Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Chapter 166 Zhengyi's Knight

"Huh? Medieval armor can move?"

“That’s right, I heard it was two staff members who saw it, and it’s already spread throughout the neighborhood,” Xiaolan said.

Conan and Kogoro Mouri exchanged a glance and burst into laughter simultaneously.

"Hahaha~"

"Hahaha~"

Kogoro clutched his stomach and said, "That's just a trick to fool children. Ran, why would you believe that?"

Conan nodded: "Yeah..."

Seeing Ran's strange expression, Conan suddenly changed his tune and said, "Yeah, yeah, walking medieval armor is so cool, I really want to see it."

Kogoro glanced at Conan.

Are you really interested in that kind of thing, you little rascal?
"Dad, are you going?"

Xiao Lan gently tapped the table, and a large dent immediately appeared on it.

“Yes, of course I’ll go. This sounds really interesting,” Kogoro said.

"Humph!"

Xiao Lan clapped her hands.

The older one is always smoking and drinking at home, and the younger one goes off somewhere as soon as he's on vacation.

We might as well go to an art museum together.

Xiao Lan and her family of three visited the art museum.

This art museum was sparsely populated; even with the news of the 'walking armor,' not many people came to see it.

"Sera-kun? You're at the art museum too?" Ran asked.

“It’s Ran,” Sera Masumi said. “I also heard about that moving armor and was very interested, so I came to take a look.”

Moreover, I'm quite interested in the things inside the art museum.

"Really."

Xiaolan nodded.

"Oh, right, Sera, these are some chocolates I made. You can have them," Ran said.

"Um, is this okay?" Sera Masumi asked shyly.

"take it."

Since the person I really want to give it to isn't around, I might as well give it to Shiliang.

Conan's face turned green when he saw this.

How could Xiaolan just give chocolates to a male classmate, especially on Valentine's Day?

Conan walked up to Ran and asked, "Ran-neechan, who is this person?"

“Sera Masumi is a transfer student from England,” Ran said.

Another transfer student?

Conan sized up Sera Masumi.

The last transfer student was Zheng Yi's sister, who, according to Zheng Yi, also came back from England.

There's also a detective who frequently causes trouble for Masakazu, who also returned from England and transferred to Ekoda High School.

"By the way, Conan, aren't you very interested in detectives? Sera is a very good detective."

"A detective?" Conan looked at Sera Masumi with suspicion.

He's a detective, just like Hakuba Saguru.

However, I hope the detective who returned from England won't be like Hakuba Saguru, who enjoys making things difficult for Masakazu.

"It's not that amazing," Sera Masumi said.

"Let's go inside and have a look around."

Kogoro's brows have been furrowed ever since he saw Sera Masumi.

Without that brat Shinichi Kudo, how come a detective suddenly appeared?

Why is Ran so enthusiastic about other detectives when she already has a very capable detective father?
"Kubota! I've told you so many times, you have to wear gloves when handling artwork!"

"Uh, yes, I understand."

Xiao Lan and the others looked in the direction from which the sound came and saw an old man criticizing a young man.

Kubota quickly removed his hand from the frame, put on gloves, and then took the painting away.

"I'm sorry, I may have disturbed you."

"It's nothing. Who are you?" Xiao Lan asked.

“I am the owner here, my surname is Ochiai,” said the curator.

"So you're the curator."

Director Ochiai nodded: "Alright, I won't disturb you any longer while you're admiring the artwork here."

"Oh dear, it's still so deserted here."

A man in a light gray suit walked in and looked around.

The art museum was very deserted.

There were only four guests, including Kogoro and his companions; there were even fewer staff members.

"True boss."

Manaka said to Director Ochiai, "This place will be closing in ten days. I'll be leaving the rest of the time to take good care of this junk."

"Sir designer, where are the design drawings?"

"Oh yes."

Ran walked up to Director Ochiai and asked with some regret, "Is this art museum going to disappear?"

"Yes."

Director Ochiai said with a somewhat downcast expression, "That's right, due to poor management, the owner is preparing to sell this art museum."

The people who originally wanted to buy this art museum were Mr. Manaka and Mr. Shoichi.

Both of them intended to continue running the art museum, which is why the owner decided to negotiate the price with them.

Ultimately, the owner of the real-life shop offered a higher price, so it was sold to him.

Unfortunately, Mr. Manaka did not keep his promise and decided to convert the place into a restaurant.

It's an art-themed restaurant.

This is the ingenious idea of ​​the owner, Mr. Zhenzhong, who combines a restaurant with art, allowing customers to appreciate paintings while dining.

The thought of those artworks being pickled in food all day long breaks Director Ochiai's heart.

