Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Kogoro Mouri's voice (actually Conan's voice in disguise) echoed in the quiet living room.

Everyone was stunned, and all eyes turned to the dentist.

The dentist's gentle expression froze instantly, a fleeting hint of panic flashing in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, even adopting an innocent look.

"Detective Mouri, are you kidding me?" The dentist pushed up his glasses, his tone calm, and even cracked a joke.

"Even if I charge a high price, you shouldn't make such a nasty joke."

"Hmph, still trying to argue?" Conan hid behind Kogoro and used a voice changer to imitate Kogoro's voice.

“Your method of committing the crime was not sophisticated, and you made many mistakes.”

"Everyone can take a look at the mouth mirror on the coffee table. It must have been left by the dentist, right?"

Inspector Megure walked up to the coffee table.

He looked at the dentist and said, "Didn't you say you'd never been to Mr. Takahashi's house? Why is this here?"

"This……"

The dentist's expression changed slightly, but he still insisted, "Perhaps...perhaps Mr. Takahashi has been having a toothache lately, so he bought this tool?"

“Your neighbor is a dentist, so why don’t you see a dentist if you have a toothache, Mr. Takahashi?” Conan sneered. “Could it be that Mr. Takahashi can’t afford the high fees?”

This is impossible.

Takahashi's income was already quite high, not to mention that he was about to take away Masakazu's 1 billion yen.

Conan said, "It must have been tonight. Mr. Takahashi had a terrible toothache, so he called to ask you to come over."

"And during your inspection, you shot and killed Mr. Takahashi."

The dentist's expression finally changed completely, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"What...what evidence do you have?" the dentist asked, making a last-ditch effort.

"Evidence?" Conan said, "There should be your fingerprints on that mouth mirror. And it rained last night, and there was a shoe print in Mr. Takahashi's garden, which should be yours."

Inspector Megure stared at the dentist and said, "The fingerprints on the mouth mirror are easy to detect with a simple examination. What else do you have to say?"

The dentist's body trembled violently, and he finally collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer.

“No…it’s impossible…” he muttered to himself, his eyes vacant.

"What deep-seated grudge do you have against Mr. Takahashi?" Officer Sato stepped forward and asked sternly.

The dentist gave a bitter laugh, his voice hoarse: "Hate? Because he killed my sister."

Conan pricked up his ears and started listening to the gossip.

What kind of grudges and feuds are these?
The dentist gritted his teeth and said, "A month ago, my sister was murdered. The killer used the same method described in Takahashi's script."

"When the murderer was arrested, he said that his teacher was Takahashi, and that he decided to try killing people after watching a drama series edited by Takahashi!"

The dentist stared at Takahashi's corpse with hatred.

"So, this guy deserves to die too. If he hadn't written that show, my sister wouldn't have died!"

Conan was stunned.

That's a truly outrageous reason.

"Take him away!" Inspector Megure waved his hand, and Takagi and Sato immediately stepped forward and handcuffed the dentist.

With a "click" as the handcuffs locked, the dentist took one last look at Takahashi's body, his eyes filled with regret and despair.

……

"Have you heard? Takahashi is dead."

"As expected."

In a secluded teahouse in Tokyo's Minato Ward, the presidents of two influential newspapers, a man and a woman, sat facing each other.

Outside the window is a bustling city street scene, but inside, a suffocating sense of oppression permeates the air.

The tea in front of them was steaming, but neither of them had the heart to taste it.

The woman's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

She lowered her voice, her tone filled with barely concealed fear:
"Seven people... All seven people who participated in that project spoke ill of Shoichi to varying degrees. It's one thing for the six who died first, but now even Takahashi, the last one alive..."

The man said, "The police said that none of that has anything to do with Zheng Yi."

"Hmph, you believe the police report?" The woman sneered, her eyes full of mockery.

"The police said they caught the murderer, a dentist, who has nothing to do with Mr. Zhengyi. This kind of nonsense can only fool those ignorant citizens."

The man gently shook his head, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Of course he didn't believe it.

Having been in this industry for so many years, he knew Zheng Yi's methods all too well.

Those who believed, their graves are already overgrown with weeds.

"Mr. Zhengyi is really something," the man sighed, his tone tinged with resentment.

