Conan Rick's Investigator

"Of course I bought it!"

Suzuki Jirokichi's beard trembled and a domineering smile appeared on his face.

"In this world, anything that can be solved with money is not a problem!"

Qin Zhibo showed a helpless expression: He really is a person with the ability of money...

"Alright! Next up is the viewing phase of the auction."

"Let me take you on a sneak peek at the charm of Sunflowers!"

……

Under the leadership of Jirokichi Suzuki, seven members of the professional team plus Sonoko Suzuki headed towards the vault located on the second underground floor of the building.

On the way, Qin Zhibo privately found Suzuki Sonoko and learned about Suzuki Jirokichi's specific plan.

It turns out that holding the Sunflower Exhibition was not the real purpose. The real purpose was to promote the Suzuki Foundation's new art museum in Tokyo.

Although Kidd’s last publicity strategy was good, the legendary big gems that can attract Kaito Kidd are not always available.

So Jirokichi Suzuki set his sights on Van Gogh's textbook masterpiece "Sunflowers".

As for collecting all seven sunflower paintings for public exhibition, it is not just empty talk.

Jirokichi Suzuki has borrowed five more "Sunflowers" from museums around the world.

These museums have agreed that as long as Jiro Suzuki can successfully acquire the second "Sunflowers" at this auction, the other "Sunflowers" will also be in place.

Of course, this also comes at a cost.

The only uncertainty now is the fifth "Sunflower" in the Koa Art Museum in Japan. The director of the museum has not yet agreed to lend his "Sunflower".

However, Suzuki Jirokichi has always been a man of action. He believes that as long as he can collect the other six sunflowers, the last one will naturally be attracted.

Therefore, Suzuki Jirokichi made a bold statement on the Internet in advance, on the one hand to promote subsequent activities, and on the other hand to make a pledge that he would never fail.

As for these people invited, they were all there to facilitate the upcoming sunflower exhibition.

Yesterday, Suzuki Jirokichi was worried about the choice of the 7th person, because "7" is a lucky number in the West, and 7 people correspond to 7 sunflowers, which is more conducive to external publicity.

At this time, Qin Zhibo happened to call, so he was pulled over to make up the number of people.

"After all, Kidd has always stolen gems~"

"So this time, Uncle Qin just needs to stand on the stage and put on an act at the press conference after the successful bid."

In private, Suzuki Sonoko resumed her normal communication style with Qin Zhibo, without any airs at all.

Qin Zhibo heard the whole plan and nodded thoughtfully.

But Kidd doesn't necessarily just steal gems~

……

When we arrived at the vault on the second underground floor, the famous painting "Sunflowers" was displayed on a platform.

Natsumi Miyata is a professional in art appraisal. She put on gloves, walked to the side of the painting, held a laptop computer, and carefully compared and appraised it.

As for the others, they stood a little further away and watched.

During this period, Natsumi Miyata asked a few questions to the auction staff and then came to Jirokichi Suzuki.

"Mr. Suzuki, there's nothing wrong with this painting."

"Well, that's great. It all depends on tomorrow then... Let's go."

The entire sample viewing process took no more than ten minutes, which surprised Qin Zhibo.

How can the authenticity of such a valuable item be determined so quickly?

If he remembered correctly, in his previous life, there seemed to be a Japanese company that spent more than 2 million pounds to buy a copy of "Sunflowers".

After everyone left, Qin Zhibo told his doubts to Suzuki Sonoko, who waved her hand indifferently.

"It's okay~"

"Ms. Miyata is an expert in authenticating Sunflowers. She has authenticated this second Sunflower before, so she is very familiar with it."

Chapter 1023 Accident in the Auction

"Oh? Miss Gongtai has already studied this painting?"

"Yes, Miss Miyadai really likes sunflowers, right? Miss Miyadai."

Suzuki Sonoko stopped Miyadai Natsumi who was walking on the side and asked with a smile.

Gongtai Xiamei seemed to be thinking about something just now. She was stunned for a moment before asking, "What's wrong?"

Sonoko repeated her question again, and Miyano Natsumi nodded immediately.

"Yes, I personally admire Van Gogh's paintings very much, especially Sunflowers. They bloom quietly in the vase and always give people a warm feeling."

"But in the past, I could only fly around the world to appreciate the charm of 'Sunflowers'. This time, I can finally see all seven 'Sunflowers' at once."

"I see……"

Qin Zhibo looked at Gongtai Xiamei, and his eyes gradually fell on the laptop computer held in her right arm.

Looking closely, there were five stickers in a circle on the A-side of her laptop.

这五张贴纸分别对应梵高的1、3、4、6、7幅《向日葵》，唯独少了2和5。

Why are the two paintings bought by Pickman missing?

Qin Zhibo did not make this discovery public, but instead explored it in a chatty tone.

"I'd like to ask Miss Gongtai, what are your thoughts on Van Gogh's second and fifth Sunflowers?"

