Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

—The balcony wall has a hidden rotating door.

After gently pushing the hidden door, Ryuno and Ran walked along the passageway on the balcony to the 'hidden room' next door.

The room contained not only an overwhelming number of books and documents, but also some strange props and gun models.

After glancing at the information briefly, Longye smiled slightly. No wonder he had a sense of familiarity.

"Xiao Lan, call your uncles over here."

"Ok!"

Shortly after, Kogoro Mouri and his client also entered the 'hidden room'.

After glancing at the documents Ryūno handed him, Kogoro Mouri turned to his client and smiled, "I see, I understand. Madam, there's a high chance your husband isn't having an affair~"

Under the client's questioning gaze, Kogoro Mouri continued flipping through the documents, muttering to himself, "No wonder the income is so high, so this is the Yorozuya~"

Chapter 363 The Legendary King of Hired Managers

Shortly after, Kogoro Mouri put down the documents in his hand.

He voiced his guess under the client's questioning gaze.

The client's husband is probably—the legendary assassin Kondo.

Many years ago, Kogoro Mouri had heard of this legendary figure, but at the time he thought it was just an 'urban legend'.

It is said that this 'Kondo' never fails to complete a murder case he accepts.

Therefore, this 'legendary assassin' was very popular among the underground.

However, these pieces of information were considered 'urban legends' at the time, and people thought they were just stories made up, so no one paid any attention to them.

But after reviewing the information in his hand, Kogoro Mouri immediately realized that this was not some urban legend.

This 'legendary killer' not only exists, but is also the husband of the client in front of us.

However, based on this information, it's more accurate to call him a 'fraudster' rather than an assassin.

Through the interpretation of the information... this 'Kondo' is an assassin, but he has never killed anyone.

After receiving a murder commission, he would first find the victim and truthfully inform him that the victim's life had been targeted.

Next, he conspired with the victim to stage the assassination scene, thus making the client believe that the target was dead.

Finally, help the murdered person change their identity and escape to a foreign country or a distant place where they will not be discovered by the client.

Interestingly, through this method, this "assassin Kondo" can not only get a hefty "murder" fee from his clients, but also a hefty "life-saving" fee from his victims.

They truly achieved the goal of doing one job and earning two salaries.

After hearing Kogoro Mouri's description, the client stood there stunned, unsure whether to be happy or sad.

Although her husband probably didn't cheat on her, he was very likely a killer.

Although her husband is a hitman, he may never have killed anyone...

……

At the same moment, a short-haired woman opened the warehouse door and walked into the warehouse.

Upon seeing the three people at the table, he immediately said, "We're moving, and we're taking that child with us."

The sudden appearance of the short-haired woman startled the three people in the warehouse.

"what?!"

"Who...who are you?!"

The woman said calmly, "Isn't it better for everyone not to know? I was just instructed to bring this child's clothes over. Come to think of it, wasn't this your oversight?"

"Hmph! Aren't you working for that person too?" Ah Chen said disdainfully.

Before the woman could say anything more, the old man immediately stepped forward, "My work should be finished by now. What did that person say? Can I leave now?"

Upon hearing this, the short-haired woman narrowed her eyes and said, "That's right, your work is indeed finished!"

After speaking, the woman suddenly pulled a pistol from her pocket and pointed it at the group.

--"boom!"

With a gunshot, the old man fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Ah Chen, who was standing nearby, ran back in fear.

Seeing Ah Chen run away, the woman fired several more shots, hitting him in the back.

A man named Achen also fell to the ground.

After doing all this, the short-haired woman holstered her pistol, looked at the man who had been driving, and chuckled, "Let's go, Mr. Kondo~"

The man called Kondo gritted his teeth, his brow furrowed with seriousness.

At the short-haired woman's command, Kondo carried Conan into the car and drove the woman and Conan to the destination she had mentioned.

On the way, the woman couldn't help but laugh when she saw Kondo's serious expression.

"As expected of the legendary assassin Kondo, even with someone dying right in front of you, you didn't show the slightest fear~"

After a few seconds of silence, Kondo spoke up: "This is our second meeting. Who exactly are you... and what are we going to do next?"

