Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 897 Brother Xia Chuan, can you come out now?
His eyes gleamed as he stood on a large platform. At the front of the platform was a wooden staircase that extended from the platform onto the ship.

He didn't have time to check if the wooden steps were safe, nor did he care if there were any signs of someone having been there. His hurried footsteps expressed his eagerness, as if he would miss the treasure if he was even a step slower.

The others looked at each other, their eyes revealing deep contempt.

"Uncle, can you let me go?" As Anya watched Iwanaga board the ship, she blinked her beautiful, large eyes and asked the young blond man earnestly.

"Don't even think about it, how could they possibly let us go?"

Shinichi Kudo sighed speechlessly. Anya was too naive. These people looked like vicious thugs. It was uncertain whether they would be let go later, let alone before they obtained the treasure. Anya and the others were hostages of the other side.

Only by unraveling the secrets of the pirate ship and finding the treasure will there be even the slightest chance of survival.

However, this pirate ship doesn't seem to have any secrets at all; it feels like it's been completely emptied out.

And where are the people inside? That's strange.
The blond-haired man paused for a moment, then looked at the scarred man.

The scarred man didn't answer immediately, but looked around as if searching for something in the crowd.

"Eh"

For a moment, he paused suddenly, then waved his hand.

Upon receiving the leader's order, everyone released the people around them.

Makoto Kyogoku frowned, twisted his wrist, and didn't make a move immediately, clearly puzzled by the group's strange behavior.

"I'm going crazy!"

"Just kill me!"

"Why? Why are they doing this to me? Why are they releasing people?! They have no professional ethics at all. They agreed on a kidnapping, and that they would release people only after finding the treasure. What does it mean to release people now?"

Shinichi Kudo's face was completely distorted. He stood with his head down in the dim light, his heart filled with the roar of a dragon.

Fortunately, no one noticed, except Anya, who noticed his trembling shoulders.

"Shinichi-nii, what's wrong? If you're sad, just cry. There are good people here!"

These words were a truly devastating blow.

"."

If the kidnappers are all good people, then who is the bad guy? Is it himself, this clown full of ulterior motives?
The young detective didn't want to talk, he just wanted to be quiet and wanted to turn back into Conan. He vaguely felt that Conan's identity seemed to be really lucky. Not only could he pick up clues anywhere, but no one would pay attention to him. Even if he guessed wrong, he could say that he was a child.

Or perhaps there was something wrong with Ai Haibara's medication, which may have affected her reasoning ability.

This side effect is far too severe.
"Interesting, so interesting."

As long as it's not the Black Organization, Ai Haibara won't feel scared, especially since she gets to see the narcissist get his comeuppance.

She looked thoughtfully at the strange group of kidnappers, and after a while whispered in Shinichi Kudo's ear, "He seemed to be looking at something just now, and did you notice that Anya seemed to stop being nervous as soon as she came in?"

Shinichi Kudo then realized what was happening, and his eyes immediately sharpened.

After a while, he seemed to suddenly realize something.

When a person is speechless, they really do lose the ability to speak; at least that's how Shinichi Kudo is right now.

He opened his mouth several times, but then swallowed his words back.

The original frustration did not disappear; instead, I felt an even more pronounced sense of disappointment.

"Hey, what did you find?"

Originally, I told the other party about my discovery so that I could use Kudo's clever mind to deduce it, but now it seems that I have figured it out, yet I don't say a word.

"You sound like you've eaten shit."

"Hehehe, stop with the nonsense. Anya knows, and you probably already knew, right?"

Shinichi Kudo gave a self-deprecating laugh, then looked at the pirate ship with pity.

The person who should feel unlucky is not themselves, but the sucker who followed them for two days.

Iwanaga's plan failed from the very beginning. Although the reason is unknown, Natsukawa must have taken everything into account, and even the current situation was probably within his expectations.

Such divine scheming ability is beyond the skill of even the most renowned detective. No wonder the Black Organization's repeated attempts have failed; anyone would be driven to despair in their place.

"What exactly did you find out?"

Makoto Kyogoku also came over, asking questions while remaining wary of the scarred man.

Although they were suddenly released, they absolutely could not relax their guard until they understood the specific reasons. Perhaps it was just a ruse.

