Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Police cars from the Metropolitan Police Department, their red and blue lights flashing, pulled up in front of the Kurokawa Trading Building.

Inspector Megure and a large number of officers cordoned off the scene, while Kogoro Mouri arrived with Ran.

"Conan, what are you doing here?" Ran asked in surprise when she saw Conan.

"Yeah, kid."

Kogoro also looked at Conan, thinking, "That brat is everywhere."

Then he glanced at Zheng Yi again and immediately wanted to run away.

Meeting Zheng Yi at the crime scene, he could almost imagine how the news would report it tomorrow.

Fortunately, Xiaolan managed to hold him back, preventing the famous detective from escaping.

Conan tugged at Masakazu's sleeve and said, "I'm here with Masakazu to collect a debt."

"Yes," Tanikawa said, taking full responsibility, "I'm the one who dragged Conan here."

Xiaolan nodded, seemingly believing it.

The atmosphere became tense after the police arrived.

As soon as Officer Sato saw Masakazu standing in the corridor with his hands in his pockets, his brows furrowed and his eyes sharpened instantly.

Almost instinctively, she took a step forward, staring intently at Zheng Yi, her mind already racing with a hundred conspiracy theories about "ruthless tycoons resorting to any means to collect debts."

A full one hundred kinds.

Seeing this, Takagi was startled and quickly grabbed Sato's arm, whispering and desperately trying to signal him with her eyes:

"Miwako, calm down, don't look at me so rudely! Mr. Seiichi came here to ask for money, but now that he's dead, who is he going to ask for money from now!"

“But…” Sato still didn’t look away.

Just then, another young police officer came over from the side, grabbed Takagi's sleeve, and covered his mouth while chuckling, "Takagi-senpai, you've misunderstood. Look at Sato-senpai's eyes, that's not suspicion at all, that's clearly enthusiasm..."

"Shut up!" Sato glared at the young police officer through gritted teeth.

Damn rumors, so many people still believe them.

“That’s right!” Takagi also whispered, “Don’t believe these baseless rumors.”

"Okay, okay," the officer said nonchalantly.

Sato reluctantly looked away, but his peripheral vision still held a hint of wariness as he glanced at Masakazu.

After listening to the police's initial investigation and the statements of several employees, Kogoro Mouri stroked his chin and fixed his gaze on a middle-aged man in the crowd whose eyes were darting around.

"There's only one truth!" Kogoro Mouri pointed sharply at the man and began his reasoning with an imposing aura.

"You are the murderer, Mr. Tanaka, an employee of the company!"

Tanaka was stunned for a moment, then frantically waved his hands: "No, it wasn't me, I absolutely didn't kill anyone!"
I was making coffee in the break room, why would I put poison in the hallway?
You can't wrong me just because I have some complaints about the club president!

"Still trying to deny it!" Kogoro Mori sneered, pressing closer.
"You have been exploited by President Kurokawa for a long time. Not only is your salary meager, but you also have to bear many of his unreasonable demands."

“No,” Tanaka said. “I’m not the only one being oppressed by the president. Mr. Mori can go and ask around; is there anyone who hasn’t been oppressed by the president?”

He felt extremely wronged.

Everyone was clearly being oppressed by the president, secretly cursing him, and many even made threats to kill him.

Why did you choose me of all people?
Kogoro Mouri looked around at the other employees, who all nodded in agreement.

His lips twitched.

It seems that President Kurokawa is not very popular within the company.

Kogoro asked, "If that's the case, why don't you change jobs?"

"It's so hard to find a job."

"My previous boss was even worse than President Kurokawa."

"They're about the same."

Kogoro couldn't find any words to comfort him with such a reply. It was better to be a freelancer like him, without a boss.

"Ahem," Kogoro said, "Anyway, Tanaka, you have a motive."

"Moreover, before the incident, you made an excuse to go to the restroom, but actually placed a capsule containing a highly toxic substance in the corner of the corridor."

When the president hurriedly left his office after finishing the phone call, he accidentally kicked the capsule, causing the toxic gas to evaporate instantly, resulting in his immediate death!
And you, in order to create an alibi, deliberately argued loudly with your colleagues at the time of the incident, attracting everyone's attention!

