ALL NOVEL Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Disguise
The police officers from Search Section 2 followed the crowd and eventually returned to Location B.
Just as they hurried toward the Scarlet Shadow Heart Collection Room in Area B-2, the policewoman who had been following Ginzo Nakamori suddenly raised her arms and shouted loudly:
"Officer Nakamori!"
Her voice drew the attention of the other police officers around her.
Everyone looked in the direction the policewoman was staring and saw their superior, Ginzo Nakamori, who was the first to enter Arena B.
At that moment, he looked like Nakamori Ginzo, but he was actually Kuroba Kaito. Hearing the shout, he turned and looked at the subordinate officers behind him.
"Quick, follow me!"
Kuroba Kaito, mimicking Nakamori Ginzo's voice, called to the subordinate officers behind him. They immediately followed after hearing his words.
---
Kuroba Kaito deliberately slowed his pace after entering Arena B.
The purpose was to allow the police officers following him to keep up.
Blending in with a group of officers from Search Section 2 would prevent suspicion about his identity.
Once the officers caught up, Kuroba Kaito led the group toward the Scarlet Shadow Heart's location.
---
As expected, the area outside the Scarlet Shadow Heart Collection Room was already crowded with tourists.
However, thanks to Masumi Sera and the venue's security staff, they had responded quickly.
After hearing Kuroba Kaito's earlier broadcast, the security team immediately cordoned off the area around the Scarlet Shadow Heart Collection Room.
While Kaitou Kidd's devoted fans were eager to catch a glimpse of the phantom thief, they had no choice but to stay outside the cordoned-off area after seeing the retractable barrier tape.
---
"Excuse me, I'm a police officer," Kuroba Kaito announced loudly, imitating Nakamori Ginzo's authoritative voice.
He led a group of subordinate officers past the retractable barrier.
Upon reaching the front, he presented his police badge to the tourists behind him, then unlatched the barrier and entered with several officers.
---
"Officer Nakamori," Masumi Sera greeted Kuroba Kaito upon seeing him.
Kuroba Kaito responded with a serious expression:
"The Moon Flower necklace was stolen. We reviewed the surveillance footage and determined that a man in his thirties took the necklace.
Judging by his skilled theft techniques and his lack of hesitation in showing his real face, we conclude that he is likely Kaitou Kidd."
---
Although Kuroba Kaito wasn't directly involved in the investigation by the Search Section 2 officers, he knew exactly what Nakamori Ginzo—his childhood friend Aoko Nakamori's father and his longtime rival—would do after discovering the necklace was stolen.
There was a surveillance camera in the Moonflower Necklace Collection Room.
All Kuroba Kaito had to do was describe his attire when he took the Moonflower necklace.
---
The officers behind Kuroba Kaito nodded in agreement with his explanation.
Conan and Masumi Sera observed the reactions of the officers and found no reason to doubt him.
---
"It must have been Kaitou Kidd who stole the Moonflower necklace," Conan said aloud.
"His real objective is to divert the police and tourists' attention at the scene, using the tourists to hinder the Metropolitan Police Department's operations."
---
"Is the Scarlet Shadow Heart safe?" Kuroba Kaito asked as he walked toward the collection room.
At this moment, only Nakamori Ginzo knew how to unlock the display case, so it was reasonable for him to inspect the Scarlet Shadow Heart.
---
"No, Kaitou Kidd disguised himself as Mr. Tsukino earlier, but I recognized him in time. He didn't touch the display case at all," Masumi Sera replied, following Kuroba Kaito into the collection room.
Conan and the policewoman from Search Section 2 followed closely behind.
---
Kuroba Kaito carefully inspected the Scarlet Shadow Heart display case.
From his experience stealing countless jewels, Kuroba Kaito could tell at a glance that the glass used in this display case was extremely durable.
It would be impossible to break the glass using brute force to access the jewel inside.
However, no matter how hard the glass was, the base of the display case wasn't made of glass.
The unlocking mechanism for the display case was installed in the metal base.
---
Kuroba Kaito reached out and removed the cover on the metal base.
He discovered that the security device wasn't as sophisticated as expected—it used a combination lock like a safe.
---
He had seen many high-tech security systems before, such as vein authentication, iris recognition, and fingerprint scans.
But these advanced systems often came with hidden vulnerabilities: as long as the person undergoing biometric verification was incapacitated, the system could be easily breached.
---
A simple password lock could eliminate many unnecessary risks.
'It's obviously impossible to open it without knowing the password. So how did the previous thief steal the jewel without damaging the display case?'
'Did the thief know the password from the start?'
Kuroba Kaito felt a bit puzzled.
---
To avoid raising suspicion from the two detectives observing him, Kuroba Kaito didn't linger.
After confirming the unlocking method for the display case, he closed the cover and stood up.
---
Conan and Masumi Sera had been closely watching Kuroba Kaito's actions.
So far, everything Nakamori Ginzo had done appeared normal to them.
---
"Nakamori Ginzo" simply checked the display case and its base.
Although Conan and Masumi Sera didn't know how to unlock the display case, they could infer the method based on how Masayuki Tsukino had stolen the Scarlet Shadow Heart in the past.
---
In the surveillance footage, Masayuki Tsukino tied up Takashi Tsukino, opened the display case, and took the Scarlet Shadow Heart.
This suggested that no biometric authentication was needed to unlock the case.
The most likely method was a simple password authentication.
---
After standing up, Kuroba Kaito left the Scarlet Shadow Heart collection room.
As he walked ahead, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pressed a button.
Suddenly, a pre-recorded announcement played over the venue's broadcast system:
"Kidd, the thief who attempted to steal the Scarlet Shadow Heart, has escaped from Arena B."
---
This announcement didn't surprise Conan or Masumi Sera.
However, the Kaitou Kidd fans outside expressed their disappointment upon hearing it.
What caught Conan and Masumi Sera's attention was the next broadcast, which sounded a minute later:
"Emergency notice! Smoke bombs have been used in the Dream Weaver Collection Room in Hall D!"
"It could be Kaitou Kidd!"
"Visitors in Hall D, please pay attention to your safety!"
(End of Chapter)