The Daily Life of a Salted Fish Assassin in Anime Crossovers

"Simply put, you can't tell which of the two of you is playing which character just by looking at the big screen."

Kazunobu Chiba nodded, but he didn't seem to understand yet.

Jiang Hang continued to explain: "Then, the deceased Oto was known as the Caesar of Beika during his lifetime, while Shimizu was known as the Undefeated Lucas of Beika. So if the two of them used these two characters during a battle, which character would the average viewer think they were playing?"

"They'll definitely think that Oto is playing Caesar, while Shimizu is playing Lucas?" Chiba Kazunobu answered quickly, and by this point, he seemed to have understood something as well.

"You mean they each played the roles the other is good at?" Chiba Kazunobu's eyes widened.

“That’s right, only this can explain everything.” Jiang Hang nodded affirmatively.

"Shimizu Takaho exploited the preconceived notions of most people. After seeing the characters of Caesar and Lucas, they would subconsciously assume that they had chosen characters that they were good at."

"Then, during the battle, the 'Lucas' who was constantly being suppressed was actually Kengo Oto, who was probably already dead at that time. But because of the damage feedback system of this battle game, even though Kengo Oto was already dead at that time, as long as Takaho Shimizu attacked him, it would look like Kengo Oto was still controlling the game character thanks to the damage feedback."

"In addition, the characters they play are somewhat similar, so if the audience members next to them are not paying attention, they can't tell which character they are playing at all."

"Moreover, after the game became a tie, it quickly returned to the start screen. At that time, everyone's attention was focused on Caesar, who had gained a huge advantage but suddenly stopped moving. Only then did they pay attention to Kengo Oto's situation."

"But if Shimizu Takayasu had delivered the final blow at that moment, Kengo Oto's game console screen would have displayed the word 'failure,' which might have led to his design being discovered. So Shimizu Takayasu deliberately delayed until the very last moment and did not deliver the final blow."

"And clearly, his plan succeeded. All the witnesses testified that Kengo Oto suddenly stopped at the last moment of the fight. All their attention was drawn to the sudden death of Kengo Oto, and no one paid any attention to Takaho's movements."

"And Shimizu Takayasu also directly disguised himself as a loser. The more familiar people are with him, the easier it is for them to fall into a cognitive bias and not suspect him in this way."

Jiang Hang carefully explained the methods used by Shimizu Takaho to Chiba, Shin, and Takagi Wataru.

"So that's how it is!" Upon hearing this, Chiba Kazunobu finally understood completely.

However, he soon found himself in a new dilemma.

"But this is just speculation. Even if we know that the murderer is Shimizu Takaho, we still have no evidence to prove that he orchestrated all of this."

Upon hearing Chiba Kazunobu's words, Takagi Wataru, who had thought the case was over, immediately realized what was happening.

Although they have now figured out Shimizu Takaho's method of killing, they have only figured it out; there is absolutely no evidence to prove that he did it.

"Can you check the game characters that players have chosen on the game console?" Takagi Wataru, who hadn't been to an arcade much, asked Chiba Kazunobu.

If the game console has such a record, they can use it as evidence to interrogate Shimizu Takaho.

"Well... most arcade machines don't have this function, but I'm not sure if these large machines have it. I'll go ask one of the arcade staff," Chiba Kazunobu replied, then quickly walked towards the area where the staff were.

Soon after Chiba and Shin left, another policeman came over with a test report and explained the situation to Takagi.

After listening to the policeman's report, Takagi Wataru's expression turned somewhat regretful. He then looked at Jiang Hang and said, "The forensic team has confirmed that the deceased did indeed die from pufferfish toxin. The same toxin was also found on the needle. However, just as you guessed, the fingerprints and DNA on the chewing gum and cigarette were not left by the same person. It should have been taken by Shimizu Takaho from the ashtray in the arcade."

Jiang Hang was not surprised at all to receive this news.

Based on the current situation, the deceased was poisoned with tetrodotoxin, which has an extremely rapid onset. Only Shimizu Takaho had the opportunity to do so, and he also had a motive. The police can already take him back to the Metropolitan Police Department for further questioning.

However, without crucial evidence, the other side probably won't give up so easily.

"I hope there will be good news from Chiba," Takagi Wataru said, looking at Jiang Hang, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Jiang Hang's attention was now focused on the game console that Kengo Oto had sat on before his death.

Under the influence of Eagle Vision, the game console's chassis was constantly flashing with light, symbolizing clues, as if hinting that there was something he had overlooked.

