I Am a Heroic Spirit

"Eh? Who are you?"

At this time, Kogoro Mouri noticed the agent following behind Yoko Okino, and found that it was a man, so he asked unhappily.

"My name is Eiichi Yamagishi, and I'm Yoko Okino's agent."

Yamagishi Eiichi's mouth twitched and he said helplessly.

Completely ignoring Eiichi Yamagishi's self-introduction and his existence, Kogoro Mori and Yoko Okino asked for her autograph, and were happy to follow them to Yoko Okino's house to investigate.

"Dad, can we go?" Just as Kogoro Mouri and Yoko Okino were about to leave, Ran Mouri suddenly spoke.

"You, what are you going to do?" asked Kogoro Mouri.

"Because I also want to see what my idol's home is like. Conan thinks the same way. Besides, if we bring children with us, people will not suspect that we are hiring a detective to investigate. It will just be regarded as a visit from a friend." Maori Ran looked at Maori Kogoro expectantly and brought Conan along.

Conan nodded. He hadn't been interested originally, but he didn't want to disturb Ran's enjoyment. Besides, Ran's cheerful smile made him doubt what the doctor had said earlier. Was she really worried about Shinichi... about my safety?

Maori Kogoro touched his chin and thought about it. He felt that what Maori Ran said made sense, so he agreed: "Okay, but you are not allowed to interfere with my work!"

Chapter 39 Zhang Luo Joins

When the group left the Mori Detective Agency and were about to head to Yoko Okino's house, a familiar voice called them.

"Ms. Yoko, Xiaolan, why are you both here?"

Ran Mouri and Yoko Okino looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhang Luo walking towards them from the door of a house on the other side of the street.

"Laosang? Why are you here? Today shouldn't be a holiday, right?" Yoko Okino recognized Zhang Luo and asked with some confusion.

"I've applied for self-study at school, and I'll be on vacation until the final exams." Zhang Luo pointed to where he had just stood. "That's the office my mother left behind. They're being renovated these days."

"Office?"

Hearing the word "agency", Maori Kogoro immediately came up to Zhang Luo and said in a harsh tone, "Hey, kid, at your age you should be studying in school instead of playing detective games. Not everyone can be a detective."

"Especially since it's so close to my Maori Detective Agency. Are you trying to steal my business?"

"The last sentence is what you wanted to say, right?" Zhang Luo rolled his eyes and complained.

"That's not important!" Maori Kogoro waved his hand fiercely. "What's important is that a detective agency run by a brat like you won't be commissioned. If you don't want to be squeezed out by an agency run by a great detective like me, go somewhere else as soon as possible!"

"Dad!" Seeing that Maori Kogoro was still like this in front of so many people, Maori Ran shouted angrily, "Stop talking nonsense. Luosang's office is about exorcism, not detective work."

"Huh? Exorcism?" Maori Kogoro was stunned. Upon hearing that he wasn't trying to steal his business, he immediately patted Zhang Luo on the shoulder and laughed as if nothing had happened. "Not bad, young man. You're so young and you've already opened an office. You're really young and promising. Hahahaha."

Kogoro Mouri's face-changing skills made Yoko Okino and Eiichi Yamagishi's faces look strange, and they began to wonder if they had invited the wrong person.

"Really!"

Ran Mouri felt extremely embarrassed and lowered her head, but found that there was something wrong with Conan standing next to her.

"Conan, what's wrong with you?"

Conan's face was extremely solemn, and he stared at Zhang Luo intently, as if he wanted to see through him.

"Uh, nothing, Sister Xiaolan."

Hearing Mouri Ran's question, Conan immediately adjusted his expression and said with a dry laugh, but his heart was extremely heavy. He still remembered that night two days ago, the person who appeared after he was fed poison and communicated with the two men in black looked very similar to Zhang Luo in front of him. In particular, he heard from Xiaolan that after he chased the two men in black, Zhang Luo also chased after him, and later called Xiaolan and said that he was involved in a case. This undoubtedly made his suspicion even greater.

But what is certain is that this guy probably doesn't know that he is Kudo Shinichi, otherwise he would have been discovered by them long ago.

Seeing that Conan seemed fine, Mao Lilan stepped forward and inserted herself between the group of people, introducing them: "He is my father Mao Li Kogoro, a detective at this detective agency. Dad, this is Zhang Luo, a friend I met a few days ago. You should remember that he was on Okino Yoko's show half a month ago."

