Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Conan, nestled behind Shoichi, was still struggling with his decision.

Did I contact the wrong person?
As for the other police officers' 'slip of the tongue' saying that Arakawa was Masakazu's lackey, of course that couldn't be true.

Why would a normal entrepreneur like Zheng Yi hire police lackeys?
It's nonsense.

Now, Watanabe is still clamoring that Arakawa, like him, took money from Kajimura.

What he said is very likely true.

Look, Watanabe's face is now contorted with rage, and he hates Arakawa with boundless hatred.

Conan slipped away from Shoichi and ran to Sonoko's side, asking:
"Sonoko, did Kajimura really bribe the police?"

“How would I know?” Sonoko shook her head.

She doesn't care about business matters; she's just here to have fun.

Several police officers stepped forward and forcibly took Watanabe away, who was still roaring and trying to break free of his restraints.

As Watanabe was dragged along, he stared intently at Arakawa Akira, who was fast asleep against the wall not far away, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

"Arakawa! You despicable bastard! You just wait!" Watanabe roared hysterically, spitting as he spoke.

"You betrayed me! You also took that Kajimura's bribe and wanted to keep it all for yourself, didn't you? I'm not a good person, and you're no better. You should be arrested too! You bastards, you've arrested the wrong person, go arrest Arakawa!"

However, no matter how much Watanabe cursed, Arakawa remained leaning against the wall, snoring rhythmically.

"Take him away and let him calm down."

The officers were quite unkind to this black sheep who slandered their inspector.

After taking Watanabe away, two policemen stepped forward and gave Arakawa a hard shove on the shoulder: "Inspector, wake up, how come you're asleep at this hour?"

really weird.

I just solved a case, and then I fell asleep immediately.

They had also heard about Kogoro Mouri.

Is it possible that a deep sleep is contagious?

Arakawa Akira jolted awake and groggily opened his eyes.

He looked around blankly, then at Watanabe who was being dragged away: "Huh? What happened? Why was Watanabe taken away?"

"Inspector, you..."

"Officer!" Conan ran up and said, "Watanabe is the murderer. He took bribes from Kajimura, was greedy and wanted more, so a conflict broke out and he killed Manager Kajimura."

"Huh?" Arakawa panicked.

Wait, what's wrong with Watanabe?

How can you take someone's life after you've already taken their money?

Arakawa looked somewhat flustered and asked softly, "Watanabe didn't say anything, did he?"

“He said that you, Inspector, also took money from Kajimura, just like him,” the officer said.

Arakawa's expression changed.

“But that kind of talk just doesn’t make sense, how could we possibly believe it?” the officer said.

Arakawa's complexion improved slightly.

He coughed and said, "That's right. Everyone knows I've worked diligently on the island. How could I possibly accept bribes?"

The officers smiled without saying a word, only looking at Arakawa with ambiguous, half-smiling eyes.

Just because you don't accept Kajimura's disciples doesn't mean you won't accept Shoichi's disciples.

The strange attitude of these police officers made Arakawa somewhat flustered.

what happened?

Don't you believe I didn't take money from Kajimura?
What is the current attitude?
He was panicking. Could it be that they had already discovered him but were just not exposing him for the time being?
Arakawa was filled with worry.

"Ugh……"

Conan sighed heavily in his heart, looking at the firing port of his wristwatch-shaped tranquilizer gun, and felt a deep headache.

He chose Arakawa because the location was suitable, and as the police inspector leading the team, his words were more credible.

Who would have thought that, judging from Watanabe's hysterical accusations just now, he doesn't seem to be an innocent person at all.

"Seriously, the choice of anesthesiologist this time was a complete failure..."

Conan's gaze became somewhat subtle as he looked through the reflection in his glasses.

If what Watanabe said is true, then Arakawa has probably done countless dirty deeds behind the scenes.

Conan stroked his chin, looked at Arakawa who had just been shaken awake by the police, and made up his mind.

It seems I'll have to ask Officer Takagi or Officer Chiba to investigate this privately when I get back to Tokyo.

Investigate whether this Arakawa Akira has accepted bribes from Manager Kajimura.

If he really is, then we absolutely cannot let him go.

"That's enough, let's go back to sleep," Zheng Yi said.

Zheng Yi yawned first, then dragged Ai away.

