Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

"Okay, Megure Police Department."

"..."

After listening to Ryūno's explanation, Inspector Megure asked the group some more questions and learned the whole story.

Because the perpetrator, Ms. Kikue Tanaka, confessed to what she had done without any attempt to hide it.

Therefore, after taking the basic statements, Inspector Megure took Tatsuno and the others down the mountain and then left by helicopter.

Soon after, Longye arrived at a pizza shop, intending to have some extra food.

When the "suspension bridge spontaneously combusted" incident occurred, everyone had only eaten half of their dinner. By the time they returned to the living room, they were distracted by the fact that "the landline had been vandalized" and "Kaito Kid was right next to me," and had completely forgotten about eating.

The food on the table had long since gone cold.

Seeing that the matter was over, Sonoko immediately suggested that they go get a late-night snack together. The suggestion was immediately agreed upon by Tatsuno and Ran.

"Mmm! Ah~ So delicious!"

"Yuanzi, eat slowly~"

Seeing that Sonoko swallowed half a pizza whole, Ran immediately reminded her.

Just after reminding her, Xiaolan remembered what Sonoko had said that afternoon and asked in confusion, "By the way, Sonoko, what did you say about your sister when you were on the terrace this afternoon?"

Upon hearing this, Sonoko picked up the cup beside her and swallowed the food in her mouth with a large gulp of iced barley tea: "Oh right, I almost forgot to tell you! Actually, my sister is in big trouble lately!!"

"Big trouble?" X2

"That's right, it's a 'blind date'!! My sister is almost graduating with her master's degree, but she still doesn't have a boyfriend. My mom seems to be planning to arrange blind dates for her with three men from the Tomizawa Group..."

Upon hearing this, Longye and Xiaolan exchanged a glance and understood the general situation.

Although Sonoko used an exaggerated word like "big trouble" to describe it, it actually meant that Sonoko's mother was preparing to introduce a potential partner to her older sister.

Next, through Sonoko's tearful explanation, Tatsuno and Ran gained a deeper understanding of the matter.

The Suzuki family's direct line of members is very simple, consisting only of Sonoko's father, Shiro Suzuki, and her uncle, Jirokichi Suzuki.

So far, Shiro Suzuki has only two daughters, Sonoko and Ayako.

Jirokichi Suzuki, on the other hand, is a man who likes to "travel the world" and "challenge himself everywhere." He doesn't even have a girlfriend, let alone a daughter.

This raises a serious problem—the Suzuki Group has no publicly known male heir.

This problem sounds simple, like it's not a big deal.

But in reality, wherever there are people, there will be conflict. This is especially true for an "organization" like the Suzuki Group, which involves enormous interests!

As the "leader" of the conglomerate, the fact that the Suzuki family hasn't designated an heir in the short term isn't a problem. After all, Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki are currently in good health and can likely remain in their current positions for a long time.

However, if a successor is not identified for a long time, the group will inevitably become unstable and even generate dissenting voices!

Even loyal "veterans" of the conglomerate will inevitably clash over the issue of succession. In the end, the conglomerate will split into many factions, each wanting to support someone who can bring them personal benefits to take over.

Given enough time, the Suzuki Group will inevitably collapse from within.

It has nothing to do with loyalty, it's just human nature.

In recent years, Sonoko's parents have clearly become aware of this problem and are preparing to seek a "solution".

The simplest of all solutions is to have the daughter's husband take on the "important responsibility" and take over the Suzuki Group.

Sonoko's older sister, Ayako, is the eldest daughter in her family, and her marriage partner is the top candidate to inherit the conglomerate!

Initially, Sonoko's mother had no intention of interfering in her daughter's "marriage issues." As long as her daughter was happy, it was her freedom to marry whomever she wanted.

Anyway, she and Sonoko's father aren't that old, so even if their son-in-law is incompetent, there are ways to solve the problem. At worst, they can personally teach him how to manage the company and cultivate his abilities.

What worries Tomoko Suzuki is that her eldest daughter still hasn't found a marriage partner. In fact, she's grown up without ever having experienced even the simplest form of romance!

Tomoko Suzuki also subtly brought up the topic with Sonoko's older sister, but the responses were always the same: "I don't want to find someone," and "I don't have anyone I like."

Left with no other option, Tomoko Suzuki decided to take matters into her own hands and choose a suitable partner for him.

Because the Suzuki Group and the Tomizawa Group have always had a good relationship, the third son of the Tomizawa Group was immediately listed by Suzuki Tomoko as Ayako's first choice for a blind date.

……

After listening to Sonoko's account, Ran asked curiously, "What did Ayako-neechan say?"

Sonoko glanced quickly at Ryūno, then shook her head and said, "My sister doesn't like that person at all, and besides, she doesn't want to choose her future husband this way..."

"That's true..." Hearing this, Xiaolan nodded and sighed.

Put yourself in their shoes, who would want to find their future partner through "blind dates"?

Moreover, all of this is so that someone can inherit the conglomerate...

