Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 284: To show more murderous intent, show the authenticity!
"Is that so? Maybe the other party chose Officer Sato for this reason as well."

Kudo Shinichi thought for a moment and said, "I guess it was today or yesterday, at least after the big change in the institute, that person wanted to use the power of the police to find out something, so he replaced Officer Sato..."

He paused slightly. Two days was still too wide a time frame. Those lurking in the dark would have too many opportunities to strike.

He looked at Megure Jusan and Chiba Kazunobu again: "Is there nothing unusual at all? Even some small details. This may concern Officer Sato's life, please think about it carefully."

"This……"

Megure Jusan really wanted to say, even if you say so, brother, I just can’t remember it.

Chiba Heshin suddenly felt something in his heart, opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again.

But Kudo Shinichi had already noticed his abnormality and quickly looked over.

"Just tell me what you have to say, Officer Chiba. It doesn't matter if you just make groundless accusations. Any clues are important right now."

"No, it's just..."

Chiba Kazunobu's face inexplicably flushed. He lowered his head under the expectant gaze of Kudo Shinichi and the others, and whispered, "In Shuangbao Town, after Sato chased after that Amuro Toru for the first time and came back, I noticed that the rise and fall of her breasts seemed to have become a little bigger."

Mu Mu Thirteen: "..."

I didn't expect you, Chiba, to be this kind of person. What are you paying attention to every day?

"..."

Kudo Shinichi also complained in his heart that these adults were unreliable, but his expression immediately became serious: "It doesn't matter if I'm wrong. Now we only have this clue, so let's search along that route first. We must be quick."

Megure Jusan nodded quickly and took out his cell phone to contact all parties.

Kudo Shinichi looked around the house again, but found nothing more. He felt inexplicably depressed, so he walked outside, stood at the railing of the metal platform on the third floor, took a deep breath, and slowly adjusted his heart rate.

Midsummer has arrived, and even though the sky is cloudy, the air is still very hot and humid.

Kudo Shinichi loosened his collar and subconsciously thought that this was because of the humidity in the air, which prevented the human body from fully exerting its heat dissipation function. It was definitely not because he was upset about Kiyoko's matter.

Fortunately, a cool breeze blew in from the entrance of the dark alley. Although it carried a slight smell of mold and decay, it dissipated as it blew.

The air gradually became cooler, and his white shirt, which was wet with sweat and stuck to his skin, gradually dried.

Things shouldn't be what he thought.

The Kiyoko who had been with him for several days was not the real Kiyoko Xuesong, but a fake. It was definitely just a fantasy.

just,

only……

No matter how you look at it, the possibility of this happening is much greater.

First of all, Kiyoko and Mizuki have known each other since childhood and are close companions;
Secondly, the fact that they used the police twice shows that they disregard secular laws and act according to their own principles.

So is it possible that the death of Yuzuki Kiyoko's father, Yuzuki Masato, was accomplished by Suigetsu with the help of Kiyoko?
Of course there is no solid evidence, but Shuiyue took a leave of absence from physical education class that day and went home early. Doesn't this mean that he was worried that the case would develop beyond expectations, so he mixed in with the crowd of onlookers in order to keep track of the progress?

There was a series of subsequent events that happened to Uncle Maori, and he had never been able to understand what the purpose of the mastermind was.

If that person wanted to kill Uncle Maori, he could do it easily.

If he wanted to send Uncle Maori to prison or a mental hospital, it would not be impossible for him to do so as long as he did not leave the "crying and laughing face" as a naked mockery at the Beika Central Hospital and clearly stated his existence.

This made Kudo Shinichi think before:
It seems that the mastermind behind the scenes is just dealing with Uncle Maori in a joking manner, but does not want him to suffer irreparable harm.

why?
He used to be unable to figure it out.

But now, if we equate the image of the mastermind with Shuiyue, the answer is obvious.

Shuiyue did those things just to teach Uncle Maori a lesson, to make him realize how bad he is now, and to make him turn over a new leaf!

Snapped--!
Kudo Shinichi looked like he didn't know what to say and slapped himself on the forehead.

If this is true, how twisted is Mizuki's mentality? In order to reform Uncle Maori, he can actually go to such an extent that he is not afraid to ignore the lives of others.

Moreover, he and Uncle Maori had never met each other in the past, and he probably did all this for Xiaolan.

Oh my goodness.

What kind of strange guy is this?

Of course, then again, his purpose wasn't entirely simple, after all, there was also Kiyoko's side of things to deal with.

This guy Shuiyue always tries to kill two birds with one stone in everything he does.

Maybe more.

After the insurance money in Xuesong Nami's hands was laundered after the gambling game in Kabukicho that night, only the part returned by Uncle Mori was left. There was no way to trace the whereabouts of the rest of the money. I'm afraid it had already fallen into Mizuki's hands.

