Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

It also features a 'challenge letter' from Kaito Kid to Jirokichi Suzuki.

—'Advisor Suzuki, stop making futile struggles and let yourself be manipulated like a baby…'

According to the challenge letter, this time Phantom Thief Kid is planning to target the Suzuki family's large vault—built by the legendary mechanic 'Mimizu Kichiemon' before his death.

After reading it, Inspector Nakamori took out a 10,000 yen bill from his wallet, placed it on the table, and stormed out.

Shortly after Inspector Nakamori left, Ran's phone rang; it was Sonoko calling.

Sonoko invited Ryuno and the others to her house in a few days to "join in the fun".

During the phone call, Sonoko also mentioned that her uncle was busy answering calls from various media outlets, all of whom wanted to interview him on the day specified in the announcement and provide live coverage.

After hanging up the phone, Xiaolan relayed Sonoko's words to Ryuno and the others.

Kogoro Mouri immediately said he didn't want to go.

He said he had finally solved yesterday's case and wanted to rest for a few days.

Ryuno and Conan are prepared to accept Sonoko's invitation to visit the 'legendary treasure vault' together.

……

three days later.

The date stated in the notice.

Ryūno and his two companions arrived at Sonoko's house.

At this moment, the front door of Sonoko's house was already completely surrounded by reporters from various media outlets and newspapers.

From afar, Ryuno and his group could hear the conversation between Suzuki Jirokichi and Inspector Nakamori:

"That impenetrable wall that has thwarted all thieves, I'd like to see if that kid Kidd can break through it! I'll be watching!"

"What do you mean 'wait and see'?! After receiving this kind of pre-announcement, you actually chose to have the news media publish it first! How do you expect us police officers to save face?!"

"..."

Just as Ryuno and the others were thinking about how to get in, Sonoko appeared behind them and quietly hinted that they should follow her.

A few minutes later, the group followed Sonoko through a hidden 'secret door' and entered Sonoko's villa.

Sonoko led Ryūno and the others into the reception room, and said with a light laugh, "Please make yourselves at home. My parents and sister are away attending business gatherings these past few days, so it's just me and my uncle, who recently arrived in Mika, looking after the house."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Sonoko took out her phone and sent a photo of the notice sent by Kaito Kid to Tatsuno and Ran.

"Take a look, this is the notice my uncle received this time~"

Upon hearing this, both Ran and Ryūno took out their phones, ready to look at the photos Sonoko had sent.

Conan also leaned closer to Ryūno's phone.

After glancing at the notice, Longye and the other two frowned.

This announcement letter is significantly different from those previously sent by Phantom Thief Kid.

At this moment, Sonoko also noticed the expressions of Ryuno and the others, and said, "You guys noticed too, didn't you? Uncle Jirokichi also said that the one who sent the notice this time was a fake Phantom Thief Kid."

"Yes! Both the illustrations and the text layout are somewhat different," Xiaolan nodded.

Chapter 405 New employees are always better.

Kaito Kid's previous announcements were written horizontally, but this time the text on the announcement is arranged vertically.

Furthermore, the content of this announcement seems somewhat 'old-fashioned,' unlike Kaito Kid's usual 'trendy' style.

Conan asked in confusion, "Sonoko-neechan, since Uncle Jirokichi believes this is a fake Phantom Thief Kid, why did you still say in the newspapers and media that this is the real Phantom Thief Kid?"

Sonoko smiled sheepishly. "You all know my uncle's personality. He wants everyone to believe this is a genuine announcement. If he wins this time, his heroic legend will have another chapter added to his resume. He can also use this opportunity to make headlines..."

Conan: "..."

Longye and Xiaolan smiled at each other and nodded.

Although they rarely saw Sonoko's uncle, that was indeed his personality.

Sonoko waved her hand and chuckled, "Alright~ Although I really want to take you to see that big vault, it's very dangerous, and it would be dangerous for us to get close to it rashly."

"Only my uncle knows the password to that vault. I'll show you around when he gets back!"

After saying that, Sonoko took out the Monopoly card from the cabinet, ready to fight Ryuno and the other two to the death.

……

Half an hour later, Sonoko leaned back on the sofa in exasperation and rolled her eyes.

"Xiao Lan, your luck is as good as ever! You truly deserve to be called the goddess of 'strong luck'..."

Ryuno and Conan nodded in agreement.

The Monopoly game they play takes about an hour on average per game.

But with Ran's incredible luck, the three of them went bankrupt in less than half an hour.

Xiaolan always manages to roll the exact same number on the dice and draw the lucky card...

Seeing everyone's expressions, Xiaolan smiled shyly.

She also realized that her luck in this game seemed a bit 'outrageous', not only did she not fall into any traps even once, but she even 'bought' most of the buildings.

Just as the garden was about to change to another game, the sound of many footsteps suddenly came from outside the meeting room.

Yuanzi immediately stood up, realizing that her uncle had finished his interview and returned.

