Chapter 33: Fukuzawa, the company president who turned into a child, and Akai's investigation into Koto...
I spent a warm and pleasant evening at Professor Fukuzawa's house before reluctantly leaving to once again plunge into the cruel world outside.
As the battle for the dragon head intensified, the nights in Yokohama were filled with an increasingly thick smell of gunpowder and blood. No ordinary people dared to go out at this time; everywhere were rabid thugs tearing each other apart like mad dogs over the 500 billion yen.
As a Port Mafia employee, I also started working overtime, leading people every night to suppress and eliminate those who had lost their rationality and were biting people indiscriminately because of the 500 billion yen stimulus. This laid a solid foundation for the Port Mafia's takeover of Yokohama under the cover of night, which can also be considered a contribution to the peace of Yokohama.
Late that night, in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, I led my men in a heavy-handed operation to wipe out a gang that dared to take advantage of the chaos to lay its claws on the Port Mafia.
The next step is to empty the gang's warehouse and take back all the supplies they stole from the Hong Kong/gangster community.
Normally I would have been off work and gone home by now, but because it is during the Dragon Head War, Yokohama is too dangerous at night. In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, I have to wait for the supplies to be loaded onto the truck and go back with them.
Bored while waiting, I stretched and started my usual rant about my lousy leader...
"Chief Mori is a real scoundrel! He knows I'm only eight years old, yet he always makes me work all night. I'm still a child! I won't grow tall if I don't get enough sleep. He has no heart! If he does, it's a black heart!"
The port mafia members, who were working part-time as movers in the warehouse, were all focused on their work and pretended not to hear me. They had long been numb to my disrespectful words to the leader.
As for the three bottles of alcohol, Shuichi Akai kindly gave me a sympathetic look, while Gin had already walked away like the wind, clearly not wanting to breathe the same air as me.
He's been ignoring me ever since that day... uh, that's not quite right. It sounds more like he's talking about a tsundere princess. It should be Gin who's been ignoring my existence. Looks like he's still angry.
I don't care about his attitude at all. That's just Gin for you. He wouldn't be the most charismatic villain in the Conan world if he didn't have a temper.
As long as he follows my arrangements and gets through his time in Yokohama smoothly, nothing else matters!
I have no vested interest in him. As long as I fulfill my promise to the world's consciousness, Conan, Amuro Tooru, and Akai Shuichi will take care of Gin's problems later.
Vodka, who had been playing the role of a background character in the group, seemed to habitually want to follow Gin's back as he watched him walk away. However, he also seemed to realize that Gin was in a bad mood and didn't want anyone to follow him, so he obediently stood still.
I waited listlessly for the goods to be loaded onto the truck. I wasn't worried about Gin, who seemed to have wandered off somewhere. The area had already been cleared; not a single person had escaped. If he wanted to go out for some fresh air, let him. No matter how annoyed he was, he'd still come back eventually.
Just as I was thinking this, it felt like a slap in the face when a gunshot rang out from the direction where Gin was. I immediately knew something was wrong and rushed over to see what was going on.
When I arrived at the scene, I saw Gin lying on the ground with a gun in his hand, a thin syringe with drug residue stuck in his neck, clearly indicating that the drug had been injected into his body.
Upon discovering that Gin was experiencing symptoms such as convulsions and respiratory failure, I immediately realized that the medication in the syringe was highly poisonous. I quickly removed the syringe and used medical ninjutsu to force all the toxins injected into his body, thus saving Gin's life.
Vodka, who had been anxiously watching me treat Gin, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his older brother was out of danger. He then thanked me profusely, expressing his deepest gratitude.
As for Shuichi Akai, he walked around the scene to investigate before returning. Seeing that Gin's breathing was gradually returning to normal, he showed a slight regret, clearly feeling sorry that Gin hadn't died.
Silently criticizing the Black Organization's insincere colleagues, I asked, "What did you figure out?"
These important supporting characters from the Conan world are basically born with detective skills. Even if they can't see through the truth in an instant like Ranpo, they should still be able to figure out a lot of things.
"The perpetrator was a man about 1.7 meters tall. Preliminary assessment suggests he likely possessed a manipulation-type superpower. He shot a syringe containing poison from a distance and then took advantage of Gin's collapse from the poison to try and obtain something from him. After being shot by Gin, he escaped into a nearby river and disappeared without a trace."
I have great faith in Shuichi Akai's abilities. He spoke as if he had witnessed the scene firsthand, which I greatly admired. I then began to observe the clues around me and tried to deduce things myself. Sure enough, it was just as the FBI agent had said.
The footprints and stride length on the ground definitely belonged to an adult male. Given Gin's observational skills and alertness, no one could easily get close to him; only a long-range sniper could ambush him. Also, the syringe was very ordinary; to use it as a murder weapon, the perpetrator would need an ability to manipulate syringes. Furthermore, Gin had blood on him that wasn't his, clearly indicating he shot the perpetrator as they approached…
As expected of Gin, despite being poisoned with such a rapid onset, he still managed to maintain a sliver of consciousness and decisively fire the gun. It's impossible not to admire him; he truly deserves to be Conan's number one villain.