Everyone glanced at Zheng Yi, silently suppressing their various thoughts, and walked towards their rooms, deciding to check out tomorrow and go to Zheng Yi's hotel.

Look, the manager of this hotel has been murdered. It must be because his business was too good and he robbed Zheng Yi of his money.

Now that he's dead, will Zheng Yi target others next?

Hard to say.

Perhaps in order to make the hotel's business worse and to make people think that the hotel is not safe, Zheng Yi might take action against the guests here.

They can't take the risk; they'll check out tomorrow.

After Shoichi left, Sonoko tugged at Ran's arm and whispered, "Was it really not Shoichi who did it?"

"Of course not," Xiaolan said helplessly. "Haven't we already found the murderer?"

The murderer has been found, but Sonoko is still very scared.

Xiao Lan said, "Zheng Yi is very good to his friends, he won't do anything to you."

"It's hard to say," Sonoko said softly.

She had wondered before why those people were so afraid of Brother Zhengyi.

But now that it's her turn, it's really hard not to be afraid.

Although the murderer has been caught, seeing Zheng Yi still fills me with fear, since he really can threaten my life.

Ran asked, "Did Manager Kajimura really give Watanabe the money?"

"I don't know, but it's possible," Sonoko said.

“In that case, let’s believe… Inspector Arakawa’s reasoning. The culprit is Watanabe,” Ran said.

Sonoko shook her head.

If money were being offered, how could it be given only to Watanabe, a mere policeman? Arakawa would certainly not be overlooked.

But now that Arakawa has stepped forward and arrested Watanabe, it's a bit strange.

"Forget it, let's not think about it anymore," Sonoko said, tugging at Ran's arm.
"How about you sleep with me tonight? I'm scared."

"it is good."

Xiao Lan nodded helplessly.

……

"I'll sleep with you tonight."

Meanwhile, Zheng Yi also grabbed Ai's arm and headed towards his bedroom.

He yawned, looking very listless.

"I do not want it."

Ai is very resistant.

She looked up at Zheng Yi and asked, "What's wrong with you now?"

She didn't want to sleep with Zheng Yi; he was a restless sleeper and might try to steal the blanket from her.

And if I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, I'll definitely wake her up too, which is really excessive.

“Because you are in danger, I will protect you,” Zheng Yi said.

Ai looked at Masakazu with disdain.

A lame excuse.

"Then Ai will sleep with me." Hongye grabbed Ai's other arm. "I can protect Ai too."

Ai glanced at Shoichi, then at Momiji, and leaned closer to Momiji.

She still trusted Hongye more.

If she had to choose between the two, Ai would definitely not choose Shoichi. "Kurenai can't protect you," Shoichi said.

"It can protect me, and what danger could it possibly pose?" Hongye muttered.

"Isn't that murderer your lackey? Would you really let him kill us?"

"What do you mean by 'my lackey'?"

Zheng Yi said with dissatisfaction, "I don't like dogs."

Hongye hummed twice.

Just because you don't like dogs doesn't mean you won't take a dog as a pet.

Hongye looked at Zhengyi and said, "Xiao Ai is a girl, what's the meaning of her sleeping with you?"

“Because Ai is really in danger,” Masakazu said.

He pinched Ai's cheek and said seriously, "The organization's people are coming to arrest Ai. If you don't come with me, I'm afraid Ai will be taken away."

Hongye gave a cold laugh.

Ai also looked at Masakazu with a cold expression.

Zheng Yi blinked.

what's the situation?
I said the organization was coming to arrest Ai, why aren't you afraid of anyone?
Your reaction is a bit strange.

Zheng Yi said, "Several people have messaged me saying that Gin sent them to come and capture Ai."

Hongye remained silent, and Xiao Ai kept a cold expression.

"Can you give me some kind of response?"

"What's the right reaction?"

Ai said, "Twenty days ago, you also said that the organization was going to arrest me, and that I should stay with you at all times, and preferably not leave you even when I sleep at night."

Zheng Yi glanced at the bead and let it spin.

Ugh?
Did this happen? I seem to have forgotten.

Ai said coldly, "For two nights in total, no one from the organization came to arrest me."

You bastard, you've already lied to me once.

Do you think I'd fall for this "boy who cried wolf" scam multiple times?

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "So, I protected you last time, making the organization's people leave empty-handed."

"The organization's people are here again, and I'll need to protect you."

