Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

That's right, Zhang Ruiqiu, who had arranged to meet Kogoro Mouri this afternoon, has also been declared dead. His body is in the room in the stadium where the jewels are kept. As soon as Kaito Kuroba went in, Zhang Ruiqiu was dumped out of the display table, making him the prime suspect. That's why the police were so ruthless.

I suppose that's part of the reason.

Besides that, there are detailed information about Chen Xuelin's case.

Sano has also used technological means to collect them all.

He was killed inside the shopping mall.

She initially emerged from the elevator alone, then began to stagger, bumping into several passersby. It was only then that it was discovered that Chen Xuelin had a knife stuck in her back and was covered in blood, until she finally collapsed.

But just as more and more passersby gathered and were about to call the police...

The explosion suddenly rang out, plunging the entire mall into chaos. All the circuits were short-circuited, and even the surveillance video was lost, leaving a gap of nearly half an hour. Then the police arrived at the scene, confirmed the identity of the deceased, and found Kaito Kid's card after investigating the scene.

...During this time, Lyon showed his face without any hesitation. Later, through questioning and investigation, the police confirmed that he was on the other side when Chen Xuelin collapsed and there were witnesses. Today, Zhang Ruiqiu's autopsy results showed that she had her throat slit.

Both of them have significant connections with Leon.

Putting aside the fact that, from an outsider's perspective, Kaito Kuroba is the real culprit, Leon seems unusually suspicious. But if you say he's just a troublemaker, Sano feels there's definitely something wrong with him.

There were accomplices; they were being used.

Based on current clues and past experience, Sano came to this conclusion.

However, there are too few specific details, and we'll probably have to wait and see to find out the truth.

...Originally, if it were just a matter of two people dying, Sano wouldn't have wanted to get involved. But given the current situation, it's possible that it will be a large-scale, indiscriminate massacre. So even if he didn't want to get involved, he had no choice but to.

After shaking his head, Sano stopped thinking about it.

But the next second, a phone call provided Sano with new information.

...Initially, due to the constant annoying phone calls and text messages, Sano simply put his phone on silent and didn't even turn on vibration. However, after sending Gin the surveillance video, although he still didn't say much, the other party temporarily accepted it and stopped bothering him.

They only said they would discuss the details after returning to Japan, so Sano was transferred back.

"Boss, I heard you're researching information on a Singaporean boss named Lyon?"

Ito Taka's voice came through the phone.

Sano glanced at Ran Mouri and the others walking ahead.

Instead of using a voice changer, he opened an app and switched his voice to a robotic tone: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"...It's nothing, I just happen to know someone, so I wanted to give you some information."

Even people in Singapore know him?

Sano recalled the mental hospital that Ito Taka had stayed in, which was mentioned in the information he had seen earlier. It included a hospital in Singapore.

Furthermore, since he knew Ito Taka was in Charlemagne and still made the call, it means that he could provide more than just the intelligence in his database.

"Well, you said."

Ito Taka then provided an explanation.

...The gist of it is that Leon is Ito Taka's junior apprentice. As for which area of ​​expertise he is a student of, Sano already knew the answer without even hearing it, and in the end, it turned out to be true.

Hypnosis.

"I'm not very familiar with him; I've only met him twice. Although he's older than me, he started learning later. As for his specific abilities, I've heard he's just so-so, and he seems to prefer using psychology."

"Well, I see."

Having already figured things out, Sano should have hung up the phone immediately, but out of curiosity, he couldn't help but ask, "Can you tell me the name of your master?"

"Of course you can, but if you want to recruit him or just get to know him, then I regret to inform you that he died a few years ago. Otherwise, Lyon wouldn't be such a half-baked guy."

"...Alright then."

Sano didn't think much of it and hung up the phone.

After that, nothing special happened. Apart from Makoto Kyogoku, who stayed at the hospital, and Conan, who was nowhere to be found, the rest of the people went back to sleep.

But Sano suddenly had an idea.

"You guys go back first, I have something to take care of."

Sano, too lazy to even come up with an excuse, left the group and headed to Lyon's mansion. However, Kaito Kuroba, seeing this, also left the group.

"...Why are you following me?"

Sano glanced at Kuroba Kaito. The kid's injury had been treated quite well. Of course, it was a gunshot wound after all, so no matter how well it was treated, the fact that he could act as if nothing was wrong showed that he was very good at enduring pain.

Perhaps one can tolerate it.

Besides the necessary actions, he also follows me around. Has the phantom thief become a detective?

Such a strong sense of curiosity?

"hey-hey."

Kaito Kuroba smiled and said, "I wanted to thank you."

"First of all, I don't remember doing anything that requires you to thank me."

Sano first denied it as usual, and then said, "Secondly, if you're going to say thank you, then don't just say it, you have to show it with something. Didn't your parents teach you such a simple thing?"

