Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 1282 It's said that the wrong person was attacked.

Makoto Yata lay in bed, his eyes wide open, waiting.

He wasn't completely unaware of the name Akechi Goro. Even if he didn't know before, after spending the whole day with him, he had managed to find out some information about him.

A high school detective who returned from America, with exceptional abilities, and more importantly, high combat prowess.

Knowing that he had no advantage in this area, he naturally could not choose an ordinary attack method. Under the premise that both sides were sober, he was not confident that he could subdue the other party.

So the only way is to wait until everyone is asleep.

Okudaku Ryokan is a Japanese-style hot spring inn. Its entirely wooden and paper structure means that security here is not very strong. Having grown up in a village, he knew very well how to effectively bypass the practically useless locks and open the door to another room.

All I have to do is wait until it's late at night and everyone is asleep, then sneak into Akechi Goro's room and attack him while he's asleep.

Makoto Yata didn't expect to kill his opponent; he was a complete novice in that area and was well aware of his own limitations. He simply wanted to inflict some damage.

The injury was serious enough to warrant a conviction.

As for other less rigorous aspects, such as fingerprints and DNA information, he, as a fan of Shinichi Kudo, had made some preparations.

For example, after he knocked Shinichi Kudo unconscious, he slipped a dagger covered in fingerprints into the other's hand.

For example, since Shinichi Kudo has been missing for the past few months, and Yusaku Kudo hasn't heard much about returning to Japan, even if the police wanted to check the fingerprints, they couldn't find the original fingerprint, let alone DNA information.

Normally, all he needs to do is be taken away by the police and insist that he has amnesia, which would be enough to give the media the headlines they want.

By the time the police find the real Shinichi Kudo and confirm his identity, rumors will have already spread. Shinichi Kudo's identity will change from a promising high school detective to someone embroiled in a murder case and plagued by trouble.

As for what happens next, Makoto Yata has thought it through quite well.

His goal is to take revenge on Shinichi Kudo, find out the real culprit in his adoptive father's case, and reveal everything when he can no longer hide it and the pressure he faces increases.

As a former admirer of Shinichi Kudo, he decided to take revenge on his idol after the idol misjudged his family's case. To this end, he did not hesitate to undergo plastic surgery to look like Shinichi Kudo and go out to hurt people. These sensational contents were enough to cause a huge uproar in public opinion.

Even if Shinichi Kudo is cleared of suspicion in the assault case, these things could still ruin him forever.

That's enough; his ambitions are small.

Thanks to his long experience patrolling the forest, Makoto Yata doesn't fall asleep in comfortable environments.

He waited patiently until Hattori Heiji, lying on the other side of the tatami mat, was breathing steadily and began to turn over and fall into a deep sleep. He waited until the light in the room went out completely, even the moonlight dimmed, before slowly crawling out of the covers.

He didn't join Kogoro Mouri in the fun. It wasn't appropriate for someone of unknown identity to go to the hot springs with them at this time. He just took a quick bath, so he was still wearing the black T-shirt provided by Heiji Hattori.

He put on the jacket beside him, quietly removed the latch securing the door from the inside, and left the room.

Finding the object that could open the latch wasn't difficult; the latch at the Ode Hotel was quite simple. Just insert it into the crack in the door and turn it, and it would be easy to push open. What he needed more was to retrieve the "murder weapon" he had prepared.

He climbed out of the hotel, and even though it was late at night, he was very familiar with the area and moved quickly. A few minutes later, he arrived at the place he had prepared beforehand, behind the rock where he had placed the items he had taken from Shinichi Kudo, and returned with them.

Next, it's the last step...

He had been mentally prepared for this for the past six months, and his efficiency was even higher than he had expected.

From the time she woke up to the time she began to unlock the door to Goro Akechi's room, only about twenty minutes had passed.

The hotel remained quiet, with only a few small nightlights on in the corridors. Behind the shoji doors of each room lay darkness, and everyone was fast asleep.

He patiently unlocked the door latch bit by bit, and to avoid making a sound, he slowly pushed open the sliding door while keeping an eye on the room.

