Chapter 4

"What? This must be a mistake! How could I be the murderer?"

Hoshikawa and Ming turned to look at Kudo Shinichi in disbelief, and saw that he was still as confident as before, but now he was too lazy to even look over here. How dazzling he was before, how much more he deserved a beating now.

Xingchuan and Ming Jianzhi were so angry that they almost laughed.

That's it?

That's it?

Is this the conclusion drawn by you, the famous detective Shinichi Kudo, the savior of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era?

I've slammed the clues right in your face, what have you deduced?

However, before Xingchuan and Ming could ask the question, they felt their arm twisted and their shoulder hurt, and they couldn't help but let out a cry of "ah".

It turned out that the policeman grabbed him and restrained him before he could react, and then pushed him out of the cafe without any explanation.

Xingchuan and Ming immediately panicked.

No way? Is he really a criminal?

I won't be thrown into police station as a prisoner before I even finish a single mission!

Is Kudo Shinichi out of his mind? How could he come up with such a ridiculous inference?

Is this really something a lucky guy would do? It's totally out of the question!

Am I in a fake Conan world?

At this moment, Xingchuan and Ming's hearts were completely broken.

The outcome is decided, and everyone loses.

He stopped struggling and instead let the force on his arm grip and allowed the police behind him to push him into the back seat of the police car parked outside the cafe, with a look of despair on his face.

Isn't it true that there is nothing to live for? Now that I have been caught as the murderer, I don't have to worry about how to save people.

Ida Kou was about to get into a car accident, and I was about to fail in my mission.

When others do game missions, they are just playing the game. If they fail, they can start over. But I am risking my life. If I fail, I will be dead.

If I had known this would happen, I would have just laid down. Why was I putting on such a desperate effort in there?

Are you making fun of yourself?

At this time, Xingchuan and Ming were as withered as a completely rotten pickled vegetable, leaning limply in the back seat, hanging their heads and not saying a word. Even his curly hair drooped down, and with his slightly immature and pale face, he looked a little pitiful.

The policeman who brought him out closed the car door, went around to the driver's seat, fastened his seat belt, and said with emotion:

"This time, thanks to Kudo-kun's help, we were able to find the real culprit so quickly. Looks like we don't have to work overtime tonight."

Xingchuan and Ming sneered in their hearts, it was really all thanks to Kudo Shinichi, who took such a big blame on me.

The policeman ignored Xingchuan and Ming's silence. He closed the car door with a snap and did not start the car in a hurry. Instead, he turned around and said to him with a smile:

"I'm sorry for hurting your shoulder just now. By the way, I'm Masato Nishimoto from the Investigation Division 1. You can just call me Nishimoto."

Xingchuan and Ming looked up at him in confusion, not understanding what the policeman meant.

Haven't you already arrested me? Why are you still trying to be polite and get close to me? Do you suspect that I have accomplices?

As if he felt that Hoshikawa Kazuaki was a little reserved, Nishimoto Masato took the initiative to talk to him:

"Relax, don't think too much. Even though I'm older than you, to be honest, I still admire you high school students. You solved the case in no time... Oh, by the way, I remember that you seem to be a famous high school cartoonist, right? Many of my colleagues are fans of your books."

Masato Nishimoto's young face was full of smiles, his expression was sincere, and his words were friendly. He did not look like a policeman who had just arrested a criminal and needed to be escorted to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Even Xingchuan and Ming, who were originally immersed in regret, looked at him twice and became even more confused.

But thanks to the policeman's familiarity, my heart, which had just been struck to the point of total despair, now perked up again.

After responding politely, Xingchuan and Ming's brains, which were ready to fail, began to work again.

Something is wrong. Very wrong.

No matter how friendly this policeman named Masato Nishimoto is, he is still an elite in the First Investigation Division. It is impossible for him to chat about family matters with an arrested criminal with such a smile on his face during working hours.

In other words, the attitude he had towards himself was not at all the attitude a policeman should have towards a criminal.

No handcuffs, no restrictions on movement, and I was even asked to apologize for spraining my shoulder.

Xingchuan and Ming looked to the side and realized that the police car they were riding in had no guardrails. It was not a police car for escorting criminals at all!

Is it him or me who has the problem?

Accomplice? Bait? Trap? Sugar-coated bullet? Or... the conspiracy of the Black Organization?

Thinking of Conan's consistent style in the main plot, Xingchuan and Ming suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He searched frantically in his memory, but could not find even a trace of memory related to the Black Organization.

