Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Before we delve into Zhengyi's situation, there is one more very important thing.

Sato and Inspector Megure both turned their attention to Takagi, who was still fast asleep.

"Brother Zhengyi is so kind-hearted."

Before they could even 'wake up' Takagi, they heard these harsh words.

Sato and Inspector Megure frowned simultaneously.

Upon noticing that Conan had somehow appeared next to Shoichi, he said:
“When he sees something tragic, Brother Zheng Yi can never pretend he doesn’t see it.”

Zheng Yi said calmly, "I've always been like this, nothing to boast about. Let's go find Professor Agasa. Why haven't they come back yet?"

Pooh!
Sato and Megure both spat at the same time.

After Masaichi left, both of their gazes turned to the sleeping Takagi.

At Beihu Park, the sounds of police sirens mingled with the shouts of reporters.

However, in the heart of this chaos, Inspector Takagi of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division displayed an astonishing "ability to withstand pressure."

He was sitting in that folding chair, his body tilted in an ergonomically unnatural position.

His chin rested on his chest, his tie was askew to one side, and his mouth was slightly open, emitting long, steady snores.

The surrounding noise did not affect his sleep.

"Takagi! Hey! Takagi!"

A sudden, angry shaking abruptly pulled him back from his reverie at the mahjong table.

Takagi jolted awake, groggily opening her eyes, only to be met with two magnified faces.

On his left is his direct superior, Inspector Megure.

However, Inspector Megure didn't seem to be in a good mood, and his hat was trembling slightly with his anger.

On the right is Sato.

Officer Sato stood with his hands on his hips, looking furious and ready to kill.

"Inspector... Inspector Sato!" Takagi tumbled off the chair in a flustered manner.

"I'm sorry! I don't know how I suddenly fell asleep."

Takagi scratched his head in a fluster, looking quite embarrassed.

He actually fell asleep at the crime scene!
Takagi rubbed his eyes.

I didn't stay up late last night, so how did I suddenly fall asleep today?

Sato and Inspector Megure exchanged a glance, then squinted and nodded.

It's that same old excuse again: he's asleep and doesn't know anything.

Those other lackeys of Zheng Yi all say the same thing; they're not even willing to change their tune, they're really fearless.

What Sato and Megure never expected was that Takagi had been hiding his true abilities so well.

Normally you wouldn't notice anything amiss, but this time when something happened, they suddenly came out to solve the case.

"Takagi, when you're solving cases, you really have the flair of Kogoro Mouri," Sato said sarcastically.

"what?"

Takagi scratched his head in confusion.

I actually have the air of a famous detective? Wait, when did I solve a case?

"Didn't I just take a nap? When was the case solved?" Takagi asked, puzzled.

Sato gave a cold laugh.

Having known Takagi for so long, I never knew she was such a good actress.

Look at this acting! It's much better than Kogoro Mouri's. No wonder I didn't notice it before.

Sato couldn't help but recall Takagi's previous actions, then magnified them, and couldn't help but mock him:

"No wonder Zhengyi liked to ask you to do things back then; it turns out you were originally in a subordinate relationship."

Zheng Yi was called to the scene by the police many times, but he himself had even more things to do, and he liked to ask the police to buy him water, move chairs for him, and so on.

He only specifically asked Takagi to do these kinds of things.

At first, Sato didn't think much of it, assuming that Masakazu was just making things difficult for the police.

He didn't recognize the other officers' names, only Takagi.

Now it seems that's not the case.

"Sato, what do you mean?"

Takagi blinked her big eyes, puzzled.

Unlike Sato, who has figured out so many things, Takagi can't figure anything out right now.

I think Sato is angry.

Takagi tapped his head and asked incredulously, "Could it be that I solved a case in my dream just now?"

"hehe!"

Two cold laughs rang out at the same time.

Whether you are dreaming or not, you know for sure.

Sato Miwako's beautiful face was now clouded with gloom as she stared intently at him, as if he were some heinous criminal.

"How dare you flirt with that Shoichi?! Just how much did you take from Sumitomo Shoichi?! You 'lackey'!"

"Huh?!"

Takagi's mind went blank. He looked at Sato, who was burning with anger, and had no idea what was going on.

"Eh? Zheng Yi? Lackey?"