"I……"

Tanaka opened his mouth, trying to make a final struggle, but seeing the suspicious looks from the police around him and Kogoro Mouri's undeniable reasoning, his mental defenses completely collapsed.

His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, covering his face and weeping bitterly.

“It was me… He forced me to do it! He not only withheld our wages, but also forced us to sign unreasonable contracts. If we didn’t comply, he would threaten to make it impossible for us to work in this industry. I’ve really had enough…”

Inspector Megure immediately stepped forward and found residual poison powder in Tanaka's pocket. With both witnesses and physical evidence, the case was quickly solved.

"Well done, Mori!" Inspector Megure nodded in satisfaction.

I never expected that Mori could solve the case without even falling asleep.

Amazing.

Sato kept frowning.

That was so easy.

The case was solved too easily.

Kogoro Mouri didn't even fall asleep, and Shoichi didn't say a word before the culprit was caught.

Xiaolan also frowned.

When did Dad become so amazing?

Has Dad's crime-solving skills improved that much?

Ran unconsciously looked at Conan.

Ok?
Where's Conan?
Conan had already run to the office and squatted down next to the desk. In an inconspicuous corner, he found an extremely tiny scratch and a very faint chemical smell in the air.

He quietly memorized these details.

Outside the corridor, Shoichi simply didn't believe Kogoro Mouri's reasoning.

This guy is so smug right now, he looks like a petty tyrant who's gotten away with something, he doesn't seem reliable at all.

He walked into the office and asked Conan inside, "Is Kogoro Mouri's deduction reliable?"

"Of course it's reliable."

Conan said, "Mr. Tanaka really wanted to kill President Kurokawa, and he really did plant a poison sac."

"However, the one who truly killed President Kurokawa may not have been Mr. Tanaka."

The truth behind this case is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

Conan said seriously, "Was everything too smooth? I've been a detective for so many years and I've never encountered such a crude murder method. That Tanaka is just a scapegoat pushed to the forefront."

Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.

The methods were crude, so do you think there's a mastermind behind it all?

Although the reason is rather far-fetched, it would be quite normal in a mystery anime.

"Oh? You mean the real mastermind is someone else?"

"of course."

In the corridor,
"Alright, the culprit has been caught, we can call it a day," Inspector Megure said.

Just as the police were about to leave, Conan stepped out, raised his watch, and pointed it at Kogoro Mouri's neck.

"Dad, come here for a second." 'Oh no!'

Ran pulled Kogoro Mouri, and the tranquilizer dart bypassed Kogoro and went straight into Officer Takagi's neck.

Takagi subconsciously reached out and touched it, and then an irresistible wave of drowsiness washed over her, causing her legs to buckle and her to collapse onto the floor.

"Takagi?!"

Officer Sato was startled and rushed over to support him.

Conan, disregarding everything else, tried to help Takagi up, but instead hid behind him and spoke in Takagi's voice:
"The murderer is not Mr. Tanaka; he is merely a scapegoat!"

"scapegoat?"

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it.

Sato, in particular, couldn't stand the word "scapegoat."

She tensed up instantly, shielding Takagi's front to prevent him from being suddenly attacked.

Zheng Yi reacted strongly, asking Takagi, "Officer Takagi, don't talk nonsense. Don't you believe Detective Mouri's reasoning?"

Seeing Shoichi's strong reaction, Sato stood firmly in front of Takagi.

He was scared!
He finally got scared!

Meanwhile, Conan, hiding behind Takagi, secretly marveled at how well Zheng Yi could play the straight man.

"The murderer isn't Tanaka?" Inspector Megure was stunned. "But the evidence is conclusive..."

"That's fabricated evidence!" Takagi said, head bowed, his mouth agape.

"The poison sac that Tanaka confessed to contained an acute poison that could kill someone on the spot."

If Mr. Tanaka had been poisoned by this venom sac, his face should have turned bluish-purple, but Mr. Kurokawa's complexion didn't seem to resemble that.

These words caused an uproar in the audience.

Inspector Megure walked up to Kurokawa's body, examined it, and said, "It really isn't bluish-purple."

