Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano didn't expect it to be so easy to get money from Ito Taka. He had thought that the other party would resist such an unreasonable request and that he would have to flex his muscles to get the money.

They paid so readily... Could it be that I didn't ask for enough?

That can't be right. Putting aside the few million in the beginning, the price that Sano asked his mistress and Ito Taka to raise was a full 250 million... cough, of course, that's just a gimmick.

Sano originally intended to leave Ito Taka some room for negotiation on the price, but who knew...

...Never mind, it doesn't matter anyway, I've already got the money.

Sano snapped out of his thoughts and tossed the file bag he had taken out of his pocket to Ito Taka, who was approaching.

"The mission objectives, requirements, and relevant intelligence are all included. Send me a message after you complete the mission, and I will arrange for someone to assess your performance to see if it meets the requirements."

...Sano certainly didn't intend to stop Ito Taka from entering the factory, because that way he could see more quickly and easily what the other party was planning to do.

Speaking of this task, Sano shouldn't have had to make the trip himself. At most, he could have just sent a text message to let Gin know. But when he explained the situation to Gin, Gin said that if Ito Taka really passed the "entry test" and became a proud screw-tightening worker at the brewery...

Then he would definitely be assigned to Sano, the "introducer".

As Sano's first direct subordinate, it's only right that I pay more attention to him.

However, when Gin asked Sano what Ito Taka, the probationary member, was good at...

Sano was a bit confused.

Sano was even more confused when he sent a message to Ito Taka and received the reply, "I can do anything, but I'm not really good at anything."

After telling Gin the truth, Gin was also a bit dumbfounded.

"...Heh, whether this guy is hiding his true abilities or telling the truth, give him a slightly more difficult task and everything will be clear. If he dies, all we can say is that he's useless."

Then Gin coldly tossed a mission document to Sano.

Sano, of course, adopted a nonchalant, spectator attitude towards this.

"Oh, right, there's also an onboarding application form inside. Just give it to me next time you have a task."

After uttering his last words, Sano left.

Ito Taka didn't say much either, just took the mission documents and left.

Because everything is predicated on "the next task".

Only after this mission is completed can Ito Taka join the organization.

Perhaps the other party disdains wasting energy on "meaningless" things, or perhaps in their eyes, they have great "potential" and therefore feel that they can definitely complete this task.

But no matter what, at least the path has been taken.

"I really look forward to seeing you next time."

After taking out the documents from the file bag, Ito Taka smirked.

"Beep beep-"

Suddenly, a large group of police officers crossed the road ahead.

Ito Taka narrowed his eyes. He wondered if it was because of the trouble "Rye" caused at the Beika Central Building yesterday. From before dark, a large number of police officers had appeared on the streets of Tokyo. There were even local police officers on bicycles, shuttling around as if they were looking for something.

That really piques my curiosity.

Ito Taka turned his gaze back to the documents and sighed with some regret.

Unfortunately, I have more important things to deal with right now.

……

The following morning, Sano received a new mission.

[Please ensure the survival of the mission target within the time limit. Completion will earn you 100 enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 01:59:59].

This is a common rescue mission.

For Sano, it was probably similar in nature to the organization's missions of collecting funds by "paying to silence witnesses".

There are two objectives, and we're still some distance from Sano, so we need to hurry.

Sano went out and arrived in front of an art museum in Beika.

However, the museum was closed, seemingly on the verge of... or perhaps already closed down and no longer accepting visitors.

Sano, now disguised, circled the art museum and finally found an unlocked door on the side.

To be precise, it was locked, but then opened, and not through legitimate means.

After weighing the broken chain hanging on the doorknob, Sano reverted to his black cat form.

Let's wait and see.

After entering the art museum, Sano quickly followed the map to a restroom, taking the opportunity to observe the surroundings but failing to discover any obvious dangers.

Finally, Sano found Sato Miwako in a cubicle where even the door panel had been removed. For some reason, she was handcuffed to a middle-aged man from behind a pipe.

What's going on here?

I thought I would at least see Sano, the plague god, slightly frown... although it wasn't very obvious in his black cat form.

After staring at the two dazed and exhausted people for a while, Sano turned and left the bathroom. Half a minute later, he switched back to his original disguise and came back in.

Upon noticing Sano's appearance, Miwako Sato was initially startled, but then her face lit up with joy: "Sano, what are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking."

