Chapter 163 Nineteen Vigilantes

After the police officers and Mr. Maori who had been scattered to investigate came back, everyone present focused their attention on the conversation between them.

Hagiwara Kenji, who was walking in the front, shook his head towards Date Kou: "I went to talk to the staff member, and he said that besides us, there were only a few crew members on the ship who were necessary for the voyage, and all the facilities on the cruise ship were fully automatic and unmanned... It was said that it was because Mr. Asahi didn't like crowded places."

Conan, who was eavesdropping, twitched his mouth: It wouldn't be necessary to lay off all the staff on the cruise ship to this extent, right?

"Hey, this configuration sounds really familiar."

The chairman suddenly spoke up, and when everyone looked at him, he just flattened his palm innocently: "I mean the mystery novels - don't you think if this kind of development continues, you might become a murderer who defeats the victims who have been deceived one by one in the sea where there is no help?"

Ford and the others, feeling implicated, fell into silence.

Of course, they thought the chairman's words were unlucky. Who would want to put themselves in the position of a victim who would be defeated one by one? However, due to the chairman's identity and temper, they really didn't dare to speak out directly to refute him.

Who made them "cheated" as the chairman said? None of them could afford to offend this young master. Didn't you see that even Ford looked happy and played dumb as if he didn't hear anything?

"Midorikawa and I went to Mr. Asahi's room and took a look. He wasn't inside." Matsuda Jinpei thought for a moment and said calmly, "He is the next victim. I don't think Mr. Asahi would run around randomly after we warned him in advance."

This was a very bad sign. Even the staff member who was responsible for receiving them on the ship said that the last time he saw his boss was the afternoon before yesterday.

Even though the Ottonoe is a small cruise ship, the fact that its owner is a wealthy man makes it luxurious enough. This luxury is not only reflected in the complex amusement facilities and fully automatic gimmicks, but also in the fact that it is the largest among small cruise ships, not to mention that Mr. Xu laid off most of the employees in advance.

In this situation, it is normal not to meet anyone for a whole day or several days, so the staff did not think there was anything wrong when Morobushi Kagemitsu asked about Mr. Asahi.

But this is the biggest mistake.

"I checked Mr. Xu's room. Everything in it is brand new. There is no sign of anyone having lived there before." Zhu Fu Jingguang sighed slightly and said, "There are no staff on this cruise ship other than those responsible for navigation and catering. The cleaning work is done by machines, so it is impossible that someone had already cleaned it before we arrived."

What Morofushi Jingguang didn't say was that even if the housekeeper had cleaned Mr. Asahi's room, it would only be because Mr. Asahi really had stayed there for one night. Now no traces were found, so it just represented a fact.

"Mr. Asahi has never returned to that room!" Conan blurted out.

Hagiwara Kenji nodded, looking at the chairman with helplessness in his eyes: "If we can no longer confirm Mr. Asahi's whereabouts, then I'm afraid we really need to consider Mr. Akae's speculation."

In other words, Asahi Katsuyoshi, who invited them to the cruise ship, may have been killed.

One of the invited guests, a red-haired model, rubbed her arms and looked horrified: "Wait, that shouldn't be the case, right?"

The model pointed at herself and said, "I just received the boat ticket yesterday afternoon. Mr. Xu even called me in the evening and talked to me for a few words."

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and took out a bottle of nail polish from her bag.

"Look, this is what Mr. Xu gave me yesterday along with the boat ticket." The model said bluntly, "You are overthinking it, officer."

"I received it yesterday, too, but it was at night." Photographer Shishido ruffled his hair. "This should mean that Mr. Asahi was still alive at least until last night?"

"It's also possible that Mr. Xu sneaked away after coming up." Ford didn't seem to believe this guess either. He joked, "He could have arranged the words with the staff in advance."

Sawaki Kouhei, who was more familiar with Uncle Mori, did not speak directly. Instead, he turned to Uncle Mori, who seemed to be distracted, and asked him what he thought: "What do you think, Mr. Mori?"

"Hmm?" The uncle's face straightened and he touched his chin seriously. "I think this Mr. Asahi is very likely related to Murakami-jo."

They had already traced the case back to Murakami Jō, and naturally told everyone that Murakami Jō had been released from prison not long ago.

"Mr. Asahi was able to gather a group of potential victims together, which means he at least knows something." Uncle Maori said, "In this case, I have reason to suspect that he has reached a cooperation with Murakami Takeshi. One is responsible for inviting us here, and the other is responsible for taking all the blame."

