Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

He paused, a faint, almost nihilistic weariness creeping into his voice:

"Back then... I felt that life was meaningless, and I didn't care what color my hair was."

His gaze fell back on Ran Mouri's face in front of him, and he gently stroked her fingers with his fingertips. Her indifferent expression melted away like ice and snow, revealing a real warmth.

"Later I realized that we couldn't go on like that forever."

He looked at Ran, but his words seemed to be explaining to Shi Liang, yet also to himself.

"At least... I have to try to be like a normal person."

Ran Mouri felt a lump in her throat. Although these words were partly acted, weren't they also Aozawa's true thoughts?

He cut his hair short, dyed it black, and covered up the heterochromia of his irises in order to appear like a normal person and integrate into the normal world.

“You are neither different nor special. Your hair color and eyes don’t mean anything.”

She spoke softly, reaching out her arms to gently embrace him, trying to dispel the chill in his words.

Qingze obediently lowered his head slightly, gently resting his forehead against the top of her hair, inhaling the reassuring fragrance, and softly hummed in agreement.

Sera Masumi watched them in silence.

depression.

This condition is often used as a moral shield, but the real sufferers will try their best to hide it and make themselves appear normal.

Does Qingze have depression? She couldn't tell.

He almost never mentioned it in front of them.

The only clue that could be gleaned was from a few words exchanged during the game of Truth or Dare at the villa that night.

"I don't feel any meaning in being alive."

"Just living for the sake of living."

If you only hear a few sentences like that, the audience might just feel a little impressed and think that he is very eloquent.

However, in the context of depression, the weight carried by a few words is entirely different.

He probably really does have depression.

What is the root of this depression? Is it stemming from Qingze's dark past, or from Koniak's career as an assassin?

“I understand that detectives always have a strong sense of curiosity…”

Aoze's voice rang out calmly. He didn't look at Shiliang anymore, but instead focused his gaze on the distant car lights, his tone carrying a sense of detachment.

"But no one likes to expose their scars to outsiders. I'm explaining this today simply because you're Xiaolan's friend."

He turned his gaze back to Shi Liang's face, the gentleness he showed when facing Xiao Lan and her friends gone, replaced by the indifference he usually displayed towards ordinary people.

"There may be many people in the world who look alike, but if even their hair and eye color caused by a genetic disease are exactly the same as mine..."

He tilted his head slightly, stating an objective fact, and directly throwing out a hook.

"Then I'm afraid there's an unusual connection between me and that person."

"I only caught a glimpse of him in the crowd before, so I missed him. If you happen to see him again, you can contact me."

As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Shi Liang's response or paying attention to the changing expressions on her face, he naturally took Xiao Lan's hand and turned around.

“Let’s go,” he turned his head and whispered to Ran Mouri, his voice instantly softening, “I’ll take you home.”

Ran Mouri was led forward a couple of steps by him before she remembered something, turned around and waved to Sera Masumi, whose expression was complicated, with her usual warm smile on her face.

Sera Masumi stood there, watching them get into the car.

With a low hum of the engine, the black sedan smoothly glided into traffic and disappeared around the street corner.

A chilly winter wind blew by, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead. She put her hands in her coat pockets and slowly exhaled.

Aozawa, Koniak...

I really wish you were two people.

Chapter 458 What exactly happened last night?

The car smoothly merged into the night traffic, with light music coming from the stereo.

With only the two of them present, Ran Mouri finally couldn't contain herself any longer. Her brow furrowed, she turned to the driver's seat and fired off a barrage of questions:

"What exactly happened last night? What did Gin do with your face? Is Sera suspicious of you?"

She had endured the thought that Qingze might be resting during the day.

Qingze gripped the steering wheel, looking straight ahead, and chuckled softly upon hearing this.

"That's a long story."

He turned the steering wheel around a corner and began to narrate.

“Yesterday evening, Gin used my face to numb Sera Masumi with an anesthetic, and deliberately showed his face on the surveillance camera.”

Ran Mouri's heart tightened.

This was pretty much what she had guessed, but...

"Just showing his face? I thought..."

She thought it would get worse.

“Yes, just showing his face,” Aozawa affirmed. “That’s enough for Gin. The surveillance cameras captured Koniak.”

"Doesn't that mean the FBI has already obtained the surveillance footage?!"

Ran Mouri's voice suddenly rose, filled with anxiety, "This is irrefutable evidence! What if..."

"I've reviewed the surveillance footage."

Qingze's tone remained calm, carrying a reassuring quality.

"The image quality is very low, the sky is dark, and there is a lot of noise in the picture. Even if they wanted to use this wanted notice, it would be difficult to pinpoint the specific identity in reality."

"Let me see." Ran Mouri was still worried and held out her hand.

Qingze took his phone out of his pocket and handed it over.

"Look for yourself in the photo album."

Ran Mouri took it and quickly found the video file.

She clicked play, and the picture was indeed as he had said: dark, blurry, and with swaying figures. She dragged the progress bar to the most crucial frame and paused.

