Conan, I'm an actor

Yu Yasuda holstered his pistol, his expression grim. "Search! The other side is using drones to monitor this area, which means their goods and people are very likely still in this area. Search!"

His subordinates rolled their eyes when they heard the order.

There are hundreds of thousands of shipping containers here, and even in this area alone there are several thousand. Each of these containers is locked, and it would be a lot of work to open and inspect them one by one.

Not to mention that opening these containers is not an easy task. Some containers contain dangerous goods or involve trade secrets, requiring the presence of relevant personnel to open them.

Looking at the expressions on his subordinates' faces, Yasuda Yu knew that his request was a bit excessive. He coughed and said, "Look for those unusual containers. They should have left some markings on them. Also, check which containers are going to be loaded onto the ship tomorrow and inspect them at the final destination."

"Okay!" The men breathed a sigh of relief and then began to inspect the container.

Shinjo was almost asleep inside the container when Narumi woke him up.

"What happened?" Shinjo asked, looking at Sung-shi, who had woken him up, with some confusion.

“That guy seems to have something going on. Karen is looking for you.” Narumi handed the headset directly to Shinjo. “Listen to it yourself.”

"What's going on?" Xincheng asked, frowning.

“That Yu Yasuda is quite capable. He’s already searching the containers, including the ones that are supposed to be shipped tomorrow morning,” Karen said, frowning. “Your and Gin’s two containers are among them. If they come to search them…”

"Get the ship here as soon as possible," Xincheng said with a dark face. "Let's blend in and load it onto the ship first."

Under Karen's guidance, a few phone calls were quickly made, and a cargo ship soon arrived at the port and began loading.

Faced with the approaching staff, the police officers, led by Yasuda Yu, were momentarily at a loss. However, Yasuda Yu and his team did not leave empty-handed; they found a container of old weapons.

This quantity is more than the amount of weapons smuggled in previous years. If it were to flow into Tokyo, the entire society would probably be thrown into chaos.

Looking at his happy subordinates, Yasuda Yu's expression was rather unpleasant. The weapons they were trading certainly weren't limited to just this one container; who knew how many more goods were going to be smuggled?

However, he couldn't continue the investigation now, because the customs officers had arrived. Although they were bowing and apologizing, their expressions were quite unfriendly.

They did perform meritorious service, but their meritorious service was based on the dereliction of duty by the customs anti-smuggling officers. Afterwards, these officers will certainly face severe punishment.

If it were just for this reason, Yasuda Yu could accept it; after all, some people would lose their jobs and it wouldn't be unjust for others to hate them. But he was afraid that there might be a mole among these people, colluding with those guys, or even helping to smuggle weapons.

Just then, several more cars drove up from a distance. Judging from their license plates, they were all police vehicles. When Yasuda Yu saw these vehicles, his brows furrowed instantly. He realized that he might be in trouble.

“Mr. Yasuda, please come with us.” Amuro Tooru got out of the car. “Your superiors are very unhappy about your unauthorized actions last night.”

"Will these things make them happier?" Yasuda Yu asked, pointing to the shipping containers beside him.

"If it weren't for these things, it wouldn't be about being unhappy, but about this piece of paper." As Amuro Tooru spoke, he pulled out a piece of paper with "Arrest Warrant" written on it, and the name on the arrest warrant was Yasuda Yu.

Yu Yasuda's facial muscles twitched slightly. It seemed the people smuggling this shipment were no ordinary individuals; they might have even managed to influence high-ranking officials. If it weren't for the irrefutable evidence, he might have been caught red-handed this time.

"Why?" Yasuda Yu asked, somewhat puzzled.

“These goods are not flowing in, but flowing out. If we lose these goods, the other side may retaliate against us severely,” Amuro Tooru explained to Yasuda Yu. “So, Mr. Yasuda, please get in the car.”

Yu Yasuda's facial muscles twitched slightly; it seemed he had made a mistake and gotten himself into trouble.

Shinjo, hiding inside the container, couldn't see this scene. Ever since the drone was shot down by Yasuda Yu, Karen had raised it to a height of about 200 meters. At that height, coupled with the darkness and insufficient light, she couldn't see what was happening on the shore at all.

Inside another container

Vodka appeared quite agitated. Staying inside the container was tantamount to handing over his life and death to someone else. If someone outside were shooting machine guns at the container, he and Gin would both perish here.

"Have more confidence in yourself," Gin said, looking at the agitated Vodka. "We still have value. That guy won't just abandon us like that. Besides, we're not without backup plans. That guy should know that."

Just then, a sound came from the top of the container. Vodka immediately stood up and stared nervously at the top of the container.

"Don't worry, it's probably just the equipment used at the dock to lift containers." Gin glanced at his watch. "Looks like things aren't looking good outside. We're two hours ahead of schedule."

Vodka plopped down on the sofa; the feeling of being treated like merchandise was unpleasant.

A dozen minutes later, the container shook violently and was then suspended in mid-air. It was quickly loaded onto the ship, and after a few more hours, the ship set sail, leaving the coastline immediately and heading straight for the high seas.