So, how's that guy doing now? To survive a bullet from Gin is beyond lucky. All those undercover agents and traitors Gin swiftly killed must be green with envy.
"How do you know the prisoner wants something from Gin?"
The only point I don't know is how Shuichi Akai came to that conclusion.
"Gin's clothes showed signs of being rummaged through, though not obvious, but you could still tell if you looked closely."
"Oh, is that so?"
I carefully examined Gin's clothes, and sure enough, just as Shuichi Akai had said, there were subtle signs that they had been rummaged through. For a moment, I was filled with immense admiration for that unknown warrior. Assassinating Gin was one thing, but daring to search him was another—a feat that even the Japanese Public Security Bureau, the FBI, and the CIA hadn't accomplished!
"Have you seen enough?" Gin, who had just been rescued, looked at me coldly. Even though he was still very weak, his eyes were as sharp as knives.
I naturally wouldn't expect this kind of pure villain to remember my life-saving grace, so I just cooperated by saying, "Have you seen enough? Did you lose anything?"
Gin remained unusually silent for a moment before coldly saying, "No."
[They must have lost something after all. I wonder if it's important or not.]
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Gin stood up and, filled with murderous intent, gave the person who dared to ambush him a death sentence.
"I will kill that person with my own hands!"
"Good luck!"
I'm not being entirely sincere in saying this, and I don't intend to get involved in this matter. Given what Gin has done, he deserves to be shot a hundred times over. Whatever the person's motive for attacking Gin, it's a public service.
“Young lady, Gin is your direct subordinate. The person who attacked him is undoubtedly slapping you in the face in public. Please allow me to investigate this matter and bring that person to you for disposal.”
Shuichi Akai suddenly spoke with unwavering loyalty, even using honorifics, which convinced me that he was definitely up to something.
Considering that he was an FBI agent infiltrating the Black Organization, his sudden enthusiasm must be related to the Black Organization. He probably guessed that the person took Gin's things and wanted to take the opportunity to investigate.
I made my own guesses and then agreed to his request. After all, I was on the side of justice, so naturally I had to cooperate with Shuichi Akai's actions.
As for Gin, whose face darkened after being interrupted by his annoying colleague, I don't care! Saving his life is already more than enough; I've already repaid the Conan world consciousness for the reward.
A week later, Shuichi Akai reported the results of his investigation to me. Only then did I learn that Gin was not the only victim. Since the Dragon Head War, no fewer than fifty members from various factions had been attacked with syringes containing poison.
Normally this would be a very serious incident, but since it is wartime, gangs are fighting each other endlessly over 500 billion yen, and people are dying every day, so no one cares about this seemingly insignificant murder case.
As an FBI agent infiltrated into the Black Organization, Shuichi Akai, with his exceptional professional skills, could not possibly have only investigated this much. In fact, although the syringe murder case seemed mysterious, he had already identified the culprit.
"According to my investigation, the poison in the syringes is not fixed; many are made from common drugs, proving that the perpetrator possesses some medical knowledge. Furthermore, my investigation of all those who died from syringe attacks revealed that the initial victims all came from the 'Skull Gang' and the 'Iron Blood Gang.' What connection does this make, Miss?"
This kind of gang, which sounds like cannon fodder, left a deep impression on me, and I immediately thought of the poor mother and daughter who died that night.
Shuichi Akai could tell what I was thinking and continued, "I did some investigation and found that the man who lost his wife and daughter, named Kota Tamura, happened to be a doctor. Through fingerprint comparison, the fingerprints extracted from the syringe matched his fingerprints, and he disappeared after his wife and daughter were buried."
"If it was him, why would he attack Gin?"
I don't quite understand this. Even if it wasn't voluntary, Gin had done him a favor, didn't he? He even covered his wife and daughter with his clothes. The next day, Gin sneezed several times.
"According to my investigation, that man spent a lot of money to view all the surveillance footage in the vicinity that night. Perhaps Tamura Kota also regarded us, who were passing by at the time, as the murderers of his wife and daughter."
Shuichi Akai's words made me feel depressed; this was truly an undeserved disaster.
"Besides, I found this nearby when I was surveying the site a couple of days ago."
The man in front of me took out a blood-stained pendant, the very same one I had seen that day with the photo of a family of three. I remembered returning it then; it must have fallen off the mother's body again during the move.
"I suspect that what Kota Tamura is looking for in Gin is this pendant."
Why would he think Gin has such a thing?
"When I searched Tamura Kota's house, I found a recently published mystery novel with a page torn out on the table. Later, I went to a bookstore, found the novel, and looked at the missing page. It described the killer's peculiar habits after each murder. After each murder, he would place one of his own items on the victim and then take another item from the victim as a trophy. Perhaps Tamura Kota also thought of Gin as that kind of person."
