Conan, I'm an actor

Conan looked at Ran with a somewhat blank expression. The Ran in front of him seemed a little unfamiliar to him. He suddenly realized something: Ran wouldn't bring herself to harm him, but Kazuha would!

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! Heiji asked me about the blonde lady behind Shinjo!” Conan immediately said.

Kazuha's expression froze as she stared at Hattori Heiji and repeated, "Blonde, older sister?"

"No, I'm just a little curious." Heiji said, glaring fiercely at Conan.

Conan gave Heiji a "I can't help it" look, and then Ran pulled him upstairs.

Second floor

Shinjo sat in front of his laptop, which had a chat window on it. On the other side of the chat window were Ai Haibara and Karen's virtual avatars from Dolphin 202.

"Have you found Rum's location?" Shinjo asked Karen.

“No,” Karen said with a hint of helplessness. “I checked the FBI database, and there are indeed targets resembling Rum appearing in South American ports. However, after comparing the data, that Rum is probably a fake, a double.”

"substitute?"

“High-ranking members of the organization, especially those skilled in disguise, often prepare several doubles. Rum had several identities before, and this Rum probably has the same habit,” Ai said. “It’s possible that he’s already in Japan.”

"How is Makoto inside the house?" Shinjo asked, frowning.

“The message has been sent out, but we don’t know when that guy will take the bait,” Karen said with a headache. “Are you really going to use him as bait? To be honest, if you’re going to use him as bait, you shouldn’t have gotten involved in the Higashio Village case.”

"why?"

“Because of the death of the person inside the house, your interpersonal relationships may experience some negative changes,” Karen said earnestly. “Humans are social animals, and if…”

"I didn't kill him." Shinjo rolled his eyes. "Even if we're going to settle scores, it won't be me. Besides, do you think Makoto's death inside the house will be widely reported? He's going to be in prison next. Do you think the reporters will know if a suspect dies in prison?"

"Who are you planning to warn?" Ai asked slowly.

“Of course it’s the Public Security Bureau, after all, this is their territory.” Shinjo stroked his chin. “But we can leak the information to Shuichi Akai and ask him for support.”

"Wait, are you sure that guy will take the bait?" Ai Haibara pulled up a news report. "This is a report from the East City Daily. The incident in Higashi Osui Village has become a hot topic of news today because of your involvement."

"Well, and then?" Shinjo said with a smile, "If you were Rum, what would you think?"

"What do you think?" Ai Haibara frowned. "If it were me, in this situation..."

“Fake news,” Karen said. “The people around Shinichi Kudo have developed an antidote, or rather, Shiho Miyano has sided with him and developed an antidote. The people around Shinichi Kudo made up a reason to send Shinichi Kudo to prison, ostensibly for detention, but actually for protection.”

“But all of this is true!” Ai Haibara said, pointing to the report. “All we need to do is find some evidence.”

“He doesn’t have the manpower.” Shinjo shrugged. “Now all of Japan is my people. Even if some of them are willing to defect to Rum, they can’t do it openly. You know the character of those guys at Rum. Since we can’t find out the truth, then it’s better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Commander Lei walked in from outside.

"What's wrong?" Xincheng asked, frowning.

"Things might not be as simple as you think. I went to the scene, but it's been too long; all the traces have been erased." Lei Siling's clothes were wet. "How do you plan to investigate this case?"

"Investigating cases? Investigating cases isn't my job." Shinjo rolled his eyes. "Don't do anything unnecessary."

Commander Lei shrugged, then went to the suite outside and went straight to sleep to replenish his energy.

"By the way, where is Dolphin 202 now, and how long until it reaches Jiuliangliang Island?" Xincheng asked, frowning. "The transaction day is almost here, the drug data..."

“I’ve already sent the drug information to Miss Karen. According to the model Miss Karen established, the survival rate is forty percent,” Ai Haibara said directly. “It’s slightly higher than the mortality rate you requested, but it should be enough to fool those guys.”

Shinjo looked at Kallen, who nodded, indicating that Ai Haibara was right.

"I see, that should be enough to fool those guys."

"Don't get too excited. My data model doesn't take willpower into account," Karen said seriously. "If willpower isn't strong, the mortality rate will rise even further. In that case, it'll be even closer to that pile of pills you made before..."

"It's alright." Xincheng chuckled. "We can just make it up as the time comes."

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye, and Conan and Hattori, accompanied by the village chief, headed deep into the Black Gold Forest.

Upon arriving at the scene, Hattori immediately squatted down, staring blankly at the footprints on the ground.

