Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 582 Power Outage and Chance Encounter

Kengo Akechi, 23 years old, is the youngest inspector in the Metropolitan Police Department.

(In the original story, he was 28 years old, but back then, 28 was the youngest police superintendent; now he's a bit too old.)
Clearly, Kengo Akechi doesn't think much of detectives, and even less of "police officers who need detectives' help." Furthermore...

He also harbored a hidden jealousy towards Shiraishi, hence his sarcastic remarks.

Seeing this, Director Hiruda quickly changed the subject: "Alright, now that everyone's here, we'll head to the mountains of Gunma Prefecture... the location of the post-credits scene case, for promotional activities."

"Huh? I don't see the Mizunashi streamer." Shiraishi looked around in confusion.

“The announcer, Mizunashi, went straight to the recording location. Let’s head over too,” Hiruda said.

Afterwards, everyone split into two multi-seater vans and departed from Nichiri TV station, heading towards Gunma...

Director Hiruda and the Shiraishi and Mori families were in one car. On the way, Shiraishi asked curiously, "You haven't said what kind of program it is... Can you reveal it now?"

"It's basically a virtual detective game. Once we get there, we'll split into two groups for a detective competition. Inspector Shiraishi, just do your best as usual," Hiruda said calmly.

The actors in the production crew already knew this rule.

"Virtual investigation? Two teams?" Shiraishi asked with some interest.

Conan, standing to the side, was already quite excited—usually when compared to real cases, Shiraishi Kurohi was always unwilling to conduct on-site investigations and refused to participate in the competition, but this time was perfect...

"Well, there are two groups. One group consists of two real police officers and a detective, plus the second female lead, Ms. Yoko Okino. The other group consists of the detectives from the drama, Ms. Kano and Mr. Daimon... Of course, to be fair, Inspector Akechi will also assist them." Hiruda explained the basic rules.

Conan: ...

Conan immediately lost interest.

So Shiraishi Kuro is in cahoots too?
What's the point then...?

Leaving aside the two actors, as for Akechi, he's just a "rumor" with no real achievements, so Conan wouldn't even consider him.

"Don't worry, Yoko! Leave everything to me. With me, the great detective, here, our team is sure to win! Hahaha!" Mori laughed so hard his tongue almost stuck out.

Shiraishi chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, I haven't been on the front lines for a long time either. As for the specifics of the investigation, we'll have to rely on Detective Mori."

Conan: ...

Are you trying to slack off?

Conan pursed his lips, but Mori was in high spirits.

……

Before lunch, the production crew's vehicle arrived at a villa that had been rented in advance deep in the mountains of Gunma.

Bai Shi discovered this on the way...

This place is truly remote; calling it a "deep in the mountains and forests" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Because Rena Mizunashi, along with the sound team, camera crew, and stagehands, had arrived early, lunch was already prepared. After Shiraishi and the others arrived, they ate lunch directly.

Even so, Rie Ghana was still complaining about why dinner was so late...

After greeting his "old acquaintance" Rena Mizunashi, Shiraishi also met the other two members of the production team: sound engineer Yoichi Takada and cameraman Michio Akashi. Takada looked tall and thin, while Akashi was more stocky.

During lunch, Hiruda specifically brought up the upcoming filming arrangements...

For Shiraishi, Mori, and the three actors, all they really need to do is "improvise"!

As the host, Rena Mizunashi already knew the "topic," since she would be in charge of "guiding the pace of the program" from then on.

The program started in the evening, and lunch was also very late. During the free time after lunch, Director Hiruda gave everyone a script—the script for this "virtual case".

Bai Shi quickly read through the text and understood why they had come to the mountains...

In short, they're just using the legend of "wild men in the mountains" to create a sense of dread.

The background isn't based on the characters or plot of the show, but rather on the assumption that a murder occurs midway through a promotional program, and everyone is still playing themselves.

The specifics are not yet written in the script.

"This is really troublesome... We can't really let the second female lead win, can we? Director, let's just write up the reactions and have everyone act it out casually." Ghana said in a very "reality show" style.

“Miss Kano! Don’t say such willful things…” Hiruda said, a little more sternly.

"Tch..." Ghana looked annoyed.

