Conan, I'm an actor

"Bingo!" Shinjo waved. "Commander Lei, let's go!"

Conan and Hattori exchanged a glance, then simultaneously decided to leave this dangerous place. They didn't want to witness bloodshed, but they also didn't want to become the murderer's target, especially with Kazuha and Ran still by their side.

At this moment, in the car in Xincheng

"There are only 20 small coins in total. Do you really think they'll fall for it?" Commander Lei stretched and said wearily, "Those guys are shrewd."

"Shrewd, isn't it?" Shinjo smiled. "How so?"

“Both of these scholars are well-known in the area and have a deep understanding of Japanese history. Those koban didn’t have time to be aged; they were made of pure gold. The craftsmanship at the time simply couldn’t produce koban of that purity,” Commander Lei said. “They should expose your lie soon.”

“Really? But I think…” Shinjo paused for a moment, “maybe they’ll never realize this lie until they die. After all, the gold is real. Who would take so much gold to fabricate a lie that’s completely unprofitable?”

"They won't even realize it until they die?" Commander Lei frowned. "You can just take this to a gold shop to have it appraised, and that archaeologist should be able to distinguish between old gold and pure gold."

“The gold is real, the nursery rhyme is real, so why can’t the legend be real?” Xincheng snorted. “As for identifying Old Jin, he’s only thinking about finding more gold and getting ahead of the other two. He doesn’t have time for archaeology.”

"Will that Ms. Masuko Fumie really make a move?"

“The conditions have been set. Because of the dispute over the ownership of the treasure, killing someone by mistake is more reliable than killing someone by a monster.” Xincheng shook his head. “Liberal arts students are liberal arts students. The modus operandi can be found out with just an autopsy. How did she come up with this?”

"Oh right, I forgot to ask, boss, why did you help her clean up the mess?"

"Help her clean up the mess?" Xin Cheng frowned. "I'm not helping her clean up the mess, I just want to get rid of the trouble that woman has brought on."

"Trouble?" Commander Lei was taken aback. "Do you mean Kogoro Mouri and his group?"

“Yes, Conan and Heiji Hattori are both very perceptive.” Shinjo parked the car on the side of the road. “Now, you drive away, I’ll go back.”

"Why go back?"

"Let's watch the show!"

In the Black Gold Forest, by the stream

Murakuma-donosuke stared at the two men in front of him, his eyes filled with wariness. He had six small coins in his pocket. He was now regretting coming with these two. They were like ferocious hyenas, searching much faster than him, and the look in their eyes seemed to indicate that they were plotting against him.

Tanzawa Michiki looked at the four small coins in his pocket, then glanced at Someji Yasuharu beside him. That guy was very lucky; he picked up seven coins.

"Village Chief Murakuma, does what we said before about 10% still stand?" Michiki Tanzawa asked, staring at Lord Murakuma in front of him.

While congratulating himself on finding a large amount of gold koban, Someji Yasukuni suddenly shuddered and looked at Murakuma Donosuke with a somewhat unfriendly expression. One-tenth of his wealth—that's 200 jars of gold.

Murakuma looked at the two guys in front of him and wanted to back away to create a safe distance.

The two guys in front of him gave him a dangerous feeling. His intuition told him that if he refused, they would really dare to kill him and bury him in this Black Gold Forest.

“Of course the request is valid!” Murakuma Donosuke said, forcing a smile. “However, it’s only 10%, and that’s only the 10% that’s been dug up! Now, you should be helping me find the treasure, not causing me trouble here.”

"Deal!" Danzawa Michiki glared fiercely at Murakuma Donosuke. "If you go back on your word..."

“I can help corroborate this,” Randi Kangke said to the village chief. “Mr. Village Chief, this is two thousand urns of gold. Aren’t you going back to call more villagers? Or do you want to keep eighty percent of this treasure for yourself?”

Chapter 311 The Golden Calamity

A look of struggle flashed in Murakuma's eyes. He didn't want to give away so much gold. If it weren't for these two guys knowing the secret of the gold, and his own life being threatened, he wouldn't have given away even a single centimeter.

However, he also knew that he could not keep 80% of the gold for himself. If he did, the man in front of him would kill him and then divide the gold equally.

The village chief, Murakuma, tremblingly took out his phone, keeping a wary eye on the two men while scrolling through his contacts, searching for someone he could trust.

Xincheng frowned as he looked at the group of people facing off in the stream. This didn't seem to be what he had expected. Was it because he didn't have enough bargaining chips?

Murakuma Donosuke stared at the two men, then suddenly laughed, a very bright laugh. "I'll go find someone right now."

Upon seeing Murakuma's smile, Tanzawa Michiki and Someji Yasuharu seemed to have realized something, and their expressions suddenly turned somewhat ferocious.

Danzawa Michiki stared at Murakuma Donosuke with a sinister grin and said, "Sorry, we've changed our minds! Now, we can't let you leave!"

Murakuma took a step back, realizing that his words might have made the two men wary.