He had been pondering why that place was highlighted by Eagle Eye.

"If we need evidence, it's not actually that complicated." Suddenly, Jiang Hang seemed to recall something.

He found another policeman and asked him to call over the arcade employee named Hitoshi Izushima.

"That waiter... could he be related to this case?" Takagi Wataru asked with some concern.

Jiang Hang nodded: "There is some connection, I would say. Without him, the evidence in this case wouldn't have been so easy to find."

Soon, Chu Daojun was brought over.

"Before the incident, you had used this machine to collect game tokens, right? And after that, before the police arrived, the deceased was probably the only one who played games on this machine."

They all nodded as they left the island.

"Then could you please open the coin box of the game machine? If there are no surprises, there is a crucial piece of evidence inside."

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's instructions, everyone who left the island used a key to open the coin box.

"Huh, why are there three game coins?" Hitoshima asked in surprise after seeing the number of game coins in the coin box.

He looked at Jiang Hang, puzzled.

“One of the game tokens was the one we put in during our experiment, and another was the one the deceased put in earlier. As for the last coin…” Jiang Hang looked at Takagi Wataru beside him, “I don’t know if the fingerprints on these game tokens can be used as evidence. But I think Shimizu Takaho probably can’t explain why a game machine that should only have two tokens would have an extra one with his fingerprints on it.”

Chapter 320: Chapter 318: Confession

Not only did Jiang Hang obtain a clue that directly points to Shimizu Takaho, but Chiba Kazunobu also received good news.

Although the game machines didn't show any past match records, the game the deceased played was the most popular game in the arcade. The arcade owner not only specially installed a large screen to broadcast the game live and attract more people, but also installed screen recording software on the game machine to record those exciting match moments.

At the time of the incident, the victim was playing the character Lucas on his game console, a fact clearly recorded by the screen recording software.

Adding the extra game coin with his fingerprints, these two crucial pieces of evidence, along with Shimizu Takaho's motive and the time to commit the murder, almost confirm his guilt.

When Takagi Wataru and Chiba Kazunobu presented this evidence to Shimizu Takayasu, his attitude remained quite calm.

However, his gaze toward Jiang Hang seemed somewhat disappointed.

"It seems my luck is as bad as ever. I've been planning this for half a year now, and I never expected to run into you, the famous detective."

Shimizu Takaho looked at the police officers beside him questioningly: "Before you arrest me, can I have one last cigarette?"

Takagi Wataru and Chiba Kazunobu did not answer, but simply nodded slightly, which was taken as tacit approval of Shimizu Takayasu's actions.

Shimizu Takaho lit a cigarette, then gave up resisting and confessed his crimes honestly.

“My sister is an idiot too. She actually went malnourished because she gave all her money to that bastard and had no money for food. In fact, she has fainted more than once in the past few months because of this. However, that man has been spending the money she worked so hard to earn on a life of debauchery, but she still refuses to leave him.”

“When I confronted him, he even said things like, ‘If you can beat me in that game just once, I’ll break up with your sister.’”

“However, even I have to admit that despite practicing my skills desperately, I was still no match for him. But I also knew that if things continued like this, my sister would die sooner or later because of that bastard.” As he spoke, his hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. “So I killed him.”

His expression was somewhat bitter: "But in the end, I still couldn't defeat his Caesar, and I will never have the chance again. Compared to killing him, this matter is more regrettable to me."

He slowly exhaled a smoke ring, then watched it dissipate into the air.

"Let's go," Shimizu Takaho said, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray beside him and extending his hand as if to have Takagi Wataru handcuff him.

After solving this case, Jiang Hang approached Conan, who was still keeping an eye on Jodie.

Conan wasn't surprised at all after hearing about the evidence Jiang Hang had found and that the murderer had confessed.

Because he was at the crime scene, Conan deduced the murderer's method as soon as he learned about the murder weapon. In his mind, Jiang Hang's abilities were enough for him to go to the scene once and deduce the truth of the case.

"So, what have you found here?" Jiang Hang asked Conan.

Conan nodded: "Her pronunciation is a bit strange. It gives the impression that she is fluent in Japanese but is deliberately acting as if she has only recently learned it... This woman is definitely hiding something. Could she really be a member of that organization?"

His expression was slightly tense: "Miyano said that she changed my information from 'unknown' to 'dead' in the list of people who took APTX4869. She also said that after she defected from the organization, the organization might conduct a full investigation into what she had done before. Perhaps they noticed that Shinichi Kudo's body has not been found yet, so they sent people to Teitan High School to investigate."

