Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 187 The will to die is strong
Xia Chuan did not answer immediately.

Instead, he first cleared away the dishes and wiped the table dry before gesturing for Kaito to sit on the sofa.

"Are you talking about the announcement from Kaito Kid?" Natsukawa asked knowingly. "But what does this have to do with you, Kuroba Kaito? This is a notice from Kaito Kid, how would I know what it's about?"

Kaito's expression darkened slightly, and a black line appeared on his forehead.

￣□￣｜｜

This Xia Chuan, at a time like this, is still doing these useless things with me.

So what if I was a little stubborn? Why hold a grudge? I've already made my identity public by coming to see him today.

"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Xia Chuan waved his hand and poured the other person a cup of tea before saying, "You don't need to worry about this matter. If you're worried about your reputation being affected by identity theft, you can also take action tonight."

Tokyo is so big, there are plenty of people who own large gemstones. Just find some unlucky guy, send him a notice, and then report it extensively to inform the media and fans.

"Given how well Inspector Nakamori knows you, he'll definitely be able to identify the real Kid. That way, you'll not only protect your reputation but also avoid any contact with the brewery."

Kaito had considered Natsukawa's suggestion and had even had Terai Kinosuke stand by near the target area. After they finished talking, he would confirm whether to issue a notice.

Asking the winery about impersonating him and releasing a teaser today was just an excuse; the real purpose was to find out Xia Chuan's identity and why he was certain his father was missing, not dead.

Also, what's the deal with this zoo organization?

Last night was too urgent for him to find out the details. He specifically took the day off today to come here for these matters.

"Mr. Natsukawa, who exactly are you?" Kaito pondered for a long time before finally asking the question.

“I didn’t tell you everything, but you…” Xia Chuan suddenly said dejectedly, “I told you both my identities as a special investigator for the National Taxation Bureau and an undercover agent at the winery. You know everything about me. My daughter and girlfriend don’t even know these things.”

Kaito curled his lip in disdain.

Xia Chuan is definitely not someone with just these two identities, and his style of doing things is nothing like that of an investigator.

He must be hiding other identities as well.

Adhering to the principle of "I won't tell you unless you tell me; and even if you do tell me, I'll still deny it," Kaito shook his head and said, "I'm really not some kind of Phantom Thief Kid."

"Then how did you know about my conversation with Kidd last night?"

"I have my own channels," Kaito said, spouting nonsense with a straight face, without the slightest embarrassment.

It's your business if you know who I am, but I just won't admit it. What can you do about it?
The two stared at each other for a long time until the clock struck the hour, and the clear chime made them look away.

Great, you're all clever little devils.

"You think my dad isn't dead, but just missing?"

"Of course, who is your dad? He's an internationally renowned magician, the infamous Phantom Thief Kid, who's on the wanted lists of various countries."

You'd think someone like that would die easily.

Magicians don't easily perform magic tricks they can't do, especially escape magic tricks with a very high risk factor.

Of course, Harui Fuden is an exception.

Harui Kaze believed he was still vigorous despite his age, but in the end, he drowned like a water buffalo.

Kaito nodded, agreeing with Natsukawa's statement.

My dad's skills are undeniable, and before that escape magic trick, I had seen my dad conduct many experiments and take corresponding precautions against accidents.

In that situation, my dad definitely had at least three ways to escape.

Previously, I was blinded by my own limited perspective and thought that the zoo had done something wrong.

Looking back now, given my dad's caution and intelligence, he must have known beforehand.

Rather than saying my father died unexpectedly, it's more accurate to say that he moved from the public eye to the shadows to avoid the zoo's scrutiny.

Kaito suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if he had just realized something.

"That figure on the tower crane that day, speaking of which..."

A light appeared in Kaito's eyes.

"Alright, you should already know about your dad's situation. As for the zoo..."

Xia Chuan waved his hand: "I don't know much about the situation at the zoo either. You should already know their purpose in stealing the gems. Although it's a bit outrageous, it's exactly as they said."

It's not that absurd, he's already seen witches, Kaito's tolerance is already quite high.

Magicians exist, so it's reasonable for them to have some kind of secret method for achieving immortality. He's not some pseudo-scientific world-building detective.

"It's alright, it's not too outrageous, Koizumi."

Kaito was about to say that Koizumi Akako, the magician, was even more outrageous, but then he remembered that Natsukawa was just an ordinary person, and telling him that magicians existed would probably be unacceptable to most people.

“Koizumi Akako, I know her. I even met her at Yamane-dera Temple before.” Natsukawa’s expression suddenly became a bit gossipy.