“This is…” Conan looked at the footprints on the ground, “Someone came here before us.”

"Who do you think it could be?" Hattori looked at the footprints on the ground. "These footprints are quite deep, so it must have come here last night when it was raining."

"Judging from the footprints, they should be boots. It's either New Town or that Miss Riesling," Conan said, turning to the middle-aged village chief beside him. "Where are the original digging marks? Wasn't there supposed to be a landslide?"

"There was a landslide, but we've already filled the pit after the incident." The village chief's face twitched slightly. "After all, there were rumors that there were nuisances in the collapsed cave, so we didn't dare go in..."

Conan and Hattori were speechless; the scene had been completely ruined.

Chapter 310 The Golden Trial

"So, this case," Conan shrugged helplessly, "is only supported by eyewitness testimonies and that piece of paper."

"But what exactly does the 'Nue' on the paper refer to?" Hattori Heiji pondered.

"Is it possible that those aren't English letters, but Japanese?" Conan asked, frowning. "By the way, village chief, were there any other eyewitnesses in that case?"

“There are two eyewitnesses,” Village Chief Murakuma said somewhat helplessly, “but they’re not here yet; they shouldn’t arrive until the afternoon.”

"Huh?" Hattori Heiji immediately realized something was wrong. "Why are they being so cooperative? Didn't you say there were monsters here?"

"They were indeed unwilling to cooperate before, but after hearing that you arrived early, they agreed to come ahead of time," Village Chief Murakuma said with a smile. "Hattori-kun truly lives up to his reputation as the famous high school detective of Osaka; even in such a remote place, people have heard of your exploits."

"Oh, not at all." Hattori Heiji's expression changed instantly after being praised by the village chief, and he looked at Conan with a provocative expression.

Conan could tell from his provocative expression that the guy was still angry. The trick he had tricked him last night was indeed quite bad; he could hear the guy's screams from upstairs.

On their way back to the hotel, Hattori asked about some more details of the accident.

They were stunned when they arrived at the hotel entrance. In addition to the two cars they had brought, there were several other cars parked in front of the hotel.

"It seems the archaeologists and historians I invited have arrived." Village Chief Murakuma scratched his head. "I'll go greet them."

"Not an eyewitness?" Hattori was taken aback.

“They were members of the Tokugawa gold excavation team back then, and also eyewitnesses.” Village Chief Murakuma scratched his head. “That’s the archaeologist, Michitaka Tanzawa, and the tall, thin one next to him is the historian, Yasuharu Someji.”

Hattori and Conan exchanged a glance. They didn't recognize the two names in their memories. It seemed that these two people were not very famous and were probably local scholars.

"Uncle, is there really a legend that proves there is treasure buried in this area?" Conan asked, looking at Michiki Tanzawa. "The Tokugawa Shogun's gold shouldn't be buried here, right?"

“Yes, Sunpu Castle, where Tokugawa Ieyasu lived in seclusion and passed away, is located in our Shizuoka Prefecture,” said Tanzawa Michiki. “The gold is very likely buried around here.”

“Besides that, there is another legend here.” Ranji Yasuka walked over. “It is said that during the war, an old couple hid Ieyasu, who was almost captured by the Imagawa army, in this Black Gold Forest. After pacifying the country, he expressed his desire to repay the kindness he had shown them and bestowed upon the old couple and their descendants a mountain of gold coins.”

"Really?" Kazuha seemed quite interested in this.

“Really, I remember this was even made into a folk song,” Ranji Kangke said with a smile. “It should be…”

"The morning sun shines brightly, the evening sun glows. Inside the iron urn, there are two thousand jars of gold." A middle-aged woman appeared behind him. "This is a folk rhyme that has been passed down in this village since ancient times. Although the phrase 'the morning sun shines brightly, the evening sun glows' is often circulated throughout the country and is used in songs that hint at hidden treasures, it would still be quite a dream if there really were two thousand iron urns filled with gold coins."

“Ms. Masuko, this matter should have nothing to do with the novelist.” Just then, Shinjo appeared at the hotel entrance. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

"A novelist?" Kazuha looked at the middle-aged woman in front of her; she didn't seem like a cultured person at all.

"I remember now! You must be that monster novelist, Masuko Fumie!" Ran recognized the woman in front of her and said excitedly.

"Are you my fan?" Masuko Fumie asked, staring at Shinjo who was standing at the door.

“I guess so.” Shinjo stared at Masuko Fumie and asked, “Have you really made a decision? Doing something like this in front of that child, he’ll probably go crazy.”