The two people in the room were lying in bed, with only their heads sticking out, seemingly unaware of his arrival.

He entered the room, closed the door again, and stood beside the two blankets, finally facing the first challenge of today's operation.

Which one is Goro Akechi?

During the day, perhaps because of their completely different behavior and temperament, it is usually difficult to notice the similarities between Tang Zezhao and Mingzhiwu. At this moment, only one of their heads is sticking out of the blanket, and their eyes are closed. The surrounding light is very dim, and at first glance they look like twins, and it is impossible to tell them apart.

At least Makoto Yata, who had only known them for an afternoon and an evening, would definitely not recognize them.

Why didn't I notice during the day that their hair colors were so similar? Is it because their hairstyles are so different?

However, by this time, both of their brownish-short hair had become quite messy from sleep, with some strands scattered on the pillows and some covering their faces, making it impossible to tell what their original hairstyles were like.

What to do? He might only have one chance to attack. He's not a skilled assassin. Once he stabs the victim, the victim will definitely wake up in pain and make a sound to alert others.

Judging from what happened in the afternoon, this person named Tang Zezhao seems to be Shinichi Kudo's classmate. In short, he is someone who knows Shinichi Kudo very well and has a good relationship with him.

What if he stabbed the wrong person? How would he explain his motive? Would he say he had a mental breakdown and randomly attacked someone...?

Twisting the knife handle he gripped tightly through the handkerchief, Makoto Yata hesitated as he approached the top of the two quilts and crouched down to observe them.

He didn't know how to accurately kill someone, but in this situation, attacking the neck was the most likely way to cause serious injury.

He only has one chance. Which way should he stab?
After hesitating for a while, Makoto Uta took a breath and decided to leave everything to fate.

I am an unlucky person who is never favored by fate. I lost my family early on, and after finally regaining the warmth of family, I lost it again.

Everything seemed absurd, like a joke, as if God was telling him that he was unworthy of happiness and warmth in this life.

The loss of his adoptive parents turned into a nightmare. His life over the past eighteen years was repeatedly denied, and the things he firmly believed in were repeatedly proven to be meaningless.

Having come to such an extreme point, what's the point of considering whether the wrong person was hurt?
Just stab him, stab him, let fate decide who is destined to be as unfortunate as him, stab him, and throw all this damned stuff to the back of your mind, along with your own failed life...

Makoto Yata raised his blade high. ————

The guests at the Ode Hotel were awakened by a sound that seemed to shake the earth.

Heiji Hattori rolled over and, upon discovering that the blanket beside him was empty, immediately knew he was in trouble.

This guy, Tang Zeyan, is definitely not Kudo's person. It's still a question why he infiltrated their group. Now that he's gone, he might be the one causing trouble.

Without even bothering to change his clothes, he hurriedly straightened his bathrobe, pulled open the unlocked door, and rushed towards the direction from which the commotion was coming.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

Stop laughing, you rascal.

Tang Ze crossed his arms and kicked Hoshikawa Teru, who was squatting on the ground laughing loudly, with great displeasure. Then he turned his gaze to Yata Makoto, who was obviously unable to move, and asked a soul-searching question.

"If you want to stab someone, go for it. But why did you stab me? Did I offend you? You can't even recognize your target. You're such a terrible 'assassin'!"

The corridor lights were turned back on, and the people who opened the door froze upon seeing the scene inside.

Tang Ze, also dressed in a yukata, was swinging a sharpened dagger. On the other side of the wall, below, lay a mangled "Shinichi Kudo," who appeared to still be conscious but seemingly unable to move.

Goro Akechi was squatting on the ground, his shoulders shaking with laughter, looking like he couldn't hold it in any longer.

The reality is indeed unbearable.

"Huh? So this guy sneaked into your room intending to attack someone, but couldn't distinguish between you and Akechi, so he chose to attack you?" Hattori Heiji looked quite bewildered.

"Yeah. I know my hair color is similar to Mingzhi's, but it's really not to the point where we can't tell who's who, is it?" Tang Ze rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.

"...I really didn't mean to attack you." The dislocated joint was pushed back in, and Makoto Yata, who was already tied up, said softly.