"Oh? It's you. Hello, I'm the famous detective Maori Kogoro. If you have any problems in the future, just come to me. I can give you a 20% discount."

Kogoro Mouri looked as if he had suddenly realized something, but he was still wondering who this person was. Although he had watched the last show, as a fan of Yoko Okino, Kogoro Mouri would not pay attention to anyone else.

"Haha, Uncle Maori, if you encounter a ghost, you can come to me and I can give you a 30% discount." Zhang Luo said with a forced smile.

Mao Lilan noticed the discord between the two and quickly interrupted, "And this is Edogawa Conan, the child who is temporarily staying at my house."

"Hello, little one."

Zhang Luo looked at Conan, who was a little nervous, and reached out to rub his head. Conan felt the force on his head and wanted to dodge, but he didn't dare to move because of Zhang Luo's suspicious identity.

"By the way, where are you going?"

Zhang Luo knew when to stop, rubbed Conan twice and then let go. Conan quickly hid behind Mao Li Ran and looked at Zhang Luo with suspicion.

"I've felt like someone is following and monitoring me recently, so I came to Detective Mori to help investigate," said Yoko Okino.

"Really? Do you want me to help? I believe I can help with this kind of thing." Zhang Luo asked.

"Then please."

Although her agent Eiichi Yamagishi winked at Yoko Okino again and again, she still agreed without refusing, because the winks she noticed meant she agreed.

"You're welcome." Zhang Luo said with a smile, and at the same time eliminated the illusion he had cast.

Chapter 40 The Idol Secret Room Murder Case

The group quickly arrived at Yoko Okino's apartment, a 50-story building with luxurious decoration.

"Wow! What a great building!" Maori Kogoro was dazzled as he stood in front of the building. He couldn't help but exclaimed, "It's really worthy of being Yoko Okino's residence!"

Immediately, passersby on the street stared at them. Manager Yamagishi Eiichi hurriedly covered Maori Kogoro's mouth and warned, "Please don't be so loud! It's a secret that she lives here!"

Maori Kogoro stuck out his tongue and quickly winked at Ran and Conan mysteriously: "Shh! Shh!"

Ran Mouri and Conan were speechless, feeling that they were completely humiliated by Kogoro Mouri.

The six of them entered the building and took the elevator up to the 25th floor. Arriving at Yoko Okino's door, she took off her hat and men's winter coat and handed them to Eiichi Yamagishi. Then she took out her key, opened the door, and said, "Everyone, please come in..."

Before she could finish her words, Okino Yoko's expression suddenly changed. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, staggered back several steps in amazement, and screamed, "Ah..."

The faces of the people behind him also changed. Looking from the door, they saw that the room was in a mess. A sharp knife was deeply stuck in a man's body. The man's body was lying on the floor with his limbs spread out, as if he was attacked from behind with a knife and fell to the ground and died without a sound.

"Ah--" Yoko Okino, who saw a dead body for the first time, and it was in her own room, couldn't control her emotions and her screams became shriller and shriller.

"Police...Police! Hurry...Quickly call the police!!" Kogoro Mouri said hurriedly.

Yamagishi Eiichi grabbed Maori Kogoro and pleaded in a chandou-like voice: "Wait, Detective! If this matter gets out, it will damage Yoko's image! Please try to investigate secretly..."

"Is... is that so? We need to investigate this case secretly..." Maori Kogoro scratched the back of his head. Suddenly, he raised his voice and yelled at Yamagishi Eiichi: "Asshole! Do you think I would say that? This is a murder case! Do you know what a murder case is? Xiaolan! Call the police!"

Intimidated by Kogoro Mori's outburst, Yamagishi Eiichi didn't dare to say anything more.

When Ran Mouri saw Kogoro Mouri like this for the first time, she was stunned for a moment, but she immediately came to her senses and went to call the police.

Conan was also shocked. In his memory, Kogoro Mouri always looked eccentric and could be called a good-for-nothing uncle. He didn't expect that he would show such a side of himself.

Zhang Luo was not surprised by Maori Kogoro's performance. After all, although he was not very serious in normal times, he had been a policeman and would not be vague about major issues. What's more, he was hiding the identity of the FBI's local district commander.

After being surprised, Conan immediately cast his suspicious eyes towards Zhang Luo. Conan had noticed it a long time ago. When he saw the dead body inside just now, Zhang Luo did not look surprised at all, as if he had known there was a corpse inside for a long time. Thinking of this, Conan already had a general idea in his mind.

