The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan

"In the Phantom Thieves of the Heart, is there still the famous detective Mouri Kogoro? Hmm..."

"Officer? Is there any problem?" Seeing that the other party was muttering something while holding the police manual in his hand, and there was no new response for a long time, Mao Lilan asked confusedly, "Is this the end of the questioning?"

What is the problem? It’s all a problem, okay!

Yamamura Cao pressed his forehead and began to read several ridiculous inquiry records in his hand, feeling as if he had time-traveled into a strange set.

"I'm talking about this lady, even if several of you, such as Mr. Mori and Ms. Concubine, are celebrities in Tokyo, it's not appropriate to play with the police like this, right?" Yamamura Sou pointed at the muddy human figure with signs of struggle on the floor, feeling very emotional. Displeased, "Do you want me to interpret this situation as a strange supernatural phenomenon?"

"Well, I have some impression of you. Aren't you a police officer from Gunma Prefecture?" Mouri Kogoro, who had been observing carefully for a long time, touched his chin and asked uncertainly, "You have not participated in previous investigations?"

Since he became famous, he has handled many cases of various sizes, and Tangze has not always followed him.

However, there is indeed a case related to Gunma County and involving the Phantom Thief of Heart.

A client named Abe Yutaka entrusted Mouri Kogoro to track him, trying to use tricks to use detectives as his alibi, to cheat on the trip, kill his friends, and seize the other party's assets.

Due to the intervention of the Phantom Thief of Hearts, the murderer received the warning letter before the victim was killed. He knelt down on the spot to Mouri Kogoro who was following him, cried bitterly and confessed his plan, reflecting on his obsession with the financial situation. So much.

This was the second client that Mouri Kogoro sent himself into, and it was also the beginning of his client's title of ruthless punisher.

After all, a middle-aged man knelt down in the street and hugged his thigh while crying. There was no biological connection between the two parties. This scene was very impactful and appeared on the pages of many newspapers and was widely publicized.

As for the connection between this case and Gunma County...

"Are you talking about the ghost village case?" Yamamura raised his eyebrows twice and responded quickly, "That case, uh, it sounds like the murderer made an excuse..."

"There is no excuse for him to look for shame. He has already confessed his murder plan. Wouldn't it be better to just say that he repented? It sounds more like a plot of remorse." Mouri Kogoro was speechless for a while. .

This is a simple logical question, so simple that it doesn’t require much use of the cerebral cortex.

If the threat from the Phantom Thief's warning letter is really just an urban legend, the would-be murderer inexplicably got involved with an anonymous group on the way to surrender, turning his active surrender into a passive change...

Why, did he think the reduced sentence was too easy and he wanted to make it harder for himself?

"However, after receiving the notice of change of heart, and then really changing his mind and confessing his crimes to the police and the public... it sounds too false." Yamamura scratched his head, still confused.

He always thought that this might be because the police in Tokyo were driven crazy by the murder rate and the KPI for solving crimes, and they secretly resorted to some methods that violated the principles of criminal investigation, such as beating into submission, avoiding the visualization bill and engaging in some plea bargaining...

You can't say something so unpleasant to the outside world. You have to have a nicer name to cover it up, so you created such an anonymous vigilante who goes against common sense...

He knew that not only him, but also many policemen from various places thought so, but due to jurisdictional relations and other reasons, they were embarrassed to say so.

For example, now, facing the gaze of Mouri Kogoro, he is embarrassed to say it clearly.

"The problem is that the prisoner at that time had not yet committed a crime." Mouri Kogoro looked at Yamamura Cao with disgust for a while, thinking that he was not very smart, "What reason does he have to describe his confession as the effect of external forces on the premise of surrendering himself? ? Then there is only one possibility."

"What's the possibility?" Yamamura Soo, who was still immersed in the logic of conspiracy theories, responded slowly and read again.

