Chapter 426

Sonoko Suzuki wasn't quite sure what happened next; by the time she came to her senses, Conan Edogawa had already vanished without a trace.

Sonoko Suzuki got up from the ground, staring at the hole caused by the sniper rifle, standing there blankly, unable to let go of it for a long time.

Ran Mouri stepped forward with concern: "Sonoko? Are you alright?"

Sonoko Suzuki nearly collapsed in disappointment, bending forward: "...I'm not feeling well."

Ran Mouri immediately tensed up: "What's wrong?"

"Twice! Twice already!" Sonoko Suzuki was starting to lose her composure. "I got sniped at the Twin Towers last time too! And now I've been sniped again! Can't a person even have a peaceful time to go out and have fun?!"

Ran Mouri paused for a moment, then offered a weak consolation: "At least this time it wasn't aimed at you... Sigh, thank goodness Bo Ye didn't come."

Sonoko Suzuki: "..."

Sonoko Suzuki was still depressed, but because Ran Mouri was starting to worry about Conan Edogawa, who had suddenly run away, she composed herself and began to comfort Ran.

Despite her emotional nature, she's actually quite easygoing; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so persistent in "making up" for everyone by inviting them out to play time and time again.

However, Ran Mouri never expected that when she received another message from Conan Edogawa, it would be the police coming to pick them up as eyewitnesses and take them to the Metropolitan Police Department.

"What? This brat chased the sniper all the way to the port and almost got caught in the explosion?" Kogoro Mouri was shocked at first, then punched Conan Edogawa hard. "Why are you running around again!"

Judy from the FBI quickly changed the subject: "The reason I called everyone here is to get Mr. Maori's opinion..."

Kogoro Mouri let Conan Edogawa go and resumed his polite demeanor: "Of course, is it to catch that sniper?"

"Ms. Judy is here too. Could this case be related to the FBI?" Sonoko Suzuki asked curiously.

“Yes,” Judy sighed. “This is a collaboration between the FBI and the Japanese police, hoping to capture Hunter…”

Kogoro Mouri raised an eyebrow: "Have you already identified the culprit?"

"At this stage, we can only say he's a suspect, but he's certainly a prime suspect." Since this was the Metropolitan Police Department's territory, Inspector Megure coughed and stepped forward to explain, "Timothy Hunter, 37 years old, former U.S. Navy SEALs sniper..."

Kenji Hagiwara, holding the documents, continued, "I know everyone is probably wondering what reason he would have to kill someone. The FBI believes it might be because of the Silver Star Medal—he received the award only a year ago, and was reported for shooting innocent civilians, violating the rules of engagement, and the medal was revoked. Although he denied it, the impact was still very bad. Perhaps affected by this incident, Hunter performed poorly when he returned to the battlefield, resulting in a gunshot wound to the head. Although he survived, he had to be discharged."

Kogoro Mouri looked doubtful: "Even so, it doesn't warrant killing someone, does it?"

Judy sighed: "This is just the beginning... He suffers from severe wartime PTSD, his mental state is extremely poor, his family's investments failed and they went bankrupt, his sister committed suicide because her engagement was broken off, the tabloids are also chasing after him to write bad stories, and his wife may not be able to take it and died from an overdose of medication."

Cameron took out a newspaper clipping and attached it to the whiteboard with a magnet: "This is a case from three weeks ago. This reporter had been continuously reporting on Hunter's scandals, relentlessly pursuing the Hunters, causing them to become mentally unstable. He can be considered one of the culprits in the death of Hunter's wife. After this case, Hunter was listed as a suspect. The US investigated Hunter's itinerary and found that he had entered Japan two weeks ago."

Since we're already in Japan, and there are FBI agents here, there's no need to send anyone else. Let them continue working! The vacation is interrupted!

It wasn't actually a holiday; the FBI agents investigating the organization were speechless, but they still accepted the task assigned to them by their superiors.

That's why Judy, Cameron, and their boss James are here.

"As for today's deceased, he was the middleman who sold him bad assets seven years ago, causing Hunter to go bankrupt. This strengthens the suspicion against Hunter... no, it can be said that we can basically confirm that the culprit is Hunter."

He lost his reputation, wealth, and family. Tracing back to the source, it was the revocation of his Silver Star Medal and the slander he suffered. It's perfectly normal for him to harbor resentment and seek revenge on those involved.

James coughed. "There are still three people who may be targeted by Hunter's retaliation. Two of them are in Japan. Our current goal is to capture Hunter and protect those who may die. I hope everyone can work together to solve this case."

That evening, Kenji Hagiwara appeared at Shinryu Kasukawa's house and told him and Jinpei Matsuda about the case.

Although theoretically, the case should be kept confidential while it is still under investigation, Inspector Megure often hinted or even explicitly told Kenji Hagiwara to ask Shinryu Samikawa more questions when he met him. Even Jinpei Matsuda, who had helped solve cases for the First Investigative Division, benefited from this, so it was not against the rules for Kenji Hagiwara to say these things.

However, after listening to Kenji Hagiwara's complicated explanation, Shinryu Samakawa's assessment was—

"Two are already dead, and there are still three enemies. If we take five of them with us, even if we get caught, it won't be a loss. It's much more profitable than those who go to jail for killing one person."

Kenji Hagiwara was immediately rendered speechless by those words.

