Chapter 261

Even Conan Edogawa didn't expect that he would meet Heiji Hattori again so soon after their conversation.

However, the meeting place was not in Tokyo, otherwise Heiji Hattori would have contacted him long ago... Conan Edogawa met Heiji Hattori on a cruise ship.

Not long ago, Ran Mouri found an interesting event in the newspaper. It said that if people brought a treasure that almost every Japanese person owned during the Showa era to Tsutsumi Port, the first ten people would have the chance to win a free three-day, two-night Ogasawara dolphin tour. The organizer was Dai Furukawa.

Seeing that Ran Mouri seemed really eager to go, Conan Edogawa shared his guess and, carrying a 10,000 yen note from the Showa era, passed the event's screening and won the opportunity to board the cruise ship for free.

There are ten spots in total. Excluding Conan Edogawa, who is a child, there are eight other people, one of whom is Kogoro Mouri's former senior in the Metropolitan Police Department, former police officer Shizuka Kōzaki.

Of the remaining seven people, four went to the restaurant for dinner and met with everyone, but three people never showed up.

It seemed a bit strange that there were only a few people in such a large restaurant, so Kogoro Mouri asked the cruise ship staff.

"It's so deserted, are there really so few people?"

The staff member replied, "Including the children, there were eleven tourists in total. Two of them were resting the whole time, and the other asked us to bring dinner to their room..."

Ran Mouri asked curiously, "Aren't the detective and the old man we talked about coming to eat?"

The short, stout, and talkative middle-aged man next to him chuckled and chimed in, "I brushed past that old man in the hallway. He seemed quite taciturn. What does he do?"

The staff member checked the registration information: "Hmm, I heard he's a marine research scholar named Ye Caisan..."

Several people in the restaurant immediately changed their expressions, including Kogoro Mouri's senior, former police officer Kōzaki.

Kogoro Mouri thought to himself with a troubled expression, "That name sounds familiar..."

Former police officer Kōzaki glared at him: "This is the name of the main culprit in the 400 million yen robbery case we were pursuing! How could you forget that?!"

Now that a suspect had appeared, the two former detectives naturally couldn't sit still. After finding out where the suspect lived, they rushed to the guest room, only to find no one inside when they opened the door.

At this moment, Kogoro Mouri noticed room number 2 next door. After hearing from the staff that "it's that detective who has been staying here since he boarded the ship," he immediately found it very suspicious and started banging on the door, insisting that the person inside come out.

Then the person who was woken up slammed the door open, almost knocking Kogoro Mouri's nose out of shape, and yelled at the person outside, "So noisy—huh? What are you doing here?"

That's how Conan Edogawa and Heiji Hattori reunited on the cruise ship.

However, with so many people watching, there was no way to discuss the investigation of Sumikawa Shinryu at this time. Conan Edogawa quickly explained the current situation to Heiji Hattori.

"To put it simply, you suspect that Ye Caisan, the mastermind from twenty years ago, is on this ship, and an old man who should have been living next door has also disappeared, presumably hiding to conceal his identity. And because I haven't shown up, you've come to suspect me, right?"

Hattori Heiji summarized: "What about the one person who hasn't shown up yet?"

The air fell silent for a moment.

The staff member coughed: "That person is in room number three, right next door..."

"So, with all this commotion, he didn't even come out to check?" Hattori Heiji couldn't help but start to wonder. "That's really strange."

The staff member looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Kogoro Mouri raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? What do you know?"

“…That guest shouldn’t be the prisoner you’re talking about, because he’s very young, probably only in his early twenties,” the staff member said with a troubled expression. “Besides, it doesn’t feel right to disturb his rest… He’s a very… well, very imposing guest.”

The people present: "…………"

This description is too abstract; I can't even imagine it!

After all, with such an incident, the fact that someone is being so mysterious and refusing to show up makes things very complicated. We absolutely have to meet them.

But this time, Kogoro Mouri didn't want to knock on the door. His nose was still hurting from when Heiji Hattori opened the door, so he told Heiji to knock instead.

Hattori Heiji had no objections and patiently knocked: "Sir, something's happened on the ship. I think you have the right to know, and you should be aware of it. It's quite dangerous... Please open the door... Open the door..."

After a while, the door opened.

The room was dark. When they looked in, the first thing they saw was a pair of dark red eyes coldly watching them from the shadows. Only when the light from the corridor shone in did they see the other person's hair, which was almost blending into the darkness, reveal a metallic blue hue.

This room was like some kind of abyss, exuding an aura of the unknown and danger.

Even the usually daring Heiji Hattori never expected to see this scene after opening the door, and a cold sweat inexplicably broke out on his back: "You..."

"Hanchuan?" Kogoro Mouri finally recognized the person inside. "What are you doing here?"

The familiar surname startled Hattori Heiji: "You two know each other?"

Conan Edogawa coughed: "This is Mr. Shinryu Samikawa, before..."

Former Inspector Kōzaki coughed and said, "So you two know each other. I should have just said so... Hanchuan, what are you doing in there? Why aren't the lights on?"

Han Chuan Shenliu said in a calm tone, "Go to sleep."

“I know you have a bad sleep schedule, but you don’t have to be sleeping now, do you?” Former Officer Jiaoqi was speechless. “Anyway, let me tell you, the person in room number one was registered under the name Ye Caisan, but we couldn’t find him.”

Han Chuan Shenliu nodded casually: "Understood."

“…Okay, we’ve disturbed you. Go to sleep.” Former Inspector Kōzaki looked somewhat speechless.

The door that had just been opened was slammed shut again without any politeness.

