Conan, I'm an actor

Although it was somewhat against the rules, considering that these people were facing mortal danger, he couldn't worry about that now. He immediately told Officer Otaki about the method, saying that with the police involved, things would be much easier.

At this moment, however, he discovered that his good friend Sakata Yusuke was missing, but he didn't think much of it.

Chapter 146: Reasons and Timeframe (Bonus Chapter for New Year's Day Monthly Tickets)

Just as he was about to go home to rest, his phone rang again, and the caller ID showed it was Shinichi Kudo.

"What's going on today? First it was Ms. Koshimizu, and now it's you," Hattori asked curiously. "So, what did you want to see me about?"

"I heard from Mr. Shinjo that Ms. Koshimizu went to your place. She seems to be investigating someone named Numabuchi Kiichiro," Conan said on the other end of the phone. "This Numabuchi Kiichiro, is he...?"

“Ah, that’s right, it’s that wanted criminal.” Hattori said, looking at the moon in the sky. “He has already killed two people, both of whom were his classmates from the same driving school training class twenty years ago.”

"You need to be careful of that Numabuchi Kiichiro. Just now, I received news that that guy has connections with those guys."

"Those guys are referring to..."

"It's the same group that attacked us with an armed helicopter at the Twilight Villa last time. Kiichiro Numabuchi was once one of them." Conan directly extracted some information from Shinjo and told Hattori, "In addition, Uncle Shinjo knows that Nanatsuki Koshimizu is investigating this case behind his back, so he wants to ask you to protect her. If necessary, you can restrict her personal freedom."

"Hey, hey, hey, it can't be that bad..." Looking at the microphone that was beeping, Hattori shoved the phone into his pocket and said with a bit of helplessness, "Being a detective is a very troublesome profession. One or two of them all have their own ideas."

He couldn't possibly restrict Koshimizu's actions; at most, he could only follow behind Koshimizu Nanatsuki to protect her.

"No matter who you are, I will not allow you to commit crimes in Osaka. I will definitely find a way to arrest you!" Hattori Heiji began to encourage himself.

At this moment, Yue Shui was reviewing case files in the hotel. These files, including the accident investigation report, were compiled by Hattori the previous night. However, simply looking at these files was clearly insufficient to ascertain the truth. The key to solving the problem lay in what those two men finally confessed.

That night, the remaining survivors, except for Sōtarō Goji who refused to see the police, were all "invited" to a hotel by the police and placed under their protection.

Things went exceptionally smoothly; the two men seemed to know they were being hunted and were extremely cooperative with the police.

The next morning, after a morning of "interrogation," the truth of the case came to light.

Twenty years ago, on the day these people graduated from driving school, they drank alcohol and drained the brake fluid from the training car, causing it to lose control and crash. Afterwards, to cover their tracks, they poured alcohol at the scene and set the vehicle on fire.

"These guys are utter bastards!" Hattori said viciously.

“Although they are scoundrels, the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution is 15 years, as you just mentioned,” Officer Otaki said with some helplessness. “Even if we know about their crimes, the judicial system cannot prosecute them.”

"So, could it be that the instructor's relatives, like his son, killed these people? He knew that he couldn't punish them through legal means, so he took matters into his own hands to avenge his father?" Hattori's eyes lit up instantly. "If that's the case, then everything makes sense."

“But that’s not realistic.” Officer Otaki shook his head. “Both of them said before that they didn’t leak this information. If their lives hadn’t been threatened, they would never have revealed it.”

“That’s true. The police only started to suspect them after investigating so much information, and it wasn’t until after interrogation that they found the truth.” Hattori nodded. “Even if Instructor Inaba’s son suspected them, it would be difficult to find the answer. In the end, the case came back to Numabuchi Kiichiro. Inspector Otaki, how are the results of your investigation?”

"We've deployed all our manpower and are searching. I've also contacted my informant, so we should have results soon," Officer Otaki said confidently. "As long as he's in Osaka, we'll definitely find him."

"Yes, I'll wait for your good news. But the question is, what was his motive for killing them?" Hattori fell into deep thought.

“I think it’s probably for the money,” Officer Otaki said, frowning. “Numabuchi Kiichiro committed robbery before. He’s short of money and has more than one life on his hands, so he acts without restraint. Moreover, this matter is a very good excuse.”

Just then, a police officer came out of the room with a strange expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Hattori asked immediately.

“Noyasu Kazuto just mentioned something else. It’s true that Goji Sotaro’s corruption case from a few years ago was real. Goji Sotaro used that case as a pretext to threaten Nagao Hidetoshi and make him take the blame,” the officer said. “At the time, Noyasu Kazuto was Goji Sotaro’s driver. Seeing his colleague’s fate, he left Goji Sotaro and only took a small amount of severance pay.”

