Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Lunch break at Teitan High School.

Xiaolan was holding two boxes of milk.

"Yingyou." Xiaolan walked over and handed him a carton of milk. "Have you been asking around about your sister lately?"

Hondou Eisuke took the milk, scratching his head somewhat sheepishly: "Yeah, still looking."

He couldn't tell Xiaolan the truth about his sister, so he had to keep it a secret.

Xiao Lan said, "Ying You, I heard that things are really chaotic outside lately."

"Did you know that there have been a lot of suspicious people dressed in black loitering around outside the school these past two days?"

Yingyou paused for a moment, then recalled Xiaolan's words.

He had indeed noticed recently that there were many more people dressed in black outside the school, and he didn't know who they were looking for.

“You live alone out there without any family around, you really need to be careful,” Xiaolan advised him.

"Oh, okay," Hondo Eisuke said, scratching his head.

He instantly thought of the black-clad organization his sister had infiltrated.

Could it be that the organization has discovered something during their investigation and is already looking for him?

If the organization is looking for him, then what's the situation with his sister?
Yingyou's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the milk carton.

Looking at Yingyou's expression, Xiaolan said casually, "Speaking of which, Zhengyi seems to be acting a bit strange lately."

"What strange place?"

Xiao Lan said, "One of his employees was hospitalized, but Brother Zheng stayed with him at the hospital the whole time."

"That's strange, Brother Zheng has never been so considerate to his employees before."

Yingyou's eyes lit up.

Could Xiaolan be referring to her older sister?
Why is my sister in the hospital?

“That’s certainly strange, but it could also be that Zhengyi and that person have a good relationship,” Hondo Eisuke said.

Xiaolan nodded and said, "Maybe."

Hondo Eisuke's eyes flickered.

If it really is someone from the organization coming to his door, his current reckless actions will not only harm himself, but also implicate his sister.

With Zheng Yi protecting her, her sister should be fine for the time being.

It's best to wait quietly for now.

He nodded vigorously to Xiaolan, giving her a reassuring smile: "Thank you for reminding me. I'll be careful. I won't wander around anymore for a while."

Ran nodded: "That's good. If you need anything, you can come to me and Conan anytime."

"Ok!"

……

Inside the cabin of a Porsche 356A.

Gin sat in the driver's seat, his gaze coldly fixed on the road ahead.

“Brother,” Vodka said, “we have a lead on that high school boy you asked me to investigate…”

Gin took the report and opened it.

Vodka stared intently at Gin's face, his voice low: "I followed the route that high school boy took to the TV station and traced it all the way up."

He was last seen near Poirot's Café. And..."

"And what?" Gin asked.

Vodka said in a low voice, "I followed that lead and found that the high school boy had a brief encounter with someone."

"Who?"

Vodka took a deep breath: "Bourbon."

A silence fell over the carriage.

"Bourbon?" A hint of doubt flashed in Gin's eyes. "Are you sure?"

“Confirmed.” Vodka nodded. “I checked the surveillance footage at Poirot Cafe and verified Bourbon’s schedule. That high school boy did indeed have contact with him.”

Gin remained silent for a long time.

Bourbon?

He also has a relationship with the male high school student who is close to Kiel?
Vodka asked cautiously, "Brother, what about Bourbon...?"

“Keep an eye on him,” Gin said coldly. “Don’t alert him. I want to see what he’s up to.”

Vodka nodded quickly: "Yes, brother!"

Gin didn't say anything more, he just stared quietly out the car window.

How did Bourbon get dragged into this?
……

Zheng Yi stood by the window, holding a glass of Coca-Cola with ice in his hand.

“Boss Jundu,” the man said respectfully, “everything has been arranged.”

“Our people deliberately left traces in the surveillance footage near Poirot Cafe, allowing Vodka’s people to follow the trail and find Amuro Tooru.”

The man reported in a low voice, "Furthermore, we also forged a false piece of evidence that Amuro Tooru and that male high school student had a brief encounter in a coffee shop, and placed it in a place where Vodka could easily access it."

The surveillance footage was all fabricated by Zheng Yi's people.

What Vodka saw was all an illusion.

Shoichi asked, "What about Gin?"

