Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

About ten minutes later, the conference room door opened.

"Mr. Kawai, please come with us to the Metropolitan Police Department for another confirmation." Megure Jusan said to Kawai Koichi, "Don't worry, this time the physical and human evidence is complete, and it will be sent for inspection soon."

Kawai Takashi showed a look of joy and nodded repeatedly.

Conan Edogawa, who was hiding behind the green plants, saw his expression clearly, but he did not follow him and sneaked into the room.

There were some photos on the table, but Edogawa Conan didn't look at them for the time being and walked straight towards Aoyagi Akimitsu who was sitting in his original seat.

"Mr. Qingliu..."

Aoyagi Binguang was sending a message on his phone. When he heard the words, he looked up and was stunned when he saw it was him.

"Conan-kun? Why are you here? Did you follow us up here?"

Edogawa Conan smiled awkwardly: "Because I remembered that I had played the game designed by the uncle just now, so I followed along..."

The silly smile on his face lasted less than a few seconds. He remembered the conversation he had just heard, and without waiting for Aoyagi Binkou to respond, he couldn't wait to ask for other information he wanted to know.

"Mr. Aoyagi, after you saved Mr. Kawai the day before yesterday, did he invite you to dinner?"

"Yeah." Aoyagi Binguang responded, "He said he wanted to thank me no matter what, so he invited me to the best Western restaurant nearby."

Conan Edogawa recalled the nearby map and quickly determined which restaurant it was.

He thought about the prices there, and then about the clothes Kawai Koichi had just worn. Thanks to his mother, he could tell that they were all old styles. The watch on his wrist was a famous one, but it was also very old.

He obviously didn't have much money, but he still wanted to go to that kind of place. Was it for his own face, or... Edogawa Conan frowned.

"I'll send a message to Miss Maori and ask her to come up to pick you up." Qing Liu Bingguang didn't seem to notice his serious expression. He lowered his head and glanced at his feet: "I'm here on leave and will be back soon. Do you want me to give you a ride?"

Conan Edogawa raised his hand to stop him: "Wait, Mr. Aoyagi, I have another question - what did he say when you were having dinner together?"

This time, Aoyagi stared at him for several seconds.

"Why are you asking this?" His voice was flat and serious.

"Because I'm curious about him."

Edogawa Conan tried to sound like a child, "I've seen his company's official website, which says he's going to design a new detective game, this time with a realistic style, so I'm curious if he'll ask you about real-life cases handled by the FBI..."

"He did ask that."

Aoyagi Binkou leaned his elbows on the armrests, his fists resting on his chin, with a nostalgic expression on his face.

"He asked me if there was a 'perfect crime' in reality, and also mentioned to me that there were new development plans."

He paused and said regretfully, "It's just that the sales of his last game were a disappointment and the company is on the verge of bankruptcy. With his current financial situation, he simply doesn't have the power to support a new project. And from his tone, his father doesn't intend to help him."

"I suggested to him that he should go and persuade his father first. After all, he is his son, and getting support would make things much easier, but he..."

Aoyagi Binkou's tone was sincere and helpless.

Edogawa Conan didn't hear anything unusual, every word the other party said was the truth.

The perfect crime...

Edogawa Conan muttered this word in his heart.

The cover of Kawai Koichi's game is the Reichenbach Falls, and the technique is inspired by Sherlock Holmes and another writer, Carl, the "King of Locked Rooms". It is obvious that he is a fan of mystery novels.

The perfect crime in the minds of mystery fans is a completely different concept from those crimes in reality where the criminals are never caught.

Of all the detective novels he had read, the one that fits this description best is...

At this moment, a sound of hurried footsteps was heard. Conan Edogawa thought it was Ran Mouri who came. He was about to explain, but when he looked up, he saw the police officer who looked very honest.

"Sorry, I forgot to take something."

Takagi Shigeru smiled embarrassedly at Aoyagi Akimitsu and reached out to take the photos on the table.

Edogawa Conan scanned the photos, and when he saw one of them, his eyes suddenly froze: "Wait a minute! These photos are..."

Takagi Wataru didn't expect there to be a kid in the room. He had a good temper and patiently explained to Edogawa Conan: "Mr. Aoyagi observed the crowd when he rescued people. The criminal who followed him might be hiding in there, so we asked him to identify him."

