Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Shuichi Akai was riding his motorcycle on his way home.

As his motorcycle reached the T-junction, a large, out-of-control freight truck suddenly sped out of an alley on his right.

The truck crashed directly into a white sedan in the middle of the intersection.

"boom--!!"

The violent impact caused the fuel tank to explode, and flames instantly engulfed the white sedan. The shockwave, mixed with shattered glass and heat, slammed into Shuichi Akai, who was waiting at the intersection for the red light.

Shuichi Akai's body reacted instinctively, and at the last second, he dodged to the side, using the motorcycle as cover to protect his head.

In the aftershocks of the explosion, people and vehicles fell to the ground.

A few minutes later, sirens blared through the street.

Inspector Megure and Takagi and others quickly arrived at the scene.

The driver of the white sedan escaped the accident because he was not in the car at the time; he only lost his vehicle.

The truck driver who caused the accident was trapped in the cab and died at the scene.

Shuichi Akai was sitting on the curb by the roadside, draped with a blanket given to him by Officer Takagi.

His face was streaked with black smoke, making him look disheveled.

The red motorcycle lay overturned to the side, its exhaust pipe still emitting black smoke.

"I just wanted to buy some curry to cook at home, why did this happen... cough cough." Shuichi Akai coughed.

Officer Takagi approached with his notebook and asked gently, "Mr. Okiya, you were closest to the accident scene at the time. Did you get a clear view of what happened?"

Shuichi Akai looked up, pushed up his thick-rimmed glasses, and looked confused.
"I was waiting at a red light when that truck suddenly came out."

"Doesn't it have brakes?" Inspector Megure walked over and asked.

"The brake lights didn't seem to be on," Shuichi Akai recalled the details of what had just happened. "And... the driver's posture was strange."

"posture?"

“Yes.” Shuichi Akai pointed to the truck cab, which was completely mangled. “A second before the impact, the driver seemed to be slumped over the steering wheel. Like he was asleep.”

A yellow Volkswagen Beetle was parked on the side of the road. Professor Agasa and Conan rushed over after seeing the flames.

After carefully examining the scene, Conan looked up at the badly damaged truck, then at Shuichi Akai, and suddenly said, "Inspector Megure, isn't this car... a little too new?"

"Huh?" Inspector Megure was taken aback.

Conan pointed to the truck's tires: "The tire treads on this truck are barely worn, which means it just had new tires or is a new truck. However, its chassis and fenders are covered in red mud."

"Red soil?" Officer Takagi leaned closer to take a look.

“There’s no such red soil in Beika Town.” Conan pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting light. “This kind of soil is usually only found at construction sites.”

At that moment, forensic personnel ran over and reported: "Officer! We found a syringe needle in the driver's seat of the truck! And... the brake line was deliberately cut!"

"What?!" Inspector Megure exclaimed in shock.

“I see.” Conan’s voice became calmer. “This was neither an accident nor suicide. It was a murder disguised as an accident.”

Conan turned to Shuichi Akai: "You just said that the driver was slumped over the steering wheel, right?"

“Yes,” Shuichi Akai nodded in agreement, “He looks like he’s unconscious.”

“That’s right,” Conan said. “The murderer first drugged the driver or injected him with some kind of drug that made him lose consciousness, and then cut the brake line.”

He parked his car on the ramp, timed it perfectly, and let the fully loaded truck hurtle towards the intersection like a cannonball, crashing into the white sedan.

Inspector Megure suddenly realized: "In other words, the real culprit is the person who had access to the car and could obtain the drugs!"

Soon, Conan and the police identified the suspect as a business rival of the owner of the white sedan, who was also the manager of the Beika construction site and had all the means to commit the crime.

The truck driver was merely a tool for him to kill, but unfortunately, the person he wanted to kill wasn't killed; instead, the tool died, and the driver was arrested.

The case was solved quickly.

Shuichi Akai's injury was not serious, and he went to work in the lab as usual the next day.

