Chapter 287

Usoppai looked at the suspicious points from Edogawa Conan that were being recorded in the backstage area without giving it much thought.

After all, he had deliberately gone to visit Ai Haibara under the guise of Sugawa Shinryu, and Hattori Heiji had clearly recognized him. It would be strange if Edogawa Conan didn't suspect anything.

It'll probably take a few more days to calm down, and during those few days he can just give up!

System: [Last time you said you wanted to give up, then you went to Vermouth to raise your suspicion level...]

Usoppei expressed his shame: "[It just came too easily; I couldn't resist. After all, the opportunity was right in front of me, so why not take it, right?]"

The system's comment, without any malice, read: "You're destined to be a workaholic."

Usui Saiki: 【…I usually slack off quite a bit!】

He plays video games like crazy, okay? He doesn't even work properly, all he does is eat, drink, and have fun... But when someone comes to his door with suspicion, it's like finding a treasure chest in a video game—only a fool wouldn't open it!

The moment Vermouth opened her mouth, Usoppai Kijiro felt as if he had seen glittering gold coins, and he couldn't help but go to work... Sigh.

However, he's been running around a lot lately, which has been quite tiring. He should take a break for now.

It's closed down!

Although Usakabe Saiki knew that criminal prospective members often loitered around his neighborhood seeking advice, and that yakuza members helped maintain order, he couldn't understand the anxiety of those waiting in line, since only one or two people came from his perspective. He could close down business whenever he wanted.

It's just that Kenji Hagiwara was too busy being a policeman to pay attention to him, otherwise, when faced with Jinpei Matsuda's complaints, Kenji Hagiwara would never have said something like, "Shinryu is actually quite busy too."

Without hesitation, Bo Yezaki locked the doors and windows, turned off the lights on the first floor, and went upstairs to play games.

The next day, Bo Yezaki woke up relatively early. After hearing the noise downstairs, he tossed and turned for a while before deciding to give up on staying in bed.

After washing up, he went downstairs and found Matsuda Jinpei sitting imposingly on his sofa.

"Awake?" Matsuda Jinpei lazily raised his chin, gesturing for him to look at the table. "I brought you some food."

Bo Yezaki thanked him, went over to unpack the plastic bag, and casually asked, "On vacation?"

"Well, I can finally take a break." Matsuda Jinpei sighed deeply. "I've been too busy lately."

There are too many bombings in Tokyo. As a developed metropolis, many areas are densely populated, or building owners refuse to detonate them directly, which makes bomb experts sometimes suddenly very busy.

Usoya Saiki then asked, "What are your plans for the holiday?"

"I haven't decided yet." Matsuda Jinpei looked like he was about to enter a state of deep contemplation. "Oh, right, there's something else. That's what I came here for in the first place."

As he spoke, Matsuda Jinpei took out a letter from his coat and tossed it to Usui Saiki, who caught it between two fingers.

"What is this?" Bo Yezaki turned it over and took a look.

"I had a letter for you. It was sent to the Metropolitan Police Department, and I brought it to you on my way," Matsuda Jinpei said impatiently.

Bo Yezhai pondered, "You just said, 'That's why I came here in the first place...'"

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

Usoba Saiki is actually quite talkative in front of acquaintances: "So, did you come here specifically to bring me food and deliver a letter, or did you come here specifically to deliver a letter and bring me food on the side...?"

Matsuda Jinpei: "Stop talking nonsense and get right to it."

Matsuda Jinpei had already realized that although Suzumawa Shinryu looked aloof, he was actually very prone to taking advantage of others. Hagi spoiled this guy too much... so he couldn't spoil him even more!

As a result, the class monitor even teased him about being a strict father and a kind mother... He endured it.

Matsuda Jinpei felt that he would become a ninja sooner or later.

Even without Matsuda Jinpei saying anything, Usuoba Saiki was also curious about the letter sent to the Metropolitan Police Department. He even skipped his meal to open the letter and take a look.

“Hmm…” Bo Yezaki fell into deep thought.

"What, is it a request for help?" Matsuda Jinpei guessed. "The fact that it was sent to the Metropolitan Police Department means that only someone who has heard of your reputation for solving cases but doesn't know where you live would do such a thing, right?"

“It was an anonymous invitation,” said Saiki Usaba. “It was signed ‘Forsaken by God, Child of the Phantom’… and it came with a check for two million yen.”

Matsuda Jinpei was taken aback, his previously lazy posture vanished, and he straightened up: "Let me see!"

He leaned closer to examine it: "The Twilight Mansion... Hmm, wait, this code..."

Usakabe Saiki, a code-breaking expert: "The signature hints that he is Kaito Kid."

Matsuda Jinpei asked in confusion, "Was the person who invited you Kaito Kid? I think we should investigate the origin of this check."

“They’re probably just using Kaito Kid’s name,” said Saiki Usaba. “Kaito Kid’s announcements aren’t like this.”

"...Then this invitation is even stranger." Matsuda Jinpei frowned, but his tone was enthusiastic. "Are you going? Can you take me with you? I happen to be on vacation."

When Usoppō Saiki saw "Twilight Mansion," he knew what the invitation was all about, so he didn't refuse: "If you're in charge of driving."

Matsuda Jinpei was speechless for a moment, but to satisfy his curiosity, he agreed: "Okay."

He was really fed up with the bombing incident. Finally, there was something so interesting, and they even had the audacity to invite Han Chuan Shenliu to join in the fun. He could finally clear his head!

Because he had something to look forward to, Matsuda Jinpei didn't seem as carefree as usual when he went back to work; instead, he looked quite energetic.