Once he gathers the villagers, their numerical advantage disappears. When the gold is found, their value also vanishes; those people will surely kill the two "outsiders" to get a larger share of the gold.

Just then, Xincheng heard footsteps. The girl was deliberately avoiding the dead branches, but she couldn't avoid the falling leaves. The leaves crumbled under her feet with a soft sound, but it was very clear to someone like her who had received special training.

"What do you want to do!" Murakuma Densuke kept backing away, and then he bumped into someone, Someji Yasuharu.

At this moment, Someji Yasunori was holding a shovel, which he had brought with him when he came here before; it was Tanzawa Michiki's tool. However, the shovel head was now raised high, and it seemed that it might make intimate contact with the head of the village chief, Murakuma, at any moment.

At this moment, Michiki Tanzawa also came up to the village chief Murakuma with a pickaxe. "Mr. Village Chief, we can trust you, but we don't trust those villagers. What if they show up here and force us to hand over our 20% share?"

"I will stop them." After Murakuma Donsuke said these words, he was filled with despair; he didn't even believe his own words.

In the face of gold, human life is worthless. What is the village chief? If he dares to step forward to stop it, the villagers will kill him too.

“You should have figured it out by now,” Ranji Kangke said with a sinister grin. “So, hand over your phones now. After we find the gold, we’ll split it equally among the three of us, one share each!”

"This is impossible!" Murakuma Donsuke's face darkened, his hand already in his pocket, ready to call for help.

The difference between 80% and one-third is too great; he cannot accept it. Even finding someone to share the pie would be better than one-third.

The next second, he felt a sharp pain in his arm. The shovel head had smashed into his arm, blood splattered, bones broke, and his arm was now only held together by a strip of skin and flesh. The pain, the excruciating pain, shattered his spirit.

Danzawa Michiki walked directly to his side, his boots stepping on his chest, then reached into his pocket behind his back and took out his phone.

"The old man is indeed preparing to call for help." Danzawa Michiki sneered.

"Kill him now?" Ranji Kangke sneered. "We already found the location of the gold back then. If it weren't for that guy not being able to speak Japanese, all this gold would be ours. That guy deserved to die! The old man did nothing and still wants 80%? You're really dreaming."

“No, he is the village chief after all.” Danzawa Michiki said, staring at Murakuma Donosuke, who was already unable to resist on the ground. “Finding and transporting the gold will take some time, and he cannot die now. If someone enters this forest to look for him, the matter of the gold will be exposed.”

In the bushes beneath the tree, Ms. Masuko Fumie was trembling all over. Those guys were still thinking about gold. And this time, they weren't just standing by and watching someone die; they were—killing her to silence her.

"Let's not use that homemade poison needle launcher anymore. This is more suitable." Shinjo appeared beside Masuko Fumie like a ghost and handed her a hunting rifle.

“You…” Masuko Fumie looked at the young man in front of her, feeling a chill run down her spine. She mustered her courage and asked, “Who exactly are you?”

"Is this question..." Shinjo tilted his head and asked, "Is it important?"

“It’s not important, as long as we can get revenge, that’s enough.” Masuko Fumie took the hunting rifle.

"This is a camera. I've filmed everything that just happened." Shinjo handed the camera to Masuko Fumie. "While filming, we stumbled upon a murder that was about to occur. Our brave Ms. Masuko Fumie shot and killed the murderer, protecting the village chief."

"Thanks……"

"If you want to say thank you, remember to tell your son," Shinjo grinned. "That guy's report was really badly written; it didn't sound like his own mother at all."

“You really do know everything.” Masuko Fumie took the shotgun. “Are you going to stay here? You probably don’t want to be taken away for investigation as a witness, do you?”

“That’s true.” Shinjo waved his hand. “Remember, kill Tanzawa Michiki first. After all, this guy didn’t make a move in the video.”

New Town quickly left the forest, and after two gunshots, the forest returned to calm.

When he returned to the hotel, he saw two unexpected people: Conan and Hattori. Conan was examining the rusty iron urn, especially the corroded cross-section.

"You did all of this, didn't you?" Conan looked up at Shinjo and asked, "This iron urn has so few impurities, it's like it's brand new. This thing must have been deliberately aged to fake the existence of a treasure. What are you trying to do?"

"Forgery?" Shinjo said with a smile, "I didn't forge anything. I found the iron urn and those gold-plated trinkets."

"What about the hunting rifle?" Hattori Heiji asked, staring at Shinjo. "The gunshot we just heard..."

“It must have been Ms. Masuko Fumiie who fired the shot. She killed those two guys.” Conan stared at Shinjo and said, “There is still some evidence in the hotel that is enough to deduce the truth of the whole thing. The murderer will not escape the punishment of the law.”

“Yes, but what if someone kills to save another?” Shinjo produced a memory card. “This card contains evidence that Someji Yasukuni and Tanzawa Michiki harmed the village chief in order to keep the gold for themselves. Both witnesses and physical evidence can prove Ms. Masuko Fumie’s heroic act.”