The people in the lab looked at him strangely.

Logically speaking, this wasn't the first time Shuichi Akai had experienced these strange looks.

Because his skill level was so low, unlike Subaru Okiya, these people found him very strange.

But he still pretended to look down on Zheng Yi and that he was unwilling to work for Zheng Yi, thus getting away with it.

As a result, he was subjected to all sorts of strange looks.

Some admired his fearlessness, some despised his pretentious act, and others felt anger and pity.

But today, those gazes have transformed into a complex look at "survivors."

"Have you heard? The car accident yesterday..."

"Shh, keep your voice down, he's over there."

"What's there to be afraid of? He dared to stand right here alive. That was a heavy truck from the Beihu construction site, it rammed right into us!"

"Yeah, why aren't you running? Are you standing here just to mock Zheng Yi's sword for not being sharp?"

Akai Shuichi remained outwardly calm, but his ears twitched slightly as he caught the deliberately hushed voices.

“I heard from a friend in the Metropolitan Police Department that the car’s brake lines were cut and the driver was injected with an anesthetic. This was not an accident; it was murder.”

"And that car was originally going to hit that white sedan, Okiya-kun just happened to be waiting at the red light at that intersection... Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"

"Do you think it might be..."

"Shut up! How can you talk about such things? President Zhengyi may have a strange temper, but he's not that bad."

"No way? Are you kidding me?"

"Ahem, those who frame Mr. Zhengyi will not have a good end."

"That's just Subaru Okiya's bad luck."

Shuichi Akai's pupils contracted slightly.

Originally, he only regarded it as an ordinary traffic accident, or a revenge killing against the driver of the white car.

He didn't connect this matter to himself at all.

But now, listening to these rumors, doubts began to gather in his mind.

"What a lucky escape..."

As a researcher passed by, he couldn't help but mutter in disbelief, "That kind of explosive shockwave only caused him minor injuries; even his glasses didn't break."

Shuichi Akai touched the frame of his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

Of course it didn't break.

At the moment of the explosion, he used his motorcycle as cover to adjust the angle of impact.

Was it because my reaction was too quick that I didn't die?

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have been killed by the shockwave of the explosion.

“Okiya.” A steady voice interrupted his thoughts.

Shuichi Akai immediately suppressed his thoughts, adopting a blank and slightly tired expression as he turned around: "Ah, Professor Igarashi."

Professor Igarashi stood behind him, his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with worry.

He glanced at the whispering researchers around him, waved for them to disperse, and then gestured for Shuichi Akai to follow him to a corner of the corridor.

"I heard about what happened yesterday," Professor Igarashi said in a low voice. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, thanks to you, I was just startled." Shuichi Akai said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry for causing trouble for the lab."

Igarashi stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly sighed: "Do you think this car accident was aimed at you?"

Shuichi Akai gave a vague smile: "How could that be? Who would go to such lengths to run me over with a truck? It was the driver of that white sedan who offended someone."

“You better pray that’s the case.” Professor Igarashi stepped forward. “But whether it’s directed at you or not, you’re in a dangerous situation right now. Okiya, what exactly is your problem with Shoichi? Why do you always act like you’re unwilling to cooperate?”

Shuichi Akai was silent for a moment, then pushed up his glasses, the reflection in the lenses obscuring his eyes: "Professor, I just... am not used to that kind of work style. I think research should be more pure."

It's not that he doesn't want to cooperate, it's that he really doesn't know how.

"Pure?" Igarashi sneered. "There's no room for purity in this industry. What do you think you're upholding? Lofty ideals? Or some ridiculous sense of justice?"

Shuichi Akai did not speak.

Seeing his unyielding attitude, Igarashi's stern expression gradually turned into one of helplessness.

He reached out and patted Shuichi Akai's shoulder heavily.

“Listen, Okiya. I don’t care what you’ve been through in the past, or what principles you’re sticking to.”

Igarashi's voice turned low and serious: "In this world, nothing is more important than life."