When identifying a criminal suspect, more than just one photo will be shown. In order to prevent the witness from making mistakes in his memory or making a random identification out of laziness or wanting to finish the process as soon as possible, at least seven photos must be provided.

Edogawa Conan was looking at one of the photos when a white light flashed across his lens.

When he raised his head again, his face was innocent like a child. "Uncle police, why did the criminal target President Kawai?" He asked curiously, "There is more than one family in 10-chome. If it were me, after committing crimes in one place many times and the residents and police became more vigilant, I would never dare to stay there any longer and would run to other places as soon as possible."

"This..."

Takagi Wataru scratched his hair. He was not impatient at all. After listening carefully to what Edogawa Conan said, he gave an equally serious answer.

"We interrogated the criminal, and he confessed that he was accidentally seen by Mr. Kawai when he committed a crime last time. Although Mr. Kawai did not call the police at the time, he was worried that he would reveal it to others, so he followed him and tried to silence him, and then found the president."

It turned out to be the case.

Edogawa Conan's face darkened.

All the clues in his mind connected together, pointing to a cruel...truth.

The room suddenly became quiet. Takagi Wataru looked at Edogawa Conan who was in silence, then looked at Aoyagi Akimitsu who was standing beside him, and he was completely at a loss as to what to do.

Only Aoyagi Binguang's expression was as gentle as usual.

……

The first floor of the hospital.

The anxious Maori Ran did not find her own child, but instead met Maori Kogoro, who was also the target of her tracking and came to the hospital.

Just as she was about to say hello, her father hurriedly pulled her aside and gestured to her: "Shh! Shh! Be quiet! There may be reporters nearby!"

...But wouldn't you be more eye-catching this way?
Mao Lilan looked at his outfit with a puzzled look. Considering his face, she didn't say it out loud, but just asked quietly: "Dad, who is your client this time?"

"The wife of a famous male star." Maori Kogoro responded in a low voice, "The paparazzi seem to know about this. They have been keeping an eye on his rumored girlfriend these days. As long as they take a photo..."

As Mao Lilan was listening, the phone in her hand suddenly vibrated.

She checked the email. It was from Aoyagi Binguang, reminding her that Conan had gone upstairs. After reading it, she turned to him and said, "Dad, I'm leaving first."

Kogoro Maori nodded and continued to focus on the target.

Mao Lilan took the elevator to the fourth floor and asked the nurse to find the meeting room. However, when she arrived, she saw only Aoyagi Akimitsu coming out alone, without the child.

"Mr. Aoyagi, where is Conan?" she asked quickly.

"He said he and the police officer went downstairs to look for you. Sorry, I forgot to email you to inform you." Qingliu Binguang said apologetically.

Mao Lilan was a little angry: "Really? You're running around with an injured foot and causing trouble for others."

Aoyagi Akimitsu spoke well of Edogawa Conan: "This time the situation is special. Mr. Kawai is a mystery game designer. The game also borrowed from Sherlock Holmes. He was very interested, so he followed."

"You like Sherlock Holmes so much...you're exactly the same as Shinichi." Mao Lilan was speechless.

"Let's go down too." Qing Liu Bingguang said, "His foot is injured, and it's inconvenient for him to take the bus. I drove here this time, so I can take you back on the way."

Mao Lilan wanted to refuse, but thinking about Conan's sprained injury and his habit of disappearing as soon as he let go... she finally succumbed to reality.

She said embarrassedly: "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Qingliu."

The two walked towards the elevator together, continuing to talk about the previous topic as they walked.

"Mr. Aoyagi, do you also like Sherlock Holmes?" Mao Lilan pressed the button and asked the question that she had been curious about for more than a year.

Aoyagi Hiromitsu said without any hesitation: "Compared to him, I admire Poirot more."

"..."

For a moment, Mao Lilan began to worry that one day they would quarrel over who was the best detective... She quickly threw this messy thought out.

She noticed the other person's choice of words: "Appreciate?"

"Because the character I really like is not a detective," said Aoyagi Akimitsu.

"Eh?" Mao Lilan was stunned for a moment, "Who is that? Could it be... Professor Moriarty?"

"It's not him either. He's a little-known person who only appeared in one work."

Aoyagi Binguang smiled lightly.

----

This article first describes how the protagonist gets into trouble, and then how Conan collects information to solve the case... But this feels like repetitive information, and it seems like it's just wasting words, so I won't write this way for the next event. (End of this chapter)