"Mr. Asahi probably has no reason to cooperate with Murakami Takeshi." Date Kou thought seriously and retorted, "It's okay for us, but I think if Mr. Akae was killed on this cruise ship, Mr. Asahi himself wouldn't be in a good situation either." Everyone's attention shifted to the chairman sitting on another sofa.

The black-haired boy still maintained a smiling expression. Even though he was wearing an expensive and complicated dark kimono, he casually rolled up the sleeves of his haori and leaned lazily against his butler.

Hearing the topic being brought up to himself, Akae Nazuki knew full well that the squad leader and his men suspected that he was testing them with the 'suspected amnesiac Rei Furuya' - although this was the truth - and so they wanted to trick him into revealing his true colors.

"Hmm? That's true." The chairman himself cooperated very well and said coldly in a calm tone without blinking, "If I die here, everyone on this cruise ship will probably not be able to survive safely in Tokyo."

Chijiang Nayue has absolute control over the Chijiang Group. On the surface, he maintains the image of being unaware of the organization, but in fact he pretends to take over the organization's business at the same time as Rum. In case he really "dies" here, the backup plans he deliberately left in the organization and the group will not be stopped.

You know, Tokyo in this world is not peaceful. Even if it is not peaceful, as long as the group puts pressure on it, the Metropolitan Police Department can't do anything even if most of the people on this ship die accidentally.

It sucks, but that's the way things are in Tokyo.

"Then Master Yue, please be careful with your language."

Furutani Rei, who was being used as a cushion by the chairman, suddenly spoke up, breaking the tense atmosphere around him that had unconsciously become tense because of the chairman's words.

The young butler still maintained a faint smile, and glanced at the other invitees with contempt, but his tone was very gentle: "Nothing will happen to you."

Those who were familiar with Furuya Rei couldn't help but frowned and said nothing. Date Kou even grabbed Uncle Mori who looked unhappy. Xiaolan didn't notice this because she was not paying attention. Conan, who was sitting on the sofa opposite them, was stunned for a moment.

Hey, is this the butler's personality? Conan found it strange.

The other party hadn't spoken to them before, so he didn't notice anything. But Conan was always good at judging people, and he had been observing these two people. He had long realized that their relationship was more like that of close family members than that of superiors and subordinates.

Conan also discovered something very interesting.

When entering the hall, Mr. Amuro reflexively scanned the entire interior. Even the sofa they were sitting on was actually located in a position where they could see all unexpected situations and was the most convenient for escape.

This is very intriguing. What exactly is Mr. Akae's job as a butler? Akae Nayue almost laughed at his friend's superb acting skills. He tried hard to hold back his laughter for a long time, and then pinched Furuya Rei's arm to hold back the urge to laugh. Then he simply pulled the latter and stood up.

"It has nothing to do with me. Even if the murderer is a fool who insists on killing me, it will take a long time for me, the 'number two', to get my turn."

"Oh, and maybe Asahi Katsuyoshi is not here because he was killed and thrown into the sea a long time ago." The chairman said lightly, "If we look for him now, we may be able to find his body that has not been eaten clean."

Several people present had pale faces. Even the model girl covered her mouth in disgust at the imagined scene.

The chairman didn't pay attention to their reactions. He continued to speak slowly, his watery red eyes curved up in satisfaction because of a smile, and he looked innocent and naive: "So I'll leave it to the police officers and detectives to continue to worry about this. I still prefer the fresh air at sea. Anyway, I have Brother Tou to protect me, and it's not certain who will get into trouble."

He turned around and walked out briskly, but suddenly interrupted the others before they could say anything and turned to look at Conan on the sofa.

The chairman waved his hand happily, not seeming to take the case seriously at all. He smiled frivolously and sweetly and said, "I will probably be on the deck from now on. If the little detective is interested, you can come find me~?"

Conan was distracted for a second as he watched the young man walk away.

"What are you thinking about?" Morobushi Kagemitsu walked up to the child, lowered his head and whispered, "Are you okay, Conan-kun?"

"It's nothing." Conan said with a subtle expression, "I just thought that if the plot of the 'mystery novel' that Mr. Akae mentioned develops, he seems to be the kind of character who would easily die after saying such a thing...?"

What Conan didn't say was that he realized what was wrong.

The chairman's words and actions were somewhat inconsistent. Judging from the previous conversations and interactions, he was definitely not a reckless and arrogant person. Moreover, a reckless and arrogant person would not be introduced by Mr. Ford in such a slightly respectful tone.

The reason why the other party deliberately said such provocative words is worth further investigation.

Could it be that the chairman has already discovered the murderer and...

Conan glanced calmly at the model and others who were talking to Date Kou and others.

Moreover, the murderer is most likely among this group of people!