Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 520 The Spider Web is Complete, Awaiting the Moths

At Poirot Cafe, Natsukawa places Judith Starling's information in front of Conan.

Since Judith Starling was going to be a student at Teitan High School, it was relatively easy to investigate her background.

However, this information is unlikely to be of much help to Conan; it's all just obvious stuff.

If Conan suspects Jodie is an FBI mole, he might be able to figure something out.

But the key point is that he now suspects the other party is an undercover police officer.

The information in this document, along with some visits and investigations in the United States, all prove that Judy is indeed a native American, not the kind of mixed-race person with European and American features that Conan previously thought she was.

"How is this possible, Brother Xia Chuan? Are you sure there are no problems with these visits and investigations?"

Conan flipped through the investigation materials again and again, and as time went by, his heart sank to the bottom.

Personal information is useless; the police can definitely produce excellent data. But as for the later investigation reports, Xia Chuan said he personally hired people to conduct them, so there are definitely no problems.

"Of course, I have many friends in the United States, so investigating an ordinary person is definitely not a problem. If he is an undercover police officer, the investigation will definitely uncover something. After all, this is in the United States, and the police cannot make their files so comprehensive."

Conan fell silent. Could it be that Judy's face was actually fake, and that the real Judy Starling had been requisitioned by the Public Security Bureau after arriving in Japan?

"Do you think it's possible that Ms. Jodie, like Phantom Thief Kid, wears a human skin mask? I've heard there's a thousand-faced witch in the Black Organization, so it's not surprising that there are masters of disguise in the Public Security Bureau, right?"

What you're saying could actually be true!

Xia Chuan exclaimed that Conan was incredibly clever, and then took out his thumb and placed it on Conan's glasses.

“I’m not kidding. That Judy doesn’t act like a teacher at all. You should have seen her throw the bomb in the car earlier. That was a very standard evasive maneuver.”

"Oh, so if that's the case, the man with the cold did almost the same thing as him, and the two of them even hugged each other afterwards. Does that mean they're accomplices?"

Conan shook his head.

He's sure the guy with the cold has a problem, but it's definitely not the same as what happened to Ms. Judy.

If they were the same, they could have gone through the Metropolitan Police Department's identity verification together with Ms. Judy; there was no need to run away.

"Okay, I've given you the information. I'll be quite busy for the next few days, so please text me if you need anything, don't call."

"What are you busy with?" Conan pressed.

"Are you a walking encyclopedia of questions? Our National Tax Service also has confidentiality regulations, you know. Even if you were Shinichi Kudo, I wouldn't tell you everything. It's a matter of principle."

In Conan's eyes, Natsukawa seemed to be shining.

Compared to Inspector Megure, who is a slut, Natsukawa has more principles. If the Metropolitan Police Department were all like Natsukawa, perhaps there would be no place for them to be detectives. Perhaps his goal would not be to become a detective, but to become a police officer wearing the Cherry Blossom Medal!

Natsukawa had no idea what Conan was thinking, and even if he did, he would scoff at it.

Don't think that praising him a couple of times will make him soften and tell Conan what he's going to do next. Besides, what did Inspector Megure do to deserve this? If it weren't for Conan, Tokyo would never have a birth rate lower than a death rate!

Xia Chuan downed his coffee in one gulp, and just as he was about to get up, he remembered something and said, "By the way, you don't seem to be planning to go anywhere during this time, do you?"

Joel has already accepted the mission, and the operation is expected to take place in the next few days. He doesn't want Conan to cause any more trouble.

If it's a normal murder case, that's fine, but if it's related to the liquor company, the police, or the FBI infiltrating Japan again, it could very well affect his plans.

"No, I'm just planning to go to the zoo with the Junior Detective Club tomorrow. Didn't Anya tell you about it?"

"As long as nothing else happens."

Natsukawa was unaware of this, as he had been spending every day with Gin staking out Okuho-cho 4-chome, leaving him with little time at home. Even if Anya needed to contact him, he didn't have a chance to say anything.

Xia Chuan got up and left.

Going to the zoo has absolutely nothing to do with the distillery. At most, you might run into some zoo members, but given the rules of the Detective Conan world, even if you do, you won't have much interaction.

Conan spent a long time alone in the coffee shop.

"Man with a cold"

Conan's conversation with Natsukawa reminded him of the man with the cold.

He wanted Xia Chuan to help him investigate, but felt it was inappropriate. He had just finished investigating one case and was now investigating another, which could easily annoy people.

Moreover, the other party did not leave any clues, so even if we wanted to investigate, we would have no leads.

This matter can only be put aside for now.

It doesn't matter, if the guy with the cold really is connected to the winery or the police, then they will definitely meet again.

Late at night, Okuho Town 4-chome.

Natsukawa accompanied Gin to conduct observations near the fake base, while Vodka worked inside the fake base with a group of peripheral members. To make the performance more realistic, Gin even mobilized a group of researchers and a batch of less important research materials.