"That's because he couldn't lie at that time and had to tell the truth. I said Officer Yamamura, didn't we just tell you that this 'victim' will have no problem. You might as well prepare to listen to him Surrender yourself." Kogoro Mouri, who had seen similar scenes many times, gave guidance expertly.

Both he and the Tokyo police already knew very clearly about the Phantom Thieves of the Heart.

It is true that this kind of situation where mud was poured out of the orifices and eventually died, but after bold assumptions and careful verification, in the end, the search lesson concluded that perhaps the person who killed several deceased people was indeed the missing Dr. Narumi Asai. .

Considering the first victim was ruled a suicide a few years ago, this person may have had something like the Phantom Thief of the Heart - whatever that is.

Of course, it is impossible for such outrageous supernatural conjecture to be included in the files, and Tangze is not Ye○yue, and has no intention of engaging in any unified heart paralysis to speak for himself, so the case on Yueying Island was eventually sealed, without Case closed.

After all, the Phantom Thieves of the Heart have never killed anyone using this method. This seems to be closer to a method of deterrence and punishment.

Therefore, Mouri Kogoro's conclusion is very confident.

Yamamura Cao stared at his face for a moment, then looked down at his phone.

It does make sense logically, but...

After staring at the dark liquid on the ground for a moment, Yamamura Cao still shook his head firmly.

"Well, in short, the possibility of poisoning and murder cannot be ruled out yet. Please don't leave the scene yet." Repeating this principle again, Yamamura Cao tried his best to straighten his back and left the room where the crime occurred.

"This Gunma Prefecture policeman is not very smart." Turning his head, Mouri Kogoro complained to several other people in the room.

Conan, who was still observing the cards on the card table, turned his head silently and looked at the unconscious Mouri Kogoro.

Really? Don't you think his behavior makes you inexplicably friendly and familiar?

"That police officer is from Gunma Prefecture, but isn't Karuizawa from Nagano Prefecture?" Mao Lilan held her cheek and asked in confusion.

"Karuizawa is the junction of the two places, maybe closer to the police station in his jurisdiction. If a murder occurs, the priority will change." Fei Yingli, who has dealt with the police for a long time, explained, "Lawyer Saku's status is relatively It’s scary, and it’s normal for it to be treated as a vicious case.”

"That can't be called a vicious case, right? This is a vicious case, right?" Ritsuko Usui, who was still in shock, finally found a chance to speak, and said in a sharp voice, "He has become like this, why are you two doing this? So calm!"

When Sakubo Hashi vomited black mud, it happened to be the time when he was replaced from the card table and sat on the side in isolation.

In addition to him, there was also an even more autistic Ritsuko Usui among the autistic people at that time, so Ritsuko Usui became the closest witness at the scene and screamed the most violently and loudly.

Everyone in the room chatting, watching poker, and discussing the police's professional capabilities all turned their heads and looked at her without speaking.

Really, at a glance, this would-be victim was the only one in the room who lacked awareness of the situation.

"Lawyer Ui Bing," Fei Yingli said politely and kindly, "you should have seen the card in Saku's hand, right?"

"Mr. Hoshi Saku will receive something like that and develop symptoms after receiving it. Based on our experience, he probably has evil intentions or has done illegal things." Mouri Kogoro took the words and shrugged. Shrugging, "That poker saved your life, Miss Usui Bing."

"Huh?" Ritsuko Usui, who was completely out of the situation, looked confused and instinctively wrapped the quilt tightly around her body.

"This is your room, Aunt Usui." As soon as Conan opened his mouth, he raised Ritsuko Usui's blood pressure. "You invited Uncle Mouri to come over to play with us. This was a spur-of-the-moment thing, right? Then Sister Fei Yingli Sister Xiaolan and I came to the room to find us."

There was no skill in what he said, but it was so effective that Tang Ze couldn't help but turn his head to look at him.

Good guy, your boy's survival ability has suddenly improved a lot. Sure enough, falling off the horse will help hone his interpretation skills. You see, I am the same...hey, let’s not talk about it anymore.

