Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

The air seemed to freeze, leaving only Zheng Yi's heartfelt words.

“Mr. Shoichi,” cold sweat had gathered on Takahashi’s forehead and was sliding down his cheeks, “your words could easily lead to misunderstandings.”

"Misunderstand?"

Zheng Yi blinked innocently, his clear eyes filled with naivety.

"How could it be a misunderstanding? I was just stating an objective fact." (End)

As he spoke, he patted Takahashi's shoulder with such force that he almost knocked him over.

"Mr. Takahashi, you'd better keep it up! A billion yen prize is beckoning you, and the position of screenwriter for the hottest mystery drama in all of Japan is also beckoning you. This is the perfect ending that so many people dream of!"

He emphasized the words "perfect ending" with particular force, carrying an indescribable meaning.

Takahashi's body trembled violently, feeling as if those slaps had landed on his own coffin lid.

He looked at Zheng Yi's harmless face, and realized that this was clearly putting him on the hot seat!

"Why are you doing this to me?" Takahashi forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Wait a minute, Officer Sato, Officer Megure!" Takahashi hurriedly interjected, "I think I should still try to explain myself."

He doesn't have the same powerful backing as Zheng Yi, nor does he have the confidence to disregard the law.

If he is also considered lawless, someone who would not hesitate to plot and kill other competitors in order to win.

Then his career, and even his entire life, would be completely over.

“We didn’t say anything, what are you trying to argue about?” Officer Sato crossed his arms and looked at him coldly.

Takahashi swallowed hard and forced himself to speak:

"This... Although you haven't said anything, your eyes already show that you doubt me."

Sato raised an eyebrow. This guy's social skills were nowhere near as good as Masakazu's.

Jumping out to defend oneself at this time is practically like protesting one's innocence.

Takahashi couldn't worry about anything else; he had to say something.
"If Da Shan commits murder, I could be the one who gets killed. So as long as I want to live, I won't incite Da Shan to kill anyone. That doesn't make sense!"

"Because I could also be the one who was killed." He emphasized again, trying to prove his innocence with logic.

Conan, who was hiding behind the crowd, frowned slightly upon hearing this, feeling that something was amiss.

Zheng Yi, however, seemed to suddenly remember something and whispered a sentence, not loud, but loud enough for everyone around to hear:

"But you also said that when Dashan brought the coffee over, you chose it first."

"It's also possible that you knew which cup was poisoned."

Takahashi cursed inwardly, then quickly retorted, "That's too risky! I'm not the kind of person who likes to joke around with my life! Who would risk their life just to win a match?"

Inspector Megure stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "There's a distinct bitter almond flavor in the cup."

Takahashi's face twitched, and he wished he could slap himself.

He shouldn't have revealed that detail.

Seeing Takahashi's panicked and reckless behavior, Zheng Yi suddenly sighed, stepped forward, and stood between Takahashi and the police.

“I think Mr. Takahashi is right,” Shoichi suddenly said.

Sato frowned and looked at Masakazu, his eyes full of doubt.

You were the one who stirred up their suspicions, and now you're coming out to support Takahashi?
Zhengyi looked at Sato, a slightly apologetic expression on his face:

"I only said those things because I felt indignant. After all, Ishimoto and Oyama are my friends. I was heartbroken when something happened to them, so I couldn't help but say some hurtful things, which led to misunderstandings."

He turned to Takahashi and patted him on the shoulder, this time with much gentler pressure:
"But I still have faith in Mr. Takahashi's character. He is a good person and a talented screenwriter. I believe he would not do such a thing."

"and."

Zheng Yi's gaze swept over everyone present, finally landing on Conan hiding in the back, and his tone became exceptionally solemn.

"I have great faith in Detective Mori's deduction. Since Detective Mori believes that this case has nothing to do with Mr. Takahashi, I trust Detective Mori's judgment."

Conan, who was hiding in the back, was deeply moved when he heard this.

Brother Zheng still trusts me so much.

He will certainly not let down the trust of the top leader.

Sato and Megure exchanged a glance, but the doubt in their eyes did not completely disappear because of Shoichi's few words.

But when Shoichi spoke up for Takahashi, it did have an effect.

