Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

After returning the photo folder to Hongye.

Conan and Heiji didn't have time to waste anymore.

The two followed the police to Yajima's house to investigate the truth behind his murder.

Police suspect it was a home invasion robbery.

The thief encountered Yajima while committing the theft, so he used the stolen katana to kill Yajima and then fled.

Conan and Heiji took the police's speculations lightly, as they had no expectations of the police at all.

Heiji noticed bloodstains on the remote control on the floor, so he asked the police, "Excuse me, can we turn on the TV?"

"can."

After obtaining permission from the police, Heiji turned on the television.

The image on the television screen startled both Conan and Heiji.

"Ooka Autumn Leaves?" Heiji exclaimed in surprise.

Conan adjusted his glasses and said, "Was Mr. Yajima watching videos of Ooka Momiji's previous matches before he was murdered?"

Heiji said, "This is very likely a clue left to us by Mr. Yajima. The murderer is related to Ooka Momiji."

“No,” Conan said. “Ooka Momiji and Yajima have an exhibition match. It’s normal to learn about your opponent before the match.”

Moreover, this was what Yajima saw before he was killed.

It's impossible that Yajima knew who was going to kill him before he was murdered and left clues behind.

Conan felt more strongly that the clues were hidden on the blood-stained karuta cards and the photos mixed in with them than on the television recordings.

He took out his phone and took pictures of the song cards and photos on the floor.

Heiji said slowly, "Is it possible that we're thinking in the wrong direction?"

"Wrong direction?" Conan looked at Heiji, puzzled.

Heiji said, "Is it possible that Yajima's death had nothing to do with karuta, but was actually related to alcohol?"

"liquor?"

Conan is very interested in this.

Heiji said, "Yajima's father owns a brewery. Why don't you ask Shoichi if he has any plans to open a brewery?"

Conan's lips twitched.

"Heiji, can you please stop thinking about Masakazu all the time?"

"You can't think rationally when you're caught up in personal grudges," Conan said.

Heiji pursed his lips.

He just said it offhand.

If Zheng Yi were to open a winery, he would definitely publicize it so that the whole world would know about it.

Then give those guys a chance to 'live'.

Zheng Yi will only take action if these guys don't cherish it, which will also allow him to promote his methods and further enhance his reputation.

In any case, Zheng Yi would never remain unknown.

As I left the room and arrived at the door.

Donggen also rushed over.

This is someone who has consistently lost to Yajima in matches, coming in second countless times.

Neither Conan nor Heiji paid any attention to him until he said something:
"If the traditional Satsuki Cup tournament is canceled because of Yajima's death, then there is no point in Yajima being killed."

……

Kazuha has decided to replace Miraiko and represent the school club in the competition.

The only problem is that only one person can practice with you; you can only practice alone.

Red leaves are different.

Hongye has Zhengyi as her sparring partner.

"Could you please stop hitting my hand?" Hongye said to Zhengyi, dissatisfied.

"Sorry, my hand speed is too slow." Zheng Yi said apologetically.

There was nothing he could do.

If you're slow with your hands, it's inevitable that you'll end up hitting Hongye's hand when you try to steal her cards from behind.

Hongye rubbed the back of her hand and said, "But you don't have to hit my hand every time, do you?"

Moreover, he used a lot of force, making it hard for Hongye to believe that he didn't do it on purpose.

"How about we have Ai Haibara spar with you?" Zheng Yi suggested.

Hongye glanced at Ai, who was wrapped in a blanket, and shook her head.

It's pointless to bully children.

"I'll tell you," Ai, wrapped in a blanket, asked Masakazu, "Where did you put all my normal clothes?"

Ai's eyes are very fierce.

I went out for a while, and when I came back, I found a lot of strange clothes in my closet.

They're all clothes I'm too ashamed to wear outside.

“It is where it should be,” Zhengyi said.

"Don't these clothes look good? Why don't you wear them?" Zheng Yi asked, puzzled.

Ai said with a straight face, "Then I'll buy you some clothes. Will you know how to wear them?"

“Of course,” Zheng Yi said matter-of-factly. “It’s all your kind intention, so of course I’ll wear it.”

Ai pouted.

It's easier said than done; it would be a miracle if you could actually wear it.

"When is my sister arriving in Osaka?" Ai asked.

She wanted to abandon Zheng Yi and go to her sister's side.

"Your sister won't come looking for you immediately," Zheng Yi said.

"She's not like you, someone who doesn't care about work at all. She'll go to work first."

