Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 978 Could it be Xia Chuan?
Natsukawa is right about one thing: Shuichi Akai can indeed be quite extreme at times.

Your ancestral home is Japan, after all; you should at least have some sense of social responsibility!

“Gin showed up yesterday, and Ireland and Kusuda Rikumichi are both dead, further weakening the distillery’s power.”

"Yes, I've heard about it. You're really amazing. As expected of you." Subaru Okiya gave a fair assessment.

Conan also played a very important role in it, that much is undeniable.

He wouldn't comment on Xia Chuan himself.

Every time he reviews what the other person did, he finds it outrageous.

He is so capable that he doesn't even need to worry about the safety of his family.

Thinking of this, Subaru Okiya's smile unconsciously disappeared.

How infuriating!
There's still no news about Sera, and we don't know how she is doing.

However, the brewery has recently suffered a major blow, so Gin probably won't do anything to his sister for the time being.

Shouldn't the Akai family consider relocating their graves?
My dad is missing, my mom is missing, and my sister has been arrested.
The remaining younger brothers will have to face a behemoth like the Ooka family.

Every point gave him a huge headache.

"I just came back from buying breakfast and overheard you talking. So what are you planning to do? Why don't you want to tell Xia Chuan?"

Subaru Okiya felt that this news must be very important.

He had a strong feeling that it was likely related to what happened yesterday.

It's related to yesterday, but I don't want to tell Xia Chuan. If you connect it to the distillery and deduce the answer with a little reasoning, the answer will come out.

The reason Gin and his group made their move is likely that the SD card is still there.

Or, the SD card might be broken, but the data inside could very well have been copied.

We haven't been involved in Kosuke Mizutani's case, but judging from police records, Mizutani possesses extremely high intelligence and strong counter-surveillance capabilities. Knowing about the existence of the brewery, he would definitely have prepared a backup plan for himself.

Clearly, his backup plan came true for Conan!
It's obviously impossible to shake off Subaru Okiya.

Conan and Professor Agasa exchanged a glance.

Professor Agasa shrugged helplessly. "How about we go together?"

He felt it was good to have someone protecting him.

Subaru Okiya is also a skilled fighter; with him around, they should be able to escape even if they encounter Gin.

"There's no time to say more, get in the car first, we'll talk on the way."

On the way, Subaru Okiya finally understood the reason.

It turns out that before Kosuke Mizutani died last night, he handed a note to Conan.

He told Conan that the SD card was fake, and that the real SD card was kept with the belongings of the other deceased.

He was buried on a mountaintop in the suburbs where he and Nanako Honjo often observed the Big Dipper.

That's the destination this time.

"Kosuke Mizutani was indeed a remarkable person. It's a pity he's dead, otherwise I really wanted to bring him to the FBI."

“He’s a criminal.” Conan rolled his eyes.

Subaru Okiya did not answer.

He already understands Conan's personality; he's a stubborn guy.

There are many criminals in the world who redeem themselves through righteous service.

There are many cases where murderers are eventually recruited by the government because of a certain skill or ability.

"But you actually managed to keep this from Xia Chuan."

"Xia Chuan-ge has also kept a lot of information from me, and there's probably still a lot of information I don't know."

Once you get the SD card, you can exchange the information with Xia Chuan. Surely he won't refuse to tell you, right?
"By the way, has there been any progress regarding Sera Masumi's matter?"

Subaru Okiya is following up on this matter, so now is a good time to find out what's going on.

Subaru Okiya shook his head in disappointment: "Recently, the number of the brewery's bases has decreased significantly. Many of the bases that we knew about before are now deserted, and we can't find any clues at all."

"Fortunately, this SD card might contain information about the distillery's base."

"Yes." Conan nodded seriously.

The yellow beetle quickly drove away from the city and into the desolate mountains.

The bumpy road nearly made Conan throw up his midnight snack from the previous day.

But the thought of reaching the summit soon stopped him. "Hey, there are other car tracks on the ground."

As they passed a muddy section of road, Professor Agasa broke the silence with his words.

Once they entered the mountainous area, no one spoke in the car, which made it a bit awkward, so he tried to start a conversation.

"What did you say?"

Unexpectedly, his words caused the silent beetles to suddenly become noisy.

"where?"

Conan somehow managed to slip out of his seatbelt and stand on the seat, staring at the ground with a grim expression.

At the same time, Subaru Okiya also poked his head out from the gap in the middle of the car.

"W-What's wrong?"

The beetle stopped, and Conan got off, looking at the marks on the ground with a serious expression. He explained, "There's hardly anyone here, as evidenced by the weeds along the road."

"Kosuke Mizutani came yesterday morning, but the tire tracks on the ground are very fresh, so it's very likely that someone came between last night and this morning."

"Get in the car, Conan. Let's go up and see what's going on. We'll see right away then."

At the mountaintop, the morning sun shines, and a sweet breeze carries its scent.

The beetle slowly came to a stop.

"According to him, he built a small mound on the top of the mountain and put the belongings of the seven dead people there."

The mountaintop has little vegetation but offers excellent views, and the earthen slope was quickly found.

"really."

The earthen slope has been dug up.

There used to be a box here, but it's gone now.

"Besides you, is there anyone else who might know?"

Subaru Okiya asked, frowning.

Conan thought carefully and shook his head: "Kosuke Mizutani gave me the note at the last minute, and Ireland was the only one next to him at the time."

But he's already dead!

The young detective's mind was a complete mess, and his face turned red with anger.

"Judging from the state of the excavation, it seems that they came for this thing."

Subaru Okiya saw a footprint on the ground.

This trail is very purposeful; it's heading straight for the earthen slope, without changing direction along the way.

If it were a traveler or a child, the footprints wouldn't have such a strong sense of purpose.

"You think it might be Natsukawa?" Professor Agasa said quietly.

"."×2
Subaru Okiya looked at Conan.

Conan was stunned.

is it possible?

I don't know; you could say yes, or you could say no.

If the principle of "presumption of guilt" is upheld, then it must be Xia Chuan.

"Perhaps you gave yourself away somewhere last night."

After saying this, Subaru Okiya walked to the top of the mountain and looked down.

"Since we're here, let's have some fun!"

Beika Town, Frank's House.

"I wonder what Conan's expression is like right now," Frank chuckled slyly.

"I saw it. Subaru Okiya went too. It seems that Conan prefers to cooperate with Shuichi Akai."

Shinichiro didn't quite understand why Conan was doing this.

Compared to Shuichi Akai, Natsukawa should give him a greater sense of security, right?
Instead of telling Natsukawa about the SD card, he chose to tell Shuichi Akai.

Xia Chuan didn't say anything, and sat on the sofa drinking coffee.

(End of this chapter)