"Gin has already seen the report." The man's voice carried a hint of amusement.

"He has now listed Amuro Tooru as a prime suspect, and Vodka is secretly monitoring Poirot Café."

Zheng Yi turned around, walked to the sofa, sat down, and placed the wine glass on the coffee table.

"What's the reaction from Amuro Tooru's side?"

"Amuro Tooru took half a day off today and went to the dental clinic," the man replied.

"He probably already knows that the organization is investigating him, but he hasn't taken any countermeasures yet."

"Go to the dental clinic?"

The man nodded: "It's your dental clinic."

"Oh, that's good." Zheng Yi nodded.

It seems I'm still serving Bourbon.

If Zheng Yi cannot serve everyone, they will be very disappointed.

After the man left, Shoichi continued to shake the ice cubes in his glass. Suddenly, Ai said, "Shoichi, why are you deliberately leading the clues towards Bourbon?"

“I did this because I promised Kir that I would protect her younger brother, Hondo Eisuke,” Shoichi said.

Ai was slightly taken aback, but didn't say anything.

“Since you promised someone, you have to do your job,” Zheng Yi said. “Gin’s mind is full of that ‘unidentified high school boy’ right now.”

If I don't give him someone to suspect, how can he easily shift his attention away from Hondo Eisuke?

"So you chose Bourbon?" Ai looked at him.

Bourbon was really unlucky; he actually became your scapegoat.

"Why not choose him?" Zheng Yi's lips curled up.

"Bourbon is known throughout the organization as a brilliant person. His intelligence, reasoning, and adaptability are all top-notch."

Ai blinked.

and then?
What does praising Bourbon have to do with framing him?
Zheng Yi explained slowly and deliberately: "If I frame him, he will definitely realize it. And with his intelligence, he will definitely be able to find the perfect evidence to clear his name before Gin makes a move."

Shoichi is a kind person and doesn't want anyone to be killed by Gin because of his suspicions.

So he pulled out the clever Bourbon.

If it were Bourbon, he would definitely be able to turn the situation around.

Ai fell silent.

He was really unlucky.

Because he was too smart, he was thrown out as a scapegoat.

Zheng Yi shrugged: "The capable should do more."

Xiao Ai's lips twitched.

I never imagined that the principle of "the capable should do more" could be applied in this way.

Poirot Cafe.

Amuro Tooru, wearing an apron and carrying a porcelain plate, was delivering a freshly baked blueberry pie to the guest's table.

He wore that signature warm smile, like a sunny waiter who loved his job.

Enjoy your blueberry pie.

After seeing the guests off, Amuro Tooru returned to the bar and habitually reached for the coffee pot.

"hiss--"

Amuro Tooru gasped, his brows furrowing in pain.

"Why does my tooth suddenly hurt?" He covered his mouth, feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Just then, his cell phone vibrated slightly in his pocket.

Amuro Tooru, enduring the throbbing pain in his cheek, glanced at the content on the screen.

"What the hell?"

Is Gin investigating him?
Because of a male high school student?
Amuro Tooru's mind raced.

He thought for a long time but couldn't remember who the male high school student he had been in contact with was.

Has he been in contact with any suspicious high school students recently?

It seems not.

"hiss……"

Another wave of toothache struck.

He glanced at the time on his phone.

March 21st?

Bourbon thought back carefully. He did work at the coffee shop that day, but he didn't seem to have come into contact with any suspicious high school students.
wrong!

His pupils contracted.

He didn't come into contact with any suspicious high school students that day, but he met Kazama here.

Now Gin is investigating him, and if they find out he met with the police, he'll be exposed.

"How unlucky can I be?" Bourbon said softly.

Because of this unexpected disaster, I hope Gin doesn't actually uncover something terrible.

"What bad luck."

Night had fallen, and Poirot Cafe was already closed.

Amuro Tooru stood behind the bar, holding a clean rag in his hand, carefully wiping the countertop.

On March 21st, when Kazami Yuya disguised himself as a deliveryman to hand over information, the two had a brief conversation near the bar, even though it was a short time.

