Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Before, the thought of reporters fabricating rumors that "police officers protecting foreign cultural relics led to the deaths of citizens" made Tsuyoshi Ikenami's scalp tingle.

Now that we have this crucial evidence, we can completely reverse public opinion and prove that this family annihilation tragedy was Shimazu Katsumi's own fault and had nothing to do with the police's security work.

“Minister Ikenami,” Hayashi Hideichi quickly lowered his voice to remind him, “Shimazu Katsu certainly deserved to die, but the Shimazu family’s servants were also killed; they were all innocent.”

"If a reporter had taken a picture or heard your relieved expression just now, it would probably have caused you unnecessary trouble."

Lin Xiuyi's words were like a bucket of cold water, waking Ikenami Tsuyoshi instantly. He coughed dryly, quickly wiping the smile from his face and replacing it with his usual worried and serious expression.
“You’re right, I lost my temper. I’ll go find those reporters right now, explain the accounts to them, and shut them up.”

"Go ahead and wander around here if you want. I've already told all the officers that you can go anywhere without any restrictions."

After saying that, without waiting for Lin Xiuyi's reply, Chi Bogang hurriedly walked towards the villa's main gate, afraid that if he was even a little slow, the group of reporters would spread their unfounded speculations and make it difficult to explain later.

Lin Xiuyi shook her head speechlessly as she watched his hurried departure, then turned and walked into the villa.

The villa's gate was wide open, and the inside was a mess. Furniture was overturned on the ground, and there were faint traces of blood and messy footprints on the ground.

Outside the police cordon not far away, Ikeba Shizuka kept standing on tiptoe to look around. When she saw Lin Xiuyi walk away from the corpse and head towards the villa, the girl quickly followed.

Her face was still somewhat pale, clearly not yet recovered from the horrific scene. As she walked to Lin Xiuyi's side, her voice trembled slightly: "How are you, Xiuyi? Did you find any clues? Uncle Gangsi seemed quite happy earlier?"

“The police have found crucial evidence.” Lin Xiuyi stopped in his tracks. “They found an account book in Shimazu Katsu’s study, which clearly records his hiring of thieves to steal the Terracotta Warriors, as well as records of money transfers to Takahashi.”

"This will prove that Shimazu Katsu was the mastermind behind last night's thieves. If we investigate the bank transfer records afterward, we might be able to find some clues about the thieves."

"Just some clues?" Ikeba Shizuka frowned, somewhat unconvinced. "Uncle Gangsi is very capable; he'll definitely be able to follow the clues and catch the murderers."

“It’s not a question of how skilled he is.” Lin Xiuyi sighed. “A thief gang that specializes in illegal business like this would definitely prepare a carefully crafted account for receiving money. Nine times out of ten, it would be located overseas and would go through multiple transfers to cover up the traces.”

"After all, Minister Ikenami is only the head of the Osaka Criminal Investigation Department. His authority is limited to Osaka. Once foreign bank accounts and influence are involved, it will be difficult for him to investigate."

"This requires cooperation with Interpol or foreign police forces, and the process is complicated and extremely difficult."

"That's true..."

Upon hearing this, Ikeba Shizuka's face showed disappointment.

She also understands how difficult it is to investigate cases that cross international borders.

The two walked into the villa side by side. As they walked, Lin Xiuyi looked around, hoping to find some clues left by the thieves that the police had overlooked.

Ikeba Shizuka was clearly somewhat frightened.

The thought of more than twenty people being brutally murdered in this very villa last night sent chills down her spine, and she instinctively clung tightly to Lin Xiuyi, almost pressing herself against him.

The villa was quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps and the voices of police officers talking outside the window.

The air was filled with a faint smell of blood and dust, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Ikeba Shizuka's heart pounded faster and faster, and her palms were covered in a fine layer of cold sweat. "You..."

Lin Xiuyi noticed the girl beside him acting strangely, and seeing that she was almost shrinking behind him, he couldn't help but find it a little amusing.

"You're not afraid of ghosts, are you?"

"I'm not afraid of ghosts!"

Chibo Jinghua tried to remain calm and retort forcefully, but her voice trembled slightly, clearly indicating a lack of confidence.

Seeing her hypocritical act, Lin Xiu found it even more amusing, so she simply stopped laughing, put on a terrified expression, and stared intently at the girl's back.
"Shimazu Katsu, weren't you already dead? How come you're standing... standing behind Shizuka?"

"what!"

Before Lin Xiu could finish speaking, Chi Bo Jinghua screamed in fright.

She didn't even dare to look back. Instinctively, she reached out, grabbed Lin Xiuyi's arm tightly, and pulled him away.

Lin Xiuyi stumbled as the girl pulled him, and before he could even explain, he could only let Chi Bojinghua drag him along, stumbling and running out of the villa.

It wasn't until she ran out of the villa and felt the warmth of the blazing sun that Ikeba Shizuka gradually regained her composure.

She stopped, panting heavily, her chest heaving, the fear on her face not yet completely gone.

Lin Xiuyi couldn't help but laugh when he saw her still-shaken expression.

"That's strange. Why are all you seemingly strong girls afraid of ghosts? Eri is just like you..."

"Hmph, I'm not afraid of ghosts!"

Ikeba Shizuka was still stubbornly denying it. She tidied her messy hair, trying to appear calmer.
"I was just startled by what you said, I'm not really afraid of ghosts."

"Ask them about this and see if they believe it," Lin Xiuyi said with a smile, pointing to the courtyard in front of them.

Chibo Jinghua looked up in the direction he was pointing, and her cheeks immediately turned bright red. She wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

The dozen or so police officers in the courtyard had all stopped what they were doing and were looking at them with surprise. Clearly, they had all seen Ike Shizuka's screams and panicked state.

Several young police officers couldn't help but lower their heads and chuckle secretly, but fearing that Ikeba Shizuka would notice, they quickly pretended to tidy up the items at the scene.

Ikeba Shizuka's face turned red from her ears to her neck, and she wished she could escape from there immediately.

She glared at Lin Xiuyi, her tone a mix of coquettishness and anger: "It's all your fault! You scared me on purpose!"

Looking at her flushed cheeks and her angry expression, Lin Xiuyi laughed even harder: "Who told you to be so hypocritical? You were clearly scared to death, but you insisted that you weren't afraid."

"I didn't!" Ikeba Shizuka stomped her foot, turned around to walk aside to avoid everyone's gaze, but accidentally bumped into a police officer behind her... (End of Chapter)