Also, don't bother your sister when she's making money for me.

Ai hummed softly.

You say you won't bother me, so you won't bother me?
Why?
"Otherwise," Zheng Yi said with an uncontrollable smile, raising his right hand and making a throat-slitting gesture towards Ai.

"Humph!"

Xiao Ai's face turned bright red, and she angrily wrapped her head under the blanket.

Hongye covered her mouth and chuckled.

After glancing at the quilt, Hongye said to Zhengyi:

"Alright, now start practicing with me."

Zheng Yi asked with a troubled expression, "Will having me practice with you really be effective?"

He is very clear about his own level.

He didn't even know what those songs were about, let alone how to find the cards.

“Of course it’s useful,” Hongye said. “In order to avoid being hit by your hand, I have to find the cards faster and play them faster, which is very helpful for training.”

Zheng nodded.

Oh, I see. You can play however you like and still help others train.

“Then why don’t you have other karuta masters practice with you using this method?” Zheng Yi said.

A black line appeared on Hongye's face.

Why don't you use the same patience you have for buying clothes for Ai Haibara on practicing with me?

Hongye said, "Those karuta masters are all preparing for the competition, they wouldn't be helping me practice."

"You can use money..."

“Zhengyi!” Hongye’s tone became more forceful.

"Beep, beep, beep~"

"I need to take this call first." Zheng Yi took out his phone and made an apologetic expression.

Now we have a legitimate reason.

He stepped out of the living room. "Hello?"

"Brother Zhengyi, can you do me a favor?" Conan asked on the other end of the phone.

"No problem, just tell me." Zheng Yi was always ready to help whenever needed.

Conan stopped being polite with Shoichi and sent him the photos he had just taken.

Conan said, "Brother Zhengyi, help me analyze these karuta cards and the person in that photo."

Zheng Yi replied directly, "No problem."

After receiving Conan's photo, the phone didn't even glance at it before telling Hiroki to handle it.

Hiroki, however, was much faster. He quickly uncovered all the details about the person in the photo and sent them to Conan. The person in the photo was Shiro Kogoro, a very powerful karuta club president who adhered to elitism.

Back then, he challenged the wife of the chairman of Achiba, and the loser had to disband his karuta club.

But he didn't show up on the day of the challenge, and afterwards, no one knows where he went or what happened to him; he disappeared.

His original karuta club also disbanded.

Among them, Ooka Momiji and Higashine were both members of his karuta club, and Yajima was also the one who insisted on disbanding the Nagoro karuta club after Nagoro disappeared.

"Could it be that Mingqing has returned for revenge?" Conan whispered.

"Where did you get this information?" Heiji asked.

Conan said, "It was Masakazu who was asked to investigate."

"You sent Masakazu to investigate? Please! He hasn't cleared his name yet, and you're already sending him to investigate?" Heiji asked, staring at Conan.

Conan said helplessly, "Seiichi has absolutely no suspicion of anything."

The suspicion he alleged was something you fabricated.

Conan said into his phone, "Shoichi, you need to tell Ooka Momiji to be careful. It's very likely that Meiko is coming back for revenge."

"understood."

After chatting with Conan for a few more minutes about trivial matters, Masakazu hung up the phone.

When Shoichi returned to the living room, he saw Ai wrapped in a blanket, practicing karuta with Momiji.

Momiji was clearly not putting in any effort; sometimes she even deliberately slowed down her movements so that Ai could get the karuta cards faster than Momiji, which was like coaxing a child.

Ai's face showed helplessness, clearly indicating that she was also trying to coax Momiji into playing.

"What call?" Hongye looked up and asked.

“Conan, a kid, asked me for help,” Shoichi said.

"Oh."

Hongye nodded and continued to play with Xiao Ai.

Ai yawned.

"Dong Dong~"

A knock sounded at the door, and when Zheng Yi went to open it, Miyano Akemi walked in carrying a bunch of things.

As soon as Akemi entered the room, she called out, "Ai, I've bought the clothes you wanted."

Upon hearing her sister's voice, Ai's expression noticeably improved.

But the blush was also more pronounced.

She clutched the blanket tightly, jogged over to take the clothes Mingmei had bought, and turned to run towards the bedroom: "I'm going to change first."

Akemi looked at Ai's expression and nodded in confusion.

She looked at Zheng Yi, hesitant to speak.

Mingmei didn't understand why her younger sister had no clothes to wear.