At this moment, Mingzhi said from the side, "Don't worry, Miss Ghana, just perform normally."

It's as if it's saying: I'm sure I can solve the case before the "other side"!

"But the sky outside looks a bit gloomy," Xiaolan said, changing the subject.

The weather in the mountains really does change in an instant.

"It's alright, there are no cameras outside tonight, we can just film some scenes inside the villa that's been set up," Hiruda said without any concern.

Just then, unsurprisingly, an accident occurred...

A loud crack of thunder was heard, and then the villa... lost power.

Fortunately, it wasn't too dark around, and everyone remained calm. However, Hiruda immediately asked, "Quick, see what's going on... Did we bring a backup power source?"

The production assistant immediately went to the power distribution room and returned, saying, "Director, it seems there's a problem with the power distribution room. We probably won't be able to handle it without professional repairs... The backup power we brought is enough for filming, but we also need to set up lighting and such, so it might not be enough."

The "backup power" they brought was not a diesel generator, but a large battery pack, which was originally intended for use when filming in the wild!
"Then report it for repair quickly!" Hiruda said hurriedly.

but……

"Director, the maintenance team said they can't come tonight because of the rain; they'll have to come tomorrow morning." The production assistant quickly made the contact.

Hiruda was also helpless at this point...

“There’s no other way, so let’s stay there tonight… We’ll have electricity here tomorrow morning, then we can simulate night scenes for filming.” Hiruda said, pointing out the window.

Although it's not visible yet due to the mountains and forests, there's a villa over there that the production team rented.

"Huh? This is so troublesome? You guys go ahead, I'll just sleep here." Ghana said with a sound of disdain. "Alright, you won't be able to shower here later." Daimon advised from the side.

Ghana glared at him and said, "Oh, then you'll pick me up tonight... I'm tired now!"

As Ghana spoke, he went upstairs on his own.

The others had no choice but to leave her there. Hiruda instructed her, "This place has been set up for the program, so don't touch anything."

"Okay, okay, stop nagging..." Ghana muttered under his breath.

Hiruda also showed an angry expression at this moment, but after turning around, he had already composed himself...

This villa is located on a mountaintop. The villa complex on the other side is only about one kilometer away as the crow flies, but it takes a long detour by car. The main reason is that the two are separated by a mountain stream, which is very narrow but 20 to 30 meters deep, with a stream flowing below.

Even taking the nearest bridge that is open to traffic takes about 20 minutes by car.

The rain came quickly and went even faster, stopping before it even reached its destination.

The production team also rented a villa in the villa complex—the one used for the show was never big enough for everyone. Originally, only three actors, the director, Shiraishi, and Mori were scheduled to stay there.

Compared to that more atmospheric, antique-style villa, the villas here are decorated much more normally; they're just vacation villas.

Everyone is living here now, it's just a little cramped, some staff members have to sleep on the floor in the living room.

Hiruda originally wanted to contact a real estate agent to rent out another vacant villa, but unfortunately...

When they arrived, the lights in the "empty villa" were already on, indicating that there were guests.

"Oh my God, this is truly... a meeting brought together by fate from afar!"

At that moment, Shiraishi heard a somewhat familiar, translated Japanese accent...

It turned out to be "Teacher Judy," who was greeting Rena Mizunashi.

Shiraishi didn't know if the two of them knew each other's identities yet... most likely not!

However, in Judy's eyes, Rena Mizunashi is still "highly suspected of being part of the Raven Legion." As for Rena Mizunashi... she probably also has doubts about Judy's identity. In fact, unlike Judy, Rena Mizunashi may have guessed that Judy's true identity is an FBI agent.

After all, Judy is American, and Rena Mizunashi herself is a CIA agent, so Judy's identity is not hard to guess.

Shiraishi's first reaction was to look at Akechi, but he didn't seem to be acting strangely...

Well, that's normal.

Although Akechi was studying at the FBI, it's unlikely he would know members of the highly secretive investigation team specifically responsible for the Raven Legion.

“Oh, it’s Ms. Judy… What a coincidence, Ms. Judy, are you… on vacation with your boyfriend?” Shiraishi said, looking at a window of the villa.

From an angle unseen by others, Shuichi Akai was leaning against the window in the room...