Fei Yingli, who heard his title, smiled, and her mood obviously improved a lot: "Yes, that is to say, the appearance of several of us is an unforeseen surprise for Saku. He came to your room just to find you one person."

"That playing card was some form of warning issued by the Phantom Thieves of Heart. After receiving the warning, he did have symptoms immediately. So..." Conan took over and looked at Ritsuko Usui sympathetically.

Therefore, Hoshi Saku had a clear goal and was here to deal with her.

If it hadn't been for their accidents, Ritsuko Usui would have died at the hands of Saku Hoshi.

"I, I..." Usui Ritsuko's mind went blank, and she fell into fear and confusion. "I have never offended him, how could I..."

"Lawyers are a profession that can easily offend people, Ui Bing." Fei Yingli looked at this thoughtful colleague and said earnestly, "In court, we can use all means to win, but outside the court, we still Pay more attention to the way you speak and do things.”

To be honest, based on the way Ritsuko Usui handles cases and conducts her daily life, it is not surprising that she would be hated by others.

Tang Ze nodded with deep understanding.

Yes, the world of Ke Xue is like this. If you don't treat others well, you will leave at will. What you are playing is really real.

"There are a lot of playing cards." When several people were discussing Saku Hashi's motives around Ritsuko Usui, Conan suddenly said, "There are 52 playing cards on the card table."

"Yes, that joker must have been prepared in advance. It was naturally brought in from outside." Mouri Kogoro said matter-of-factly.

Considering that Saku Hoshi was prepared in advance today and was determined to kill someone, he fully suspected that the other party was targeted by the Phantom Thief of Heart on the way to the room.

It's not surprising that a murderer who was nervously preparing to commit a crime didn't notice something small on his body.

"Well, the playing cards are provided by the hotel. You asked for them from the front desk when you went upstairs. Is that right?" Fei Yingli looked at the first four people who entered the room to play cards.

Hui Yuan Ai nodded, glanced at Tang Ze, and remained silent.

That's right, and it was Karasawa who went to the front desk to ask for it and gave it to Mori Kogoro to take upstairs.

She asked why this guy was so enthusiastic all of a sudden, and he was doing it for a long time just to do something.

Poor detectives, they don't even know they are being used as tools by the strange thieves.

Conan's eyes returned to the card table, looking at the bright red backs of the playing cards, silently.

So, how did the joker prepare homemade playing cards in advance that were exactly the same as the backs of the poker cards provided by the hotel?

————

"You really came here." Sitting at the corner of the terrace, Conan whispered, "And you're staying in this hotel."

"Detective-kun, you asked me to come with you. Why do you think I'm a trouble now?" In the room separated by a wall, Tang Ze changed his sitting position and hid the ear where he was wearing headphones.

"Hey, help me get back to my original state or something, that was just a joke..." Conan scratched his hair and said helplessly, "There's no emergency, why should I change back?"

Although the joker's assistance can help him avoid the resistance caused by the antidote, it still hurts when it comes to growing bigger and smaller.

Even if they use essentially unscientific cognitive methods to switch their states (at least that's how Joker explained it), they have to complete the reaction of Drug A twice, and the effect is the same.

Previously in the Rice Flower Center Building, when the 20-minute overtime card given by the joker expired, the scene where two grown men rolled shrimps together on the ground in pain in front of Haibara Ai, a little lolita, was quite embarrassing.

"You are joking, I am not joking. I do plan to test it a few times." Tang Ze glanced at his sister who was leaning next to him, holding her mobile phone and reading emails. "This phenomenon and reaction are the antidote to your ongoing The research and development work may be helpful. Anyway, Miss Miyano is an insider now, so it seems that there won’t be any problems with her.”

"Hiss..." Inhaling through his teeth, Conan recalled the severe pain as if every cell was being torn apart, and shuddered in the early summer night wind.