That guy, ah...

Megure Juzo had already contacted all parties, walked out, walked to Kudo Shinichi and patted him on the shoulder.

"My superiors take this incident very seriously. They said they will ask Interpol for support and use an experimental project that has not yet been officially put into use. Whether it's the real Sato or not, we will definitely find him. The forensic doctor will be here soon, so don't worry, Kudo."

He took out a cigarette and tilted his head to look at Kudo Shinichi: "Do you mind?"

Kudo Shinichi shook his head: "There are still many doubts about the underground casino incident in Kabukicho. Officer Megure, do you remember?"

Megure Jusan lit up the cigarette, took a deep breath, held his breath for a while, exhaled the smoke from his nose, then he groaned in pleasure, almost moaning, and nodded.

"Of course, which one do you mean?"

"Ishida Mamoru, his actions are very contradictory. He doesn't seem like a shrewd mastermind. The police later investigated his life history. From childhood to adulthood, he was just an average person and did not show any special talents."

"Brother Kudo, what you want to say is that he is just a person being used, and the real mastermind behind this is someone else..." Megure Jusan paused, his eyes dim, "You want to say that that person is Mizuki Hotaru, right?"

"Yes, but the specific reason..."

Kudo Shinichi was silent for a long time: "Officer Megure, what kind of person do you think Kiyoko is? No, just talking about her physical fitness, do you think her weakness was just a disguise when you first saw her in Ian's apartment?"

Megure Jusan thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "You have seen Sato's extremely excessive interviews and investigations. Everyone thinks that Xuesong Qingzi is of a bad identity. She even fainted due to anemia in the school in the past. I don't think she is pretending.

Besides, the following events had not happened yet, so who was she pretending for?"

"Yes, I also thought this place was strange before, but the facts in front of me forced me to think so." Kudo Shinichi sighed, "But if you take into account the existence of disguise, everything becomes different."

"what?!"

Megure Jusan had been gradually calming down, but when Kudo Shinichi said this, the cigarette in his lips dropped in shock.

A spark splashed out a spot of rust, which disappeared in an instant in this dark world.

"Brother Kudo, what you mean is that Xuesong Kiyoko was also replaced by someone else, not the real person?!"

This is too incredible!

So many people were replaced silently. Was he on the set of some horror movie?

"The Invasion of Fake People"? !

"The person beside you is wearing a painted skin"? !

Kudo Shinichi's voice was a little dry: "I don't want to accept this reality, but if you compare it carefully, you will find that some places are really suspicious.

Especially considering that Kiyoko was almost raped, if our previous reasoning was correct, Shuiyue would never have let things develop to that point."

"In other words, the Xuesong Qingzi at that time was already fake?"

Megure Jusan's eyes were solemn, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt something was wrong: "Then who contacted Mr. Nakatani to stop you and kidnapped Xuesong Kiyoko on the roadside? I know it was Xuesong Nami on the surface, but according to your guess just now, brother Kudo, it should be Mizuki Hotaru.

But...

It doesn't make sense.

You should think that Mizuki Hotaru knew that Xuesong Kiyoko was replaced, right? Then what was his purpose in doing that scene? "

Kudo Shinichi tapped the railing lightly, and amid the crisp clanging sound, he said in a firm tone:
“I think that was the turning point that night.”

Mizuki and Kiyoko planned a series of events including gambling, kidnapping, and auction. Among them, Yuzuki Nami, Uncle Mori, Mr. Harada, Mamoru Ishida, Fumizumi Nakatani, and the Nikankai were all just pawns.

Their original purpose is not entirely clear, but it is probably to make money and deal with Nami Yukimura and Uncle Mori. Kyoko will not actually be auctioned.

However, an unexpected event occurred which they had not expected.

Someone took advantage of that opportunity to replace Qingzi!
Kudo Shinichi certainly didn't know the details and was only guessing. Mizuki should have discovered this very quickly and didn't point it out. Instead, he pretended to be clueless and observed secretly, trying to figure out the purpose of the substitute.

Kudo Shinichi told Megure Jusan all of this in general, and as he reviewed it with shock, he thought quickly in his mind and found a place that could provide corroborating evidence.

"Rice Flower Central Hospital!"

Kudo Shinichi's eyes lit up: "Kiyoko was admitted to the hospital on Monday night because of a pepper allergy. In order to get rid of me, she asked the hospital to do a lot of tests on her.

On Thursday night, I asked the doctor to examine Qingzi because I suspected her. After comparing the two reports, the answer became clear! ”

"Okay! Then let's go to the hospital now!"

Megure Juzo smoked most of the newly lit cigarette in one breath, threw it on the ground, stepped on the tiptoes, shouted to Chiba Kazunobu in the house, asking him to stay there and wait for the forensic doctor to come, then turned around and went downstairs with a "bang bang bang".

