Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Chapter 156 Oh no, this one seems to be a real lackey.

At 10 p.m., a group of police officers surrounded Eiji Kamei's home.

Zheng Yi stood helplessly to the side, holding Xiao Ai's hand.

The police officers all looked serious, and Zheng Yi stood obediently to the side, not interfering with the police investigation.

Oh no, I'm going to become a criminal suspect again.

Sera Masumi followed along.

I was chatting with a new friend when I came over out of curiosity because of the commotion outside.

To my surprise, my new friend has become a criminal suspect.

What a strange feeling.

I feel like Japan's crime rate is really high. My neighbor died shortly after I moved here.

"Everyone, get out first."

Forensic pathologist Chang Zong put on gloves and addressed the people in the room.

"it is good."

While Nagamune was examining the body, the other police officers and Masakazu and the others went outside.

Sato asked Masakazu with a serious expression, "What are you doing here?"

"Cleaning."

"Ok?"

Zheng Yi said, "The traffic policeman who died is punishing me by making me clean up this community."

"You?" Sato looked at Masakazu strangely.

Are you really the kind of person who will accept any punishment?
You're usually so arrogant, aren't you?

“What’s so strange about that? I strictly abide by the police’s ruling, even if he’s a corrupt traffic cop who’s extorting me,” Zheng Yi said.

Sato said, "Whether he is a corrupt traffic cop is still under investigation. A conclusion can only be reached after the investigation is completed."

Then why did you come to the fifth floor?

“My friend invited me over.” Masakazu pointed to Sera Masumi.

Sera Masumi said, "That's right, I'm the one who invited Shoichi up."

She felt sorry for Masakazu and Ai, who were squatting by the roadside eating, and on a whim, she invited them up.

It was only after asking that I learned that he had been persecuted by corrupt traffic police.

When Sera Masumi was in the room earlier, she looked at the decorations in that traffic policeman's room and realized he was a wealthy person.

Sato then asked, "He just offended you, and then he died in his own home, and you were even on the same floor as him."

"It's too much of a coincidence," Zheng Yi said.

“You have too many coincidences,” Sato said.

Zhengyi looked at Sato helplessly. It wasn't his fault. Who knew why there were so many coincidences?

Sera Masumi touched her chin.

It seems like the people from the Metropolitan Police Department are very wary of Masakazu.

When someone dies, it's almost a given that he's the murderer, and he's questioned as if he were a criminal.

This was different from what she had seen in the newspapers and heard in the rumors.

Aren't all the police department members just Shoichi's lackeys?

Whose lackey would dare to treat its master like this?
Inspector Megure shouted at Chosokabe inside the room, "What's going on?"

“Death caused by bacterial infection.” Choso said as he walked to the door, “The wound was inside the mouth, so the bacteria must have spread throughout the body through the wound, eventually leading to organ failure.”

Inspector Megure frowned and asked, "So, this was an accident?"

"Not necessarily, it's possible someone used biological weapons," a police officer whispered.

"What did you say?"

When Inspector Megure looked over, the officer quickly shut his mouth, pretending he hadn't said anything.

"Then let's go in and see if the room has been disturbed," Inspector Megure said.

Sera Masumi frowned repeatedly.

Why would anyone think of something like biological weapons?
It's as if they deliberately wanted to turn an accident into a murder.

Sera Masumi glanced at Masakazu, who remained calm, as if he were already used to it.

"Inspector Megure, I found a bugging device in the crack of the door." Takagi walked over with a bugging device wrapped in chewing gum.

"Oh?"

After obtaining the bugging device, Inspector Megure glanced at Masakazu and noticed that he had no expression on his face.

This is the composure of a seasoned criminal.

"Put it away first."

"Yes!"

“Inspector Megure, this room is a mess. Even if someone broke in, you wouldn’t be able to tell,” Masakazu said.

The room was littered with trash, and things were scattered haphazardly. Zheng Yi even saw cockroaches in the room.

Even if someone were to break in, nothing would be noticeable.

"Inspector Megure, I've found another listening device on the window."

Sato also came over with a bugging device in his hand.

Inspector Megure then looked at Shoichi, who remained calm.

