Conan Rick's Investigator

"Hello, I am the parent of the high school detective you invited to your show Detective Koshien. Could you please tell me what the specific arrangements of your show are?"

"Parents?"

The person on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, and then hesitantly asked, "Which high school detective's parent are you?"

This reaction speed made Qin Zhibo even more suspicious.

But he continued talking, buying Hiroki Sawada more time to track the call.

"He is Bai Ba Tan's parent."

"Bai, Bai Ba Tan..."

As if realizing something, the other party's voice finally became more energetic, "Okay! Has Hakuba-san returned from London?"

"Well, but his schedule is tight, so I'll contact the production team first..."

At this moment, the Q version of Hiroki Sawada on the laptop screen made an "OK" gesture and had located the other party's specific position on the map.

Qin Zhibo took a quick look and found that the signal location was within Tokyo, which could be reached in less than half an hour by car.

At this time, the person on the other end of the phone seemed unaware and was still introducing the program arrangements.

"It's like this. We will contact other high school detectives first, and then arrange a day to record the program. After all, we don't want to delay your studies..."

"That's it for now, I'll start making arrangements right now!"

The other party hung up the phone in a hurry.

On the other side of the phone, Qin Zhibo and Sera Masumi, who was listening, looked at each other.

If this is a member of the organization, then...

This person's acting is so good.

Whether it's the lazy feeling of a hangover or the excitement of knowing that I can start preparing for the filming.

Could it be that the person opposite her is an actress with great acting skills like Vermouth?

Or is it Vermouth?

"Uncle, what do you think?" Masumi Sera asked Qin Zhibo for advice.

Qin Zhibo glanced at the tracking address on the computer screen. Since he already had the address, there was no reason not to go.

"Let's go and see who the other party is."

……

Twenty minutes later, a red convertible Mustang pulled up on the street in front of an apartment building.

This is the location of the signal that Hiroki Sawada is tracking.

Qin Zhibo did not get out of the car immediately, but sat in the car and observed the apartment building opposite.

To be honest, it was quite shabby, and even made Qin Zhibo doubt whether this was a trap set by the other party using anti-tracking means.

This is not a high-rise apartment, but an old-fashioned single apartment, similar to the Trojan House next to Dr. Agasa's house.

The most notable features of such apartments are poor sound insulation, small space, and relatively old decoration, so the rent is relatively cheap.

Anyone with a little social status would not live in such a place.

If the members of an organization live in such a place, it only means that the organization has run out of funds and is not far from collapse.

Of course, this is unlikely.

"I'll go down and ask around first. You stay here and don't leave."

After making sure there were no sniper ambushes around, Qin Zhibo got out of the car and walked into the yard of the apartment.

In the relatively messy courtyard, there were some men's clothes dripping with water hanging, a flower bed with nothing planted in the corner, and a red Suzuki sedan parked there.

The only experience that the entire environment gave Qin Zhibo was a sense of relaxation.

Qin Zhibo first walked along the corridor in front of the first floor and found nothing unusual.

He went up the iron stairs to the second floor, and saw a familiar surname on the doorplate of the first house on the corner.

Hammertail.

This is the last name left by the TV producer who invited Bai Ma Tan.

I have to say that these surnames in Japan are really arbitrary.

"Chui" is a mallet, which itself means an idiot or fool.

Adding a "tail" at the end makes him an idiot among idiots. How can a person be good?

Qin Zhibo looked at the doorplate in front of him. Faced with this incredible smoothness, he felt a little hesitant.

Could this really be a trap?

To be on the safe side, let's check what's inside.

Qin Zhibo retreated to the other side of the door, placed the [Guard Totem] into the room, and then closed his eyes.

When his vision connected with the spider in the room, he saw a man changing clothes in front of a dressing mirror.

The man's body was slightly bloated, and he had the same hairstyle as Dr. Agasa, except that his baldness was not as severe.

Whether it is his personal appearance or the interior style of his room, he is a standard sloppy middle-aged uncle.

However, the clothes he was changing in front of the dressing mirror aroused Qin Zhibo's interest.

It was a work uniform of Nichiren TV. The overall color was green, and the Nichiren TV logo was embroidered on the back.

The man was wearing a TV station work uniform and posing in front of the mirror with a very satisfied look on his face.

But Qin Zhibo felt that the clothes did not fit him at all, and the zipper at the belly could only be pulled up with difficulty.

But this at least means that there is no danger in the room, and that this man is the one who just talked to him on the phone.