"Don't cling to things in vain, and don't have a misplaced sense of justice. Those things are worthless in the face of death."

"Whether it's Zheng Yi, anything else, or even this world, they won't change because of your persistence, but they will mercilessly crush you. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Shuichi Akai said softly. "I'll be careful."

Igarashi gave him a deep look, as if trying to discern something from his face, but in the end he simply shook his head and turned to leave.

“I’ll talk to Mr. Zhengyi again. For my sake, he might forgive you this time.”

"Thank you, teacher." Shuichi Akai said with a helpless expression.

He didn't want it to be like this either.

He also wanted to gain Zheng Yi's trust and then obtain more intelligence, but he really didn't understand these technologies and research.

……

The interior of the Porsche 356A was filled with a strong smell of tobacco.

Gin sat in the passenger seat, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, coldly staring at the blurry street ahead.

"Big brother."

Vodka gripped the steering wheel and cautiously broke the silence.

He glanced at Gin's gloomy face through the rearview mirror and tentatively asked, "Will that graduate student named Subaru Okiya... really agree?"

Gin let out a cold snort, stubbed out his cigarette in the car ashtray with a soft "hiss".

Gin said, "That car accident was enough to bring him to his senses. He should now realize that in this city, without the protection of a powerful figure, killing him would be as easy as stepping on an ant."

“The fear that Shoichi instilled in him was real.” Gin leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on his knees.

"When people are extremely insecure, they will grab onto any straw that is offered to them. And we are that straw that can save their lives."

At this point, Gin looked at Vodka and said, "Also, remember not to tell him about the relationship between Shoichi and us."

Vodka nodded.

That's how it should be.

The organization needs to keep a low profile. If people know that the organization has a relationship with such a high-profile person, how can it maintain a low profile?

Vodka drove to Shuichi Akai's place, knocked on the door, and after Shuichi Akai opened the door, Vodka stretched out a large hand and easily blocked the door.

He had a silly, fake smile on his face.

"I heard you've been in some trouble lately. That car accident... it was really frightening."

"You found out too?"

“In this Beika Town, there’s nothing we don’t know,” Vodka said, squeezing through the crack in the door and lowering his voice.
“Mr. Okiya, you are in a very dangerous situation right now. People who offend Shoichi never have a good ending.”

Shuichi Akai took a step back: "What do you want to do?"

"We want to help you."

Vodka pulled a black business card from his pocket and handed it to Shuichi Akai.

Shuichi Akai stared blankly at the vodka business card.

“A talented person like you shouldn’t be ruined by a nouveau riche like Zheng Yi. We can provide you with protection if you’re willing.”

Shuichi Akai didn't know what to say.

He never expected that he would be able to enter the organization by sheer coincidence.

He looked at Vodka and asked, "Can you really make Zheng Yi stop killing me?"

"of course."

Vodka arrogantly pulled out a newspaper, pointed to the bullet holes in it, and said:
“This is evidence that we fired shots to intimidate him when Zheng Yi wasn’t so advanced yet; we weren’t afraid of him.”

Shuichi Akai was looking at the newspaper.

This happened in Nishitama. At the time, the Tokiwa Group building exploded, and a sniper fired a shot at Shoichi.

Although it didn't hit Zhengyi, the bullet grazed his hair, which certainly had a deterrent effect.

Shuichi Akai's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

It seems that the relationship between the organization and Zheng Yi is not harmonious.

Vodka spoke eloquently, recounting how he had intimidated Zhengyi.

That was their peak moment, a highlight they can never return to, a cherished memory forever.

After telling his story in a good mood, Vodka looked at Shuichi Akai and asked, "So, how about joining us?"

Shuichi Akai thought about it for a long time.

"Judging from your appearance, you guys probably aren't a legitimate gang."

Vodka chuckled: "Under the threat of death, do you still care about this?"

Shuichi Akai nodded, agreeing with Vodka's words.

"Then what do you need me to do?" (End of Chapter)