They wouldn't be trying to frame me for these things, would they?

"By the way, who are you? What are you doing here?" Inspector Megure asked Sera Masumi.

"High school student." To avoid being kicked out, Sera Masumi added, "I'm also a detective."

Upon hearing the word "detective," Inspector Megure's face darkened again.

Zhengyi's friend, a detective.

That doesn't seem like a proper detective.

"This is not a place for you. Please do not disturb the police investigation," Inspector Megure said coldly.

"what?"

Sera Masumi felt something was strange.

It's strange that the police would reject detectives.

Detectives help the police solve cases for free, so why would the police reject detectives? Don't they want to solve cases sooner?
Sera Masumi stepped on a cockroach.

“The environment here is so dirty, it’s no wonder that guy who doesn’t pay attention to personal hygiene died from a bacterial infection,” Sera Masumi said.

"Please don't disrupt the police's thinking," Inspector Megure said expressionlessly.

We must not fall into the mindset of being a lackey of the Zhengyi sect.

Otherwise, if we follow their line of thinking, we might very well wipe Zheng Yi clean.

Ai touched her nose.

The environment here feels so oppressive.

The police were angry but restrained, and it seemed that Shoichi was being targeted by all the police officers. Sera Masumi, who claimed to be a detective, was also disliked by the police.

The person who was most emotionally stable at the scene was probably the deceased.

"Any other discoveries?" Inspector Megure asked.

"Nothing."

Inspector Megure frowned.

The only clue was the two listening devices.

"Did the surveillance footage reveal anything? Did it capture who installed the listening device?" Inspector Megure asked.

Sato said, "We have reviewed the surveillance footage from last night until now and found no one acting suspiciously."

Inspector Megure rubbed his temples.

If it was an accidental death, then what about these two listening devices?

If it was murder, then what was the purpose of planting the listening device?
Weird, so weird.

In his helplessness, Inspector Megure couldn't help but glance at Sera Masumi. Could this self-proclaimed detective really solve the police's problems?
“Inspector Megure, I remember the forensic doctor said from the beginning that the deceased died from a bacterial infection that spread throughout the body from a wound in the mouth. Therefore, I shouldn’t be a suspect,” Shoichi said.

“You’re right.” Inspector Megure nodded.

So what about this listening device?

Sera Masumi said, "I believe that these two listening devices were installed by someone to investigate this corrupt traffic cop for illegally accepting bribes."

It had nothing to do with his death.

Inspector Megure nodded, "That's also a possibility."

"So this is the bugging device that Masakazu installed to investigate his illegal bribery?" Sato asked, looking at Masakazu.

"I didn't install this," Zheng Yi denied.

Even if the investigation is into corrupt traffic police, installing listening devices is still illegal.

Would Zheng Yi do something illegal?

Sera Masumi went to the bedroom, where the traffic policeman had died on the bed. Nagamune had moved the body off the bed to examine it.

There were several cockroaches crawling on his bed.

"Oh!"

Sera Masumi touched her head, and a cockroach fell from the light tube onto her head.

Sera Masumi threw the cockroach on the ground and said:

"Could this guy have died from a cockroach infection?"

"Bacteria on cockroaches?" Inspector Megure walked over.

Sera Masumi scratched her ear and said, "I'm just guessing, I'm not sure if it's true or not."

She said, "It's very likely that the traffic policeman slept with his mouth open."

The cockroach that fell from the light bulb got into his mouth, scratching it and causing the bacterial infection.

As for whether that's really the case, she doesn't know.

Choso walked over and said, "I think what this detective said is absolutely right."

Inspector Megure frowned.

If you think it's correct, then it's very incorrect.

Choso said, "I can dissect the body. If it's really as this detective says, there should be cockroaches inside the body."

Of course, it's also possible that the cockroach tore open his mouth and then ran away, without actually crawling into the deceased's throat.

Inspector Megure frowned.

So you're accepting this statement as correct regardless of whether there were cockroaches in the corpse?
After looking around at the helpless officers, Inspector Megure nodded.

It seems like this is all it can do.

However, we must investigate the bugging device issue thoroughly; we might uncover something even more important.

