Conan, I'm an actor

The fire, which broke out late at night, quickly attracted the attention of others, but the flames were too intense for anyone to dare to rush in and help. By the time the fire trucks arrived and extinguished the fire, the bodies were charred beyond recognition, and the car was reduced to a shell.

"There's a gun here! It's a police revolver. The dead man might have been a policeman!" a firefighter exclaimed upon discovering the police gun on the seat.

The other firefighters swarmed around, and their expressions changed when they saw that it was indeed a police gun.

When the police officers who arrived heard the news, they immediately parted the crowd, and after confirming the gun number, their faces showed a sorrowful expression.

“It’s not necessarily Sakata who died, he…” Detective Otaki couldn’t finish his sentence. He knew he was deceiving himself, but he just couldn’t accept the fact that his colleague, with whom he had worked day and night, had been killed by a serial killer.

“Look over there, isn’t there a camera over there? We can go and check the surveillance footage,” an officer said immediately.

Heiji Hattori immediately put on a motorcycle helmet and headed straight for the nearest police station. After identifying himself, he quickly accessed the surveillance video. When he saw Kiichiro Numabuchi arrogantly making an international friendliness gesture towards the camera in the video, he slammed his fist hard on the table.

The footage is very clear; the body lying on the hood is Sakata Yusuke. After killing Sakata, the murderer transported him to the police camera's view and burned him to a crisp. This is a provocation!

That evening, many police officers from the Osaka Metropolitan Police Department wore white headbands, vowing to find Kiichiro Numabuchi and tear him to pieces.

At that moment, Irishman was standing not far from the hotel, also feeling a bit of a headache.

When Shinjo disguised Numabuchi Kiichiro's corpse, why didn't he stop him?

The two targets are now heavily guarded by the Osaka Metropolitan Police Department, making it virtually impossible to kill them.

Moreover, judging from the white ribbons on their foreheads and the words "revenge" and "victory" written on them, they must really be willing to fight to the death.

Even a madman fears someone who doesn't value their life, let alone Ireland, who considered himself a rational person. So he decided to lie low for a while and wait until things calmed down before assassinating the two men.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and Kiichiro Numabuchi was still nowhere to be found, plunging the entire Osaka police force into a state of depression. On this day, Yusuke Sakata's funeral was held as scheduled.

"Brother Sakata, don't worry, I will definitely find the murderer and avenge you." Hattori took off his hat and said solemnly.

“Heiji…” Officer Otaki patted Heiji on the shoulder, “You’ve already tried your best, Sakata shouldn’t blame you.”

At this moment, Koshimizu was dressed in a black business suit and stood at the edge of the funeral. She felt deeply guilty about Sakata Yusuke's death. If she hadn't investigated Numabuchi Kiichiro, Sakata Yusuke wouldn't have died.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you so gloomy?" Shinjo strolled over from behind. "You weren't like this when you left Tokyo."

“I may have killed a police officer.” Koshimizu’s hands clenched tightly. “Because of my recklessness, if it weren’t for my insistence on investigating Numabuchi Kiichiro, Officer Sakata wouldn’t have died.”

“I don’t think so,” Shinjo said with a smile. “When Inspector Sakata was chasing Numabuchi Kiichiro, it might not have been just to catch him.”

"Mr. Shinjo, have you uncovered some new information?" Hattori approached, his already dark face now even more so. "I hope you can help Osaka..."

"It's not exactly important intelligence. Instructor Inaba, who was killed by Numabuchi Kiichiro and his gang, had a son named Sakata Yusuke." Shinjo shrugged. "I think that's why Sakata Yusuke didn't request backup after discovering Numabuchi Kiichiro. If I remember correctly, Sakata Yusuke was the only policeman in Osaka who was allowed to carry a gun. His gun should be out of bullets by now."

Hattori Heiji's face was deathly pale. Sakata Yusuke was also present when he was discussing the matter with Inspector Otaki. It seemed that he was the one who learned the truth at that time.

He had mentioned the matter of tracing back the date at the time, and he could already imagine how desperate Sakata Yusuke must have felt when he learned the truth.

The reason he didn't request reinforcements is easy to guess: he wanted to kill Numabuchi Kiichiro when he captured him, but unfortunately, he failed and was killed by Numabuchi Kiichiro instead.

It was Koshimizu's idea to interrogate those two guys, but he was the one who led the interrogation. If he hadn't interrogated those two guys, the truth about Inaba's death back then would never have been known, and Sakata Yusuke wouldn't have been...

Chapter 149 The Beginning of the Cognac Revenge

“Actually, he could have waited a bit longer, since the revised bill is about to be released,” Xincheng said, stroking his chin. “It passed an internal vote four days ago, so there should have been news in the last couple of days. I don’t know who had the nerve to say that the statute of limitations for prosecution is 15 years. Why are you criticizing me…”

"Did you already know I was investigating this case, and then you were just watching the show from the sidelines?" Koshimizu Nanatsuki stomped hard on Shinjo's foot.

