Chapter 262

The atmosphere, which had been quite pleasant, suddenly plummeted to freezing point.

Ran Mouri recognized Shinryu Samikawa, but Conan Edogawa introduced him first, saying, "This is Mr. Shinryu Samikawa. He was resting in his room and was accidentally woken up by us." Ran was momentarily confused.

However, being quite clever, she made some guesses based on what had happened earlier, and cooperatively pretended not to know him: "Good evening, Mr. Hanchuan. Anyone else want to play cards?"

The two men who had been smoking just moments before exchanged a glance.

There was a hint of surprise and uncertainty in their eyes, as if they were questioning each other.

Do you know him?

【I don't know him! How did you manage to provoke someone like that?!】

Although they hadn't seen each other for a long time, they very tacitly planned to slip away...

But at this moment, Han Chuan Shenliu suddenly spoke up: "I just saw those two over there coming to play cards."

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the two people who were about to run away.

The two: "…………"

Under the gaze of those dark red eyes, they found it difficult to muster the courage to say no.

So the two of them chuckled awkwardly and sat down at the table, joining the card game.

"Hasn't the person in room number one been found yet?" asked Hanchuan Shenliu while drawing cards.

When the topic turned to the case, Hattori Heiji didn't care whether they were familiar with each other or not, and immediately replied, "No."

Hanchuan Shenliu then asked, "Has anyone seen the person in room number one?"

Ran Mouri said, "Yes, Mr. Kujirai saw it."

As she spoke, she looked at the short, chubby middle-aged man who had been chatting animatedly and humorously with everyone before... Now he was quite silent, but Ran Mouri could understand.

Mr. Kujirai was restless, but he had to maintain a calm facade: "I did see him, but we just passed each other."

It's no wonder he was flustered; the real reason was that the guest in room number one was actually him in disguise.

He was the one who even used Furukawa Dai's name to find cruise companies and newspapers to organize this event.

He was one of Ye Caisan's accomplices 20 years ago.

Because Ye Caisan's principle was not to kill, when someone accidentally killed a bank employee in a panic during a bank robbery, Ye Caisan decided to turn himself in.

Of the four, the other three were unwilling, so they conspired to murder Ye Caisan, so that they would have one less person to share the money with.

Because the stolen money was in consecutive serial numbers, they dared not spend it before the statute of limitations expired, so they agreed to reunite and divide the money 20 years later.

To get that money, you need his signature, another person's [Furukawa] seal, and another person's key.

Because he wanted to keep the money for himself, he considered taking this opportunity to find his former accomplices and kill them—everyone had undergone plastic surgery to avoid being tracked down, and he wouldn't know who was who if it weren't for seals or other forms of identification.

As for the other passengers, they were brought on board as spectators. He even specially invited Hattori Heiji, a famous but impetuous high school detective in Kansai, hoping that Hattori Heiji could see through the script he had prepared for the detective and deduce the truth the way he wanted, thus clearing his name...

Who knew we'd attract such a terrifying character!

He strongly suspected that one of his accomplices had leaked some information and was planning to conspire with that Kankawa Shinryu to kill him and take all the money...

Damn it! Don't even think about succeeding!

Just wait, he'll kill all his accomplices later! As for Hanchuan Shenliu…

Because his script hadn't taken this situation into account, he couldn't think of a way to kill Hanchuan Shenliu and clear himself of suspicion in a short time. Besides, Hanchuan Shenliu looked terrifying and didn't seem like someone he could outmaneuver...

He made a decision in a sorrowful manner.

If he doesn't dare to make a move, then so be it. In any case, the worst outcome is that he and Han Chuan Shenliu will split the money. After all, the seal and key can be exchanged, but his signature is mandatory. He must be spared!

Of course, it would be best if everything went according to his script, and hopefully this Han Chuan Shenliu is just here for tourism...

Because he was a bit distracted while playing cards, Mr. Kujirai lost quite badly. The good news was that Ran Mouri was particularly lucky. Everyone else was losing, so his distraction wasn't very noticeable.

Ran Mouri was very happy, but also a little embarrassed: "I won again this time!"

Hattori Heiji chuckled dryly: "You're really lucky."

Conan Edogawa squinted and said, "She's always like this, she always manages to win big prizes in lotteries..."

Ran Mouri's luck is truly phenomenal.

Even with such terrifying luck at his disposal, Shinryu Hanchuan never won.

Suddenly realizing the ordinary side of Sumikawa Shinryu, Conan Edogawa felt a bit conflicted.

However, Hanchuan Shenliu has a very good temper. No matter how bad the cards he gets, he remains calm and is very willing to accept defeat... This can be considered as a gentle temperament?