Qin Zhibo withdrew his gaze, walked to the door of the room and knocked directly.

Dude, dunk, dunk.

After a few seconds, a shout came from behind the door.

"Who?"

"Hello, I'm the water meter inspector."

"Water meter? But I just paid the water bill a few days ago..."

"That might be because your water meter is leaking water in the middle of the night. Would it be convenient for me to check it?"

"Okay, wait a minute."

After waiting for a while, solid footsteps were heard from behind the door with poor sound insulation.

Click.

As soon as the door opened a crack, Qin Zhibo pushed it open, grabbed the man's neck with one hand, rushed into the room, and closed the door with his backhand.

"Um... what do you do..."

The man stared in horror, and a few incoherent words came out of his throat with difficulty.

Qin Zhibo first tilted his head to glance at the room's interior, then he loosened his grip a little.

"Are you the program director of the Nichimei TV station who just called me?"

"I……"

The man named Chuiwei was hesitant. Although he didn't say anything, he also answered in a disguised way.

Qin Zhibo continued to ask, "Who sent you to do this?"

"Ah I……"

Hammertail hesitated again.

This actually proves that there is indeed someone behind the scenes directing him, and he is just hesitant whether to say it out.

Such an indecisive and timid rookie certainly cannot be a member of the organization. He is not even worthy of being a grassroots member without a code name.

Seeing this situation, Qin Zhibo also had an idea for the interrogation.

"I guess you have recognized my identity. My name is Qin Zhibo, and I'm a detective."

"An important person has asked me to investigate you. You must have heard of that important person because you were the one who found his son yourself."

Mallet Tail frowned, still not understanding.

Qin Zhibo continued, "The white horse detective you invited is the only son of the Japanese police chief."

Upon hearing this, Hammertail was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"W-what?!"

"Is it the White Horse Superintendent?"

Although Hakuba's father is not a big star, as the leader of the Japanese police force, he often appears on TV news, so many ordinary people have heard of him.

Qin Zhibo slowly loosened Chuiwei's collar, but continued to threaten him.

"So what was your intention in using your identity as a TV director to deceive the son of the Superintendent General?"

"If I exaggerate your story and report it to that gentleman, I'm afraid you will..."

"No, it's hard to stay in Japan anymore."

"You're in trouble!"

Hearing this, Chuiwei fell to his knees with a plop, kowtowed with his hands repeatedly, and begged for mercy.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know that Hakuba Detective was the son of the Superintendent!"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't dare to do anything even if you gave me 1000 million!"

Qin Zhibo looked at Chuiwei who had completely surrendered, and was somewhat surprised that the "Imperial Sword" was so useful.

After taking another look at the detailed information he had just collected when he came into contact with Hammertail, he understood.

Hiroo Tsuchio, 41 years old, is a professional actor and a secondary professional thief.

It turns out he has three hands. No wonder he is so afraid of the police...

"Since you understand the interests involved, please tell us everything you know."

"If it turns out that you were just being used by bad guys, I will convince that gentleman to let you off the hook..."

When Hammertail heard this, hope immediately shone in his eyes, "Yes, yes!"

"I will tell you everything I know!"

……

Next, Qin Zhibo and Chuiwei sat cross-legged on the tatami in the house and calmly recounted what had happened.

Chuiwei's main job is to be a supporting actor in a local small theater troupe.

One day, he received a letter from someone claiming to be a TV director, asking him to pretend to be the director and prepare to shoot a TV show called "Detective Koshien".

If the fake identity is not discovered during the process, there will be a reward of 50 yen; even if it is discovered, as long as you persist, there will be a reward of 25 yen.

Because Chuiwei's life was quite tight, he decided to participate in this plan in order to earn some money.

"This is the plan that was mailed with the envelope. Everything I did was in accordance with the instructions above, so this matter really has nothing to do with me!"

"Whether it matters or not, I will judge for myself."

Qin Zhibo took the bag containing the plan, which contained several pages of printed paper, on which was a program plan printed out by the printer.

The contents include the initial personnel invitation, as well as the later shooting location and shooting plan.

Qin Zhibo took a quick look and found that just as Chuiwei said, the four famous detectives to be invited had already been decided in the plan.

Eastern representative, White Horse Detective.

Representative from the Western Region, Hattori Heiji.

Representative of the North, Shi Jinrunzai.

Representative from the southern part, Nanatsuki Koshimizu.

Logistics support personnel, Jia Gu Lianzo.