Ke Xue: He mastered the steel-cutting divine skill at the start.

His abilities are good, which is certainly one of the reasons, but it is not the most fundamental reason. The most fundamental reason is his influence.

He himself may not have realized the role of strength, but the role of influence has always existed.

Imagine if Yusaku Kudo hadn't endorsed him; no matter how capable he was, his reasoning wouldn't have been accepted by the police. And without Inspector Megure's full protection, he wouldn't have been able to focus on solving cases.

Later, he helped Kogoro Mouri behind the scenes. On the surface, he was helping Kogoro, but in reality, wasn't it also a form of camouflage?

However, once he encountered the Black Organization, a powerful transnational criminal organization, all his camouflage and protection became useless. He could only hide his identity, become an elementary school student, and secretly fight against the organization. After more than a thousand episodes, he still couldn't cause any major damage to the Black Organization. Gin, a mere nobody, was still alive and well.

Unlike Miyazaki Yu, who, after becoming powerful, easily put Gin to death.

After making up their minds, the two began their investigation at the police station, following their original plan.

However, their timing was clearly poor. The entire police station was in a state of chaos and had no time to deal with them. Despite their best efforts, they made no progress.

This left both of them quite frustrated. Their smooth sailing in Japan had made them forget the hardships of investigating the case.

In fact, when investigating a case, in addition to reasoning and evidence, the environment is also very important. The two young people were in a foreign country, without the power to endorse their case and in a life of hardship and discrimination. Even the most basic questions could not be answered.

This is a world of difference from the treatment they received in Japan. Back in Japan, no one dared to refuse to answer their questions, but now they are simply ignored, making their investigation extremely difficult.

After discussing it, the two realized that things couldn't continue like this, so they immediately changed their location and headed towards the crime scene. Only by seeing the crime scene with their own eyes could they find effective clues.

However, they encountered obstacles once again. The American police had already set up a very tight cordon around the entire castle, prohibiting anyone from entering. All the police officers were fully armed, with serious and stern expressions on their faces, and hands that were constantly touching their pistols.

This shows that they are serious at this moment; anyone who dares to trespass will be met with gunfire.

The two were in an even worse situation this time. They didn't even have a chance to speak before being driven away and given a very serious warning: a very serious case had occurred here, and anyone unrelated to the case should stay away from the area.

If they ignore the warnings, they have the right to kill them on the spot!

This gave both of them a chill; they couldn't even sneak in, let alone obtain any useful information.

This immediately put the two in a stalemate.

"Damn it, these American police officers won't listen to our explanations or any of our advice. They just blindly act recklessly. What a bunch of rude guys!"

Hattori Heiji couldn't help but complain.

Conan shook his head: "It seems we were naive after all. The reason we were able to easily get close to the crime scene in Japan was because someone helped us. Otherwise, we would probably be like we are now, unable to get any first-hand information at all."

Hattori Heiji became somewhat dejected: "Sonoko has vanished without a trace, and now this Skeleton Knights case is also completely unsolved. Is our operation going to fail like this?"

Conan, however, smirked and said, "Hattori, the way you're saying this isn't the fearless Heiji Hattori I know. We still have two directions to investigate."

Seeing Heiji Hattori's puzzled expression, Conan took out the newspaper from before and pointed at it with his finger. Heiji Hattori's eyes immediately lit up.

"You mean, go find those girls who escaped from the castle!"

Conan nodded: "That's right, all these girls are victims of the Skeleton Knights. Those guys never intended to let them leave. Over time, these girls must know a lot about the castle!"

If it weren't for the shocking information reported in the newspapers, many media outlets would probably have already gone to interview these girls.

Heiji Hattori pondered for a moment: "Kudo, don't you think the whole thing is too much of a coincidence? The castle was attacked, almost everyone was killed, but these girls were left behind, and they just escaped, and all of this has already been reported."

"Only the attacker could have done that. After killing the members of the Skeleton Knights, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he filmed everything and then passed the information to the media, exposing everything!"