Conan Edogawa's thoughts inadvertently drifted to Akemi Miyano's evaluation of Potness.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that he has never seen Han Chuan Shenliu's expression change.

I always felt that Han Chuan Shenliu's emotions were very stable. No matter what happened, he seemed calm and collected. On the contrary, the emotions of the people around him fluctuated wildly, such as himself. But I can't blame Han Chuan Shenliu. It's because he thinks too much...

At this moment, Kogoro Mouri and former police officer Kōzaki returned. Judging from their dejected appearance, it was clear that they hadn't found the person.

Former police officer Kōzaki looked at Kanakawa Shinryū expectantly, but Kanakawa Shinryū ignored him, his eyes fixed on the cards in his hand.

Former police officer Jiaoqi: “…………”

Even though this isn't my job, and I'm not a police officer anymore, you're still a consultant for the Metropolitan Police Department, right? Don't you care about the case at all?!

Mr. Kujirai suddenly coughed and said, "I'm going to the restroom."

His companion also stood up and said, "I'll go out for a smoke."

With them gone, and the atmosphere dampened by former police officer Kōzaki and Kogoro Mouri's dejected mood, the remaining players lost interest in playing cards and began tidying up the table.

“It’s already midnight.” Former Inspector Kōzaki stared at his watch and sighed. “They still managed to get away with it. It’s really frustrating. We had already seen the clues… Anyway, Mori, let’s have a drink.”

Kogoro Mouri naturally agreed, as he understood the other person's feelings about drowning their sorrows in alcohol.

But at this moment, shouldn't there be someone else besides yourself who should come and keep you company?

He looked at Han Chuan Shenliu and found that the other person was playing on his phone.

Mouri Kogoro: "…………"

"Stop looking, Hanchuan doesn't like to drink," said former police officer Jiaozaki. "Let's just the two of us."

Kogoro Mouri muttered to himself, "You guys are being way too lenient with these young people these days..."

“Hanchuan is different.” Former Inspector Kōzaki raised his glass. “When it comes to someone with ability, people will naturally use that person’s standards as a benchmark.”

"...If he were truly a genius, he would have solved this case."

Former police officer Kōzaki gave a wry smile: "With such a short time and so few clues, even a genius..."

Before he could finish speaking, a strange sound suddenly rang out.

"...Gunshot?!" Former Inspector Kōzaki's eyes sharpened again.

Kogoro Mouri also stood up: "It looks like the deck..."

A group of people immediately rushed to the deck again, since at this time most people wouldn't dare to be alone.

But when Conan Edogawa and Heiji Hattori left the restaurant, they couldn't help but look back and saw that Shinryu Samikawa was still leisurely putting on his coat, seemingly in no hurry at all...

This might be understandable if it happened to anyone else, but it's a bit outrageous for a police officer to come along and not even bother to ask about the situation. It makes one question his professional competence.

However, in this situation, it was impossible for them to stay and argue with others about this issue. They could only hurriedly follow in the footsteps of the people in front of them and rush to the deck.

As they went up the stairs, they immediately saw a burning flag at the bow of the ship, and a ten-thousand-yuan banknote nailed to the floor with a dagger, on which were written words such as "already resurrected".

Mr. Kujirai, who claimed to be going to the restroom but was actually taking the time to knock out his accomplice and set up the scene according to plan, appeared at just the right moment, using all his acting skills to show a terrified expression.

"Help! He... he's still alive! He's come for revenge!"

Just as they finished speaking, the stern of the ship suddenly exploded. The group rushed to the stern and found that the box containing the escape rope ladder was burning. What was terrifying was that there were clearly people inside!

However, since he didn't scream or struggle, he's probably already dead.

The only thing everyone could do was try to put out the fire first.

After so many things happened, Hanchuan Shenliu finally arrived late.

Hattori Heiji asked in a rather unfriendly tone, "Why are you taking so long?"

“…Who knows?” the deep-haired, red-eyed youth said slowly. “Maybe he went to kill someone.”

Everyone: "...?!?!?!?!"

Former police officer Kōzaki was already in a bad mood today, and now seeing a dead body and Kōkawa Shinryū acting so nonchalantly and indifferently, even though he already knew that Kōzaki was this kind of person, he couldn't help but shout.

"Stop making those unfunny jokes at a time like this! Has anyone ever actually laughed at your jokes?! Can't you be serious for once?!"

"I was merely stating what some people suspected about me." Han Chuan Shenliu's gaze swept lightly over the others. "No one seems more suspicious than me, right?"

Others: "………………"

—No, how can someone be so genuinely sincere, so contrary to their outward appearance? Sometimes you don't need to be so sincere; it's overwhelming for everyone…