It's less about finding a partner for oneself and more about finding a partner for a "conglomerate".

Chapter 219: A ray of hope?

After a brief silence, Sonoko continued, head bowed, "From childhood to adulthood, my sister has always been very gentle and easygoing. Even with arranged marriages like this, if it were proposed by my parents, she would never refuse. But this time..."

At this point, Sonoko sighed and bowed her head to Ryuno and Ran, saying, "Ryuno, Ran, could you please help me think of a way? This is the first time my sister has asked me for help, and I don't want to disappoint her... Please!!!"

Seeing this, Ran immediately reached out and grabbed Sonoko's hand: "Seriously, Sonoko, you're suddenly so formal, it's making me a little uncomfortable~ Don't worry, we'll definitely help you figure something out! Right, Ryūno?"

"Yes, don't worry, Sonoko."

After hearing their answers, Sonoko immediately smiled: "As expected of my best friend! Well then... I'll eat two more slices of pizza first, I'm getting a little hungry from talking about this~"

Seeing Sonoko's comical appearance, Ran couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

……

same moment

Downstairs of the Mori Detective Agency.

The moment Conan saw the caller ID, he ran downstairs to the agency and nervously pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Doctor..."

"Shinichi, I've found out! No wonder the name 'Itakura Suguru' sounded familiar. He's a very famous CG artist; you often see his name in the movie credits!"

However, about three years ago, he seemed to have developed some kind of eye problem, and since then he hasn't done any CG-related work. He seems to have switched careers to become a game systems engineer.

Upon hearing this, Conan immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Doctor! I'm coming to you right now! We'll..."

Before he could finish speaking, the professor interrupted, "Hey Shinichi, please spare me! It's already nine o'clock at night! Anzu... no, your Aunt Fusae is getting ready for bed. Let's talk about it tomorrow, let's talk about it tomorrow~"

After saying that, the doctor hung up the phone.

— "Beep beep beep"

Hearing the beeping sound from his phone, Conan gazed wistfully at the night sky: "Doctor, you really have changed..."

……

The next morning

Conan arrived at Dr. Agasa's house.

Seeing Conan's anxious expression, Professor Agasa sighed helplessly: "Judging from your state, I have no choice but to talk to you... So, what are you planning to do?"

Seeing the professor nod, Conan immediately analyzed, "Although I don't know what the organization wants this Itakura Suguru for, since he's a software engineer, the organization probably wants him to create some kind of software..."

Judging from their conversation, both he and we don't have much time left! We must find him quickly and get as much information as possible from him!

Seeing that Conan was getting more and more excited, Professor Agasa immediately interrupted, "Now that I've found out his address, why don't we just go to his house and take a look?"

"Yes! That's the only thing we can do for now!"

……

Twenty minutes later, Professor Agasa drove Conan to a house near Beika Station.

After looking at the surnames on the doorplate, Conan and Dr. Agasa rang the doorbell.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong"

After waiting for a long time, there was still no movement inside the house.

Just as Conan was about to climb into the house, the neighbor lady, who was sweeping the floor, came over: "Mr. Itakura left two days ago, probably on vacation. He hasn't come back yet. His mailbox is full; I've been collecting the newspapers for him these past two days."

Upon hearing this, Conan and Dr. Agasa immediately turned to look at the mailbox on the side.

After Dr. Agasa opened the lid, he found it was already filled with newspapers. He immediately realized that his neighbor was right. He looked at Conan beside him and whispered, "Shinichi, what do we do now?"

Conan: "..."

After a moment of silence, Conan glanced reluctantly at the house in front of him, gritted his teeth, and said, "Let's go back first..."

After saying that, Conan got into the car and sat in the passenger seat.

The doctor shrugged and got into the car.

"Shinichi, aren't you going to sneak in and check things out?"

A flicker of interest crossed Conan's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "No, Professor. Since he chose to leave right after contacting the organization, he must have taken some relevant data with him. Even if we go in now, we probably won't find anything..."

"Okay, then I'll drive back."

After saying that, Professor Agasa started the car and drove away.

After dropping Conan off at the Mouri Detective Agency, Professor Agasa drove to the vicinity of Beika TV Station to help out at Fusae's shop.

After entering the room, Conan sat absentmindedly on the sofa, a feeling of resentment spreading through his heart.

The clue we finally found has become meaningless... Damn it!!

—"Ring ring, ring ring"

Just then, the firm's landline rang.

Conan stepped forward and answered the phone: "Hello, this is the Mouri Detective Agency... What?! A game software engineer?!"

Upon hearing this, Conan's eyes suddenly lit up with surprise: "I'll pass on your message to Uncle Mori right away. You can come anytime!"

After hanging up the phone, Conan's initial resentment had vanished, replaced by a joyful excitement.

Unexpectedly, just after losing an important clue, I received such a coincidental request!

The client on the phone wanted Uncle Mori's help in finding a missing game engineer who had apparently disappeared in the last couple of days.

If I'm not mistaken, the client on the phone just now mentioned Itakura Taku, the one he's looking for!