Such methods were terrifying to the extreme. After reviewing the situation in their minds for a while, the two of them felt a chill run down their spines.

"What terrifying methods! If he hadn't exposed all of this, he would be facing the full-scale manhunt of the US police and the relentless investigation of the FBI. But by exposing it, he stirred up conflict and created the current situation."

The US government's top priority is no longer the investigation, but rather minimizing the impact of the incident so that its objectives can continue to be achieved.

Both of them considered many possible methods, but apart from this one, any other approach would bring them great danger.

They couldn't help but admire the attacker, but this didn't change their original intention. Murder is murder, and no matter the reason, it's not a justification for killing. They still hoped to find the killer's trail as soon as possible through their efforts.

So they began to visit these girls using the identity information directly published in the newspaper, hoping to learn more.

These women had just escaped the clutches of their captors and were still basking in the joy of seeing their families again. The appearance of these two men prompted them to begin pouring out their hearts to each other.

They recounted all the inhuman tortures they had suffered in the castle.

The two men became increasingly alarmed as they listened; the shamelessness and despicable nature of these so-called upper-class Americans far exceeded their imagination.

What the newspapers have revealed is less than one percent of their evil deeds!

They spent most of the day successfully finding the three women who had escaped, and through their accounts, they gradually began to piece together the details.

Little did they know that while they were giving it their all, a pair of cold eyes were already watching them from behind.

The figure, hidden in the shadows, gently lifted the collar of his trench coat and spoke into the small microphone on it.

"They're still making visits; this is the third one. What do you need me to do? Eliminate them all?"

A chilling voice came through the headset: "Life is fragile. Before an accident happens, you never know whether the end of life or an accident will come first."

"Get those women and those two men together; that's the only way to quell the situation quickly!"

Chapter 496 Life-or-Death Crisis (3rd Update!)

The two gathered information along the way, but the more they learned, the heavier their hearts became.

"Kudo, let's stop here. I don't want to keep searching for the truth for those beasts. Their killing might just be a kind of karmic cycle, and it's not something we should get involved in."

Hattori Heiji's eyes reddened slightly; the girls' stories struck a soft spot in his heart like sharp blades.

These girls were all very talented and should have had bright futures.

But it is because of these bastards in the castle that they treat life as a game, trampling and playing with it at will, and their actions are simply outrageous!

Perhaps the best outcome for these people is to be killed.

In Fuzhou, these people all wielded considerable power. If they weren't killed using such violent means, trying to bring them to trial through legal channels would be virtually impossible.

"Hattori......"

Conan was also struggling internally. As a friend, he could understand the other person's feelings and know how the other person felt.

But he still gritted his teeth and said, "Hattori, I know you're not feeling well, but no crime justifies indiscriminate killing. We have a lot of clues now and suspects. As long as we continue to investigate, we will definitely find out the truth!"

Only order and law are the sole means to solve this problem!

A glint of wisdom flashed in his eyes, and just then…

"Clap clap-"

A round of clapping sounds rang out, and to the astonishment of the two, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

He had a slender figure, wore a long trench coat that covered his entire body, wore a top hat, and had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His face was barely visible through the smoke.

This was a middle-aged white man who looked quite down on his luck, with a carefree look in his eyes. He was sizing up the two of them with a smile, as if he were observing prey.

"Who are you?"

Heiji Hattori stood in front of Conan, his gaze fixed intently on the person before him. In that person's eyes, he saw cruelty and terror.

"You'll never know about this. It's a pity, though. I don't usually kill children, but this child seems a bit unusual. Just now, I stopped his reasoning, and it seemed to make a lot of sense."

However, his expression immediately turned serious, and he abandoned his nonchalant demeanor, becoming earnest and earnest.

Just one look from him sent chills down Heiji's spine.

Oh no! This person has killed many people!

