Chapter 70, Section 69: Beneath the Gentian Flower: At Least All the Wise Men Have Gathered...
Why is it said that people who smile a lot are lucky?
Because people with bad luck don't laugh.
At least the next morning, when Zhuge Tongzhi saw Conan, who was approaching with dark circles under his eyes and looking menacing, he couldn't quite manage a smile.
Outside the tunnel entrance to the Matsushiro headquarters, a mixed crowd gathered. The children of the Junior Detective League chatted with their returning friends, while the adult police officers and detectives checked the details of their case coordination.
So far, this large-scale serial murder case has resulted in four victims in different urban areas of Japan.
From the first victim appearing in Osaka, to the second victim appearing in Gunma Prefecture and being identified as a serial killer due to similar methods, and then to the recent two victims appearing in Matsushiro Town, Nagano Prefecture, a cross-prefecture joint investigation has been launched.
It has been almost half a month in total, and a lot of time has been wasted due to procedural issues related to the two cross-county case handling operations.
Therefore, the resourceful Rei Furuya did not spend much effort to contact a victim's relative who was annoyed by the police's delays in handling the case, obtained a remote letter of authorization, and legitimately joined the investigation team.
Although he had asked Kazami to help him organize the case information last night, he was still surprised by the amount of police and manpower involved in bringing this serial murder case to a close when he actually arrived at the scene.
The case is gaining more and more attention. Furuya Rei glances at Kogoro Mouri upstairs at the Poirot Cafe, Heiji Hattori, the high school detective from Osaka, Misao Yamamura, a police officer from Gunma Prefecture, and Kansuke Yamato, the police officer from Nagano Prefecture who is in charge of the investigation.
However, this may be precisely the reason why the murderer committed the crime across counties.
Outside the police cordon, many reporters and media outlets had already begun live streaming or recording the scene. Various comments, such as "Japanese police are incompetent" or "detectives are the saviors of the police," were faintly heard by the officers present.
But tabloids rely on exaggerated sensationalism to gain traffic and popularity. Rei Furuya is not interested in such hype and does not believe that the presence of detectives assisting in the investigation means that the police department is incompetent.
Ultimately, whether it's a private commission or an official request for assistance, they all share the same goal—to solve the case as quickly as possible to prevent new victims and to deliver justice to the victims—and they are working together without any distinction of rank or status.
However, he did find one person's presence particularly irritating. The blond man narrowed his purplish-gray eyes slightly, silently observing a foreigner who shouldn't be there.
The pink-haired, squinty-eyed man noticed the gaze that seemed to pierce through him, turned around, smiled slightly at the serious-looking Furuya Rei, and then politely complimented Kogoro Mouri with a few words.
The mustachioed man immediately burst into laughter, his tongue sticking out wide from his throat. Yamato Kansuke, standing next to him, gave Okiya Subaru a speechless look, even though he seemed quite intelligent. Hattori Heiji, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought.
"Uncreative Ai-Hubi..." Furuya Rei gritted his teeth inwardly, and the moment he saw Shuichi Akai's smile, a fire ignited in his heart.
Not only did he copy Hiro's methods to forge his identity as a Tokyo University student, but he also dared to use my methods to become Kogoro Mouri's disciple under the guise of being his second apprentice, thereby legitimately getting in touch with Conan and related cases.
But I won't let you show off in front of the Japanese police. The police academy's top student, who was burning with anger, immediately put on a friendly smile and stepped forward to join the discussion.
Interesting. Hattori Heiji looked at the two disciples of Kogoro Mouri in front of him, touched the brim of his baseball cap, glanced at Conan who had strayed from the discussion, and wondered if Kudo knew anything about these two.
After Al was forced to push forward the Red Team's alliance, Shuichi Akai, Rei Furuya, and Conan naturally all learned about each other's backgrounds, and due to various interests and secrets, a subtle check and balance formed between them.
The scene was filled with brilliant minds. Although the two people had different auras, their reasoning abilities were equally formidable. Conan, who had never felt so at ease with the situation, decisively chose to find the more important person first.
For example, a lone wolf who leaves without saying goodbye and doesn't reply to messages.
Two bright reflections shone on his glasses as he walked toward the victorious Junior Detective League, his hands in his pockets.
"Hahaha, I've missed you so much all day, Conan-kun." The black-haired girl flashed behind Ayumi Yoshida. Ayumi, not quite understanding what was happening, spread her arms to protect her friend behind her and looked at Conan in a daze.
"Come here." Conan, clutching a newly acquired detective badge, looked at the black-haired girl hiding behind Ayumi Yoshida and said irritably, "Why are you hiding? Is this what you wanted to do?"
Oh, right.
Zhuge Tongzhi blinked belatedly, then saw the detective badge Conan was handing him. He immediately popped out from behind Yoshida Ayumi and coughed twice to clear his throat.