Not long after arriving in international waters, Commander Ryder led his men to release New Town and Gin from the container.

At this moment, all of them were somewhat exhausted, but none of them dared to sleep, as they were all on edge.

"I thought you could handle everything, but it seems you're nothing more than a rat in the gutter." Gin stretched. "If you haven't sorted things out by the time we meet next time, then I'll take care of it for you."

“No need for you to trouble yourself with that.” Shinjo pointed at the vodka and asked, “Is this guy going to start working for me now, or will he fly back to me after you get to America?”

"Since I'm already on your ship, I might as well take you with me."

Vodka wanted to say something, but after seeing Gin's warning look, he wisely chose to keep quiet.

Shinjo naturally noticed Gin's little scheme, but he chose to ignore it. This was his territory, and even if Gin had some tricks up his sleeve, their impact would be limited. He should be aware of this himself and wouldn't do anything foolish.

Soon, a submarine surfaced a few dozen meters from the ship, with two small boats set off from it, clearly there to pick up Gin.

"By the way, what about the remaining weapons..." Gin asked, frowning.

He didn't care about rifles or RPGs; he could always get them by spending a little money and time.

The Middle Eastern guerrillas have professional suppliers behind them. At worst, you can buy some from them, and if you're lucky, you can even skip the middlemen and make a profit.

However, if we could get our hands on those four sets of man-portable air defense missiles, the chances of taking down those traitors would greatly increase.

“Container number six has been found, and you can forget about taking anything inside. It’s probably already some policeman’s spoils. The remaining container number eight is on the ship. Ask the captain to help you find it.” Xincheng patted the deck under his feet. “This ship’s voyage isn’t tight. If possible, it will anchor tonight to rest. You can take advantage of that opportunity to rush the cargo.”

Gin nodded, indicating his agreement with Shinjo's suggestion.

Because it wasn't a one-off deal, Shinjo trusted Gin completely and wasn't afraid of him cheating him. He could just let him discuss with the captain how to move the remaining items.

The captain's requirements were simple: all the cargo on board must be removed before the ship docks in Singapore; if it cannot be removed, it can be thrown into the sea.

In the new town, a catamaran picked them up and took them back, and Vodka was given a room to rest in.

Vodka, however, did not seem to intend to rest. He followed behind Cognac, seemingly wanting him to assign him some tasks.

"You really can't stay still." Xincheng rolled his eyes. "Let Commander Lei take you around. Don't always stay in the shadows. You're going to stink up."

"It stinks?" Vodka's facial expression was priceless. "I just took a shower yesterday!"

“I’m not saying your body is going to stink, but your mind. Your mental state is on the verge of collapse.” Xincheng stroked his chin. “Since you’re working under me, the first thing is to learn how to do the job. After you complete the onboarding procedures with Commander Lei, you will be a formal member of our organization.”

Vodka nodded somewhat bewildered, and then Riesling dragged him away.

After watching Shinjo send Vodka away, Narumi came to Shinjo's side and asked in a low voice, "Should we arrange for Vodka to work at our hospital? That hospital is pretty much useless now. Besides, apart from the special ward and operating room on the ground floor, the hospital has no secrets left."

“I understand what you mean, but do you think this guy is capable of being a nurse, or a doctor?” Shinjo rolled his eyes. “If he were a caregiver, everyone would think he has sharp eyes and could turn into a killer at any moment. Besides, his job is to gather secrets. If he can’t find out any secrets, this kid will become desperate.”

"This……"

"Don't worry, let him familiarize himself with the work with Commander Lei first." Xincheng pressed the power button on the TV next to him. "There's plenty of work for him to do. Don't let his simple-mindedness fool you..."

Just then, a news item popped up on the TV screen—the famous detective, Sleeping Kogoro, has decided to retire and will soon hold a press conference.

Shinjo stroked his chin, thinking, "Isn't Kogoro Mori moving a little too fast? He just told me yesterday that he was considering resigning, and today I see the news that he successfully resigned."

Chapter 332

A week later, Shinjo came to the downstairs of the Mouri Detective Agency again.

But now, the window with "Mouri Detective Agency" on it has disappeared, replaced by a floor-to-ceiling glass window.

"I never imagined the coffee shop owner was so rich, renting the entire second floor," Kogoro Mouri said happily.

He was worried about finding tenants for the second floor after his office closed down, but then the coffee shop downstairs approached him and offered to rent both the second and third floors. If it weren't for the fact that he still needed to live on the third floor and hadn't yet secured a new place, Mori would have actually wanted to buy the entire building.

"This is a gift for you, congratulations on your housewarming." Shinjo took the gift box directly from Riesling next to him and handed it to Kogoro Mouri. "By the way, you can start work tomorrow. I'll have Koshimizu send you your address later."

"Koshimizu? Ms. Koshimizu Nanatsuki?" Kogoro Mouri was taken aback. "Oh right, you haven't told me what the new company does yet!"