"Then we'll contact the deceased's family to see if they agree to an autopsy," Inspector Megure said.

As they were about to leave, Masakazu walked up to Sato and said softly, "It was Officer Miyamoto who should have given me the ticket."

"What do you mean?"

Sato immediately became alert and looked at Sato with an unfriendly expression.

"It's nothing," Zheng Yi said softly, making sure no one else could hear him.

"I was just expressing my feelings. Originally, Officer Miyamoto was supposed to give me the ticket, but it was time for my shift to change."

And it seems you had urgent business with Officer Miyamoto; that's why the poor officer accepted my case.

Zheng Yi whispered, "Do you believe in the butterfly effect?"
If the timeline were changed, and it was Miyamoto Yumi who issued me the ticket, would he still be alive?

Zheng Yi smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, I've seen too many dead people and suddenly became a bit sentimental, saying some strange things."

Sato grabbed Shoichi by the collar and said, "I'm warning you, don't..."

"Sato!"

Inspector Megure rushed over and quickly pulled Sato away.

Why did you suddenly lose control of your emotions?

Why are you making things difficult for a citizen while wearing a police uniform?
"I'm fine." After Sato calmed down, he released his grip on Shoichi's collar, but the look in his eyes was still that of someone who wanted to devour Shoichi.

Zheng Yi said, "I'm sorry, I may have said something inappropriate that upset Officer Sato."

Ai's eyelids twitched.

Without a doubt, Zheng Yi, that bastard, definitely said something extremely offensive.

Sato looked at Masakazu and said, word by word, "All crimes must be judged by the law."

"You're right." Zheng nodded, agreeing with the statement.

Sato was clenching his fists as he left.

Ai asked Shoichi, "Why did you provoke Officer Sato? She seems to have a tough life."

When I saw Officer Sato recently, she rarely smiled.

Zheng Yi is really inhumane. Why does he keep making things difficult for Officer Sato?

"I'm just a talkative person," Zheng Yi said. "Maybe it's because I don't know how to speak properly; what I say always makes people unhappy."

Ai looked at Masakazu strangely.

Are you telling me all this? What are you pretending for?
“I feel like I sometimes say things that make people unhappy, so you don’t need to blame yourself,” Sera Masumi said.

Xiao Ai turned around and realized there were other people around.

"Thank you for speaking up for me, otherwise I might have become a suspect," Zheng Yi said.

Seeing the outstretched hand, Sera Masumi raised an eyebrow and shook it.

“I didn’t say anything. Even if I didn’t say anything, the police could only close the case as a bacterial infection,” Sera Masumi said.

This looks like an accident no matter how you look at it.

And that traffic policeman didn't seem to be a good person.

Therefore, the two listening devices in his house may not necessarily be related to his death.

“Not necessarily,” Zheng Yi said. “You don’t know how efficient the Metropolitan Police Department is. Without detectives, they solve cases very slowly.”

"Really?" Sera Masumi touched her hair.

Why didn't they want my help at first?
"And I don't know if it's because of my physical condition, but the police always think I'm the murderer," Zheng Yi said.

"what?"

Zheng Yi said, "Because of several murder cases, the victims had some conflicts with me, and I am a suspect."

"After that, the police kept thinking I might be the murderer and treated me as a suspect, even though the suspicion against me was very small."

To lessen his suspicion, he chatted with Sato several times to build rapport.

But the effect was minimal.

This only made Sato dislike him even more.

"Is such a thing really true?" Sera Masumi asked.

That's such a misunderstanding! If the real culprit had planned it, wouldn't Zheng Yi have easily become the murderer?

Zheng Yi nodded: "But it doesn't matter, I'm almost used to it."

Zheng Yi's expression held an indescribable sense of vicissitude and helplessness.

Sera Masumi put her hand on Masakazu's shoulder: "If you are ever wronged again, come to me!"

I will definitely go and help you find the truth and clear your name!

"really?"

“Of course,” Sera Masumi said with a smile.

Since you recognized me as a girl at first glance, I'm determined to help you out!

Ai looked at Sera Masumi and twitched her lips.

Oh no, this one seems to be a real lackey.

(End of this chapter)