The scarred man put his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes. Although his gaze was fixed on the pirate ship, he did not show any greed. Instead, he yawned.

Strange. Regardless of their identity, their purpose in coming here is to find the treasure, so why are they standing here looking so uninterested? They are so different from Iwanaga. Kyogoku Makoto finds it incomprehensible.

Without answering Makoto Kyogoku and Ai Haibara's questions, the famous detective turned to look into the darkness.

"Xia Chuan-ge, can we come out now? This isn't fun."

The sound was quite loud; everyone could hear it clearly.

Upon hearing this, Ran and the others followed Shinichi Kudo's gaze in shock to a dark corner.

The high-powered lighting equipment moved over very cooperatively, and then we saw the stone steps. It turned out that there were not only two floors here, but also a platform on top.

What's even more surprising is that the stone platform wasn't empty; two black figures were sitting on it, and as the gaze moved upwards, their faces were finally made clear.

"Brother Xia Chuan, Sister Yue Er—"

Sonoko rubbed her eyes, afraid she was seeing things, and when she opened them again, she found the two of them still sitting in the same spot, smiling at them.

"Mr. Xia Chuan."

The scarred man nodded, as if to say hello.

"Ah."

Natsukawa responded politely, then turned his gaze to Shinichi Kudo: "You guys are fast. I thought it would take another day to find this place."

"Did you get here through the underwater ruins?" Xia Chuan nodded.

Shinichi Kudo seemed to think so, and then said, "So someone did attack you yesterday. Those people were treasure hunters, and we got the exact coordinates of the entrance to the ruins from them?"

Without waiting for a reply, he was already certain of his guess and eagerly continued, "But what about this group of people?"

Kaito had just taken Aoko to the hospital, and Natsukawa wasn't in a hurry, so he casually explained, "Indeed, someone attacked us yesterday. To avoid making you worry or spoiling your fun, I didn't tell you about it. However, the entrance to the ruins was purely accidental. I didn't intend to look for it in the first place, but then we encountered a storm, and the yacht we were using for diving broke down, so I had no choice but to look for the entrance, and that's how I ended up here."

Xia Chuan shrugged, expressing his helplessness. He had simply wanted to go diving, but inexplicably stumbled upon a treasure trove.

The reply seemed simple, but anyone with eyes could see the problem. At the very least, there shouldn't have been only Xia Chuan and Yoel diving there; something else must have happened, and that was the reason Xia Chuan was able to come here.

Shinichi Kudo's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, but fortunately the light was behind him, casting him as a silhouette so that his emotions wouldn't be visible.

"And what about this group of people?"

"This brings us to Mr. Iwanaga."

Xia Chuan chuckled and gestured toward the pirate ship, then pondered for a long time before saying, "Simply put, his situation aroused my suspicion, and then I happened to find out that he had contacted gangs from the four countries. It turned out that there was someone I knew in that gang, so that's how it is."

Is it really that simple?

Shinichi Kudo didn't believe it at all, and was about to ask another question when he was interrupted by other voices.

Not everyone will wait for him to ask questions one by one; some people are already getting impatient.

"Mr. Xia Chuan, what's next?" the scarred man asked with a smile.

"There is no treasure on the ship. It's all just a story made up by the islanders of Poseidon Island. Hundreds of years ago, all the treasure here was taken away, leaving only an empty pirate ship. If you are interested, you can dismantle it and take it with you."

"However, the money that was agreed upon beforehand will be paid to you, and that thing will be destroyed. No one will be punished for it."

"I'm relieved to hear Mr. Natsukawa's words."

The scarred man breathed a long sigh of relief. Actually, the money didn't matter. After all, Xia Chuan had only given them a small appearance fee, around ten million. For a large gang, that amount of money was just enough to pay a month's salary.

What he really cared about was the incriminating evidence Xia Chuan had against their gang.

Although they are gangs, Japanese gangs have one unique characteristic: they can operate businesses legally. And as gangsters, they certainly won't honestly pay taxes—this is true of every gang.

Xia Chuan laid out all the evidence of tax evasion in front of them, asserting that as long as they cooperated with the operation, this evidence would be destroyed. No one would refuse such an offer.

Of course, there is a more important point.

Xia Chuan said that if the treasure really exists, he is willing to give them a share.

