Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 369 The world's number one martial arts conference opens!
At six o'clock in the evening, Xiaolan and Sonoko went to a rather quiet French restaurant for dinner.

"So, how did you discover Ai's problem?" asked Xiaolan.

"Because she is very familiar with Tokyo, it doesn't seem like she has just arrived. And the most crucial clue..." Sonoko said proudly, "Hehe, it's because of that Fushae wallet."

"I don't quite understand."

"It's the new wallet that Fusae released ten days ago. The scarlet model in particular is very popular. It was sold out in less than ten minutes after it was put on sale at the counter. There is no restocking yet. But according to the information you forged, Ai had not yet come to Tokyo at that time."

Xiaolan was slightly stunned, "Then what?"

Sonoko raised an eyebrow, "This is the flaw, which means that Ai was already in Tokyo before."

"Excuse me, a playboy like Ying has many women who need gifts. Why can't he prepare some suitable gifts in advance and have them ready at any time?"

“………Huh?”

Seeing Sonoko's bewildered face, Xiaolan held her forehead and sighed, "If you don't find anything else, it seems that this is just an accident. Really, Sonoko, you scared me before, and my performance was also very bad, but you actually tricked me out."

"Um……"

Yuanzi thought for a while, then an idea came to her mind. "Just because you let her sit in on the phone call last night, that's enough to prove it. She's definitely not an ordinary child."

"But what does this have to do with who she is?"

"This……"

Yuanzi's expression suddenly became serious. "As the ancients said, luck is also a part of strength."

"..."

Xiaolan didn't want to talk. After the waiter brought the baguette, she glared at Yuanzi and took a bite viciously.

Yuanzi quickly handed over a glass of water, "Don't choke, the soup will be here soon."

Xiaolan raised the baguette, waved it in the air twice, and pointed it at Sonoko, "Magic, make Sonoko lose her memory!"

Yuanzi shook his head as if he suddenly fell asleep, then he took a "ah" and leaned over to bite off a tip of the baguette.

Baji, Baji——"Hmm, the freshly baked baguette is still very soft and tastes good."

Xiaolan rolled her eyes at her and said, "If you go too deep, you will become unlucky. Be careful or I will send you to the laboratory as a guinea pig."

Sonoko turned a deaf ear to it, "So Qian Su went to help Xiao Ai with her identity yesterday afternoon, right? There happened to be chaos within the police force, so it was convenient. But there were no flaws revealed during the field investigation. How did you do it?"

"Because it's true."

"Hmph, never mind. I guess it's a silver bullet offensive. Or maybe that old lady really exists, and you guys just pretended you found the wrong village, and gave generous gifts to other people in the village in the name of 'taking care of Ai in the past'. If they accepted the gifts, they would be worried about you discovering the truth, so they would naturally make up a lie."

Xiaolan was stunned for two seconds, then she applauded Yuanzi, "Great, great! Our Yuanzi is really a genius."

Sonoko smiled complacently, then lowered her voice, "Actually, this idea was not my idea, it was from the Kudo family.

Xiaolan, didn’t you say last night that there was something wrong with Conan? My father sent people to Hakone Town overnight and found out the truth after much investigation.

Last Friday afternoon, Yusaku Kudo went to Hakone Town and, accompanied by a local elderly man, visited several families in succession and gave them gifts.

He spent most of the time there over the next few days, and every time he went there, different people would speak up for him, saying that Conan did live there before.

As time went by, this obvious lie became the truth, and the police's on-site visit yesterday was also concealed."

Xiaolan suddenly realized, "So yesterday, when Inspector Megure said that Uncle Yusaku had other things to do these days, he was referring to confirming Conan's identity. That's pretty impressive."

"Hehe, but you're not as good as Xiaolan. You were sure that there was something wrong with Conan from the beginning. No matter how hard they tried to cover it up, it was useless." Sonoko was full of curiosity. "What's going on with Conan and Xiaoai? Why did you both go to such great lengths to fake your identities?"

"The food is so slow, I'm almost starving."

"Tsk, I know it even without you telling me. Their original identities must be shady. They are just children, so it must be their parents' identities that are problematic, right? They are like the princes and princesses in fantasy novels who have to hide their true identities because their kingdom is destroyed and they are hunted by enemies."

"…The Kudo family hid it from the police, so how did the Suzuki Group find out?"

“We are richer than them.”

"……excuse me."

