Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 561: Arrogance is the greatest ignorance! (Seeking monthly votes!)

"What is the truth of the matter?"

On the way back, Conan sat in the back seat, his eyebrows tightly twisted into the shape of a "川" character, his eyes full of solemnity, staring straight out the window, seemingly admiring the night view outside the window, but his mind was like a precision instrument running at high speed, never stopping for a moment.

All the details of today's investigation kept playing in his mind like movie clips.

The car accident seemed to be intentional, with the strange brake marks at the scene and the strange angle of the vehicle collision; the hesitation in Secretary Hanai's eyes when she recalled it, accompanied by the small movement of unconsciously tightening the corner of her clothes; the diving equipment on the speedboat deck that had obviously been used...

These seemingly unrelated fragmentary clues, like countless puzzle pieces of various shapes, were spinning and colliding wildly in his mind, eagerly looking for interfaces that fit together, trying to piece together a complete puzzle of the truth.

"Who kidnapped Takei Naoko? And where is she now?"

Conan's fingers tapped lightly on his knees subconsciously, and his mind kept deducing various possibilities, not missing any subtle details.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came into his mind, his eyes became sharp, and the tapping of his fingers suddenly stopped.

Thinking back to when I asked about the situation, Secretary Hanai was hesitant to speak. I just felt suspicious at the time, but now I think about it carefully, it was not just a simple nervousness, and there was a great deal of important key information hidden behind it. Secretary Hanai was either inextricably linked to this kidnapping case, or was threatened by someone and forced to choose silence and dare not reveal the truth.

As for the diving equipment, Conan deduced that after the car accident, the kidnappers probably used the diving equipment to escape from the crime scene and move Takei Naoko's location.

But in such a vast crowd of people, where would the kidnapper put Takei Naoko?

Conan slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and a detailed map of the surrounding area quickly appeared in his mind. He carefully thought about every possible hiding place, not missing any seemingly impossible place, trying to find the trace of Takei Naoko from this complex information.

At this moment, Mao Lilan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, inadvertently caught the strange expression on Conan's face from the rearview mirror. She immediately turned around and said in a voice as gentle as the spring breeze blowing past your ears: "Conan, you have been frowning since just now. Are you still thinking about the case today? Don't worry too much, relax first, it's not good to be tense all the time."

She tilted her head slightly, with a gentle smile on her lips, trying to dispel the depressing atmosphere in the car, "No matter how smart a brain is, it still needs a balance between work and rest."

Conan quickly came back to his senses, and an innocent smile instantly appeared on his face. That smile was very much like an ordinary child's curiosity about new things: "Sister Xiaolan, I'm fine. I just think this case is a bit interesting and I can't help but think about it more."

Mao Lilan smiled helplessly and whispered softly: "Naoko-san, she is so kind, God will definitely bless her."

Although she said this, her hands unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes, and her knuckles turned slightly white from the force, revealing her deep-seated uneasiness and anxiety.

In fact, it was not only Conan who was worried about the safety of Takei Naoko, but Ran Mouri's mind was also full of the image of her missing classmate Takei Naoko.

Her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the good times she had spent with Takei Naoko, the smiles they exchanged in class, the playful fights they had during recess, the companionship they had after school...

Memories came flooding back like a tide, and every scene was like a sharp knife, gently cutting through her heart, causing a feeling of sourness and pain.

She prayed silently over and over in her heart, hoping that her classmate could escape safely and return to the warm campus as soon as possible. She also hoped that the truth of this complicated case could be revealed as soon as possible so that everything could return to its original peaceful state.

For a moment, her eyes were filled with anxiety and worry, and her gaze towards the window was wandering, as if she wanted to see the figure of her missing classmate through the thick night.

The car moved slowly forward on the silent street, the wheels making slight noises as they rubbed against the ground, but the atmosphere inside the car was so depressing that it made people feel a little breathless.

