Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 171 Internal strife?

Another half hour passed, and the police finally got their hands on the hotel's guest list.

In addition to the list, a receptionist was also called over to assist with the questioning.

"Inspector Megure, all we need to do is look at today's check-in list."

Seeing that Inspector Megure was preparing to investigate starting from three days ago, Conan prompted, "Their schedule was changed at the last minute, so it's impossible for them to have booked rooms in advance. It could only be today."

"Yes, Conan is definitely smarter." Inspector Megure nodded in agreement and flipped to the registration form for today's guests.

Then, Takagi handed the three photos to the receptionist and asked, "Have you seen these three people today?"

Names may be faked, lists may not be accurate, but appearances will not.

It's more convenient to ask the front desk directly than to look through the list, especially if it's a woman and two men booking a room, as the front desk will likely remember them.

The receptionist seemed a little nervous, but she still took the photo and examined it carefully.

"Have you seen it?"

A few minutes passed, and seeing that the other party had not responded for a long time, Takagi became a little anxious.

They are racing against time; the sooner they confirm the situation, the sooner they can make the arrest.

The receptionist nervously scanned the photos, and after a while finally spoke: "Actually, some guests were wearing masks and glasses when they checked in, so I couldn't recognize them very well. I'm sure I haven't seen the three people in the photos before, but I can't rule out the possibility that they covered their faces, which is why I couldn't recognize them."

The receptionist's response made Takagi a little uncomfortable: "Take another good look. Are there any similarities in the ears, forehead, lips, eyes, and neck?"

The receptionist shook her head, indicating that she could not give a definite answer: "There are no fewer than ten people who booked rooms today without showing their faces. I cannot give a specific answer, I can only say that I have never seen these three faces before."

The number of people checking in today is nearly two hundred so far, and looking at their facial features alone, I can't recognize them at all.

This is the level of observation ability of an ordinary person. Some people will forget what they have seen even once, let alone just look at a certain part of the body. It is too difficult. Even Takagi, who graduated from the police academy, is not very good at it.

The Mihua International Hotel is doing very well, with hundreds of guests checking in every day, including some who don't want their faces to be seen.

Especially those who are having extramarital affairs.

The inquiry reached a stalemate.

"Sister, do you remember any instances where a woman and two men booked a room together, just one room, somewhere between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.?"

After pondering for a long time, Conan asked in a low voice while Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Megure were looking at the list together.

He was afraid that if he raised his voice, he would be beaten.

"One woman and two men, booking a room, between 1:00 and 2:30?" The receptionist thought for a moment and then her eyes lit up.

"Speaking of which, there are indeed three strange people."

Around 1:30 or 2:00, three people came together to book a room, but they only booked one room.

At that time, I found it strange.

There were clearly two men and one woman, but they only booked one room, and it was a single bed. These three people left a deep impression on me.

They were well-covered, but I remember the woman had long hair. Of the two men, the one who booked the room with me spoke more maturely, probably over forty. The other man didn't speak, but judging from the fair and clean skin on his exposed arm, I'd guess he was between twenty and thirty.

The receptionist looked a little awkward: "I was joking with my colleagues about how fancy their tricks were. Now that you've said it, they might actually be the three officers are looking for."

Inspector Megure and Kogoro Mouri, who were standing nearby, lit up when they heard the receptionist's explanation.

There's no doubt it's them!
The personal information found at Akemi Miyano's residence has a high degree of overlap.

Immediately afterwards, Inspector Megure picked up the walkie-talkie and began to gather the police force.

Now that it has been confirmed that the kidnappers are indeed at the Mihua International Hotel, we only need to leave a few people to guard the parking lot, and the others should set up a perimeter inside the hotel as soon as possible.

With a serious expression, Kogoro Mouri asked the receptionist, "Excuse me, which room did those three people book?"

The receptionist took the list from Takagi and began to look through it, quickly finding a name.

"This is it, Matsuda Miao. The room they booked is on the 27th floor, room number 2714."

"It really was an alias!"

Conan secretly memorized the room number, then reached out and tugged at Natsukawa's sleeve, saying, "Uncle Natsukawa, let's hurry up and leave. If we're too slow, they might notice something's wrong. The police have been keeping watch here for a while now, and if they're observant, they might find something."

Conan noticed that, at some point, the obstacles he encountered when acting with Natsukawa were much smaller.

Based on his performance today, he'll be in serious trouble if he wants to participate in the investigation.

