Conan, I'm an actor

Conan felt a sense of frustration. If it really was Shinjo who did it, then he would definitely have wiped away all the evidence.

When the two detectives, one big and one small, entered the art museum, no one noticed their presence.

The original plan was to move the collection in the Hell Chamber first, but now that the Hell Chamber has been cordoned off by the police, the museum staff have had to start moving the collection in other exhibition areas. Even the curator has been pulled away to help, and has no time to pay attention to this area.

Chapter 20 The Truth Beneath the Smoke and Dust

"There's not much evidence left at the scene. If we want to find evidence, we'll have to go to the surveillance room." Conan sighed helplessly.

Apart from some circles drawn by the police and small signs, there was nothing else on the ground. Yesterday's mockery from the new town spurred the Metropolitan Police Department's forensic division to take action, packing up and removing everything suspicious, leaving the scene practically spotless.

“Then let’s go to the monitoring room.” Yue Shui made the decision immediately.

Three hours later

“There are no security cameras at the entrance to the Hell Chamber exhibition hall, and the cameras inside Hell Chamber didn’t capture any images of the suspect or the armored knight,” Yue Shui said, frowning. “All the leads have gone cold.”

"Did you start looking at it after estimating the time of death?" Conan asked, frowning.

"Yes, what came to mind?" Yue Shui asked, somewhat puzzled.

“I don’t know much about autopsies, but I do know that a further autopsy is needed to get the exact time of death,” Conan said. “The police used a preliminary autopsy before, and the time of death they found may be different from the actual time of death. We might be able to push it back a little, for example, two hours earlier.”

"Huh?" Yue Shui was stunned; her mind was still a little slow to process what she was seeing.

She had previously handled mostly theft or missing persons cases, with murder cases being relatively rare. Cases where a body was discovered overnight were almost nonexistent, so she had little experience with corpses.

"A preliminary autopsy usually estimates the time of death based on the state of livor mortis, and the formation of livor mortis is closely related to temperature. This is an art museum, and art museums have air conditioning," Conan said. "If the air conditioning is turned down to the lowest setting, the time of death could be pushed back even further."

"Little friend, where did you see these things?" Koshimizu Nanatsuki asked with a strange expression.

Japan has one of the lowest numbers of forensic pathologists in the world, and its per capita number of forensic pathologists is among the lowest. Even professional detectives might not know this, so how did this kid find out?

“My dad knows some Interpol agents and a few forensic doctors,” Conan said, scratching the back of his head and grinning foolishly.

“So, it was indeed a bit cold when we arrived at the art museum that morning. I wonder if the security personnel noticed,” Koshimizu said to Conan. “Rewind, I’ll go ask the security personnel who found the body.”

It's a pity that the camera facing the "Between Hells" exhibit was a moving camera, and it only stayed at the entrance of the exhibition hall for a short time. It only captured Mr. Manaka entering the "Between Hells" exhibition hall at 3 pm, and didn't capture anything else.

The situation on the other side of the river has also been resolved; the two security guards hadn't paid any attention to the temperature. There were rumors of the exhibition hall being haunted before the incident, and they were terrified while patrolling. Combined with the panic of discovering the body, they couldn't remember anything.

half an hour later

"This is really frustrating. I've been searching all day and haven't found a single piece of evidence," Conan said with a hint of helplessness.

Yue Shui stood silently in front of the monitor, her expression terrible. She had lost the challenge that Xin Cheng had given her utterly.

"Alright, kid, it's dinnertime." Yue Shui glanced at her watch. "I'll treat you to dinner. What would you like to eat?"

"Hamburger!" Conan said immediately.

After a day of working together, Conan has determined that the woman in front of him named Nanatsuki Koshimizu is not a member of that organization. Learning about Shinjo through her might be a good option.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of a bar on the other side

Xincheng got out of the back seat with a somewhat helpless expression, sighed as he looked at the bar in front of him with a "Closed Today" sign, and then strode into the bar.

Just a short while after Yue Shui left today, two men in black came in and "invited" him into their car.

Having been in the organization for so long, Shinjo immediately recognized these guys as members, and judging from the irregular bulges on their waists, they were all carrying real weapons. To avoid his shop being vandalized, Shinjo had no choice but to follow these guys to the bar.