Although he had always been aware of Hanchuan Shenliu's moral values, he still often couldn't figure out the other's perspective on events, which always seemed to be more unique than he could have imagined.

Kenji Hagiwara didn't know how to respond for a while, but that didn't stop Shinryu Samakawa from continuing to perform.

Han Chuan Shenliu had even begun to enthusiastically plan Hunter's future: "If we can't catch him, with Hunter's skill level, he can become an assassin and earn back the money he was swindled out of sooner or later."

Kenji Hagiwara asked weakly, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Han Chuan Shenliu pondered: "Thinking about it carefully, this is indeed not a good idea. If you put it that way, I don't think he really needed to kill the intermediary who sold him the bad assets today."

After half a day, Kenji Hagiwara finally heard a human word.

His expression softened somewhat, and he asked, "Why?"

“Because this agent is very capable, it would be a waste to just kill him like this, and we wouldn’t get the money back,” Han Chuan Shenliu said seriously. “I think he could totally cooperate with the agent and have them resell this bad property—”

Hagihara Kenji: "..."

Matsuda Jinpei, who had been silent until now, finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Isn't this still a scam? It's just shifting the risk onto others!"

"I haven't finished yet," Han Chuan Shenliu said calmly. "After the sale, he can go into hiding, adopt a code name, and go find the sucker who bought his house, saying he's willing to kill the real estate agent for them..."

Kenji Hagiwara's lips began to twitch: "It's getting more and more outrageous..."

He went from being a simple assassin to deceiving both sides!

But before Hanchuan Shenliu could finish speaking, he ignored Hagiwara Kenji and continued, "Then, at this point, kill the real estate agent and return the money to the sucker who took over his house from the agent's assets."

Matsuda Jinpei was stunned: "How is this any different from killing the intermediary from the beginning?"

"The difference is significant."

In this moment filled with a wicked sense of humor, Han Chuan Shenliu didn't hesitate to explain, cheerfully saying, "He has to take this job for free, and use a code name so that when the police come to question him, the sucker who receives the money can make a name for him, so that the code name can become famous in the shortest time. The name sounds good too, becoming a righteous punisher. It's easy to cultivate fans in the United States with some marketing. At the same time, he can get back the money he was scammed out of and find a new spring in his career. It's a win-win-win situation."

Matsuda Jinpei: "…………"

Kenji Hagiwara tried his best to follow the train of thought: "Isn't it just him who won twice? How did it become a triple win?"

"The sucker got his money back."

Matsuda Jinpei was shocked: "Wasn't it his insistence on selling the house to get his money back that caused this?! How can it be considered a win-win-win situation?!"

“A win-win situation is fine too.” Han Chuan Shenliu’s temper became very good at this moment, and he naturally changed his mind. “However, the advantage of this plan is that it differentiates itself from other assassins and makes a name for itself quickly. The disadvantage is that we can only operate under code names from now on. If our real identities are discovered, it will become a stain on our reputation. Let me think about how to improve it…”

"They've already become assassins, so the focus is on their flaws?!" Matsuda Jinpei retorted wildly. "You're really planning to perfect this plan?! Are you trying to sell it to Hunter?"

Hearing this, Kenji Hagiwara suddenly realized: "Wait, Fukami, you just said 'Thinking about it carefully, this is indeed not a good idea,' could you mean that it would be too much of a loss for Hunter to directly kill the intermediary?"

Hanchuan Shenliu blinked: "Otherwise what?"

Matsuda Jinpei sighed and muttered, "...No wonder he's called a 'crime consultant,' how much could this professional planner sell for?"

Han Chuan Shenliu: "You don't need that. The person you should be taking revenge on is the previous Superintendent General. I can write a revenge plan for you for free—"

"I would be honored to decline." Matsuda Jinpei decisively interrupted Kanakawa Shinryu, lest the topic gradually slide into an abyss.

It's getting more and more terrifying as you talk about it. Luckily, there are no outsiders here, otherwise their stereotypes about Han Chuan Shenliu would be reinforced.

Kenji Hagiwara closed his eyes to adjust his mindset before speaking gently, "Shinryu, don't make these kinds of jokes in front of others... just say ordinary weird things."

Matsuda Jinpei was speechless: "...Even ordinary weird talk isn't enough, is it?! You can't lower your standards any further, hagi!!!"

"It's better to guide than to block!" Kenji Hagiwara lamented.

Han Chuan Shenliu couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the two of them clown around in front of him.

Since he was in a good mood, Han Chuan Shenliu decided to give him a hint.

“However, to achieve this, the first requirement is that he be in good health,” said Hanchuan Shenliu. “I heard that he has very severe PTSD, so it’s hard to say whether he can maintain his previous level. Moreover, the fact that he only started taking revenge after six or seven years may have other reasons.”

"Other reasons?" Kenji Hagiwara knew this was the crux of the matter and pressed, "For example?"

"He has a terminal illness and plans to take revenge before he dies, or..." Han Chuan Shenliu said calmly, "He has spent these years training a successor."

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This is the kind of conversation the three of them usually have. Everyone knows it's a joke, but they still have to make fun of it.

.

Han Chuan: That's really not a good idea.

Hagiwara: Finally, someone spoke like a human being!

Han Chuan: What a waste! We should have gotten the money back first before scamming both sides.

Hagiwara:……