He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

After contacting all parties, Inspector Megure walked out to Shinichi Kudo and patted him on the shoulder.

"The higher-ups are taking this incident very seriously. They said they'll request support from Interpol and use an experimental project that hasn't been officially put into use yet. Regardless of whether it's the real or fake Sato, they'll definitely be able to find him. The forensic doctor will be here soon too. Don't worry, Kudo."

He took out a cigarette and turned to look at Shinichi Kudo: "Do you mind?"

Shinichi Kudo shook his head: "There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the underground casino incident in Kabukicho. Inspector Megure, do you remember?"

Megure lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, held his breath for a while, exhaled smoke from his nose, and then let out a comfortable, almost groaning sound before nodding.

"Of course, which one are you referring to specifically?"

"Ishida Mamoru's actions were contradictory, and he didn't seem like a cunning mastermind. Moreover, the police later investigated his life and background. From childhood to adulthood, he was just an average-looking person and never showed any special talents."

"Brother Kudo, are you saying that he was just being used, and the real mastermind is someone else..." Inspector Megure paused, his eyes darkening, "You mean that person is Mizuki Hotaru, right?"

"Yes, but the specific reason..."

Shinichi Kudo remained silent for a long time: "Inspector Megure, what kind of person do you think Kiyoko is? No, just talking about physical abilities, do you think her fragility when you first met her at the Ian Apartments was just a facade?"

After thinking for a moment, Inspector Megure shook his head and said, "You've seen Sato's extremely excessive investigation. Everyone thinks that Kiyoko Yukimatsu has a bad background. She even fainted from anemia at school in the past. I don't think she was faking it."

Besides, the later events hadn't happened yet; who was she pretending for?

“Yes, I used to think this place was strange too, but the facts made me think that way.” Shinichi Kudo sighed. “But if you take into account the existence of disguise, everything becomes different.”

"what?!"

Inspector Megure had gradually calmed down, but when Shinichi Kudo said those words, he was so shocked that he dropped the cigarette he was holding in his mouth.

A spark lands on the rusty spots, vanishing in an instant in this dark world.

"Brother Kudo, are you saying that Kiyoko Yukimatsu has also been impersonated and isn't the real person?!"

This is simply unbelievable!

So many people were silently replaced; was he on the set of some horror movie?

"The Great Invasion of the Fake Humans"?!

"Your Bedmate is Wearing a Painted Mask?"

Shinichi Kudo's voice was a little hoarse: "I don't want to accept this reality either, but if you compare it carefully, you'll find that some things are really suspicious."

Especially considering that Kiyoko was almost defiled, if our previous reasoning was correct, Mizuki wouldn't have allowed things to escalate to that point.

"So, does that mean that Kiyoko Yukimatsu was already a fake back then?"

Megure Juzo's eyes were serious, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt something was wrong: "Then who contacted Mr. Nakatani to stop you and kidnapped Kiyoko Yukimatsu on the roadside? I know on the surface it is Nami Yukimatsu, but according to your guess just now, Brother Kudo, it should be Hotaru Mizuki."

But...

It doesn't make sense.

You probably think that Mizuki Hotaru knew that Yukimatsu Kiyoko had been replaced, right? Then what was his purpose in staging that scene?

Shinichi Kudo gently tapped the railing, and with a crisp clanging sound, he said firmly:

"I think everything turned around that night."

Mizuki and Kiyoko orchestrated a series of events involving gambling, kidnapping, and auction. Among them, Yukimatsu Nami, Uncle Mori, Mr. Harada, Ishida Mamoru, Nakatani Fumizumi, and the Muddy Cannon Association were all just pawns.

Their original purpose is not entirely clear, but it is roughly to make money and deal with Yukimatsu Nami and Uncle Mori. Kiyoko will not actually be auctioned off.

However, an unexpected event occurred that they had not anticipated.

Someone took advantage of that opportunity to replace Kiyoko!

Shinichi Kudo, of course, did not know the specific details and was only guessing. Suigetsu should have discovered this soon, but instead of pointing it out, he pretended to be completely unaware and secretly observed, trying to figure out the imposter's purpose.

Shinichi Kudo gave Inspector Megure a general account of what had happened. As Megure reviewed the events with barely concealed shock, he quickly realized that there was a piece of evidence that could provide corroboration.

"Mihana Central Hospital!"

Shinichi Kudo's eyes lit up: "Kiyoko was hospitalized on Monday night because of a chili allergy. She made the hospital do a lot of tests on her in order to get rid of me."

On Thursday night, because I suspected Qingzi, I also asked the doctor to examine her. Comparing the two reports, the answer became clear!

"Okay! Let's go to the hospital now!"

Megure Juzo smoked most of his newly lit cigarette in one go, threw it on the ground, stomped on it, and called out to Chiba Kazunobu inside, telling him to stay there and wait for the forensic doctor to arrive. Then he turned around and went downstairs with a thud.

Shinichi Kudo pondered for two seconds, determined that there shouldn't be any other clues here, and then followed suit and left.

Chiba Kazunobu glanced at the refrigerator from inside the room, shivered, and quickly went to the outer room as well.

A moment later, watching the police car speed away from the alley entrance, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

How come he's suddenly all alone?

At 6:30 p.m., Shinichi Kudo and Juzo Megure entered Beika Central Hospital.

The medical staff here are very familiar with these two people; they are regulars these days. After they explained their purpose, they immediately cooperated by pulling up the two reports for comparison.

"Strange, how can the data differ so much when there's only a three-day difference?"

