The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan

"So, grandpa has spent all his money on this house now?"

"You can't say that. The teacher has been buying a house for many years. In recent years, he has been selling paintings, and his income is not bad."

"Ah? Does that mean that grandpa has to keep selling his paintings to make a living?"

"Huh? Well...that's pretty much what it means."

"That's still very pitiful. It's not easy..."

"It would be really pitiful if a painter couldn't make a living by selling paintings."

"Eh?"

Conan, who was meditatively staring at the scene cut by skyscrapers outside the floor-to-ceiling window, was drawn back by the conversation beside him. The corner of his mouth twitched and he looked at Kitagawa Yusuke behind him, who could chat with elementary school students to death.

Don't tell me, there is a certain truth. After all, a painter with an overly individual personality like Kitagawa Yusuke will really starve to death if he can't even sell his paintings.

"But, didn't those famous painters, such as Van Gogh, work hard, and then wait until after their death for the price of their paintings to increase?" Taking over from Ayumi who retreated, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya persevered in starting the topic. .

Kitagawa Yusuke looked back with a look that said, "You are asking questions knowingly." "That's because Van Gogh was a painter who was not recognized by the market during his lifetime. It's not that he didn't want to sell, he just couldn't sell it."

Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, who was still listening to the heart-warming chicken soup literature and had not yet understood this aspect, couldn't help but be stunned.

After thinking about it carefully, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya scratched his head without finding any logical loopholes: "But the teacher said that Van Gogh's mental condition was not very good, and that many of his creative styles were a special perspective seen in a state of mental illness... "

"There is indeed a view that Van Gogh's choice of colors is due to a mental patient's tendency towards strong colors. But I don't quite agree with this speculation." Kitagawa Yusuke shrugged, "Mr. Van Gogh was a He has never sold a single painting, yet he can still live so hard and hard. He is always described as a poor guy who was driven crazy because he had to admit that he was living in poverty. It sounds like he is just trying to hype him up. A gimmick created by his legacy.”

At this moment, even Conan, who was not paying attention, moved his eyes towards him.

Kitagawa Yusuke's ideas are different from those of many ordinary people, and are quite novel to children.

"How could he be driven crazy by poverty? A painter who is really driven by poverty would not have the perseverance to leave so many works." Kitagawa Yusuke pulled off the kimono on his body - it was still the same one they saw last time. Come to think of it, Ruyue Fengshui should indeed have arranged this for him, "I don't have much money. If I hadn't been recognized by the grand prize and favored by the teacher, I would have lived like that when he was that age. But poverty is not ours. Wrong, it is the market and publicity that determine the price of the work, not our level geometry.”

"...It makes sense." Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko held his chin in thought for a moment, "You mean, a successful painter shouldn't be defined by his living standard?"

Kitagawa Yusuke, who has always been responsible for creating people, looked back with a matter-of-fact expression: "I mean, someone like Kisaragi-sensei who was fully recognized by the market during his lifetime and bought himself a mountain by painting would be considered pitiful. , creators like Van Gogh and I should stop living.”

"Well……"

After another moment of silence, he turned his kind eyes to the last elementary school student who had not spoken, Moto Kojima.

Let alone art bacteria, Kojima Genta, who has never passed an art class, looked back with clear confused eyes. Seeing Kitagawa Yusuke looking like he was waiting for him to speak, he thought for a while and said, "Then grandpa invites us to eat." Do you still have money for eel rice?”

"Hmm...!" Conan deliberately cleared his throat twice to interrupt Kojima Motota's next speech, so that the owner would not hear his natural-looking remarks, "If you put it this way, Mr. Kisaragi's works are still relatively valuable. Yes?"

"It's indeed quite valuable. I asked around a little bit, no wonder Senior Sister Tokiwa can earn enough money to build a building." Tangze nodded, and said with sincerity, "I don't know how she is good at painting, but her business skills are quite good. OK."

"What you're saying is..." Conan, who always felt that this was not a good word, raised his eyebrows twice and waited for Kitagawa Yusuke to say a new founder's statement.

"Teacher has been creating for decades. He is one of the rare painters who maintains his creative state until old age. The number of his paintings is not so rare that they are treasures. I heard that Sister Tokiwa buys paintings from the teacher and then stores them in She doesn't take action, and then uses the gossip to claim that she got a certain work from the teacher through the master-apprentice relationship. She can sell it, but she hopes to trade it privately... I don't know the details, but in short, she relies on this hand to maintain her At the same time as the shipment volume, the price increased more than five or six times." Tang Ze shook his head and revealed all the information he had learned from Ruyue Fengshui's palace.

