The Secret Revealed

At six in the morning, the first person to open the door of the detective agency was Kunikida Doppo. As usual, he was ready to start a new day according to his plan.

But today the door of the detective agency was ajar, and the possibility of a theft suddenly occurred to me.

But after seeing who was sitting inside, Kunikida Dopo couldn't help but be surprised: "Ranbu?"

Luanbu sat in his seat, and just yawned when he heard the others shouting. On the sofa, a person he had never seen before sat upright, with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Are you a client?" Kunikida Dopo closed the door. "It's so early, sir, do you need any help?"

"No need." Luanbu waved his hands and then leaned back in his chair. "Just contact Jipu directly."

After talking a lot, he was now thirsty and sleepy. Fortunately, the guy was not stupid and finally understood where he should go.

"Officer Minoura?"

Seeing the suspicious look, Ogurutarou did not explain, but said self-deprecatingly: "The criminal should stay where he is supposed to be."

Just like Ranbu said, he is not safe now. In prison, he is protected. At least he will not be assassinated inexplicably like yesterday.

Looking at the manuscript on the table, Ogurutarou heaved a sigh of relief: "Who knows, maybe you are right."

It was unknown who he was addressing, but after pushing up his glasses, Kunikida Doppo contacted Officer Minoura as instructed.

The morning sunlight was not glaring. He leaned back in the chair, rubbed his aching forehead, and closed his eyes.

What exactly is the problem?

I didn't sleep well this time, but I wasn't woken up either. When I opened my eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky.

Everyone in the detective agency was busy, but they moved slowly to take care of those who were still asleep.

A plate was placed in front of me, with Dorayaki covered in maple syrup and a cup of hot milk.

Yosano Akiko noticed the dark circles under Ranpo's eyes, so she brought him breakfast and asked him with concern, "Did you stay up late?"

Ranpo rarely stays out overnight, and when he called yesterday, everyone tacitly thought it must be Dazai Osamu's suggestion. But today, after seeing Ranpo appear in the detective agency intact, everyone was relieved.

The milk was still hot through the cup wall. Luanbu raised his hand to adjust his tilted hat, then took a big bite of the Dorayaki and replied incoherently, "No."

After raising his eyebrows, he snorted with Xie Ye: "Well, Detective, you must have your own reasons. What do you want for lunch?"

"Same as usual."

After drinking the warm milk, Ranpo felt a little sleepy. Ranpo wanted to have a cup of coffee to wake himself up, but this was not what Edogawa Ranpo would choose.

When he was still in the port mafia, he would probably choose coffee for work efficiency and jet lag. Although he didn't like it, it was useful.

And when I saw the milk brought by Xie Ye, that trance feeling came up again.

In the detective agency, Edogawa Ranpo is treated like a child and is tolerated by everyone.

Seeing the mess of people lying on the sofa after eating and drinking, everyone who was talking quietly lowered their voices. At this time, the closed door was pushed open, Fukuzawa Yukichi looked around, and stood beside the sofa at everyone's reminder.

"Can I not go, President?" the man with closed eyes said lazily, raising his hand to cover his eyes.

Fukuzawa Yukichi pursed his lips, as if hesitating. But after thinking for a moment, he said, "Half an hour."

This means we will set off in half an hour, but compared to the agreed time, this half an hour can be considered as an allowance.

So the man who had his eyes closed sat up, propped up his knees with his hands and stood up: "Let's go."

Tanizaki heaved a sigh of relief, as he was originally responsible for this matter. But he had not yet figured out how to wake up Mr. Ranpo.

The date of the transport mission is getting closer and closer. In the remaining three days, before the treasure is transported down from the Sky Casino, the Detective Agency needs to ensure the safety of the exhibition site.

The exhibition was held at Yokohama's largest theater, but because it had been requisitioned, people without a permit were not allowed to enter.

The person who obtained the treasure was a famous wealthy businessman, not only rich but also of high status. So even though the things he exhibited were somewhat threatening, he still got permission.

"From the Armed Detective Agency?" The receptionist gave a strange look, "Come in."

These guards were bodyguards specially hired by the rich man from abroad. Although they had heard of the Armed Detective Agency, they had never seen it in person.

Such an important treasure cannot be taken care of by a detective agency alone, so we have to rely on them.

After meeting the people sent by the Armed Detective Agency, their attitude became even more disdainful.