Bai Ye keenly noticed the strangeness of his girlfriend Mao Lilan. His eyes were still firmly fixed on the road ahead, and his hands were firmly controlling the steering wheel. At the same time, he stretched out his right hand inconspicuously, gently covered Mao Lilan's hand, and gently held it with a very soothing force. His voice was low and gentle, and he slowly said: "Xiao Lan, don't worry too much. Miss Takei Naoko is blessed by heaven, and she will be fine."

Since he already knew the kidnapper's true identity, his expression was exceptionally calm, and his calmness revealed a certain confidence and composure that came from having everything under control.

That confidence was not groundless blind optimism, but came from his clear grasp of the whole context of the incident.

Bai Ye raised his chin slightly, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, as if to say that everything is under his control. "Besides, this time it's not just us who are working hard. Uncle Maori and Inspector Megure are also here. I believe that the truth will soon come to light, and we will definitely be able to find Miss Naoko safely."

However, even though they knew the identity of the kidnappers, they still had to proceed step by step in order to successfully rescue the hostages and solve the case.

After all, for some reason, he didn't want the kidnappers to fall into the hands of the police.

Thinking of this, he gently stroked Mao Lilan's slender hands, feeling the tenderness and delicacy, while silently analyzing the personality traits, behavior patterns and possible reactions of the 'kidnapper' in his heart, thinking about how to cleverly use the known information to resolve this crisis smoothly at the lowest cost and in the most perfect way, so that everything can be settled.

Feeling the warmth and strength coming from Bai Ye's big hand, as well as the unquestionable determination in his expression, Mao Lilan pursed her pink lips, with a touch of emotion and relief in her beautiful eyes: "Thank you, Bai Ye, it's great to have you around."

As she spoke, she gently held Bai Ye's hand back, as if she wanted to hold on to the warmth tightly and draw more strength.

This scene fell into Conan's eyes sitting in the back seat without reservation. In an instant, a sour taste surged in his heart and quickly spread throughout his body. He curled his lips unconsciously, his face full of jealousy, and muttered softly: "Huh, isn't it just words of comfort? I can say that too!"

Conan clutched the corner of his clothes tightly, his fingertips turning slightly white due to the force, and countless thoughts of ruining their relationship flashed through his mind.

Nicknamed "the Jealous King of East Asia" by his friends, he was now completely jealous, and the strong jealousy almost overwhelmed him.

But Conan's reason finally prevailed in this turbulent emotion.

Because he knew better than anyone that Bai Ye was concentrating on driving the car at the moment. If he acted rashly due to impulse and interfered with the other party's driving, causing the car to lose control and cause irreversible danger, the consequences would be disastrous. Thinking of this, Conan gritted his teeth and secretly calculated in his heart that after getting off the car, he must rely on his outstanding wisdom and extraordinary reasoning ability to be the first to find the key clues, uncover the truth, prove his strength, beat the hateful private detective, and "take" back his childhood sweetheart who he cherished so much.

……

The car slowly drove into a familiar residential area and stopped steadily in front of the Maori Detective Agency.

Everyone got off the car one after another and walked into the house, dragging their slightly tired bodies.

As soon as she entered the house, Mao Lilan went straight to the kitchen. She wanted to prepare a steaming hot meal for everyone to dispel the gloom and fatigue that filled everyone's hearts.

Conan and Bai Ye sat at the table in the living room, spreading out the information they had collected today and studying it carefully again. Sometimes they discussed in a low voice, sometimes they wrote and drew on paper, not missing any possible clues.

Soon, waves of tempting aroma wafted out of the kitchen. It was the aroma of food, wrapped in the unique warmth of home, spreading slowly and entering everyone's nose, quietly easing the originally tense and depressing atmosphere.

However, before everyone had time to immerse themselves in this brief warmth and tranquility, Kogoro Mori rushed in and brought back shocking news like a bombshell.

"Stop the investigation? Dad! Why should we stop the investigation?"

Mao Li Ran widened her eyes, put her hands on her hips, stood behind Mao Li Kogoro who was reading a newspaper, and asked angrily.