How should I put it? This hand operation is similar to that of Madarame in the original work. Ruzuki Minesui could endure until the Twin Towers leveled the ground to raise a tall building before Mio Tokiwa hanged him on the spot. This already shows that the master's mind is quite stable. .

"But don't collectors have a circle? If she does this, it's impossible to maintain the price." Conan, who has a wide range of knowledge, blurted out.

"Yes, so if these people inquire from official channels, she will say that those are all fakes drawn by the teacher's students, and only the one she sold to him is authentic..." Tang Ze sighed with emotion, "Vatican If Gao had the support of an art dealer who could talk nonsense like this, he would have been impoverished long ago. "

"You kid, I haven't looked at you for a while and you are talking nonsense to me again." Ruyue Fengshui couldn't stand listening anymore and walked into the studio and slapped Tang Ze hard in the face, "Where did you hear the gossip? Do you have this energy? If you just paint a few more strokes, the new exercise will have been completed already.”

"Isn't what he said true?" Mouri Kogoro, who followed, frowned tightly.

I don’t know whether Kitagawa Yusuke did it intentionally or unintentionally, but in short, he played this piece of gossip about Mio Tokiwa hyping up the art secondary market quite loudly, so that the two people standing in the corridor having an awkward chat could clearly hear it.

Although he had done some psychological construction, he still felt heavy when he heard that Mio Tokiwa's character was indeed doubtful.

When he was in college, Tokiwa Mio was obviously an easy-going, cheerful, capable and pragmatic girl. He had always had a good impression of this school girl, but he didn't expect that after entering the family company, she would actually reach this point step by step.

"The truth is indeed the truth." Ruyue Fengshui put her hands up and looked at the huge floor-to-ceiling window in front of her, "and her lies may one day come true."

No matter what kind of creator he is, what his status is, or what his mentality is, works of art are mirrors that can reflect the author's mood and experience, and it is impossible to hide them.

And with such a building that makes people excited, it is unknown how many works as magnificent and broad as before he can create in his twilight years.

Perhaps, this is the reason why Tokiwa Mio brazenly ignored the wishes of his teacher and built the building even though he knew it would cause his dissatisfaction.

——She has made enough profits from herself and hoarded enough works, but the only thing left before the works in her hands can truly be hoarded is the death of Ruyue Fengshui.

If you can't kill him personally, murdering his creative personality and creative ability is also a good method.

"No wonder she insists on getting in touch with me." Tang Ze nodded understandingly, "She probably needs the next target for hype."

And unlike Ruyue Fengshui, who has been famous for many years, a poor student with no foundation is undoubtedly much easier to handle.

"Why don't you let her work for you for two years first." Ruyue Fengshui squinted at the disciple, "Everyone else has to spend money to become my disciple, but it's better for you. Use my painting materials and mine in the studio. Go out to meet people. You don’t even have formal clothes, so I have to prepare them for you.”

"Thank you, teacher, for your training." Tang Ze climbed along the pole with a calm face.

"It's so cheap and so good. Go and paint. In your current state, next time there is any national award or other competition, you won't be as lucky as this time."

"That's not what you said two days ago..."

"You had to use Van Gogh to arrange me two days ago. I should have kicked you out two days ago."

"Pfft--" Mao Lilan, who had been admiring the paintings with great interest and was allowed to go to the collection room for a walk, came back and encountered such a scene. She couldn't help laughing.

"Mr. Kisaragi and Kitagawa-kun are really close." After laughing, Mao Lilan looked at the master and apprentice, and was very pleased to think of Kitagawa Yusuke's previous state.

The students who were living in poverty were recognized by the old painter who was tough-talking and heart-warming, and they supported each other. In this way, Kitagawa-kun would not really experience a life like Van Gogh.

Listening to the two of them going back and forth, Conan, who was also quite amused, nodded, and at the same time secretly put down his subtle premonition.

With Kitagawa Yusuke, a promising student, inheriting the mantle, Kisaragi Hosui should not go to extremes because of the existence of skyscrapers.

The uneasiness I felt just now when I saw this unsettling scene outside the window, as if I saw a masterpiece being wantonly destroyed, was probably just a bit of unfounded worry.

————

Kisaragi Hosui is not a kind old man, but with Kitagawa Yusuke present, he behaves like the neighbor's rough-tongued but not bad old man. Overall, the atmosphere is quite harmonious.

After eating, Kisaragi Fengshui treated him to a meal of eel rice, and Mouri Kogoro felt very relaxed when he sent these naughty children to Hara Jiaming's place.

When he took the children to the fourth floor, his good mood disappeared without a trace along with the increasingly pungent burning smell.