"Speaking of which, Nakamori Aoko or Koizumi Akako, which one do you like better, the green or red chili pepper?"

"Hehehe, don't joke around. Koizumi Akako is not likable at all."

"Oh, so you prefer childhood sweethearts?"

"Of course not!" Kaito slammed his hand on the table and stood up, then realized he had lost his composure and sat back down awkwardly. "How could I possibly like such an idiot?"

"Oh, so you've been stringing her along because her dad is Inspector Nakamori of the Metropolitan Police Department, a police officer who specializes in targeting Kaito Kid. You deceived Nakamori Aoko's feelings to obtain information; how is that any different from being a con artist?"

Kaito's eyes were somewhat evasive, and what he said made sense.

However, he didn't do it on purpose.

It's always Aoko who invites him, okay?

As a boy, I should never easily refuse a girl, especially since Qingzi is his childhood sweetheart (pfft).

However, Inspector Nakamori himself is not very discreet and often casually reveals some of the police's plans for Phantom Thief Kid.

Natsukawa clearly saw through Kaito's plan, and immediately saw through it: "Didn't you try to get into the scene with the help of the other party, or pretend to be the other party to check the terrain?"

Ah this
Kaito's eyes darted away; whether he was right or wrong was another matter, but he didn't want to talk about it right now.

"By the way, the person you disguised yourself as that day, was he from the distillery?"

"Hmm?" Xia Chuan frowned.

Kaito looked a little awkward, and after a long while he finally asked, "I feel like the guy you disguised himself as looks a bit like someone."

"Who?" Natsukawa sat up straight, his ears perked up, waiting for Kaito to explain.

When it came to the identity of tequila, I couldn't help but take it seriously.

"It's that Snake from the Brilliant Flower incident, the one who impersonated a police officer. His name translates to—Snake!"

"he?"

Xia Chuan was taken aback. He did know this guy; every time he appeared, he was tormented by Kaito. However, this guy was also tough; he even survived a high-speed collision with a wall while the train was passing through a tunnel.

It would be better to call it a cockroach—the unkillable cockroach—than a snooker stick.

Noticing Natsukawa's confusion, Kaito asked curiously, "You know about the zoo, but you don't know about him?"
This guy looks somewhat similar to the tequila you disguised yourself as, and both of their code names contain the word 'snake.' Does that mean something?"

Xia Chuan leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and pondered for a while but still couldn't figure out the relationship between the two.

He had never seen Snake before. Did the other person look a lot like Tequila?
He was the one during the last Brilliant Flower event, but he was wearing a disguise mask at the time, so his face couldn't be seen.

Considering the art styles of Magic Kaito and Detective Conan, the two do indeed share some similarities. However, the codenames "Snake" and "Tequila" are likely just coincidences; zoos use snakes, and distilleries use tequila names—there's nothing wrong with that.

Think about it again, Kaito is similar to Kudo, and Aoko is similar to Ran.

So, the reason why Snake and Tequila look alike is probably because Aoyama was lazy and just copied the art style, right?

Xia Chuan couldn't give an answer, but he did take it to heart.

Since the two are so similar, they might be related.

In the original storyline, Tequila appeared and then died, with no information about the other party whatsoever.

Kaito left disappointed after failing to find an answer from Natsukawa.

He was a little disappointed. He thought Xia Chuan knew something about Snake and was hoping to find out something from him.

However, at least he learned one thing.

My own father—is not dead!
He had a guess as to why his father was hiding behind the scenes; it must be related to the zoo.

Watching Kaito leave, Natsukawa sat on the floor in the entryway and looked at Bond, saying, "Such a big person sneaking in like this, and you didn't even react?"
"You don't bark, you don't even bark, you even wag your tail! Who owns your dog anyway?"

Xia Chuan rubbed the dog's head indignantly. What a waste of such a big size; it didn't have any of the imposing presence of a Great Pyrenees.

At least Tyrion barks when he sees people, but Bond only wags his tail. He's never seen anyone bark at a person.

"Wang?"

Bond tilted his head, blinked a few times, then went back to sleeping with his head down, no longer wagging his tail.

Xia Chuan frowned, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he slammed the door and left.

When he arrived at Baijiu Pharmaceutical, he saw vodka in the conference room.

This guy is currently discussing with Cohen and Chianti suitable sniping positions at the transaction location.

"Tequila, you've arrived."

Cohen and Chianti both greeted Xia Chuan.

There was nothing they could do; over the past two days, the two had realized that tequila had risen in value and its status was no longer what it used to be.

People should look at each other with new eyes after three days of separation. Now, tequila is a confidant of gin that they can no longer reach, and its status is equal to that of vodka.