This person was most likely killed by Zhang Luo. Just after Miss Okino Yoko left the building, he came over and killed her, then immediately left the building and returned to the office. When they were about to come and investigate the incident of Miss Okino Yoko being followed and monitored, he claimed to come to help, but in fact it was to clear his suspicion.

Originally, Conan only had prejudice against Zhang Luo because he was suspected to be an accomplice of the man in black, but after reasoning step by step, he found that Zhang Luo was indeed a serious suspect.

Just as Conan was thinking about Zhang Luo's motive and method of murder, police cars drove to the building one after another. Fully armed police officers blocked the building and conducted a thorough investigation.

A group of police officers were collecting evidence in the house. Inspector Megure clasped his hands, stared at Yoko Okino, and asked, "So, when you came back, the man had already been killed, right?"

"Yes... yes..." Yoko Okino nodded hesitantly.

Inspector Megure glanced at Maori Kogoro beside him and said, "The so-called detective is..."

"Hehe!" Maori Kogoro stood at attention with a smile and saluted Inspector Megure. "It's me, Maori Kogoro! Inspector Megure!"

Really, there are so many people, why this guy?

Inspector Megure curled his lips impatiently.

"Oh. I really miss the days when I worked on cases with the Inspector in the past!" Mouri Kogoro didn't know whether he really didn't know what Inspector Megure was thinking or he was pretending not to know. He was still saying it with a nostalgic smile on his face.

"Yes, it was thanks to you, my subordinate, that the case became more and more troublesome, like entering a maze." Inspector Megure looked at Mouri Kogoro with a forced smile and said angrily, while Mouri Kogoro was still laughing without noticing.

I've heard that this awful guy became a detective after he resigned. I didn't expect that he can still be a detective today. It's really a misfortune for the Japanese detective world.

As he thought about it, Megure felt that the house was extremely hot. He couldn't help but loosen his tie and complained, "This house is really hot. Is the heating always on this high?"

"No..." Okino Yoko was slightly stunned and said in surprise, "I clearly remember turning off the power when I left."

"Really? That's strange..." Inspector Megure found something wrong.

"No, that's not the only thing that's strange, Officer Megure." Conan, who had worked with Officer Megure several times, completely forgot his current identity. While lying on the ground with a magnifying glass, he looked at something and continued naturally with Officer Megure's words: "Although it's not very obvious, there are indeed signs of water around the body. And, look at this chair. In such a messy room, why is this the only chair standing?"

Conan stood up and pointed to a wooden chair next to the corpse.

"Also, the heating is so strong, are you trying to confuse us about the estimated time of death? No, wait, if that's the case, why not soak the body in water..."

As Conan spoke, he noticed that the atmosphere around him was a little strange. He looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him with strange expressions, especially Zhang Luo, who was looking at him with suspicion.

Conan's heart suddenly tightened. Oh no, he had gotten carried away again, forgetting he was already an elementary school student, and even forgetting that the biggest suspect was here.

Conan pretended to laugh a few times, then pointed at Ayumi who had followed him in at some point and said, "Don't talk nonsense, the child will get in the way."

"Oh!"

Maori Kogoro hit Conan on the head and yelled, "Get out of here, little brat! Don't disturb the adults from investigating the case!"

Then he explained to Inspector Megure as if to apologize: "This guy was left at my house by a friend!"

Although Conan was extremely unhappy about this, he didn't dare to say anything because Zhang Luo was standing aside and looking at him suspiciously.

Chapter 41: No End

After some investigation, Kogoro Mouri's random guess also dragged Yuko Ikezawa into it, and the true identity of the deceased was also revealed. Just when everyone was wondering which one of the murderer was Yuko Ikezawa, Yoko Okino, or Eiichi Yamagishi, Conan, who had an idea, was thinking about how to give the answer normally because of Zhang Luo's presence, Zhang Luo stood up.

"Well, it's clear now. There's no murderer in this case."

Conan looked at Zhang Luo suspiciously, who had always looked calm. He had clearly never conducted any investigation, so why was he so sure? There was only one answer, that is, he was the murderer, and the crime scene was specially arranged by him.

"Hey, hey, hey, kid, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. How could it be suicide?" Mouri Kogoro said with a look of disdain.

Inspector Megure had witnessed Zhang Luo's abilities a few days ago, so he didn't react like Maori Kogoro did. He just asked with some confusion: "Suicide? If it was suicide, how did he do it? How could anyone stab themselves in the back with a knife?"

