Chapter 83

After cleaning the house, Usuoba Saiki was still wondering why Hagiwara Kenji, who had been so angry in the phone call and email, wasn't even mentioning the bomb disposal incident anymore. But when it was time for dinner that evening, he realized he was wrong.

Perhaps because the delaying tactic had succeeded, Kenji Hagiwara felt that the best time had passed and it wouldn't be good to speak up again, so he called over Jinpei Matsuda and had the perfectly legitimate Jinpei Matsuda, who was still in the explosives disposal team, give him a good talking-to.

Fortunately, Matsuda Jinpei had passed his most angry phase, and now that Samakawa Shinryu was in the Mobile Investigation Unit, the main focus this time was on educating him about "what police officers can and cannot do," "there are certain things that are not taught in the police academy but will result in punishment if done," and "you don't want to lose your job after finally graduating, do you?"

"You've worked hard, Jinpei." Kenji Hagiwara handed Jinpei Matsuda a wine glass, who was hoarse from talking. "Fukami-nari really needs a lesson."

Matsuda Jinpei retorted, "Then your police academy needs to seriously reflect on this. Shouldn't this be a problem that the police academy should be correcting?"

"...Look, you and I graduated normally too..."

Matsuda Jinpei was silent for a moment, then changed the subject: "No matter how much you say, if this guy doesn't value his own life, similar problems will arise again in the future."

Under the gaze of the two people, Usakabe Saiki calmly sipped his tea: "Of course I cherish my life. I only do things when I am sure of my success."

"Listen to this, hagi." Matsuda Jinpei felt his fist harden again. "I feel like I can't stand hearing the pronunciation of 'confident' anymore!"

That's practically the same as saying "You'll do it again next time!"

Date Wataru, who was also invited to the dinner, laughed heartily twice: "We can't expect Kankawa-kun to obediently admit his mistakes like a primary school student. You guys are very resentful of being lectured like this at his age—especially you, Matsuda."

Matsuda Jinpei clicked his tongue in amazement.

Kenji Hagiwara only wanted to leave a lasting impression on Saiki Usui, so that he would hesitate a bit more next time he did something risky and likely to be reported or criticized. He didn't expect to change Usui's mind all at once, so he was satisfied with that and didn't intend to make a big deal out of it. He just let the conversation flow.

"Speaking of which, didn't the squad leader solve a case a few days ago? I saw it in the newspaper, saying that the police's efficiency in solving cases has greatly improved or something."

"Ah...that."

It was something to be happy about, but when it was mentioned, Date Wataru's smile disappeared: "Actually, I didn't break it."

Upon hearing this, Usoya Saiki immediately knew which case was being referred to, so he maintained his persona as Hanakawa Shinryu and kept a high-quality silence.

Matsuda Jinpei's attention was also drawn: "Was it the squad leader's partner who broke it?"

“No, not exactly.” Date Wataru frowned. “It’s a detective I don’t know, who calls himself Detective Conan.”

"...Calling himself a famous detective?" Matsuda Jinpei's lips twitched. "He seems like a very pretentious guy."

Ida Wataru sighed: "It was really flamboyant. It took a lot of courage for him to come out dressed like that. I really don't understand the fashion that young people are chasing these days... and it was also very distracting. I don't even know if I ever really looked at the other person's face. Every time I think about it, all I see are all kinds of reflections. It's really a failure as a police officer."

Strangely, when he recalled the other people he saw that day, there were no problems. He could only attribute it to his lack of training, which prevented him from eliminating distractions and properly observing the target's appearance.

Bo Yezhai silently drank water.

System: [Look at you, you've made such a good detective question his very existence.]

"The prop is useful, so why can't we use it?" Usakabe Saiki said matter-of-factly. "I'm never taking off that four-leaf clover earring again! It even matches my four-leaf clover hair clip!"

That was a prop he drew six months ago; its effect was very simple: [attract attention and increase approachability].

It's said that this item is selling very well in the favorability system. It can make other people's eyes linger on the earring for a while, and then they can strike up a conversation with questions like "Why are you looking at me?" or "Do you like four-leaf clovers?", thus starting the romance route.

Usoya Saiki got it for free through the daily lucky bag draw, which was a real bargain.