If Gin's people really retrieved the surveillance footage from that day, even if they only saw Kazami's back or noticed that he lingered at the bar for a few seconds longer than a normal deliveryman, it would be enough to arouse suspicion.

He had to make sure that every trace of that day was completely erased.

Amuro Tooru narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind rapidly replaying the details of that day.

Which door did Kazami enter through? How long did he stay at the bar? Which route did he take when he left?

He checked the surveillance footage one by one, and in the footage, Kazami's face was completely covered by a hat and mask, and his figure was also wrapped in a large delivery uniform, so it was impossible to tell who he was.

But Amuro Tooru was still worried.

Bourbon sneaks into the police station.

He skillfully moved a folding ladder over and set it up in the corner where the monitoring host was located.

He opened the storage room door, locked it from the inside, and then took a miniature flashlight out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.

The beam of the flashlight shone on the monitoring host.

He pulled up the surveillance footage from the area near the coffee shop, played the footage from March 21st, took out a specially made USB flash drive, and inserted it into the host computer's interface.

The video was quickly replaced.

He used editing software to perfectly replace the other scenes with the ten or so seconds that Kazami appeared.

Furthermore, he fine-tuned the timestamps of the entire video to ensure a seamless transition between the beginning and end.

After doing all this, he did not quit immediately.

He stared at the screen, his gaze sweeping across the face of every guest in the video, trying to see if the high school student Gin wanted to investigate was among them.

But after looking for a while, I still couldn't find anyone who matched my criteria.

After leaving, Bourbon returned to the cafe, walked to the outside of the bar, squatted down, and checked the trash can.

There was only ordinary kitchen waste inside; nothing that could possibly reveal Kazami's identity.

He looked up at the surveillance camera on the ceiling again to confirm that the angle had not been changed.

Everything is fine.

Amuro Tooru stood up and walked to the window, still feeling uneasy, afraid that Gin might notice something amiss.

Meanwhile, inside the Porsche 356A.

“Brother…” Vodka said, “The people we sent out to investigate Bourbon today found that he spent the whole day in the coffee shop.”

He cleaned every corner, checked all the trash cans, and even readjusted the angle of the security cameras.

He paused for a moment: "It looks like he's cleaning up some kind of trace."

"Clean up the traces?" Gin asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

“Confirmed,” Vodka said. “Our men say Bourbon’s movements are very careful and his behavior is suspicious.”

Gin remained silent for a long time.

Clean up the traces.

Why did he try to cover up the evidence? What was he hiding?
"Interesting." Gin sneered, a dangerous smile playing on his lips.

“It seems we’ve alerted him.” Gin said coldly. “Then we don’t need to worry about him. Continue the investigation. I want to see who he met on March 21st.”

Vodka nodded quickly: "Yes, brother!"

Vodka whispered again, "Brother, is it possible that it's related to Zheng Yi?"

Gin nodded.

Bourbon and Gil both had close ties with Zheng Yi, so it's quite normal for them to have some kind of collusion.

"Don't worry about Shoichi for now," Gin instructed.

Zheng Yi has too many tricks up his sleeve, and it's easy for him to cover things up, making it very difficult to find anything by investigating him.

Those people he sent out to spy on Shoichi were just people Gin used to annoy Shoichi.

Moreover, many of those people are quite suspicious; they may be spies sent by other forces into the organization. Gin also had some intention of using someone else to do his dirty work.

If they were killed by Zheng Yi, it would save us the trouble of identifying these people.

"Beep beep beep~"

Vodka's phone rang.

After listening to the report from the other end, he said to Gin, "Boss, our men infiltrated the police station and found that the surveillance cameras near that coffee shop have been tampered with."

"Ok?"

Vodka said, "For a period of time, the surveillance footage was replaced by another video, and that footage can no longer be found."

"The exact time?" Gin asked.

"March 21, 10:25."

Gin said coldly, "So, that high school student must have been looking for Bourbon around that time?"

"It must have been around that time."

Gin gave a cold laugh.

Bourbon is definitely a problem.

However, now that the investigation has reached this level, the high school student can no longer hide the truth.

"Go find the other customers who were in the café during that time and find out who that high school student is," Gin ordered.

"Yes!" (End of Chapter)