Chapter 22 I want to talk to you again

I want to talk to you again. —Ryosuke Takeda.

Looking at the email, Cheng You smiled and slowly replied: [Cheng You: I'll be waiting for you at the "North-South Alley" dessert shop for the next two days to discuss a collaboration.]

By directly stating the time and place, he effectively blocked almost all of Takeda Ryosuke's attempts to refuse.

Ryosuke Takeda's expression remained unchanged upon seeing the message, though a hint of sadness flickered in his eyes. It seemed he had already made his choice, but was simply trying to convince himself to accept it.

Cheng You noticed the meaning in his eyes, and then sent an email to Takeda Ryosuke with a playful expression: [Cheng You: What are you sad about? Don't you want to cooperate with me? (Raises an eyebrow)]

[Ryosuke Takeda: If you were dealing with a member in an organization who wanted to be the leader, what would you do?]

[Cheng You: Obey me, or... kill them. What, you can't bear to? A killer like you should be even more ruthless than me.] Actually, at this distance, he could clearly hear Takeda Ryosuke's thoughts, but what Takeda Ryosuke was thinking about wasn't anything particularly important.

Cheng couldn't help but admire this ability to multitask. Normally, when you're thinking about something, your face will inevitably betray a few emotions. Even if you're well-trained, you'll still make mistakes sometimes. Multitasking perfectly masks this.

[Ryosuke Takeda: No. Since we're cooperating, I also need to see your style of doing things.]

[Cheng You: So what did you figure out? Are you satisfied with me now?] He was already laughing inside, but outwardly maintained the helpless demeanor of a suspect. Cheng You thought with satisfaction that the first step in winning over Takeda Ryosuke had been a perfect success.

"Brother Cheng You," a weak voice came from behind. Cheng You couldn't help but lean down to listen. Youyi, lying on the sofa, grabbed Cheng You's clothes, her voice tinged with a hint of coquetry, "I want some water..."

“Okay,” Cheng You got up and picked up the cup on the table. The water inside had gone cold. He patted Youyi’s head, put down his phone, and deliberately handed it to Youyi. “I’ll get some water. You stay here and rest.”

As Cheng You's figure disappeared into the distance, Youyi picked up Cheng You's phone. The screen showed the email history between Cheng You and Takeda Ryosuke. Cheng You deliberately handed the phone to Youyi, and they both understood the implication.

"..." You glanced at it for a few seconds, then quickly typed, [Cheng You: You have no choice. You know your organization has no hope of survival. No one but Cheng You could have done this.]

The other end quickly replied: 【Takeda Ryosuke: Who are you? You're not Cheng You.】 Takeda Ryosuke, sitting on the other end, saw Cheng You getting water in the distance, while Yuichi's position on the sofa was conveniently hidden by the table. Even with his cautious nature, Takeda Ryosuke never suspected the sick child lying on the sofa.

Yu Yi thought for a moment, replied with a few words, and finally added, "Don't tell Cheng You about this. I won't harm him, knowing that this will bring him danger. Although I know Cheng You has the ability to resolve it, who would want to invite disaster for no reason?"

[Ryosuke Takeda: You are actually—]

Hearing familiar, light footsteps approaching, Yuichi quickly withdrew an email. It was an email he sent to Takeda Ryosuke, revealing his identity and warning him not to expose it to Cheng You. Takeda Ryosuke, with great insight, withdrew another email expressing surprise.

"How is it?" Cheng You smiled and handed the hot water to Youyi, then took the phone from her.

"I feel a little better." Yuichi slowly drank some water, nodded, and then turned around and lay down on the sofa again, satisfied.

Cheng You saw the emails Youyi had sent to the other party on his phone, and also noticed the two retracted emails, which made him suspicious. Looking at the content of the earlier emails, Cheng You suspected that Youyi was explaining his identity to the other party. However, Cheng You didn't ask any further questions. Since Youyi didn't want to be honest with him for the time being, he wouldn't pry. Sooner or later, the two of them would understand each other.

Soon, Kogoro Mouri and the police came down from upstairs. Based on the current evidence, it was impossible to tell who the murderer was. Cheng sighed helplessly, but he also believed in the abilities of Jinpei Matsuda and Kenji Hagiwara, as well as the investigative abilities of the famous detective Conan. He saw Conan sneaking up to the second floor again.

Kenji Hagiwara noticed Yuichi lying on the sofa with a slightly flushed face and couldn't help but worry: "Is he sick?"

"Hmm... I have a bit of a fever. But I've taken painkillers, so I can manage." Cheng You looked sad and sighed helplessly, his smile appearing very forced.

"Based on our deductions, the suspect should be someone from this old house, most likely the butler or a maid. However, reporter Ogawa Kiya, who has no alibi, is also somewhat suspicious," said Kenji Hagiwara. "Mr. Cheng can also take this child to see a doctor."

"What?! You're a police officer, and you have no evidence to prove he's innocent, so why are you letting him go?!" Ogawa Kiya, already furious at being treated as a suspect, became even more impatient when he saw the police favoring someone else. He frowned and questioned, "Aren't you police officers supposed to be the most evidence-oriented?"

"..." Matsuda Jinpei rolled his eyes. "Are you crazy? I've only ever heard of finding the culprit based on evidence, never finding evidence to prove someone's innocence. So, there's no evidence to prove my innocence, and you still want to arrest me?! Cheng Youyou has an alibi."