They then brought up their network of connections, including the Metropolitan Police Department, the Public Security Bureau, and the mysterious Ooka family, all of whom are giants in Japan. The head of the family made the decision directly, and no matter what, they would not lose out on this deal.

"Xia Chuan, you're really something! You've got such good luck."

Kogoro Mouri walked over and greeted him, taking off his suit jacket and handing it to Joel. Both of them were wearing diving suits, and with the wind so strong, Joel might catch a cold.

Xia Chuan took it for him and nodded gratefully. Although Mr. Mori was unreliable, he was a good friend, something no one else had noticed.

"By the way, what should we do with that man?" The scarred man gestured toward the pirate ship.

"Let's watch the show first."

The reason I wasn't in a hurry to leave was mainly because I wanted to see Iwanaga break down. The treasure he had been dreaming of was just a dilapidated pirate ship, and all the valuable items had been taken away. Would he lose his temper and choose to jump into the sea to commit suicide?

It's okay if you still have a little bit of faith. But when you find out that the gangsters you called in have become someone else's accomplices, you'll probably explode on the spot, right?

Just as I was thinking this, I heard the sounds of smashing and breaking coming from the pirate ship.

Various odds and ends were scattered on the ground. Iwanaga, his eyes bloodshot, walked out of the cabin and onto the deck: "Tell me, did you know all along that the entrance was accessible to adults? Did you empty the place out beforehand?"

He stood on the deck, a low growl like a trapped beast rumbling from his throat, and suddenly grabbed a plank and hurled it at the people below.

A gust of wind blew by, and the plank, unable to fly away, landed back on the deck, at his feet.

"You bastard, you bastard, even you're bullying me now!"

He stomped hard on the wooden planks, making the deck creak as if it were about to break, but the mad dog showed no fear. What else could he lose now?
No more.

His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging at his temples, like a spineless dog, he slumped on the deck, rolling around, pulling at his hair with both hands, and muffled, almost sobbing curses escaping his throat.

"Ania, Ai Haibara, don't look."

Xiao Lan silently stood in front of the two little girls. This scene was too cruel, and children should not imitate it.

"They told us not to watch, but they're enjoying it themselves," Ai Haibara muttered under her breath, then quietly shifted her position. How could she miss such a good show, especially since the other party seemed to have ill intentions towards them? These kinds of people deserve to die; they just love watching this kind of farce.

Anya blinked, then nodded, and naturally moved to a different position so she could see the situation on the deck again.

The others remained silent. Kogoro Mouri even reached for a cigarette. He touched his shirt, then realized the cigarette and lighter were on his jacket, which Joel was already wearing.

"What a tragedy." He shook his head, somewhat sighing. The other party had at least drunk with him a few times. Although they were now on opposite sides, he still kindly said, "Mr. Iwanaga, the treasure is just a legend. The island needs tourism to revitalize its economy. Your mistake was believing the so-called legend."

"No, I think you should have guessed it already, right?"

"Where do you think those artifacts in the museum come from? They can't all be from Anne's descendants, can they? As the head of the tourism department, you should face reality as soon as possible."

These words were like igniting a powder keg. Iwanaga groped his way up from the railing, his glasses nowhere to be found, his hair disheveled, his body covered in dirt and cobwebs, his hands gripping the railing tightly as if he wanted to crush it, shaking it violently.

"What do you know? I have nothing left, all my money is gone, and I'm drowning in debt. All these years of hard work have turned out to be nothing but a pipe dream. Could you accept that?"

"Sleeping Detective, tell me, can you accept this?"

Different perspectives lead to different ways of thinking. Kogoro Mouri wanted to say that he didn't care about these things at all, but he was speechless when the words came out.

Even the gangsters, who were themselves criminals, were astonished by this scene. They couldn't understand how people could be so extreme, giving up all their wealth for a non-existent treasure, even losing their wives and children, and now owing the gang a large sum of money.

"Is it unacceptable to you either?"

"Yes, I can't accept it either."

Why should we accept it?

Iwanaga muttered to himself, his eyes empty as an abyss. He looked down at the dark, calm water below, wanting to jump into the water to commit suicide but lacking the courage to face the dark, raging tide.

(End of this chapter)