Just when Edogawa Conan was still tangling Hinata Hajime's eyes, Hinata Hajime turned around and glanced at Conan.

"Conan." Hinata Hajime said with a smile.

"Huh?" Conan Edogawa was stunned for a moment.

"Want to work together to prevent a terrorist incident from happening?"

Conan Edogawa: ...Huh?

So Conan Edogawa saw Hinata Hajime left here and walked in a certain direction. Because he walked too confidently, even the police didn't notice that he was one of the people who called the police. Conan Edogawa looked at the policeman, who clicked his tongue, turned around and followed Hinata Hajime away.

Let's leave this to the police for now.

"Brother Hinata!" Edogawa Conan caught up with Hinata Hajime, "Where are you going?"

"Of course, we need to find the murderer. The game that Mizudaro participated in has ended. The final winner is the person who killed Mizudaro. In other words, we must find him to get to the heart of the game. Once he disappears, the clues will be cut off immediately. It will take more time to start the next game, and there will be more victims."

As he spoke, Hinata Hajime looked towards the alley next to him. He lowered his head and touched the bottom of the wall with his fingers. Then he withdrew his hand and saw a little bit of unclear red on his dusty fingers.

He turned directly into this alley.

Conan Edogawa frowned slightly, put down his skateboard, stepped on it to catch up with Hinata Hajime who was moving very fast in front of him, and pressed the mechanism on his glasses at the same time.

Conan Edogawa is not nearsighted. This pair of glasses is just a disguise. They look like glasses on the outside, but inside they are actually a device made by Dr. Agasa with powerful functions.

Under the special lighting effects, Conan Edogawa saw tiny spots of light on the wall, which was a blood reaction. Then Conan Edogawa pressed again, and the mirror surface turned into a map. He compared it with Hinata Hajime's direction of advance while identifying the nearby buildings.

But Conan Edogawa discovered that the place where Hinata Sou was heading was a residential area.

"There's a residential area ahead. Logically, a murderer wouldn't run to such a place." Conan Edogawa followed Hinata Hajime.

"Then you're wrong. This game isn't recruiting people in darkness, but more of ordinary people in despair." Hinata Hajime put his index finger in front of his lips and made a huffing motion, with a peaceful look in his red pupils. "And the despair of ordinary people is something that most people can see."

Edogawa Conan looked at Hinata Hajime strangely, with several question marks popping up in his mind.

It's very strange. This person is really very strange.

The eyes suddenly changed color. There is no scientific or medical theory to explain this. It can be said that there are many strange things in the world. However, this person's personality also changed a lot, even to the point that even Conan Edogawa found it a bit outrageous when he forced an explanation.

The Hinata Hajime who had revealed that he was a child at the door of the cafe was more cold-hearted. He seemed more friendly when he came to deliver straw cakes. And now, he was full of confidence. Although he had a smile on his face, he inexplicably gave people the feeling that he was hard to be opposed.

Multiple personality forms beyond medicine?

Ah, if that's the case...it doesn't seem to be impossible to explain.

"Why are you so confident?"

"Confident? No, I just believe that there is nothing in this world that cannot be changed." Hinata Hajime answered vaguely, but the next sentence made Edogawa Conan frown slightly. He said: "At least I can do it now."

Isn't this confidence? Maybe even a little too confident.

When they arrived at the residential area, Hinata Hajime walked forward while observing the surroundings. Edogawa Conan did not disturb him. He also wanted to know what Hinata Hajime could find. Finally, Hinata Hajime stopped at the door of a house. Edogawa Conan put away his skateboard and looked at the house.

There is no name written on the house number of this family, but Conan Edogawa knows the difference between this family and other families without asking.

There were countless stickers on the door of this house, with the words "Pay Back the Money" written in big red paint on them. There were more than one sticker, and because the handwriting was different, it was easy to tell that more than one person came here to ask this family to pay back the money. Even the windows on the second floor were broken.

A person who has borrowed money at high interest rates.