Xingchuan and Ming's heads began to buzz and their hearts were filled with confusion. What on earth was going on?

Nishimoto Masato, who was standing in front of him, seemed to feel that he had said too much. He coughed unnaturally and then asked:

"Okay, enough talking. Where do you want to go?"

Hearing this question, Xingchuan Heming's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he finally realized what was wrong.

The inconsistency in the other party’s attitude, the inconsistency in the information you receive, the transfer of dominance, and most importantly…

Hoshikawa Kazuaki looked at Nishimoto Masato, who was tilting his head waiting for his answer, and asked tentatively:

"What did Inspector Megure say?"

Nishimoto Masato didn't think much about it. Instead, he exclaimed with surprise and admiration:

"Inspector Megure said that you and Kudo-kun worked very well together! Not only did you find clues separately, but you also immediately thought of pretending to be the murderer and being arrested, so that the real murderer would let down his guard and reveal his identity when he was trying to secretly remove the evidence."

He turned to look at Xingchuan and Ming again, with stars almost flashing in his eyes, and sighed from the bottom of his heart:

"What an amazing high school student!"

It is indeed like that!

Xingchuan and Mingxiu were sitting in the back seat, with stiff smiles and forced "hehe" twice, feeling too tired to talk.

Kudo Shinichi, I didn't expect you to be such a Kudo Shinichi!

Good cooperation? Faulty reasoning? Pretending to be the murderer and getting arrested? Using me as bait without saying a word?

You really screwed me over!

You just made a few gestures and walked away, who knows what you mean? What did I promise you?

After a false shock, Xingchuan and Ming realized at this moment that they were so frightened that their hands and feet became limp and even their fingertips began to feel numb.

He was so angry that his liver ached. He wanted to punch that arrogant detective right away, but he still had to consider the overall situation and could only comfort himself in his heart:

Fortunately, I was not arrested as the murderer, and I still have a chance to continue my mission...

Oh, and the mission!

Xingchuan and Ming suddenly sat up straight and shouted anxiously to Nishimoto Masato in front of him:

"Hurry! Take me to Sakurada Road, time is running out!"

"Okay! Sit tight!"

It seemed as if Nishimoto Masato was waiting for him to say this. In the blink of an eye, he started the car, turned the corner, and accelerated. Before Xingchuan and Ming could react, he had already rushed out.

The police car sped towards the destination, and Xingchuan and Ming were shaken so much that they almost fell on the back seat. He held the backrest and sat down with difficulty, and then he realized belatedly that their speed was almost as fast as a drag race.

This speeding policeman was not satisfied yet, so he took out a police light from the drawer and put it on the hood of the car, then drove at full speed.

I never thought that in the Investigation Division, besides the legendary Officer Sato, there would be such a car enthusiast. But it just so happens that this is exactly what I need now... Wait, this can't be a coincidence, right?

Thinking about how he had just been tricked, and the question "Where do you want to go" that the speeding policeman had just asked, he couldn't guess what was going on. He was not Xingchuan and Mingliao.

Shrinking his body further into the back seat, Xingchuan and Ming endured the discomfort caused by the excessive speed of the car and complained helplessly:

"Could it be that Kudo's gang told Officer Megure that I had something urgent to do later, so they took me out first under the pretext of escorting a prisoner, and then asked you, who are proficient in driving skills, to take me directly there?"

Nishimoto Masato raised his thumb and said, "You guessed it right. You are indeed a famous high school mystery manga artist!"

I knew it!

Thinking of that overconfident and cocky detective, and then thinking of themselves who were clearly arranged but knew nothing about it, Xingchuan and Ming gritted their teeth in hatred.

You are so good, Kudo Shinichi, you actually tried to scare me on purpose! When you become smaller in the future, I will show you how I will retaliate against you.

Kudo Shinichi, who was still in the Café Poirot, was confidently leading a group of police officers to catch the panicked Reiko Eguchi in the act.

"Ms. Eguchi, you've been fooled! In fact, I have known for a long time that you are the murderer who poisoned and killed Mr. Kamii! The police pretended to be misled by you and arrested Senior Hoshikawa as the murderer, just to make you think you are safe so that they can secretly dispose of the last evidence... A-choo!"

Kudo Shinichi, who was immersed in reasoning, suddenly felt a chill all over his body, as if someone was staring at him, and he felt a chill on his back.

He looked around warily, but found nothing unusual. He couldn't help but wonder, "Who wants to harm me?"

The author has something to say:

Look, this is the result of not speaking properly and relying on intuition, which will result in misunderstanding.