At this moment, Conan was also alarmed. The person in front of him was no ordinary criminal, but a terrifying killer who had killed many people. They only had the privilege of seeing such eyes and expressions on the faces of the most terrifying murderers.

Indifferent and ruthless, he showed both seriousness and caution towards the matter of killing, as if it were a matter of course, without the slightest hesitation or unease!

"Are you ready to die now?"

His figure flashed, and he launched an attack on the two of them. With a flick of his wrist, a butterfly knife appeared, and in the blink of an eye, he was beside them.

"what!"

Both of them felt their hair stand on end. Hattori Heiji tried his best to dodge, but the opponent was too fast. In the blink of an eye, the butterfly knife spun in his hand and instantly left a bloody mark on Hattori Heiji's body.

"Hattori!"

Conan rolled away, creating distance. Heiji Hattori was quite strong, standing out among the younger generation, but he was almost killed instantly by this person.

He hurriedly twisted the power-enhancing shoes, and instantly a strong electric current began to stimulate the acupoints on his feet. These shoes were simply magical. Judging from the entire Detective Conan anime, the effect of these shoes was terrifying. The soccer ball kicked out by them was incredibly powerful.

The same thing happened at this moment; in an instant, a powerful football charged towards the opponent.

The attacker instantly sensed a great danger, abandoned Hattori Heiji, and twisted his body with all his might to avoid the attack, while simultaneously pulling back his hand to stab him in the back with his knife.

Under the violent impact, by the time he realized what was happening, he was already in mid-air, experiencing a tearing pain throughout his body.

His body then crashed heavily to the ground, where he lay motionless.

"He's done!"

Hattori Heiji finally breathed a sigh of relief. His opponent's fighting ability was extremely strong. The butterfly knife in his hands was as agile and swift as a butterfly flitting among flowers. With a flap of its wings, it could bring a smear of blood.

Although he hadn't fought his opponent for long, he already had several wounds.

"Who exactly is this person? Why would they come to kill us? It seems we still need to interrogate them..." Before Conan could finish speaking, a hissing sound suddenly rang out.

Several small white balls fell from the attacker's body and began to hiss and emit smoke. In the blink of an eye, the surroundings were shrouded in smoke and dust.

Both of them were startled. Just as they were at a loss, a face with sharp features appeared from the thick fog. It had a high nose, sharp eyes, and a smile that seemed both mocking and provocative.

"Looks like I underestimated you. You actually have this kind of attack method. But you didn't expect this, did you? I'm wearing the latest bulletproof vest, which can not only withstand bullets but also withstand violent impacts. I'm also wearing thermal imaging goggles. You're all dead!"

The attacker chuckled, took a step to the side, spun around, and his right hand moved with lightning speed, the black butterfly knife flying in his palm like a butterfly with open wings, revealing its dangerous blade.

"Pfft!"

Heiji Hattori scooped up Conan and rolled away to escape the enemy's attack range. He immediately tried to escape the dense fog. Once out of the fog, he could launch a counterattack. Inside the fog, the enemy had thermal imaging devices, rendering them deaf and blind, only able to watch helplessly as they were killed.

But how could the enemy allow them to leave the thick fog? This was the battlefield he had set up. He slashed his body horizontally and used the force of the kick to get in front of them.

"Boom-"

A vicious knee strike landed on Conan's small body. For a moment, his mind went blank, as if he had been gored by a mad bull.

"Hey!"

Heiji Hattori somehow found a stick and used it instead of a sword to attack his opponent. However, his vision was obstructed, and he was still a lamb to the slaughter.

The butterfly knife stabbed, flicked, slashed, and thrust, like a butterfly flapping its wings, leaving bloody marks on Hattori Heiji's body. Meanwhile, his free hands and legs seized the opportunity to strike Conan repeatedly.

"Crack!"

A faint cracking sound came from within. Conan felt as if something had shattered his chest cavity, and his entire chest cavity seemed to lose its vitality, causing his heart to contract sharply.