Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

The piercing sound of police sirens shattered the tranquil night sky over Hachijojima Island.

Arakawa Ryosuke, a police officer from Hachijojima, strode into the scene with a gloomy expression.

"Make way! Make way, all of you!" Inspector Arakawa waved his hand impatiently, his gaze sweeping over the crowd of onlookers.

When his gaze fell on the corpse, his brows furrowed instantly.

"The deceased, Kajimura, had a stab wound in his chest that reached his heart, and died on the spot." Arakawa knelt down and gently touched the edge of the wound with his gloved fingers.

"The murder weapon was a letter opener provided by the hotel. There were no fingerprints on it, and it was wiped very clean."

This is the Suzuki family's hotel; it would be very troublesome if someone died here.

Arakawa looked at Shoichi, who was yawning.

On his way here, he knew that Zheng Yi was here and that Zheng Yi had a hotel on Hachijo Island.

However, he had no choice in the matter.

Since we've accepted the benefits from Suzuki, we have no choice but to stand up for Suzuki.

"Mr. Zhengyi, I heard that you also own a hotel on Hachijojima Island." Arakawa seemed to be upholding the law.

"Right? And... business doesn't seem to be doing too well?"

From the very first word, he placed Zheng Yi in the position of a suspect.

But the other police officers and onlookers didn't see anything wrong with it.

Because Zheng Yi has a long criminal record, not suspecting him would make the police seem unprofessional.

With his hands in his pockets and a blank expression, he looked at the inspector and said, "That's right, Inspector, you can give my business some extra support."

"must."

Arakawa nodded and gestured to the police officer next to him.

The policeman stared intently at the corpse on the ground, seemingly oblivious to Arakawa's gesture.

Arakawa cursed the guy under his breath, calling him a bastard.

We clearly agreed to stand up for the Suzuki family together, and now you're making me stand up alone?

"Hmph, business competition can be ruthless."

Arakawa is the police chief; he has no choice but to speak up.

So all I could say was, "With Manager Kajimura dead, the Suzuki family's hotel has lost all its reputation and its business has plummeted."

"And the biggest beneficiary seems to be you, Mr. Zhengyi."

“Inspector,” Conan said, “Shoichi isn’t the murderer. Why do you people always suspect him?”

Conan is so helpless.

You all always doubt Brother Zhengyi. Were all those cases I solved in vain? Were the murderers caught for nothing?
These stupid police officers.

The truth is out, yet you still like to speculate wildly. No wonder the public says you're useless.

"Oh?" Arakawa raised an eyebrow. What does a little kid like you know?

“Young man, you may have a good relationship with Mr. Zhengyi and trust him. But in the eyes of the police, he has all three: motive, opportunity, and means.”

Currently, no more suitable suspect has been found than Zheng Yi.

Conan shrugged and didn't argue with him.

These stupid police officers are impossible to reason with. It's better to talk to the murderer and let him come out and confess.

Sonoko looked at Masakazu cautiously.

Could it really be Zheng Yi who did it?

They don't even spare their friends' employees?
When Xiaolan saw the look in Yuanzi's eyes, she nudged her with her elbow and said, "Yuanzi, Zhengyi isn't that kind of person."

"hey-hey."

Sonoko smiled awkwardly and said, "I know, the murderer is definitely not Masahiro."

Although she said that the murderer was not Shoichi, Sonoko's tone was three parts doubt, three parts suspicion, three parts fear, and one part terror.

This clearly indicates that Zheng Yi has been identified as the murderer.

Hongye whispered in Zhengyi's ear, "You've gone too far. You even killed your friend's employee. Are you planning to go after Sonoko in the future?"

Hongye frowned.

Are you not human?

Sonoko treated you as a friend, but you killed one of Sonoko's employees.

And the reason you came to Hachijojima was because Sonoko invited you to play. You're being so inconsiderate.

"Stop making things worse." Zheng Yi tapped Hongye on the forehead with his finger.

And don't think that just because you speak softly, many people can hear you.

So many people already have doubts about me, and you, someone so close to me, are saying this too. Doesn't that just make them even more suspicious?

Sure enough, Sonoko's gaze toward Shoichi became even stranger.

She shrank back behind Xiaolan, a little scared.

Zheng Yi's appearance is beautiful, but it's also a bit too terrifying. She's so scared.

Arakawa's investigation was also directed at Shoichi.

First, check the surveillance footage at Zheng Yi's door and ask the people next to Zheng Yi's room if they heard any noise from his room.