"No." While Cheng You hesitated, You Yi turned over and said, "We won't leave until there is complete evidence to clear Cheng You's name."

Cheng asked with concern, "But..."

"It's okay, Brother Cheng, I'm much better now."

“Alright, then let’s stay.” Cheng You shrugged and looked at Ogawa Noriya. “But I’m quite curious, Mr. Ogawa Noriya must be very capable to be invited by Ishii Yasuo, right?” His tone was dangerous.

Although he said he wanted to stay here, he couldn't bear to let Yuichi stay here with a low-grade fever and headache. It would be better to take the initiative and catch the murderer, Mr. Butler, while letting the murderer watch smugly. He would also expose the true face of the reporter, Noriya Ogawa, who spread false information.

"What do you mean by that? Just because I won't let you leave, you're starting to argue with me?!" Ogawa Ki also retorted dismissively, rolling his eyes at Cheng You.

"Hmm... I've seen your news reports. You praised Yasuo Ishii and even reported on his charitable sponsorships," Cheng You said slowly, his tone serious.

He heard all of this from the butler's whispers: Yasuo Ishii was marketing his image outside the home, colluding with Noriya Ogawa. Yasuo Ishii used his charitable marketing to cover up his crimes, while Noriya Ogawa published false reports to completely deceive the public.

Ogawa Kiyoshi is the butler's second target, but Ishii Yasuo hasn't had a chance to make a move yet.

"Yes...yes, what do you want to say?!" Ogawa Kiya panicked for a moment, but remained firm.

“Mr. Ogawa Kiya, I hope you can face reality. Ishii Yasuo is dead. Who will protect you now?” Cheng You questioned as he approached Ogawa Kiya, a warning glint in his eyes.

"I...I...I..." Ogawa Kiya trembled. Cheng You's eyes seemed to want to devour him alive. He felt cold and stiff all over, unable to move, and even his breathing stopped for a few seconds.

"Uncle, I found this!" On the other side, Conan jumped down from the second floor, grabbed an important gadget, and said with a grin.

"You brat, what are you doing running off to the crime scene on the second floor again?!" Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but give Conan a hard punch on the head.

Upon seeing the important object in Conan's hand, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji suddenly realized, "So that's what it is!" The scattered clues were like beads, just missing a thread to connect them all, and the item Conan was holding was precisely that important thread.

"The murderer is you—Mr. Butler!"

After some reasoning, the butler finally confessed to his crimes, but he didn't feel much remorse. Instead, he regretted not killing Ogawa Kiya as well. "I will never forget the bad things they did. I am not a good person, and they are even less so! I was just happy to kill Ishii Yasuo!"

He glared fiercely at Ogawa Kiya, his eyes bloodshot. "I truly regret not killing you! You don't deserve to be a reporter!"

Ogawa Kiya's heart tightened, and he unconsciously took a few steps back. But there were police officers present, and he thought that the butler wouldn't lay a hand on him directly. The sense of security the police gave him made him even more arrogant. He hid the fear in his eyes and instead laughed, "You want to kill me? You dare to?! Hahahaha, I didn't kill anyone! What happened to me? And you have to atone for the crimes you committed."

Cheng patted Ogawa Kiya on the shoulder and smiled dangerously, "Can you shut up? You're giving me a headache."

Ogawa Kiya: "??? You?!" He was about to get angry, but when he saw Cheng's dangerous expression, he immediately deflated.

“Ogawa Kiya, you are suspected of illegal activities and will inevitably have to go to the police station to reflect on your actions,” Matsuda Jinpei said calmly.

The case was finally solved, and Kogoro Mouri drove them back, dropping Yuichi off at the hospital along the way to get an IV drip and rest.

As the vehicles slowly drove away, Takeda Ryosuke pressed down on Ogawa Kiya's shoulder, watching the police car and Kogoro Mouri's car grow smaller and smaller until they were no longer visible. Only then did he turn around to look at Ogawa Kiya and the maid.

Takeda Ryosuke's mind was filled with thoughts of Cheng You and the unknown person who had sent him the message. That person was truly dangerous, and if he were to cooperate with Cheng You, these dangers would be unavoidable...

Without thinking twice, he raised his gun and pointed it at the maid. At this moment, Ogawa Kiya was already trembling with fear.

"What are you doing?" the maid asked, looking alarmed.

"Stop pretending," Takeda Ryosuke said calmly. "You've also assisted Ishii Yasuo in quite a few shady businesses, haven't you?"

A hint of amusement flickered in the young woman's eyes. "You're the one who took the mission from Gray Fox's assassination site online?"

"Stop talking nonsense." Takeda Ryosuke frowned and fired directly.

The maid dodged aside, narrowed her eyes as if remembering something, and said in a flippant tone, "I know who you are, hahaha, you're a neutral member of the Sakura Blade Pavilion, aren't you? Is it because someone from your organization is cooperating with us that you want to kill us?"

"You talk too much nonsense." Takeda Ryosuke's eyes were filled with coldness.

Finally, the entire Ganapur Prefecture, Japan's greatest work of the last century, wailed amidst the flames. Takeda Ryosuke walked out of the house without turning back to look at the fire, saying, "I will eliminate anyone who wants to harm the organization."

A note from the author:

Jingguang's retrospective mission is about to begin - mission loading 90%.