Her cheeks flushed slightly with excitement, her eyes flashed with anger and unwillingness, and her voice was full of incomprehensible confusion and anger.

Conan suddenly stood up from his seat, his hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and said loudly: "That's right, how can this be! Miss Takei Naoko is still missing, what should we do if we just give up like this?"

Maori Kogoro slowly put down the newspaper in his hand and sighed heavily, with a hint of fatigue and helplessness in his voice: "How should I know? They decided it on their own, why are you asking me?"

He raised his hand and rubbed his temple. The fatigue on his face became more and more obvious, and he seemed to be troubled by this sudden decision.

Looking up at Maori Kogoro, Bai Ye's slender fingers tapped the tabletop lightly, making a rhythmic sound. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "I don't think things are that simple. There must be something hidden behind this."

As he spoke, he raised his head, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, "Perhaps someone is worried that if we dig deeper, we might touch upon some unspeakable secrets, so they can't wait and don't want us to continue investigating!"

Mao Lilan frowned, her eyes full of anxiety. She paced back and forth, her eyes red with anxiety, and crystal tears rolled in her eyes. "Then are we just going to give up? Naoko might be waiting for us to save her. Every second we delay, she will be in more danger. How can we just sit there and watch her struggle on the brink of life and death and do nothing to save her!"

Maori Kogoro scratched his head irritably, his messy hair becoming even more messy, and he muttered, "But we have no clues now, and the client keeps putting pressure on us. What can we do? Can we go against them?"

As he spoke, Maori Kogoro seemed to have thought of something. He snorted coldly, with a look of disdain on his face: "Humph! Those rich people are all a bunch of stingy people!"

Halfway through his words, Maori Kogoro saw that Bai Ye was sitting on the sofa with Conan face to face, listening to him. A trace of embarrassment flashed across his face, and then he forced a slightly stiff smile and explained: "Oh, of course, Bai Ye, you don't belong to this category. You have always been sensible, unlike those people."

"Don't worry, uncle, I don't mean to blame you."

Bai Ye waved his hand indifferently, with a smile as gentle as the warm sun on his face. Then, he asked Maori Kogoro, "But why did President Takei suddenly stop the investigation? This is really strange."

Maori Kogoro sneered, his tone full of sarcasm: "Hehe, President Takei thinks his daughter is hopeless now, so he is reluctant to spend any more money on this case. I have seen many people like this, they are selfish and will do anything dirty to protect their own interests."

When President Takei is mentioned, he becomes extremely angry.

Because, not only did Bai Ye and others feel unhappy about President Takei's decision, he himself was also filled with anger and had no place to vent it.

When Conan heard this, his eyes widened and he retorted in a childish but firm voice: "No! I believe in Sister Takei Naoko, she must not be dead!"

Hearing this, Maori Kogoro leaned back in his chair and looked at Conan, his face full of suspicion and curiosity: "What did you say? How did you know?"

"Uh! That, that's because!"

Conan was speechless for a moment, stammering, not knowing how to explain, a blush appearing on his face.

Bai Ye raised his eyebrows slightly and stood up slowly, "Because we made a new discovery this afternoon. An old man who was driving a boat not far from the scene said that during the time when the case happened, the bow of his boat was almost knocked off by a speedboat, and the speedboat was speeding away into the distance. We followed the clues given by the old man and found the speedboat, and also found a set of diving equipment for women on it. Based on our discovery this afternoon, Conan and I feel that Takei Naoko should still be alive."

Mao Lilan's eyes lit up and she quickly agreed: "Yes! I also think that Takei Naoko should still be alive!"

"That's it?"

Maori Kogoro snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "You are really children, stop fooling around. Think about it! The car sank to the bottom of the water, and people can still survive? In that situation, how could anyone be alive?"

He crossed his arms, his voice full of arrogance and stubbornness. Obviously, he scoffed at Conan and the others' inference, "Humph, absolutely impossible!"

(End of this chapter)