Conan: Science Cartoonist Kudo Yuji

"I did it for my son, Arjan."

Neishi Matsu looked at the two young ladies opposite him, and his legs, which had been holding on, finally gave way and he suddenly knelt down and lay prostrate on the ground.

"Arang didn't die; I brought him back." The old man revealed something that shocked everyone.

Based on the timeline, the time that Neishi and his son spent in China coincided with the most intense period of the war, but the control over non-military Japanese nationals in the occupied territories was also quite strict.

People like Gen Shirang, even if they weren't in the army earlier, would definitely serve the war effort. Later on, they might not even be safe on either side, and there was a possibility that they would be captured and used as prisoners of war or cannon fodder.

"About five years before the war started, we were forced by an army colonel to grow opium in the Northeast. At first, there were many people smoking opium there, and the opium we produced sold very well."

When Neishi Matsu recalled that time, although he said business was good, judging from his distorted expression, he probably had to give most of the money he earned to that colonel.

"But then things changed. The Chinese started growing opium, and they did it even better than the Japanese and people from other countries." Nei Matsu was probably referring to the part he least wanted to remember.

"They not only planted them, but also designed and improved the varieties, calling them something like Yuntu. They even named our Japanese variety Hongtu, our American variety Jinhuatu, and our British variety Xiaotu."

“I know that.” Masuyama Kenzo nodded. “The Chinese say that Yunnan soil is mild and soft, so it produces less poison when inhaled. Unlike red soil and golden flower soil, which make people thin and weak from inhalation.”

“The red clay opium couldn’t be sold, and the colonel was so anxious that he wanted to kill us. But even if he killed us, the red clay opium would still be the lowest grade of opium. So we could only try to trick people into smoking it or force people to buy it.” Neishi Matsu covered his face: “A-Rang was retaliated against. One night, he was knocked unconscious, and those people burned opium for him to smoke all night.”

“No wonder he came back alone.” Yuuji looked at the old man speechlessly: “It seems that this Root Stone has become unstoppable from now on.”

According to Japanese law, even if his son was coerced into smoking outside, in order to cover up the horrific evidence of Japanese aggression, local officials could very well have shot Neshi Joe directly.

“I tied him to a pillar in the house, and he rubbed himself until he was covered in blood. Several times he went crazy and tried to smash his head against the ground or shoot himself with a pistol.”

The colonel was overjoyed, saying that only if even he used opium would people believe it was high-quality. So he found an American doctor and had me learn from him how to extract an even better tobacco than marble from mortar.

It's a case of reaping what you sow. This old guy said that he and his son were forced by the colonel to grow opium, but before he returned from China and took his son back to China, he and that sake man's father had already made a fortune growing opium in China.

"Where is your son now? And where did you get the injection you used to kill him?" The policeman stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at Matsu Ishii, probably overjoyed at having solved a major case.

“I hid him in a cave halfway up the mountain behind the shrine, and planted three acres of opium there.”

Everyone heard the sound of a motorcycle at the shrine entrance and watched as the local police took Neishi Matsu away. (End of Chapter)