"The matter is actually very simple. You can tell what happened from the layout of the scene."

Zhang Luo put his hands in his pockets and spoke leisurely.

"Arrangement?" Inspector Megure looked around the area carefully, then asked in confusion, "What arrangement?"

Seriously, are all Japanese police so stupid?

Zhang Luo pressed his head helplessly. Even without reading the original novel, he could see the truth of an incident of this magnitude.

"The water, the increased temperature, the chair next to the body, and the indentation under the body—from these four aspects, we can completely determine what happened."

"Everyone, think back: the heater set to high, the water marks on the floor... In the messy room, only the chair at the victim's feet was upright... The victim likely plunged a kitchen knife into the ice he'd dug a hole in, then aimed the knife tip, facing away from the floor, and jumped from the chair... The heater was turned up to melt the scattered ice... The dent next to the victim's body is irrefutable evidence!"

"Also, I noticed just now that Mr. Yamagishi Eiichi secretly took a hair from the corpse when he fell. That should be Ms. Okino Yoko's hair. The deceased should have used it to frame Ms. Okino Yoko, but Mr. Yamagishi Eiichi mistakenly thought that Ms. Okino Yoko was the murderer, so he secretly hid the hair. You can look for Ms. Okino Yoko's comb or something. If there are fingerprints of the deceased, then my reasoning will be flawless."

Soon, everything was revealed. After Yamagishi Eiichi came forward to tell the truth, the reason for the deceased's suicide was also explained, but Conan was still very suspicious. If that was the only reason, this man's psychological quality was too weak. How could such a person survive to adulthood? And his suspect was still Zhang Luo. After all, Zhang Luo's behavior after arriving at Yoko Okino's house, although on the surface there seemed to be nothing suspicious, that was because no one paid attention to him. Only Conan had been staring at him and discovered Zhang Luo's abnormality. Although there was no concrete evidence, for someone who did not know that a case had occurred in advance and did not conduct an investigation during the case-solving process, Zhang Luo's behavior and reasoning were too suspicious.

"Hahaha, very good, young man. Compared to that unreliable guy, you are a famous detective. Now Shinichi has disappeared and we will have to rely on your help in difficult cases in the future." After everything was confirmed, Inspector Megure ordered other police officers to collect the bodies. He smiled and praised Zhang Luo, and looked at Maori Kogoro with contempt.

"This guy is as hateful as Shinichi!"

Kogoro Mouri stared at Zhang Luo fiercely and said unhappily.

It's not my business?

Conan, who was standing aside, curled his lips in dissatisfaction.

"You're welcome. Although my agency isn't a detective agency, you can still ask me for help with related matters."

Looking at the system notification that appeared in front of him, Zhang Luo smiled and spoke politely.

[Achieve the one-time achievement: Famous Detective, and be rewarded with two Saint Quartz.]

I originally thought that it would take three to five cases to get the relevant achievements, but I got it on the second time. No, it shouldn't be a problem of number. If it's a matter of quantity, it's usually three, five, seven or ten times. If there are only two times, it must be because he was recognized by Inspector Megure.

"Report to the Sheriff! We found this diary in the deceased's home!"

At this time, a police officer rushed in and handed a diary to Inspector Megure.

"Diary?" Inspector Megure quickly opened it. Everyone except Zhang Luo gathered around to peer into the diary, which was densely packed with the torment of Fujie Akiyoshi, a deeply affectionate man... Ever since their breakup, he'd been unable to forget Yoko. He'd even considered ending her acting career to get her back... Finally, he ended his diary with the words, "At least I have to clear up her misunderstanding, or I can't live anymore."... No! This wasn't the end!

Chapter 42 Behind the Scenes of the Case

Just when everyone was feeling sorry for this matter and Inspector Megure was about to close the diary, suddenly, Inspector Megure felt some marks on the diary page that seemed to be the end, and it seemed that something was written on the back.

Inspector Megure flipped the page open quickly, his expression instantly becoming serious. He saw a few lines of messy handwriting on the back of the page.

The professor is right... She is already a big star and must have forgotten me a long time ago. Even if I go to see her and tell her the truth, she won't take me to heart... So let's use the professor's idea and use my life to make her remember me firmly... It's a very simple method, a closed room murder method that even an ordinary mortal like me can pull off. As long as I do this, Yoko will definitely remember me!