Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Chapter 148 Death Descends on England

"Your coffee."

"Thank you."

Just as he took a sip, he saw that it was raining heavily outside the window.

Zheng Yi asked Bai Macha, "Why have you been following me all this way?"

“I wasn’t following you,” Hakuba Saguru said stubbornly. “I just heard that the operas here are excellent, and I wanted to come and see for myself.”

Zheng Yi shook his head.

A clumsy lie.

Hakuba Saguru walked to the window, looked at the light in the distance, and changed the subject, asking, "What's that?"

“That’s the Tower,” Walker said. “I go up there every night to light candles because I love the atmosphere of that fantasy.”

“Is that so?” Hakuba Saguru nodded. “But it seems someone went into the tower and blew out the candles.”

"what?"

The candles inside the tower went out layer by layer, from top to bottom.

“Impossible!” Walker said incredulously. “Everyone on the island is here. It’s impossible for anyone to have gone to Beta.”

"Everyone's here?"

Hakuba Saguru glanced at the people in the room.

The three actors, the policeman, and Walker—besides them, it seems like only these four outsiders are Zheng Yi.

Hakuba Saguru realized that his previous reasoning was somewhat untenable.

"If it's not human, then is it the Phantom Monster?" Walker asked excitedly.

"No, no, no, no!" the policeman said. "I'm more convinced it's Death! It's Death created by Shoichi! Death moves by manipulating the environment!"

Walker said to the police, "This is England, there is no death here!"

"Damn it! Zheng Yi said he's planning to make a film about Death set in England," the policeman said.

The two argued incessantly.

Hakuba Saguru watched Shoichi drinking coffee.

Whether he is truly the Grim Reaper or not, only Shoichi knows.

Walker was still arguing with the policeman: "If it's Death, then someone should be dying."

"Just because no one is dying now doesn't mean it won't happen later," the police officer said.

Walker said, "Nobody knows the Phantom better than me. It's like the Phantom himself has appeared!"
Isn't this the perfect stage for the Phantom?! Let's rehearse again.

Ai tugged at Shoichi's sleeve and whispered:
"I feel like the owner of this theater is really strange. At this time of year, he actually thinks of going to rehearse an opera."

“That’s just how he is, he’s extremely obsessed with art,” Zheng Yi said. “Just like me when I was young.”

Ai blinked.

Old Zhengyi, how old are you exactly?

You're only 19 years old and you keep talking about 'when you were young'.

Ai was terrified that once she regained her original appearance, Zheng Yi would point his finger at her and call her an 'old woman'.

Ai shook her head, dismissing the strange thought.

“Your friend is really strange.” Ai shook her head.

It's not surprising; they probably don't even deserve to be Zhengyi's friends.

Hakuba Saguru also felt that this boss was very strange.

Like Zheng Yi, he has strange artistic hobbies.

The script Zheng Yi wrote was actually meant to involve killing people.

So what's the deal with this boss's script?

At Walker's urging, the actors returned to the stage to continue their performance, while Zheng Yi and the others watched from the audience.

Ai sat in the front row and said softly, "This is really deserted."

"It was popular before, but it was a script from so many years ago. What's the point of continuing to perform it?" Zheng Yi yawned.

"Then why did you come to see it?" Ai asked.

"An invitation from a friend."

The performance on the stage continues.

The woman whose acting was criticized by Zheng Yi began performing a solo act on stage after completing her scene with Casey.

"Kill me, Phantom!"

If you truly exist, then drag me into the abyss of death!

After the actress finished reading her lines, Hakuba Saguru's heart began to race.

Under Ai's puzzled gaze, Masashi reached out and covered her eyes.

"Boom~"

The chandelier in the center of the stage began to shake violently.

The actress in the center looked up, but before she could run away, she watched helplessly as the chandelier crashed down on her.

Oh my god!

Walker stared incredulously at the light that had fallen onto the stage.

Just like in the script, that woman died under this lamp.

"This is simply... indescribable!" Walker exclaimed excitedly.

Hakuba Saguru quickly ran onto the stage and checked on the woman who had been hit by the chandelier.

“It’s beyond saving,” Hakuba Saguru said.

Ai, whose eyes were covered, carefully pried open Shoichi's hand and looked at the tragic scene on the stage in disbelief.