After finding out the reason, Kenji Hagiwara asked about the time and sighed, "Ah, I have to go to work, so I can't go together..."

Matsuda Jinpei said, "Hiding his head and tail and even using the name of Kaito Kid, he probably isn't a character worth mentioning. I'm mainly curious who has the guts to invite Kankawa."

Kenji Hagiwara: "...Remember to call the police if anything happens."

A policeman goes out with a former policeman, and another policeman is genuinely worried about them, thinking that they are likely to get into trouble and calls the police... Matsuda Jinpei feels something is off.

It was the same when I went to the game launch event last time... It's definitely Hanakawa Shinryu's fault! If he went out by himself, Hagi wouldn't have to worry like this!!!

Although he often secretly criticized Kankawa Shinryu, on the day the invitation arrived, Matsuda Jinpei's body still betrayed him by driving to Kankawa Shinryu's door, and there was even food he had brought for Kankawa Shinryu in the car.

The Twilight Mansion is located deep in the mountains, in a rather remote place. When they arrived, it was already evening and raining. Looking at the castle-like building in the distance, Matsuda Jinpei had a feeling that he had stumbled into some horror movie.

Usakabe Saiki said, "Let's drive the car a little further and then walk over."

"Hmm? Why?" Matsuda Jinpei glanced at the car parked on the side of the road, which had been left behind him, in the rearview mirror, assuming that Usui Saiki had acted on impulse after seeing that car. "Because of that car? I think it must have broken down."

“No, it’s mainly the atmosphere.” Bo Yezai pondered. “Don’t you think that once we get there, a murder will occur, and then the bridge will be blown up, the telephone lines will be cut, and the cars will be blown up?”

"...The locked-room mystery, huh? Don't you find it hard to read those kinds of novels because it's so easy to figure out who the culprit is?" Matsuda Jinpei retorted.

Although he was verbally criticizing Usaku Saiki, it was actually a conditioned reflex for Matsuda Jinpei; he still took Usaku Saiki's words seriously.

Especially after he pondered for a moment, he felt that since Han Chuan Shenliu had taken the initiative to suggest walking in the rain, then regardless of whether he could figure out the reason or not, it didn't matter if Han Chuan Shenliu didn't want to explain. Let's walk, let's get off the car and walk!

After all, Matsuda Jinpei had always thought that Suzumawa Shinryu was the kind of person who would order others to drive but would never drive himself, let alone walk. Now that he was suddenly making this suggestion, he was worried that if he continued to drive, he would die.

However, considering that it was inconvenient to walk in the rain and that there was still quite a distance to go, Matsuda Jinpei carefully drove the car to the vicinity of the bridge leading to the Twilight Mansion before getting out of the car with Usui Saiki. They walked slowly for 20 minutes with umbrellas before finally reaching the entrance of the Twilight Mansion.

Matsuda Jinpei left in a very unpleasant mood, but he didn't utter a single complaint. However, after entering the "Twilight Mansion," everyone inside was shocked by him.

"Mr. Matsuda?! You're here too? But your pants are soaked..." Ran Mouri exclaimed instinctively, "You didn't walk here, did you?!"

Matsuda Jinpei recognized them and greeted them: "Long time no see, Mr. Mori, Ms. Mori, and Conan-kun... How could we have walked the whole way? We only walked a short distance."

Kogoro Mouri was puzzled: "A short distance?"

"I came from the bridge." Matsuda Jinpei put down his umbrella and asked, "Excuse me, do you have any towels? Please take a few, thank you."

The maid, who seemed a little dazed, quickly said, "Yes, yes! I'll go get it right away!"

At that moment, a high school student asked in confusion, "Mr. Matsuda? Didn't the maid just say that the last one left was the detective named Kankawa?"

The door opened again as soon as he finished speaking.

A young man dressed in a long black trench coat, exuding an aura of an uninvited guest from a horror movie, stood at the door. His dark red eyes swept over the crowd, bringing an inexplicable sense of oppression.

A white bolt of lightning suddenly exploded behind him, stinging everyone's eyes.

"You..." The high school student's expression turned serious, "You mean, Detective Hanchuan?"

Did this Mr. Hanchuan have some kind of unspeakable profession in the past, and now he's retired to become a detective?

Ran Mouri reacted the fastest: "Ah, Mr. Kankawa! When I heard the name Kankawa, I was wondering if it could be you... Come in quickly."

Matsuda Jinpei turned his head, full of questions, and asked, "When did you become a detective? Weren't you a [consultant]?"

The young man with deep hair and red eyes took off his trench coat. Contrary to his dangerous demeanor, he answered with a very good temper, "I received an invitation, so I came to take a look... The organizers didn't say they were only inviting detectives, did they?"

"But so far, apart from Mr. Hanchuan, all the people invited have actually been detectives," Ran Mouri explained.

"Finally got it," Matsuda Jinpei retorted, "Kankawa, why do you always try to get special treatment wherever you go?"

At that moment, an old woman suddenly asked, "Why did you come all this way? Did your car break down or have a flat tire?"

“Neither,” Matsuda Jinpei said speechlessly. “The car was perfectly fine. It was Kankawa who suddenly suggested we walk the rest of the way…”

The old lady looked at Han Chuan Shenliu: "Oh? And the reason?"

—Could it be that after seeing through her, he planned to blow up other people's cars?! Surely not!?

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Extra chapters at night featuring landmines

I updated 4 hours earlier than yesterday. I'll keep up the good work tomorrow!

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Matsuda: Since Kankawa has suggested walking, we absolutely have to go!

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Conan's feelings are complicated right now... After learning that Karasuma Renya is the organization's boss, his feelings about this day will become even more complicated...

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Karasuma Renya's house!