Halfway through the meal, Gin called. Xiaolan was about to go out to answer it, but saw Sonoko immediately stand up. She hesitated for a few seconds, but finally sat down and answered the call.

"Mr. Kurosawa, is there anything I can help you with?" Xiaolan spoke first.

"Are you going to participate in the martial arts competition in Singapore?" Gin asked.

"Yes, but the martial arts tournament is being promoted worldwide, and there are too many strong people coming. I can only feel the atmosphere of the competition, and I dare not dream of getting a ranking."

"Don't underestimate yourself, Miss Lan. I've seen the video of your last karate competition final. You are very strong, and the organization can also provide you with help."

"I am glad to have your approval, but the martial arts competition is an unlimited fighting, and I am not good at cold weapons."

"That's why I called. The organization plans to prepare a set of armor for you. When it's convenient for you to video chat with me, there are many additional items to choose from. By the way, this set of armor will be customized according to the sports model you left behind at the training base. Has your figure changed recently?"

"…Well, even if I have armor that can block swords, I still can't win with my strength. Mr. Kurosawa is stronger than me."

"It's always more convenient to have one more person. Besides, the rewards for this martial arts competition are generous. The top 32 will get 200,000 US dollars. Just think of it as a task I issued to you. You don't have to hand in the bonus. You can keep it for pocket money."

"…My figure hasn't changed recently."

Xiaolan hung up the phone, feeling speechless, as she felt that there was something wrong with the winery's image.

Sonoko's eyes lit up when she heard Xiaolan's words. "Lan, what does armor mean?"

"Literally, karate is not good against cold weapons, so put on armor." Xiaolan knocked on the baguette's shell, which had gradually become hard. "What do you think about getting a set of armor for Senior Kyogoku? He is very strong, but this can't slow him down."

"What a good idea! I'll tell you when I get back!" Yuanzi's eyes lit up. "It will be very interesting to see two Iron Men fighting in the ring."

"…It's more like a fight between medieval knights. The rules of the competition prohibit the use of hot weapons and electronic products."

“That’s beautiful too.”

Sonoko fantasized for a long time in her mind and chuckled twice. She didn't know if it was because she thought of the handsome blond guy under the knight's helmet.

"By the way, this Mr. Kurosawa..." Sonoko paused for two seconds, "Could he be in that organization?"

"Oh my god, Sonoko, why do you ask such a question? Ah——" Xiaolan forked a piece of foie gras to Sonoko's mouth, "Is the food not delicious? The chef and the ingredients will cry."

Yuanzi bit into the foie gras and smacked it—"So does it have a name for the wine?"

"...One more piece." At a quarter to six, Xiaolan and Sonoko went to the training ground. Kyogoku Makoto and Maeda Satoshi were also resting at this time, and several people in white coats were measuring their various physical data.

Seeing the two approaching, Kyogoku Makoto's eyes lit up, "I heard from Mr. Akiyoshi that Suzuki-san is planning to prepare a set of armor for us?"

Sonoko nodded, "Yes, otherwise we would be at a disadvantage against cold weapons. If Senior Kyogoku is unwilling..."

"I'm not an old antique. Of course I'm willing. This is necessary in order to fight with the swordsman." Kyogoku Makoto smiled. "To be honest, I saw several strong men at the airport today. I'm quite excited now."

After graduating from high school, Kyogoku Makoto had planned to practice martial arts on a global scale and challenge various powerful people.

The current martial arts tournament in Singapore will gather strong men from all over the world, which is exactly what he wants!
The only downside is...

“It was too hasty.”

Kyogoku Makoto shook his head. "The competition will be held the day after tomorrow. This is too hasty. If the organizers promote it a few months in advance, there will definitely be more people coming."

"The day after tomorrow is just the preliminary round, and all countries attach great importance to this martial arts competition. Everyone who should come will come."

Sonoko opened a forum on her mobile phone and handed it to Kyogoku Makoto.

Netizens from various countries are surprised at what the authorities are doing today. They are looking everywhere for martial arts masters. Once verified, they will immediately provide him with air tickets, food and lodging, training, etc., and invite him to Singapore to participate in a martial arts competition. This is more active than preparing for the Olympics.

This caused the crowd of spectators who had no idea what was going on to speculate, could it be that this number one martial arts competition in the world is really going to produce a "number one in the world"?
Are these countries so active simply for reputation, or do they have other purposes?

Curious netizens immediately began searching for clues everywhere, and the magical news released by the Nichijo TV station yesterday afternoon naturally quickly caught everyone's attention.

