Stay away from Conan.

A person who is overly self-centered has firm enough convictions to be difficult to sway by anything; a person without a sense of self can abandon all conformity and thus act entirely according to the logic of the task at hand...

Almost immediately after Gao Yuan uttered these words, the people present questioned Gao Yuan's so-called—

Why is it that "outstanding undercover agents" are understood in these two states?

Among them, Rena Mizunashi and Shuichi Akai especially agreed with this statement.

Indeed, if my beliefs had not never wavered, how could I have persisted in this endeavor for so many years?

Therefore, what the other party said is not wrong. I am indeed an "overly self-centered person". So, subconsciously, when making seemingly perfect plans, I have overlooked the situation of seeing things from other people's perspectives.

For Rena Mizunashi, the biggest impact of this was the explanation given by Takato earlier. The fact that her father had risked his life to secure the deep-sea opportunity for her actually had flaws, but unfortunately, the other members of the organization were "self-centered enough" to overlook this problem, because from their perspective, they didn't see the issue...

As for Shuichi Akai, at this moment, the person on his mind was—

Akemi Miyano!

At the time, it seemed that choosing to escape alone after his undercover identity was exposed was the right choice. But in reality, it seems that it was all just wishful thinking on my part. I thought that leaving alone without disturbing her and reducing further involvement was the best way to protect her and her sister.

However, in retrospect, I never considered what situation my sisters would face within the organization after I left, or how the organization would view them given the circumstances at the time…

Therefore, Shuichi Akai had to admit that Takato's somewhat sarcastic remarks had some merit.

After a moment's thought, Shuichi Akai suddenly noticed that after Takato finished speaking, his gaze was vaguely directed in his direction, as if he had indeed subtly included him in what he said.

Therefore, Shuichi Akai couldn't help but have some thoughts in his mind—

Could it be that this guy actually knows me?

Just after Takato finished speaking, Hondou Eisuke, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't hold back any longer. Although Hondou Eisuke had roughly understood some of the things that had happened between Takato and Mizunashi Rena, ...

Before a complete explanation could be given, Hondou Eisuke still had some doubts, so he stepped forward and asked:

"What's going on? Why did you say you understood everything after seeing me?"

Hondou Eisuke was particularly concerned about what Mizunashi Rena had said to Takato.

After all, according to what was said earlier, the detective Takato only suspected Mizunashi Rena's identity. Why did Mizunashi Rena say that Takato understood everything because of her?

At this moment, Hondou Eisuke's voice carried a long-suppressed urgency. He took half a step forward, his gaze fixed on Takato.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yuan glanced at him, but did not answer immediately. He only briefly reviewed some details in his mind before speaking:

"That's not hard to understand, is it? Because of your appearance."

Hondo Eisuke was taken aback by this.

"You and Rena Mizunashi look so alike."

Gao Yuan's tone was calm, as if stating a completely unsurprising fact, and after Gao Yuan said this, Kudo Shinichi silently nodded in agreement.

Indeed, this is the most indisputable point. If it weren't for Hondou Eisuke's appearance, I wouldn't have had any doubts about him at first. "An ordinary high school transfer student who suddenly appears and a TV anchorwoman whose facial features are so similar—if it's just a coincidence, then this coincidence is far too deliberate."

Gao Yuan continued:

"Especially since Rena Mizunashi has clearly 'disappeared' from the public eye. In addition, I already knew Rena Mizunashi's identity. If I didn't suspect you when you suddenly appeared at this moment, it would be a disservice to my profession."

"but--"

Gao Yuan paused slightly after saying this, then turned to look in another direction at Shinichi Kudo, who was standing to the side. This action inevitably caught the attention of the people present, especially Shinichi Kudo himself, who was a little puzzled and did not understand what Gao Yuan was trying to express.

"Putting your identity aside for now, given that Rena Mizunashi's identity is unusual, I naturally investigated her long ago. For example, I found clues that she may have lived in Osaka. Therefore, based on this, I conducted an investigation in Osaka and eventually found clues about you, Eisuke Hondo, and your father, which made me certain of many of my guesses."

After Takato finished speaking, Shinichi Kudo already understood what Takato meant.

Isn't this exactly what happened when I and Hattori Heiji investigated Rena Mizunashi?

A photograph captured what appeared to be Rena Mizunashi's past life in Osaka, prompting Heiji Hattori to investigate. This investigation led him to Eisuke Hondo, and in the past two days, Heiji shared his findings with Heiji, giving him insight into Hondo's existence and that of his father…

As it turns out, it seems that my investigation and Hattori Heiji's speed were far inferior to Takato's; it appears that he had already investigated this matter long ago.

Thinking of this, Shinichi Kudo silently glanced back at Takato, his feelings somewhat complicated, and he felt a sense of frustration.

She clearly wanted to break free from the investigation conducted by Takato and Hattori Heiji alone, but judging from the results, the other side was far ahead of her. In addition, she knew that Ai and Takato were hiding some information related to the organization from her. Under these circumstances, what should she do next?

Should we continue to investigate alone, avoiding them, or...?

However, the only problem is that even if I cooperate with them, the results may not always be as I expect. This is why I have been reluctant to discuss things with Ai and Takato after experiencing several incidents related to the organization.

but……

“You and your father often went to a okonomiyaki restaurant in Osaka, and besides that, some people dressed in black, who were probably your father’s colleagues, also often met with your father there, right?”

Turning his gaze back to Hondou Eisuke, Gao Yuan continued:
“A Japanese-American, and a group of his foreign colleagues, mentioned the word 'company' in their conversation—”

At this point, Gao Yuan lowered his voice slightly:
"That in itself speaks volumes."

Upon hearing this, Hondo Eisuke naturally recalled some childhood memories. He neither agreed nor disagreed with these matters, but he racked his brains but could not find any "problems" among them.

"When colleagues from the same company talk about their workplace in English, do they often mention 'company'? In common topics, like 'Are you going back to the office?', they would usually say 'going to the office,' right? The fact that they specifically emphasize 'company,' to the point that even the owner of the mixed vegetable shop noticed it, doesn't seem like a conversation between ordinary colleagues."

As Gao Yuan spoke, Shuichi Akai, standing to the side, couldn't help but let out a cold laugh—

"Oh, 'Company'? It used to be CIA slang, but now it's become quite well-known."

So, were these spies or undercover agents professional or unprofessional?

Akai Shuichi's statement left Gao Yuan with some doubts. After all, looking at all the clues, there were actually many omissions, but the organization just hadn't investigated in the right direction... (End of this chapter)