Kudo Shinichi thought for two seconds, determined that there would not be any other clues here, and left immediately after him.

Inside the house, Chiba Kazunobu took a look at the refrigerator, shuddered, and hurriedly went out.

After a moment, I felt extremely bitter as I watched the police car speeding away from the alley.

How come he is suddenly the only one left?
At 6:30 in the evening, Kudo Shinichi and Megure Juzo walked into the Beika Central Hospital.

The medical staff here are very familiar with these two people. They are regular customers these days. When they explained their purpose, they immediately cooperated to pull out the two reports for comparison. "Strange, only three days apart, why is the data so different?"

You don’t know until you compare. Once you compare, more than one doctor exclaimed in surprise.

Kudo Shinichi and Megure Jusan looked at each other, made up their minds, thanked the medical staff, and were about to leave.

But he was stopped by the nurse Huizi.

"Mr. Maori was in a very low mood after returning from watching the game this afternoon. You guys..."

"Find him a psychiatrist. We have other things to do."

Kudo Shinichi interrupted before he finished speaking, turned around and continued walking out.

Megure Jusan apologized to the somewhat embarrassed nurse Keiko and asked hurriedly: "Do you know what the specific situation is?"

Nurse Huizi nodded: "We called Miss Lan, and she said that Mr. Mao Li deserved it. He actually tried to hide what happened yesterday afternoon from Lawyer Fei. She told us to ignore him, let him reflect on it, and just play "Animal World" for him."

"What happened yesterday afternoon?"

Megure Jusan was confused, but Kudo Shinichi, who had not walked far yet, nodded when he heard this.

"Xiao Lan is right. He asked for it."

Kudo Shinichi didn't care about this matter at all, but when he thought about what Mizuki said on the phone yesterday, and that the matter of Uncle Mori was exposed to Lawyer Hime so early, he suddenly became more and more certain that this style was at least 60% similar to that of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Coupled with the common goal of "disciplining Uncle Maori", the similarity will rise to more than 80%!

The only thing he couldn't understand was why Shuiyue showed this side of her in front of him?
Do you think he would never think of this?
Even if he might not have thought of it under normal circumstances, but you went shopping with Qingzi again this afternoon. Isn't this a little too blatant?

I always feel like he doesn't want to hide it anymore.

Is there any benefit for him to expose himself?

Could it be that he just likes this feeling, being suspected but unable to find any evidence, dancing on the edge of a knife?
That’s too bad!
While walking and thinking, Kudo Shinichi quickly returned to the police car. Megure Jusan was not a few seconds late. As soon as he got in the car, he looked at Kudo Shinichi with excitement.

"We found Sato!"

"Is it true or false?" Kudo Shinichi asked hurriedly.

"She drove a white Mazda and went to a villa in Tsuburaya Town. She didn't contact us. It must be fake." Megure Jusan started the car and started in fifth gear. "The special police have already rushed over. We are on the outskirts."

Kudo Shinichi had no objection, but was a little surprised and said: "What kind of experimental system does Interpol use? It's so efficient."

"I don't know about that. Maybe in the future..."

Before he could finish his words, the phone rang again. He took a look and answered it directly, turning on the speakerphone.

"Inspector, the bait plan with the black BMW has failed. The scientific investigation department investigated the traitor's initial contact email address and found that it has been cancelled."

The tone of the voice on the other end was quite heavy, and Kudo Shinichi and Megure Jusan felt quite depressed after hearing it.

This kind of thing almost proves that there are other traitors in the Metropolitan Police Department!

After hanging up the phone, Megure Jusan felt a little worried about the next action. Could the matter of the fake Sato be discovered by that unknown force?
No, maybe the fake Sato is from that faction?

But wouldn't this be worse? Wouldn't those SWAT officers be caught in another explosion? !

Of course, his superiors could think of what he could think of. Megure Jusan showed the highest respect to his colleague in his heart and said through gritted teeth, "Brother Kudo, don't be impulsive later. Stay away from the scene!"

Kudo Shinichi nodded solemnly: "I know the limits."

Having said that, twenty minutes later, when the shock wave of the explosion attracted Kudo Shinichi's attention, he involuntarily glanced at the rooftop of a nearby building and caught a fleeting glimpse of a flowing white dress.

After all, he was still shocked, shouted to Megure Jusan, and then rushed over.

"Brother Kudo! Damn you!!"

Megure Jusan was so angry that he cursed out loud, "You call this knowing your limits? !"
What a fool!

Too reckless!
But he still hurriedly followed, and at the same time shouted in the communication channel: "Inspector Matsumoto, Kudo Shinichi found a figure who looks like Xuesong Kiyoko. The address is a residential building south of the explosion site. Request support!"

"I see."