Zheng Yi's face grew increasingly dark.

There must be someone backing Inspector Arakawa, otherwise he wouldn't dare treat me as the murderer directly.

"There's been no movement from Mr. Zhengyi's side."

"The murderer may not be Zheng Yi."

"Stupid! Does he really have to do it himself? He's so rich, he supports so many people!"

The police officers had a heated discussion.

After investigating for a long time, nothing was found.

"Wait a minute! Inspector Arakawa, you've got the wrong person!"

Everyone turned around and saw that Conan had somehow slipped to the side of the corpse.

He pushed up his reflective glasses, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

These idiots have been investigating Brother Zhengyi, who had no grudge against the deceased. It would be strange if they could find the murderer.

"Conan?"

Conan didn't turn around, but squatted down next to the body, carefully observing the bloodstains on the ground and the surrounding environment.

Inspector Arakawa frowned: "Kid, don't cause trouble! This is a murder scene, not a place for you to play detective games!"

"Okay, sure." Conan turned and left decisively.

Conan finally breathed a sigh of relief after walking up to Masakazu's side.

That was close! Xiaolan's gaze towards him suddenly seemed off.

Arakawa also paused.

This kid is quite obedient; he ran off after saying just one sentence.

Ran's gaze also began to drift elsewhere, trying her best not to look at Conan next to Masakazu.

After avoiding Ran's attention, Conan said to Masakazu, "Masakazu-nii, use your identity for a moment."

"Are you sure anyone still believes what I say?" Zheng Yi asked.

Even Momiji and Ai don't believe what I say, so who can believe me?

Zheng Yi became increasingly annoyed.

I'm so lonely, nobody believes me!
Lonely Shoichi reached out and grabbed Ai's face, stretching her cheeks long.

"Ok?"

Xiao Ai was baffled.

You bastard, what kind of crazy excuse have you come up with to bully me now?
Conan nodded, thinking it made sense.

He felt that a certain atmosphere in Japan was very bad.

It seems like everyone resents the rich.

Zheng Yi Ge is such a kind person, but he is misunderstood by everyone just because he is rich.

Hey~
He truly felt that one day Zheng Yi Ge would be unable to bear it any longer and would leave.

Conan had no choice but to aim his tranquilizer watch at Inspector Arakawa.

"Then I'm sorry, Inspector," Conan said softly, "I'll be borrowing your voice for a moment." *Pfft—*

The anesthetic needle struck Arakawa precisely in the neck.

The stern-faced police inspector swayed, then collapsed softly to the ground.

"Arakawa Police Department!"

“It’s alright, and besides, I already know who the real culprit is,” Arakawa said.

"what?"

Everyone was puzzled by the identity of the 'real killer'.

Could it be that Zheng Yi isn't the real murderer?
Or perhaps, Arakawa was also corrupted by Shoichi?
The speculations of others did not stop Arakawa from continuing his reasoning.

"Look everyone, there are some blue fibers under Manager Kajimura's fingernails," Conan said.
"Moreover, his right hand was clenched tightly, as if he had grabbed something before he died."

A policeman carefully pried open the corpse's hand, and found a small gold button lying in the palm.

"This button..."

Conan's gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on a uniformed policeman who had been standing in the corner.

"This button is a special button for the Hachijojima Metropolitan Police Department's uniform," Conan said.
"Moreover, it is only available on the newly issued uniforms."

The policeman stiffened slightly, his hand unconsciously reaching for the pistol at his waist.

"Could the murderer be a police officer?"

Sonoko stepped out from behind Ran again.

Sonoko regained some courage after realizing that the culprit might not be Shoichi.

"I see," Zheng Yi said. "So the murderer was a policeman who wanted to frame me."

As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone else's voices vanished instantly.

The sudden silence made Zheng Yi a little embarrassed.

Sonoko got a little scared again and shrank back behind Ran.

Ran patted Sonoko's shoulder helplessly, offering her some comfort.

Seriously, is Brother Zheng Yi really that scary?

Ai tugged at Shoichi's sleeve, pulling him back so he could continue acting as a shield for Conan.

Honestly, don't you think they're suspicious of you enough?
Be good, stand here and don't move, listen to me.

"The evidence is right here!"

Conan suddenly pulled a small voice recorder out of his pocket.

He shoved the recorder into Zhengyi's hand.

"When I was examining the body just now, I found a voice recorder in Manager Kajimura's pocket. Although it was damaged, I still managed to recover some of the recordings."

