Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Inspector Megure's brows furrowed into a deep frown as he stared intently at Masakazu.

How do you know so much?

Not only Inspector Megure, but the surrounding police officers also looked at Masakazu with strange expressions.

Sato stepped forward and placed his hand on the holster at his waist.

Ito Suehiko, who was on the chair, struggled frantically, and the metal chair made a screeching sound.

Although he couldn't see, his blind eyes were fixed intently on Zheng Yi's direction.

"You're talking nonsense! You're spouting nonsense! Reiko is dead! Who are you, you bastard? How do you know my name? How do you know about that?"

Ito's tone was filled with surprise and panic.

All eyes were on Zheng Yi, and the air seemed to freeze.

Faced with the police's accusations and Ito's roar, Shoichi seemed somewhat impatient.

He picked at his ear and then yawned casually.

I feel very relaxed.

"Is it so hard to know these things?" Zheng Yi shrugged.
"My AI assistant found it."

"AI?" Inspector Megure frowned.

The police also have AI.

Why didn't we find it?
He stepped forward and asked Zheng Yi, "What evidence do you have?"

What is the evidence?
Inspector Megure stepped forward: "You're being far too frivolous. Without evidence, our police will absolutely not accept this kind of information."

"You must provide evidence. What is the evidence?"

None of the surrounding police officers dared to step forward and agree, except for Sato, who took a step forward with Inspector Megure.

Zheng Yi yawned lazily, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.

He was very carefree.

"Evidence?" Zheng Yi chuckled. "Are you mistaken? I'm not a policeman, much less a famous detective. How would I have evidence?"

"you!"

You are showing contempt for the police!

If you can't produce evidence, we can arrest you on charges of disrupting official business and being an accomplice!
Of course, Inspector Megure couldn't bring himself to say these words.

Sato's expression was also icy, his hand never leaving the gun handle:
"If you cannot prove that what you just said is true, then all your actions are suspected of induced investigation."

"Oh dear, how scary!" Zheng Yi drawled out the words.

"and many more!"

Just then, Ito Suehiko, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly spoke up.

His voice was no longer as panicked as it had been before.

Ito sat in a wheelchair, blind, but his face was turned directly towards Shoichi, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth:

"Sumitomo Shoichi?"

He often heard the name Sumitomo Shoichi from Reiko.

This is Reiko's most admired crime idol.

He was also recognized by Ito as a criminal genius, and the police and detectives were all manipulated by him.

The dead are gone, yet they have become the scapegoats;

The living while away their days in prison, paying unseen debts for the real sinners.

Ito has studied many of Shoichi's crimes.

But he could never find any loopholes, which made him feel a sense of mutual respect for Zheng Yi.

Ito leaned forward slightly:
"Without solid evidence, why should we believe you based solely on your words? And the police can't convict me based on just what you say, can they?"

"Without evidence, all of this is just your conjecture. And accusations based on conjecture are meaningless, both legally and logically."

"So produce the evidence. Otherwise, everything you've done today is just a waste of everyone's time."

Inspector Megure glanced at Ito, then finally fixed his gaze on Shoichi.

Outside the passage, Ran, Sonoko, and Kazuha also arrived.

They learned what had happened here from Ai's words.

Xiao Lan looked at the passageway in surprise.

The real killer was hiding behind this passage?
It turns out he was so close to me.

Sonoko looked puzzled. She whispered to Ran, "Ran, when did Masakazu become so good? Does he know how to deduce things too?"

Xiaolan also looked puzzled.

She didn't know either.

“He’s dying,” Masakazu said, looking at Ito.

"Yes, I'm going to die."

Ito Suehiko's voice rang out again, but this time, there was no anger or panic in that hoarse voice.

Instead, there was an eerie calm.

"Isn't a dying person, for whom even breathing has become a luxury, your favorite scapegoat?"

With his last breath, Ito slowly shook his head:
"After all, the dead can't speak. They certainly won't crawl out of their graves and point their fingers at you, shouting that they're innocent."