"I swear this was not my intention." Zhuge Tongzhi raised three fingers and solemnly swore to the heavens, "If it were my own will, I would surely fall into a pit while walking today."
"Hehe." Conan looked at the girl who immediately strode over with her head held high and revealed a helpless half-moon eye. You really are very insistent on this point of view.
But Zhuge Tongzhi, who had just finished making the oath and was walking over with great pride, tripped over a ditch on the ground. His left foot was struggling against his right foot, and he immediately fell forward without warning.
The black-haired girl instinctively closed her eyes, using one hand to shield her face while trying to brace herself against the pebbly ground with the other. Conan, not expecting her to slip and fall, was a beat too slow and grabbed his friend by the collar.
But amidst the chaos, a strong hand caught the girl who was falling forward before Conan could react, and then gently helped her back to her original position by supporting her shoulder.
Zhuge Tongzhi, who had already closed his eyes tightly, paused as he raised his arm. He tentatively opened his eyes and was met with a pair of deep blue phoenix eyes that were soaring high into the sky.
"careful."
No introduction is needed; the identical eye shape of the two siblings easily reveals the identity of the person before them.
"Mr. Gao Ming."
Conan handed the detective badge to the stunned girl, while the outgoing Junior Detective Club immediately surrounded the police officer nicknamed Kongming, chattering about what he had been doing.
"I'm going to complete the final handover procedures." Zhu Fugaoming bent down slightly, showing the excited children the brown paper document bag in his hand. His voice was gentle but carried a sense of distance. "Cross-county cases are rare, and the local police stations on both sides are very cautious."
“However, these procedures are taking far too long.” The phoenix-eyed police officer, dressed as usual in a dark blue suit, straightened up and sighed slightly. “Hesitation only leads to more trouble.”
"Broken, not broken...chaotic?" Three elementary school students who had just begun to learn classical Chinese struggled to process the words that were a bit too hot to pronounce, and in the end, they could only look on with bewildered expressions.
Ah, Mr. Morofushi is speaking in classical Chinese again. Conan, standing to the side, looked at the smiling but silent Morofushi Takaaki and gave him a helpless half-moon eye. Fortunately, Ran's classical Chinese is always excellent.
“It’s ‘Hesitation leads to trouble’,” Ran Mouri said, bending down and supporting herself on her knees as she walked with Kazuha Toyama to Morofushi Takaaki’s side. She patiently explained each word to the three children.
"As for the meaning, it's very literal," a child's voice continued.
"This is a sentence from the Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian." Zhuge Tongzhi scratched his head under everyone's gaze and explained, "It means that if you are indecisive, you will get into trouble."
"What Officer Morofushi meant was that because the case handover process was complicated, it actually delayed the really important time for solving the case," the black-haired girl said somewhat awkwardly as she explained to her three friends.
“That’s right.” Zhu Fu Gaoming nodded, looking at the young student who had a good understanding of ancient Chinese sayings, with a hint of curiosity and interest in his eyes.
The number of people who can explain ancient sayings on my behalf has increased by 1, which makes me a little happy.
Because he couldn't help but think of his guardian at home, Zhuge Tongzhi felt a little uneasy under the gaze of those exquisite phoenix eyes.
The black-haired girl took a few steps sideways and moved closer to Ran Mouri. She shyly grabbed the ugly-cute apple pendant hanging from the girl's waist and turned her head to avoid Morofushi Takaaki's scrutiny.
"Mmm, that's a very accurate interpretation." Ran Mouri smiled and her eyes crinkled. She reached out and ruffled the girl's increasingly long hair, praising her generously, "Our classmate Zhuge has a very rich knowledge of classical Chinese."
"hey-hey."
That's because I was forced to read the classical Chinese version of "Records of the Grand Historian" when I was a child. My parents were so happy that they no longer had to worry about my classical Chinese translations.
"Speaking of which, Mr. Gaoming's name and Kiri-chan's name are both quite interesting." Ran Mouri looked at the two present, one a little Zhuge Liang and the other a great Kongming, and took the initiative to introduce them to each other: "This is the first time you've met, isn't it?"
"Kiri-chan, this is Officer Morofushi Takaaki from the Nagano Police Station." The girl in the blue striped shirt grabbed Morofushi Kirito's shoulder and turned the girl who was hiding beside her toward Morofushi Takaaki.
"His nickname is 'Kongming' from 'Zhuge Kongming'."
I know, I know, I even know his brother is a Scottish man who used to be involved in organized crime. Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the noble-looking man with phoenix eyes in front of him and subconsciously showed a well-behaved smile.
"Mr. Gao Ming, this is Zhuge Tongzhi, whose surname is 'Zhuge' from 'Zhuge Liang'," Ran Mouri continued. "He's Conan's classmate and also a very capable little detective."