"How could this be?" Xiaolan said regretfully. "If it were Brother Zhengyi who bought this place, he would definitely keep the art museum running."

"Do you know Mr. Shoichi?" Director Ochiai asked.

“That’s right.” Xiao Lan nodded and said, “Brother Zhengyi does have the idea of ​​opening an art museum because he has collected many paintings by famous artists, and perhaps other artworks as well.”

"That's such a pity." Director Ochiai nodded regretfully.

If it is eventually sold to Mr. Shoichi, this art museum might be able to continue.

Director Ochiai said, "Miss, would you please invite Mr. Shoichi to come and appreciate the artwork here?"

"Huh? This..." Xiaolan looked at the curator in surprise.

Today is Valentine's Day, I doubt Zheng Yi would want to come to a place like this.

“This is my small request,” said Curator Ochiai. “If he sees the artworks here and learns that Boss Manaka is going to ruin them all.”

Perhaps Mr. Zhengyi will offer a high price to buy the art museum from the Lake District and continue operating it.

Ran really didn't want to bother Masakazu, but Director Ochiai looked so pitiful.

“Okay, but I’m not sure if Zheng Yi will come,” Xiao Lan said.

"Thank you so much," said Director Ochiai.

Xiao Lan said, "Even if Zheng Yi comes, he might not necessarily buy this art museum."

Having already failed in the bidding, it's unlikely that Zheng Yi Ge will offer a higher price.

“It’s alright, as long as he comes, that’s fine,” Director Ochiai said.

He will buy this art museum.

Xiao Lan called Zheng Yi and told him what was going on. Zheng Yi said he would come over right away.

"Thank you so much." Director Ochiai expressed his gratitude to Ran again.

While Mr. Manaka was still considering how to renovate the art museum, he walked over to Kubota and said:

"By the way, you must be Kubota. I advise you to prepare your money beforehand, or you'll be in trouble."

"You... hum!"

Kubota watched the arrogant back of Boss Manaka and angrily threw the armor and helmet in his hand onto the car.

Director Ochiai only glanced at him before leaving with another employee named Iito.

……

"Alright, stop fooling around." Masaru put his phone back in his pocket and said to Ai.

"You started this!" Ai said angrily, and tried to stuff her shoe into Masakazu's mouth.

That bastard Shoichi! He dares to scare her with a fake Gin today, he'll dare to use the real one tomorrow!

"Xiao Lan invited me to the art museum, please stop messing around," Zheng Yi said.

"hehe."

Ai sneered and said to Shoichi, "You're taking advantage of Shinichi Kudo turning into a child to start stealing his girlfriend, aren't you?"

They all invited you to the art museum on Valentine's Day.

It seems she needs to research an antidote as soon as possible, otherwise that bastard Zheng Yi will get his way.

Shoichi flicked Ai's head with his finger.

“I’m more interested in Conan than Ran,” Masakazu said.

"Heh, pervert."

"What are you thinking about?" Zheng Yi punched Xiao Ai again: "It's about an art museum I wanted to buy before. The director asked me to go and take another look."

They want me to buy it at a high price.

What a joke! He's just buying things, when has he ever paid a high price?
It's all because others sold them to him at low prices, okay?

However, you can also visit the art museum this time.

Although the curator said it was a high price, it will definitely be a low price in reality, otherwise he wouldn't have invited him over.

"Do you want to come with me?" Zhengyi asked.

"I'm not going!" Ai shook her head.

Zheng Yi continued, "Do you really want to break up with me?"

Xiao Ai raised an eyebrow.

You bastard, are you still planning to play tricks on me?

"Sister, let's go together."

Mingmei smiled and said, "You and Zhengyi can go ahead. I'm a little tired and want to stay home and rest."

"Ah, then I'll do it too..."

"You should go too. Isn't Xiaolan your classmate? It's good to spend time with people your own age."

"Can……"

“Go ahead, go ahead,” Akemi said.

"Ok."

Ai nodded.

Shoichi stretched out his hand and said to Ai, "Come on, come with me."

Ai gave Masakazu the middle finger.
Shoichi pulled Ai's middle finger and walked outside.

"Hey, let me go! Let me go!"

This time, the driver was still Curaçao, and the fake Gin wasn't sent out to bother Ai.

But Ai still chose to be angry with Masakazu.

She was angry.

Moreover, this trip to the art museum wasn't for Zheng Yi to join me, but rather to listen to my sister and spend more time with people my own age.

Inside the art museum.

Sera Masumi and Ran walked around the art museum several times, but Ran was the one admiring the art.

Meanwhile, Sera Masumi was secretly observing Conan.

While visiting the art museum, the child did not do anything strange and behaved basically the same as any other child.

I have absolutely no interest in those artworks.