“Once I die, the conclusion of that case will be set in stone, and there will be no possibility of overturning it.”

"All sins will be buried with my body in the darkness where no one knows."

These words caused Inspector Megure and Miwako Sato's pupils to suddenly contract.

They are not idiots.

As a veteran detective who has been fighting on the front line of criminal investigation for many years, he knows Zheng Yi's style of doing things all too well.

Zheng Yi tilted his head.

A bizarre smile curled at the corner of his lips, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"You," Zheng Yi said in a light tone, "how dare you say such a thing? Your shamelessness is truly an eye-opener."

He took two steps forward.

"Don't you know whether I've wronged you or not?"

Zheng Yi sneered, his laughter filled with contempt: "You're shameless."

He's almost dead, and he's still thinking about taking someone down with him?
You want me to take the blame for you?

This person is absolutely wicked, even worse than myself.

"you……"

Suehiko Ito's body stiffened abruptly.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that he couldn't make a sound.

Yes.

Zheng Yi is right.

I was the one who robbed the armored truck.

I was the one who fired in the chaos and killed Shoji Nishio.

I am a criminal, not a scapegoat for Zheng Yi.

Then he felt lost.

What is Zheng Yi's purpose in appearing here?
Did he kill too many people and suddenly decide to become a messenger of justice and arrest me?

Ito pursed his lips.

Regardless of Zheng Yi's purpose.

Without sufficient evidence, he is unlikely to confess.

Everyone just stood there, frozen in place.

Inspector Megure looked at Kogoro Mouri behind him and said, "Brother Mouri, are you sure he's the client you were talking to?"

Kogoro looked at Ito and said, "I feel so."

"What do you mean by 'feeling'?" Inspector Megure asked, exasperated.

Kogoro stroked his chin and said, "Because I'm not entirely sure either."

"When we talked on the phone, his voice was processed and we couldn't see his figure or face, so we couldn't be sure if it was him at all."

"But he's right here in this room. Would you believe him if he said it wasn't him?"

Kogoro looked at Inspector Megure.

Officer Megure nodded.

Indeed, he didn't believe it either, but without evidence, the police couldn't arrest him. Before disappearing, Ito was only a suspect; there was no evidence that he had committed murder.

"Inspector Megure, the technicians sent by the Metropolitan Police Department have arrived."

"Okay." Inspector Megure breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then let's check the computer in front of Mr. Ito."

"Yes!"

The technicians came to Ito's side.

Ito remained seated in his chair without saying a word, and showed no reaction when the Metropolitan Police Department's technicians approached.

With a barely perceptible hint of tension, the Metropolitan Police Department technician lightly touched the keyboard.

"Zi-"

A sharp, short crackling sound of electricity suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterwards, the screen went completely black.

"what happened?"

The technician frowned, thinking it was a loose connection. He pressed the power button hard a few times and repeatedly plugged and unplugged the power cord.

However, the computer was like a completely broken piece of scrap metal, ignoring all his operations.

He refused to give up, but no matter how hard he racked his brains or tried every trick in the book, the black screen remained completely unresponsive.

As an experienced technician, he had never seen such a bizarre malfunction.

There were no error codes, no blue screen crashes, and not even a trace of electrical feedback.

The computer seemed to have been completely obliterated by some invisible force the moment he touched it.

He then disassembled the computer and checked the internal hardware, but found no problems.

He took a step back and whispered to Inspector Megure, "I have no idea where the problem lies. I'm sorry, my skills are terrible."

Inspector Megure frowned deeply.

This problem with Ito is indeed very serious.

He glanced at Zheng Yi again.

This Zheng Yi also has a big problem.

Ito kept thinking about Shoichi's purpose.

He had absolutely no interest in those guys from the Metropolitan Police Department.

There's absolutely no need to waste time on useless things.

Because no matter what they do, they can't affect him.

Suddenly, he asked Zheng Yi, "You mean, Reiko tampered with my car?"