They moved boxes over and over in the middle of the night to further convince Princess Thorn of the base's authenticity.

Apart from the vodka, the peripheral members and researchers were unaware that they were being used as bait; they simply believed it was a newly developed base and there were no problems whatsoever.

Gin showed no pity for these people; to him, they were nothing more than expendable resources. If he could deal with the Thorn Princess, he would be willing to sacrifice even dozens or hundreds of them.

In the pitch-black night, Xia Chuan idly observed his surroundings.

Every night was the same, but there was no progress. I don't know if Joel had already come, or if he had discovered something wrong with the base and given up on joining.

In short, these past few days, besides eye pain, the other thing has been boredom.

"The web is complete; now we just have to wait and see when the moths fly in on their own."

Gin was very satisfied with Natsukawa's arrangements. Whether it was the location or the layout of the office building, once the Thorn Princess appeared, she would be surrounded from both inside and outside, with little chance of escape. Even if she did have that chance, he still had Kitano Yuujin as a backup plan!
"Big brother, what is Kitano Yujin's assessment? Why don't we have him supervise it?" Natsukawa asked indirectly.

In the past few days, besides observing whether Joel had arrived, he has also been observing Kitano Yujin.

But after several days, they didn't see a trace of him. It was as if he had been created out of thin air, leaving no trace of his existence.

However, given Amuro Tooru's emphasis, it's unlikely to be false, since his source is the boss.

It can only be said that Gin's level of secrecy is not even in the same league as Vodka's. Perhaps Gin has already taken into account the possibility of failing the promotion. If Kitano Yuujin fails the assessment, he will probably continue to be used by Gin as a mole in the Metropolitan Police Department.

"His usefulness lies elsewhere."

Gin brushed the topic aside and continued to review the reports sent by the regional branches on his computer.

Gin is quite a talent; he runs around during the day and can still lie in wait here at night. Natsukawa has never seen him close his eyes.

Xia Chuan sighed. If he were truly Gin's confidant, he would have wanted to urge Gin to turn the tables and overthrow Karasuma Renya, taking over the Japanese branch. After all, the European branch didn't seem to be as powerful as the Japanese branch at the moment, so Gin essentially controlled half of the brewery's resources and power.

Who knows, if Gin rebels, Rum might rebel too.

Of course, this was just Natsukawa's wishful thinking. Gin's loyalty must have some unknown secrets. He didn't believe that Karasuma Renya could control the situation with such a decentralization. The brewery wasn't protected by law. It wasn't about who had the most shares and who had the strongest army.

Therefore, either Karasuma Renya has another powerful force under his command, or Karasuma Renya has some kind of leverage over Gin, Vermouth, and Rum.

I spent most of the night lost in these random thoughts, and by the end even vodka was starting to get to me. I chatted with Xia Chuan casually through my wireless earphones.

At some point, a dark shadow appeared on the top of a tall building.

From this angle, the "winery base" is just within sight.

A gentle breeze lifted the black hem of his shirt as Joel's cold eyes fixed on the brightly lit office building ahead.

"Is this right here?"

Looking at the occasional figures moving around inside the office building, and observing the architectural style of the entire building, Joel suddenly frowned, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.

She paused for a moment, then turned to look at the low building that seemed out of place to the side.

"Isn't this the shop that Xia Chuan brought me to a few days ago? The shopkeeper mentioned that the office building next door was recently rented out. If I'm not mistaken, the shopkeeper was referring to the winery site we're talking about now."

"Strange, the mission report clearly states that the distillery has been operating here for half a year. If that's the case, then what the shopkeeper said was false?"

The shopkeeper had no reason to lie to her, and it was just a coincidence that Xia Chuan brought her here; there was no situation where the shopkeeper deliberately misled her.

Since it's not the shop owner's problem, then it must be the gardener and the bounty mission that are the problem.

It's true that Joel isn't smart, but that just means she doesn't like to think, not that she's really stupid.

Moreover, there's really nothing to think about here. This might really be a trap set by the distillery for her, and the previous actions may have provoked a counterattack from the distillery.

Joel focused his attention and began to carefully observe the surrounding terrain.

Okuhocho 4-chome is located in a corner area of ​​Tokyo. It is mostly filled with processing plants or handicraft factories. The area is home to migrant workers from all over the country, resulting in a diverse population. The buildings are also varied in height and have a distinct undulating shape.

The unique feature of this office building is that it can be directly overlooked from the tops of many larger buildings nearby, making it ideal for sniping.

If it's an ambush location, then it couldn't be more suitable.

"Could it really be a trap?"

At that moment, Joel suddenly saw a window in the office building open, and a round-faced person wearing sunglasses and a black hat peeked out and then closed the window again.

This is indeed Vodka.

The other party's appearance caused her to waver slightly in her suspicions.

(End of this chapter)