Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

But just as they quickened their pace to leave, Kudo Shinichi on the other side walked out of the station with a frown.

After telling his father about the matter at noon today, whether it was simply out of curiosity or because he was worried that his childhood sweetheart would become a victim, after the club activities ended and he sent Ran Mouri home, he went to the last place where the known "victims" appeared and conducted an investigation according to the information provided by Inspector Megure.

It’s a pity that no useful clues were found.

First of all, the three known victims were last seen in Shinjuku Ward, Shibuya Ward, and Chiyoda Ward, and "disappeared" in parks, alleys, and residential areas respectively. As for their occupations, they are office lady, JK, and full-time housewife, and their ages range from 17 to 40+. It can be said that apart from the fact that "the victims all insisted that they were not violated," they have nothing in common.

If these three cases had not been reported to the police by their families and caused quite a stir, they probably would not have attracted any attention at all, let alone been investigated together.

It’s a pity that even if the cases were investigated together, no clues were found.

Although Kudo Shinichi has full confidence in Mori Ran's military force, in modern society, force alone is not enough. Even if he can't find any clues, Kudo Shinichi is still unwilling to give up.

"It would be great if Inspector Megure would let me check the evidence..."

Kudo Shinichi sighed helplessly at the platform entrance, but at this moment a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"What evidence? Kudo-san, are you investigating the case you mentioned at noon?"

"?!"

Kudo Shinichi, who was lost in thought, was suddenly startled, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lan Ke behind him.

He had been thinking about that strange case before, and he thought that the murderer had discovered him and was going to silence him. You know, there was a similar plot in the novel written by his father.

But he soon realized something was wrong.

ー0⒈0卼８⑶９⑻

wrong! !

This is not a school!!

Unfortunately, before he could even ask, Lan Ke had already walked past him and took the initiative to invite him.

"Kudou-san, are you going home? I didn't expect you to live nearby. I haven't seen you for three days. I don't know whether to say it's good luck or bad luck. How about we go back together?"

Kudo Shinichi, who was originally in a state of surprise, instantly grasped the "key" in Lan Ke's words.

"Narukami-san, do you live in Beika-cho too?"

"Well, the professor I'm staying with lives in Beika-cho..."

As expected, Kudo Shinichi widened his eyes almost as Lan Ke finished speaking, and it was obvious that he had made the same guess as Lan Ke.

"Which building do you live in, Narukami-san? Maybe I know you..."

"Number 18, Beika-cho, do you know Kudo-san?"

Beika-cho No. 18? Not Dr. Agasa's No. 19?

No, the key lies in the person living at No. 18...

Kudo Shinichi's mind unconsciously appeared the stern face of Jotaro Kujo, and then he shuddered instinctively.

It's obvious that even strangers would be impressed by Jotaro Kujo's taller-than-average height and his stern personality...

Chapter 27: If you are not interested, Kudo-san, why don’t you introduce me to Maori…

There is no doubt that Jotaro Kujo has a strong presence. In a school where the average height is only 170+, his height of 190cm stands out from the crowd.

After entering university, his serious attitude, which was totally inconsistent with his appearance, left a deep impression on the teachers and students around him.

The situation did ease a little after they got married, but the situation was made worse when his wife passed away and he was not good at getting along with his child, which led to a breakdown in the father-daughter relationship.

So in Kudo Shinichi's impression, his neighbor Jotaro Kujo was away from the country for most of the year, and after his wife passed away, he always had a stern face. Compared with his "handsome father" and "kind Dr. Agasa", he was definitely not easy to get along with.

However, as a neighbor, he did know that the other party was a professor at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. According to his father, he even had a very high reputation in the academic community. It was even said that the sharp decline in the number of whales and dolphins hunted during the whaling season in recent years... Of course, the Japanese called it "marine cetacean expeditions" was also closely related to the other party's activities behind the scenes.

However, in his impression, the other party seemed to have a bad relationship with his family. In Kudo Shinichi's memory, not long after the other party's wife passed away, the other party's daughter was sent to the other party's mother to raise. From then on, the other party completely turned into a workaholic, and Kudo Shinichi might not meet him once for several months.

Why would such a man allow Lan Ke to stay with him?

Kudo Shinichi's detective instinct made him realize that something was wrong, but he quickly rubbed his head to gather his scattered thoughts.

"The most important thing right now is that case..."

Thinking of this, he continued Lan Ke's words again.

"So, Narukami-san, you're living at Mr. Kujo's house? What a coincidence! My house is right next to 'Yukamachi 2-chome 20'."

"Yeah, what a coincidence! I didn't expect your house to be so close, Kudo-san. By the way, you came back so late. Did you go shopping with Maori-san?"

"?!"

Kudo Shinichi, whose mind was originally full of the case, suddenly became panicked when he heard the words "Mouri Ran" come out of Lan Ke's mouth.

"Why did you suddenly mention 'Ran'? What does this have to do with anything?! Did that gossipy Sonoko tell you something?! Don't believe her..."

Looking at the somewhat panicked Kudo Shinichi, Lan Ke's eyes were subtle.