Shuichi Akai was originally by the window, observing the people approaching outside, when he was immediately spotted by Shiraishi. Even though Akai immediately tried to dodge, it seems he was still discovered!
James, who was also in the villa, shook his head at him, and then the two of them came out...

James and Shuichi Akai have just arrived in the Eastern Island Nation—because Jodie has basically confirmed that Vermouth is in the Eastern Capital, so the FBI is stepping up its operations.

In Tokyo, the two of them wouldn't have direct contact with Judy. The three of them came to this remote mountain area of ​​Gunma to make a rendezvous, but who knew... they would run into so many people!
“That’s right… um, it’s my elder who’s also traveling to the East Island. This friend from the East Island hosted him, hehehe…” Judy originally wanted to admit directly that he was her boyfriend, but she gave up halfway through.

Although the two were once lovers, Akai harbored resentment towards the organization after infiltrating it, and they never reconciled even after his infiltration ended.

James and Shuichi Akai came out...

Judging by appearances alone, she fits Judy's description perfectly, except...

The friend from the eastern island nation who was in charge of receiving us seemed a bit too aloof!
Moreover, judging from the color of his pupils, he probably has some foreign ancestry, but overall he definitely looks like someone from the East Island.

Shiraishi recognized that the young man in front of him should be Shuichi Akai—not because of the anime, since real people are hard to match with anime characters, but mainly because Shiraishi recognized that he and Hideyoshi Haneda should be related.

Although their temperaments are completely different, Shiraishi can still tell that he is very similar to Haneda Hideyoshi!
"Hmm? This is..." Shiraishi couldn't reveal his identity directly, but he deliberately looked at Akai Shuichi with suspicion.

“My name is Shuichi Akai… Is there a problem?” Akai gave his real name.

It seems that he will be operating under his real name in the Eastern Island Country from now on.

"Are you from Tokyo, Mr. Akai? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before..." Shiraishi looked at Akai with feigned confusion.

Not only Shiraishi, but also Ran looked puzzled – she also felt that this person looked familiar!
Ran wouldn't normally make a fuss, but since Shiraishi brought it up first, she chimed in, "Eh? Officer Shiraishi thinks so too? I feel like I was there too..."

Conan looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression—it was already strange that Shiraishi could "not remember" so well, given his memory, and when would Ran meet this person?
Shuichi Akai also had the robust physique that Shiraishi had at the age of eight...

Conan felt that if he had ever met someone like that, he would have some impression of them!
“You must be mistaken. I just recently returned from the United States,” Akai said coldly.

That's true...

Although Akai had been to Tokyo before, that was several years ago when he was infiltrating the "Crow Legion". If he had been seen then, he couldn't be exposed now!
But at least Akai remembers...

I shouldn't have ever seen Shiraishi Kuro!

Ran is just a high school girl, so Akai might not have a deep impression of her. But if it were Shiraishi, Akai would definitely treat him with extra caution once he met him.

This made Mori, who was standing to the side, even a little suspicious—could this kid be a fugitive who was recognized by Shiraishi because of his portrait?

Shiraishi then suddenly said, "Ah! I know... I'm sorry, you look too much like Taiko Meijin. We used to be neighbors, I'm afraid I've mistaken you for someone else."

"Eh...that's true!" Xiaolan realized at this moment.

But Xiaolan still felt something was off...

After all, she wasn't that familiar with the Taiko Meijin, and she rarely watched Go matches. She only knew of the Taiko Meijin. It was only after Shiraishi reminded her that she realized the person in front of her did indeed look very much like the Taiko Meijin. How could someone with such a level of knowledge make her feel that the other person looked familiar?
"Alright, let's not disturb Inspector Shiraishi while he's greeting some acquaintances. We'll go and rest now," Akechi said arrogantly.

Mori watched his retreating figure, then curled his lip and said, "So what if he left some rice... what's with the attitude..."

“Haha, that’s just how the FBI is…” Shiraishi chuckled, then specifically said to Judy and James, “Oh, I was just complaining about the FBI, it has nothing to do with you two American friends.”

Judy, James, Akai: ...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dongdong: Today is November 3rd. On this day in 1911, the Shanghai revolutionaries won their uprising. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)