Chapter 286

Conan Edogawa was full of questions, and even couldn't help but take off his glasses, wipe them, and put them back on.

What the hell is this group of people?!

However, wiping his glasses didn't change what he saw; it just meant that while he was wiping his glasses, the person drawing lots had changed...

One of the people who had already drawn lots paced back and forth anxiously. Someone nearby tried to talk to him, and for some reason, they started fighting.

Conan Edogawa had even more questions.

What are you doing? What are you doing? Why are you fighting? Aren't you afraid someone will call the police if you make such a commotion?

Conan Edogawa had already taken his phone out of his pocket, hesitating whether to take precautions.

To his surprise, before he, a champion of justice, could even make a decision, a passerby suddenly shouted into the alley.

"Someone called the police! The officers will be here soon!"

The man shouted and ran away. The people in the alley panicked for a moment, then quickly dispersed in silence.

Conan Edogawa: "...???"

Wait... you're all leaving, what am I supposed to do? Did I come all this way for nothing?

He stood there blankly for a while, watching the people run away from his vantage point. After waiting for a long time, he doubted that they might not come back, so he hesitated before getting off the fire escape and walking towards the alley.

The person is gone, at least leave him some other clues, right?

In the dark alley, Conan Edogawa, taking advantage of the darkness, picked up the fortune sticks and slips they had used to draw lots from the ground.

Wait, something's not right, there's more than one fortune stick container!

Conan Edogawa was surprised to find another one.

He picked up all the name tags and sorted them into categories.

Well, although there are two divination tubes, the content on the divination slips is very monotonous, with only two options: "Go" and "Don't Go".

The majority of respondents said they would not go.

Just as Conan Edogawa was about to deduce the situation based on what he had just seen, he suddenly heard footsteps. He quickly hid, clutching the fortune-telling container.

But there were no trash cans or bins in this alley; it was completely open, so even if he were a child, he would be easily spotted.

"Good, no one's here..."

A man muttered to himself as he slipped into the alley and soon spotted Conan Edogawa.

Conan Edogawa had his tranquilizer darts ready—but the guy opposite him was wrapped up so tightly that there was almost no exposed skin. He figured if all else failed, he'd probably have to resort to kicking a soccer ball to knock him out…

"Huh? Why are there children here?" the person said, somewhat surprised. "This isn't a place for children. Go home... Do you need me to take you home?"

Based on the man's tone of voice and the information he had observed, Conan Edogawa relaxed his guard slightly and began to make an excuse: "My house is nearby. I lost something, and I'll go home as soon as I find it."

"Then hurry up and look, there might be bad guys here..."

"But Uncle, didn't you just call the police?" Conan Edogawa asked, feigning innocence. "Shouldn't the police arrive before the bad guys?"

The person who called the police: "Uh..."

"So you didn't actually call the police? You just wanted them to leave? Why?" Conan Edogawa couldn't help but press the issue aggressively.

"Wait, wait, what's wrong with kids these days?!" The person who called the police exclaimed in surprise. "How long have you been here? It's not like it's only been a short while!"

If he continued to be treated like an ordinary child, he would definitely be kicked out. But having finally encountered someone who seemed to be able to communicate, Conan Edogawa had no choice but to use various methods to get information out of him, including tentatively proposing the title of "advisor"... Sure enough, the other party's attitude changed immediately after hearing the title of "advisor".

"You actually know about the [Advisor]..."

Conan Edogawa went even further with his lie: "Actually, my parents have both passed away, and my uncle stole my inheritance. Someone recommended the 'advisor' here who could solve the problem, so I came here."

His acting skills were mediocre, but most people wouldn't expect a child to come up with such a lie and even know about the existence of "consultants," so the person who called the police hesitated for a moment and actually believed him.

Because this person sympathized with Conan Edogawa, the efficiency of getting information out of Conan Edogawa increased dramatically.

He finally understood what had happened.

Simply put, it's said that this "consultant" sometimes only meets with one person a day, and at most three, before turning off the lights and going upstairs. He has a very easygoing personality.

It's fine to do this when there are few people, but recently, for some reason, more and more people have started coming—Edogawa Conan guessed that it might be because the criminal consultant who called himself the modern Moriarty was arrested, so the customers that could have been served by that guy have flowed to Shinryu Sakkawa—it's really a bit of a hellish joke.

In short, when there are too many people, trouble is bound to happen. I heard that in the early days, some people were unhappy with the closure of the [Advisor] office and even tried to break down the door...

Conan Edogawa was shocked: "Did it smash?"

The person who called the police said, "No, I was beaten up. They said I dared to disrespect the consultant or something..."