She whispered, "Did you kill him?"

"I have no grudge against a minor actress, why would I kill her?" Zheng Yi retorted.

"For movie material?" Ai asked uncertainly.

"Am I really the kind of artistic psychopath who kills people in real life to gather material for movies?" Zheng Yi asked.

"It doesn't seem like it." Ai shook her head.

You're like a damn capitalist, a capitalist who whips her into working overtime.

"Then why did you know she would die?" Ai asked.

Zheng Yi covered her eyes in advance, which means that Zheng Yi knew what was going to happen next.

"Because I am Death's human agent, I know that Death wants to kill her." Zheng Yi said this nonsense with a straight face.

Ai's eyes widened.

You said you wanted to gather film material?
"Didn't you ever think about snatching people back from the clutches of death?" Ai asked.

"We can't beat them," Zheng Yi said. "The Grim Reaper will relentlessly hunt down anyone he sets his sights on."

Unless he defeats Death, Death will relentlessly pursue and kill him.

Ai nodded blankly.

So you should know who the murderer is?
"I was actually pinned down by a chandelier, just like the plot of 'The Phantom Menace'," Walker said incredulously.

“It must have been an accident,” said Tom, the lead actor. “It must be because the theater lights are too old.”

It's a problem with the equipment.

I shouldn't have come just because there was a lot of money involved.

Tom glanced at the dead man on the stage, still shaken.

If he were on stage, he would die with this woman.

“I think this is all thanks to Death,” the officer said.

"Using the environment to create accidents and reap the fate of those who are not dead—that's the way Death works."

The officer said, "Didn't we have a big fire at the theater a few years ago? Maybe she should have died a few years ago."

But she didn't die; she changed her fate, so now death has come to claim her.

“You watch too many movies, officer,” Walker said.

You've been corrupted too much.

“The Grim Reaper only operates in Japan,” Walker said.

“No, no, no, Mr. Zhengyi said that Death might very well come to England to film a movie,” the officer argued with Walker.

Hakuba Saguru hadn't expected this.

Even in England, the police officers are still unreliable, even worse than in Japan.

It's amazing that they were able to connect a case with a movie.

wrong.

Bai Ma Tan was stunned.

It might actually be possible to connect it with movies.

With Zheng Yi here, why can't it be done?

Hakuba Saguru searches for evidence on stage. "This rope."

Hakuba Saguru stood up and said, "Officer, please cordon off this area. This is likely a murder case!"

"What?" the officer asked in surprise, "wasn't this an accident?"

"No!"

Hakuba Saguru held up the rope and said, "The rope has obvious signs of being cut; this must have been done by someone."

Someone cut the rope, causing the chandelier to fall.

“That can’t be right,” the officer said. “Everyone on the island is here, everyone is watching the stage, no one would have time to commit a crime.”

To cut the chandelier's ropes, you need to go backstage.

Everyone was watching the stage from the front or the sides.

"So the killer is the Phantom?" Walker said. "The Phantom's actions in Beta have already proven his existence."

“No, I still think it’s Death,” the officer said. “Death also gives omens before it takes action.”

I feel that Beta's actions were a premonition of his.

The two started arguing again.

"Alright! Shut up, both of you!" Hakuba Saguru impatiently stopped the two.

He said, "Next, we need to find out who cut the rope."

"Moreover, this rope is a bit too long."

Hakuba Saguru pondered, holding the rope.

Did they use some kind of mechanism?

While Hakuba Saguru was pondering, a card floated down from where the chandelier had been.

Hakuba Saguru read the card aloud: "Tonight, the last night at the opera house, two corpses will splendidly adorn the final chapter—The Phantom."

"Two?"

This announcement is a bit scary.

After all, there weren't many people present, so the probability of them being killed was too high.

Moreover, it seems that outsiders like Zheng Yi and Bai Ma Tan are not the targets of 'Phantom's' hunt.

Hakuba Saguru scanned the crowd, searching for the culprit.

To be honest, Hakuba Saguru did not consider Shoichi to be the murderer.

He believed that Zheng Yi had a criminal genius among his men.

All the unexpected events that occurred during Zheng Yi's scriptwriting were the work of that criminal genius.

And that person might be among this group of people.

Hakuba Saguru was breathing heavily; he had never been so close to the real culprit.

