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

The group continued upstairs. There weren't many rooms on the third floor, and the butler quickly stopped in front of a door.

Conan Edogawa was taken aback when he saw the machine by the door: "You install a fingerprint reader in your own home?"

"Yes, after the master received that prank bomb, he commissioned Mr. Sekiguchi to install this machine at the bedroom door. It requires two procedures..."

As the butler spoke, he demonstrated, first entering a password, then raising his hand and pressing his right index finger into the groove.

"Who?"

Not long after, a weak male voice came from the speaker above the machine.

“It’s me, sir.” The butler approached the machine and answered respectfully, “As you instructed, I have invited Mr. Mori here, and they are waiting at the door now.”

"Oh, thank you for your hard work. I'll open the door for you right away."

The iron gate made a heavy creaking sound as it slowly retracted into the frame.

"Has everyone in your family had their fingerprints registered?" Conan Edogawa asked curiously.

The butler led them inside, then shook his head upon hearing this: "Besides the master and madam, only the servants who have worked here since their fathers' generation have had their fingerprints recorded. None of the newcomers have them."

He added, "As you just saw, you need to enter the correct fingerprint and password to connect to the communication and have someone inside open the door. If no one is in the room, the door cannot be opened; only the master has the authority to open the door directly."

Kogoro Mouri felt a little embarrassed upon hearing about these security measures: "What if someone enters the wrong password, or an outsider leaves their fingerprint?"

“It doesn’t matter if the password is wrong. The master changes the password often, and sometimes we get them mixed up.” The butler thought for a moment and said, “Actually, as long as the fingerprint is correct, we can connect to the communication system. Only when the fingerprint is wrong will the alarm system be triggered immediately to contact the nearby security company.”

Conan Edogawa: "Is it that Mr. Sekiguchi's company?"

"Yes, his company is very close to here. He and the old couple have been friends for many years. Sometimes when we go on vacation, he comes over, just like a few years ago..."

The butler paused abruptly, a hint of sadness flashing across his face, and did not continue.

Conan Edogawa noticed his strange reaction and pondered it deeply.

They entered the room. The room in front of them was more like a large suite than a bedroom. After entering, they saw several sofas and coffee tables facing the entrance, clearly decorated as a reception room.

The client immediately stood up to greet them as they entered.

"Welcome, Mr. Mori. I am Junta Kuniyoshi, the owner of this house."

The client looked to be nearly sixty years old. Although he wasn't old, he looked extremely haggard, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't had a proper rest in a long time.

A woman in her early forties, dressed elegantly, stood to one side with her arms crossed. She was probably Mrs. Guoyou, and her reaction to their arrival was somewhat indifferent.

The other man on the sofa stood up. He looked to be about the same age as the wife, in his forties, and was wearing sunglasses indoors.

“I’ve heard so much about you, Detective Mori.” He extended his hand. “I’m Toshimichi Sekiguchi, I run a small security company, and I happen to have many questions I’d like to discuss with a renowned detective like you who has solved major cases…”

The three men began exchanging pleasantries, and Conan Edogawa consciously stepped aside with the butler and Ran Mouri, not wanting to participate in this pointless conversation.

He looked around the room, memorizing the layout and approximate placement of the items. Suddenly, he noticed a medicine bottle on the nearby cabinet.

He tugged at the butler's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Is anyone here with a heart condition?"

The butler looked in the direction Conan Edogawa was pointing and replied in a similar volume, "Yes, the master has a very serious heart condition, which is why he and his wife have never had children."

Conan Edogawa had no interest in the family issues of this older man and younger woman. He turned to look at the security company president wearing sunglasses, and the more he looked, the stranger the man's obsequious manner seemed.

This is abnormal. So far, Kogoro Mouri has hardly solved any cases, so no one is eager to learn from him.

Just as he doesn't believe his childhood friend Sonoko Suzuki is attractive to men, Conan Edogawa also doesn't believe that anyone would admire Kogoro Mouri's detective abilities.

“Uncle Butler,” he called out, “could I see that picture of the prank bomb again?” The butler looked puzzled, but still took out the picture and handed it to him again.

Ran Mouri hadn't spoken until now, and only then did she hesitantly ask, "Conan, what are you going to do?"

"The circuitry of that prank bomb was very sophisticated; I suspect it was a real bomb—"

Conan Edogawa answered instinctively, then met Ran Mouri's eyes, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly tried to salvage the situation:

"Mr. Aoyagi used to be in the hostage rescue team and dealt with a lot of bombs. When he saw that I was interested, he showed me some of the blueprints, ha, ha..."

Ran Mouri looked at him, not pressing for details, but simply frowning slightly: "So you want to take pictures to show him? But I saw on the news yesterday that an important American political figure is about to visit Japan, and the embassy is inspecting its internal facilities. He might not be able to find the time."

Conan Edogawa knew, of course, that Aoyagi Akimitsu had been very busy lately. Seeing that Ran Mouri hadn't suspected anything, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Then I’ll ask other officers.” He took out his phone. “In the case of Kadoya-nii, I noted down Officer Takagi’s and the others’ personal numbers…”

……

Metropolitan Police Department.

Takagi Wataru, who was writing a report at his seat, heard his phone ring.

Sato Miwako, who was standing nearby, noticed the commotion and stopped what she was doing to look over. She saw Takagi Wataru looking at his phone with a strange expression and couldn't help but feel curious.

"what happened to you?"

“Conan sent me a picture,” Takagi Wataru scratched his head. “He said it was a picture of a bomb.”

"A bomb?!" Sato Miwako exclaimed in shock.

Takagi Wataru was startled by her raised voice and quickly explained, "Officer Sato, calm down. It's not a real bomb, it's a prank. Conan-kun thinks there are a lot of wires inside and hopes I can find a professional to take a look."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Takagi Wataru found his hand empty.

He looked up in surprise and saw Matsuda Jinpei standing behind him, holding his phone in his hand.

"Hey, Matsuda..."

Takagi Wataru weakly protested, saying that taking someone's phone without asking was extremely rude.

However, Matsuda Jinpei ignored him.

The professional, who came from the explosives disposal unit, was holding his phone, his eyes behind his sunglasses fixed on the image in the photo, his brows furrowing more and more.

In the end, his expression even revealed a hint of anger.

Miwako Sato had rarely seen Jinpei Matsuda like this. In the past, no matter what case he faced, this elite detective was always calm and composed, and had never lost his composure.

There was only one exception in three whole years.

She realized something.

"Matsuda, you..."

Matsuda Jinpei didn't look at her, but directly operated on Takagi Wataru's phone. Not long after, his own phone rang.

After sending himself a copy of the photo, he returned the phone to Wataru Takagi.

"Takagi, call that kid right now," Matsuda Jinpei said. "Ask him where he is and where this prank bomb came from."

His voice was low and slow, and the word "prank" seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. (End of Chapter)