Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Thinking of this, Conan immediately rushed into Uncle Mori's bedroom: "Uncle, wake up! The client is coming soon!"

Hearing Conan's commotion, Kogoro Mouri opened one eye: "Kid! Don't you know I played mahjong until dawn yesterday?! What are you yelling about!"

Conan: "..."

……

at the same time

Inside the Suzuki residence.

"Isn't this Young Master Ryuno and Miss Ran? It's been a long time! Are you two here as guests today?"

After opening the courtyard gate for Longye and his two companions, the old butler immediately stepped forward and greeted them.

Before Ryuno and Ran could reply, Sonoko stepped forward and asked, "Grandpa Kato, is my sister home?"

"Miss Ayako and the master just went out to attend a party hosted by the Tomizawa Ginseng Group."

"What?! Grandpa Kato, can you drive us there now?"

"Of course~"

After hearing the garden's request, the old butler immediately took out a walkie-talkie from his pocket: "Get the car ready, Miss is going out."

After giving his instructions, the old butler glanced at the attire of Longye and the other two: "Before the carriage is ready, please come with me to change your clothes. Your current attire doesn't fully reflect your elegance."

Chapter 220 Banquets always have "performances"

Half an hour later, the old butler looked at Longye and the other two dressed in formal attire and nodded with satisfaction.

"The car has been waiting for you, please follow me~"

Led by the old butler, Longye and his two companions got into the car.

Just as Sonoko was about to wave goodbye to the old butler, he suddenly opened the driver's side door and grabbed the driver's shoulder: "Your job is done here. I'll take care of Miss and the others from now on."

Driver: "But...aren't you supposed to go to the front yard to check on the gardener's work?"

Seeing the driver's hesitant expression, the old butler took off the gold-rimmed monocle on his right eye, then took out a handkerchief from his coat pocket and gently wiped the lens.

"Oh? Thank you for reminding me. Then please go and check it for me."

"Huh? But this..."

Seeing the driver's hesitant expression, the old butler stopped wiping his glasses and stared intently at the driver with his already wide-open eyes: "Hmm?"

"Okay, okay! I understand!"

Under such intimidating gazes, the driver immediately gave in. He hurriedly got out of the driver's seat and walked quickly towards the front yard.

Seeing this, the old butler nodded in satisfaction, put the handkerchief back in his pocket, put on his glasses, and put on a gentle smile: "Miss Sonoko, we can set off now~"

Sonoko: "Okay, Grandpa Kato..."

After saying that, Sonoko winked at Ran beside her, then gently shook her head, as if to say that she had never seen the old housekeeper's "face" before.

Soon after, Longye and his group arrived at the Tomizawa family's house, where a huge red and white mansion came into view.

Even compared to the Suzuki Mansion, this mansion is in no way inferior in size.

"Speaking of which, the Tomizawa Group used to be quite powerful; it was one of the first conglomerates to enter the clothing and real estate industries," Sonoko explained to Tatsuno and Ran.

"But now it's 'sunset' and can't compare to top conglomerates like the Suzuki Group at all."

As soon as Yuanzi finished speaking, a man with slightly dark skin and a mustache walked towards the group with a smile.

"It's been a long time, Ms. Sonoko. And who are these two people beside you?"

"Oh, it's Brother Taiichi!" Sonoko greeted the man with a smile upon seeing his face.

Then they introduced themselves: "This is Uncle Tetsuji Tomizawa's eldest son, Taichi Tomizawa. And these two are my friends, Ran and Tatsuno~"

"Nice to meet you~" X2

After exchanging greetings, Sonoko laughed and said, "Taiichi-nii, you're still the same as ever, completely uninterested in the business of conglomerates."

"Hehe, what can I say? I'm only interested in writing. Anyway, you guys can wander around here as you like, I have some things to do~"

After saying that, Tomizawa Tai glanced at his phone and then walked away.

Sonoko looked at him and explained to Ryuno and Ran, "This Tomizawa Taiichi has absolutely no interest in taking over the conglomerate; he's always wanted to be a novelist. He's argued with his father about it countless times..."

At this point, Sonoko sighed, "Actually, I can understand his thinking. What's the point of having a conglomerate? Why does it have to be inherited..."

Seeing Sonoko's dejected expression, Ran immediately tugged at Ryuno's sleeve.

Ryūno nodded and began to speak earnestly about the "grand principles": "The conglomerate itself may not mean much. But Sonoko, the conglomerate is not just an individual's 'ownership.' For the employees working under the conglomerate, the conglomerate is undoubtedly their guarantee of livelihood, and each employee also has their own family."

If no one takes over the conglomerate, its internal affairs will inevitably descend into chaos, and it may even collapse. If the conglomerate disappears, it will undoubtedly be a major disaster for the employees working within its umbrella and their families.

After listening to Ryuno's "speech," Sonoko turned to look at him, her upper lip slightly parted. But before she could speak, a strong, mature woman's voice of praise rang out in everyone's ears.

"Well said!!!"

Upon hearing the praise, Longye and the other two immediately looked ahead.

Sonoko's parents, her older sister, and a slightly overweight man she didn't recognize walked straight up to the group.

Upon seeing Suzuki Tomoko standing in front of the group, Sonoko was slightly startled: "Mom?"

