Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

The flashing red and blue lights of the police lights made Inspector Megure's brows furrow into a knot.

He stared at Yusaku Kudo, his voice tinged with barely concealed wariness:
"Brother Kudo, think about it again. Is it possible that the scene has been rearranged?"

"Inspector Megure, I feel you're being a bit too sensitive." Yusaku Kudo said, his hands in his trench coat pockets, his tone tinged with helplessness.

Once upon a time, he and Megure were a perfectly compatible duo.

He solves the case, and Inspector Megure makes the arrest.

Later, Inspector Megure's partner became his son.

The collaboration between the two generations was incredibly close.

Yusaku Kudo believed that his family would always have sufficient trust and close cooperation with Inspector Megure.

When the baby is born in the future, it can serve as an external brain for Inspector Megure.

But things are impermanent.

Now, even basic trust between them has become thin, as if the other party sees everyone as a lurking lackey of the Zhengyi sect.

Yusaku Kudo sighed helplessly.

"Ahem, it's not that I'm being sensitive." Inspector Megure coughed, trying to maintain his police authority.
"This is necessary caution. When the Metropolitan Police Department makes arrests, it must be based on sufficient certainty. We cannot arrest the wrong person and ruin the innocence of the innocent."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a police siren came from afar, and a police car came to a steady stop in front of the villa.

The car door opened, and Zheng Yi stepped out, wearing a police uniform jacket that was clearly too small, looking somewhat out of place.

Two police officers, Takagi and Sato, followed behind him.

Seeing Shoichi's outfit, Inspector Megure frowned even more.

To dress like that at a crime scene is extremely disrespectful to the deceased and shows a complete disregard for the seriousness of these two consecutive murders.

Before he could speak, Zheng Yi walked straight over, his gaze sweeping over Sakurai's corpse under the streetlight, and asked, "What's going on?"

"The case has been solved. The deceased is Ms. Sakurai, and the murderer is Ms. Hashimoto," Kudo Yusaku said calmly, stating the result of his deduction.

Inspector Megure's gaze remained fixed on Shoichi's face, capturing every subtle change in his expression.

Sato frowned.

This guy, acting like a police station leader, immediately started asking about the situation upon arrival.

Yusaku Kudo was also very cooperative.

Sato then thought of the rumors from long ago that Kudo Yusaku and Shoichi's father had a past relationship.

Back then, Kudo Yusaku stayed at Shoichi's father's place for a long time, and they became very close.

The two have remained in contact ever since.

"Oh." Zheng Yi nodded, not even glancing at the corpse again, and turned to walk into the villa.

"I'm going to sleep now. You can leave someone here to take me back tomorrow."

That's a bit too obvious.

"Are you talking to us?" Inspector Megure couldn't help but ask.

But before he could finish speaking, Takagi tugged at his arm and whispered, "Mr. Shoichi is someone we brought here, so it's reasonable for us to send him back."

Inspector Megure sighed and said nothing more.

Zheng Yi now has no desire to communicate with them anymore, even though he used to resist them so fiercely.

At this moment, it all turned into cold indifference.

Sato walked over to Inspector Megure and asked in a low voice, "What happened in this case? It happened way too fast!"

She glanced at Yusaku Kudo.

"Kudo had already caught the culprit before the police arrived," Inspector Megure replied in a low voice, his brow still furrowed.

That's way too fast!

In the past, even if a detective was at the crime scene, the murderer could only be caught after the police arrived.

Is Yusaku Kudo really that much better than other detectives?
“We investigated again and found that the culprit was also Hashimoto,” Inspector Megure said.

Sato lowered his voice and said, "Is it possible that they rearranged the scene?"

"Cough cough!" Yusaku Kudo coughed, covering his mouth.

Your voices are a bit too loud.

“Everyone, there’s absolutely no need for us to rearrange the scene,” Yusaku Kudo said.

Sato and Megure glanced at him, but made no move to speak to Yusaku Kudo, and continued to whisper among themselves.

Inspector Megure paused, his voice becoming even softer: "Do you remember what Ito said? It's possible that Shoichi secretly influenced others, turning unsuspecting people into his killers. So, the murderer might very well really be Hashimoto."

But he stopped before he could finish speaking.