Why should we help her?

"Shouldn't she have helped?" Shinjo asked, staring at Conan. "When did she find out? Didn't you guys already leave?"

“We’ve seen footprints at the excavation site, and Conan noticed something unusual about the iron urn,” Hattori said, staring at Shinjo. “We’ve realized we can’t contact you, so we suspect you’ve returned.”

"As expected of a famous detective, your sense of smell is truly keen." Shinjo stroked his chin and asked, "So what are you planning to do? Or rather, what can you do?"

Just then, sirens sounded at the foot of the mountain, and two police cars stopped in front of the hotel.

Inspector Yokomizo was startled to see Conan and asked nervously, "Is Mr. Mori here too?"

"He's not here." Conan rolled his eyes. "You're a police officer, shouldn't you be looking for the person who called the police?"

"Oh, right, who called the police?" Inspector Yokomizo said, standing at the hotel entrance, somewhat puzzled. "Besides you, there doesn't seem to be anyone else here. This gentleman, could he be the famous high school detective from Osaka, Hattori Heiji?"

Hattori and Conan both walked a few steps away from Shinjo, indicating that they were not on his side.

"I'm the one who called the police," Shinjo said with a hint of helplessness. "I'm telling you, Officer Yokogawa, are all the local police stations this unprofessional?"

Inspector Yokomizo brought his face close to Shinjo's, stared at him for a few moments, and then said with some shock, "You're the Detective Shinjo who was invited by the Metropolitan Police Department at the investigation meeting."

Shinjo had a headache. At this moment, he realized that Officer Yokomizo in front of him was only slightly better than Yamamura Misao, whom he had only met once. Just a tiny bit better.

"Just now, two gunshots rang out from the woods. Aren't we going to go check it out?" Shinjo pointed to the Black Gold Forest on the other side. "Aren't we going to go check it out?"

Upon hearing the word "gunshot," Yokomizo reacted as if stimulated by something. He immediately signaled the police officers in the car to follow him, and they all drew their pistols and crept into the forest.

Xincheng looked at their formation and nodded slowly.

"What are you agreeing with?" Conan asked, somewhat displeased. "Is it because these guys were completely fooled by you?"

"Huh?" Shinjo rolled his eyes. "With their IQ, they think they're worthy of being my opponents? I'm just commending their professionalism. These guys may not be very smart, but their professionalism is commendable."

A dozen minutes later, two police officers carried the seriously injured Village Chief Murakuma out of the woods. At this moment, Village Chief Murakuma had already fainted, and his severed arm hung limply at his sides.

A few minutes later, Officer Yokomizo, carrying a shotgun, and another officer led Ms. Masuko out of the Black Gold Forest.

Officer Yokomizo saw them and quickly walked over. He said to Shinjo, "Thank you for calling the police, Mr. Shinjo. The situation is clear now. The village chief and two suspects got into a conflict during the treasure hunt. The two guys attacked the village chief. Ms. Masuko happened to be gathering materials in the forest and used her hunting rifle to shoot down the two suspects."

"A hunting rifle? Why would you bring a hunting rifle when you're gathering materials?" Xincheng asked, somewhat "shocked."

"Well, that..." Officer Yokomizo was also stumped by the question, but then he saw the "No Entry" sign next to the hotel and suddenly realized what was going on. He pointed to the sign and said, "I think Ms. Masuko must have seen this sign and thought there were bears or wild boars or other animals in the forest."

Both Conan and Hattori were holding their foreheads. This shotgun must have been brought by Shinjo to give to Ms. Masuko, but given Shinjo's cautious nature, he certainly wouldn't have left fingerprints.

The only loophole was Ms. Masuko's motive for carrying a gun, but now this loophole has been filled in by Officer Yokomizo's ingenuity.

"By the way, Inspector Yokomizo, what kind of treasure is it?" Hattori suddenly asked, "that it's worth making these people go to such lengths, even resorting to murder to silence them."

“I found this on them.” Inspector Yokomizo took a bag from the officer behind him. “These koban are almost certainly made of pure gold. According to Ms. Masuko, there’s a legend in this area that Tokugawa Ieyasu buried gold, and that there are two thousand iron urns filled with these gold koban. If that’s true, it’s quite normal for people to kill each other over the spoils.”

Hattori looked at Shinjo and saw the victor's smile on his face, which immediately annoyed him.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back now. We'll have to send an archaeological team here to investigate later," Officer Yokomizo said with a hint of pride. "These are artifacts that have survived from the Warring States period."

Watching the police car leave, Conan tugged at Shinjo's sleeve, seemingly urging him to explain.

Xincheng didn't intend to stay; instead, he made a phone call and told Commander Lei to come back and pick him up immediately.

After hanging up the phone, he stared at Conan and said, "If you have nothing else to do afterward, it's best to stay at the Mouri Detective Agency. Mr. Amuro, who lives downstairs, is a police officer from the Public Security Bureau and is a reliable person."