Chapter 13 Unexpected Accident

Cheng You wasn't particularly concerned about the matter of Murayama Yuchi and Uchimura Soichiro, after all, this was likely the beginning of a clash between the red and black factions, a crucial point. Even without him, there were plenty of black organizations that wanted to kill Uchimura Soichiro, and they would still have taken action.

He strolled leisurely out of the hotel and, sure enough, saw a group of police officers entering. Cheng You immediately recognized Kenji Hagiwara in the crowd. The man was quite shocked to see him, but quickly recovered and smiled at him: "Matsukawa, what a coincidence. I didn't know you were here. Your watch is still at my house. Looks like I'll have to give it to you next time."

“It’s alright,” Cheng You smiled. “We’ll get together again tonight after we finish our work.”

After saying that, Kenji Hagiwara went into the hotel, and Cheng You casually walked towards the breakfast shop. While he was queuing for breakfast, a loud roar suddenly came from a corner of the hotel not far away, and flames shot into the sky in an instant.

Cheng was stunned for a moment, and a bad feeling immediately settled in his heart.

An explosion of this magnitude is far beyond what Murayama Yuichi could have done. Could it be that the organization intends to sabotage this place and hinder the police investigation? But the organization has no reason to do that. They are ruthless people who want to hang Uchimura Soichiro's head in front of the Metropolitan Police Department and want Japan to know about this. Why would they deliberately obstruct the investigation?

There was another possibility. The light in Cheng You's eyes dimmed slightly, then turned ruthless. Although this possibility was small, it wasn't impossible. What if... that blond man really did find something out... As the newly emerged black organization boss in the world of Detective Conan, his abilities couldn't possibly be inferior.

Cheng You had indeed overlooked the news article. He hadn't expected a corner of their photo to appear in it, and he hadn't deleted it immediately. If the other party had taken a screenshot beforehand, they might have been able to find something out. Damn it, why didn't he notice and delete the news sooner? Cheng You gritted his teeth.

The terrified screams and cries of the people around him brought Cheng You back to his senses. He immediately ran towards the hotel. No matter what the outcome, the changes he made had altered certain aspects of this world.

Fortunately, the explosion occurred in the hotel's food and beverage department, and the accommodation department was not greatly affected, but it still caused considerable panic.

Cheng You squinted and walked towards the hotel accommodations, increasingly suspicious of the blond man, Cecil. Was he warning him or deliberately luring him out? Was he not afraid of arousing suspicion by being so high-profile, or was he absolutely certain that he wouldn't be discovered?

A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the accommodation area; some wanted to go in to rescue people, while others desperately tried to escape.

Seeing the scene before him, Cheng You realized that he couldn't get in anytime soon. So he looked around and decided to climb in through the window. He picked up a stone, smashed the glass, and quickly went inside.

If he wasn't mistaken, the blond man was probably watching people come and go outside the hotel, and the bomber he had somehow recruited might be inside. Cheng You was still confident that he could find the man using his mind-reading abilities.

He walked around the long corridor on the first floor of the hotel. There were no suspicious people or criminals, but there was a very familiar voice. He followed the sound and immediately climbed to the second floor. At the corner, he saw Yuchi Murayama and Rei Furuya.

[What's going on? How did the bomb explode there? But it was incredibly powerful. Why... why is he staring at me? Ugh, what a troublesome person.] This familiar voice came from Yuji Murayama's inner thoughts.

Upon seeing the pale-faced Yuchi Murayama, Cheng understood for a moment: Could it be that the blond man Cecil had sent someone to change the location and type of bomb for Yuchi Murayama?

That makes sense. With Cecil's abilities, he would certainly know about the bounty on Uchimura Soichiro on the Grey Fox Assassins' dark web, and he could easily find out through illegal channels who Uchimura Soichiro had offended, his schedule for today, and the schedules of his enemies.

Cecil identified the person in the photo as Kenji Hagiwara, but he couldn't find the person Cheng had disguised himself as because there was no file. However, he could access surveillance footage, and even if there was only one familiar figure, he could trace his entire itinerary through the surveillance footage.

Although Cheng had partially deleted some of the surveillance footage from his trip to Nishino Ward, he deliberately did not erase all traces of himself in order not to arouse suspicion.

Therefore, he used the bombing incident involving Yuchi Murayama to lure out Kenji Hagiwara. This was to gauge Kenji Hagiwara's value in Cheng You's heart and to use him as leverage against Cheng You.

Thinking of this, Cheng You's expression turned cold.

Seeing the other person standing there silently, Rei Furuya frowned and reminded him, "Matsukawa, there's been an explosion here. You should leave quickly."

"Furuya, have you seen Hagiwara?" Cheng asked.

"Hagiwara? Was he in charge of this bombing incident? I didn't see him." Furuya Rei paused for a moment as he said this. Everything was too coincidental and suspicious. Even with just a slight intuitive doubt, he did not ignore the fleeting sense of strangeness.

Didn't see him? Hagiwara isn't here?! Could he be in the food service department?! Cheng didn't have time to say anything more; he just wanted to find that blond man, Cecil, as soon as possible.

Rei Furuya noticed his strange expression and seemed to understand something: "He's a bomb thief? But how did he get such a powerful bomb?" As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a miniature bomb controller from Yuchi Murayama's inside pocket.

