Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Hmm." Ikeba Shizuka nodded, and looking at Lin Xiuyi's determined eyes, her dissatisfaction and irritation gradually dissipated.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, turned around and walked to the driver's seat, opened the car door: "Let's go, Eri and the others are still waiting for our news at the mansion, they're probably getting anxious."

After saying that, Ikeba Shizuka was about to get into the car and start it.

Just then, a screeching sound of brakes rang out, and a black SUV sped over like an arrow, screeching to a stop in the open space in front of the villa.

The car door opened, and Hattori Heizo was the first to step out. His face was terribly gloomy, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes were full of urgency and seriousness.

Following closely behind, members of the Kyoto University Mystery Club, including Kawada Haeko, Ono Kayoko, and Yoshida Aoi, also got off the bus, each with an anxious expression on their face.

They saw the news about the massacre of the Shimazu family early in the morning, and Hattori Heizo wanted to get to the scene as soon as possible to investigate the clues, so he immediately drove over with his friends.

Unfortunately, it was too late; the villa had already been sealed off by the police.

"Why is it locked down now?"

Kawada Yuko strode to the police tape, looked at the officers blocking the gate, and grumbled with a frustrated expression.
"Has the police already found out who the murderer is? Why did they close the investigation so quickly? We wanted to go inside and look for clues!"

She has an impatient nature and a strong curiosity about suspenseful cases. Now that she can't even get into the scene, she is naturally very unhappy.

Hattori Heizo didn't speak, but kept a somber expression, his gaze fixed on the sealed villa gate, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

Just then, a familiar shout came from not far away.

Hattori Heizo subconsciously turned his head to look, only to see Hayashi Shuichi sitting in Ikenami Shizuka's car, leaning out and waving at him.
"Come on, come with me to Chibo's house. Once we get there, I'll explain the situation here to you in detail."

After saying that, without waiting for Hattori Heizo's response, Hayashi Hideichi withdrew his head and told Ikenami Shizuka to drive.

Watching Lin Xiuyi drive away, Kawada Yuko stomped her foot angrily and yelled in the direction the car had gone.
"This guy is going too far! Couldn't he just explain things here? Why make us come all this way? He's deliberately making things difficult for us!"

She was already frustrated because she couldn't get into the venue, and now that Lin Xiuyi was "deliberately" making things difficult for her, her anger flared up even more.

"Yuko, don't be angry." Ono Yoshiko gently patted her shoulder. "He probably didn't want to repeat himself twice, so he asked us to go to the Ikenami residence. Besides, the Ikenami residence is quieter than here, making it more suitable for discussing the case."

"Alright, stop complaining, get in the car." Hattori Heizo withdrew his gaze. He could see that Lin Xiuyi's expression was somewhat solemn, which meant that things were probably not simple.

After everyone got into the car, Hattori Heizo immediately drove up to Ikenami Shizuka's car and followed closely behind.

Two cars, one in front of the other, drove on the streets of Osaka.

The streets were quiet in the early morning, with few vehicles. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the pavement.

Ikeba Shizuka's car drove smoothly. The car was quiet. Lin Xiuyi leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and kept thinking about Kuroba Toichi's words.

Chibo Jinghua would occasionally turn her head to glance at Lin Xiuyi, who was deep in thought with his eyes closed.

She could tell that Lin Xiuyi was preoccupied and knew he was troubled by the case, but she didn't know how to comfort him. She could only silently grip the steering wheel, concentrate on driving, and try to make the car run as smoothly as possible.

About half an hour later, the two cars arrived at Ikenami Shizuka's residence one after the other. The living room was quickly filled with people.

Lin Xiuyi stood in the center of the living room, facing everyone, and began to recount the discoveries he had made at the Shimazu Katsu villa that day.

He made no mention of the appearance of Kuroba Toichi, nor of the Zoo Organization or the secret of immortality.

That information is too sensitive to be disclosed in front of so many people.

He only recounted what the police had discovered: the ledger, Shimazu Katsu's crimes, Mr. Takahashi's informant status, and the police's preliminary conclusions.

A brief silence fell over the living room.

Yukiko was the first to break the silence, angrily waving her fist: "I felt sorry for Shimazu Katsu this morning! I thought he was an innocent victim, but it turns out he's the culprit! He deserves it!"

She was very emotional and was clearly shocked by the reversal.

Eri Kisaki frowned slightly: "Even if Shimazu Katsu is guilty and deserves to die, it doesn't mean that everyone else in the villa is the same as him."

“Those servants, gardeners, cooks… they were all innocent. They were just working there to support their families, yet they paid the ultimate price for their employer’s crimes.”

These words made the atmosphere in the living room even heavier.

Indeed, no matter what Shimazu Katsu did, the deaths of those innocent people were an irreversible tragedy.

After sighing, Tomizawa Chikage suddenly remembered something and quickly nudged Hayashi Hideichi with her elbow, lowering her voice: "Shimazu Katsu's villa... is there really nothing valuable inside? Could there be something left over? Like something hidden in a secret room, or..."

Before Lin Xiuyi could speak, Chi Bojinghua, who had immediately become alert upon hearing the girl's question, quickly said:
"It's gone! Shuichi and I went around the villa, and all the valuable jewelry and antiques have been taken by the thieves. In addition, the villa has now been sealed off by the police, and no one can enter."

After saying that, she glared at Tomizawa Chikage, clearly warning the phantom thief lady not to set her sights on Shimazu Katsu's villa.

"If you don't have it, you don't have it," Tomizawa Chikage pouted, somewhat disappointed, but didn't insist.

Yoshida Aoi ignored these details and instead frowned as she looked at Lin Xiuyi.

"Has the police confirmed that the ledger was written by Katsumi Shimazu? What if it was a forgery by a thief, deliberately placed there to mislead the police?"

Hattori Heizo chimed in, "It's easy to determine if the ledgers are forged. Just check with the bank to see if Shimazu Katsuya has transferred out 1 billion yen."

“One billion yen is not a small amount, and bank transfer records cannot be forged.”

"If Shimazu Katsu did indeed transfer out 1 billion yen on August 1, then the authenticity of the ledger can be basically confirmed."

“Even if it’s a forgery, the police will say it’s real,” Lin Xiuyi said nonchalantly. “For the police, the most important thing is to calm things down.”

"To quell the situation?" Kawada Yuko curled her lip. "Such a big case, it can't just be suppressed like this, can it?"

“Not necessarily,” Lin Xiuyi smiled. “The police will definitely continue their investigation privately. After all, the other party’s behavior was blatant provocation. I don’t believe the Osaka police can swallow this insult…” (End of Chapter)