In the picture, a hooded figure turns to look at the camera. A few strands of hair hanging down in front of his forehead appear as blurry white in the dim light. The lower half of his face has cold and hard lines, and his excessively long white hair hangs down in front of his chest.

Even with its rough image quality, it exudes a dangerous aura characteristic of "Koniac".

Her heart sank.

Sera's doubts went far beyond mere suspicion.

Having faced that face directly, she has probably already confirmed that Qingze is Koniak; all that's missing is the evidence.

"That surveillance camera is an old model with limited resolution; it was clearly chosen by Gin on purpose."

Qingze explained from the side, his voice pulling her back to reality.

Ran Mouri temporarily set aside her concerns about Sera's reaction and turned her attention back to a more pressing issue:

"Even if it's blurry, having your face captured is still a big problem. Is there any way... to destroy the video files they have?"

“It’s difficult.” Qingze shook his head. “We can’t determine how many copies they made or where they are stored. This idea is unrealistic.”

"What about the Metropolitan Police Department..." Ran Mouri thought of Inspector Megure and others she often dealt with, "If they see this video, will they recognize you?"

Aozawa had caught corpses before and called the police many times. Inspector Megure, Inspector Sato, and Inspector Takagi all knew Aozawa.

"The Metropolitan Police Department has never seen me with white hair," Qingze shook his head.

He doesn't always catch corpses when he fishes. If he does catch a corpse and doesn't disguise it, he'll just throw it back.

He had long ago deliberately separated Qingze's identity from Koniak's, so of course he wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

Hearing the ease in his tone, Ran Mouri's tense nerves relaxed slightly.

He always considers things very thoroughly.

“I initially wanted to find Sera directly using location tracking,” Aozawa continued, “but Gin was very cautious and used a signal jammer.”

"Huh?" Ran Mouri was stunned. "But you clearly said last night..."

“I said we could use location tracking to find her,” Qingze continued, a slight smile playing on his lips. “I wasn’t wrong. How do you think Shuichi Akai found his sister?”

Before Lan could react, he explained:

“Shuichi Akai placed the same thing on Masumi Sera, and Gin used this location signal to lure Shuichi Akai to the target location.”

"After learning of his sister's accident, Shuichi Akai immediately checked the location tracking, but found no signal and could not locate her. So he sought help from Tooru Amuro, hoping to obtain relevant information from him."

“I used Rum’s identity to access Gin’s mobile communications, learned about Gin’s deployment and action plans, and then informed Amuro Tooru. In exchange, Amuro Tooru obtained this surveillance footage from Akai Shuichi.”

“This deal is not equitable. Shuichi Akai owes a favor, which can be used if necessary.”

Without information about the deployment, the FBI could have suffered a total loss, let alone just one casualty. This favor is no small matter.

Ran Mouri quickly processed this information, and many fragments in her mind began to piece together.

"So... Rum is in your hands now?"

This morning, the news she heard that "Mr. Sun Yat-sen went on a trip" was Qingze's doing; he fabricated his whereabouts.

"Ugh……"

When this was mentioned, Qingze sighed, which was rare for him, and seemed a little depressed.

"Sigh, I wasn't planning on taking action against Rum right now, but if I want to avoid being exposed, gather information, and completely extricate myself from this situation, the only way to break the deadlock is to target Rum..."

He paused, then lowered his voice, "Rum has a lot on his plate. If we arrest him, I'll have to take over his business, otherwise his disappearance will be discovered very quickly."

He turned to look at Ran Mouri, a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "I'll probably be very busy for a while. Meeting up... probably won't be so convenient."

“It’s okay,” Ran Mouri immediately shook her head, softening her voice, “We can keep in touch by phone normally.”

Aoze hummed in agreement and continued recounting the aftermath: "...Then came the direct confrontation. The person was rescued, and Gin and the FBI agents were both wounded and forced to retreat."

He glossed over the specific details of the battle, and only vaguely mentioned the casualties.

He remembered that in the communications, Fryward mentioned cleaning one up. But he didn't know exactly who it was, nor did he need to.

Both sides suffered casualties, but the organization still had the upper hand.

A mocking smile flickered across his lips.

Gin thinks Shuichi Akai isn't good enough to be his "nemesis".

Now look what happened! He suffered such a huge loss in his carefully laid trap, and that bullet wound in his leg will probably stay with him for a long time.

Now, that should be enough, right?

He suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, it seems like there's a kid, around ten years old, involved with the FBI. Do you know who it is?"

"A child?" Ran Mouri shook her head blankly.

"This might be related to the Sera family. Keep an eye on this person."

"it is good."

As we spoke, the car slowly drove into the familiar street, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed to the familiar sights we saw every day on our way home.

The car stopped, and the night gently enveloped her. Qingze unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Alright, let's go home and study hard."

Ran Mouri didn't rush to get out of the car. She turned her body to the side, tilted her head back, and blinked at him:

"Give me a kiss."

Qingze's expression darkened, and he wrapped his arms around her head.

Why ask this all of a sudden in Chapter 459?

Sera Masumi walked down the winter street, still pondering the matter of Aozawa's past.