Chapter 179

After making a phone call to Shinichi Kudo and agreeing to send him any clues, Saiki Usaba then emailed Heiji Hattori, asking him to inform him of any clues he might have.

This way, he can get information from both sides for free, and then hand it over to Kenji Hagiwara. No one will know that he's slacking off.

Even without his request, these two people would still conduct the investigation; if you send him a copy, he can even provide emotional value!

System: [You're being way too capitalist...]

Bo Yezhai Ji: [Enough with the chit-chat, this is called trusting people I employ.]

However, compared to Shinichi Kudo's cooperative attitude, Heiji Hattori's dissatisfaction was much more obvious, and he made a phone call directly.

Normally, Usoppei Saiki doesn't answer his calls much, but since he needed something from him, he answered anyway.

Heiji Hattori questioned, "How did you know I was investigating this case? Were you at the restaurant just now? Didn't you react at all when you heard those outrageous things about the Yuki-onna killing people?"

Are you even a detective?! How could you tolerate this?!

"Let you young people show your skills more," said Usakata Saiki in a lighthearted tone.

Hattori Heiji keenly sensed something: "What, did you see that guy from before, who was about my age and said similar things?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Bo Yezaki said shamelessly, “That’s a kid I’ve known before, the same age as you, who also wants to be a detective. As for reasoning ability… neither of you has solved any cases on your own, so it’s hard to compare. He has already promised to share the information he finds with me, so this is a good opportunity. I’m here to ask you. It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

"...So, in your opinion, his skill level is about the same as mine?"

Reasoning ability isn't just about solving cases; it's probably because when discussing other issues, his performance was similar to that of the middle school student in front of this guy, which is why we moved on to the next stage of comparison.

Heiji Hattori understood the implication, and his competitive spirit ignited instantly: "I'll also tell you my side of the information! I'll go investigate right away!"

The system pondered: [Are you using PUA tactics? Why are you putting one down while praising the other?]

"I didn't step on it. I just mentioned that the other person had already agreed." Usui Saiki calmly put away his phone. "Give Heiji some motivation."

System: [...Doesn't Shinichi Kudo need any power?]

Bo Yezhai was baffled: [He's already agreed, what other motivation does he need?]

So, your motivation is the motivation to share information with you?!

What else? Making a fuss over nothing.

Usakabe Saiki put on his goggles and took the cable car—he refused to walk up, saying it was too strenuous.

The snow-capped mountain scenery is beautiful, but it feels like the wind direction has changed, and it seems like the snowstorm is getting heavier.

When Hattori Heiji finally finished his meal and came out, he saw the sky and immediately became anxious.

Kazuha Toyama quickly grabbed him: "Where are you going? The teacher said we should stay indoors when the snow gets heavier..."

"I need to investigate a case. That guy ahead of me has been running for ages..."

Kazuha Toyama: "...??? Who is it, that older brother?"

Heiji Hattori shook his head: "No, it's that middle school student who thinks similarly to me... He also wants to become a detective, so with that guy as the referee, we can have a competition to see who's better..."

Toyama and Kazuha were speechless.

They always complain that someone's disappearance in front of the police, ignoring calls and emails, is suspicious, but in this situation, they just let that person act as the judge...

After much persuasion, Toyama and Hajime finally convinced Hattori Heiji to wait until the snowstorm subsided before setting off to investigate.

However, just as Hattori Heiji finally boarded the cable car and was about halfway through the journey, an accident occurred.

A sound like a gunshot suddenly rang out, and shortly afterward, the cable car stopped abruptly in mid-air.

Heiji Hattori immediately realized something was wrong, but the cable car was too far from the ground, and jumping down now would be suicide. There was no village or shop in sight, and he had nowhere to ask if he wanted to know anything—wait, he could ask!

So Hattori Heiji called Usuo Saiki.

The phone line is busy.

He persisted and called several more times. Just when he began to suspect that the phone was always busy and that the other party had blocked him and was trying to play dead, the call was finally connected.

"Hello?"

Heiji Hattori didn't realize that the moment he saw the other person answer the phone, he immediately relaxed, as if he trusted the other person completely: "It's me. Did you hear that gunshot?"

Usoppei replied, "Oh, that? That wasn't a gunshot; it was fake."

Hattori Heiji instantly forgot what he was originally going to ask: "Huh? It's fake? How did you know?"

"Because I've heard the sound of a real gun."

Hattori Heiji was skeptical: "Really? Is there such a big difference?"

Bo Yezhai pondered, "It's not that big, but if you listen to the sound of real guns more often, you can still tell the difference."

"Where did you hear so many real gun sounds?" Hattori Heiji asked skeptically.

Usakabe Saiki: "America".

Hattori Heiji pondered for a moment, then accepted the explanation: "I see."

System: [...Does this mean you can understand things just because it's in America?! Are you telling a hellish joke?!]

[On average, more than 100 people die from gun violence every day in the United States, and there are even more simple shootings that don't result in death. This makes sense from both a probabilistic and logical standpoint.]

system:【……】

After Hattori Heiji had just relaxed a little after receiving confirmation from Usuo Saiki that it wasn't a gunshot, he tensed up again: "If it wasn't a gunshot, then why did the cable car stop?"

Usakabe Saiki remained calm: "Because someone died, right?"

Hattori Heiji: "..."

"Although that one was fake, the dead body was real. It was probably silenced; the purpose was to—"

Heiji Hattori quickly interjected, "—To mislead the murder investigation and create an alibi for himself!"

Bo Yezai paused for a moment: "Yes, that's it."

Hattori Heiji wiped away imaginary sweat: "Could you please provide some objective information, without adding your own opinions...?"

That was close! I almost got spoiled. Detectives can't stand that!

