Chapter 418
Because of Usui Saiki's attitude of not taking what a child says seriously at all, Edogawa Conan and Hattori Heiji also gave up on trying to persuade him further.
After all, no one here is stupid. Some things only need to be said once or twice. Everyone knows what they need to know. At this point, everyone will have their own thoughts, and saying more won't be of much use.
So the conversation naturally turned back to the previous case.
"Inspector Morofushi came over to tell us about the current status of the case before he left today," Hattori Heiji said. "We caught the culprit last night, and the criminal really is the deputy chief of the Ikebukuro Police Station..."
Conan Edogawa quipped, "The photos of the victim from 22 years ago before he went undercover were not all destroyed. There was a photo of him with the deputy chief. As a result, the deputy chief knew he was an undercover agent, but still shot him in the chest. Other people who knew the truth also found it strange and suspected that there was something wrong with their own people. Whenever someone planned to investigate what happened 22 years ago, they would try to take the opportunity to talk about it, and then they would be silenced... I don't know whether I should say that the person who left the photos was not following the rules."
"Going undercover is against the rules anyway," Bo Yezaki scoffed. "The organization that's been infiltrated might even have the confidence to turn around and bite back!"
Undercover work may seem common within the police force, but the procedures are actually flawed.
Previously, when Usoppei Saiki was working under the identity of Hanchuan Shenliu, he was investigating an undercover case involving a company boss's support for a left-wing organization. It wasn't a transnational criminal organization like the Black Organization. The police undercover agent was discovered and had something on him, so he committed suicide.
If he were alive, he would cause even more trouble for the police.
Heiji Hattori sighed: "There's no other way. Some things just require the police to infiltrate and investigate... If all illegal activities could be solved through overt investigations, the world wouldn't be the way it is now."
At this point, Conan Edogawa had a sudden inspiration: "Maybe there are actually undercover agents working hard within that Black Organization! How could an organization capable of supporting drug research be truly unknown? They must have attracted the attention of some authorities, right?"
After all, drug research is extremely expensive, and since it's done secretly without public disclosure, there's no legitimate way for the organization to generate revenue. If the money all comes from the organization itself, even if the organization's leader is the richest person in the world, they can't afford to spend it like that.
As is well known, the quickest ways to make money are all criminal offenses, and if you do them often enough, they will eventually leave a trace.
For example, shooting at Tokyo Tower... If the authorities don't notice, Conan Edogawa can only suspect that there is a mole within the authorities.
Usakabe swallowed his curry rice and agreed, saying, "Japan is so small, there's probably a spy right next to you, you just haven't noticed!"
Conan Edogawa squinted at him, sensing a hidden meaning in his words: "Then give me an example, who among the people around us looks like an undercover agent?"
Hakuba Saiki: "The cold river flows deeply."
"...Mr. Hankawa doesn't sound like a police undercover agent; he sounds like an undercover agent sent by another organization!" Hattori Heiji couldn't help but remark, then added with a sigh, "So you've met Mr. Hankawa before?"
Conan Edogawa wasn't too surprised. After all, Shinryu Samikawa was so conspicuous that he would never forget him after just one meeting. And Tokyo is so small, it's perfectly normal for Usui to have met Mr. Samikawa and still have an impression of him.
He just really wanted to complain about something else: "Undercover agents usually wouldn't send such conspicuous people, would they..."
When people see someone like Hanchuan Shenliu, their first reaction is always, "Could this person be an undercover agent sent by the other side?" How can an undercover agent be a spy? It's too difficult.
Bo Yezhai pondered, "Really? What if it's reverse thinking? What if people think, 'Although this person looks like an undercover agent, no organization would send such an obvious person to be an undercover agent, so he must not be one,' and thus overlook the right person?"
Conan Edogawa suddenly realized that he hadn't really discussed the matter of Shinryu Suikawa with Usopp-san yet!
Hattori Heiji then added, "It seems that Mr. Hanchuan has been recruited by that organization, but he has never joined... I can't imagine him becoming an undercover agent for any organization. Mr. Hanchuan doesn't seem like the type to suffer such injustice."
Bo Yezaki pondered, "It sounds like you know him very well."
Hattori Heiji paused for a moment: "...Uh, no, actually we're not that familiar...it's just an analysis based on the available information..."
Thinking about it carefully, it seems that he has never been able to look directly at Mr. Hanchuan's face for more than five seconds... There's no way around it! As soon as he meets those dark red eyes, he feels inexplicably nervous and embarrassed and dares not stare any longer!
He seemed to be more familiar with Han Chuan Shenliu's tie, because many times when he was facing Han Chuan Shenliu, his gaze would fall on the tie.
He was wearing a Poirot tie, which was completely different from the typical Japanese office worker; it was very casual.
After learning about Mr. Hanakawa's quirky sense of humor, and recalling the Poirot tie, Hattori Heiji couldn't help but sigh, feeling that details truly reveal a person's true nature.