“They make games.” Shinjo rubbed his temples. “Do you remember that game from Syndra Company? You know, the holographic game.”

"Of course I remember. It caused quite a stir back then, and there was even a draft bill being introduced."

“Syndra’s gaming division went bankrupt, so I took over their gaming division to see if I could revive the business.” Xincheng yawned. “It was a minor success, but the equipment was a bit expensive. We’re currently preparing to release home consoles and sell them to arcades.”

Syndra's "Cocoon" is built on a giant server. One server that can be used as a supercomputer can only supply 50 Cocoons, so it can only be considered an experimental product.

Even large arcades couldn't supply such machines, and few people could afford to play them. What Karen and Hiroki did was improve the computer hardware manufacturing process while optimizing the game program.

The game console they are now launching offers about 70% of the experience of the prototype, but costs only 30% of the prototype, and the later operating costs are only 10%.

Even so, the cost of a home arcade machine is around two million yen, which is beyond the reach of ordinary families. Arcades might be able to afford it, but very few people would dare to take the risk of buying such machines.

After hearing Shinjo's explanation, Kogoro Mouri's expression darkened instantly. "There's no market for this kind of thing. How about you optimize the user experience and lower the price to below 50 yen? Maybe then it'll sell."

“Impossible.” Shinjo stretched. “What we’re going to do is create a revolutionary game console. Your job is to arrange and organize leagues in various regions. There will be five competitions in total, with a total prize pool of 10 billion yen for each competition.”

"10 billion yen? A prize! For one person only?"

"How is that possible?" Shinjo patted Kogoro Mouri on the shoulder. "50% for the champion, 30% for the runner-up, and 20% for the third place."

"With so much money, are you trying to make a name for your game console through these competitions? And then sell the machines?" Kogoro Mouri frowned and said, "Are you sure these kinds of competitions won't create clubs? As far as I know, there are many clubs in the gaming industry that specialize in these kinds of competitions to earn prize money."

In Kogoro Mouri's view, Shinjo's planned tournament was simply a case of having too much money and preparing to burn through it. How many machines could a club buy? At most 10. The combined sales of a dozen clubs wouldn't be enough to host a single tournament.

“Hmm, that makes sense!” Xincheng nodded. “So those individual players need to be subsidized for their travel expenses.”

"If you have too much money, you can give it to me. There's no need to burn it like this."

"Don't worry, sponsorship is not a problem. In addition, we plan to sell our game consoles at a loss. The initial selling price will be lower than the cost price, estimated to be only about 80% of the cost."

"Are you crazy?"

“I’m not crazy, on the contrary, I’m very clear-headed.” Shinjo snapped his fingers. “What I want is not a single game console market. How much money can you make selling game consoles? At most, you can make tens of thousands of yen per console. Compared to the manufacturing cost, the profit is too low. What I want is a platform. Do you understand? A platform. We’ll attract more game developers to a new platform, then let them make games for the new platform, bring in more players, and we’ll earn money from the commission on game sales.”

"You're a real lunatic," Kogoro Mouri retorted.

Shinjo stroked his chin, feeling somewhat wronged. If anyone was crazy, it wasn't him, it was Karen. This woman had opened hundreds of arcades in several major cities in her search for a "potentially existing" Ye Rui, and this game console promotion competition was also her idea. She had even prepared a detailed report, specifying the annual profits for the next three years, and asked Shinjo to believe that she could turn a profit in three years at most.

In response, Xincheng said, "Whatever makes you happy. Actually, there are faster ways to find people than using video games, such as implementing an electronic household registration system. Everyone would have an electronic household registration file, making it much easier to find people." However, to avoid creating trouble for himself, Xincheng chose to remain silent.

In the afternoon, Inspector Megure, accompanied by an acquaintance from the First Investigation Division, found Kogoro Mouri and arranged to treat him to a meal at a restaurant as a way of thanking him for his help over the past few days.

"I get the feeling you guys are celebrating that I'm finally not a detective anymore," Kogoro Mouri said, stroking his chin.

"How could that be?" Inspector Megure smiled, but the smile seemed somewhat unnatural.

Ever since he learned Conan's true identity, he had guessed that Kogoro Mouri's transformation from a bumbling detective to a renowned detective was most likely due to his son-in-law's influence. Every time he saw his brother Mouri referred to as a famous detective in the newspapers, he would look at him with the expression of an old man using a cell phone on the subway.

"Actually, I had another task for today." Shiratori coughed. "The higher-ups at the Metropolitan Police Department heard that Mr. Mori is no longer a detective, so they want to invite Detective Mori to serve as an honorary advisor to the Metropolitan Police Department."

"So, there was an unexpected situation, huh?" Kogoro Mouri's wine glass stopped in mid-air.

"Yeah, I pushed it for you, wasn't that kind of me?" Inspector Megure said with a hint of smugness.

"That's a salary, a salary!" Kogoro Mouri said with some heartache. "A consultant's salary must be quite high."