Shuichi Akai's face showed a complicated expression when he mentioned this mystery novel, and I was speechless as well. Has the literary world really collapsed? How can a mystery novel with such a third-rate premise be published? The murderer must be mentally unstable; is he afraid the police won't catch him? Just hearing about this bizarre premise makes me lose all desire to read it.
"So Gin accidentally got blamed?" I said somewhat guiltily, as if I was the one who caused it!
“Miss, you don’t need to worry about Gin. The most important thing now is to find Tamura Kota. Starting three days ago, the syringes used to attack the mafia at night have been filled with a more potent poison. Anyone hit by the syringe will die instantly, with no chance of saving them. No drug residue can be found after autopsy. It’s a new type of poison that we’ve never seen before. We must find him as soon as possible.”
I looked hesitant. After all, Tamura Kota was a victim, and it was only natural for him to seek revenge on the mafia. I couldn't bring myself to arrest him like this.
"Or maybe we should just let him go. After all, he didn't kill any good people, so let him go."
I started discussing it with the FBI agent in front of me. It seems that the good guys in the Conan world all believe in the ironclad rule that murderers should be punished by law. I think Shuichi Akai is probably already thinking about how to hand Kota Tamura over to the police.
Upon hearing my words, Shuichi Akai immediately became serious and said, "Miss, I suspect that the new poison used by Kota Tamura was developed by my organization. The drug that Gin lost that night must have been the organization's drug. No matter what, I have to find the drug back."
Me: "..." If it weren't for the fact that Miyabo Shino hadn't yet figured out APTX4869 by now, I would have almost thought that Gin had thrown away the poison he would later feed to Kudo Shinichi.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Otherwise, if someone were to regain their youth after being hit by the needle, Yokohama would be in even more chaos. Regaining youth can drive people crazy more than money!
Seeing that Shuichi Akai was very insistent, I finally handed over the task of capturing Kota Tamura to him. At least it was better than falling into Gin's hands.
As for Kota Tamura, I don't plan to get involved anymore. Although he's quite pitiful, and he only killed those who deserved to die, he still killed people after all. As for his future, let fate decide.
I immediately put the matter of Tamura Kota out of my mind, but I never expected that I would become his target as well.
It was an evening with a blood-red sunset. The streets of Yokohama were almost deserted, and even those who did pass by were hurrying along, afraid of not getting home before dark.
In a city where intense gunfights take place every night, being outside after dark is undoubtedly fatal.
Of course, this does not include me.
I've been working the night shift lately, and I was walking alone on a desolate street. I was looking for a place to eat, but when I saw that almost all the shops on the street were closed, I knew I couldn't eat out.
I should have just eaten in the headquarters cafeteria.
As I was thinking to myself, about to go back to the Hong Kong/Black Headquarters for dinner, I suddenly saw Mr. Fukuzawa's tall and imposing figure appear from around the corner, and I immediately ran over to greet him with great joy.
"Teacher!" I ran excitedly to Ms. Fukuzawa, my blue eyes sparkling. I hadn't seen her for a while and I missed her terribly!
When Fukuzawa-sensei saw me, she called out somewhat uncertainly, "Song?"
Then I remembered that I was sixteen years old. Although I had told my teacher that I could transform, I had never shown him what I looked like when I grew up.
"It's me!" I said in a light voice, then pouted and complained, "Seriously, you can't recognize me when you use transformation magic. I've been working really hard to avoid Mori Ougai's harassment."
The usually serious Fukuzawa-sensei looked at me gently with her light green eyes and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, this is the first time I've seen the song like this."
The fact that Mr. Fukuzawa was so upright and easy to bully made me grab his kimono sleeve and whine, "I need a pat on the head to forgive you, teacher!"
Ms. Fukuzawa looked at me helplessly, then reached out her hand from her sleeve and gave me a gentle pat on the head, which immediately made me smile happily.
Just as I was happily enjoying the teacher's gentle head pat, Mr. Fukuzawa's expression suddenly changed. He tightened his grip on my head, causing me to fall into his arms, and at the same time, he turned around to protect me.
"What happened to the teacher?!"
I had a bad feeling, but Fukuzawa-sensei had already released me and was kneeling on the ground with a pained expression. His body was emitting steam, as if his blood was boiling.
When I saw the incredibly familiar needle piercing the teacher's back, I felt a sudden shock. This was poison that could kill someone instantly. I had harmed the teacher!
With tears welling up in my eyes, I almost cried as I said, "I'll help the teacher expel the poison right away!"
I thought I could make it in time, but as soon as I pulled the needle out of Mr. Fukuzawa's body, the teacher, who was gritting his teeth and enduring the burning pain, was already poisoned. His strong adult body began to shrink in a strange way, and in an instant he turned into a silver-haired boy who looked only six or seven years old.
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