The only good news is that he always carries a handgun and wears a bulletproof vest, so he's not afraid of a shootout.

Upon entering the bar, Shinjo immediately spotted Gin and Vodka sitting at the bar counter, though Vodka's expression was somewhat restrained.

"Cognac?" Vodka saw the new town entering through the door and immediately stood up from his chair.

Today, Gin brought him here to meet a new member of an organization, but he didn't expect it to be this guy. A few days ago, he had even put a bomb under someone's car with a charge larger than an anti-tank mine.

"Gin?" Cognac sat down directly opposite Gin. "I thought it was a gathering for the Japanese region, but it turns out it's just the two of you. Just tell me what you wanted to do with me."

“I already know what Vermouth asked you to do.” Gin glanced at Shinjo, who was sitting slouching. “I will get rid of that Miyano Akemi. You can go back now.”

"What if I say no?" Shinjo said with a grin.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to kill you and deliver your body to Vermouth.” Gin pulled out his gun and pointed it at the guy in front of him.

The next second, three gunshots rang out in succession.

Gin's body trembled, and he knelt down on the ground. If it weren't for his strong will, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold the pistol steady.

Vodka's face was also deathly pale. The instant the gun went off, he had already grabbed his pistol at top speed, but before he could even aim, a gun was already pointed at his forehead.

“I’m sorry, I have a bad temper. I can’t stand it when someone threatens me with death,” Shinjo said with a smile. “If it had been .45 caliber just now, you would be dead by now.”

Gin looked up at the gun pointed at him. "Why are you alright?"

One of the three gunshots just now was fired by him. Unlike Xincheng's two hip shots, his bullet was aimed at Xincheng's heart. He should be the one lying on the ground now, not me.

"I knew you guys were coming, so I've been wearing a bulletproof strip these past two days." Shinjo pulled open his shirt, revealing a bulletproof tag with a bullet embedded in it.

"You must have several broken ribs by now," Gin said, swaying as he stood up.

“I think you should still take a look at the model of the pistol. It’s a pistol, but the Beretta M92F, a semi-automatic one, doesn’t seem to be able to compare with a fully automatic one.” Shinjo’s face still had a smile on it. “Or are you planning to get Chianti and Cohen to do it? Given their hatred for Vermouth, they should be able to help you with this.”

Chapter 21 First Meeting and Clash

Gin's gaze was fixed on Shinjo's torn clothes, which were covered with more than a dozen magazines, all of which were probably full of bullets.

Furthermore, he also carried three ammunition pouches and two defensive grenades in his carrying bag.

This guy never intended to have a proper talk from the start; he was after a fight.

"How could a madman like you be among Vermouth's men?" Gin took a deep breath. "What do you want?"

Vodka was stunned. He didn't expect his older brother to back down. Given his brother's temper, he should have killed the man in front of him right now.

“Your older brother is worried about Chianti.” Shinjo said, looking at the puzzled look on Vodka’s face. “Chianti and Cohen both hate Vermouth. If Gin has the upper hand, they are willing to take the blame for killing me. But if Gin doesn’t have the upper hand, Cohen is fine, but that madwoman Chianti may not care about your older brother’s life or death.”

Gin's expression worsened; this guy was becoming even more annoying.

He had been investigating the members of this organization codenamed "Cognac" for days, but the guy's information within the organization was like a blank sheet of paper; apart from the information provided by Vermouth, he couldn't find any useful information about him.

If he didn't have enough trust in Vermouth, and if Vermouth herself didn't think she would betray the organization, he would have suspected that the guy in front of him was a spy planted by Vermouth within the organization.

Based on all the information he had gathered, Gin concluded that Cognac, like Vermouth, was a mystic.

Gin has always disliked mystics the most, which is why he chose to draw his gun.

He just hadn't expected this guy to be even crazier than him, opening fire immediately. Moreover, this guy had anticipated his plans perfectly and even knew Chianti's personality very well.

Just like he said, once the bar descended into chaos, Cohen would be alright, but Chianti would open fire without hesitation. Sniper bullets are no joke; one wrong move and he'd be gone.

“Akami Miyano, or rather, Masami Hirota,” Shinjo said with a grin, “alive.”

Gin's expression worsened, and Vodka's mouth gaped open.