Takagi's face instantly turned a deep shade of purple, and he waved his hands wildly in the air, trying to explain: "Sato, let me explain! I didn't! I swear I don't even have that young master's phone number! How could I possibly be his lackey!"

"Enough with the nonsense! The evidence is irrefutable!"

So many people saw you solve the case while you were asleep, what else do you have to say!

Takagi's face was filled with bitterness.

He really doesn't know anything.

"I just took a nap, I don't know anything," Takagi whispered in defense.

But it seems like nobody believes it.

Sato and Inspector Megure had very cold faces, and the other officers looked at him with indifference.

Only the forensic pathologist, Choso, looked at Takagi with a hint of eagerness in his eyes.

Takagi grinned.

Choso's enthusiasm only made others more suspicious of him.

"Maybe the culprit this time isn't Shoichi after all," Takagi whispered.

"Oh."

Sato said expressionlessly, "Congressman Noguchi has been offending Masakazu, and Masakazu is a petty and vindictive person."

The murderer you've identified desperately needs better medical care for his daughter. The only ones who can provide that are conglomerates, and coincidentally, Zheng Yi is one of them.

Finally, Zheng Yi publicly promised to help the murderer's daughter get medical treatment.

Sato showed no anger on his face.

Zheng Yi no longer bothered with pretense and laid everything out in the open.

Noguchi was killed at my behest, so what can you do about it?
Can you find evidence that I instructed them?

That's incredibly arrogant; they don't respect the Metropolitan Police Department at all.

Takagi opened his mouth, unable to defend Shoichi.

That's really too blatant.

"I've taken the day off, so I'm leaving now." Sato didn't want to look at Takagi anymore and left directly.

She trusted Takagi a lot and told him a lot about Shoichi, as well as her views on Shoichi and how to fight against him.

Faced with such a formidable opponent as Shoichi, Sato needed someone she could confide in.

Unfortunately, Zheng Yi was still too powerful.

Even the people she confided in were Zheng Yi's people, and she hid it so well.

Looking back now, it's laughable. I'm sure Zhengyi heard everything I said.

"Oh dear~ Sato! It wasn't me!" Takagi cried, on the verge of tears.

He really just took a nap.

After Sato left, Takagi could only look pitifully at Inspector Megure, hoping that Inspector Megure would believe him.

“I really just took a nap,” he said.

Inspector Megure squinted. "I find it hard to believe you, Takagi."

The first thing he said before solving the case was to distance Zheng Yi from it.

When solving cases, he also imitated Kogoro Mouri.

And Zheng Yi's performance this time was so blatant.

Tell me, how am I supposed to trust you?

Takagi said softly, "Inspector Megure, you've solved cases while you were sleeping before, so you should understand me."

"I……"

Inspector Megure was speechless.

He did indeed do that, but it's been so long that he doesn't remember anymore.

Now that Takagi has brought it up again, it has reminded Inspector Megure of that long-buried memory, and it has also brought back memories for the officers around him.

Feeling the various gazes directed at him, Inspector Megure was somewhat annoyed.

It took him so long to wash away the label of "Zhengyi's lackey" and make everyone believe that he was a righteous police officer.

What are your intentions in bringing up this old matter again?
"I was sick before, I saw a psychiatrist!" Inspector Megure shouted.

He had no other choice but to solve the case while he was sleeping.

He was unaware of the situation while the case was being solved.

The one acting as Zheng Yi's lackey is his second personality, Megure XIV, and has nothing to do with his original personality, Megure XIII.

Takagi raised his hand and said softly, "Then I might be in the same situation as Inspector Megure, I also have some mental problems."

I'd rather be a madman than a lackey of the Zhengyi.

Inspector Megure looked at Takagi with suspicion.

Some believe it, some don't.

Having spent so much time with Takagi, Inspector Megure still finds it hard to believe that he has become Shoichi's henchman.

Could it be that he really has mental problems and has developed a second personality?

"Then I'll recommend a doctor to you, and you can go and see him yourself?" Inspector Megure asked.

"it is good!"

Takagi nodded repeatedly.

He desperately needs a psychologist right now.

……

In a teahouse, a man and a woman, the editors of two newspapers, had arranged to meet for tea.

The two took their seats, and the woman spoke first: "Have you heard about Representative Noguchi?"

The man nodded.