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

This couldn't go on forever, so they eventually decided to draw lots.

Because many people have only heard of this "advisor" but haven't actually made up their minds, they linger near the advisor's house. When they discover that such a person exists, the yakuza members in charge of managing this area bring them to this alley to draw lots...

"Wait a minute," Conan Edogawa couldn't help but ask, "Yakuza members?"

“Yes, the legal kind, registered with the Metropolitan Police Department,” the person who called the police said in a low voice. “It’s said that the [Advisor] once helped them organize it. I heard that there was trouble near the [Advisor]’s house, so I came over to help for a few days… and set up the rules along the way.”

"Borrowing lots, right?"

"...Yes, it works quite well."

Many people, though troubled, come to seek advice after hearing about the "consultant." However, those who come here probably don't have very legitimate ideas, and they hesitate about whether to take that step.

So you'll be led into this alley to draw your first number. If you draw "don't go," you'd better leave quickly and not take up anyone's spot.

Then, people will maintain order and assign numbers based on arrival order, stamping them with a special seal so that if someone doesn't get a turn today, they don't have to start queuing from the beginning again; they can just go by the number.

If several people come together, they will say that the "consultant" doesn't like noise and only one person can go. To save time, they will draw lots to select one person from the group.

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

"Because the consultant isn't available every day, even if many people give up, sometimes when you're unlucky, a group of people might just happen to bump into each other, like today, and then they'll start fighting or arguing... It's really annoying."

The person who called the police sighed: "So... well, it's nothing. Anyway, you're still a child, and you don't necessarily need to consult a 'consultant' for your problems. You should find a lawyer... really, don't come here again..."

After being persuaded by the person who called the police, Conan Edogawa pretended to be convinced and then left.

Then he made a phone call to Professor Agasa.

Dr. Agasa was also quite worried, but breathed a sigh of relief after receiving his call: "So, what did you find out?"

"...The investigation uncovered some very complicated and bizarre rumors." Conan Edogawa's lips twitched. "Is it really alright for Mr. Hanakawa to have a good relationship with the yakuza?"

Don't think he doesn't know; that guy who made the false police report is actually a yakuza member!

It seemed like they were afraid of causing a scene, so they simply made a false police report to get rid of all the people who were likely to cause trouble...

He seemed very experienced, and if his false police report failed, he would definitely call the real police. So, the reason the driver said the police often came here was actually because the yakuza frequently reported people disturbing the peace here?

Even if it were the real Shinryu Hanchuan himself who called the police, this would be more normal!

After listening to Conan Edogawa's rant, Professor Agasa summarized the key points: "So, Mr. Hanukawa, is he really the 'advisor' you've been looking for? Didn't you say it was a misunderstanding before?"

Conan Edogawa: "...I'm surprised too."

He was convinced!

So the criminal who cracked the code was indeed the one who consulted with Shinryu Kagawa, right? That's why Inspector Hagiwara said so naturally, "That guy is really good at cracking codes"...

Looking back now, the clues were practically obvious, so how did he manage to make it so complicated, going back and forth with doubt and denial?!

Conan Edogawa did a recap.

First, it was because Mr. Hanchuan admitted to being a consultant, but after investigating, he found that Mr. Hanchuan was a consultant for the Metropolitan Police Department, so he stopped suspecting anything after that...etc.

On the ship, when Hattori Heiji asked him, Mr. Kanakawa seemed to admit that he was an advisor!

Even though it was different from directly asking him about the title "consultant"—Heiji Hattori had emphasized that he was a crime consultant—he actually thought Mr. Kakeru was joking and went to "smooth things over," which confused Heiji Hattori...

By the way, after I tried to smooth things over, Mr. Hanchuan seemed speechless for a moment before changing his tune, saying things like detectives should investigate on their own and children don't need to know too much...

The situation has finally been clarified.

Conan Edogawa silently raised his hand and covered his face.

So, Mr. Hanchuan is actually quite honest; did he just overcomplicate things by being too clever for his own good?!

With such good relations with yakuza organizations, who are helping maintain order in the neighborhood and providing crime counseling to so many people, why are you still being so honest at a time like this?

Most people would be too busy hiding it to even think about it, right?

Is Mr. Hanchuan really not out of his mind to insist on doing things this way?!

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A new month! A new look! I'm going to adjust my sleep schedule!

Let's see what time I can update tomorrow, I'll give you all a surprise.

.

Conan: Hanchuan is very honest; it's my problem that I keep doubting him!

Thin Leaf (smiling)

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Fake Yakuza Member: If all else fails, let's fight!

A real yakuza member: There are too many people, let me call the police.