Akemi Miyano has been planning to leave the organization for some time now, and Gin has assigned her the task of robbing a bank and stealing 10 billion yen.

To carry out this robbery, Akemi Miyano adopted a new identity, infiltrating the bank and becoming a teller. This new identity was arranged by the organization, and the name she assumed was Masami Hirota.

The problem is that only Gin, Vodka, and a few other members of the organization involved knew about this. How did this guy find out?

Has the other side planted spies among them, or have they already found Miyano Akemi and begun monitoring her every move?

However, Hirota Masami's identity was arranged after the parking lot bombing. Shinjo was under their surveillance after the parking lot bombing and had no chance to contact Miyano Akemi. So who told him?

"It's not like I didn't do anything." Gin found a chair and sat down. "Tell me, what do you want her to do?"

He was shot twice in the chest and abdomen. Although the bullets were 9mm bullets with insufficient power and stopping power, they were enough to render him unable to move.

Seeing Gin sit down, Shinjo also lowered his gun, though he was ready to fire at any moment.

“Miyano Akemi’s boyfriend is Rye Whiskey Bar, whose real identity is FBI agent Shuichi Akai. That traitor who defected from the organization, he is my prey.” Shinjo shrugged. “I plan to make her leave the organization, rekindle their old flame, and then kill her in front of Shuichi Akai.”

Gin's eyes sharpened instantly; he was extremely sensitive to traitors. If the FBI weren't in the United States, he would be setting off right now to eliminate that traitor.

"What does this have to do with you?" Gin asked, staring at the guy in front of him.

"You'll have to ask Vermouth about that. What exactly happened in New York that time?" Shinjo said with a smile. "Vermouth was injured and Jiang Xiaobai died, which caused quite a stir within the organization at the time."

Gin didn't speak; he knew a little about the inside story of Vermouth's injury.

Her disguised assassination attempt nearly backfired, and had it not been for Vermouth's special identity, she would have become the organization's laughingstock of the year. He simply didn't know that Vermouth was trying to assassinate a traitor to the organization, nor did he know that the traitor's name was Shuichi Akai.

If that person is Shuichi Akai, then Gin thinks Vermouth's level of "concern" for Akemi Miyano is understandable.

This woman's hatred for the Miyano couple was no secret within the organization. Coupled with the failed assassination attempt on Shuichi Akai, her assassination attempt on Akemi Miyano was therefore quite logical.

"Do you want someone to stop the bleeding?" Shinjo tucked the revolver in his left hand into his belt and grabbed a bottle of sherry from the bar. "Never mind, I'll leave first. Otherwise, you wouldn't dare let anyone else stop the bleeding."

Gin didn't say anything, but the Beretta in his hand spoke volumes about his stance.

As he walked out of the bar, Xincheng suddenly revealed a strange smile.

"Get down!" Upon seeing that familiar smile, Gin immediately lunged towards the counter behind him.

Vodka was a little slow, but he still found cover. Just as he was wondering what was going on, he heard the sound of a grenade pin being pulled out, a sound that instantly made sweat pour down his forehead.

That guy was carrying defensive grenades, which were extremely powerful and relied on shockwaves to kill. Did this guy have a death wish?

However, just over ten seconds later, the expected explosion and shockwave did not occur.

Seeing the pool of blood beneath Gin, Vodka could only muster his courage and look towards the doorway. The bar's door was now wide open, and a grenade with its pin pulled lay silently on the ground, motionless.

"Chianti, Cohen, what's going on outside?" Gin turned on his headset.

"That guy's gone. Is the job over?" Cohen's voice came through the headset, mixed with Chianti's complaints.

“It’s over. Remember that guy.” Gin’s voice was so cold it was almost icy. “He was my prey.”

“Understood,” Cohen said coldly.

"What did you say? Gin, why is he your prey?" Chianti's mad dog-like voice rang out in the earpiece.

“If you want to die, you can try to steal my prey.” Gin picked up a grenade from the ground.

He had been misled by the dim lighting in the bar before, but now he could see clearly that the defensive grenade was a high-quality replica. If the grenade was a toy, then how many of the bullets and magazines he carried were real?

Chapter 22 Ochiai, the Curator After get off work

"Boss, should we..." After seeing that the grenade was fake, Vodka felt like he was back to his old self.