"This is really some important information. It seems we need to have a serious talk with this councilor." Hattori stretched his neck.

“But Hattori, this councilor hates dealing with the police,” Officer Otaki said, frowning. “If you go to see him, you’ll just be turned away.”

"What can we do? In this situation, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it."

“I still think it’s better to wait for the search warrant to be issued. With a search warrant, even if that councilor has a high social status, he will have to cooperate with the investigation.”

“We don’t have that much time. The guy hiding in the shadows is probably about to make his move.”

At that moment, Yusuke Sakata hung up the phone with a gloomy expression.

It's too early, everything is too early!

Why does Heiji have that photo? And how did those guys bring up things from twenty years ago? Now that they're under police protection, killing them is too difficult and too risky.

Just then, he noticed a motorcycle in his rearview mirror. The motorcycle's high beams and low beams were flashing alternately, as if signaling him to stop.

Touching the pistol in his pocket, Sakata Yusuke felt a little more at ease. He pulled over and stopped the car. However, the car door wasn't closed; he stood behind it.

“Sakata Yusuke?” Shinjo took off his helmet. “There’s no need to put your hands in your pockets. If you want a gun, just take it out openly. First, I don’t intend to fight you, and second, even if you have a gun, you can’t do anything to me.”

Chapter 147 Failed Persuasion and Transactions

"Who are you? Why are you looking for me?" Sakata did not lower his guard because of the man's words.

“As for me, I’m a detective’s assistant.” Shinjo got off the motorcycle. “I provided the information about Hattori. Oh, and here, this is for you.”

As he spoke, Shinjo threw a brown paper bag at Sakata Yusuke in front of him.

When Yusuke Sakata saw the brown paper bag, his first instinct was not to take it, but to dodge it. Only after discovering that there was no fuse or detonator did he dare to kick the brown paper bag on the ground.

What's in there?

“A document, or more accurately, a proposal,” Xincheng said, arms crossed. “This proposal has already received the approval of many members of parliament and will be presented at the cabinet meeting next month, after which a vote will be taken.”

"Why are you throwing such an important thing at me?" Yusuke Sakata asked nervously, raising his gun.

"Aren't you curious about the contents of this proposal? Just open the brown paper bag and you'll find an unexpected surprise." Shinjo reached for the katana at his waist.

Sakata Yusuke mustered his courage, opened the seal of the brown paper bag, and quickly saw the section on amending the statute of limitations for the lawsuit. His breathing became extremely heavy.

“The statute of limitations for murder cases has been increased from 15 years to 25 years.” Xincheng shrugged. “We originally wanted to propose 30 years, but some councilors were unwilling to compromise, so in the end it was 25 years.”

"Why are you showing me these?" Sakata Yusuke's face was slightly flushed.

The fact that this guy was able to find him and give him this thing speaks volumes.

He knew the truth and was willing to help him keep it a secret.

However, he was unwilling to accept this kindness. In his plan, he would die in the fire after completing the plan, so as not to cause trouble for others.

“Stop, Officer Sakata.” Shinjo said, looking at Yusuke Sakata in front of him. “The Osaka Prefectural Police are everywhere outside. It’s only a matter of time before they find the Numabuchi Kiichiro you’ve hidden. Your plan to frame him will not succeed.”

“I can’t stop now.” Yusuke Sakata tore the document to shreds and threw it into the air. “When I killed Hidetoshi Nagao, I knew there was no turning back. Once a murderer, always a murderer.”

"Since you know you're a murderer, why did you frame Numabuchi Kiichiro for it?" Shinjo's hand was already on the hilt of his sword.

“Perhaps it’s because I still have a sliver of hope. Humans are sometimes really complicated.” Sakata Yusuke shook his head, raised his revolver and pointed it at Shinjo. “Detective, I’m sorry, but to buy some time, you have to stay here today. I’ll call an ambulance for you. Now, you just need to lie in the grass for a while.”

The revolver fired, but Shinjo did not fall to the ground. The knife in his hand was already out of its sheath, with a notch left by the bullet.

Yusuke Sakata looked at the revolver in his hand. The bullet should have been fired by now, so why was Shinjo completely unharmed?

He defiantly fired several more shots at Shinjo, and this time he saw it clearly: Shinjo's katana flashed a bright light in the night, and the bullets were actually cut down one by one by the katana.

After deflecting all the bullets, Shinjo sheathed his katana, took a deep breath, and calmed his overly excited emotions.