Without any evidence, Sato and Inspector Megure had no choice but to take Oyama away first.

As for Takahashi's case, we can look for clues again in the future.

Moreover, with Takahashi having Shoichi's endorsement, Sato finds it hard to believe he's a good person.

What kind of good person can be someone who can hang out with Zheng Yi?
After they left, Takahashi breathed a sigh of relief.

Being wrongly accused is a terrible feeling.

After the police left, Kogoro Mouri, who had been sleeping, was woken up by Ran.

After a moment of confusion, Kogoro quickly broke into a hearty laugh.

Ran dragged her unreliable father home, and Conan had no choice but to follow him.

Meanwhile, Shoichi smiled and looked at Takahashi.

Takahashi gave a distant yet polite smile and asked Shoichi:

"Mr. Zhengyi, is there anything else you need from me?"

“Of course,” Zheng Yi said.

He said, "Of the seven writers I invited, you are the only one left."

He scratched his head helplessly and said, "I don't know why this happened, and I don't know how the uninformed media will report on me."

Takahashi wore a forced, insincere smile.

Didn't we already know that?

Those media outlets are terrified of death now; they'll praise you shamelessly, but they wouldn't dare say a bad word about you.

You used to only kill stakeholders, but now you've killed too many stakeholders, and there's almost no one left for you to kill.

They've also started killing those who 'pollute' your reputation.

How can the media not be honest?
Masakazu said to Takahashi, "Let's go to the room next door and talk."

"What are you going to talk about?" Takahashi asked.

He didn't want to chat with Zheng Yi.

"Of course, we're talking about how to write my autobiography," Masakazu said, looking at Takahashi.

"Now you've left me with no other choice, so of course I have to take a closer look at what you've written."

The producer was still in the room.

Actually, the way she looked at Takahashi was already strange.

Zheng Yi is a veteran player who kills people like this.

Zheng Yi already suspects you, and you still say you didn't kill anyone?
Takahashi felt extremely frustrated.

He suspected that Zheng Yi was the one manipulating everything, but now Zheng Yi was going to pin the blame on him.

“Mr. Zhengyi, you’re joking,” Takahashi said. “You have no other choice right now, and that’s due to various reasons, which have nothing to do with me.”

"Oh." Zheng Yi nodded.

“I understand. You admit that you caused it, but now that you've been taken away by the police, it's normal for you to deny it.”

Takahashi wanted to swear.

But considering Zheng Yi's past record and behavior, if he were to swear, his fate would be incredibly tragic.

So he held back.

He said to Zheng Yi, "Mr. Zheng Yi, let's go to another room to talk first. After all, someone just died here."

While speaking, he unconsciously glanced at the producer.

Zheng Yi's words are too suggestive.

If he continued, the producer's suspicions about him would only deepen.

“Okay.” Masahiro nodded and followed Takahashi to another room. The producer watched Takahashi’s retreating figure, his brows furrowed.

Is there something you don't want me to hear that you're leaving in such a hurry?
There are indeed some things I don't want the producer to hear.

"Your method of killing is impressive. No wonder you've been a detective editor for so many years, you're really skilled."

Now that only the two of them were left in the room, Zheng Yi stopped trying to hide his thoughts.

Takahashi was startled by Shoichi's words.

You can't just say things like that carelessly.

“I didn’t kill anyone,” Takahashi said.

Masakazu casually patted Takahashi on the shoulder and said:

"Don't worry, I don't have anything to record. No one else will know what you said."

“But I really didn’t kill anyone,” Takahashi said.

He didn't want to take the blame for anyone.

Looking at Shoichi's face, Takahashi forced a smile and said, "Mr. Shoichi is an expert in this field and should know that I did nothing."

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want," Masakazu said, pointing at Takahashi.

Takahashi bowed apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, I misspoke."

“Mr. Zhengyi is a pure and virtuous person, and it is impossible for him to kill someone in a crude manner.”

Zheng Yi narrowed his eyes.

I feel that what Takahashi said is not very honest.

What does it mean to not kill someone using crude methods?
He would never kill anyone, okay?