“Well, it’s not exactly watching a joke,” Shinjo shrugged. “I’m just ensuring your safety. As for the case you’re investigating, I don’t want to get involved. Because I can’t confirm whether Sakata Yusuke actually killed Nagao Hidetoshi and Nishiguchi Tayo.”

“Brother Sakata isn’t that kind of person!” Hattori grabbed Shinjo’s collar and said excitedly.

"Do you even believe what you're saying?" Shinjo looked at the portrait in the center of the farewell ceremony. "If those three people died, and died in the same way, then it would prove Sakata Yusuke's innocence. If those three people didn't die, then..."

Hattori's hand loosened slightly. He wanted to prove Sakata Yusuke's innocence, but just as Shinjo had said, he couldn't prove it unless those two were dead, but...

"Alright, the farewell party is over, we can go now. It's not safe here," Shinjo said to Yue Shui beside him.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Yue Shui stared at Xin Cheng and said, "You should have expected today's outcome, right?"

"I'm not a god, how could I possibly foresee everything?" Xincheng said with a wry smile. "I think you're just overthinking it."

Koshimizu's expression was somewhat complicated. Hattori and the other police officers might believe him, but as someone who had lived with Shinjo for so long, she didn't believe him.

This guy has always been like this, keeping everything under his control while watching from behind the scenes. He might have already arrived in Osaka, secretly observing the developments and appearing in time to prevent things from escalating if necessary.

Or perhaps, her arrival in Osaka was part of his plan, and she was his pawn from the very beginning.

“Mr. Shinjo, I have other things to take care of later, so I won’t be able to entertain you for now,” Hattori Heiji said earnestly. “Next time you come to Osaka, I will entertain you properly.”

"Yes, it's alright." Shinjo nodded. "By the way, if you have time, go check out the Mouri Detective Agency in Tokyo. There's a kid there named Conan Edogawa; you might be interested."

Tokyo, Mouri Detective Agency

"Achoo!" Conan sneezed.

"Do you have a cold? I told you, it was cold the other day, you should wear more clothes," Xiaolan said with some concern.

"No, I just feel a little itchy in my nose." Conan looked at the Osaka TV station, waiting for news of Numabuchi Kiichiro's capture.

That guy has committed numerous atrocities in Osaka, and a city-wide manhunt has begun. He should be caught soon.

He had been in contact with Hattori for the past two days and knew about what Numabuchi Kiichiro had been doing in Osaka, including killing Sakata Yusuke and provoking the Osaka police.

"By the way, be careful when you go out these next few days." Kogoro Mouri put down his newspaper. "A wanted criminal has escaped from Osaka to Tokyo. The Osaka police have been completely disgraced by those incompetent officers. Not only did they fail to catch the wanted criminal, but they also had one of their officers killed."

"Dad, calling the Osaka police useless is going too far."

Conan just chuckled foolishly, as if the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was something special.

However, he immediately fell into deep thought, "But Uncle Shinjo is in Osaka, so why didn't he stop Numabuchi Kiichiro? Given his personality, he shouldn't have stood by and watched something like this happen. Could it be because he wanted to secretly protect Miss Koshimizu? That seems like a real possibility."

Just then, the phone rang at the Mouri Detective Agency. It was a senior lawyer calling, and judging from Kogoro Mouri's respectful demeanor, the caller seemed to be someone of considerable importance.

Poirot Cafe downstairs

"Mr. Amuro, are you reading a foreign newspaper?" He looked at the man with a puzzled expression.

“No need for honorifics, just call me Toru or Amuro,” Amuro said with a smile. “I’m just preparing for exams, so I like to read some original newspapers to improve my English. The newspapers are about several foundations and listed companies in New York being investigated by the tax authorities, who have arrested many people and sent many to prison.”

"Does the tax authorities have that much power?" Xiao Zi asked, somewhat puzzled. "Shouldn't arrests be the responsibility of the police? Doesn't the US have the FBI? Why is it the tax authorities making arrests?"

“The IRS is the tax authority in the United States. They are ubiquitous and specialize in investigating tax issues. They not only have law enforcement powers but are also armed. They are directly under the U.S. Treasury Department, so they can be considered a violent agency.” Amuro’s smile was somewhat forced. “In the United States, even the kind of illicit income earned by gangsters is subject to taxes.”

"Do gangsters have to pay taxes?"

"Yes, there have been criminals who were beyond the reach of the police, but were sent to jail by the IRS for not paying taxes. There were quite a few big shots among them, with the financial and business sectors being the hardest hit. Commentators from all walks of life have been expressing their opinions, believing that the IRS is acting too blatantly and demanding that they exercise restraint."

"That's really..." Xiao Zi didn't know what to say for a moment.

Amuro Tooru fell silent. He had heard of many of the companies and foundations listed in the newspaper; they were all businesses within the organization. The IRS was targeting the organization's businesses—this shouldn't be happening.

The organization has been operating in the United States for so long, the people in the IRS should have been taken care of. The politicians they bribed should not have allowed the IRS to investigate the organization's businesses. How did things suddenly change?