"Then... what is the real method of the crime?" Inspector Megure asked instinctively.

"The real method of the crime is a premeditated 'slow murder'."

The sleeping Takagi continued his reasoning: "The murderer didn't need to place any poison sacs in the corridor."

His real killer move was to place a chemical with a trace of odor in President Kurokawa's office beforehand.

This medicine usually has an extremely faint smell, almost undetectable, but President Kurokawa spends seven or eight hours a day in his office.

Prolonged inhalation will cause the toxins to accumulate in the body, eventually leading to an acute attack and immediate death!

Everyone listened quietly to Takagi's reasoning.

Sato frowned, sensing that Takagi's reasoning was not quite what she had expected.

"And there's only one person who could do all that, and enter President Kurokawa's office without him being on guard—"

Takagi's voice suddenly rose in pitch:

"That's another partner in this company, the vice president of Kurokawa Trading, you!"

All eyes turned to the vice president, who stood at the back of the crowd, his head bowed, looking honest and unassuming.

The vice president's expression changed, and he subconsciously took a step back: "You, you're talking nonsense! What evidence do you have? Kurokawa and I are such good friends, how could I possibly poison someone in my own office?!"

"evidence?"

"Do you think you've solved everything by throwing that aromatherapy bottle containing chemicals into the trash can downstairs?"
You forgot, President Kurokawa received a phone call before he died. I vaguely heard a bit of what was said in that call; it sounded like someone was asking President Kurokawa for money.

President Kurokawa looked troubled and said that some company funds had been misappropriated, and he was investigating.

The vice president gritted his teeth, still making a last-ditch effort: "I didn't! What makes you think I embezzled funds? What evidence do you have?!"

“The evidence is in my pocket,” Takagi said.

Conan jumped out from behind Takagi, rummaged in his pocket, and pulled out a receipt.

"Huh? Uncle, it seems President Kurokawa has already found out that you embezzled company funds, and there are records of how much you embezzled," Conan said.

"Let me see."

Inspector Megure walked up to Conan, took his piece of evidence, and looked at it.

After watching it, I kept clicking my tongue in amazement.

Wow, they actually embezzled 1 billion yen. They're incredibly audacious.

It would be strange if the company president could keep such a large amount of money a secret from them.

Conan then shrank behind Takagi again.

Ran had no interest in the case's reasoning and secretly watched a small foot peeking out from behind Takagi.

She then looked at Kogoro Mouri's neck.

Judging from my father's condition, even in the summer, he would need to wear a scarf.

The vice president's face fell completely.

His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself, his face ashen: "Impossible, I hid so well, I prepared for so long..."

Inspector Megure immediately stepped forward.

"Take him away!" Inspector Megure waved his hand, and several policemen came up and handcuffed the vice president.

The vice president was taken away, feeling utterly hopeless.

Seeing the vice president being taken away, Tanaka whispered, "Since I'm not the murderer, can you let me go?"

"No."

Inspector Megure shattered his illusions.

Although you didn't kill Kurokawa, you still committed the act of murder, which constitutes attempted murder.

Let the court decide how to handle the case; just arrest him first.

Conan slipped away from behind Takagi, while Sato kept shaking Takagi's body.

"Takagi, Takagi, wake up!"

Masahiro said to Sato, "Officer Takagi fainted because he overused his brain while making the deductions."

Conan was taken aback, not expecting such an explanation. He replied, "That's right, that's exactly it."

"Oh, I see."

Xiaolan walked over and said with a half-smile, "My dad used to be like this. It turns out his brain was too tired, so he fell asleep."

“That’s right, that’s right.” Conan nodded repeatedly.

Masakazu patted Conan's head.

You're even nodding.

Xiaolan looks like she wants to rip your head off.

Ran patted Conan's head affectionately and said to him, "Conan, now that the case is solved, come home with me."

"Uh~"

Conan hesitated, not wanting to go back.

The company's president and vice president are both absent, making it the perfect time to conduct an investigation.

But seeing Ran's kind and gentle appearance, Conan obediently nodded.

He always listened to Xiaolan. (End of Chapter)