Conan Edogawa and Heiji Hattori have similar feelings.
Although I've met Hanchuan Shenliu quite a few times and talked to him many times, I still feel a great distance between us.
Even after hearing some anecdotes about Mr. Kankawa's time at the police academy from Inspector Hagiwara, I still felt that Mr. Kankawa was shrouded in mist, with a strange sense of mystery.
...It might be related to Mr. Hanchuan's style.
In any case, police officers generally don't go and become so familiar with yakuza organizations after resigning. This unconventional behavior makes it even more difficult to understand what they are thinking.
As for Usui, although Conan Edogawa doesn't know much about Usui's past, they have known each other for many years, and under Usui's various pranks, it's hard for him to maintain politeness towards strangers.
Conan Edogawa even felt that he had grasped what Saiki Usaba was thinking to some extent.
Once you know what the other person is thinking, the mystery naturally disappears.
Especially after being deliberately scared so many times, I've developed a conditioned reflex to the idea that "any unusual behavior probably means that Brother Bo Ye is up to something again."
Even Heiji Hattori, after looking at him from all angles, felt that his friend Usakuya was a smart rich kid who had a long rebellious phase.
Usaku Saiki's carefree and playful demeanor is so prominent that even when discussing serious topics like the organization, Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan worry that Usaku Saiki's attitude is frivolous and indifferent!
"Alright, let's stop talking about undercover agents. You guys don't even know what an undercover agent is!"
Amid the anxieties of the two high school detectives, their friend Bo Ye indeed spouted outrageous remarks.
"I've watched countless movies about undercover operations! Nobody knows more about undercover work than me!"
Heiji Hattori: "That's just a movie!!!"
Bo Yezhai waved his hand: "Artistic creation is actually quite logical, but reality doesn't follow logic. You even think 'Infernal Affairs' is fake, so how could you possibly understand the essence of undercover work? If you actually encountered an undercover agent in real life, you might not even be able to react."
Conan Edogawa: "…………"
Here we go again. Brother Bo Ye's words seem to make some sense, but he's really just using the time to spout nonsense...
That's so naive, so incredibly naive.
Let Bo Ye take over this primary school! Can't he just step aside?!
Ultimately, the serious topic couldn't last more than 10 minutes. Under the smooth manipulation of Usui Saiki's conversation, Edogawa Conan and Hattori Heiji played games with him for several hours before being released.
As Hattori Heiji walked away from the Usakuya Saiki family's house, he said quietly.
"I think it's best not to talk too much about that organization with Brother Bo Ye. He just takes it as a joke..."
"There's nothing I can do. Brother Bo Ye seems to strongly disapprove of my investigation into the organization. He thinks that when I encounter something like this, I should hide and prioritize my own safety and survival... In his view, what I'm doing now is courting death, which is why he's unwilling to help me properly. He thinks that helping me is actually harming me. But Brother Bo Ye is doing this for my own good, and I can understand."
After a pause, Conan Edogawa added, "Besides, I didn't mention much to him! He didn't even know that the organization's members used alcohol as their codenames..."
Heiji Hattori suddenly felt that his friendship with Shinichi Kudo had triumphed.
To ease the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Hattori Heiji changed the subject: "I'm going back to Osaka today. Do you want to come to Osaka with me again? You didn't get to have any fun in Osaka the past two days, you were busy investigating cases with Inspector Morofushi."
"No, thank you." Conan Edogawa shook his head. "Because the airship had an accident this time, we didn't have much fun. In a couple of days, Professor Agasa will take everyone on a camping trip to make up for it. I've already agreed."
"Camping, huh?" Hattori Heiji sighed. "It feels like you always run into cases every time you go camping. Be careful."
Conan Edogawa squinted at him: "...You're talking a lot like Usopp-san right now."
This attitude of treating people like plagues is just too much!
At the same time, Saiki Usaba received a phone call from Ran Mouri.
"Bo Ye-ge, Sonoko said that to make up for us not having a good time on the airship, she wants to invite us to ride a... uh, mystery train in about ten days. I think it's a steam train similar to the Orient Express, with mystery games and stuff..."
"The Suzuki Luxury Express, right? I know it. After all, I'm a detective, so I must have heard of it."
At this point, Usaku Saiki became a detective again.
"Please thank Ms. Suzuki for me. I'm very interested."
He was eager to see Shuichi Akai and Tooru Amuro's antics, and also get a chance to meet Yukiko Kudo and Vermouth. How could he possibly let that opportunity pass him by?
--------------------
To be honest, reality is far more absurd than artistic creations...
What kind of story involves a murderer who outsources the crime multiple times and ends up with 100,000 yuan, then decides it's not worth it and drags the victim into calling the police... or someone storming into an office with several burly men to steal the company seal... even writing a novel like that would get you criticized as nonsense...
.
Bo Ye: No one understands undercover work better than me!
Conan: Bo Ye is spouting nonsense with a straight face again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