How exactly did Hashimoto come up with the idea of ​​committing murder? That remains unknown.

Whether someone is guiding the investigation is another difficult question to investigate.

In any case, the motivation for the two to be together was provided by Zheng Yi.

Yusaku Kudo watched Inspector Megure and Sato whispering to each other, then glanced at Masakazu who had turned and left.

He felt he should speak up for what was right.

He cleared his throat and said, "Ms. Hashimoto was not originally on Shoichi's invitation list. It was only after Ms. Sakurai pleaded with Shoichi that Ms. Hashimoto was added."

Sato nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Sure enough, if it were Zheng Yi, there would be no obvious suspicion left behind.

This further distances them from any connection.

Inside the villa, Zheng Yi was already leaning back on the sofa in the living room, holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand.

Conan stood opposite him, his gaze falling on his ill-fitting police uniform, and he couldn't help but think:
They came dressed like this, Zheng Yi really takes this case seriously.

Zhengyi and Conan chatted casually.

We'll mainly discuss this murder case.

From Conan, Shoichi learned the details of the murder and the motive behind it.

Soon, Sato and his group also entered the villa.

"Clang~"

Zheng Yi put down his coffee cup and said, "I feel guilty."

"Huh?" Conan looked at Zheng Yi in surprise.

Why did you suddenly start feeling guilty?

He thought about what he had just said, and realized that he hadn't said anything bad about Zheng Yi.

Shoichi said, "If it weren't for me, Hashimoto and Sakurai wouldn't have lived together for so long."

"Then, Hashimoto might not have had the opportunity to kill anyone."

Sato had just entered when he heard Masakazu say those words.

What does it mean?
Retreat to advance?

Doubting yourself, and then clearing yourself of suspicion?

“Brother Zhengyi, this has nothing to do with you,” Conan said.

He glanced at the silent people around him.

These people seem to genuinely agree with what Brother Zhengyi meant.
Sakurai's death has absolutely nothing to do with Masakazu.

Conan felt he should speak up for Zheng Yi.

"Don't say that Hashimoto was brought here by Sakurai himself. Even if she was invited by Masakazu, what does it matter?"

Conan said, "If you want to kill someone, you can do it anywhere; there are plenty of opportunities."

“This has nothing to do with you, Brother Zhengyi, don’t blame yourself.”

Since someone was trying to persuade him, Zheng Yi quickly stopped blaming himself.

He picked up his coffee cup again, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Now that you say that, I feel much better."

Looking at Masakazu's hypocritical face, Sato felt a strong urge to spit on it.

She said expressionlessly, "While the murderer is Hashimoto, it's still unknown whether someone is guiding her." "Officer Sato, you still can't forget Ito," Masakazu said.

Even though he's been dead for so long, Sato still remembers his words.

Conan frowned and said, "He's just a criminal. His words are unreliable, let alone those that make no sense."

“You’re too young to understand,” Sato said.

Conan was speechless for a moment.

When I was still Shinichi Kudo, you didn't talk to me like that.

At the time, Inspector Megure addressed him affectionately as "Brother Kudo," and the police listened very attentively to what he said.

Conan glanced at Shoichi and noticed that Shoichi was suppressing a laugh.

My dad even burst out laughing.

"Humph!"

Zheng Yi believes he should help Conan argue back.

He looked at Sato and said, "Since Officer Sato doesn't trust me, then why not keep me under surveillance 24 hours a day?"

“When a case occurs, Officer Sato will know whether I have committed a crime or not.”

Sato really wanted to.

But that's just wishful thinking; it's something that could never happen.

A conglomerate of the Zhengyi level.

She has no right to monitor.

She is now monitoring him without any evidence of a crime.

In the future, wouldn't that also allow them to monitor other conglomerates?

This is impossible to allow.

Sato changed the subject and asked, "Mr. Shoichi, the police are now planning to withdraw their team. Would you like us to take you back now?"

"want!"

Both Shoichi and Sato were taken aback and looked at Ishimoto, who had spoken.

Ishimoto said, "Two murders have already occurred here. It's not safe to stay here anymore, and it's also bad luck. Why don't we leave?"

"Are you going to withdraw from the competition?" Zheng Yi asked. "If you withdraw, you won't even have a minimum guarantee of ten million yen."