Kogoro Mouri turned to look at former police officer Kōzaki: "What exactly is going on here?"

Former police officer Kōzaki looked a little embarrassed: "Let's talk as we walk."

Heiji Hattori and Conan Edogawa followed.

They were both a little surprised and eager to know what was going on.

Once on the deck, former police officer Kōzaki explained, "Actually, I invited Hanchuan."

Kogoro Mouri: "Huh???"

“You resigned early, so you might not know, but Hanchuan was quite famous in the Criminal Investigation Department for something,” said former Inspector Kōzaki. “He had a knack for solving cases, it was quite mystical. He knew where criminals frequented, but when he couldn’t find them, he’d take Hanchuan out and walk around the places where the criminals might appear, and maybe the criminal would pop up… Even if there were no criminals, he might encounter other cases…”

Everyone: "…………"

Former police officer Kōzaki said, "After I saw Furukawa Dai's event in the newspaper, I guessed that it might be related to Ye Caisan. After all, look, Furukawa Dai's kanji, rotated 90 degrees, Furukawa is Ye, Chuan is San, and Dai is Cai. Furukawa Dai could be Ye Caisan. Moreover, the statute of limitations for their case expires at midnight tonight. I thought I'd give it a shot, so I asked Kankawa to come along too."

Everyone: "…………"

Seeing everyone's expressions of "Is the Metropolitan Police Department really going to pull these kinds of tricks now?", former Inspector Kōzaki explained, "I retired two years ago, and I worked with Kankawa for several years! I feel like it really works! Look! Here comes this guy who calls himself Ye Caisan!"

Kogoro Mouri's lips twitched: "I see."

Hattori Heiji: "...Is it possible that even if you don't call for Mr. Hanchuan... if Mr. Hanchuan comes, this Ye Caisan will also appear?"

Former police officer Kōzaki said solemnly, "We can't afford to take any chances. This is our last chance. We must use every trick in the book!"

Hattori Heiji: "..."

You've even started believing in metaphysics! And you're still talking about wishful thinking and all that!

However, it's not entirely incomprehensible how Mr. Kōzaki feels. It's just that Mr. Kōzaki's level of attention to Ye Caisan's case seems a bit strange, not like ordinary attention...

"And then, please, if Han Chuan shows up later, please pretend you don't know him and that you didn't know he used to be a policeman," said former Inspector Jiao Qi. "Many criminals will give themselves away in front of him, and I want to observe him."

Hattori Heiji thought to himself, "No wonder Mr. Kōzaki pretended not to know the other person even though he knew he was someone he knew. He even had this kind of hesitation..."

Kogoro Mouri asked in confusion, "Didn't he go back to sleep?"

"Don't let his appearance fool you, he actually enjoys watching the excitement... and he's quite responsible."

"……OK."

—Didn't you just let it slip?! And you still insisted on bringing Hanchuan Shenliu along?!

The others were speechless.

Because former Inspector Kōzaki still wanted to find Ye Caisan, and Kogoro Mouri was going to help someone, Heiji Hattori took the opportunity to chat quietly with Conan Edogawa on their way back to the restaurant.

"Is that the person you mentioned before, Shinryu Hanakawa?" Hattori Heiji asked, still shaken. "No wonder you said you understood as soon as you saw him... Indeed, I can now completely understand your suspicions about him."

Conan Edogawa was deeply moved: "Right! You finally understand!"

"I've seen people who are born with a fierce appearance or who don't give off a good vibe before, but this is the first time I've seen one to this extent."

Hattori Heiji remarked, "However, since he used to be a policeman and is still an advisor to the Metropolitan Police Department, and judging from Mr. Kōzaki's demeanor, he seems to trust him a lot... Given that kind of aura, the fact that he can be trusted by the police so much means I think he must be more innocent than the average policeman, right?"

After all, if a police officer only needs a 10% level of innocence to gain trust, then Hanchuan Shenliu clearly needs to pay a 100%.

This is very unfair, but thinking about it from the opposite perspective, it makes them seem more trustworthy.

Conan Edogawa's expression was grave: "I hope so too, but the fact that he and Potts appeared at the game launch event together seems to match the image of Potts I've heard about... Even if he has nothing to do with that organization, it's still strange that Inspector Hagiwara let slip about the 'advisor' role..."

"I understand. Let's talk about it when he comes out. In any case, we have to see what he did."

They soon returned to the restaurant.

Because the cruise ship didn't have many entertainment options, most people stayed in the restaurant, either drinking, chatting, or playing cards.

Heiji Hattori explained that he had received a letter and was invited to come to the cruise ship as a detective... Now that Ye Caisan's incident had happened, he felt that there was really something wrong with this cruise ship.

"So, you're that detective?" the stylishly dressed woman asked with a smile. "I saw them rush out just now. If they were looking for Ye Cai San, did they find him?"

"not yet."

Heiji Hattori sighed, "The cruise ship is still too big."

"Since that's the case, how about we play cards?" the fashionable woman suggested. "Waiting is boring anyway... but playing cards is more fun with more people. Hey you guys over there, want to join us?"

The two men at the bar looked up in their direction, seemingly about to agree, but for some reason, their expressions suddenly froze.

Hattori Heiji seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head to look.

A young man wearing a black trench coat, with an aura as cold and dangerous as the sea under the night sky, walked in through the door.

He said casually, "I don't like the smell of smoke."

Several men who were smoking reflexively stubbed out their cigarettes.

The young man, who was as terrifying as a dictator, sat down opposite Ran Mouri as if nothing had happened.

"Aren't we going to play cards? Count me in."

He paused, then politely added, "Thank you."