Chapter 314
Heiji Hattori wasn't playing any pranks; he was actually in trouble.
Today, Heiji Hattori and Kazuha Toyama took a plane around 8 a.m. to Tokyo to visit Shinichi Kudo... oh, Conan Edogawa, and the Mori father and daughter.
Since the appointment with Kogoro Mouri was at 1 p.m., Heiji Hattori took the opportunity to meet Detective Kusukawa, a former subordinate of Kazuha Toyama's father who is now a detective.
He went to find Detective Nanchuan, but found that he was not there and the door was not closed. Although there was a note on the door saying that he would be back before noon, he waited until noon but did not see him.
It's worth noting that the door was taped shut, so any intrusion would be detected. And it was clear that someone had already broken in, which was probably why Detective Kusukawa refused to come back. With that in mind, Hattori Heiji simply pushed the door open and went in to investigate, and then found an address.
Following the address led to the unexpected discovery that the guy Nanchuan had provoked actually had thugs with guns. He and Toyama Kazuha were outmatched with their bare hands and were imprisoned in the attic, forced to decipher a code.
Despite appearing to be a kind and benevolent lawyer, he told them that if they couldn't decipher the code, they were useless and would die.
Although Hattori Heiji suspected that he would die if he deciphered the code.
After all, the lawyer said that Detective Nanchuan discovered evidence that she had instructed important figures to evade taxes, and that the evidence was stored in Dongdu Bank. The code was the combination to the Dongdu Bank safe deposit box.
That was bad enough, but Detective Nanchuan had also pre-booked a courier service to send a letter explaining the situation and the same code to his detective agency the next day, at which point her actions would be exposed—he had come to negotiate in order to make her stop, and even swore that he would keep quiet if she stopped now.
As a result, Detective Nanchuan was beaten to death.
But the code still needs to be deciphered. After all, the lawyer wants to get back the evidence containing her crimes from the East Capital Bank, and time is running out. As a result, Hattori Heiji just happens to be there, and she starts to pressure Hattori Heiji to decipher the code.
In short, because Heiji Hattori was detained, he was forced to stand up Conan Edogawa and his group, which led Kogoro Mouri and his men to follow the clues he had obtained earlier.
When Hattori Heiji first saw Conan Edogawa, he was quite happy, thinking that he was finally going to be rescued.
As a result, he made a commotion, and the lawyer's cat happened to run out and take the blame. Conan Edogawa discovered some suspicious points, and the lawyer was able to find reasons to cover them up.
And just like that, Conan Edogawa really left!!!
Heiji Hattori could see everything clearly from the attic window!
He almost lost his mind. Even with his hands and feet tied, he tried to smash the window with his head to attract the attention of the people in the courtyard, but he was discovered by the guards and beaten up again.
After dismissing Conan Edogawa, the lawyer came back and threatened Heiji Hattori to crack the code.
Seeing Hattori Heiji's uncooperative attitude, the lawyer couldn't help but sigh: "Sigh, if it weren't for the tight schedule, and who knows when the consultant will be back, or even if they will be on the waiting list, I wouldn't need to ask you..."
One of the henchmen nodded in agreement: "Exactly! I heard the consultant is particularly good at cracking codes!"
Hattori Heiji, who was still struggling, suddenly froze.
The thugs who were suppressing Hattori Heiji were the first to notice this, and looked down in confusion: "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
Did he lose control of his strength and kill someone again?
"Uh...you mean that kind of 'advisor'?" Hattori Heiji didn't know how to describe it either. "You know, the kind who helps with questions that aren't suitable to be asked elsewhere...and if you go to consult him, you might get dragged into a lottery by the people in charge of maintaining order..."
The lawyer looked at him with some surprise: "Yes, actually, for this kind of thing, consulting a consultant is the first choice, but unfortunately, consultants have recently closed down... You actually know about consultants?"
“…Well, you could say we know each other.” Hattori Heiji suddenly laughed. “Actually, I still have his contact information on my phone!”
He obtained this contact information from retired police officer Samezakijima, who had boarded the cruise ship with Shinryu Kanakawa, during the previous cruise ship case.
After all, Samezaki Shimaji was friends with his father at the kendo dojo, and Hattori Heiji was the son of the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief. It wasn't strange that they had clean backgrounds, so Samezaki Shimaji wouldn't refuse to give them a police officer's phone number.
However, Samezaki Shima also warned Hattori Heiji that Samikawa Shinryu rarely answers calls from unknown numbers and may not even read emails, depending entirely on his mood, so he should not bother the other party unless necessary.
Heiji Hattori agreed, originally just as a precaution, without actually intending to contact the other party, but now...
He's about to die! Kazuha is going to die too!
I hope Mr. Hanchuan can understand this emergency situation.
Anyway, the worst that could happen is that he doesn't answer the phone, and he can accept that. He would never complain about why the other party doesn't answer the phone to save him.
With this in mind, Hattori Heiji told the prisoner, who seemed eager to contact Samikawa Shinryu, that he had the contact information for an advisor.
The lawyer didn't immediately believe him. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and looked at him suspiciously: "You? You actually have a consultant's phone number? Do you think we'd believe that?"