"I gave this voice recorder to Zhengyi."

Zheng Yi held up the recording pen and showed it to everyone.

The crowd fell even more silent.

Zheng Yi was standing there without moving, so how did the recording pen suddenly appear?
And you, Inspector Arakawa, didn't even go to Masakazu's side, so how did you send him off?
But everyone remained silent.

It seems that Inspector Arakawa has also been corrupted by Shoichi long ago.

Ignoring the wild thoughts of others, Zheng Yi pressed the play button, and intermittent sound came from it:

"...You...you're too greedy, I have someone behind me..."

"...Hmph, all I'm asking you to do is patrol this area more and keep an eye on the Justice Group. This money is more than enough... Don't be greedy..."

"...What...what are you doing...saving me..."

“These recordings prove that the murderer is a policeman, right?” Conan said.

Everyone nodded in agreement; it was indeed a good idea.

Moreover, the deceased bribed the murderer, and when the murderer felt the money was insufficient and a verbal conflict ensued, he killed the deceased.

“The policeman standing next to the pillar,” Conan continued, “the second button on your uniform is missing.”

"Toshiyuki Watanabe?"

"Watanabe, are you the murderer?"

Watanabe Shun subconsciously looked down at his uniform, and sure enough, the second button was empty.

Conan, speaking in Inspector Arakawa's voice, said, "Everyone, there's only one truth!"

"You are the murderer! Toshiyuki Watanabe!"

"You brat, you're talking nonsense!" Watanabe said angrily.

"It's just a missing button. Can't I just put it somewhere else? You're accusing me of being the murderer based on that alone?"

Conan shook his head.

These murderers are all people who won't shed a tear until they see the coffin.

“You should have had some extra money in your account recently, right? It must have been from the deceased,” Conan said.

Everyone looked at Watanabe.

If this is true, then it means Watanabe was the policeman who was bribed.

The murderer was naturally him.

"Pshaw!" Watanabe said smugly, "Can't I just say I won the lottery?"

"Oh?"

Zheng Yi said in a low voice, "Then tell me what lottery it is, and I can help you investigate whether you are the winner."

Watanabe's expression changed.

He had never bought a lottery ticket; the kind of winning ticket was bought by the hotel staff from someone else and then given to him.

He doesn't have the habit of buying lottery tickets.

With Zheng Yi's abilities, he could definitely find out who bought the lottery ticket, which would expose him.

Thinking about it, his hand reached out...

"what!"

Before Watanabe could even draw his gun, Ran knew his intentions first, kicking his hand and then his stomach, knocking him to the ground.

"Take him!"

The sudden turn of events startled everyone around, but fortunately Conan suddenly shouted, attracting the attention of the surrounding police who rushed over and subdued Watanabe.

After being subdued, Watanabe struggled incessantly, but seeing no hope of escape, he could only shout in despair:

"That's right, I'm the murderer! That bastard didn't give me enough money, I just wanted more, and that bastard actually insulted me by calling me a poor wretch!"

"I killed him in a fit of rage!"

He retorted defiantly, "And Arakawa! How dare you arrest me! You also took money from Kajimura, what right do you have to arrest me!"

Conan, who was hiding behind Masakazu, was taken aback.

Did Arakawa also take a bribe?
He looked at the bow.

In that case, wouldn't it be a bad idea for him to anesthetize Arakawa? Wouldn't that be like making him turn himself in?

If you turn yourself in, your crime will be less serious.

"Nonsense! Inspector Arakawa would never accept a bribe from Kajimura like you!"

The other police officers yelled at Watanabe.

Conan glanced at the other police officers' reactions and saw that they trusted Arakawa's character and didn't seem to be trying to cover anything up.

Could it be that Arakawa really didn't do it, and Watanabe just made up false accusations after being arrested?
Watanabe roared angrily, "Arakawa! You scoundrel! Did you take Kajimura's money or not? Tell me!"

"Go investigate Arakawa, you'll definitely find out!"

One of the policemen sneered.

He said to Watanabe, "Watanabe, save your breath. Don't slander Inspector Arakawa. He couldn't possibly have taken money from Kajimura. He clearly left on Masakazu's behalf..."

"Cough cough!"

A cough from a nearby policeman immediately stopped him from saying what he was about to say.

Arakawa is here today to clear Shoichi's name; he's clearly Shoichi's lackey.

Of course, such words should not be spoken aloud. (End of Chapter)