Takahashi said, "Mr. Shoichi, since Ooyama has already taken charge of this case, there's no need to drag me into it, is there?"

Zheng Yi rubbed his fingers together.

“My relationship with you is just a simple employer-employee relationship. I will not help you cover up your crimes,” Zheng Yi said.

Takahashi's lips twitched.

You should understand what I mean best.

If it weren't for you, would the police have suspected me?
Since Shoichi hadn't been talking to him about serious matters, Takahashi decided to be more direct.

Takahashi looked at Masakazu and said, "I hope you will stop accusing me. I am weak and cannot bear such a heavy burden."

He said cautiously, "With my build, I can barely carry a pot, let alone do many important things."

"You can choose some powerful guys to take the blame for you; they're not afraid."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Zheng Yi's expression, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Nonsense," Zheng Yi said, displeased.

Forget about taking the blame or not.

Zheng Yi didn't do anything wrong, so why should someone take the blame for him?
"I was drunk, and I said all sorts of nonsense," Takahashi said.

He looked at Zheng Yi and felt that Zheng Yi had taken a lot of his words to heart.

"Alright, let me take a look at your manuscript," Zheng Yi said.

“I called you here to look at the manuscript, not to talk about those messy things.”

"it is good."

Sensing that Shoichi's tone had softened, Takahashi breathed a sigh of relief.

He took out the manuscript and handed it to Zhengyi.

While he was reading, he was very quiet and didn't offer any suggestions or express how satisfied he was.

Zheng Yi flips through the book very quickly.

You can skim through the text, just enough to get a general idea of ​​the plot.

Slowly, Zheng Yi turned to the last page.

"Not bad," Zheng Yi said.

A genuine smile appeared on Takahashi's face.

With Zheng Yi's words, it seems that the 1 billion yuan prize money is within reach.

The first man returned the manuscript to Takahashi.

"Once you finish writing, the money will be transferred to your bank card as agreed."

Takahashi nodded, his smile growing even more genuine.

After exchanging a few more words with Takahashi, Masakazu left the TV station.

Takahashi's smile never faded.

Although I was a little scared and upset when I was suspected just now.

Fortunately, he managed to get through it later.

Now, all seven contestants are dead, and the 1 billion yen will only end up in his pocket.

Furthermore, the deaths of Oyama and Ishimoto.

This left only himself as the editor of "Detective Magure," and he had to write the rest of the story himself.

He doesn't care about the fame, but he does care about the money.

The more he writes, the more he earns.

For TV dramas that have been popular for several years, the scripts for each episode are very lucrative.

After leaving the room, Takahashi muttered to himself:

"Mr. Zhengyi is right about one thing: I am very lucky."

Nothing was done, yet no benefits were missed.

How can there be such a wonderful thing in the world?

The producer walked up to Takahashi and looked at his smile, feeling a sense of unease and dread.

“Mr. Takahashi,” the producer said softly, “now you’re the only editor left. What do you think, should we find a new editor?”

Takahashi's smile faded.

“What does this have to do with me, an editor and writer? Isn’t this your decision?” Takahashi asked.

"No no no."

The producer saw Takahashi's smile fade and quickly waved his hand.

She doesn't want to become like Ishimoto or Daiyama.

The producer said cautiously, "After all, you are the only editor, so of course we will listen to your opinion."

"If you think writing all the time is too tiring, we can find a few more editors."

Takahashi calmly said, "You can decide on this kind of thing."

He thought about it.

I'm about to win that 1 billion yen prize, and I don't want to overwork myself.

The producer, seeing the smile on Takahashi's face disappear and never reappear, concluded that he disagreed with his ideas.

"Then we won't look for anyone else. Please take this opportunity to do your best," the producer said.

"This……"

Takahashi looked at the producer and guessed what she was thinking.

But he didn't explain, he just said softly, "Okay."

Being suspected isn't without its advantages.

After saying goodbye to the producer, Takahashi said in a low voice, "He has been a screenwriter for popular detective dramas for many years and is familiar with all kinds of murder methods. He also fits everyone's perception of a high-IQ criminal."

And so another peaceful day passed.

The next day, Takahashi looked at the newspaper he had just bought, and then everything went black. (End of Chapter)