"Since you're now so sensitive about people talking badly about him, you should at least give us a heads-up beforehand. Even a hint would be helpful!"

He never cared what others said about him before.

They suddenly started managing things without even reminding everyone.

He picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp, as if to calm his nerves: "You can send out a notice, or even just give me a warning look. Apart from those few reckless fools, who would dare to disobey?"

"Why make it so bloody? It's both troublesome and crude."

The woman was silent for a moment, her gaze falling on the tea leaves floating in the teacup, and said softly, "Isn't this a notification?"

"Ok?"

"Killing these seven people, isn't that a way of informing us?"

Kill the chicken and the monkey!
It's just a common tactic used by Zhengyi.

The man cursed the madman inwardly, feeling a chill run down his spine.

This barbaric act of launching a war without declaration and taking direct action is simply a trampling on modern civilized society.

But what can we do?

"Are we going to start praising him again?" The man leaned back in his chair, looking dejected, his tone full of humiliation.

"Are we going to package him as a saint again, like before? We're journalists with principles; we can't become groveling lapdogs just to survive, can we?"

Upon hearing this, the woman shook her head and said seriously, "No! We can't do that."

"Oh?"

"We cannot immediately sing praises to Zheng Yi just because he killed someone," the woman said righteously.

"If that happens, how will the public view us? They will say that we have no bottom line and are just lackeys who only know how to lick the boots of the powerful."

We must have backbone and demonstrate our objectivity and conscience.

The man sneered inwardly, but his face remained impassive.

He had already cursed this woman to the core in his heart.

The term 'benevolent father' originated from your newspaper's front page. Why didn't you show any backbone back then?
“That’s right!” The man played along, slamming his hand heavily on the table.

"Journalists must have integrity! They cannot bow to such violence and terror! Not only will I not sing his praises, I will also..."

He lowered his voice: "I will secretly expose this murder and reveal the vicious nature beneath Zheng Yi's hypocritical mask!"

The woman listened with a relieved expression, nodding repeatedly as if she had truly met a like-minded comrade.

But I was cursing him in my heart.

And that line, "His kindness warmed the cold winter," wasn't that the editorial title you personally approved?
Now they're pretending to be high and mighty here.

"Excellent! That's a true media professional!" the woman exclaimed approvingly.

"We want to express our protest in a subtle way. Let Zheng Yi know that although we are afraid of him, we still have a backbone!"

The two exchanged a smile, as if they had reached some kind of sacred covenant.

They stood up, straightened their clothes, exchanged a few polite words, and then left the tea room one after the other.

The woman climbed into the back seat of the large black sedan, and the door had just closed.

That mask of integrity and fortitude shattered instantly.

She pulled out her phone with trembling hands, dialed the editor-in-chief's number, her voice shrill and distorted:

"Listen up! Immediately remove all negative reports about Takahashi's cause of death! I want the front page! No, I want a full-page headline!" The editor-in-chief on the other end of the phone paused for a moment: "President, what do we want?"

The woman screamed hysterically, "I told you to praise! Praise me as much as you can!"

"When Mr. Zhengyi heard that the people in the disaster area had no food, he folded a thousand paper cranes overnight to pray for them. I want you to write that he is compassionate and virtuous beyond compare! Do you hear me?!"

Meanwhile, inside another car.

The man slumped back in his seat, grabbed his phone, and roared into the receiver, as if afraid the person on the other end wouldn't hear him:

"Hey! It's me! Get me the best writers right now! I need an editorial that will shake the whole of Japan!"

"The title should be 'The Benevolent Are Invincible, Only the Righteous Are Just and Fair.' The content should be touching and tear-jerking."

"And another thing! Go and find out if Mr. Zheng Yi helped an old lady cross the street this morning."

"Even if you spit out a wad of phlegm, you must write for me 'This phlegm is a sigh of deep concern for the country and its people!'"

the next day.

Newspapers on the market have started praising Zhengyi again.

His words were sincere, each one filled with tears and heartbreak!
The owners of the two newspapers, in their respective offices, simultaneously took out each other's newspapers.

"Pooh!"

It was a synchronized action again.

The two men spat into each other's newspapers, showing utter contempt for each other's spinelessness.

"He even praises spitting. Compared to his spinelessness and shamelessness, I'm still far behind. No wonder he succeeded," the woman said softly.