A demon child who can manipulate people's hearts is outrageous.

The Japanese government half-admitted this incident, which is even more outrageous!
People were shocked for a while, and then they connected it with the world's number one martial arts conference. They were immediately shocked and their scalps went numb.

A Chinese-speaking netizen commented:
"Gentlemen, the spiritual energy has revived, and the road to immortality will surely be reopened in this world. The Cyan Fist is the source!"

Many people felt hot-tempered after hearing these words, but they just pretended not to have seen the second half.

"V50, after this Immortal Emperor has attained Dao Fruition again, I will make you my subordinate."

……

Kyogoku Makoto's eyes lit up with excitement as he handed back the phone. "So that's how it is. All parties are eager to see results, but don't want the martial arts meet to be too hasty. Three days is more than enough time."

Yuanzi smiled and said, "Not only that, I heard from my uncle that the strong people who come here in three days can also participate in the competition. They just need to defeat anyone who has passed the preliminary round."

"This is interesting. I can't wait."

Kyogoku Makoto looked at Xiaolan who was chatting with Maeda Satoshi, "Xiaolan, will Suigetsu come over?"

"That shouldn't be the case. He has some troubles." Xiaolan sighed.

"That's a shame. Suigetsu is very strong. Last time in the forest of Ebina City, I kept trying to fight him head-on, but I couldn't catch him at all."

Although Sonoko didn't think being able to escape was a big deal, she still leaned over to Xiaolan's ear and said, "Should we get Suigetsu-kun out? With this martial arts tournament as a pretext, it would be easy to get him out of the mental hospital as a contestant."

Xiaolan thought about it, "Just looking at his appearance, do you think Hotaru is very powerful?"

"Of course not. I always thought he was a weak boy. When he first fought you in the karate club dojo, I was worried that you would knock him to the ground with one punch, then kneel down and pinch his nose, begging him not to die."

“…That’s too much.”

"That's right. Look at his nickname, Liuying~~chan. He must be very weak."

"..."

Xiaolan was speechless and looked at Kyogoku Makoto again, "The martial arts tournament has venue restrictions, and the terrain is also an open flat land, not as complicated as in the forest. If they fight in this environment, do you think Hotaru has a chance of winning, Senior Kyogoku?"

Kyogoku thought for two seconds, "I don't know how good Suigetsu's skills are, but he doesn't have enough strength. If I catch him head-on, my chances of winning are slim."

Xiaolan sighed, "Hina's physical fitness is a weakness. She was seriously injured on Friday and Saturday. Or..."

Yuanzi interrupted, "Just think of it as a walk, we can just go back and continue. They won't object, right?"

Xiaolan tilted her head and looked at Yuanzi without saying anything.

Sonoko said seriously, "I am considering the Suzuki Group. One more person can increase our chances of winning. Xiaolan, you are worried that Suigetsu-kun will get hurt, right? Don't worry, we..."

"That's not the case."

Xiaolan whispered in his ear: "Have you forgotten the phone call in the restaurant before? Someone has the same excuse as you. I feel that Ying will only run into a lot of trouble if she comes. As for going out for a walk, Ying is in a trance right now, so it can't be considered as being put in solitary confinement."

Yuanzi's eyelids jumped, and he whispered in her ear, "Are you saying that the winery may have already bailed out Suigetsu-kun?"

"I hope not."

"All right……"

Sonoko became frustrated, "I didn't expect that you, Xiaolan, and Suigetsu-kun would become enemies in this competition."

"I'm no match for Kyogoku-senpai and Maeda-senpai, so relax." Xiaolan clenched her fists and encouraged Kyogoku and Makoto. "Please show your talents to the fullest. For a warrior, this is the best stage!"

Kyogoku Makoto and Maeda Satoshi looked at each other, both of them burning with fighting spirit.

The world's number one martial arts competition.

As a warrior, you should only have one goal.

Number one in the world!

……

……

Two days later, at nine in the morning.

The sky is clear and there is not a single cloud in sight!
Above the Singapore National Stadium, accompanied by the scorching sun, the deafening sound almost echoed throughout the entire island.

“The primary election begins!!!”

The huge metal dome slowly unfolded, sunlight shone through the huge steel structure, and in the dazzling silver-white light, human voices merged into a tsunami-like torrent.

Under the endless scorching gaze, the thick steel plates covering the football field and the athletic track were almost burning!
"Group A enters!"

"One hundred people fight in a melee, and four will be selected!"

(End of this chapter)