Judging from the other person's appearance, who is he trying to deceive?

Anyone with a little bit of insight should have noticed that the relationship between the two was unusual, but Lan Ke's goal was still that "case".

According to Lan Ke's memory, Kudo Shinichi was a typical workaholic. When he encountered something that interested him, he would completely forget about his "girlfriend". Today, a case that interested him came up. He didn't believe that Kudo Shinichi really went to accompany Mao Li Ran. He was most likely going to investigate. He said this purely to find a point of entry to prevent himself from being too proactive.

"Suzuki-san didn't mention it, but I think anyone can see that Kudo-san and Mori-san have a special relationship. However, I've also heard that some people can't take things further because their relationship is too close. Could this be the case with you and Mori-san as well? If you're not interested, why not introduce me to someone..."

Before Lan Ke finished speaking, he felt a murderous aura, as if he was being stared at by the "God of Death".

As expected, Kudo Shinichi, the famous "Tokyo Jealous King", was looking at him with a strange look in his eyes, tilting his head. To Lan Ke, that serious expression seemed as if he was recalling a murder method he had seen.

Fortunately, although Kudo Shinichi was jealous, he had a good eye. Almost at the same time as he locked onto Lan Ke, he also noticed Lan Ke's slightly upturned mouth corners and slightly mischievous eyes. He instantly realized that the other party was joking with him.

But even so, he still couldn't help but want to confirm it again.

"Lan is very popular in school, both among boys and girls."

Palladium 14 blame zero 锟斤拷

Facing Kudo Shinichi, who seemed to be saying "Why don't you like my childhood sweetheart?" but also had a look that said "I've just mastered some killing techniques recently", Lan Ke acted very calmly.

"I can see that. After all, even though I'm an unpopular transfer student, she's so enthusiastic about talking to me. Kudo-san and Suzuki-san accepted me because of Mori-san, right? So I don't think anyone would dislike a girl like Mori-san, right?"

Of course, there is actually another important reason. In the eyes of other students, Ran Mouri and Shinichi Kudo are almost locked together. Since they are not threatening, there will naturally be less friction between the same sex, which is similar to the situation of Saeko Busujima in school.

"That……"

Seeing Kudo Shinichi seeming to want to say something, Lan Ke interrupted him directly.

"Mori longs for a partner to whom he can confide his true heart, but I am destined to be unable to give my whole heart to my partner..."

"?"

Facing Kudo Shinichi's puzzled look, Lan Ke showed a bright smile without any concealment.

"I've had enough of my previous life. Now I want to live a more reckless life. For example, how about getting a few girlfriends first?"

Lan Ke didn't want to be targeted by the 'Jealous King of Tokyo' in front of him. It would be too funny if his identity as a 'Phantom Thief' was exposed because of jealousy.

Faced with Lan Ke's undisguised "harem declaration", Kudo Shinichi naturally didn't know that the "before" Lan Ke was referring to was his previous life, and thought that the other party was talking about his previous school, but even so he was speechless.

Should we say that Lan Ke is frank, or should we say that the other party does not think before speaking?

There are many boys like this in the class, but few of them dare to say it directly.

"Narukami-kun, you are truly 'honest'..."

In the end, Kudo Shinichi could only sigh like this, and Lan Ke did not comment on it.

"So, rather than saying one thing and not meaning the other, it would be better to admit it directly. This would actually be a better way to prevent others from approaching Maori..."

"I already said it has nothing to do with me!!"

Although his IQ is far higher than his peers, Kudo Shinichi obviously has no advantage in being thick-skinned. His face turns red after just a few jokes, so he has to try to change the subject.

"Lan went home a long time ago. I went to investigate the case."

At this point, Kudo Shinichi couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly, as if he was a predator trying to lock onto its prey in the dark, and Lan Ke's eyes lit up.

This was the reason why he took the initiative to talk to Kudo Shinichi.

The prerequisite for "stealing hearts" is to know who the target is, and unfortunately he is not good at investigation. However, if he can use Kudo Shinichi's wisdom to lock the "target" in advance, then he can naturally "steal hearts" and maybe even complete the "change of heart" before Kudo Shinichi collects all the clues.

After all, if Kudo Shinichi wants to catch the criminal, he must find clues and complete reasoning, but he only needs to know the suspect's name and enter "different world navigation" to know whether the other party has any problems. It is as simple as looking up the answer directly when doing a question.

"The case? The one you talked about this afternoon? But didn't you say, Kudo-san, that the police asked your father to help with the matter?"

Kudo Shinichi, who had no idea of ​​Lan Ke's "evil intentions", just explained to Lan Ke seriously.

"It's a deadline, and several 'victims' have flatly denied it..."

Kudo Shinichi didn't finish his words, but Lan Ke also understood what he meant. Indeed, if the case was really confirmed, with Kudo Yusaku's character, it would be impossible for him to turn a blind eye to it, but now even the "victims" denied it. The only thing that can be confirmed is that these "victims" had mucous membrane contact before their families reported the case, but the problem is that simple mucous membrane contact is not illegal.