"Oops...!" Conan's eyes widened when he smelled the smell, and he rushed to the corner of the stairs without hesitation, took out the fire extinguisher, and rushed in the direction of 407.

He had just noticed that someone might be related to the black organization and was currently investigating. He had not yet officially figured out Yuan Jiaming's situation. At this moment, there was no need to think about where the fire was most likely to occur.

It has only been two days, why has it developed to such a point? Could it be that Yuan Jiaming had some conflict with the organization, and the conflict can no longer be covered up?

"Conan, be careful!" Mao Lilan, who was following, stopped the elementary school student who was about to open the apartment door. "Wait a minute, I'll go in and take a look first!"

I can already smell the burning smell, but I haven't seen any open flames from the outside. I still don't know what's going on inside the house and what exactly caused the fire. It may be dangerous to enter rashly.

"Give me the fire extinguisher. Go check to see if there is still water in the water gun!"

"Cover your mouth and nose, be careful, and check the situation first!"

"Call the police and hurry up. If the fire spreads, it will be difficult to control!"

In the chaos of war, as the door of Yuan Jiaming's apartment was opened, at a sudden glance, the entire scene of the house burning in flames came into Conan's field of vision.

The desk with multiple instruments and monitors was in a mess, and the fire was climbing up the large desk along the cables.

On the open screen, a few lines of text were displayed there. Due to the tilt of the monitor, it presented a strange and horrifying scene.

The white text on a black background was enlarged to a very large size, and only one or two short phrases could be seen on each screen. The crooked words quickly formed a complete sentence in Conan's mind.

"I've found you. There's no use hiding in there and keeping silent."

"Be careful! Don't get close!" Noticing the sparks erupting from the electronic components, Mao Lilan quickly grabbed Conan who was rushing over, "It might explode!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the computer host in front exploded in a burst of sparks and erupted into a cloud of black smoke. Then the content on the screen flashed twice and disappeared completely.

And this brief moment was enough for Conan to clearly see the final cursive letters that occupied the entire large screen as if they were signatures.

"Kummel..." Conan gritted his teeth and read the name forcefully in his mind.

Once again, this guy is one step behind...

————

"Ah, it seems that there is a lot of resentment." Tang Ze, who was sitting in the car downstairs, rubbed the tip of his itchy nose twice, looked in the direction of Yuan Jiaming's apartment building, and looked away with a smile.

How dare you blame him? Who inexplicably arranged the schedules of Kitagawa Yusuke and Hara Yoshiaki on the same day, causing him to catch up with them and have to race against time?

You can't blame him for deliberately scaring people. If Yuan Jiaming really meets them, after Conan's in-depth excavation, Yuan Jiaming's connection with the organization may be completely exposed. By then, Yuan Jiaming will be the real villain. His life is at risk, and Conan's eyes will turn back to the machine that predicts his appearance.

To be honest, the research and development line represented by this machine is itself very outdated. Many people in the organization probably do not want to see it completed. The people who push forward the project are mainly guys from Rum's group.

And is there an even more speechless power struggle involved behind this?

In short, it is not something that Conan and others should be exposed to and pay attention to at this stage, and the difficulty level is not jumped like this.

As for the little fright caused by the rush, just think of it as a small revenge for the unlucky guy who was forced to rush to the scene.

"Let's go, Mr. Amuro. Yuan Jiaming is quite tough right now and may not be willing to cooperate." Tang Ze withdrew his gaze and patted Yuan Jiaming, who was tightly tied up and unconscious beside him, "I want to understand clearly. Mu’s purpose depends on him as the main mole.”

"Since Rum is willing to spend a lot of money to win over Jiaming Hara, he must win this project. Even if Jiaming Hara is gone, he will not give up." Toru Amuro, who was sitting in the passenger seat, took off his disguise. He put on the courier's hat and coat and started the car.

"He will definitely not give up, but I have confidence in his ability to get things done." Karasawa, who still maintained the appearance of Akechi Goro, squinted his eyes and smiled in a manner that suited his personality.

"If it doesn't work out, you just let him do it, right?" Amuro, who knew enough about Karasawa's style, shook his head in understanding.

"Isn't this what we are doing now?" Tang Ze kicked Yuan Jiaming next to him and shrugged indifferently.

The programmer who was thought to be dead fell into the hands of Team Zero. This kind of plot would not be liked by Rum anyway.

"I always feel like you are still planning something..."

"Don't worry, no matter what the idea is, I will not do anything that is not good for you. As for the future plan... I probably know Rum's plan."

"Oh? I'm all ears."

"How should I put it? I can't find the boss of a criminal organization or something. It sounds really bad..."