Chapter 511

Karasuma Renya? CARASUMA... If C=K, then Karasuma... that does indeed spell out the surname Karasuma...

Even so, it only spelled out the surname Karasuma, so how did it directly identify Karasuma Renya?

To be honest, the name does sound familiar. He remembered that the original owner of the Golden... uh, no, the gilded villa, the super-rich man who died in the last century and was associated with a bloody legend, had this name.

Mr. Hankawa and Officer Matsuda went along at the time and even helped solve the case. Was it because they happened to recognize a surname that matched the code that they directly guessed Karasuma Renya's name?

But that shouldn't be the case, right? Hasn't Karasuma Renya been dead for decades? Could he possibly crawl out of his coffin and kill someone?

Just as Conan Edogawa was about to ask another question, Kenji Hagiwara, who was standing next to him, was already making sarcastic remarks.

"I heard from Kojinpei that Karasuma Renya was the original owner of the Twilight Mansion you went to, right? The idea that someone everyone thought was dead would become the final boss—didn't you complain about how cheesy the plot was when you were playing the game?"

Hanchuan Shenliu said confidently, "But if the final boss is a complete stranger, it feels a bit off. The Chekhov's Gun Law states that the elements that appear earlier should all be of some use. Karasuma Renya's surname and identity are very suitable for being the mastermind behind the scenes."

Kenji Hagiwara sighed, “...Reality isn’t a novel, a game, or an anime. Don’t just apply plot formulas to things.”

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

Ah, so Mr. Hanchuan found that the surname Karasuma fit perfectly, and so, following Chekhov's spear principle, he forcibly dragged out that rich man as a foreshadowing and made use of waste?

That's too much of a joke. Should he take the code he just deciphered seriously or not?

Since Kenji Hagiwara had already started talking about other topics with Shinryu Samakawa, Conan Edogawa hesitated several times before realizing he couldn't get a word in edgewise, and that continuing to press the issue would be too obvious.

But Conan Edogawa gritted his teeth and felt that the opportunity was too good to pass up. He was just an elementary school student, so what could he possibly suspect?

He's a detective, can't he just want to know the correct answer?!

So Conan Edogawa followed closely behind Shinryu Samakawa and Kenji Hagiwara, painstakingly finding an opportunity in their conversation—mainly with Kenji Hagiwara talking the whole time, though it would have been easier to interrupt if both of them were talking—and forcefully cut in line.

"Um, Mr. Kankawa," Conan Edogawa asked quickly, "if that code wasn't Karasuma Renya, what else could it refer to?"

Hanchuan Shenliu countered, "You're a detective too, right? What have you deduced?"

Conan Edogawa hesitated for a moment, but still answered, "I can spell out the name of the suspect, Asaka, but there are still three letters left. After arranging and combining them, RUM seems the most plausible..."

Han Chuan Shenliu nodded: "Yes, you are indeed very smart."

Conan Edogawa paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "You mean, I guessed right?"

"It's not wrong."

Conan Edogawa: "..."

What kind of vague response is this!

But given Sakura's attitude, Conan knew he wouldn't get any more information by pressing him further, so he could only follow Professor Agasa home with a heavy heart.

Ai Haibara had thought the two would be gone for quite a while, but she didn't expect them to be back so quickly: "The case is very simple?"

Professor Agasa chuckled dryly: "I've run into Shinryu Samikawa."

Ai Haibara: "That's alright then... No, something's still wrong. Why does Edogawa look like that? Did he get hurt?"

"If this could be considered a blow, I would have been blown to the other side of the world long ago," Conan Edogawa said irritably. "It's because I'm a little conflicted. You remember how similar this case is to the one from seventeen years ago, right?"

Ai Haibara and Shuichi Akai on the other end of the listening device both became focused at the same time.

"I remember. What's wrong? Is there really some connection?"

"...Ah, actually it was that strange scene. The purpose was to cut open the glass with letters on it and leave a coded message."

Shuichi Akai was very clever. Upon hearing this, he immediately began to arrange the letters in his mind and quickly came to the same conclusion as Conan Edogawa—Asaka and Rum.

You can't blame them for that; even smart people can't control their preconceived notions.

Who told them to only recently hear about the information related to rum, and then there's a suspect named Asaka?

It's both a suspect's name and an organization's code name, perfectly fitting without a single extra letter. It makes perfect sense!

Meanwhile, Conan Edogawa was saying, "I've deduced that it's Asaka and Rum... Maybe that guy named Asaka is Rum himself."

Ai Haibara said coldly, "I see. So you have a direction for your investigation? Anyway, you wouldn't listen to my advice... But isn't this progress? Why do you still look so pale?"

Conan Edogawa sighed, "Well... I ran into Mr. Kankawa, and what he said has been bothering me."

Ai Haibara shifted uncomfortably—she was already uncomfortable with Shinryu Sugawa's demeanor, feeling that he was no different from other members of the organization, yet it seemed as if the organization was constantly recruiting him, implying that he hadn't actually joined... This was very perplexing. Ai Haibara's PTSD meant that when she heard about Shinryu Sugawa, her reaction was only slightly better than when it came to matters related to the organization.