Zhu Fu Gaoming nodded, his phoenix eyes, which were even narrower than Zhu Fu Jingguang's, looked at the rather well-behaved and timid girl, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Zhuge."
“Me too, Officer Zhufushi.” After saying that, Zhuge Tongzhi looked up and smiled brightly at Ran Mouri, deliberately acting cute as he tugged at the girl’s hand and said sweetly, “Ran-neechan, I missed you so much.”
Wow, what a cute little kid. Kazuha Toyama, with a bright yellow ribbon bow in her hair, lowered her head and looked down at Toshiro Zhuge, who was looking up at her, her face slightly flushed.
Just then, Yamato Kansuke called out, and Morofushi Takaaki looked away from the girl. He nodded slightly to Ran Mouri and Kazuha Toyama, then left with the documents.
"It's only been a day since we last met." Conan walked over with his hands in his pockets and complained as soon as he opened his mouth. The next second, Zhuge Tongzhi, who was faking a smile, pretended to step on his foot. "You should go and look at your case, Edogawa-kun."
"Hey Zhuge, stop clinging to Ran all the time." Conan lowered his voice, leaned closer, grabbed his friend's wrist, and said with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance, "You and Mr. Amuro didn't come here for this case, did you?"
"Route point: Matsushiro Base Camp (Completed)"
Next waypoint: The secrets deep within the fortress (incomplete)
“No conflict. We're here for the tunnel; we need to solve the case first.” Zhuge Tongzhi also lowered his voice, then changed his tone, saying, “And I'm going to stick to your Ran-nee-chan~”
"You're so annoying." Conan's lips twitched as he encountered an opponent who wasn't a love rival but had such a strong presence. He silently pulled and struggled with the girl, neither of them willing to leave Ran Mouri's side first.
Two adorable little kids. Kazuha Toyama, who had found Conan incredibly cute from their first meeting, half-covered her face as she watched the two little rascals huddled together beside Ran Mouri's legs.
"Ran-chan, I'm starting to get jealous of you." The girl with the high ponytail took Ran Mouri's arm and said sincerely, "Why don't any cute kids want to stay at my house?"
"Huh?" Ran Mouri didn't quite understand, and scratched her face. "Actually... Kiri-chan only comes here occasionally to do her homework."
"Alright!" The war between the two fake kids finally ended with the intervention of Yoshida Ayumi. The short-haired girl grabbed one of her friends and pulled them back to the Detective Boys' team. "Conan, Kirito! You're not allowed to stick to Ran-neechan anymore."
"We are the Junior Detective League, a group of teenagers who exist to solve mysteries!" Suddenly bursting with enthusiasm, the girl clenched her fist and pointed to the tunnel entrance that was restricted by the police, saying, "Now, the mystery lies ahead."
"And this case is really complicated." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya looked down at the news updates on his phone and opened one to show his friends. "The perpetrator committed crimes across prefectures and the methods were extremely cruel. It's getting a lot of attention right now."
“Yes, Mr. Amuro only received the request en route, which is why he turned back to investigate the case.” Zhuge Tongzhi looked at the images on the screen, which were almost entirely pixelated, and chose to subtly patch up his itinerary. “These victims are all surgeons.”
"Koyanagi, Onishi, Ueda... are surgeons from Osaka University Hospital, Gunma Central Hospital, and Nagano Central Hospital, respectively."
She scrolled through the news page and concluded, "The target professions are very concentrated. Could it be a series of medical disputes?"
"It's not clear yet, um... but I don't think so. Because this news report didn't cover everything; a fourth death was reported yesterday."
Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya clicked on another news report, clearly having done his homework beforehand. With a swipe, he precisely located the article about a third of the way through and said, "Ms. Yamanashi is a nurse at Nagano Hospital."
"What a young lady!" Ayumi Yoshida said, looking at the youthful photo.
Zhuge Tongzhi blinked and said, "She must have just started her internship at the hospital. She shouldn't have had time to make enemies yet."
“Yes, and the way she was killed was different from the other victims.” Conan joined the discussion. “The previous victims all had their organs removed by the murderer, but she fell to her death and there was no treatment.”
"Moreover, the backs of the first three victims were bound with thorns, perhaps to imitate the so-called 'bearing thorns to plead guilty'."
"This is a story from the Warring States period in China, about the military general Lian Po and the civil official Lin Xiangru." Having obtained firsthand information from Yamato's assistant and done his research, the detective explained to the elementary school students, "It roughly means to apologize to someone by carrying a bundle of thorns on one's back."
“However, ‘bearing thorns to plead guilty’ usually means taking the initiative to apologize.” Zhuge Tongzhi’s hand was held by Yoshida Ayumi. She shook their arms and said leisurely, “This practice of killing the other party and then tying thorns on them is probably a way of convicting them.”