"Don't be nervous. I was also hired by that person, and he's the one who told me your identity. As for what to do next, I don't know either," the woman said calmly, turning to look out the window.

Kondo glanced at the woman in the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

Although he didn't know how 'that person' knew his background, in order to protect his wife and those 'deceased targets', he had no choice but to obey 'that person's' orders.

After a moment, Kondo spoke again: "Like those two just now, will I be eliminated after I finish all my work?"

Upon hearing this, the short-haired woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette. "There was nothing I could do. Killing those two wasn't my intention. I received instructions from that person. If I hadn't acted, I would have been the one eliminated."

"Why were you threatened by that person?" Kondo continued to ask.

"My weaknesses aren't as severe as yours~ Who would have thought that the 'legendary assassin Kondo' was just an expert at helping people escape?" The woman exhaled a puff of smoke and chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Kondo immediately realized that this information must have been told to her by 'that person'.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Conan in the rearview mirror and changed the question, "What happened to that child?"

"I don't know, but I guess they want to use that child for something."

"Yeah…"

At this moment, Conan, who was fast asleep in the back seat, gently frowned.

While in the warehouse, he managed to hide the sleeping pills in the cushion of a stool, away from the old man.

He pretended to be asleep in order to obtain more information and confirm the true purpose of these people.

Earlier, in the changing room of the bathhouse, he peeked into the locker of a man named 'Achen', and there was a cookie jar inside.

If I'm not mistaken, there must be something 'important' inside.

Otherwise, the woman who suddenly appeared wouldn't have shot and killed the other two people in the warehouse.

……

At this moment, downstairs in the apartment building.

After his client pleaded with him, Kogoro Mouri ultimately decided not to call the police.

The client's husband is very likely the legendary killer.

If things were really as he suspected, her husband was at most a fraudster, not some terrifying killer at all.

Instead of calling the police, it's better to give the client face and give her a chance to persuade her husband to turn himself in.

He did this not because the client was beautiful.

There was another reason why she didn't choose to call the police: the person her husband 'killed' was still alive.

If the "client" from back then finds out that the "legendary assassin Kondo" is actually a fraudster, then these people who have long since changed their identities will inevitably be "killed again".

He had made up his mind that when the client's husband turned himself in, he would go with him to ensure that Inspector Megure knew the whole story.

Both morally and logically, this matter must be handled with caution.

In addition, there was a very new-looking file on the desk of this 'assassin Kondo'.

In addition to the instructions for using the bomb, the files also contained hand-drawn layout diagrams of the 'red brick warehouse'.

Although it's unclear what he's planning to do, he's likely to be spotted near the 'Red Brick Warehouse' soon.

Chapter 364 Conan Who Never Returned

After making his decision, Kogoro Mouri turned to his client, Kanae, and said, "Miss Kanae, it's getting late. You must be hungry, right? How about we go get something to eat first?"

Ms. Xiangmiao, the client, nodded blankly. "Okay, thank you so much for your help today."

After seeing Miss Kanae's appearance, Ryuno and the other person exchanged a glance but did not speak.

Xiaolan looked at her client with eyes full of worry.

The client and her husband were about to get married, but this has happened.

Although her husband didn't cheat, no matter how you look at it, the outcome for the 'legendary killer' wasn't much better than 'cheating,' and might even be worse...

With that in mind, Xiaolan stopped paying attention to her father's 'dinner invitation' to Miss Xiangmiao.

Besides, neither she nor Longye had eaten yet...

……

At the same time, at the Yokohama Police Station in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The interrogation room was dimly lit.

A middle-aged police officer, who looked like an uncle, frowned as he looked at the suspect opposite him.

You mean Kondo?

“That’s right, the man who handed me the truck keys said that. He told me not to make a mistake, because the person who assigned them this job was Mr. Kondo!”

At this point, the suspect's face showed fear and lingering apprehension.

Under the light of the desk lamp, the officer opposite could even see the suspect's trembling shadow.

After a second of thought, the scruffy-bearded middle-aged police officer chuckled and said, "The Kondo you're talking about, is that the legendary, terrifying killer? That's just an urban legend at best. You don't actually believe that kind of thing, do you?"