While a state of heightened excitement can indeed unleash the body's potential, it also comes with significant side effects.

The most obvious side effect is that after the state of excitement disappears, all bodily functions will enter a low state, and the body may even sleep for more than ten hours due to exhaustion. This kind of exhaustion cannot be resisted by willpower.

Seeing that the revolver was useless, Yusuke Sakata immediately got into the car; he didn't have time to waste with this detective any longer.

Heiji Hattori has uncovered the truth about what happened back then, so sooner or later he'll go to his father's family and tell them the news. At that time, he'll discover the connection between himself and his father. Or rather, he already has…

To avenge his father, he must reach the hotel as quickly as possible, kill the two people inside, then kill that bastard Goji, and finally Numabuchi Kiichiro—none of them will escape.

However, at that moment, he found that his car seemed unable to start. Although the engine was roaring and the speed was normal, the car just wouldn't move.

Only then did he realize with astonishment that Xincheng had appeared behind his car, seemingly using his bare hands to lift the two rear wheels off the ground.

"This, this, how is this possible? Is this guy Superman?" Sakata Yusuke was completely panicked at this moment.

Having lost his firearms, he had no chance against a swordsman like him. But he didn't want to give up so easily, so he decided to get out of the carriage and try his luck.

However, after he got out of the car, he saw the dark muzzle of a gun.

“I didn’t originally intend to use a gun, but you’re being far too persistent,” Shinjo said with a smile. “Want to bet? Bet on whether a bullet is faster or you are faster. I used to play like this all the time, which is why I’ve developed the skill of splitting bullets with a knife.”

Yusuke Sakata opened his mouth, wanting to say that he was different from a freak, but considering that the word "freak" might anger the other party, he finally chose to shut up and say nothing.

"Go find this person and tell him that I sent you to find him, and have him arrange for you to leave Japan." Shinjo took out Ochiai's business card and handed it to Sakata Yusuke. "By the way, it's best not to take the train or bullet train, and it's best not to leave any trace of yourself."

"I……"

"Leave the rest of those guys to me, I'll put them in jail, including that Numabuchi Kiichiro."

Shinjo patted Sakata Yusuke on the shoulder and took his gun, saying, "In exchange, you have to work for me."

“Not enough.” Sakata’s expression was somewhat ferocious. “I want…”

"They will die, that's the only thing you can rest assured about," Xincheng said with a smile. "What's your answer to this deal?"

"Deal!" Sakata said through gritted teeth.

From the very moment he began his revenge, he had cast aside his sense of justice and pride as a police officer. Although the guy in front of him didn't seem like a good person, all he wanted now was for these guys to die.

Anyway, I've already ruined my future. It's just a worthless life. There's nothing I can't trade for it.

Chapter 148 A Tragic Song Beneath the Waves of City

Watching Sakata Yusuke leave, Shinjo put on gloves and drove to a secluded safe house. Upon opening the door, he was met with a strong stench of blood. Numabuchi Kiichiro was already dead; the fatal wound was a bullet hole in his chest.

"Are you really part of the organization?" Irish Wine looked at New City with some suspicion. "I've heard your legend. Jiang Xiaobai may be indecisive, but he wouldn't be so easily swayed by a mere..."

“What does Jiang Xiaobai’s business have to do with my cognac?” Xincheng rolled his eyes. “The fewer people who know about this, the better. Gin and Rum’s people are all in Tokyo recently.”

“I understand.” Irish Wine nodded. “So, who are the remaining targets?”

He had no objection to doing this dirty work, after all, Pisco was completely outmatched by this guy called Cognac in terms of wealth and intellect, and was of no value whatsoever.

His only value is that he still has a few men who can help Cognac handle some things that are inconvenient for him to deal with.

“Two of the three people above are ordinary people,” Shinjo said after thinking for a moment. “After killing them, we should stab their wallets with a knife and stick it into their chests. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Irish Wine glanced at the list, nodded, and then asked, "Is this Soutarō Goji also a target? Should we take him out too?"

“His accomplices are all dead. As long as he’s still mentally sound, he won’t be out here courting death. Assassinating him would be very difficult. Didn’t Pisco charter a plane? Just send him up there.”

Shinjo glanced at the time, then took out his tools and began to disguise Numabuchi Kiichiro. Soon, Numabuchi Kiichiro had a new face, looking like Sakata Yusuke.

He took out his wallet and knife, stabbed the wallet with the knife, and then hit him directly in the chest.

A dozen minutes later, Shinjo, disguised as Numabuchi Kiichiro, moved the body out in front of a police camera, placed it on the hood of the car, poured gasoline on it, and set it on fire.