"But all three are experienced clinical experts, and I've never heard of any medical accidents before." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya spread his hands and shook his head, indicating that the media hadn't dug anything up either.
"Hmm..."
The four elementary school students fell silent, while Genta Kojima, looking completely bewildered, sniffed and asked in confusion, "Can you smell a cake aroma? There seems to be a hint of tea as well."
"Genta, you've had breakfast, haven't you?" Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya put away his phone, looking helplessly at Genta Kojima, who was following the scent towards him. "Are you hungry again so soon?"
“No, I’m absolutely sure I’m not mistaken.” Kojima Genta felt the tea aroma at the tip of his nose getting stronger and said with certainty, “It’s a combination of tea and pancake aromas.”
“Yuanta, you’re right.” Zhuge Tongzhi was quite surprised when he took out a takeout box from his bag, opened the lid to reveal two rows of tightly packed green tea cakes, “These are fresh Longjing tea cakes, which I originally planned to have for breakfast.”
"It's also in the souvenirs I brought for you, but I left it at the guesthouse. Come and try some!"
What was originally a case discussion meeting suddenly turned into a food sharing session. Zhuge Tongzhi handed everyone a piece of food, and the group of children began to enjoy the local delicacies amidst the bustling crowd around them.
Conan held a Longjing tea cake in his hand, which emitted a light tea aroma, took a bite, and said indistinctly, "You guys had better finish eating outside, because we'll be looking at the crime scene when we go in."
This crime scene was unlike the poisoning or prop crimes that Conan often encountered before. If Ayumi Yoshida, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, and Genta Kojima hadn't insisted on coming along, Conan wouldn't have wanted these kids to be there.
The tea cakes were crisp and delicious. The boy with black hair and blue eyes had tea-colored crumbs stuck to the corners of his mouth. He kindly reminded the elementary school students, "Think carefully before you go in."
"Don't underestimate us, Conan!" Genta Kojima patted his friend's head with his fist and laughed loudly, "We're the Junior Detective League, the ones who have solved countless cases!"
"Yeah, it's a real shame Ai didn't come," Ayumi Yoshida said with some regret. "We had plans, but she suddenly got sick today."
"What happened to Ai Haibara?" Zhuge Tongzhi asked Conan with his eyes, and received a look from the other party gesturing towards Shuichi Akai. He immediately understood why Ai Haibara hadn't participated.
Perhaps it was because a certain FBI agent with a strong smell of alcohol had suddenly joined the investigation. She patted her hands, which were still covered in crumbs, and put the remaining half-box of tea cakes back into her small handbag.
However, there were indeed two bottles of wine on site. Zhuge Tongzhi looked at Furuya Rei and Akai Shuichi, who were "friendly" shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with bulging veins on their arms, introduced by Mouri Kogoro, and revealed a half-moon eye.
Moreover, it seems that nothing in this case will be friendly.
“That’s Mr. Okiya, Subaru Okiya.” Conan clapped his hands and introduced him, then looked at Shuichi Akai, who was wearing a disguise made by Yukiko. “You know his real identity now. We are cooperating with the Public Security Bureau.”
One of the reasons why Ai Haibara didn't participate in this outing was indeed because of Shuichi Akai's presence.
But Conan felt that it wasn't just because of that. After he urged Mr. Akai to remove the surveillance cameras in Dr. Agasa's house, Shuichi Akai stayed at Dr. Agasa's house for a while, and must have talked to Ai Haibara about something.
After leaving Dr. Agasa's house this morning, Ai Haibara said that she had a fever and couldn't come. Dr. Agasa then told Conan that Ai needed some time alone to process her emotions.
In addition, with some progress made in the development of the antidote, the girl, who wanted to distract herself in a quieter way, stayed at home and devoted herself to research with Dr. Agasa.
"Well, maybe it's right for you to let Mr. Midorikawa stay and negotiate." Conan looked at the two people in the distance, their emotions churning, and thought of the free-fighting scene on the Ferris wheel. He gave Zhuge Tongzhi the same crescent-shaped eyes.
"In the end, fate still brought the two of them together first."
"Perhaps... 'fighting' is a more appropriate term."
-----------------------
Author's Note: When Akai was forging his identity, he discovered that his line of thinking overlapped with Scotland's.
After thinking about it, he simply decided to deliberately cause trouble for Bourbon.
Braised pork ribs: well.jpg.
…
cough cough
Next up are:
Great Zhuge Liang (Zhufu Gaoming)
Little Zhuge (Zhuge Tongzhi)
And a bunch of Grim Reapers
Nagano's cases are always complicated and full of talented people.
According to the original timeline, the trio really had a tough time running around.
…
Xiaotong: Cute and well-behaved (jpg).
Gao Ming: I don't need to explain the ancient sayings I uttered anymore (secretly happy).
…
Mwah
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