He really didn't want to experience that kind of pain more than necessary.

"Um, today's deceased, oh no, today's target was discovered by you because they bumped into us?" Conan forcibly changed the topic and returned to his original question.

"Absolutely. Ms. Usui is not a pleasant colleague. Working with her will probably not be a good experience." Karasawa answered casually, "However, I think your problem should be more than that."

Turning back to look at the room where several people related to the case were sitting, Conan fell silent for a moment.

Facing the Phantom Thief who has many secrets and doesn't like to explain them to him, and is only willing to verify them after he speaks, some words seem unnecessary to say in a roundabout way.

"You, there are other people around us, right?" Conan's eyes swept over the faces of the people in the room one by one, and he pursed his lips.

He did not have the opportunity to witness the method of the Phantom Thieves sending notice letters to others, but he could confirm from Kitagawa Yusuke that the Phantom Thieves' "magic" did not include directly teleporting notice letters to the other party.

Looking at the cases where the Phantom Thieves have been tracked, it seems that notice letters always like to use unexpected methods, appearing at unprepared moments when the target is unprepared, giving the target a mental and emotional impact.

——To break the opponent's spirit and trigger the strongest rebound from the opponent. This was probably one of the purposes of the Phantom Thieves sending the notice, he guessed.

Before actually walking into the room, it was impossible to predict whether Saku Hashi would participate in the card game. Being able to make such a decision as placing playing cards meant that the joker must have observed their actions.

And, there are "accomplices" in the room.

"Your reaction is a bit slow." Tang Ze tilted his head, and under the speechless gaze of Haibara Ai, "You are filling the cup again, Tang", he finished the riddle firmly, "Before giving the accurate candidate, I won't answer. Keep up the good work, Detective-kun."

This was not because Tang Ze was being cryptic, but after careful calculation, he did not cover his head very tightly.

The strong connection between Joker and Karasawa's whereabouts, the relationship between Miyano Akemi and Miyano Shiho and him, the status of Karasawa and his wife in the organization, the persecution Karasawa encountered...

Even the bean bag sofa and the cat he keeps buying are actually proof of his identity.

It's not that Tangze himself was unaware of these flaws. He mainly weighed the importance of home decoration and vest settings. He decisively decided that it was not worth it to deceive the detective and affect his quality of life.

As for Conan not realizing the connection between his vests, it's really because of the darkness under the lamp.

Tang Ze and Conan are so familiar with each other, and their positions are exactly the same. They have a tacit understanding with each other. They are so familiar with Conan that Tang Ze has no need to hide his little tricks from him.

After saying this, Tang Ze quickly hung up the phone.

It's not that he likes to hang up the phone after finishing the riddle. The main reason is that Yamamura Cao walked back to the room with a look of disbelief on his face. If he didn't hang up the phone, the other party's voice would be heard into the microphone, and it would be time to break up the gang.

Although I have no intention of covering my waistcoat, the dignity of the onion people still needs to be maintained.

"Mr. Saku Hashi has woken up." Under the gaze of a room full of people, Yamamura, who was under great pressure, scratched his face and said with difficulty, "He does not feel any discomfort, and he took the initiative to tell the police about his crime. The intention is to receive criticism and education... Well, anyway, in short, you can leave."

————

"It's not that I can't understand what Officer Yamamura thinks. To be honest, even if I've seen it so many times, every time I see that terrifying state, I still instinctively feel horrified." Mao Lilan pulled Conan and Haibara Ai and walked. In the corridor of the hotel, I couldn't help but sympathize with the mountain village worry.

After all, this is a police station that has never experienced the baptism of the Phantom Thieves. Looking at Officer Yamamura's appearance, he must be very doubtful about life.

"He should trust the famous detective more." Mouri Kogoro put his hands on his hips politely, "When you don't understand, you should respect what the authority says. If you don't mention other things, I definitely have some opinions on the issue of the Phantom Thieves of the Heart. The right to speak.”