Bo Yezaki said speechlessly, "Anyway, the male actor from that film crew died. The cable car will start running again in a while, and you'll see it when you get off at the destination."

Hattori Heiji couldn't help but punch the cable car handrail: "How could this happen!"

“It’s normal, isn’t it? It’s revenge for the person from four years ago.” Bo Yezaki’s tone was somewhat nonchalant, without any of the anger or worry that a person full of a sense of justice should have after learning about a murder case. “The method is the same as four years ago, so it’s just an eye for an eye.”

Hattori Heiji felt a little awkward about Usui Saiki's tone, but before he could think about it further, he was shocked by the amount of information: "...??? Wait, what do you mean by that? You already know the method of the crime?!"

"Yes, do you want to know?"

"...What about the other middle school student you know?" Hattori Heiji asked warily. "Has he figured it out too?"

"No, not really. But he lives near the crime scene. You couldn't get through to him on the phone earlier, so he was there telling me what happened. Actually, if you want to know—"

“I’ll investigate myself,” Hattori Heiji interrupted him. “The cable car moved. I’ll be there in a bit. You wait for me there.”

Usoba Saiki, who was slacking off far from the scene, shrugged as he listened to the dial tone after the phone call ended.

He had just seen Yusaku Kudo and Yukiko Kudo, and he figured Yusaku Kudo probably knew the truth by now, but neither of them seemed inclined to tell the police.

Yusaku Kudo didn't want to jeopardize his experience after discovering his son was solving the case; as for him...

He figured that Kenji Hagiwara could also deduce it, so he didn't bother with it.

He hoped that Hattori Heiji and Kudo Shinichi would hurry up, otherwise the police would solve the case first, and the detectives would have nothing to do. It would be easy to ruin their detective experience if they were not careful, and he did not want that to happen.

Children's wishes should always be protected.

After the anxious Heiji Hattori finally escaped from the cable car that had trapped him, he immediately rushed to... a place that could hardly be called the crime scene.

Because the body was originally on the cable car, the cable car was restarted to allow passengers to disembark first, in order to avoid causing them to panic and have an accident while suspended in the air for too long.

However, they were worried that the wind and snow were so heavy that visibility was poor beyond three meters, and that if they started the operation, the body might be tampered with. So the body had already been moved down.

Only after all the passengers on the cable car have disembarked can the first crime scene be examined.

Hattori Heiji waited for a long time before all the relevant personnel finally arrived, and the cable car where the incident occurred also circled around and finally returned.

The guy he was waiting for didn't show up, which was to be expected. He was used to being stood up. Hattori Heiji immediately began questioning the suspect.

“The director was sitting in the cable car in front of the deceased, and the detective who was a police officer turned detective was sitting in the cable car behind him,” Hattori Heiji analyzed after asking around. “Ms. Tateishi brushed past the cable car that was going down, and Mr. Mitsumata, the stuntman who was not on the cable car… All of them had a chance to shoot the deceased, after all, the visibility is too low in the current situation, and the cable cars in front and behind cannot see what the other party is doing.”

The detective, now a former police officer, coughed: "I don't know why a kid like you is here... but I didn't do anything. I have witnesses; there were other people on the cable car with me."

As he spoke, he pointed to the people who were talking to the local police.

As if he had been listening to what was happening over there, the other person almost immediately turned around and greeted Hattori Heiji: "I was on the same cable car as you, senpai, and I didn't see you doing anything strange."

Hattori Heiji had never seen this person before, and they didn't seem to be from the film crew: "...Are you acquaintances?"

Testimony from acquaintances will likely be discounted...

"No, I didn't know any of them. I was just curious about a case from four years ago, so I wanted to ask the seniors I was meeting for the first time. That's why we rode the same cable car."

Hattori Heiji was taken aback. If it really was their first meeting, then there was indeed no need to protect someone else—that was what his senior had said…

"Are you a police officer too?"

“Yes, I’m a detective in the First Investigation Division,” Kenji Hagiwara said with a smile. “I know you’re curious, but kids shouldn’t get involved in these things.”

Hattori Heiji refused: "No, I won't cause you any trouble. I can help too... For example, I've already discovered three suspicious points."

He then rattled off his findings in one breath, afraid of being seen as an obstacle and chased away so he could continue participating in the investigation.

Kenji Hagiwara clapped his hands in admiration: "For your age, you're really amazing. That kid also noticed those three suspicious points... Kids these days are really not to be underestimated."

Hattori Heiji cried out in anguish, "Damn it, I'm too late... Where is he now?!"

Watching Hattori Heiji's retreating figure as he skied down the mountain, Hagiwara Kenji withdrew his comforting smile and sighed.

Sigh... He tried his best to catch up, but he still died...

But he couldn't convince the film crew not to take the cable car...

Just then, Kenji Hagiwara felt his phone vibrate.

He took out the email to check and found it was from his partner, who was doing something he didn't know, but who had been sending him information all along.

Someone was recording. I checked, and the person who got on the cable car wasn't the actor.

Hagihara Kenji: "…………"

You were watching a video, but I was watching the real person right next to me and I didn't even notice...

How exactly are Shinryu Hakkawa's eyes shaped?!

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Bonus chapter for the landmines! Almost paid off!

This book is expected to be over 1 million words, and we're only about halfway through it now.

I also want to write various "what if" side stories, such as what if Han Chuan was in the same class as the police academy group, and what if he traveled back in time to the original work...

.

The number of people killed by gunfire in the United States over 22 years was 44,186...

.

Shinichi Kudo was unaware that Usuiba also knew another junior high school student.

Hattori will share this case with him in a few years.

Conan: ...? ? ? I feel like I know that person you're talking about...

Thin leaves