"Hey, who are you?" Suddenly, a woman from the next-door neighbor walked out. She looked a bit ferocious. "I don't know how many times I've told you that Mi Tian is not at home. No matter how many times you come and put up paper, it's useless! Aren't you annoying? If Mi Tian owes you money, you can go to Mi Tian to ask for it. What's the point of coming to disturb our lives?"

Hinata Hajime looked at the woman, his expression changed instantly, and he continued with a distressed look: "I'm really sorry, but there's nothing I can do. I'm also a part-time worker. If he doesn't pay back the money he owes me, I'll be the one who suffers. You see, I have to bring my brother with me even when I go out to work now."

Hinata Hajime lifted up Conan Edogawa and said, "If you don't pay me back, I will lose my job and my brother will drop out of school."

It seems that Hinata Hajime's debt collector is different from the others. The woman was stunned for a moment, and she blinked. The lifted-up Edogawa Conan was just glad that he had just put away his skateboard, so he quickly made a wronged expression, "Sister, I don't want to drop out of school."

It seems that she was captured by Conan's call of "sister", and the voices of Hinata Hajime and Edogawa Conan are so similar that no one would think that they are not really brothers.

The woman coughed and said, "I've already told you that Mi Tian is not at home. He is in the hospital. You can't get the money back even if you ask for it. Mi Tian's father was hit by a car and became paralyzed. He almost became a vegetable. He owes the hospital a large amount of medical bills, but there is no other way. If he wants to live, he must burn money. He has no choice but to borrow high-interest loans to barely make ends meet."

"That's all I can tell you. Take care of yourself."

After saying that the woman turned around and went back to her room. Hinata Hajime put Edogawa Conan down and turned to look at the house where no one had returned for a long time, with a gleam in her red eyes.

This is it.

"Hey." Edogawa Conan grabbed the corner of Hinata Hajime's clothes, "What are you going to do?"

Hinata Hajime smiled and said, "Illegal trespassing."

Conan Edogawa: ...?

So Edogawa Conan watched Hinata Hajime take out a wire from his pocket. He put the wire into the key core and just poked it lightly. With a click, the lock of the gate was opened. Edogawa Conan subconsciously looked around. Fortunately, this place was at the edge of the residential area and no one came over.

"Do you want to come in together?" Hinata Hajime asked.

"Huh? Me?" Conan Edogawa looked around, and finally he followed Hinata Hajime in.

Before entering, Conan Edogawa took a special look at the lock. When he was in Hawaii, his father taught him about locks. He learned to open locks and knew many types of locks. This lock was one of the most difficult to open. Although it was a bit old, this was also the reason why the creditors could only put notes on the door but could not enter.

They couldn't open the lock.

However, this lock that even his father said was difficult to open was no different from an ordinary lock in Hinata Hajime's hands.

Excellent observation, pastry, now it's unlocked.

How much does Hinata Hajime know?

Walking into the narrow building, Hinata Hajime touched the wall casually, and then saw the dust on his hand. It was clear that no one had been here for a long time.

There were almost no luxuries in the room, not even a TV. There were only empty closets and some old wooden tables and chairs. The dishes in the kitchen were piled up in the sink, and because they had not been washed for a long time, they had solidified with dust. It looked like an empty house.

Hinata Hajime did not show any abnormality. He looked at the stairs next to him and went straight to the second floor while Conan was still looking around to see if there was anything suspicious.

The second floor was similar to the first floor, except that the window on the second floor was broken by rocks and the wind was blowing in bit by bit through the hole in the window, and there was nothing wrong with it.

[It looks like nothing is wrong, but this is indeed his home.] Hinata Hajime picked up a photo frame from the cabinet next to him. On the frame was a photo of a young man and a middle-aged man. They were dressed simply, but with satisfied smiles on their faces. [He still has to come back.]

[When a person is under strong stimulation, he will subconsciously return to a place that can give him a sense of security. His father in the hospital cannot give him a sense of security, and he cannot tell his father about the wishing stone, so this is the only address. ]

[It's a little boring, but it's not a bad thing. ]

Hinata Hajime raised his head to look at the ceiling, with a gentle smile in his red eyes.