In the headset, after Matsumoto Kiyonaga issued the order for reinforcement, he turned back to Megure Jusan and said, "This explosion is not aimed at the police. The special police have not entered there yet. Megure, according to what you said, it may be aimed at Xuesong Kiyoko's forces."

"I'm sorry, Inspector, I don't know much about this. It was all told to me by Kudo Shinichi." Megure Jusan said bluntly.

"Kudo Shinichi..."

Matsumoto Kiyonaga hesitated for a few breaths and asked, "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"Only Kudo Shinichi and I know the most complete reasoning, Chiba only knows part of it." Megure Jusan paused, "Does this matter involve some secrets? Do we need to sign a confidentiality agreement?"

"Almost. Superintendent Odagiri conveyed this to me in a veiled way. I'll tell you the details when you come back. As for this case...just investigate it normally. Don't go too far. The things involved are very complicated. The duties of the Investigation Section 1 should be simpler."

"This……"

Megure Jusan even slowed down his pace for a moment: "Don't investigate too much, could it be..."

"Don't let your imagination run wild. We'll talk about everything when you come back." Matsumoto Kiyonaga interrupted, "And that Kudo Shinichi, I know he helped you a lot, but he's not a policeman after all. There are some things you can't say to him without reservation, do you understand?"

Megure Jusan was silent for a few breaths, then responded in a deep voice.

"understand!"

The communication fell silent. Megure Jusan felt heavy in his heart. He followed Kudo Shinichi's steps, only a few seconds late, and rushed into the residential building and went straight to the rooftop.

Kudo Shinichi looked left and right on the rooftop, but couldn't find Kiyoko Yuzuki. Finally, his eyes fell on a clothesline.

There was a white skirt flying above.

Megure Jusan also saw that scene and thought Kudo Shinichi was mistaken. Just as he was about to speak to comfort him, he heard:

"She's definitely here!"

"Um?!"

Kudo Shinichi stared at the sleeveless dress fluttering in the wind with his eyes shining.

"The angle and wind direction are wrong. If it was just this, I would never have noticed it from my previous position." He walked over and sniffed the neckline of the dress, then kneaded the fabric. "This is definitely not in a washed state!"

He turned around and walked downstairs: "Are there any police guarding downstairs? Qingzi must be hiding somewhere in this building now!"

Megure Jusan was stunned for a moment, then nodded excitedly.

"There are guards!"

As expected of Kudo's brother, Yuzuki Kiyoko played tricks on him, but his cleverness backfired!

Police officers were left on each floor. Kudo Shinichi and Megure Juzo started from the top floor and knocked on every door to check. If there was no one in the house, they would ask the police officers with special skills to unlock the door. The situation was urgent and they could not care less about other things.

After opening the third door, although they didn't find anyone, they finally got something.

It was on the balcony curtains, with a green sticky note with words written on it in beautiful handwriting.

[What exactly do you want, Kudo-kun? ]

Kudo Shinichi tore off the note, walked to the balcony fence and looked around, his eyes shining.

"I am always pursuing one thing, the truth!"

His voice was quite loud, as if he was making an announcement to someone.

Megure Jusan also came over and saw him looking at other balconies. He suddenly realized, "The one here, Seijo Kiyoko, is in good health. Her way of moving doesn't necessarily follow the norm?"

"I definitely won't follow that. Look over there, there are footprints on the white balcony fence!"

Kudo Shinichi pointed to a balcony to the side and below, turned and left. After a while, he came downstairs and saw another note on the balcony with scribbled handwriting on it.

[The sea of ​​suffering is endless, turn back and you will find the shore, Kudo. 】

Kudo Shinichi's heart suddenly trembled, and he turned to look at Megure Jusan who followed him, and asked hurriedly: "Is Suigetsu still in the police hospital?"

Megure Jusan also glanced at the note and hurriedly called the person he had left behind to guard the police hospital. After a moment, he received a whispered reply:

"The door was never opened. The man had fallen asleep."

This made Megure Juzo frown slightly, and after hanging up the phone, he relayed the message to Kudo Shinichi.

Kudo Shinichi also found it a bit strange to hear this. How careless could Mizuki be to sleep so soundly at this time, or how much he looked down on him?

You are completely exposed, you know that!

Kudo Shinichi looked at the note again, crumpled it into a ball, and went to the balcony to continue observing.

"Pretend to be a ghost!"

A few seconds later, he found a new clue, turned around and left, his back showing an impatience that could not be concealed.

This scene turned into a circular window and merged into a dark red pupil.

Huaying hoped that her nose would wrinkle slightly and her lips would pout.

It was because she was unable to provide her elder brother with enough murderous intent that he chose to reveal some of the truth.

As for Kudo Shinichi, haha, Huaying hopes to smile contemptuously.

"Are you qualified to investigate Big Brother, you idiot?

(End of this chapter)