Like Kogoro Mouri, he was forced to follow Ran due to her tyrannical power.

Moreover, the child had secretly glanced at her several times, seemingly harboring some inexplicable hostility towards her.

"Brother Zhengyi, you're here."

"Ran." Masakazu nodded to Ran, then saw Sera Masumi: "You're here too." "Ah, yes, Masakazu-nii (Masakazu-nii)." Sera Masumi also addressed Masakazu in the same way Ran did.

After arriving at the art museum, Ai distanced herself from Shoichi and went to Ran's side.

"Xiao Ai, did you have a fight with Zheng Yi?" Xiao Lan asked in confusion.

Ai's emotions were still quite evident.

"No." Ai shook her head.

Why should I argue with that jerk?
Ai rubbed her left hand, feeling a slight pain in her middle finger.

Zheng Yi asked, "Where is the curator?"

"I don't know where he is now," Xiaolan said.

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "Then let's just ignore him."

Zheng Yi looked around at the artworks in the art museum.

From an art critic's perspective, the items here are worthy of a price.

There are also many good things among them.

Zheng Yi said, "Since Mr. Zhenzhong has already signed a contract with the museum owner, he must abide by business rules. I will not buy the museum from the museum owner."

However, if the museum director can persuade Manaka to give up, I'm willing to accept the museum.

Xiaolan nodded.

However, Mr. Manaka has already had someone draw up the blueprints for the modification, so he probably won't let go.

Director Ochiai's idea is definitely impossible to realize.

After meeting Xiaolan, the two completed the child swap.

Ai ran to Ran's side, and Conan ran to Masakazu's side.

"Brother Zhengyi, do you really appreciate these works of art?" Conan asked.

“Of course, I’m a legitimate art critic,” Zheng Yi said.

Art is valuable.

Conan shook his head; he was too worldly to appreciate such things.

Conan asked in a low voice, "Brother Zhengyi, is there anything wrong with that employee in your company?"

“No problem,” Zheng Yi said.

Tooru Amuro created such great value for Shoichi's car company, doubling the sales of the Justice Cars.

How can an employee like this have any problems?

Zheng Yi said, "He is just a very normal ordinary employee, and we have also found out why he stayed in the building."

He has a terrible sense of direction, and when he and Inspector Megure were almost at the connecting bridge, he accidentally lost his way and got lost.

"Huh? Is that so?" Conan asked in surprise.

That's a strange reason.

“The truth is often just that absurd,” Zheng Yi said.

Conan nodded.

He's a detective, and he knows a lot of the unbelievable truth.

While the two of them were whispering, Sera Masumi kept observing Conan.

"Mr. Zhengyi, is it convenient for us to talk?"

"Of course." Zheng Yi smiled and looked at the old man.

Director Ochiai said, "If Mr. Manaka can break the contract and give up buying this art museum..."

Would you be willing to take it over?

“Of course,” Zheng Yi said. “Moreover, I have many paintings and sculptures that I don’t have a place to put, so I will put them in this art museum.”

Zheng Yi said, "However, I don't have much cash on me, so I won't spend too much money on my hobbies."

Director Ochiai nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you."

After finishing speaking, Director Ochiai turned and left.

Conan whispered to Masakazu, "Masakazu-nii, this curator seems a bit strange."

"No, I don't think so." Zheng Yi shook his head.

There's none?
Conan scratched his head.

The curator seemed to be able to convince Mr. Manaka to give up on the art museum.

"Sera-kun, you've been peeking at Masakazu-nii the whole time, you wouldn't... "

"Oh dear, how could that be? I didn't have any," Sera Masumi said.

Ai yawned.

Are you interested in Zheng Yi just because he's good at pretending in front of you?
Sera Masumi is just as stupid as Sonoko.

Sera Masumi touched her head.

Being suspected of spying on Zheng Yi is better than spying on Conan.

"By the way, Shiliang, how did you and Zhengyi meet?" Xiaolan asked.

“My sister got lost when we were in England, and it was Masakazu who found her,” Sera Masumi said.

Ran seemed to never feel tired, while Sera Masumi's legs were a little sore from all the walking.

Ai tugged at Ran's bag and looked at her with her big, watery eyes.

Don't you want to take a break?

"Hey? Look, the 'No Entry' sign up ahead seems to be gone," Xiaolan said, pointing ahead.

"Really?" Ai looked over in confusion.

I didn't even notice what was there just now.

"Let's go in and take a look," Xiaolan said.

Conan rubbed his thigh. "I'm exhausted, Ran-neechan. Can't we skip it?"

"Ok?"

Xiaolan wanted to resort to violence.

But realizing that Masakazu, Ai, and Sera Masumi were there, she changed to a gentle tone and said, "Shall we go in and take a look?"