He looked at Jiang Hang: "In any case, I think we can investigate her. That organization seems to have been quiet for a long time, and now this person has suddenly appeared. I have a feeling of unease."

Jiang Hang nodded. He didn't think the Blacksmith had discovered Conan's existence. But speaking of which, he hadn't seen Vermouth since the Kazato Kyosuke case, so it was time to ask his "temporary ally" what the situation was like inside the Blacksmith.

However, before investigating the true identity of this teacher Judy, Jiang Hang had one more thing to do.

.....

In the alley next to the arcade, a man who looked somewhat haggard and weathered was watching the arcade from afar. After seeing the police leave the arcade with a person who looked like a suspect, the man's eyes seemed to be conflicted for a moment. In the end, he took out his phone from his pocket and contacted someone.

"...This is Moriya. The matter of Oto should not have been the work of other gangs. The culprit has been caught by the cops...I understand. I'll be back in a bit."

This person is none other than Jun Moriya, the male protagonist in the recent "Infernal Affairs" incident.

However, judging from his current situation, it seems that he has not yet regained his identity as a police officer and is still staying in the gang.

After hanging up the phone, Jun Moriya sighed and prepared to return to the gang.

But as soon as he turned around, his pupils contracted slightly.

At some point, the mysterious "detective" Jiang Hang from that night reappeared in front of him.

Facing the famous detective who knew his undercover identity, Jun Moriya looked somewhat nervous, because he still didn't know what Jiang Hang was up to.

“I noticed you in the arcade just now,” Jiang Hang said, his gaze fixed on Mori-ya Jun. He could tell that Mori-ya Jun was probably still working undercover in the gang.

"It seems your boss has gone back on his word... Is that Kengo Oto someone from the gang you're currently infiltrating?"

Moriya Jun stared intently at Jiang Hang without saying a word.

Seeing that Moriya Jun seemed a little too nervous, Jiang Hang spread his hands.

"Let's find a place to talk, it won't take up too much of your time."

Chapter 321: Chapter 319: Be My Informant

Jiang Hang actually really wanted to invite Moriya Jun, a veteran undercover agent of ten years, to the restaurant where Amuro Tooru worked, so that he could take the opportunity to get in touch with Amuro Tooru.

However, considering that the restaurant was a bit far from where they were, and seeing Moriya Jun's wary look, Jiang Hang found a relatively secluded coffee shop nearby.

He casually ordered some simple snacks, then looked at Jun Moriya sitting opposite him.

"Speaking of which, how is the Oda Group doing now? Has it been completely absorbed?" Jiang Hang asked Moriya Jun with some curiosity. His personality is such that after solving a case, he rarely pays attention to the follow-up matters. Anyway, Sakaki Shizuka and the others will record these things. If he encounters anything important, he can just ask Takagi Wataru.

He only needed to know that the Oda Group would no longer pose a threat to him and those around him.

I believe that the gang that swallowed up the Oda Group wouldn't continue to antagonize him and Shizuka Sakaki.

If they still don't give up, Jiang Hang won't be so lenient.

Moriya Jun observed Jiang Hang's face for a moment before answering, "The Oda Group is finished. Thanks to you, during the arrest of the Oda Group, drugs hidden by the Oda Group were found in another warehouse. After that, the Mud Ginseng Association directly sold out Oda Taisei. According to his crimes, he will probably be in prison for more than ten years... He may not even live to see his release."

"The Black Star Society is the branch of the Mud God Society that mainly deals in arms deals, which annexed the Oda Group. This time, they took over a portion of the drug market, and I joined the Black Star Society along with those Oda Group members who weren't arrested by the police," Moriya Jun said, shrugging at Jiang Hang.

"Then, just one year after the Countermeasures Department was established, two moles appeared. The biggest credit was taken by the First Investigation Division, and the subsequent investigation was taken over by the Ministry of Public Security. My superior almost ended up in the hospital because of this." Jun Moriya's expression was a little strange when he said this. "Then, since I was not of any use in this operation, I could only stay in the gang."

Moriya Jun glanced at the time on his watch: "But I'm pretty used to this kind of thing. At worst, I'll stay undercover for another three years. As long as I don't get exposed, I'll eventually be able to go back."

Jiang Hang held a cup of coffee and expressed his respect to the policeman who had been undercover for ten years.

"Do you need my help?"

When no one around was paying attention, Jiang Hang took out the "Metropolitan Police Department Consultant" certificate he had recently obtained and showed it to Moriya Jun.