“That’s right.” Zheng Yi nodded.

Ito remained silent for a long time.

Then he asked, "So, you instructed Reiko to do all of this?"

"what?"

Zheng Yi pointed to his nose, unsure if he was being talked to.

Zheng Yi's eyes gradually became confused.

Is this just unfairly pinning the blame on someone?
Ito's breathing gradually calmed down; he seemed to understand everything.

He said in a low voice, "No wonder, Reiko often mentions you."

"She mentions me all the time? I don't even know her," Zheng Yi said.

"Heh, that's part of your brilliance," Ito said casually.

"You and she have never actually met, but it was definitely you who influenced her decisions."

Inspector Megure's eyes were even more confused than Shoichi's.

He sensed Ito's aura and the tone of his voice.

The suspect should have reached the stage where he is ready to voluntarily confess to the crime and his motives.

But why couldn't he understand what Ito was saying?
Why did Shoichi influence Reiko's crime even though he had no contact with her?

Ito continued, "You know that Reiko and I are members of the Seaside University Crime Research Club, and you also know that I am the president of the club."

"That shows you know us well; you've investigated us."

Immediately afterwards, Ito looked puzzled.

He said, puzzled, "Logically speaking, such words should be spoken by your subordinate, Kogoro Mouri."

"What do you mean by 'Kogoro Mori is under Shoichi's command'?" Kogoro said with dissatisfaction, "I am not anyone's subordinate!"

Ito paid no attention to Kogoro's rebuttal.

He continued his deduction: "It doesn't matter, just like many criminals return to their crime scenes."

"Have you finally succumbed to loneliness and crave more recognition?"

No.

Masakazu thought to himself, "It's just that Conan hasn't returned yet, and I can't get through on the phone."

Kogoro doesn't seem to have the ability to find the real culprit.

Ito slowly explained to Inspector Megure and the others how Shoichi had committed the crime.

“That’s right, that robbery was indeed committed by me, Reiko, and Nishio.”

"But Reiko, who suggested the robbery, was completely misled by you!"

As soon as Ito said this...

Inspector Megure and Sato immediately turned their gazes toward Shoichi.

There was even a hint of excitement in Sato's eyes.

So long.

Finally, someone is going to stand up and identify Zheng Yi.

It seems that only someone like Ito, who is about to die, would dare to stand up and identify Shoichi, right?
Sato felt the handcuffs on his hands trembling slightly, as if they were seeking their owner's joy.

Zheng Yi blinked innocently.

He said, "You previously said that I had no contact with Reiko, and that I instructed Reiko to commit crimes."

"You're so sick you're starting to ramble on and on."

"Cough cough!"

Ito coughed and said, "That's not contradictory."

He slowly revealed Zheng Yi's actions: "Your motive for murder must be that you're after my business, right?"

This did not surprise Inspector Megure and Sato.

If someone takes a fancy to someone's belongings, that person's mortality rate or probability of committing a crime and going to prison will greatly increase.

Ito laughed and said, "You originally wanted to use Reiko to kill me."

"You just failed, so the police had no choice but to put me in jail and then take everything from me."

Ito said calmly, "When you were investigating me, you discovered that Reiko was very interested in crime."

"And you are also Reiko's idol."

Everyone present fell silent.

An icon in the crime world?

Ito continued, "Do you know why Reiko robbed the bank?"

"Why?" Zheng Yi asked cooperatively.

"Because she did it to pay tribute to you."

"what?"

Ito said, "Reiko did have criminal intentions, but not robbing an armored truck."

"She robbed the armored truck because someone told her about one of your crimes."

"That was your first crime in Japan!"

"You robbed a bank of one billion yen and then framed the bank employee, Masami Hirota."

"That's why Reiko decided to use robbing an armored truck as the starting point for her crimes."

Zheng Yi blinked.

Although most of the bank's billion yen was in his own hands.

However, the robbery really had nothing to do with him. (End of Chapter)