere terrorist.
"Terrorists? Well, it's fine to think of them that way for now."
Luo Shu muttered to himself before continuing:
"Though this might cause you some concern, the truth is that Yoshimura and his staff downstairs have become my informants within a certain illegal organisation."
"You mean...?" Kogoro Mouri immediately guessed where this was going.
Luo Shu's lips curled slightly. "I need you to keep an eye on them."
Though he had taken Yoshimura on as a white glove, Luo Shu wasn't about to fully trust him.
No matter how benign Yoshimura appeared, he was still a Ghoul—a species that fed on humans and posed a significant threat.
Thus, Luo Shu planned to enlist Verde's help in finding a way to remove the Ghouls' cannibalistic nature. And once that was done, he would still need someone to monitor Yoshimura and his associates.
That was why he had approached Kogoro Mouri.
After all, this was a man whose act had once fooled even the renowned detective Shinichi Kudo.
Even if Kogoro Mouri might genuinely be a bit slow, as long as he met Luo Shu's requirements, it didn't matter.
"This..." Though Kogoro Mouri had guessed it might be a surveillance task, the thought of monitoring individuals from the supernatural side made him uneasy.
"300,000 yen monthly stipend, billed through the special department. No need for strict surveillance—just note down anything that seems off."
"If the intelligence gathered proves valuable, there will be additional bonuses."
To make a horse run fast, one must feed it well.
This was a principle Luo Shu understood well.
A comfortable job paying 300,000 yen monthly would not only motivate Kogoro Mouri but also serve a crucial purpose.
Such as keeping tabs on Conan, for instance.
Truth be told, Luo Shu was rather curious about just how much misfortune aura surrounded Edogawa Conan, that grim reaper who left corpses in his wake wherever he went.
If little Yomi Isayama already carried such potent misfortune, then Conan's aura must be positively apocalyptic.
And it wasn't just Conan - Ai Haibara, Sonoko Suzuki, and the Junior Detective League members who frequently appeared at murder scenes... Luo Shu suspected they weren't ordinary either.
At the very least, they must carry some misfortune-inducing aura about them.
And all of these would serve as nourishment for him, the Calamity Bringer.
When it came to the growth of his misfortune powers, Luo Shu naturally wouldn't be stingy.
The 300,000 yen monthly expenditure could be considered an investment. Besides, it could be charged to the department budget - not necessarily coming entirely from his own pocket, hence his generous offer.
"300,000 yen?"
Kogoro Mouri's eyes practically turned into yen symbols:
"You can rest assured, leave this task to the famous detective Kogoro Mouri!"
That was 300,000 yen! An ordinary salaryman would need two years to earn that much, and that's before taxes.
The special department didn't require tax payments, the job involved monitoring the coffee shop downstairs, the work was easy, the income was stable, and it provided a connection to Luo Shu.
This deal was worth it!
"Then I'll look forward to Mr. Mouri's performance."
Seeing Kogoro Mouri accept the assignment, Luo Shu smiled encouragingly before rolling down the car window:
"Beika Town isn't far from Nerima Ward. Go home to rest and have lunch, then collect the materials from Anteiku in three hours."
"In that case, shall we stop by the supermarket for ingredients?"
"If the lovely Kisara says so, then let's go~"
"Calling me lovely and all... really, Shu-kun, you idiot~"
Amid Kisara's soft grumbling, the car slowly left the mountain ring road, carrying Luo Shu towards the city centre.