Masuko Fumie's face twitched. The man in front of her must know her secret and was warning her not to act rashly.

Heiji Hattori and Conan exchanged a glance. Shinjo really did know something; he hadn't told the truth when they left last night.

“By the way, Village Chief,” Xincheng stretched, “Yesterday, I went for a look around the forest and found some things. I think you should take a look.”

"What is that?" Village Chief Murakuma asked, somewhat puzzled.

Shinjo took a dilapidated iron urn from behind him. The urn was severely rusted. The expressions of the people present changed. Masuko Fumie looked astonished, while Someji Yasuharu and Tanzawa Michiki looked somewhat fanatical.

“I think the last thing the excavator wrote down,” Shinjo said, staring at Murakuma Donosuke, “wasn’t written horizontally, but vertically: Iron!”

"Iron?" Murakuma gasped. "You mean, what he found back then was an iron urn containing gold, not a yokai nue!"

“That should be it.” Xincheng took out two small coins from his pocket and handed them to the village chief. Their golden color was extremely dazzling in the sunlight.

Yasuharu Someji and Michiki Tanzawa both had complex, even frantic, expressions. The village chief had told them that if they found the treasure, they would receive a portion of it as a reward. But in just a few days, the treasure had been found, and naturally, there was no reward.

Their gazes toward Xincheng were somewhat hostile. Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents; why is this guy meddling?

Two thousand iron urns filled with gold—that's an enormous fortune! Even if you only take 10%, you could live a life of ease. But this guy ruined such a great thing.

"Mr. Shinjo, I'd like to ask, where was this thing found?" Murakuma's expression was somewhat fanatical.

If they find gold, what's the point of tourism? What's the point of him being the village chief, soliciting sponsorships, and inviting all these people here? Isn't it just to promote the "location where Tokugawa Ieyasu buried gold" as a gimmick, revitalize the village's tourism industry, and make money easily, since the gold mine is right in front of them...

“I found this by the stream,” Shinjo shrugged. “I think the two days of heavy rain washed it out of the mud. But gold must be quite heavy; when I found this iron urn, there were only these two pieces inside… Hey, at least let me finish!”

"They're all too busy with their money to listen to your nonsense," Conan said, squatting on the ground and looking at the iron urn.

Although the style is consistent with the Warring States period and the rust is quite severe, the iron urn in front of him felt very strange, as if it was produced last week and artificially aged.

“Ms. Masuko, why don’t you go take a look?” Shinjo asked, staring at Masuko Fumie. “Aren’t you here for the gold too? I’ve checked the invitation list, and your husband is also a treasure hunter.”

Masuko Fumie chuckled dryly. "My shoes aren't suitable for me today, and besides, I can't really help much; I'm just here to gather information."

Soon, howls of "Found it! Found it!" echoed from the woods, clearly indicating that the people who had rushed into the forest had made a new discovery.

"Should we go check it out?" Hattori asked Conan, leaning closer. "I have a feeling they're not far from going insane."

Wealth can be a powerful motivator; in the face of immense riches, human reason is fragile. In such circumstances, it's not surprising that people might act in any way, such as—murder to silence witnesses.

“If you’re worried, it’s better to leave now,” Shinjo said with a smile. “If one of them really decides to kill us to cover their tracks and take the treasure for themselves, we’ll all be in danger. Don’t you think so, Ms. Masuko? After all, we’re all in the know.”

Masuko Fumie's eyes lit up, then returned to normal. "That's certainly possible. As far as I know, the village chief promised them each 10% of the reward, which should be 200 jars of gold. Even if we halve that, it's still 100 jars."

"The village chief is so generous!" Hattori's face turned green. "Why should I pay for his travel expenses and refreshments!"

"Do you know this story?" Xincheng said with a smile, "If you have 100 million, and your friend happens to need 100 million to save his life, would you save him or not?"

"I'll definitely save him," Hattori asked instinctively. "Why wouldn't I?"

"If your friend needed 10 yuan to save his life, would you save him or not?"

“Save him,” Hattori said matter-of-factly.

"The standard answer should be no rescue, or maybe I should think about it," Conan said, looking up at Shinjo. "As for the reason, it should be that I really do have 10 yen, right?"

“Smart.” Shinjo looked at Hattori. “No wonder he’s a rich kid; he doesn’t seem to care much about money.”

Hattori scratched his head awkwardly, then realized something. "You mean, the village chief didn't believe there were two thousand urns of gold buried in the village before, so he only promised ten percent of the wealth. But now that there really are two thousand urns of gold in the village, he..."