Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano revealed an arrogant smile, which made the little girl grind her teeth louder and louder.

"...What are you saying, Sano-kun?"

Inspector Megure's puzzled voice came through the phone.

"Ah, so you haven't hung up yet, Inspector Megure."

Upon hearing Sano's words, Inspector Megure's face immediately darkened.

"Listen carefully when others are speaking!"

Inspector Megure said, annoyed, "Did you hear everything I just told you?"

"Okay, okay... Hurry up, let's start the next round."

While giving Inspector Megure a perfunctory reply, Sano urged the little girl to start the next round.

"Hey!"

Inspector Megure's angry roar came through the phone, but Sano immediately hung up.

Then shut down the computer.

...What are you babbling about? Just say what you need to say and that's it.

Do you expect me to provide some analysis on the spot?

They've known each other for a long time, don't they know their own nature?

"I must win this time!!"

The little girl pressed the restart button with great fighting spirit.

Then the next day arrived, and a new message came in.

Hunter is dead.

He died in a remote, cramped rented room, shot in the head.

...Just as Sano was feeling surprised and thought it might be an erasure operation carried out by Alica, Conan gave another bombshell: Hunter was not actually the murderer.

According to the diary entries in Hunter's room.

Hunter did indeed intend to take revenge, but every time he made a move, another sniper would beat him to it and kill his target.

That guy even issued a challenge to Hunter.

This led to Hunter's death... and the bullet casings found not far from the rented house, as well as the die with the number "two", also prove this point.

In other words.

The FBI and the Japanese police targeted the wrong people from the start.

"...But I've been to the site, and there are two...no, to be precise, three places that I find very strange."

Conan said gravely, "First, the location of that unknown sniper was only a little over a hundred meters away from Hunter's rented house. This is completely opposite to the previous times when the distance was pushed to the limit, as if they wanted to ensure the accuracy of the sniping. This leads to the second point. I saw that the bullet hole on Hunter's forehead was very small, and the distance was so short. This means that the murderer switched to a sniper rifle with less recoil, which is more accurate for short-range sniping."

"Of course, this point can be excused by saying that they wanted to ensure the accuracy of the sniper shots, but the third point... judging from the situation on the scene, both the unknown sniper and Hunter had one bullet that went astray... and of course, Hunter only fired one shot, while the unknown sniper's second shot hit him in the forehead, securing the victory."

After hearing Conan's description, Sano frowned.

Hunter, of course, needs no introduction; his track record speaks for itself.

Even after retiring for many years and becoming complacent and lazy, his skills might have declined, but they still wouldn't be too bad, let alone since he's already planning revenge.

Then they must have undergone refresher training.

Even if he doesn't continue to be an ace, he should at least be at the level of a top player.

The unknown sniper was able to kill Hunter, and his achievements, both publicly and privately, are enough to prove his strength.

These two people, at a distance of just over 100 meters, both missed their shots.

Something is clearly wrong.

unless.

Was there some accident that caused the two to miss, or perhaps they deliberately missed... for example, an unknown sniper didn't want Hunter to be shot without realizing it, so they fired a warning shot.

Was Hunter's shot a "retaliation"?

...Looking at it this way, it gives the impression that the relationship between these two people...

Something seems off?

Do the two people actually know each other?

If you know each other... then could it be that you missed because you couldn't bear to?

Sano subconsciously made that connection, but then felt something else.

My own thoughts are a little funny.

"...In addition, Sera and I also felt that something was a little off, so we asked Inspector Megure to perform an autopsy on Hunter's body first."

"Really? Is there any other information?"

"Nothing."

"Alright, that's settled then."

Without saying a word, Sano hung up the phone and picked up the handset.

The little girl next to him was already full of anticipation—it has to be said, the game that Professor Agasa developed himself is indeed quite good.

A standard side-scrolling two-player battle game.

This is a bit old-fashioned, but it's also a classic.

The focus is on other aspects, such as character skill mechanics and graphics.

All I can say is that it has some substance, but not much.

Sano was playing a game when his mind started wandering... Or maybe he should try teaming up with Professor Agasa to play a game, where he would use his brain and the professor would use his physical strength.

At worst, I'll just take a smaller share of the money.

...The world's technological level is developing at an unscientific pace.

However, there has been little progress in other areas.

Especially in the realm of entertainment—novels, anime, movies, games, and so on.

Sano originally thought that by randomly copying a few novels, he might create some collisions in the market, triggering a chemical reaction and giving rise to a new force, but unfortunately... that didn't happen, especially in the gaming sector.

Even though smartphones have already appeared.

However, it seems that not many people in Japan like to use them; flip phones are still more popular. Sales are not dismal, but they are definitely not a big hit either.

As a result, the mobile game sector is particularly barren.

The games are mostly PC and console games... but that's about it.

However, it's different from writing a novel.

That kind of thing was something I created myself, so I'd already seen it once before, and watching it again wouldn't be very interesting. In fact, it felt a bit like watching a dissertation defense. But games are completely different.

League of Legends, Zelda, and the like.

Sano smirked. If this were to actually happen, he could probably make a fortune, right?

……

On the train.

Amuro Tooru was looking at the news report about Hunter's murder on his phone, his brow furrowed.

The series of assassinations, coupled with the sudden death of the suspect initially identified by the police, all contributed to the tragedy.

This has led to a media frenzy to report on it and capitalize on its popularity.

Under such circumstances, some people started to take crooked paths...

"Looking at it this way, the police's original approach was completely wrong. They couldn't even determine the killer's motive or target... It feels like a random killing incident... Just kidding."

It's not so much about taking advantage of the chaos, but it's about deliberately manipulating public opinion and causing panic.

They're a bunch of trash.

Amuro glanced at the other passengers around him, who were becoming increasingly agitated, and felt a surge of dissatisfaction. "Indiscriminate killing," especially when it was done by sniper rifles from a high place, where the victims would not be aware of their deaths or have any chance to struggle, would naturally evoke fear in people. The situation was slightly better on the train, and the news had already been published for a short time.

This was when the report first came out.

There wasn't a single passerby on the streets of Tokyo; everyone was worried that if they went out, they would become the next unlucky person to make the news.

To put it another way, if people are afraid to go out, they won't consume, and they might even be afraid to go to work, which will affect the economy in every way. Furthermore, it will lead to a decline in the credibility of the government.

This is an indelible influence.

Unfortunately, I have a task to complete right now and can't get involved...

This is so worrying.

Amuro Tooru then pulled out an online map and began to check the three sniping incidents that had been discovered so far in the Tokyo area, at three different locations.

Since they're all located in this area, could there be some special connection between them?

Amuro Tooru frowned in thought... He couldn't intervene, but he could use his brain to see if he could provide any unexpected help to the case.

It's always possible.

"The distance between the first and second sniper positions seems to be about the same as the distance between the third and second sniper positions."

Hearing the sudden voice beside him, Amuro Tooru was startled at first, but then pretended to be nonchalant and closed his phone, looking to the side: "What, are you also interested in this case... Scotland?"

Sano, dressed in a black fox fur, placed the coffee and wine he was holding on the table.

"Does that mean you're the only one who can be interested, but I can't?"

After sitting down, Sano pushed the glass of wine toward Amuro Tooru: "This is on you."

Amuro Tooru raised an eyebrow, looked at the wine glass, and remained silent.

Sano smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, I didn't poison it."

Amuro Tooru still didn't respond, but instead asked a question.

"You're making me drink during a mission?"