He doesn't need to win people over; he just needs to make people's eyes involuntarily fall on the earring instead of his face when they try to observe him.

The effect is almost guaranteed on strangers you meet for the first time. As time goes by, the effect gradually weakens. It's not necessary for people who are already very familiar with his appearance. So, although Usaku Saiki said he would "not take it off anymore," he would still be careful about the occasions when using it.

As for the added affinity attribute, it can only be said that it was mostly offset by Usui Saiki's bizarre attire and flamboyant behavior, so weak that no one could feel it at all...

Usaku Saiki knew the reason for Date Wataru's mistake, but Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji did not. The two comforted Date Wataru and asked him what the case was all about.

"...They are probably connected to the yakuza, but have nothing to do with the case. They may be actively helping to solve the case just to get out of there as soon as possible and prevent the operation from getting bigger and bigger."

Date Wataru hesitated and said, "But the criminal said he was persuaded to turn himself in by that detective... If he really is a member of a yakuza group, then this guy has a rather strange personality... Sigh, dressed like that, his personality is obviously very strange. I'm just talking nonsense."

Usuha Saiki slowly put down his teacup: "…………"

System: [Hold on, isn't that your goal? Besides, quite a few people in the organization say you're strange! Your lousy acting has only lasted this long, don't let this ruin everything!]

They usually won't say it to my face! But even if they did, I could retort directly! There's no such thing as not being allowed to talk back!

Although he was very unhappy, he reluctantly endured it for the sake of the bigger picture.

Kenji Hagiwara glanced at Saiki Usui with a puzzled look, feeling that Usui's mood had been a bit off earlier... Ah, was it because the class president mentioned yakuza?

It's normal for Kofumi Nagare, who was forced to join a yakuza group, to have some emotional fluctuations when it comes to this kind of topic.

Because Kenji Hagiwara suddenly turned his head, Wataru Date subconsciously turned his head and glanced in that direction as well.

Hanchuan Shenliu placed both hands on the table, holding a teacup, seemingly uninterested in the topic, and absentmindedly stared at the poster on the wall.

Under the cool lighting, his jade-like white profile appeared even more striking, and for a moment, the outline seemed to overlap with something in his memory.

But upon closer reflection, I couldn't recall anything.

"Squad leader?" Matsuda Jinpei tapped his glass. "And then, how did the case end up being solved by you guys? Was it at the behest of the higher-ups?"

Date Wataru came to his senses: "No, it was that Detective Conan's idea. He probably didn't want to show his face, so he gave us the credit."

He actually wanted to tell his old classmate that he had met Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was doing very dangerous work, but there were outsiders present... Even Date Wataru, who didn't really doubt Kanekawa Shinryu, didn't dare to bring up such a topic in front of Kanekawa Shinryu.

Matsuda Jinpei snorted: "Hiding your head and showing your tail, what Conan detective... I'm more like Edogawa Ranpo!"

"Alright, alright," Kenji Hagiwara said, "Anyway, it's a good thing the case is solved..."

"Ah, actually it's not completely over. This case has gotten into something even more troublesome, and it's been handed over to the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department," said Date Wataru. "It's the drug problem that's been rampant in Tokyo lately. It's packaged like candy, and then the user gradually feels unsatisfied, and finally..."

Kenji Hagiwara was taken aback and quickly asked, "Wrapped like candy? Is it 'ring candy'?"

"Yes, that's what they call it internally... What's wrong?"

Kenji Hagiwara said, "Someone has asked Shinryu for a case related to these 'ring-shaped candies,' and there are even high school students selling them. The situation is very serious."

Ah, you must be talking about the person the people of the Nine Heavens entrusted him to find.

Usakabe Saiki realized what was going on and nodded in agreement: "Mr. Date, if you know anything, could you tell me?"

Ida Wataru didn't know much either, but he still told Usaku Saiki everything he knew and could tell him.

Finally, he added, "This involves the underworld, so don't act rashly."

Matsuda Jinpei was speechless: "If I was afraid he would act rashly, I shouldn't have let him take this job, and I shouldn't have told him all this... After all, who would come to a trainee police officer to ask him to do something like this?!"

Kenji Hagiwara paused for a moment: "Jinpei doesn't know about that legend, does he?"