"She's written about folding origami cranes so many times, yet she can still come up with new variations. No wonder she's successful," the man said admiringly.

……

Ai held the newspaper, looking at it from left to right, feeling that it was filled with the words "from the heart".

The newspapers have started praising Zhengyi's shamelessness again.

Ai looked at the newspapers and felt a little ashamed for Masakazu.

I don't know how those guys managed to write such cheesy lines.

“Your reputation in Japan is just too high,” Ai said.

Even the Prime Minister doesn't have as much prestige as Cheng Il.

It seems that Zheng Yi's words carry more weight than any other official's.

Ai looked at Shoichi's lips.

I don't know when he'll spit out a mouthful of 'concern for the country and its people'.

"It's all thanks to the capitalists' favor and the conglomerates' protection," Zheng Yi said modestly.

He himself is actually nothing special.

Ai looked at Masakazu and pouted.

You don't think I'm praising you, do you?

"No, it's all because of your personal charm," Ai said sincerely.

The fact that you can scare so many people is all thanks to your own efforts.

This is the result of your hard work over the years; it has nothing to do with anyone else.

You are just that vicious and ruthless.

"Oh dear, don't say that, it makes me feel embarrassed," Zheng Yi said.

Ai almost threw up her dinner from the night before when she saw Shoichi putting on an act.

Masakazu patted Ai's head and decided to tell her some good news.

"Do you know why they started praising me again?" Zhengyi asked.

Ai smiled shyly and mimicked Masakazu's earlier manner, saying:
"It's all due to the capitalists' favor and the conglomerates' protection."

Shoichi pinched Ai's mouth shut.

They're getting more and more mischievous.

“Congratulations,” Zheng Yi said solemnly. “All seven authors who competed for the 1 billion yen prize have been disqualified.”

Ai pushed Shoichi away and opened her mouth wide.

"So, Takahashi is dead too?" Ai asked.

Zheng Yi nodded.

Ai suddenly moved a little further away from Masakazu.

With a smile, Masakazu said to Ai, "Now, no one is competing with you for that 1 billion yen."

He patted Ai's head.

Suddenly, I looked at Ai strangely. Why did Ai's body seem a little stiff?

"Can you really give me the money?" Ai looked at Masakazu with great suspicion.

So many people have already died, Ai really doesn't trust Shoichi at all.

“Would I ever harm you?” Masakazu said. “My feelings for you are definitely worth more than a billion yen.”

"hehe."

Ai took another step back.

She felt that her feelings for Masakazu were far less than ten billion yen.

Takahashi and the other seven are already dead, so how far away can she be?
Ai was terrified.

She glanced in the direction of the door and said to Zheng Yi, "My sister is back from her business trip today. We haven't seen each other for a long time, and I want to go and keep her company."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're trying to avoid me?" Zheng Yi asked.

Ai nodded.

"You're not mistaken, I am indeed avoiding you."

"Ok?"

"You're terrifying," Ai said.

They're all dead.

That's terrifying! Who wouldn't be scared after seeing that?

“We’ve been talking for a while now, so what are you so afraid of?” Zheng Yi asked, looking at Xiao Ai.

Don't you know that my methods are Conan?

This time, neither Takahashi nor even Shoichi informed Conan; it was entirely his own bad luck.

It has nothing to do with Zhengyi.

Zheng picked up Ai and said, "Don't worry, our horoscopes are strong, we won't be cursed to death by Conan."

"Hard to say," Ai said, pursing her lips.

"Speak properly."

Shoichi nudged Ai's belly with his head, and Ai pushed Shoichi's head away in dissatisfaction.

Suddenly, Zheng Yi stopped moving.

He looked at Ai and said, "Look, don't we look like a father and daughter playing around right now?"

Ai's face darkened.

Why don't you say they look like mother and son?

"Do we look alike to you?" Zheng Yi asked rhetorically.

Ai was lifted into the air by Masayuki, her legs unable to touch the ground.

snort!
One day, I'll give you a pill too, so you can experience what it feels like to be bullied but powerless.

Just as he put Xiao Ai down.

“Alright, get back to writing your book. Ten billion yen is waiting for you,” Masakazu said.

Ai glared at Masakazu and said, "You'd better really give it to me." (End of Chapter)