After Ryūno and his group went outside, they saw Suzuki Jirōkichi and Inspector Nakamori and his subordinates behind him.

Upon seeing Ryuno and Ran, Jirokichi Suzuki immediately stepped forward and patted Ryuno on the shoulder.

Because he was always traveling around the world, he didn't see Longye very often, but he often heard news about them from his cousin and his wife.

Even on his cousin's recommendation, he watched the videotape of the 'Longye Match' and was amazed.

After a brief greeting to Ryuno and the others, Suzuki Jirokichi led everyone to the room where the 'Great Treasury' was located.

Eager to catch the thief, Inspector Nakamori didn't speak to Ryuno and his group, but simply nodded and greeted them.

Shortly after, Suzuki Jirokichi led everyone to a room and opened the door.

After the door was opened, everyone saw what was inside the room.

There was no furniture in the room, only a huge vault door 'buried' in the wall.

Upon seeing the vault, Inspector Nakamori immediately waved his hand, preparing to have his men enter the room and guard the vault at all costs.

Seeing this, Suzuki Jirokichi quickly reached out to stop them, interrupting Inspector Nakamori's order and preventing everyone from entering the room.

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Suzuki Jirokichi asked Inspector Nakamori for a cigarette.

The next second, he gently tossed the cigarette into the room where the vault was located.

The moment the cigarette hit the ground, a violent tremor resounded throughout the room.

To everyone's astonishment, several iron bars suddenly appeared on the inside of the room, locking up the 'entire room'.

Noticing the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, Jirokichi Suzuki laughed and said, "This is a weight sensor that I specially installed. As you can see, it reacts even to the weight of a cigarette."

At this point, Suzuki Jirokichi turned to look at Inspector Nakamori, "Now you understand, right? That kid Kid can't even get close to the vault, hahahaha!!"

After laughing a few times, Suzuki Jirokichi seemed to remember something unpleasant and stopped laughing.

He took a remote control out of his pocket and put away the mechanisms in the room.

After doing all that, he turned to a middle-aged man wearing glasses who looked frail and said, "Akitsu, clean up the cigarettes that have fallen in the room right now!"

Upon hearing the order, the middle-aged man immediately stepped forward.

However, when he reached the door of the room, he suddenly stopped.

He looked at Suzuki Jirokichi with fear, and said tremblingly, "But... if I go straight in, won't I just get slammed back in like before...?"

"Idiot! I've already turned off the switch, hurry up and go inside now!"

"Yes Yes!"

After the middle-aged man entered the room, Suzuki Jirokichi explained to everyone, "This is my newly hired secretary, 'Akitsu Masuhiko,' but he's a bit too timid..."

After a while, the new secretary, Akitsu Masuhiko, picked up the cigarette and left the room.

Jirokichi Suzuki closed the door and prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Inspector Nakamori walked up to Jirokichi Suzuki and said loudly, "Alright, now it's our turn! Please don't linger here any longer, I need to start arranging the manpower!"

Before Suzuki Jirokichi could speak, a burly man stepped between the two and shielded Suzuki Jirokichi behind him with his body.

Inspector Nakamori was startled by the tall man's cold gaze and quickly asked, "Who...who is this person?!"

Suzuki Jirokichi laughed and said, "He's also a bodyguard I just hired. His name is Goto Zengo. He's not much of a talker, but he's a very reliable guy!"

"Is...I see." Inspector Nakamori wiped the cold sweat from his brow and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, Inspector Nakamori. Don't waste your time. Anyway, the one who sent the notice was just a 'fake Phantom Thief Kid,' and nothing will happen today!" Jirokichi Suzuki shook his head.

After speaking, Suzuki Jirokichi turned to look at Tatsuno and the others, preparing to take them to see his collection of trophies.

Inspector Nakamori narrowed his eyes and chose not to lead his team away.

He turned to his men and shouted passionately, "Listen up! Don't let your guard down just because it might be an imposter! Tonight is the time specified in the notice, we absolutely must protect the vault!!!"

--"yes!!!"

Upon hearing the passionate declaration from behind him, Suzuki Jirokichi frowned but remained silent.

Shortly after, just as Ryuno and the others were about to turn the corner of the corridor, Conan suddenly bumped into a maid on the other side of the corner and fell to the ground.

"Ouch!" Conan cried, clutching his head.

"I'm so sorry, little one! Are you alright?!" the maid quickly asked.

After apologizing, the maid stood up and explained, "I was looking for the puppy, so I crouched down and looked around. I wasn't looking ahead properly..."

“If you’re looking for your uncle’s dog, it’s not here right now. Your uncle said that ‘Lupin’ was a little sick a few days ago and he took it to the vet,” Sonoko explained.

Upon hearing this, the maid's face immediately filled with regret.

She said her dog had just passed away last month, so when she heard there were dogs in this house, she wanted to see them right away.

Suzuki Jirokichi interrupted the maid's explanation and gestured to Ryuno and the others, introducing her as, "She is my recently hired maid, named Seto Mizuki."