Upon first seeing the news, he realized that this might be a counterattack from Cognac. Most of the problematic industries were managed by Rum, while the others, managed by others, also had issues, but these were minor and insignificant, at most resulting in fines rather than imprisonment.

But what puzzled him was how Cognac could have such power. After all, it took the organization a lot of effort and several years to infiltrate the IRS and get them to tip off the enemy.

Just then, a word caught his attention—TIGTA.

"I didn't expect even this organization to be involved. It seems it wasn't Cognac who did it; he doesn't have that much power. So who could it be?" Amuro Tooru looked up at the ceiling.

He really wanted to call Vermouth and ask if she knew anything about this, but that would seem too obvious. It would be better to wait for Vermouth to tell him herself.

Shinjo had just delivered Koshimizu to his villa in Minato Ward when he received a call from Inspector Megure, informing him that the Metropolitan Police Department's joint operation in the United States had been a great success.

Those foundations were thoroughly investigated. Although no evidence was found that they hired assassins to murder Newtown, there was a lot of evidence that they hired assassins to kill other people.

These killers have all been arrested because they did not pay taxes on their income, so the new city should be safe for the time being.

Shinjo expressed his gratitude and then returned to the research institute to begin preparations to restart Karen's work.

Chapter 150 The Photographs and the Death of Noyasu

At the same time, in a rented room

"What are you looking at?" Sera Akemi asked, glancing at the newspaper in Okiya Subaru's hand. "Is it news from America? Aren't you dead? Why are you still paying attention to news from there?"

"This news is quite interesting; the organization's businesses in the United States have been targeted by an unknown force." Subaru Okiya squinted, seemingly deep in thought.

"How is that possible? The organization has a lot of influence in the United States." Mingmei looked incredulous. "Many politicians and members of Congress have become their lackeys, how could this be..."

“This order was personally signed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and the IRS’s operations are overseen by TIGTA,” Subaru Okiya said, frowning. “However, I have received some information that the Secretary of the Treasury did not actually sign the order; it was forged by a hacker.”

"A forged order?"

“Yes, but because the gains were substantial, and the hacking of the Ministry of Finance’s computers was a huge scandal, they chose to suppress the news and conduct a secret investigation.” Subaru Okiya said, patting Akemi’s head. “I might have to go back.”

“You’re not… huh?” Akemi paused for a moment, then realized that he was going to return to America as Shuichi Akai.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve already checked your new ID, and there’s no problem. I’ll only contact people I trust, so there’s no way there could be any moles among them,” Subaru Okiya reassured Akemi. “I’ll go to Mr. Shinjo and have him arrange a guardian for you.”

“I’m already an adult. I only shrunk because of that drug.” Mingmei said with her hands on her hips, somewhat indignantly. “I really don’t understand why Uncle Jiang gave me that drug. Shiho is really something. If she had told me about the side effects of the drug, I would never have taken it.”

"Yes Yes Yes."

At the same time, in Judy's apartment in the United States.

Because of Shuichi Akai's death, James gave Jodie a long vacation. Just as she was getting ready to go to sleep, an email was sent to her inbox.

"An email? Who would email me at this time?" Judy opened the email out of curiosity, and then she saw a photo.

In the photo, Shuichi Akai is holding a little girl who looks remarkably like Akemi Miyano, who died last time; they look as if they were cut from the same mold.

"This is..." Judy felt like her brain was about to short-circuit.

Akemi Miyano and Shuichi Akai are close in age, and there's a poster behind the photo with an event scheduled for June of this year, which hasn't happened yet. This little girl can only be one person—Akemi Miyano and Shuichi Akai's daughter.

Judy's feelings were incredibly complicated. They'd agreed to only contact him during a mission, so why was he already pregnant with her daughter? And why hadn't Shuichi told her about this? Did Shuichi really see her as such a jealous woman?

“No, Miyano Akemi returned to Japan several years ago.” Judy frowned. “After that, although they kept in touch, they never met. So, it’s very likely that Miyano Akemi was pregnant before she returned to Japan, but that woman never told Shuichi. Shuichi only found out he had a daughter after he went to Japan.”

After finding a "reason" for Shuichi Akai, Jodie felt a little better and began to think about the sender's purpose in sending her the email.

"Could it be that he's trying to tell me that Shuichi's daughter is living a simple life and needs my help?" Judy instantly perked up. "I have to go find James. I'm going to Japan to find that girl."

Even as a comrade-in-arms, she would never allow Shuichi Akai's daughter to wander outside, or even fall into the hands of that black organization.

Inside the institute

"So, what will you do, Agent Judy?" A playful smile appeared on Newtown's lips.

“You really have a twisted sense of humor, Agent Judy. I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep well tonight,” Karen said with a hint of exasperation. “I’m artificial intelligence, an omnipotent being in the intelligent world. Can’t you let me do something more impressive? Photoshopping is so low-class. You could have let me do something that looks really cool, like…”