But when he's with Xia Chuan, he doesn't have this kind of trouble.

Now, he's in charge of showcasing his intelligence and reasoning, while Xia Chuan can be responsible for delivering powerful punches when encountering criminals. The two of them working together is very convenient.

This feeling was even more comfortable than when I solved a case with Heiji Hattori last time.

Now Conan is a little hesitant about whether he should tell Natsukawa his true identity, hoping to get more help in the future.

However, considering Xia Chuan's unclear identity and status as an unemployed vagrant, his formidable martial arts skills, and his apparent connection to Kaito Kid, he decided to temporarily abandon this plan.

At the very least, he needs to find out Xia Chuan's identity in order to completely expose his own.

Moreover, he felt that he couldn't hide it from Xia Chuan for long.

Anya has a video of him knocking out Uncle Mori; who knows, Natsukawa might see it someday.

“Yes, yes”

Xia Chuan's eyes lit up. He was still thinking about how to get Miyano Akemi out of the encirclement. If he and Conan went upstairs before Inspector Megure, he might be able to find an opportunity to let Miyano Akemi go.

The two quietly left from an unnoticed angle, without attracting the attention of Inspector Megure and Kogoro Mouri.

Upon entering the hotel, Conan quickly ran towards the elevator and pulled Natsukawa inside.

The two held hands, making them look like father and son, which would also help them avoid attracting attention.

I pressed the button for the 27th floor, and just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand reached into the gap between the doors.

The elevator's anti-accidental touch function is activated and turned on again.

Takagi Wataru grinned as he stepped into the elevator: "Natsukawa-nii and Conan-kun won't forget me, will they? We're good partners working together today."

Those robbers are armed; it's too dangerous for the two of you to go up there.

The sharp-eyed Takagi spotted the two sneaking away and, having guessed their intentions, followed them. Sure enough, the two were preparing to act alone.

Takagi's sixth sense told her that following Natsukawa and Conan wouldn't be a mistake.

After spending half a day with them, he was quite amazed by their performance.

This gave him an opportunity to make a contribution.

He's still a rookie in the Metropolitan Police Department and desperately needs to make a name for himself. He knows that taking risks is the only way to achieve results.

He comforted himself by thinking, "It's normal for police officers to take risks."

As the elevator continued to ascend, Takagi silently pulled out his pistol, disengaged the safety, and carefully placed it in his inner jacket pocket.

As the elevator ascended, Takagi's excitement turned into nervousness; it was his first time apprehending an armed criminal, and he felt somewhat uneasy.

bite.
The elevator stopped at the 27th floor, and the elevator doors slowly opened.

The corridor was deserted, and the entire 27th floor was rather quiet.

The hotel's corridors are shaped like the Chinese character "田" (field), and the intersection of the plus sign in the middle of the "田" is where the elevator entrance is located.

The three stepped out of the elevator. Conan glanced back at another elevator and noticed that the number on the top of the elevator door had reached the 26th floor and was descending.

"What's wrong?" Officer Takagi asked. He was paying close attention to Conan's expression; the kid always seemed to notice details that others missed, so asking him questions was helpful in solving the case.

"It's alright, let's go to 2714 first." Conan shook his head to indicate that it was fine.

Surely he wouldn't arrive and then the other person would leave immediately; there's no such coincidence in the world.

Takagi, as a police officer, walked at the front, one hand on the wall and the other in his inner pocket, walking like a lewd stalker.

Natsukawa and Conan were a little embarrassed to look.

That's too obvious. You might as well just pull out your gun; if you run into them, you might be able to fire faster.

This approach will only attract more attention.

2714 was located at the very end of one of the corridors, and since it seemed that no one was coming out at this time, Takagi was not exposed.

“This is the place, right?” Takagi’s arms trembled slightly. If his back hadn’t been against the wall at the entrance of 2714, he probably would have shaken up.

"Don't be nervous, relax. The robbers will never expect that we've already found them."

While comforting Takagi, Natsukawa pondered how to release the water later.

The other two are unrelated, but Miyano Akemi definitely can't be caught here.

There are definitely spies from the distillery in the police force. If Miyano Akemi is arrested by the police, Gin will definitely send someone to assassinate her, and her tequila persona will also disappoint Gin.

Even if they weren't suspected of being an undercover agent, they certainly wouldn't trust themselves as much as they did this time.

It's not a big problem. Seeing Takagi's flustered state, Natsukawa felt much more at ease.