Like a button.

“As expected, I was just suspicious at the time.” Furuya Rei frowned. So, it seems that both Uchimura Soichiro and Murayama Yuchi have powerful criminal organizations behind them, and they are acting recklessly and engaging in illegal transactions in places where the police have not been able to find them.

Murayama Yuchi looked panicked, his arms trembling, and he was filled with remorse: [This shouldn't be! This shouldn't be! This shouldn't be! I didn't mean to kill anyone! I didn't kill anyone!]

Cheng You smiled slightly. "Mr. Murayama Yuchi was probably used too." He said this to Murayama Yuchi, "Your bomb didn't have that much explosive power, and you didn't hide a bomb in the cafeteria, did you?"

This question broke through Murayama Yuchi's psychological defenses. He couldn't hold back for a moment, and his face showed sadness: "Yes! I didn't do it! My bomb wasn't like that. I wanted them to die with me! But I didn't dare!! I just wanted to scare them with a small bomb!"

Furuya Rei seemed thoughtful, but ultimately did not ask Cheng You about his connection to the matter. He smiled and said, "Leave this to me. I will investigate thoroughly and find out who is behind it."

“…Okay.” Cheng Youhui smiled. “Be careful.”

With the characteristic seriousness of a police officer, Furuya Rei smiled at Cheng You and said, "Don't worry." He had no doubts about Cheng You's abilities or his connection to the matter, even though he had personally witnessed Cheng You silently taking a cell phone out of Murayama Yuchi's pocket and saying those strange things.

The swift and decisive manner of his actions was beyond the capabilities of most, but seeing Cheng You's serious and focused demeanor amidst the chaos of the explosion, Furuya Rei lowered his guard. The current Mr. Matsukawa was his friend, a warm-hearted and capable one. Even if there were doubts, he should personally inquire and investigate after the matter was resolved.

Cheng rushed to the catering department and started searching from the first floor. He eventually found several policemen on the fourth floor. One of the policemen seemed to have been affected by the aftershocks of the bomb explosion and had some skin injuries.

"Matsukawa?" Kenji Hagiwara frowned upon seeing his arrival. "There's a bomb threat here, get out of here!"

"..." Cheng didn't know what to say for a moment. He felt very guilty for bringing an unexpected disaster to Kenji Hagiwara because of his own reasons, but he didn't know how to start the conversation.

He said, "Hagiwara, this matter is a bit complicated. You should leave quickly." If he wasn't mistaken, the people Cecil sent to plant the bomb were probably already dead. Even if Cheng You had only met Cecil once, he could tell that the man was arrogant, stubborn, cold, and perverse.

Kenji Hagiwara paused for a moment, then said, "What are you talking about? We're police officers, how could we leave here!?"

Cheng fell silent. He really couldn't persuade the police officer to leave his post. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He glanced at it briefly, his eyes darkened, and then he looked at Kenji Hagiwara with a silly grin. "Sorry, I was overthinking it."

"It's alright, but it's still too dangerous for you to come here. Let's go, Matsukawa." Kenji Hagiwara was still as kind as ever, but his eyes were resolute.

Cheng You's eyes immediately dimmed: "I understand... I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I'm leaving, Hagiwara."

"It's not a problem. As long as nothing unexpected happens to the people, we won't find it troublesome." Kenji Hagiwara's expression was serious, and his eyes revealed a convincing look.

Cheng smiled faintly and turned to head towards the accommodation area.

He had just received a text message from Rei Furuya informing him that a body had been found, shot dead. It was believed that someone had shot him at close range in a bedroom on the third floor of the dormitory.

When he arrived at the bedroom, he saw a blond, dark-skinned man standing there in the distance. He walked over naturally and saw the corpse beside him. Cheng You squatted down to examine it. The bullet had pierced through the forehead, killing instantly. There was nothing on the body, so it seemed to have been cleaned up.

Who shot him? Cheng You's face was cold. His first thought was of the blond man, Cecil.

Rei Furuya paused for a moment, then asked, "Is this related to you?"

"Um...it was my mistake," Cheng said.

Why was Hagiwara implicated?

"There's a photo of me and Hagiwara together from the last robbery and bombing at the Beika Shopping Mall. It's just a blurry corner photo, but that doesn't stop people with ulterior motives from finding it." Cheng You said calmly, but with a hint of apology.

"Can you handle this?" Furuya Rei asked with a serious expression.

Cheng You fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat cold for a moment. Then he spoke, "Don't worry, I can handle it. But..." He smiled and asked, "You don't doubt me in any way?"

“There’s no need,” Furuya Rei waved his hand. “As long as you don’t harm the people of this country, we can still be friends.”

“Okay,” Cheng smiled with relief, “Then—” He stepped upstairs and waved goodbye to Furuya Rei.

"—Goodbye, Furuya… and my friends from Matsukawa."

Cheng You had made up his mind. He walked down from the sunlit third floor and slowly entered the dark and cold underground parking lot.

The light was against his figure, making his shadow appear thin but upright.

Some people live in darkness, standing in the shadows, yearning for the light, yet choosing to drag others into darkness.

A note from the author:

Sigh, this chapter has quite a few flags...

They changed the cover and character designs, haha.

Designed according to Cheng You's seemingly sunny and cheerful college student hhh