Kaito Kuroba: "..."

Tsk, this guy is still so pragmatic.

Kaito Kuroba, who had originally planned to get a little sentimental, abandoned the idea and instead asked, "Are you planning to investigate that Leon?"

"That's it."

Sano lit a cigarette: "Personally speaking, I can only say that I wanted to test his abilities, and it would probably be useless for you to come along."

Don't say that.

Kaito Kuroba grinned and said, "We're all on the same team, we have to advance and retreat together."

Sano pursed his lips, but didn't insist on stopping him from following.

So the two of them went to the Lyon Mansion and met the hypnotist.

Seeing Sano, Leon still couldn't help feeling timid.

But in the end, he forced himself to stay calm and greeted them politely: "It's so late, why are you two detectives here to see me? Is there something you want to ask me?"

"No."

Sano approached Leon: "I'm just curious about what Mr. Leon said to my junior just now. Is the God of War something you believe in? You're not an atheist, are you?"

Leon was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Sano to ask this.

After an awkward laugh, Leon could only go along with it and say, "I guess so."

"Oh."

Sano didn't care whether Leon's statement referred to the God of War as his faith or his atheism, and said, "Well, Kyogoku and I are pretty much the same, both specializing in martial arts. This makes me a little worried. Have I also failed to gain the God of War's approval? Do I also need to undergo a test?"

"Hey?"

Leon was stunned again, and Kaito Kuroba next to him was also stunned.

...What on earth is this guy thinking?

Seeing that Leon hesitated for a long time without reacting, Sano deliberately raised his eyebrows and said unhappily, "What, you're willing to help Kyogoku, but not me?"

Despite being a well-known local strongman, Leon should have absolutely no reason to be afraid of Sano.

Upon hearing this, Leon shuddered and quickly reached into his pocket: "Yes, yes, I happen to have an extra bracelet here..."

Sano watched as Leon tied the bracelet around his wrist.

"So, I also have to wait until the bracelet breaks before I'm considered accepted?"

After looking at the bracelet, Sano asked Leon.

"Um……"

Lyon didn't know what to say, so he could only nod awkwardly.

"Yeah."

Sano narrowed his eyes, then suddenly pulled a knife from his pocket and cut the hand rope.

"So, is that settled then?"

Seeing the gleaming knife in Sano's hand, Kaito Kuroba's eyes twitched violently, while Leon's eyes widened, and for a moment, the air fell silent.

Why don't you answer?

Sano pressed closer, but Leon was like a middle school student caught red-handed by his teacher, unable to do anything but remain silent, just standing there blankly.

Kaito Kuroba watched with bated breath, especially since Sano was holding a knife and seemed ready to stab Leon in the throat at any moment.

...Cutting the rope directly with a knife was clearly a violation of the rules.

What Kaito Kuroba was more worried about was whether Sano would simply pull off an even more outrageous move, such as eliminating the person who raised the problem if he couldn't solve it... Being afraid of people, this is hardly the behavior of a detective.

Is it a triad society?

Fortunately, Sano didn't actually stab Leon. Instead, he just patted Leon on the shoulder and asked softly, "Why did you only use your hypnosis on Kyogoku but not on me? Are you insecure, you half-baked guy?"

Listening only to the first half, one might think that Sano was unhappy about being treated differently, but the second half, full of sarcasm, is a different story. Especially when the word "hypnosis" came out, Leon was so frightened that he didn't even notice the half-baked evaluation.

However, Kaito Kuroba, who was behind him, couldn't hear because Sano was speaking in a low voice.

Seeing that Leon remained unresponsive, Sano grabbed his neck again, forcing him to look him in the eye.

"Let me teach you what real hypnosis is."

Sano put the knife back in his pocket, but then pulled half of the black knife's hilt from his wallet, gripping it to enhance its power. However, he didn't pull it completely out of his pocket, so neither Kaito Kuroba nor Leon noticed anything amiss. The next second, a crimson light suddenly appeared in their eyes, which were fixed on each other. Illusory evil spirits floated out of the modified demon coat and attached themselves to the other person.

Before Leon could even react, the man's eyes glowed red, and endless red filled his entire field of vision.

It's not just about the visual aspect.

The pungent smell of blood was nauseating. Although they were indoors, the howling wind made their eardrums hurt and even made Leon feel like his face was about to be deformed. He could hardly stand up. Of course, the biggest factor that made him unable to stand was the red light emanating from Sano.

...Leon didn't know whether it could be considered light or not, but he could only call it light.

It is like smoke, yet it has a physical form.

After a moment of confusion, the red light solidified, and Leon finally saw clearly that behind Sano were nine enormous tails swinging wildly in mid-air, and above his head was a ferocious beast face that looked like a fox, looking down at him and roaring angrily.