Conan, who really had the right to speak and had a locator installed in his watch, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Whenever he heard Mouri Kogoro talk so boastfully, it was hard for him to resist the urge to complain.

If it weren't for the identity issue that had to continue to be concealed, he really hoped that Joker would make an official statement to explain who they were tracking.

"Go to bed early today." Standing in front of the door, Mao Lilan reached out and rubbed Conan's hair. "In such an emergency, it would be too late. You and Tang Ze must be sleepy too. Eh, Speaking of which, where is Tang Ze?"

After knowing his identity, it was obviously not appropriate for Conan to sleep in the same bed while traveling.

It happened that Tang Ze came with his sister, and they simply changed the rooms. Haihara Ai and Mao Lilan lived in their suite, while Tang Ze and Conan lived upstairs.

Now that it's time to go back to each other's homes, the lonely Conan is a bit conspicuous.

"He went to the convenience store to buy something." After blinking, Haihara Ai took the initiative to answer, "It seems that he wanted to take a breather."

"This boy, he went out alone so late and didn't even say hello..."

"The convenience store is in the shopping street downstairs. It's quite safe, right? Being detained and questioned by a strange police officer may be stressful for Tang Ze. He probably wants to relax."

"Well, if you say so..."

"Okay Conan, do you have your room card with you? You go upstairs first. If Tangze doesn't come back very late, you can call us on the guest room phone."

Haiyuan Ai, who was held by Mao Lilan's hand, watched Conan's back walking toward the elevator. The hands in his pockets pressed the keyboard quickly.

[Pay attention to the time you go back. If it's too late, be careful of the detectives coming out to look for you in a big way. 】

[Don’t worry, give me two hours, there’s no mouth in this world that I can’t pry open. 】

[Your words make me even more worried. 】

[I don’t need to use violent means to achieve my goals. You look down on me too much, Ai Jiang~]

Perhaps because he was tired of the sudden tilde at the end of Karasawa's nickname, Haibara Ai did not reply to the email.

After confirming that his sister had no other problems, Tangze put away his phone, pulled off his clothes, and walked into the store in front of him.

In the store, Yamamura Soo was sitting in front of the bar, clutching a beer glass, muttering something. As he got closer, he could hear words like "detective", "looking down on people", and "inexplicable phantom thief".

It seemed that the Waterloo he encountered tonight had a big impact on him and his world view.

Karasawa walked through the store door, passed through the booth where Asai Narumi and Shimabukuro Kime were sitting, exchanged glances with Hoshikawa Teru who was sitting at the other end of the bar, and sat down on a seat across from Yamamura Sou.

In fact, among the various types of people they had experienced who had changed their minds, Saku Hashi was definitely not a very extreme type. His desire to kill was not strong, and his reasons were not even difficult to understand.

The fundamental reason why he will be threatened by their dehumanization is still the real purpose of Tang Ze's trip.

He came here to fuck Yamamura, and there must be a reason to call the police and contact the police.

"A draft beer, thank you." Tang Ze raised his hand and offered the drinks before looking at the menu.

Hearing a somewhat familiar voice, Yamamura Cao turned around, saw Tang Ze, and was stunned for a moment: "You are the one who follows Mr. Mori...wait a minute, minors can't drink, right?"

Even if you don't know him, just looking at Karasawa's face that looks younger than his actual age, ordinary people would not think that he is old enough to drink.

Although his professional ability is poor, Operation Yamamura still has a strong sense of mission as a police officer.

"I am indeed not yet an adult." Tangze turned his head and smiled at him, "So this is your invitation, Mr. Police Officer."

The wine table is often the most convenient place to gather information, and Tangze knows this very well.

Unfortunately, now that he is strictly abstaining from alcohol, he no longer has the opportunity to drink with others all night and talk about everything as brothers the next day.

But who says you can’t ask for information at the wine table without drinking? It can't be.