You don't know until you compare them, and once you do, more than one doctor exclaimed in surprise.

Shinichi Kudo and Juzo Megure exchanged a glance, made up their minds, thanked the medical staff, and prepared to leave.

However, she was stopped by the nurse, Huizi.

"Mr. Mori was in a very low mood after he came back from watching the game this afternoon, and you..."

"Find him a psychologist, we have other things to do."

Shinichi Kudo interrupted him before he could finish speaking, and turned to continue walking out.

Inspector Megure apologized to the somewhat embarrassed nurse, Keiko, and quickly asked, "Do you know the specifics of the situation?"

Nurse Huizi nodded: "We called Miss Lan, and she said that Mr. Mao Li deserved it for trying to hide what happened yesterday afternoon from Attorney Fei. She told us to ignore him, let him reflect on his actions, and just show him 'Animal World'."

"What happened yesterday afternoon?"

Megure Juzo was confused, but Shinichi Kudo, who hadn't gone far, nodded upon hearing this.

"Xiao Lan is right, he brought this on himself."

Shinichi Kudo didn't care about this matter at all, but when he thought about what Suigetsu said on the phone yesterday, and how Uncle Mori had exposed this matter to Attorney Kisaki so early, he became more and more certain that this style was at least 60% similar to the mastermind behind the scenes.

Furthermore, with the shared goal of "punishing Uncle Mori," the similarity increases to over 80%!

The only thing he couldn't understand was why Shuiyue would show this side of herself to him.

Do you think he would never have thought of this?

Even if he might not have thought of it under normal circumstances, you went shopping with Qingzi again this afternoon. Isn't that a bit too blatant?

I have a feeling that he doesn't want to hide it anymore.

What good would it do him to expose himself?

Could it be that he enjoys this feeling—being suspected but unable to find evidence, dancing on the edge of a knife?

That's outrageous!

Thinking as he walked, Shinichi Kudo quickly returned to the police car. Megure Juzo was only a few seconds late; he looked at Shinichi Kudo with excitement as soon as he got into the car.

"Sato has been found!"

"Is it real or fake?" Shinichi Kudo asked hastily.

"She drove a white Mazda, drove around to a villa in Tsuburaya Town, and didn't contact us. It's probably a hoax." Inspector Megure started the car and put it in fifth gear. "The SWAT team has already arrived. We're on the outskirts."

Shinichi Kudo had no objection, but said with some surprise, "What kind of experimental system does Interpol use? It's so efficient."

"I don't know about that, but in the future..."

Before he could finish speaking, the phone rang again. He glanced at it, answered it directly, and put it on speakerphone.

"Inspector, the decoy plan with the black BMW has failed. The scientific investigation department investigated the initial contact email of the mole and found that it has been deactivated."

The tone on the other end was quite heavy, which made both Shinichi Kudo and Juzo Inspector Megure feel rather depressed.

This almost proves that there are other moles within the Metropolitan Police Department!

After hanging up the phone, Inspector Megure felt a bit worried about the next move. Could the unknown force have also found out about the fake Sato?

No, maybe the fake Sato is actually from that faction?

But wouldn't that make things worse? What if those SWAT officers were to be caught in another massive explosion?!

What he could think of, his superiors could certainly think of as well. In his heart, Inspector Megure held his colleague in the highest esteem and gritted his teeth, saying, "Brother Kudo, you must not act impulsively later, and stay away from the scene!"

Shinichi Kudo nodded solemnly: "I know my limits."

That being said, twenty minutes later, as the shockwave from the explosion caught Shinichi Kudo's eye, he unconsciously glanced at the rooftop of a nearby building and caught a fleeting glimpse of a flowing white dress.

He was still shaken, and after shouting to Inspector Megure, he rushed over.

"Kudo, you son of a bitch! You deserve to die!"

In a fit of rage, Inspector Megure blurted out, "You call this knowing your limits?!"

What a fool!

Too reckless!

But he quickly followed, shouting into the communication channel: "Inspector Matsumoto, Shinichi Kudo has spotted a figure resembling Kiyoko Yukimatsu. The location is a residential building south of the explosion site. Requesting backup!"

"I see."

Over the earpiece, after issuing the reinforcement order, Matsumoto Kiyonaga turned back to Inspector Megure and said, "This explosion wasn't aimed at the police; the SWAT teams haven't even entered the area yet. Megure, according to you, it might be targeting Kiyoko Yukimatsu's faction."

"I'm sorry, Inspector, I don't know much about these things; it was all told to me by Shinichi Kudo," Inspector Megure said frankly.

"Shinichi Kudo..."

Matsumoto Kiyonaga pondered for a few moments: "Have you told anyone else about this?"

“The most complete reasoning is known only to Shinichi Kudo and me; Chiba only knows a part of it.” Inspector Megure paused. “Does this matter involve some secret? Do we need to sign a confidentiality agreement?”

"Pretty much. Superintendent Odagiri hinted at that to me. We'll discuss the specifics when you get back. As for this case... let's investigate it normally, without going too far. The issues involved are quite complex, and the First Investigative Division's authority needs to be kept relatively simple."

"This……"

Megure Juichi momentarily slowed his pace: "Don't go overboard with the investigation, could it be..."

"Don't overthink it. We'll talk about everything when you get back," Matsumoto Kiyonaga interrupted. "And as for Shinichi Kudo, I know he's helped you a lot, but he's not a policeman after all. There are some things you can't tell him without reservation, do you understand?"