"I found his father's hospital records downstairs."

Hinata Hajime turned his head to look to the side, his red eyes no longer sharp. Edogawa Conan went upstairs and handed the medical records to Hinata Hajime. "The people next door are right. His father was seriously injured. The driver committed suicide in order not to implicate his family. He didn't even get the compensation."

"Very good!" Hinata Hajime said with a smile, "Then let's stay here and wait for him to come back."

Conan Edogawa was stunned for a moment, "Are you sure? It's obvious that no one has been back here for at least two months."

"But the situation is special now." Hinata said in a very casual voice, and there was even a smile in his voice, "As a person who has not done anything bad for more than 20 years, he broke into a house and robbed it today, and also killed someone by the way, so he will definitely come back."

"Why?"

"Because this is the only address where he still feels safe." Hinata Hajime reached out and patted Edogawa Conan on the shoulder. "This shows that he is not a hopeless person. He is just driven to a dead end by despair."

"As long as he regrets, he will have a chance to start over."

…

Yoneyama Yu staggered forward. He was wearing an inappropriate coat with a stone on the chest. His face was pale and he looked around with every step. He hadn't slept for a long time and his eyes were bloodshot, but he couldn't fall asleep.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see blood. The blood spread out from the human body and swallowed him in an instant.

So he opened his eyes in pain and kept wandering outside, but unexpectedly, he slowly wandered back to this place.

The home where he grew up with laughter all the time.

But the green wall at the entrance in my memory has disappeared, replaced by a wall full of debt reminders, with the words "Pay me back" sprayed in red paint standing out particularly well.

He felt a dead silence inside. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't tell anyone. He had killed someone. Who could he tell? Not even his father. This was a secret that belonged to him. He couldn't tell anyone. He could only keep it in his heart.

Yoneyama Yu opened the door in a daze and entered the home he hadn't entered for more than two months.

Walking all the way back to the house, all he saw was an empty home and dust all over the floor. He lowered his head, holding the things in his arms, and went upstairs step by step. Each step was lifeless, as if he would die in the next moment. If he could give up, he would rather be dead.

Placing his hand on the bedroom door on the second floor, he slowly opened the door, but the moment he opened it he was stunned.

In his bedroom, a young man with black hair and red eyes sat on the only chair, holding in his hand a manuscript he had written.

"Who are you?!" Yoneda Yu quickly opened the door and tried to grab the manuscripts back, "Those are mine!"

"Of course I know it's yours." Hinata Hajime stood up and dodged the rushing Yoneda Yu, then pinned him to the ground with one hand. Yoneda Yu fell unexpectedly and had a mouthful of dust in his mouth. He subconsciously wanted to get up, but found that he couldn't exert any strength in this position.

"Give it back to me!" Yoneyama Yu struggled hard.

"It's not impossible to return it to you." Hinata Sou waved the manuscript in his hand, "But, I have something to ask you."

Yoneda Yu almost collapsed and shouted, "Don't you want money? I know, wait for me for two more days! I will pay you back!"

Hinata Hajime lowered his head and looked at him, his red eyes were calm, and he did not let go of her hand. "You don't owe me money, and I'm not here to ask you to pay me back."

"Then what are you here for?!" Yoneyama Yu roared.

Hinata Hajime lowered his head and looked him in the eye, "Wishing Stone."

The moment he heard the three words "wishing stone", Yoneyama Yu's vision instantly shattered. He wanted to run outside in fear, but he couldn't struggle out at all. Hinata Hajime noticed the broken glass on the second floor where he was about to run, which meant that if this person wanted to escape, it would not matter even if he jumped from the second floor.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me!" Yoneda Yu shouted in fear, "The wishing stone is not with me!"

Hinata Hajime frowned slightly, and a hint of subtlety flashed in his red eyes.