Now even the police are unable to handle the case, and Kudo Yusaku has no other options. He is not a god, and he cannot make empty inferences without any clues and the "victim" is not cooperating. Naturally, he cannot ignore his work for a case that may be imaginary.

"But after my visits, I still found some clues."

As he spoke, Kudo Shinichi showed his signature confident smile, as if he was happy that he had won over his father...

Chapter 28: The First Collaboration between a Thief and a Detective

As Kudo Shinichi spoke, he took out a notebook from his backpack. When he opened it, there was a simplified version of the Tokyo map inside, folded so that only a part of it was exposed.

"Although the three 'victims' refused to cooperate with the police investigation, I was able to locate the 'last witness' based on their walking routes. Although these witnesses didn't directly see the 'suspect', we were able to estimate the area they walked within half an hour based on their walking speed..."

As Kudo Shinichi spoke, he drew three circles on the map with a pencil and marked ①, ②, and ③ according to the time of the incident.

Although the distances between the three points are not the same, it is not surprising considering the difference in the time of the witnessing. However, Kudo Shinichi connected the three circles with a line.

"So, Kudo-san, you suspect the 'suspect' is following this route to find his target?"

Perhaps because he couldn't find anyone to share his thoughts with, Kudo Shinichi was obviously a little excited and nodded without hesitation.

"That's right. Not only that, based on the distance, we can also infer one thing, that is, the 'suspect' must have a means of transportation. Considering the time when he committed the crime, we can further narrow down the scope of the crime tool. I think it is very likely a car!"

Facing Kudo Shinichi's confident look, Lan Ke couldn't help but sigh that the other party was worthy of being the "famous detective" in the future. He narrowed the scope so much just through simple visits. You know, he only found out that the other party's father, the "suspect", was the driver after directly asking "Ito Makoto (shadow)", but the other party actually came to the same conclusion based on reasoning.

"So, Kudo-san, do you have a target you suspect?"

In response to Lan Ke's question, Kudo Shinichi looked at Lan Ke with a somewhat strange look and then sighed helplessly.

"I'm not a god. The only thing I can be sure of is that if this person is truly a 'random crime', then they either happened to see the 'victim' while driving on the road, or they're in a crowded area where there aren't many people, because a small crowd means there aren't many suitable targets, but the crowds aren't too large either, because a large crowd would make it difficult to target. I plan to go to the place that might be the 'first crime scene' tomorrow to look for clues..."

Hearing this, Lan Ke's eyes lit up.

"If that's the case, why don't you just tell the police and ask them to check the surveillance footage?"

But as Lan Ke finished speaking, he found that Kudo Shinichi was looking at him with strange eyes. It seemed that he realized that Lan Ke was not joking before he spoke again.

"Not every street has surveillance cameras, and it's impossible for the police to organize so many people to search surveillance cameras just because of a 'possibility'."

At this point, Lan Ke realized that there was no "Skynet" in Neon.

This is indeed good news for him as a "Phantom Thief", or this is why there are so many cases in "Detective Conan", but it is indeed bad news for the current case.

As if realizing that Lan Ke could not provide him with any useful advice, Kudo Shinichi simply put away his notebook. But at this moment, Lan Ke's words made him stunned.

"It would take quite a while for you, Kudo-kun, to visit so many places by yourself, wouldn't it? It would be terrible if new victims appeared during this time. I don't know how to solve cases or deduce them, but asking other people should be enough."

He was not surprised that Lan Ke was working while staying at Jotaro Kujo's house. Or, except for people like Fujimura Taiga who knew the inside story, ordinary people thought that since Lan Ke was a boarding student, he would naturally have less money on food, clothing and other expenses, so it was natural for him to work and earn money.

But that's where the problem lies.

Since Lan Ke needs to work to earn money, why does he want to get involved in this matter?

He just came to Tokyo and probably doesn't know those 'victims', right?

As if seeing the doubt in Kudo Shinichi's eyes, Lan Ke blurted out the excuse he had already thought of.

"Kudou-kun, you're probably worried that Mori-san might become a 'suspect' too, so you're working so hard to solve the case, right? And I'm pretty much the same way... Don't look so scary. I've already told you that Mori-san isn't my target. I'm only trying to help because I want to 'repay a favor.'"

"Repay a favor?"

"That's right. If it weren't for Mori-san, I'd probably have to go to the bathroom and eat my lunch at noon. So I hope to do something within my ability, such as helping you, Kudo-san, catch this 'suspect' and make it safer for Mori-san to go home."

Facing Kudo Shinichi's slightly scrutinizing gaze, Lan Ke seemed very calm. After all, although he did intend to use Kudo Shinichi to find his target, it did not prevent him from admiring and being grateful to the kind girl, Mouri Ran.

Although he doesn't mind being alone, who doesn't like life to go a little smoother?

But these words seemed unable to completely convince Kudo Shinichi, and he found the last "busy spot".

"But what about your part-time job, Lan Ke? You probably... need money, right?"