"Then at least try to be more accurate!" Tang Ze looked at him with exasperation. "With your five senses at this level, no wonder you can't even figure out the truth behind Shinichi Kudo's deduction."

“Only an idiot of this caliber would come up with such an absurd choice.” Hoshikawa Teru finished laughing and got back into character. “Does he think all detectives are like Kudo? If he attacks any one of us, he’ll be in trouble.”

"Damn it, I'm going to lose the bet now." Tang Ze clenched his fists in frustration.

"A bet?" Kogoro Mouri caught the key word precisely. "Are you two making a bet? You both knew all along that this guy would hurt people?"

The victim regained consciousness in time, and Makoto Yata, who did not cause any real harm, was instead harmed in return. No one else was able to see what happened.

But the truth is, this person ran out of his room late at night, appeared in someone else's room, and was then kicked aside by Tang Ze, who was quite strong.

If he had no intention of attacking, why would he go into someone's room for no reason? Everyone believed Tang Ze's story, and no one even questioned whether an attack had occurred.

However, believing him is one thing, but the fact that the two of them anticipated that Makoto Uta would make an attack and then deliberately set a trap is quite another.

“Yeah. He’s too suspicious. I never thought he was Kudo from the beginning. We found out a lot about things in the village today, and we felt that he might do something strange today.” Tang Ze spread his hands, showing off the yukata he was wearing at the inn. “Akechi made a bet with me.”

They came back later than the others because they didn't actually go to the hot springs.

I changed into a yukata just to deliberately look the same, and then see which one Makoto Uta would attack.

To put it simply, Tang Ze felt that since Yuda Makoto was unreliable at other times, he should have had some plan when deciding to kill someone, while Hoshikawa Teru thought that this guy who couldn't even trust his idol of many years was a complete idiot. So the two deliberately blurred the differences in their appearances to see how Yuda Makoto would choose.

The result is already clear.

“Today we went to the village to find out what the so-called ‘Lord Death God’ really is.” Hoshikawa Teru delivered his prepared statement. “Besides Hyakubun, about a dozen other people in the village claimed to have witnessed Death God’s appearance over the past month or so. Some only saw it from a distance, while others, like Hyakubun, got very close, close enough to see its physical features clearly. This is very strange.”

"Yes, so we went into the woods." Tang Ze nodded, then took out the photos of the wooden cabins he had taken that day. "And then we found this."

No further explanation is needed; just by seeing the content of the photo, everyone can understand their suspicions.

This small cabin in the woods is not very large, and the interior facilities are very simple. The walls of the cabin are covered with newspapers.

At first glance, it looks like it was pasted up to keep warm, but upon closer inspection, the contents are all news clippings related to Shinichi Kudo.

Moreover, it was covered with knife marks, as if someone had been repeatedly slashing the face in the newspaper with a knife every day.

“The people living here absolutely hate Shinichi Kudo, and it’s not just the villagers’ complaints; their emotions have truly reached an extreme level.” Tang Ze put down his phone and looked at Makoto Yata, who was hanging his head and not speaking. “These people are definitely dangerous individuals with extreme emotions, who could explode at the slightest provocation.”

“Of all of us, I was the only one who explicitly supported Kudo’s reasoning and mocked Makoto Yata’s actions. It’s obvious who someone who hates Kudo so much would attack.” Hoshikawa Teru nodded, complementing Karasawa’s statement.

"So you're still making the bet?" Hattori Heiji glanced at him sideways. "Are you betting that this person has bad eyesight and will attack as soon as they see a head?"

“Of course not.” Hoshikawa Teru shook his head. “It’s just that Tang Ze is lucky. From the time I’ve known him until now, he’s always been the one with better luck.”

"So lucky you still got stabbed?"

"What do you think of Ran Mouri?"

"..."

Seeing that Hattori Heiji had nothing to say and shut his mouth, Hoshikawa Teru smiled and didn't explain his true inner logic any further.

Tang Ze was the one favored by luck, while he was simply favored by Tang Ze, that lucky guy.

Tang Ze always tends to protect them all, isn't it obvious that his luck will lead to a favorable outcome?

(End of this chapter)