Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

“Inspector Megure, it’s me,” Lin Xiuyi said, getting straight to the point with a serious tone. “I overheard some mahjong terms at the izakaya just now, and suddenly I figured out a key clue in the case.”

"The two victims now, Dr. Sato and Associate Professor Yamada, were probably mahjong partners!"

He paused, then explained rapidly.

"Dr. Sato's wife said that when Dr. Sato got drunk, he shouted that someone called him a 'crybaby,' but she misheard him. It should have been 'calling the gong.'"

"And then there's Associate Professor Yamada. His wife said that when she called him in the middle of the night, he said he was 'seeing a doctor,' which is actually a homophone for the mahjong term 'always waiting'!"

"He was probably playing mahjong when the phone call interrupted him, which is why he was impatient."

Inspector Megure's eyes lit up on the other end of the phone, and he quickly said, "Mahjong buddies? That's right, that explains why two victims who seemed to have no connection were killed by the same murderer! So what should we do now?"

"Immediately investigate the mahjong parlors near Associate Professor Yamada and Dr. Sato's homes that can be played all night, especially those open on Saturday nights," Lin Xiuyi ordered. "By the way, Officer Matsumoto previously gave Section 1 a phone number that Associate Professor Yamada gave to his wife; that number should belong to the mahjong parlor."

“We just tried that number, but we couldn’t get through,” Inspector Megure nodded quickly. “I’ll organize a team to investigate the mahjong parlors in the area right now, and I’ll let you know as soon as I have any information!”

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiu turned around and saw Kogoro Mouri staring at her with a curious expression.

Lin Xiuyi glanced at him irritably: "Where's your aunt? You've made such a mess of the shop, and you're playing mahjong here. Aren't you afraid she'll scold you?"

"I'll do it tonight..."

Just as Kogoro Mouri was about to make a fuss, he saw Hideichi Hayashi point under the table.

There were at least dozens of cigarette butts and several empty beer cans piled up on the ground. Clearly, this wasn't something that could have been accumulated in just one or two hours tonight, but rather the "results" of playing mahjong for several days.

Kogoro Mouri scratched his head awkwardly and confessed honestly.

“Mom’s health has improved a lot recently. Yesterday morning she packed her bags and went back to her hometown in the countryside to visit her grandparents and stay there for a few days to get some fresh air.”

Seeing Lin Xiu raise an eyebrow, he quickly added,

“I originally wanted to go with her, but my mom said that my grandpa’s house is in the countryside and there’s not much entertainment. She said I wouldn’t be able to stay there and would only cause them trouble. So she told me to stay home and look after the izakaya. I was just really bored…”

"And then you gathered people to play mahjong, and it went on for a whole day and night? You turned the izakaya into a card room?"

Lin Xiuyi reached out and picked up an empty beer can from the ground and threw it into the trash can next to her.

"I've got nothing to do..."

Kogoro Mouri chuckled dryly and quickly picked up a broom.

"I'll clean it right now and make sure it's back to normal!"

He suddenly remembered something and stopped what he was doing.
"By the way, didn't you and Yingli go to the US for a summer camp? Why did you suddenly come back? Weren't you supposed to stay for ten days or so?"

"You don't even read international news?"

Lin Xiuyi shook his head helplessly, then remembered that this was the 1980s, not the information-exploding internet society of twenty years later, and television news broadcasts of international events were not frequent.

Newspapers don't usually publish stories about minor events on foreign campuses, and without paying special attention, it's really hard to know what's going on in the US.

Lin Xiuyi sat on the chair next to him and briefly talked about his and Eri's experience on their trip to the United States.

From a hijacking to a school shooting, and then to the release of Lily's diary...

He didn't go into the details of the thrilling incident, but even so, Kogoro Mouri was stunned, his mouth agape as if he could fit an egg in it. "That was so exciting..." Kogoro Mouri swallowed hard. "Thank goodness you guys are alright."

"It was really thrilling; I almost didn't make it back."

Lin Xiu stretched and rubbed her slightly sore shoulders, her stomach growling at just the right moment.
"Is there anything else to eat at the store? I've only had one meal on the plane since this morning, and I'm starving."

As he spoke, he got up and walked to the refrigerator. He opened the refrigerator door and saw that it was empty.

Before leaving for the United States, Lin Xiuyi was worried that the food in the refrigerator would spoil, so she cooked everything that could be made into a dish in advance, and gave away the food that could not be kept for long to her neighbors. Now there are only a few bottles of mineral water left in the refrigerator.

"I still have some instant noodles here, which I was planning to eat as a late-night snack..."

Kogoro Mouri took out several cups of instant noodles from the storage cabinet next to him.
"Wait a moment, there should be hot water in the kettle."

Lin Xiu nodded, tore open the instant noodle packaging, and poured in the seasoning packets one by one.

Kogoro Mouri also returned carrying a kettle of hot water.

As he poured water into the instant noodle bowl, he asked curiously,
"By the way, you just called the Metropolitan Police Department. Did you run into another case after you got back?"

Seeing Lin Xiuyi nod, Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but click his tongue: "Shuichi, your luck is really something..."

"You're actually saying that I'm like the Grim Reaper, wherever I go, trouble follows, right?" Lin Xiuyi retorted irritably.

"I didn't say that, you admitted it yourself." Kogoro Mouri scratched his head, his smile a little guilty.

"The problem isn't with me, it's with the world."

Lin Xiuyi snorted, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes to rest.

Kogoro Mouri's words made a question flash through his mind: why did the "Death God's constitution" that originally belonged to Shinichi Kudo end up in his body?
He clearly had no relation to Shinichi Kudo, and wasn't even his father...

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuyi suddenly paused.

Given his current relationship with Yukiko, it's clear that Yusaku Kudo has no chance of being with her.

Then Shinichi Kudo definitely won't exist in this world anymore.

Is it possible that the world transferred Shinichi Kudo's "death god constitution" to itself because Shinichi Kudo was missing?

The idea struck Lin Xiuyi as both absurd and hilarious.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the case at hand.

If his speculation is correct, then this series of murders is closely related to the mahjong parlor.

Both victims were mahjong enthusiasts and would play mahjong at a fixed location every Saturday night. The murderer was likely one of their mahjong partners.

The steam from the instant noodles rose up, carrying a rich aroma of oil.

Lin Xiuyi was already starving. He opened the lid and began to wolf down the noodles. The scalding hot noodles dispelled most of the fatigue from the journey and the anxiety of solving the case.

Meanwhile, Kogoro Mouri diligently swept up the cigarette butts and trash scattered on the ground, occasionally stealing glances at Shuichi Hayashi, afraid that he might later complain to his mother. (End of Chapter)