How could someone who owns a newspaper not know about such a big event?

The man lowered his voice and said, "As soon as Representative Noguchi said to let that person shoot him dead, the bullet went through."

The woman nodded, her heart pounding.

"That person was terrifying. He killed a politician in public. The footage of Noguchi being shot is still being broadcast on television."

Now neither of them dares to mention Zheng Yi's name, even though there is no third person here who can hear their conversation.

The man picked up the teacup and gently blew on the steam rising from it.

A slight smile appeared on his face. "The ones who solved this case are from the Metropolitan Police Department, the 'sleeping police.'"

Various 'dormant ***' have emerged.

For example, the Sleeping Kogoro, the Sleeping High School Student, the Sleeping Policeman, and so on.

Zhengyi's henchmen all use this method when solving cases.

No matter who they are or what their identity is, they are all 'sleeping ***'.

As long as a 'dormant ***' appears, you know that seizing Zheng Yi is definitely the right move.

Unfortunately, no one dared to arrest Zheng Yi.

The woman said with amusement, "That man is really becoming more and more unscrupulous. At this rate, everyone will know that he was the one who started the fight."

The man nodded.

That person was indeed very unscrupulous. The man always felt that such an arrogant person would eventually fall from grace, even if he was the son of a wealthy tycoon.

But as it turns out, the man's intuition was wrong; that person always had a smooth and successful life.

“But no matter how unscrupulous, naked, and direct that person is, no one can do anything to him,” the man said quietly.

The woman didn't want to talk about that person directly; she was terrified, feeling that he might come after her at any moment.

Let's talk about that young policeman instead.

The woman's response to Takagi was quite funny.

Many media outlets interviewed Takagi.

But Takagi's answer was that she was sleeping and knew nothing.

This answer both excited and frightened the reporter, so the reporter pressed for more information.

When pressed by reporters, Takagi began to say that he might have mental problems and that he had a second personality.

He insisted that he had no relationship with Zheng Yi and was going to the hospital to check his mental state.

The man said, "I heard from a friend that the policeman's mental illness certificate has been issued, and he really does have a second personality."

"what?"

The woman burst out laughing.

This is hilarious.

She said, "I heard from a friend that Inspector Megure of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division also had a second personality and received a certificate of mental abnormality."

The man nodded.

What's so surprising about that? Kogoro Mouri is the same way.

“This might become a tradition within the Metropolitan Police Department,” the man said with a smile.

Given that person's control over the Metropolitan Police Department, the number of people speaking up for him will only increase in the future, and the number of people presenting certificates of mental instability will also only increase.

Over time, it might actually become a tradition.

If you're not mentally unstable, do you even deserve to work at the Metropolitan Police Department?

The man always felt that this was all Zheng Yi's order.

With proof of mental instability, his lackeys have another way out after doing something wrong.

The two spent some more time chatting about gossip, without mentioning how they should report the news.

Because both of them knew that this must be reported truthfully.

……

At the Metropolitan Police Department, Takagi stuffed the certificate of mental instability into a drawer.

He went for a checkup and was indeed diagnosed with mental abnormalities.

Takagi was initially ashamed of being diagnosed with a mental illness and didn't want others to know.

But his colleagues at the Metropolitan Police Department no longer looked at him the same way as before, and they were very reserved when they spoke to him.

It seemed that everyone regarded him as a lackey of the Zhengyi sect.

This feeling is very unpleasant.

Therefore, Takagi had no choice but to take out his mental illness certificate, which was accidentally seen by his colleagues, and then spread the word in the Metropolitan Police Department that he had mental problems.

He did bad things while sleeping because he had mental problems.

It's not because he's a lackey of the Zhengyi sect.

After news of his mental illness spread, his colleagues' attitudes, while not returning to their previous state, improved somewhat.

Takagi believes that as long as he keeps a low profile and doesn't have any episodes of his illness, he will eventually become like Inspector Megure, making everyone forget that he was ever sick.

"Whoo~"

Takagi looked at the thing in his hand and took a deep breath.

I'd rather be a mentally ill person than be considered a lackey of the Zhengyi sect.

However, he never saw Sato or Inspector Megure.

What he least wanted was for Sato and Inspector Megure to suspect him.

Therefore, what Takagi wants most right now is for Sato to know that he is mentally ill. (End of Chapter)