Sano examined the handcuffs on Sato Miwako's wrists, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What kind of stunt is this? I didn't realize you were so witty?"

Faced with the look in Sano's eyes that seemed to say something like "You really know how to have fun" or "Your circle is really messy," Sato Miwako was stunned for a moment. After realizing what he meant, she blushed, glared at him, and shouted angrily, "Shut up, Sano! He's a criminal! This was just an accident!"

"Yes, yes, it was an accident."

Chapter 329, 328: Why not just chop off his hand?

Sano picked at his ear, leaned against the door frame, and although he verbally agreed, his face still wore that amused and astonished expression.

...This guy!

Looking at Sano, whose face seemed to say, "Just tell me what you want and see if I believe you or not," Sato Miwako gritted her teeth and changed the subject to get down to business: "So, did Takagi and the others send you here, or did they run into some trouble and ask you for help? How's the case going?"

Takagi?

case?

Sano narrowed his eyes, and he had a rough idea in his mind.

"It's a pity, I don't know what happened, and Takagi hasn't contacted me either."

Sano crouched down and hooked the chain in the middle of the handcuffs: "But I don't mind listening to what you have to say, giving you a chance to argue."

Cunning, sophistry?

Sato Miwako's lips twitched, she sighed, and explained the situation to Sano.

It turns out that the middle-aged man handcuffed to Sato Miwako was almost certainly the "murderer".

However, during the transport, a car accident occurred, and Takagi Wataru was careless, allowing the man to escape.

Takagi Wataru and Sato Miwako chased after Conan all the way to the building next door, where they encountered Conan and five other members of a small team who were doing something else.

The man then grabbed Ayumi as a hostage. Under pressure, Sato Miwako was unable to hold him back, and he escaped to the rooftop. He climbed up the wooden planks to the rooftop of the adjacent art museum and even threw the planks away.

Then, Sato Miwako jumped off the rooftop, grabbed onto the pipe, and used her pistol to sever the connection point. She landed in front of the side door of the art museum, broke the chain binding it, and made her way to the restroom. She threw the person into the stall, knocked off the door, and finally handcuffed herself to the person.

However, Sato Miwako didn't notice that, because of the door panel that had been knocked down, the hand she had handcuffed to the man was coming out from behind the bathroom flush pipe, so the situation became...

It's like this now.

Sato Miwako and the man seemed to be locked in there, unable to move at all.

As for Conan and Takagi's situation, it's because this man claims he's not the murderer and was framed... although he has no evidence.

But that's not important. What's important is that the man's daughter is getting married today, so he wants to catch the noon flight to attend the wedding abroad.

The man's genuine emotions, coupled with his earlier kidnapping of Ayumi, his subsequent release of her, and even his apologies and comforting gestures, led the group to make an immediate decision.

To help the man clear his name so he could attend his daughter's wedding.

...This is getting more and more ridiculous!

After hearing Sato Miwako's explanation of the situation, Sano said he was deeply shocked.

This was the first time Sano had ever seen such an outrageous policeman or such an outrageous thing.

"So why didn't you two come with him? Why are you staying here instead? If you're worried he's lying and want to keep an eye on him, there's no need to do this, is there?"

Seeing Sano's question, Sato Miwako rolled her eyes: "Do you think it's because I don't want to unlock it? Didn't I just say I lost the key?"

"Then let Takagi go back to the police station to get it."

"Please, his suspicion has already been established. This is our private investigation. If we let Takagi go back, wouldn't that be walking into a trap?"

"Then where's your gun?"

"We've run out of bullets."

"Hey... are you carrying a revolver? You didn't even bring a single extra bullet?"

"Hey, hey, do you even want to help or not? If you do, get on with your business. If you don't, can you please stop asking all these questions?"

Miwako Sato was getting a little impatient with Sano's questions.

"I said I'd help, but there's not much I can really do to help."

Sano shrugged and said, "After all, they've been investigating for so long. If they haven't found anything, there's only so much time left. There's no point in me going."

Sato Miwako: "..."

That's true. In terms of time, even if Sano wanted to do something now, it would be too late.

"Then why are you asking so many questions?"

"Just curious."

Sano, resting his chin on his hand, asked, "So you and he have been handcuffed like this since last night, without eating, drinking, sleeping, or even going to the toilet?"

"Don't you ever feel the urge to pee?"

Hearing Sano's question, which sounded like that of a curious child, Sato Miwako's lips twitched.