Once that person is caught, this trip to England can be considered a complete success.

He has two targets.

Actress Casey.

A man who went to Japan and only recently returned, Zheng Yi himself said that this woman was working for him.

And then there's Walker, the owner of this opera house.

This place has been deserted for a long time, and no one knows whether he went to Japan and did not stay here.

His relationship with Zheng Yi is too good, which is the biggest suspicion.

"It's the Phantom! The Phantom is back!" Tom suddenly shouted and fled the stage like a madman.

Hakuba Tan frowned. What was going on with him?
"I'm a little sleepy, I want to go back to sleep," Zheng Yi said.

The officer said, "Go ahead, I'll keep everyone safe."

Hakuba Saguru retorted, "I think we should find the culprit as soon as possible."

"You guys keep looking, I'm going back to sleep," Zheng Yi said.

Zheng Yi didn't care who the murderer was.

He believed in Hakuba Saguru's abilities.

By tomorrow during the day, Hakuba Saguru will surely find the real culprit and bring peace to everyone.

"Good luck, Hakuba Saguru. Find the culprit as soon as possible." Shoichi encouraged Hakuba Saguru as he went back to sleep.

Although Shoichi's encouragement seemed more like a provocation to Hakuba Saguru.

Hakuba Saguru clenched his fist.

Zheng Yi, you bastard, don't you know this is the perfect moment for me to get rid of your henchmen?

Why are you still so relaxed?
Is this underestimating me?
Hakuba Saguru felt a fire burning inside him.

He was determined to make Zheng Yi know that underestimating him was the biggest mistake Zheng Yi had ever made.

Ai followed Masakazu out.

It was raining heavily outside, and in this weather, the boats definitely couldn't reach the island.

"Are you really not concerned about this murder?" Ai asked.

"I don't care. I believe Hakuba Saguru will catch the culprit."

Ai tugged at Shoichi's arm and asked, "So who is the murderer? I'm a little curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, so don't be curious," Zheng Yi said.

Don't be so curious at such a young age.

Murder cases are terrifying; what if I'm so scared I can't sleep?

"Is it Casey, or Walker?" Ai asked.

The murderers must be these two, right?

It seems that only these two people are related to Zheng Yi.

"Could it be that policeman?" Ai asked again.

That policeman seems to really like Zheng Yi's movies, so he can be considered to have some connection with Zheng Yi.

He could also be the murderer.

Zheng Yi said, "If you guess a few more people, you'll be able to say everyone's name."

Ai thought about it and realized there were only a few people in total.

She's already mentioned three, so there's only one male lead left, named Tom.

“That Tom could be one too,” Ai said.

The least likely person is often the most likely to be the murderer.

Therefore, he could also be the murderer.

“Actually, the murderer is Hakuba Saguru,” Masakazu said.

Ai jumped up and punched Seiichi.

Zheng Yi seemed to be reminding her that someone had been missed during roll call.

“The murderer’s killings have nothing to do with me,” Zheng Yi said.

Ai asked, "Aren't you worried that the killer might target you when you go back to sleep?"

Sleeping alone in a room can be very dangerous.

“Don’t worry, I sleep with Curaçao, she will protect me,” Zheng Yi said.

"what?"

Xiao Ai tilted her head.

is this real?
Curaçao remained expressionless, unable to sleep tonight.

……

On Hakuba Saguru's side, the group had already started arguing about the culprit.

Hakuba Saguru wanted to test Walker and Casey.

But Tom clearly talked more, and Walker also had a lot of ideas.

Tom kept saying that an actor who was disfigured a few years ago lost his chance to star in a film because he was abandoned by Casey.

Rumors circulated that he committed suicide, but he was actually hiding on the island, and he's the one committing the murders now.

Walker, however, suspected Tom.

Tom had a relationship with the actress who was murdered, but he always wanted to get rid of her and didn't want to be involved with a minor actress.

And yet they keep mentioning that actor from the past, clearly trying to shift the blame.

"Then just lock me in a room. If you lock the door from the outside, let's see if someone dies tomorrow!"

"If that's the case, then I'm not the murderer!" Tom said.

Hakuba Saguru was startled and immediately thought of a murder in a locked room.

“Okay!” Walker and the officer immediately agreed with Tom.

(End of this chapter)