At this moment, Hinata Hajime's cell phone rang, and Hinata Hajime answered the call while still holding Yoneyama Yuu's hand.

At the same time, Conan heard a scream from Hinata Hajime that almost frightened him to the point of dropping his phone. "What's going on with you?"

"He's just a murderer who's not very cooperative." Hinata Hajime said in a gentle voice, "Don't mind it."

"Eh? The murderer? You actually waited for him?" Conan Edogawa twitched his lips. "By the way, I have found out what you asked me to find out. Mizuide Taro once mortgaged his house without telling his wife because of gambling. When the other party was about to take back the house, Mizuide Taro came to pay off the debt. He said that he was lucky and won a lot of money."

"But that money was not transferred from the casino at all, and we still don't know where he got the money from."

Hinata Hajime responded, "Thank you for your hard work, Conan."

"This is not a question of whether it is hard or not. I am asking for your information just because I want to know one thing." Edogawa Conan said in a serious tone, "How do you know that everyone who participates in this game is forced to do so? Does this have anything to do with the despair you claimed? What is this despair? Is it the name of an organization?"

"Don't think too much about it." Hinata Hajime replied calmly: "Despair is just a mood, it doesn't mean anything."

"That's not what you're saying." Conan Edogawa expressed his doubt.

Hinata sighed, "If you insist on following this to the end, you can think of despair as a disease. This disease can spread among people and eventually become an uncontrollable emotional state. In this state, people will do very irrational things, including murder."

"Emotional contagion?" Edogawa Conan stroked his chin, "Are you talking about mental control and guidance similar to the stampede incident?"

"So, those people deliberately chose these desperate people. Desperation shows that their mental state is close to collapse and is easier to control. The wishing stone is a reward. There must be someone guiding such incidents in front!" After saying this, Conan Edogawa hung up the phone and went somewhere to investigate clues.

Hinata Hajime turned off the screen of his mobile phone and stared at the still struggling Yoneyama Yu with his red eyes.

"The wishing stone is not a reward, it is hope." Hinata Hajime murmured, "Put a little hope in front of the desperate, and those who are stuck in the quagmire will desperately want to hold this hope in their hands, as if they can regain hope if they get it."

"Unfortunately, this is not hope at all, it is just an incentive for the desperate to cause more trouble."

[What an efficient method, so troublesome. ]

"Do you want to be a novelist? Or a detective novelist?" Hinata Hajime continued to flip through the manuscript in his hand, "But a murderer can't be a novelist."

Yoneyama Yu's pupils suddenly shrank, he slowly raised his head and looked at Hinata Hajime, his fingers trembling.

"You, know what?"

"Your idea is very clever, but the ending is too sad. It's bound so well. Is this your submission? Was it rejected by the publisher?"

Yoneyama Yu stared at Hinata Hajime, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked at the manuscript in Hinata Hajime's hand, and all the ridicule he had heard in the publishing house flooded into his mind. The editor said that he was unrealistic, that the writing style and plots of his works were terrible, that he was not suitable to be a novelist, and that he would not be able to make a living from novels in his life.

At that time, this novel was his last hope. His father was in the emergency room, and he had no choice but to sell it. However, he was ridiculed and belittled by the editorial department, who were ready to buy the novel for 10,000 yen.

He had nothing but his father and this novel.

Sometimes in life there is no choice of whether to believe in the future, only a present that is destined to be hopeless.

"Don't kill me." Yoneda Yu cried, "I can't die. If I die, there will be no one to take care of my father, and he will definitely die."

"I want to live. I must live."

"I don't want novels anymore. I don't want anything anymore!"

【Ah... a boring choice. 】

Hinata Hajime asked in confusion, "Why give up?"

"well?"

"Wouldn't it be better if I could choose a path that neither gave up my novel nor my father?"

Yoneda Yuu shouted in despair, "I don't have such a choice at all!"

"Then create this future for yourself." Hinata Hajime let go of his hand with a gentle smile on his face, "It can't be worse than it is now, right?"