Conan shrank back, even more frightened.

He grabbed Zheng Yi's pants, trying to make Zheng Yi reject Xiao Lan.

Zheng Yi said, "It looks like a showroom of Hell inside. Let's go in and take a look."

broken.

Conan patted his head, forgetting that Zheng Yi also liked these kinds of artistic things.

The group entered the dark room.

In the very center of the room is a painting.

"Divine punishment?" Xiaolan looked at the description below and said, "This painting seems to depict a righteous knight sealing away a demon."

Zhengyi looked at the painting.

Every priceless work of art has a touching story.

Today's story has been found, and the artwork has been found as well.

"Tick tock~"

"Tick-tock~" "Tick-tock~"

"what!"

Ran looked in the direction of the dripping sound and saw Boss Zhenzhong pinned to the wall, blood flowing down the sword stuck in his body and onto the ground.

"Call the police immediately," Zheng Yi said.

Upon hearing the words "call the police," Xiaolan regained some of her senses, took out her phone, and began to skillfully call the police.

"Hey, Inspector Megure..."

Zheng Yi covered Ai's eyes and pulled her into his arms.

The police arrived very quickly.

Upon arriving at the scene and seeing Shoichi and Kogoro, the entire police force's faces darkened.

Moreover, the presence of another detective, a lackey of Zheng Yi, only adds to the already dark situation.

"What, it's you again?" Inspector Megure couldn't help but ask.

"I don't want to encounter murder cases every day either," Kogoro Mouri said.

Sato arrived at the scene and looked at the painting.

'The Knight of Justice'? Or 'The Knight of Righteousness'?
After a few simple questions, Sato had a clearer understanding of whether it was 'Shoichi' or 'Justice'.

This owner, Zhenzhong, competed with Zhengyi for this art museum.

"It has nothing to do with me."

Before the police suspected him, Zheng Yi had already begun to distance himself from the situation.

Other people's actions have nothing to do with Zhengyi.

"Why are you in such a hurry to clear yourself of any wrongdoing?" Sato asked.

"Am I not allowed to prove my innocence?" Zheng Yi said, "I have always..."

“You don’t need to say anything,” Sato interrupted Masakazu.

There is absolutely no doubt that Zheng Yi always has an alibi.

Moreover, Zheng Yi would not kill people himself.

Zheng Yi shrugged.

Kogoro, Conan, and Sera Masumi are all there.

He couldn't believe anyone could frame him.

Zheng Yi looked at the armor and the painting again. These two works of art, which already had stories to tell, now had new stories added to them.

Then its value increases even further.

“There are cameras here, so you can see what’s going on here,” said Iito, a staff member at the museum.

"it is good."

A group of people came to the monitoring room and turned on the camera.

At 4:25, Boss Zhenzhong arrived at the hellish exhibition room.

The armored figure standing in the center suddenly moved, raised its greatsword, and killed Boss Shinaka with a single strike.

Just like in the painting.

The boss of Zhenzhong died as divine punishment.

After watching the surveillance footage, several more eyes turned to Zheng Yi.

It's so artistic. Such an artistic crime makes it really hard not to suspect Zheng Yi.

Such artistic crime is exactly what Zheng Yi has always been pursuing.

So many people died in the movie plot.

Furthermore, during a casual conversation at the Metropolitan Police Department, I heard Hakuba Saguru mention that back in England, someone died during the plot of an opera.

Zheng Yi was present at the time.

Now, someone else has died in a story depicted in a painting; it would be strange not to suspect that the murderer is Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi sat to the side without saying a word.

He didn't say a word until his detective spoke.

"Mr. Shoichi, what are your thoughts on this case?" Inspector Megure asked.

“I’m not a detective, so I have nothing to say,” Zheng Yi said.

If you want to slander me, please provide evidence.

Conan said, "The person who killed Mr. Manaka must have been very familiar with the internal structure of the art museum."

"Why?" Inspector Megure asked.

Conan said, "Because the murderer was wearing armor. If he were to act while wearing armor, it would definitely cause a commotion."

Therefore, the murderer must be very familiar with the art museum and know where they won't run into anyone. Besides, there was clearly a "No Entry" sign in that room before.

When we went in, the sign had already been removed. Surely no one saw who took it?

“I see.” Sato nodded and said, “So, the murderer is someone from the art museum.”

She looked at the staff inside the art museum.

It's unclear which one of them is Zhengyi's knight.

After Conan finished speaking, Ran and Sera Masumi both looked at him with strange eyes.

Isn't this little kid a bit too smart?
Moreover, he bears a strong resemblance to someone else.

However, unlike Ran, Sera Masumi glanced at Ai while watching Conan.

She's the same way, too clever for her own good.

(End of this chapter)