“You have to believe it whether you want to or not, because it’s true.” Hattori Heiji rallied his spirits and began to deal with the group of criminals.
Even the thugs were suspicious: "How do you know the 'consultant'?"
Hattori Heiji took a deep breath: "We ran into each other in a case, and the [advisor] was there too... Don't ask me why I didn't arrest him; do you think he would leave evidence for someone to arrest him?!"
When the other thug said he had the consultant's contact information, he found Hattori Heiji's phone and scrolled through the contacts for a while. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "It's true! There's someone in his contacts named 'Consultant'!"
The other two accomplices exchanged glances, their faces showing a mixture of doubt and surprise.
"...Then let's just call this number..."
"The consultant doesn't answer calls from strangers!" Hattori Heiji shouted. "Sometimes he doesn't even answer calls from people he knows! Let alone strangers! If you call him using my phone, he'll definitely ask me what's wrong! Don't... don't let my appearance fool you, the consultant actually thinks quite highly of me!"
Hmm... it's probably better to believe it's true, right? Anyway, I doubt this guy would dare to say anything reckless now.
After hesitating for a moment, the lawyer nodded and said, "In that case, you should give it a try... Let him go first, so the sound doesn't sound wrong."
One of the thugs pointed a gun at Hattori Heiji's head and warned him, "Just ask for the code. If you dare to reveal your current situation, you can just die here!"
Another henchman: "Do you think the [advisor] will mourn for you?"
Hattori Heiji: "…………"
In short, after negotiations, Hattori Heiji agreed to let these people go in exchange for his cooperation and subsequent silence. He didn't believe they would keep their promise and probably just wanted to keep him in check, but as long as he could buy time, that was fine.
Having finally gotten his phone back, Hattori Heiji made his first phone call to Samikawa Shinryu.
He prayed silently, hoping that Kanakawa Shinryu would suddenly decide to answer his unfamiliar call. Otherwise, he would have to change his approach, saying he could help them contact the sleeping Kogoro, or even try to tip off Kudo...
Perhaps heaven heard Hattori Heiji's prayers, because Samikawa Shinryu actually answered the phone.
Before the other person could ask "Who are you?", Hattori Heiji quickly introduced his "purpose"—Mr. Hanakawa is so amazing, he should be able to deduce that something was wrong from my tone and address, right?
"...Okay, send it to me."
Hattori Heiji couldn't believe that he had achieved his goal so easily.
Because the bottom part of the cipher paper was stained with blood, and the prisoners did not make copies, Hattori Heiji had to describe the last few lines of the cipher himself.
He claimed he had memorized everything and had a photographic memory, which convinced the criminals. They warned him not to try anything funny, since once the code was cracked, they would immediately test it at the bank, and its authenticity would be exposed very quickly.
Heiji Hattori wasn't worried about this, because he had already cracked the code and was just trying to buy time.
Therefore, he didn't wait to send an email, but said directly on the phone, "I'll just give you the numbers. Actually, you don't need to rush. Just crack it before tonight. If it really doesn't work, I can ask Mr. Mori for help..."
Soon, Hattori Heiji verbally delivered the code and secretly altered the part stained with blood, attempting to send his own signal.
"So, do you want me to repeat it again?"
Hattori Heiji asked nervously.
He remembered that Kudo had said that Mr. Kankawa was exceptionally fast at deciphering codes, so fast that he could supposedly decipher them with just a glance.
If Mr. Hanchuan is really a good person, he should try to save him, right?
"No need, I already know," Han Chuan Shenliu said calmly. "I'll contact you later."
Hattori Heiji stared nervously at the disconnected phone.
He kept wondering if Hanchuan Shenliu had really cracked the code... This had nothing to do with Hanchuan Shenliu's own abilities. Now that his life was at stake, he couldn't help but think about the worst-case scenario out of worry.
The two thugs and the lawyer, however, had no doubt about whether the person on the other end of the phone was a consultant.
Because the sense of danger just from the sound, and the way he casually accepted the coded request that had stumped so many people, were exactly the same as the legends!
"I heard the [Advisor] is very good at cracking codes. He should know it before nightfall, right?" one of the thugs said.
The lawyer relaxed a little: "If that's really the case... Are you planning to stay here, or go down and wait?"
This wasn't said to Hattori Heiji, but to the two thugs.
The last person stayed behind with their phone, ready to monitor Hattori Heiji's phone calls, while the other went downstairs with the lawyer.
Heiji Hattori kept thinking about what Shinryu Samikawa would do.
No matter what they do, it will definitely take time. He doesn't need to rush right now. Even if he takes a taxi, it will take several hours. Calling the police might be faster, but it doesn't guarantee his safety...
About fifteen minutes later, Hattori Heiji saw the new people from the attic window. He didn't recognize them at all and assumed they were the lawyer's other accomplices.
Five minutes later, a loud commotion came from downstairs. The thugs guarding them paused for a moment, then went downstairs to check the situation.
A minute later, a stranger from the new group came up to the attic, looked him up and down, and asked with an unfriendly expression, "Are you Hattori Heiji?"
Hattori Heiji: "...???"
—What happened?!
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Bonus chapter
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Do you think your advisor will mourn for you?
Hattori: Thanks for the invitation, I don't think so.
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