Why was she wrapped in a blanket? Was she not wearing any clothes?
And doesn't Masakazu buy clothes for his sister? Ai even called her specifically to say she'd buy her some clothes.

What exactly did Zheng Yi and his sister do?
Akemi had a lot of questions, but she didn't voice any of them.

Believe.

"Hello, I am Ooka Momiji."

"Hello."

After Akemi and Momiji greeted each other, Masakazu started talking to Akemi about work.

Zheng Yi asked, "How confident are you about securing the TV station building project?"

"I don't know," Akemi said honestly.

She knows nothing now, except that the building was blown up.

As of now, their competitors don't seem to have reacted yet.

Moreover, even if there are competitors, because of Zhengyi's reputation, as long as their Zhengyi Group's prices are not too outrageous, they will definitely win the project.

Therefore, making related predictions is not easy.

"Never mind, that's not the point," Zheng Yi said.

"Not the point?"

Mingmei was somewhat puzzled.

When Ai called to tell her to come to Osaka, she vaguely heard the sound of an explosion.

The building was just demolished and you're already making a phone call. Is that really not important?

Shoichi said slowly, "Your main goal this time is to take over Achiba Real Estate."

"and many more!"

Before Akemi could react, Koyo spoke first.

She looked at Zheng Yi and asked, "The chairman isn't dead yet, and you're already plotting against his company? What exactly are you trying to do?"

"I won't do anything special, at most I'll just uphold justice," Zheng Yi said.

"Ah."

Hongye gave a cold laugh.

She is fluent in Chinese and knows that 'justice' and 'righteousness' are very similar.

Zheng Yi said to Hongye, "Anyway, he'll be practically dead soon."

“You can’t lay a hand on Chairman Achiba,” Momiji said.

Satsuki-kai is currently the largest karuta (Japanese card game) organization in Japan. If Chairman Achiba gets into trouble, Satsuki-kai will definitely be in trouble.

Hongye angrily said to Zhengyi, "Are you trying to destroy Japan's traditional culture?"

Zheng Yi yawned.

Is that a big hat?
Having too many lice doesn't cause itching, so it doesn't matter to Zheng Yi anyway.

Kouye tugged at Shoichi's sleeve and said, "I'm begging you, please don't kill Chairman Achiba."

"That's strange, is this how you ask for a favor?" Zheng Yi asked.

Hongye got up and massaged Zhengyi's shoulders.

She glared fiercely at Zheng Yi.

You asked me for help in the first place, and now I'm giving it back. Don't be ungrateful.

Zheng Yi shrugged.

“Actually, I didn’t say I wanted to kill Chairman Achiba,” Shoichi said.

Hongye snorted.

As long as you don't lay a hand on Chairman Achiba, you can say whatever you want.

After stopping teasing Koyo, Masakazu turned to Akemi and said, "You still need to be prepared to take over Achiba Real Estate."

"Didn't you say you wouldn't kill Chairman Achiba?" Momiji questioned Shoichi.

Zheng Yi said, "Just because I don't make a move doesn't mean others won't."

"You mean, someone else wants to kill Chairman Achiba?" Kouyou asked.

"No." Zheng Yi shook his head.

However, Hongye lacks trust in Zhengyi.

She took out her phone and started calling Chairman Achiba.

After the call connected, Hongye saw that Zhengyi's expression remained unchanged, with a "whatever" look on his face.

Momiji warned Achiba to be careful, as someone might be planning to harm him.

"Thank you for your concern. Actually, the police have already told me. Mingqing is back, and he might attack me. Also, be careful with Hongye."

"The teacher is back?" Hongye asked, somewhat surprised.

Mingqing was her karuta teacher.

However, after her teacher disappeared, she followed her teacher's instructions and joined the Satsuki-kai.

"Impossible. If the murderer can't be the teacher, then you need to be more careful about other people, President."

While Momiji was chatting with President Achiba, Akemi winked at Shoichi.

"So, are you still going to take over Achiba Real Estate?" Akemi asked.

"Of course." Zheng Yi nodded.

"Then..." Akemi glanced at Kouyou and lowered her voice, saying, "Is that Achiba Chairman the culprit in this incident?"

As a former subordinate of Shoichi, Akemi could understand the meaning behind Shoichi's actions to some extent.

Zheng Yi killed many club presidents, and many club presidents went to jail for murder.

Zheng nodded.

Akemi asked, "So how exactly did you find the killer so quickly? And every time?" (End of Chapter)