"Can't Mr. Shoichi change the rules?" Ishimoto asked.

Sato stared at Masakazu with curiosity.

Let's see if he intends to keep these people in this mountain villa and continue the murders.

Now there are only three people left.

Takahashi and Oyama also had some support for Ishimoto.

Although living in this villa, one is constantly worried about being murdered by others, creating a strong sense of urgency.

The written words also have a great sense of atmosphere.

But being constantly on edge is really exhausting.

Zheng Yi wasn't such an unapproachable person.

"Since everyone has this idea, let's leave here," Zheng Yi said with a smile.

"Two people have already died, which makes me feel guilty enough. If the three of you were to meet with misfortune, I would feel even more guilty."

It's a perfectly normal statement.

But which of the writers present wasn't a master at understanding people's hearts through their words?
Fear was spreading in my heart.

I can't stay here any longer, not even for a second.

"Everyone can just create at home from now on." He paused, his words tinged with regret.

"My purpose in inviting everyone here was simply to provide you with a good creative environment, but unfortunately..."

Zheng Yi sighed.

The police, considering it was late and the mountain roads were difficult to traverse, suggested that they rest at the villa for the night and be taken back the next morning, which was quite considerate.

But the three writers refused in unison: "No need, let's go now! We're not tired!"

Their eyes were filled with urgency, as if if they stayed any longer, they would suffer the same fate as the four who had come before them.

Left with no other option, the police could only arrange for a vehicle to take them away immediately.

Shoichi sat in the back seat of Sato's car, covering his mouth and yawning repeatedly.

He opened the car window a crack and let in a blast of cold air, which made him feel less sleepy.

The car on the way back was much quieter than the one on the way there.

Sato gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, her knuckles turning white. She didn't want to say another word to Masakazu.

His eyes were fixed on the mountain road ahead, but his peripheral vision kept glancing at the rearview mirror, watching Zheng Yi in the back seat warily.

Zheng Yi didn't say much either, only occasionally yawning and muttering under his breath, "Nothing is wrong, you guys have just played me for a fool."

His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Hearing this dissatisfied grumbling, Sato remained silent.

She didn't want to "slip away" Zheng Yi, nor did she want all this effort to be in vain.

She wanted to find solid evidence to make this guy who was hiding behind the scenes and manipulating everything pay the price and send him to prison.

But it's impossible.

Zheng Yi tightened the police uniform draped over his body, yawned again, and continued to mutter softly, "Those three writers have all gone home now, they're not in the villa I prepared."

He paused, his voice sounding completely innocent.

"If they cause further problems, won't the police come after me again?"

Sato's foot, which was on the brake, almost hit the brake pedal, and the car lurched violently.

Zheng Yi's body leaned forward, but was pulled back by the seatbelt.

"How do you drive?" Zheng Yi said with dissatisfaction.

Sato turned around and said, "Are you still going to attack them?"

Sato's mind was in turmoil.

She wondered if she should just step on the gas and crash into a tree by the roadside, dying together with Zheng.

As long as this scourge can be eliminated, my death will not have been in vain.

"Just focus on driving and turn your head back!"

After Sato focused on driving, Masakazu said, "Don't talk nonsense. Given the security situation in Tokyo, murders can happen anytime, anywhere."

He paused, then continued, "There's a high probability that those three people were killed, and it has nothing to do with me."

Sato was speechless. She knew that Masakazu was telling the truth.

Tokyo is such a big city, and murders do happen from time to time. Even if you exclude the cases related to him, there are still many cases left.

Sato drove quietly.

In the end, she did not perish with Zheng Yi, allowing him to return home safely.

Back home, he returned the police uniform to Sato, then used the spare key to open Ai's bedroom door and shook her awake.

Then, with a serious expression, he said to Ai, "I'm sorry for waking you up. I feel very guilty."

Ai was dazed and confused, her mind completely blank.

Hearing Zheng Yi's inexplicable words, his mind went completely blank.

Masakazu patted Ai's head before going back to sleep.

After a while, Ai seemed to have sobered up a bit, and then shouted towards the direction of Masakazu's bedroom:
"are you crazy!"

Then, huffing and puffing, he buried his head under the covers. (End of Chapter)