Ai's lips twitched slightly.

You bastard, how dare you say such a thing?

That's right, Zheng Yi has never cared about his reputation.

“You said the same thing ten days ago,” Ai said.

Zheng Yi was taken aback.

Ai helped him recall: "Ten days ago, you still said that the organization was going to arrest me, and you lied to me that we were inseparable."

"The organization's people still haven't come, you bastard, just say it's because you protected them well."

Ai's eyes were unfriendly.

You've already given this reason.

Zheng Yi slapped his forehead in exasperation.

Did I actually say that?

How come I'm so smart?

Zheng Yi looked down at Xiao Ai and whispered, "I didn't lie to you. I really did drive the people from the organization away and prevent them from capturing you."

Xiao Ai sneered.

If I believe your nonsense again, I'm a pig.

Zheng Yi was helpless.

What if you've already overdrawn your own credit?
To be honest, even Ai doesn't believe it anymore.

Zheng Yi said, "This time it's different. This time there really are organized people coming to arrest you. You can check your emails if you don't believe me."

He took out the emails that Vermouth and the others had sent him and showed them to Ai.

Ai glanced at it, but remained unmoved.

"Do you believe me now?" Zheng Yi asked.

Ai scoffed, "You've shown me emails like this before."

Twenty days ago, I easily believed you.

Ten days ago, I was wary, but after you dug up emails like this, I believed you again.

But now, unless I'm a fool, I won't trust you anymore.

Zheng Yi blinked.

Did I show you the emails before?
How am I so smart?

Zheng Yi looked at her stubborn and unyielding appearance and sighed helplessly.

"Okay, I admit I lied to you before." Zheng Yi softened his tone and said seriously:
"But this time it's for real, Ai. The organization is really going to send people to arrest you. They're going to send a lot of people, like Vermouth, Kir, Vodka, Binga, and the like."

"I do not believe."

Ai's lips curled into a cold smile.

Don't think that just because you sound a little serious, I'll believe you.

This isn't the first time you've lied to me.

"This time it's really different!" Zheng Yi said urgently.

"is it?"

Ai snorted softly, "But I still don't believe it."

She slightly raised her chin: "Don't waste your energy. If the organization really comes, just let me be arrested. You don't need to protect me."

Zheng Yi looked at Xiao Ai.

You're so decisive, but won't your legs go weak when you smell the alcohol?
When the people from the organization actually arrive, I hope you'll be as tough as you are now.

"Trust me, okay? This time, you don't have to share a bed with me. We can just share a room, and I can keep an eye on you a bit," Zheng Yi said.

Ai shook her head: "No, you snore when you sleep, it keeps me awake."

"Nonsense, I've never heard myself snoring."

"Come on, come inside with me."

"do not want!"

Ai suddenly shrank back, her two little hands gripping Koyo's arm tightly.

She tilted her head back, her eyes filled with anger and resistance: "Let go of me! I don't want to go in with you!"

"Why are you so disobedient, child?" Zheng Yi sighed helplessly, his brows furrowed.

He reached out and grabbed Ai's arm.

But he didn't dare to use too much force, afraid that he would hurt Xiao Ai if he pulled too hard. He could only try to coax and force her into the house.

However, Hongye was not a sensible person either.

This young lady not only didn't help, but instead opened her arms and hugged Ai's waist like a protective mother, leaning back and pulling her away forcefully.

"Shoichi!" Koyo said, pulling Ai tightly while scolding him, "Stop messing around, okay?"

"Hongye! You've got it wrong!" Zhengyi said, "It's not safe outside right now. I'm bringing her inside to protect her. Let go of her now, don't make things worse."

You're the one who's being ridiculous.

"Protect? You'd better forget about it."

Hongye didn't believe Zhengyi's words at all, and instead hugged him even tighter.

She also comforted Ai, saying, "Don't be afraid, Ai, I will protect you."

"Red Leaf! Do you want Ai to be captured by the organization so you can monopolize me?" Zheng Yi roared.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Hongye pulled at Zhengyi with dissatisfaction.

She's not that kind of person.

Shoichi just wanted to bully Ai, and he even made up the lie that he was going to be arrested.

Once or twice is one thing, but this is the third time. Can't you come up with some other excuse?
With her around, don't even think about bullying Ai! (End of Chapter)