Tomoko Suzuki glanced at Sonoko, then turned to Ryuno: "Ryuno, you're right. The significance of a conglomerate is far greater than most people imagine. As the helmsman of a conglomerate, the responsibility and pressure on one's shoulders are immense!"

The man beside him chimed in, "Yes, if only my three sons could understand this! If they did, I wouldn't have to worry about them anymore!"

"Sonoko, what brings you here?"

"..."

With Sonoko's introduction, Tatsuno and Ran learned the identity of the stranger in front of them: he was the head of the Tomizawa Group—Tomizawa Tetsuji.

He has three sons. The eldest son is Tomizawa Taichi, the second son is Tomizawa Tatsuji, and the third son is Tomizawa Tatsuzo, who is also the person Sonoko is going to meet this time.

Suzuki Tomoko frowned as she watched Sonoko excitedly introducing everyone's identities to Ryūno and Ran.

Although this was nominally a small gathering spontaneously organized by the Tomizawa family, the attendees were all from companies with good relations with the Tomizawa Group.

But in reality, many people at the scene knew that this was actually a "matchmaking event." The two people on the matchmaking were the third son of the Tomizawa Group and the eldest daughter of the Suzuki Group.

This was precisely the reason why Tomoko Suzuki didn't invite Sonoko.

Neither Ayako nor Sonoko agreed to the blind date.

To prevent Sonoko from saying or doing anything impolite, Tomoko Suzuki deliberately didn't tell her about the "gathering." Even Ayako only found out about the "gathering" before leaving home today.

But now that Sonoko is already here, then...

Thinking of this, Tomoko Suzuki rubbed her temples helplessly, afraid that Sonoko would "reveal her secret" on the spot.

……

Soon after, everyone sat down at the dining table in the hall and enjoyed the exquisite dishes on the table.

Seeing her daughter Ayako, who was eating with her head down but whose gaze kept drifting in another direction, Suzuki Tomoko suddenly realized something. Following her daughter's gaze, she saw Tatsuno and his two companions laughing in her line of sight.

After carefully checking, Tomoko Suzuki looked at Tatsuno and frowned.

"Could it be?! No wonder Ayako unusually rejected the blind date suggestion. But this..."

Thinking of this, she glanced at Longye and Xiaolan, who were in a "perfect atmosphere," and sighed, covering her face.

--"boom!"

Just as she was pondering what to do about the situation, a small but very close collision sound rang in her ears.

Chapter 221 Several Gunshots

Clearly, Suzuki Tomoko wasn't the only one who heard the sound.

Upon hearing the noise, everyone present turned their heads toward the table where Tomoko Suzuki was sitting.

At this moment, Tomizawa Tetsuji's upper body was slumped tightly onto the table. The thud that everyone had just heard seemed to have come from when Mr. Tomizawa collapsed onto the table.

Everyone present was clearly shocked by what they saw.

"Dad!?" X3

"Chairman Tomizawa!"

"Mr. Tomizawa! What's wrong?!"

Shiro Suzuki, who was standing next to him, immediately stepped forward to check on Tetsuji Tomizawa's condition.

A moment later, Shiro Suzuki closed his eyes and shook his head: "It's no use, he seems to be... Call an ambulance and the police quickly!"

"boom!!"

Just as everyone was about to take out their phones to make a call, a gunshot from the lobby entrance interrupted their actions.

After the gunshot, everyone looked in horror toward the entrance of the hall, where three armed men walked in.

The moment he saw the three of them, Tomizawa Taichi's expression changed instantly.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the leader spoke up: "Everyone, put your hands up! If I see anyone making any moves... Hmph!"

After speaking, the leader spotted Tomizawa Taichi in the crowd, then slowly walked up to him and chuckled, "I didn't expect you to actually dare to do something like this! You actually killed your own father with your own hands~"

Upon hearing this, Tomizawa Taichi's face immediately turned deathly pale, and his body trembled slightly.

Those who initially didn't believe that Tomizawa Taichi had killed his father started to believe it more after seeing his appearance.

At this moment, the leader suddenly laughed a few times, then turned around and shouted to the crowd in the hall, "He's much more ruthless than us! You don't know, do you? This guy came to us specifically after hearing that we could help 'take care of people.' He wanted to hire us to kill his father and brother so that he could inherit all of the Tomizawa Group's assets!"

At this point, the leader paused, then turned to look at Tomizawa Tatsuji and Tomizawa Tatsuzo beside him: "If we hadn't given him only enough poison to kill one person, you would already be... And the reason we were able to sneak in without alerting the security guards outside is also because of this guy's help~"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall looked at Tomizawa Taiichi in astonishment, while Tomizawa Tatsuji and Tomizawa Tatsuzo stared at their older brother in disbelief.

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, the man in the lead stopped smiling, turned around and walked back to Tomizawa Taichi's side. He reached into his bag, took out a rifle without a magazine, and handed it to Tomizawa Taichi.

He whispered in his ear, "Now, everyone in the hall knows what you've done. I'll give you the magazine after my men complete their mission. If even one person leaves this hall alive, your actions will be exposed..."

Tomizawa Tai looked at the gun in his hand and froze on the spot.

A moment later, he seemed to realize something and glared fiercely at the leader: "You've been planning to do this all along, haven't you?!"

The man in the lead smiled but didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Tomizawa Taichi seemed to have made up his mind and gritted his teeth, saying, "Okay... I understand!"