Neither of them were stupid. Compared to Vodka, who only knew how to drive, Tequila, who knew how to use her brain, came later but surpassed him and was valued by Gin more.

The fact that the main person in charge of this operation was Tequila is a clue.

"Ah."

Xia Chuan nodded, looking aloof.

His nearly two-meter height gave the three of them a sense of oppression.

Vodka coughed lightly, feeling his status challenged and instantly displeased.

If the other person is late for the agreed time, it's clear they don't respect you.

The friendship they shared over drinks has vanished, and now they are both begging for a living under the same roof as Gin, and are rivals.

"Tequila, you've come at the right time. How's the sniper setup at the transaction location?"

The location was chosen by Natsukawa and Gin last night, on the rooftop of an abandoned building in the suburbs.

With a wide field of vision and other abandoned buildings awaiting demolition nearby, the three selected the rooftops of two buildings higher than the transaction location as sniping positions.

Vodka, convinced of his own reasonable plan, gave Xia Chuan a provocative smile.

Xia Chuan glanced at the markings on the map and the photos of the buildings.

The three abandoned buildings are close to each other. The selected trading building has a total of 35 floors, and there are two other buildings with 41 and 44 floors respectively, which are suitable as sniping positions.

However, sniping from the rooftop is too open.

If Jirokichi Suzuki were to arrive by helicopter, he would have a complete view of the area.

"Don't choose the rooftop; just pick a floor above the top of the trading building. That way, you can easily find a window to hide from."

The building where the transaction took place has been abandoned for a long time and has no elevator. Do you think Jirokichi Suzuki, an old man in his fifties or sixties, could climb up there?
If the other side chooses to arrive at the scene by helicopter, wouldn't you all be discovered?

While deploying snipers is only to prevent any mishaps, they can't be discovered by the enemy from the very beginning.

The three of them were taken aback; they hadn't considered that.

Thirty-five flights of stairs—someone like Jirokichi Suzuki definitely couldn't endure that kind of hardship; he might actually take a helicopter to get there.

Positioning snipers inside the building makes them less likely to be detected and also provides more time for evacuation.

Cohen nodded admiringly and said, "As expected of Tequila, it has to be you. No wonder Gin made you the person in charge of this operation."

Ha ha
Xia Chuan rolled his eyes. This opportunist could praise someone so naturally. He had thought the other person was a cold-blooded killer, but now it seemed he was just so-so.

This guy mocked him a lot when he clashed with the FBI last time, but today he's actually sucking up to them.

However, although kind words may be cloying, everyone loves to hear them, so Xia Chuan naturally wouldn't mock the other party at this moment, and nodded to continue:

"The sniper scopes we use must be anti-reflective; we'll attach an anti-reflective film to the scope. A decrease in accuracy is acceptable, but we must ensure we won't be detected. If a major problem arises, we can switch to a normal sniper scope then."

"Understood." ×2
Seeing that the two snipers were won over by Tequila's arrangement in just a few minutes, Vodka swallowed his displeasure.

"Brother, are you going tonight?" Xia Chuan asked Vodka.

Hearing the other person call him "big brother" like he did, Vodka pouted uncomfortably.

What a sycophantic tequila! I can't believe I never noticed it before!
"Go, he'll be nearby to meet us."

That's good!
Xia Chuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He originally thought he could find out when Shirley would run away by just checking the weather forecast, but when Frank checked, it turned out that it would rain every night for the next few days.
This is outrageous! He suspects that the will of Conan is targeting him! This has made him completely confused about when Sherry would turn into Ai Haibara.

Difficult to handle.

The thought of having to find excuses every day to get Gin to leave Shirakyu Pharmaceuticals gave Natsukawa a headache.

This is far too difficult.

But there's no other way; we have to find a solution no matter how difficult it is.

After discussing the specific plan with the three of them, Xia Chuan went directly to the storeroom.

Soon, he saw Sherry, her face streaked with tears and her eyes lifeless.

Sherry, with shackles on her hands, sat weakly on the ground, leaning against the shelf like a lamb to the slaughter.

She didn't even look up when she heard the door open; her eyes were lifeless, as if she was determined to die.

Xia Chuan glanced around the house to make sure there were no surveillance cameras before he felt at ease.

"I didn't sleep all night, and my eyes are all dark."

He sat down in front of Shirley, glanced at his left hand which was sluggish from being suspended for so long, and shook his head, saying, "Your sister probably wouldn't want to see you like this. Isn't it better to be alive? Why do you have to try to kill yourself?"

Sherry made no move, her hoarse humming seemed to mock Natsukawa for meddling.

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(End of this chapter)