Sorry, Takagi, you might have to take the blame for letting the robbers go this time. Who told you to be so eager to make a name for yourself?
If he does something underhanded and gets Takagi taken hostage, wouldn't Miyano Akemi have a chance to leave?
This is also why he didn't stop the other person from getting on the elevator.

Conan silently activated the wristwatch-shaped tranquilizer dart, his gaze fixed on the door of room 2714.

The corridor was so cleaned that he couldn't find a suitable "ball," rendering his power-enhancing shoes useless.

"Should we wait for Inspector Megure and the others? There are three of them, and they're probably all armed."

Takagi hesitated as he approached the door: "My instructor at the police academy said that being a police officer is not about lone heroism, but about overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers to achieve victory."

"I think the instructor makes a lot of sense." Takagi swallowed hard, regretting his impulsiveness.

However, what he said does make sense, and there were two ordinary people with him.

"Conan, your watch is broken. Do you want to go downstairs and get it repaired?"

Seeing Conan and Natsukawa staring at him silently, Takagi made an excuse to change the subject.

"This is a wristwatch-type tranquilizer gun; I can help take care of a robber."

Despite Conan's earnest explanation, Takagi still didn't believe him.

How could a child have such a thing? The watch must be broken. Let's go downstairs to get it repaired.

He took a step to the side, preparing to pull Natsukawa and Conan away.

However, Natsukawa, on the other side of the door, was itching to make a move and wasn't going to give Takagi any more time to dawdle.

It's best to act now, otherwise, once Inspector Megure and the others arrive, Akemi Miyano might not be able to escape.

Taking advantage of Takagi's hesitation and distraction, Natsukawa directly reached out and knocked on the door of room 2714.

dong dong.

The knocking was quite loud; the person inside must have heard it.

"Brother Xia Chuan"

Takagi felt his heart leap into his throat, and cold sweat broke out in his hands holding the gun.

"Hello, is anyone there? I'm a guest from room 2814 upstairs. My underwear that I hung out to dry on the balcony just fell down and it looks like it's hanging outside your room's balcony."

This excuse
Conan could only say, "As expected of Natsukawa, he can even come up with such an outrageous excuse."

However, no one answered the door.

About ten seconds later, Xia Chuan knocked on the door again: "Hello, is anyone home? If no one is home, I'll ask the front desk to come up and open the door for me."

Still no movement.

Even Xia Chuan frowned.

It shouldn’t be!

Akemi Miyano must be here. Although he didn't book this room, the guest list should be correct.

Did Akemi Miyano run away beforehand?
What about the other two peripheral members?

Curious, Xia Chuan glanced at Takagi and said, "I'll try to open the door. Get ready."

As he spoke, Xia Chuan had already turned the doorknob.

Click.

The door was pushed open.

Xia Chuan leaned against the wall, quickly pulled his hand back, and waited quietly for the person inside to react.

"."×3
Conan was about to peek out when he heard light footsteps. He instantly raised his wristwatch-shaped tranquilizer dart, ready to fire.

Click, the door to the next room opened, and a shirtless man poked his head out to look.

"Hey guys, what are you doing? I'm sleeping. Can you knock on the door quietly?" The man was about to continue reasoning with her when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

What are these two men and a child doing leaning against the wall?
His gaze gradually moved downwards, preparing to take a good look at the three people.

"Gun?"

"Sorry, I didn't see anything."

The man quickly pulled his head back, and the door slammed shut.

Then, with a "click," the door locked.

"."×3
The three looked at each other, both amused and exasperated.

But what about the 2714 people?
With the door open and the commotion so loud, it would be absurd if the robbers from 2714 couldn't hear anything.

After waiting a while, Xia Chuan made a shushing gesture towards the two of them, and then slowly peeked out to check.

The scene inside the room slowly came into Xia Chuan's view from left to right, until he saw the man lying face down in front of the TV cabinet, and Xia Chuan suddenly realized what was going on.

They're fighting amongst themselves!
This was Xia Chuan's first thought.

The view continued to open up until the area around the bed was blocked by the bathroom, making it impossible to see the specific situation.

However, the two feet sticking out from the foot of the bed completely confirmed Xia Chuan's guess.

Conan became very nervous when he saw that Natsukawa had exposed her entire body to the room.

However, after a few seconds, there was no sound from inside, as if no one was there.

Conan peeked out to check the situation, and the scene that came into view made his expression change drastically.

"Oops!"

(End of this chapter)