"What?"

“'When there are no leads, just follow Moriarty in the police force. Even if your own case isn't progressing, you can still pick up other achievements'... and so on.”

Date Wataru: "...???"

Matsuda Jinpei: "...I've never heard of that before. What kind of cringey nickname is 'Moriari in the Police Department'? It must only be circulating in a small circle, right?"

As it turns out, even within a small circle, it's possible to find out by making a specific inquiry.

The next day, when Usaku Saiki went to work at the Mobile Investigation Unit, he was greeted by Officer Shima, who had a strange look in his eyes.

Before partnering with Ibuki Ran, Officer Shima had investigated her. He was too busy and forgot about the intern, so he didn't investigate Kazukawa Shinryu. He only talked to Hagiwara Kenji, who was also completely unaware of the rumors, on that day.

But when he was free after get off work, he remembered that Han Chuan Shenliu had helped solve many cases, so he asked around among acquaintances and heard this outrageous rumor.

Just think about how they solved a murder case at noon that day, and caught a theft gang while ordering takeout that evening, earning two credits in one day... Officer Zhimo felt that although this rumor sounded unscientific, it must be a summary of experience...

While the credit is certainly appealing, for Inspector Shima, the best outcome would be if no cases occurred, indicating that the people in that area were living peacefully.

Before the patrol began, Officer Shima patted Usuoba Saiki on the shoulder in a somber tone: "Stop using your supernatural powers and let's get through today peacefully."

Ibuki Ran, who was passing by, didn't understand: "What kind of supernatural power? Are you asking Hanchuan-kun to solve more cases today? Then we'll have to offer tribute, right?"

As he spoke, he handed the melon bag in his hand to Usakata Saiki.

Bo Yezhai: "…………"

Fortunately, Ibuki Ran's jinx didn't come true. The 24-hour patrol consisted of routine matters, such as cats climbing up tree canopies and getting down, or elderly people falling at home and not being able to get up. Some of these were things that shouldn't even warrant a call to the police. There were no murder cases that required their attention, and they didn't encounter any new criminal gangs at night.

At nine o'clock the next day, everyone returned to the station for the next round of handover. Officer Shimo finally breathed a sigh of relief—as expected, rumors are just rumors. People should believe in science. It's not that easy to encounter cases!

The people of the Nine Realms are also at the residence: "Han Chuan-kun, don't you want to go home now?"

The others looked over in confusion, wondering when the two had become so familiar.

Bo Yezhai was somewhat speechless at the obsession of the people of Jiuchong, but he didn't dislike people who were too responsible: "No, I'll go find a friend... I remember your request."

“…I’m very sorry to have troubled you, Han Chuan-kun.” Jiu Chong Shi Ren bowed to him.

Bo Yezhai waved his hand and ran away quickly.

Vodka gave his email address to Akemi Miyano, who emailed him yesterday to confirm the time for her to come and clean. Today, he had to at least give her the key and go there disguised as someone else.

He also wanted to use the "universal navigation" to help Jiuchong Shiren find the student who hadn't been caught and might be involved with drug dealers, so that Jiuchong Shiren could move out of his neighborhood as soon as possible.

As soon as he found a place to switch back to his original body, he received an email from Akemi Miyano.

【I'm very sorry, Mr. Potts, I accidentally hit someone while driving there, and I'm currently on my way to take them to xxx hospital...】

Bo Yezaki's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "Wait here, I'm coming too."

—This has to be Shuichi Akai! Miyano Akemi just got assigned to his team, and this FBI undercover agent just showed up on his own. That's way too kind of him!!!

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Bonus chapter for landmines, paying off debts in progress.

.

My friend reminded me that I ate a very light meal for my birthday last year, I think it was because of my dental appointment, and today it's because of polyp removal... What's wrong with me these past two years?

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Shuichi Akai has arrived!

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Date Wataru: A guy who dresses strangely, and probably has a strange personality too.

Thin Leaf: The fist hardened

System: Calm down!

Thin Leaf: I tolerated it.

Vodka: That's such a weird outfit!

Thin Leaf: Unleash your full damage potential, even complain to the boss!

Vodka: ...I was wrong, I don't understand aesthetics.