Fortunately, when Conan Edogawa is engrossed in his deductions, he doesn't care whether there's a straight man or not.

"After seeing the scene, he immediately connected it to the Haneda Koji case from seventeen years ago. I feel that most people wouldn't pay special attention to a seventeen-year-old cold case, especially since Inspector Megure said that Mr. Kanakawa never likes to look at case files..."

Conan Edogawa muttered to himself, "That's fine, but the problem is that when I asked him what the code for the Haneda Koji case was, he said it was... Karasuma Renya."

Shuichi Akai's expression changed instantly.

He wasn't very familiar with Hanchuan Shenliu; his impression of him was still that he was being harassed and recruited by the organization, and that his colleagues were helping him investigate his past. But based on what he knew, he thought Hanchuan Shenliu was very smart.

People feel a little uneasy when their answers differ from those of top students.

In particular, when he was organizing the operation, he deliberately collected intelligence. Although he did not find Karasuma Renya, there were some clues that vaguely pointed to the once-powerful Karasuma Group.

He had heard Gin report to the Boss that the melody produced when he manually typed in an email address sounded very similar to the beginning of "Seven Children," and the lyrics of "Seven Children" begin with "Crow, oh crow"...

Crow... Karasumaru... This answer still came from the mouth of Fukami Hanakawa, who seemed to have some inexplicable relationship with the organization and had been refusing to join the organization for so long yet was still alive...

Don't forget, it was right in front of him and Conan Edogawa who sent an email to the Boss's inbox, claiming to be unsubscribing from spam!

Shuichi Akai immediately began to doubt whether the top student's answer was correct and that he had gotten himself into a rut.

Conan Edogawa was also struggling with the same issue, and after repeating Kenji Hagiwara's comments about the game, he concluded.

"In short, because Mr. Hanchuan... well, it's not good to say it like this, but he is indeed very suspicious and definitely has some kind of relationship with the organization. So his answer sounds like a joke at first glance, but when you think about it carefully, it makes a lot of sense. It just feels like if he really had a close relationship with the organization to the point of knowing these secrets, he shouldn't have exposed such important information so casually, right?"

Shuichi Akai expressed his agreement from the other end of the bugging device.

Conan Edogawa was racking his brains: "And he also said that the answers I gave to Asaka and Rum weren't wrong... That's really strange... I don't understand if he was really joking before."

He had been filled with doubts the whole way, and his mind hadn't been so racing in a long time.

After listening to Conan Edogawa's retelling, analysis, and reasoning, Ai Haibara remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "Leaving aside things like Karasuma and Rum, is there any problem with Mr. Hanakawa's file?"

"...The FBI is still investigating."

"How long has this investigation been going on? Is the efficiency really that low?" Ai Haibara frowned. "Wouldn't it be faster to let the Japanese police investigate?"

Conan Edogawa chuckled dryly: "That's hard to say, and Mr. Kankawa's colleagues trust him a lot, so there's no reason for them to ask him for such a favor..."

Wait a minute, wouldn't the Japanese Public Security Bureau be a better fit?

Conan Edogawa fell into deep thought.

Shuichi Akai pressed his temples, trying to analyze the massive amount of information he had gathered that day.

There's definitely something wrong with Hanchuan Shenliu, that's already confirmed, the only question is to what extent.

Based on his understanding of the organization, especially the melody in the Boss's mailbox, he was inclined to believe that Karasuma Renya's answer was true. However, to reveal such information so easily showed a complete lack of loyalty to the organization...

Can Han Chuan Shenliu analyze things to this extent based solely on the information revealed during the organization's recruitment process?

It seems unlikely, but Shuichi Akai no longer wants to use his own ideas to speculate about geniuses. What if he really is capable?

This kind of genius with an ambiguous and subtle stance gave Shuichi Akai a strange sense of familiarity, and he soon thought of Potts.

Shuichi Akai compared them and felt that, based on temperament alone, Shinryu Samikawa seemed more like a member of the organization.

He couldn't even recall what Sukawa Shinryu looked like, while Gin's presence was noticeably stronger; he almost pressed Gin's face against him...

Putting everything else aside, I feel that Kanakawa Shinryu is easier to communicate with than Potts.

I feel more emotionally and mentally stable.

If Han Chuan Shenliu really joins the organization, then they'll be in big trouble. He's a genius, more stable than Botnis, has a strong presence that can easily suppress those who disagree with him, and has extensive connections, operating in both the legal and illegal worlds... The organization would be like a tiger with wings!

Fortunately, while both are geniuses, Potts doesn't do any work... Hopefully, he can maintain that.

This is a blessing for the organization.

--------------------

Because I added an extra chapter yesterday, my sleep schedule got a little messed up again... So I'm updating a bit late today, sob sob. I'll update earlier tomorrow.

.

Akai: What does Hanukawa look like again...? No, his presence is too overwhelming... Get away! Gin's face! I don't need you right now! ...Oh no, I can't remember what Hanukawa looks like.