Faced with Qin Zhibo's sudden strange question, Sonoko and Miyadai Natsumi were both stunned.

Miyadai Natsumi asked in confusion, "Opinion? What opinion do you mean?"

Qin Zhibo: "For example, have you found anything special in the painting, something that doesn't belong to Van Gogh..."

Qin Zhibo gave a hint, and Miyadai Natsumi fell into deep thought.

Two seconds later, she smiled and raised her head and shook it. "I'm sorry, I think these two 'Sunflowers' are normal. There's nothing special about them."

Qin Zhibo looked at Gongtai Xiamei's eyes under the lenses of her glasses. Her pupils were slightly drifting to the side, and she was obviously lying.

There was indeed something wrong with the two Sunflowers paintings that Pickman once owned.

What Luc Villiers said must be true, Pickman hid his secret among the "sunflowers".

But what exactly is this secret?

……

After returning to the hotel, Qin Zhibo told Kuroba Kaito the information he had collected during this trip.

As soon as he heard Qin Zhibo's judgment, he immediately made up his mind.

"I'll deliver the notice tonight!"

Kuroba Kaito was very excited because as long as he could crack the secret left by Pickman in "Sunflowers", it would mean that he would be closer to Kuroba Toichi.

But Qin Zhibo stretched out his hand and stopped his impulsive thoughts.

"Don't rush to send the letter yet. Perhaps we can get what we want without even having 'Kaito Kidd' show up."

"Mr. Qin, what does this mean?" asked Terai Huangzhisuke.

Qin Zhibo stood up from the sofa and explained, "At today's inspection, the female expert in charge of identifying the sunflowers was using her laptop to compare it with the original painting."

"Her computer might have the answers we're looking for."

It is certainly easier to steal a personal laptop than to steal two world-famous paintings.

The key is that you don’t need to steal it, just copy the data disk.

When Kuroba Kaito heard this, he immediately clapped his hands and agreed.

"Great! That's it!"

……

That night, Kuroba Kaito and Terai Kōnosuke sneaked into the hotel where Suzuki's team was staying.

The hotel's security wasn't difficult for the Phantom Thief and his assistants to penetrate.

But the problem is that Natsumi Miyadai has been staying in the hotel room, and the two have no way to sneak in.

So Qin Zhibo called Suzuki Sonoko and asked her to call other members of the team to discuss the specific procedures of tomorrow's auction.

At the call of the financial sponsor, several people who were originally busy with their own things had to take time out to hold this small exchange meeting.

Although it was an exchange, there was actually not much to talk about.

Except for Qin Zhibo, everyone else is basically a regular at the auction. They just need to practice a little bit about how they will appear at the press conference after successfully bidding tomorrow.

When several other art industry professionals were discussing the Sunflower Exhibition after returning to Japan, Charlie, who was always serious and taciturn, walked up to Qin Zhibo.

"I heard from Consultant Suzuki that when you were in Japan, you almost caught Kaito Kidd?"

Qin Zhibo replied modestly, "We've fought a few times, but I was able to keep the treasure, but I'm still some distance away from catching it."

Charlie then asked, "So what do you think of Kaito Kidd's behavior in Las Vegas?"

"Las Vegas?" Qin Zhibo was stunned for a moment. "Are you talking about the alien invasion in Las Vegas that's been all the rage these days?"

"That's not an alien." Charlie said firmly, "That's Kaito Kidd's trick."

"If this thief dares to show up on New York soil, I will bring him to justice at all costs!"

Kuroba Kaito, who was copying data in the same hotel room, suddenly sneezed loudly.

"Ah sneeze——!"

"Ok?"

……

An hour later, Qin Zhibo returned to the hotel where he and Kuroba Kaito were staying.

In the room, Kuroba Kaito had already got the USB drive and just inserted it into the laptop to check it.

Hmm? USB drive?

Something seems to be wrong, but I can't tell where...

"All the data is here. The USB drive's storage space is almost insufficient..."

Kuroba Kaito plugged in the USB drive and made a casual complaint.

Click on the red icon, and inside is a folder covering the entire page.

It contains some identification information about the artwork, and the name of the folder indicates which artwork it is.

Kuroba Kaito scrolled the mouse wheel and found "Sunflower" in the vast folder.

Click to open, and 5 "Sunflower" folders will appear.

"The first, the third, the fourth, the sixth, the seventh..."

"Huh? Why aren't there any second and fifth pictures?"

Terai Konosuke also came closer to take a look and found that the two key sunflowers were indeed missing.

Even if Qin Zhibo used the hidden function of the system folder, he could not find these two pictures.

"Master, what is this?"

Next to the five sunflower images is a text document signed "Plan."

Not finding the most crucial information, Kuroba Kaito clicked on the "Plan".

However, the plan is protected by a document password and cannot be opened directly for viewing.

"Forehead……"

Qin Zhibo and Kuroba Kaito were stunned for a moment. What kind of plan was worth password-protecting?

Business plan?