One is old and the other is young. Apart from the samurai in kimono who looks capable of fighting, the other detective looks a little frail.

Ranbu saw through their thoughts at a glance, but he was too lazy to care. After letting them in, he briefly introduced the facilities on site and left them alone.

The Armed Detective Agency was entrusted by Sigma, the manager of Sky Casino, but this wealthy businessman did not value Sky Casino, so temporarily storing the things was the more appropriate choice at the moment.

Therefore, the two people who came under the name of Sky Casino were naturally not taken seriously.

Fukuzawa Yukichi didn't mind their opinions, but in the short time of politeness, the person following him disappeared in a flash.

After showing an apologetic expression, he accurately found the wandering idiot. The latter was squinting and carefully looking at the screen in the central hall. In addition to the promotion about the "treasure" on the screen, there was also a simple layout map of the building.

This building is one of the best theaters in Yokohama. In addition to a reception hall that can accommodate thousands of people, the rest of the space is also equipped with many entertainment facilities.

The building has 12 floors in total, and the hall used for exhibitions is on the seventh floor. Normally, you can visit the first three floors, where many exhibits are placed, but you need to buy a ticket to go up there.

What is somewhat concerning is that the eleventh and twelfth floors of this building are not open to the public, and it seems that only insiders can go there.

Luanbu narrowed his eyes, then put on his glasses and started looking for it.

"The key is these two floors." Ranbu pointed to the top two floors, "But now is not the time to visit. Only on that day will they reveal their flaws."

Fukuzawa Yukichi nodded, remembering every word. But as he was talking, the person walking in front of him sat down in the rest area.

Several tables were filled with exquisitely presented snacks and cakes, and there was no limit on the drinks and fruits. Ranbu's eyes lit up, and then he said, "I'm starting—"

Although he felt a little helpless, Fukuzawa Yukichi still did not stop. He asked the waiter for a cup of hot tea and then sat down with them.

The sweet taste of chocolate spread on the tip of my tongue. I looked at the remaining cake and turned my head around subconsciously, looking for something.

Only then did he remember that the 005 guy seemed to be too obedient.

When Dazai was still around, he often came secretly, but in order to avoid Dazai's suspicion, Shika Ninja never allowed him to show up.

But after Dazai Osamu "disappeared", we saw him for the last time yesterday and haven't seen him since.

This is too much of a coincidence.

After Dazai left, 005 could appear openly because other members of the detective agency would not doubt him because of this small detail.

But now, there is still no news about that guy.

It was then that Lu Ren realized that the initiative to contact seemed to have always been in 005's hands. If he didn't come out, he wouldn't be able to find him, but conversely, it would be much quieter without him around.

That brainless guy who can't think won't betray me, right?

And at this moment 005 was indeed in an extremely embarrassing position, just as Lu Shinobu had guessed.

“Meow meow meow.”

The black and white cow cat was locked in a sturdy iron cage, and its two paws scratched the cold and hard iron bars. But no matter how hard it tried, the iron bars didn't budge.

005 tried his best to act like a cat, but his eyes looked cold and even murderous.

The tip of the knife was just a little bit away from his neck, and his body was almost torn apart!

And the eyes that had looked at him tenderly and even fondly at first now showed only coldness and obvious murderous intent.

"Killing him is useless." A voice sounded, and a young man with short black hair walked over.

Edogawa Ranpo patted the dust off his hands and smiled excitedly: "Let me guess, if this body dies, will you attach yourself to something else?"

"Meow?"

The cat was still pretending to be pitiful, twitching its ears and looking innocent. But Edogawa Ranpo didn't buy it. He chuckled and said, "I know you can understand. It doesn't matter if you can't answer. As the most powerful detective, it doesn't matter if the murderer is just a cat!"

It was a creature with its own intelligence, capable of independent thought, and it cunningly used the body of a cat, but it did not look like a cat at all.

Edogawa Ranpo noticed this very early on, especially when his other self would occasionally become distracted and seem to be talking to 005.

That is not a cat, he is sure. It is the real culprit that caused these changes, and the "murderer" who controls everything and chaos behind the scenes.

After hearing Edogawa Ranpo's explanation, Fukuzawa, who had originally agreed to lock up the person, hesitated. He really couldn't ignore why Ranpo suddenly jumped from a tall building.

He didn't know that there would be a turning point. At that time, Fu Ze's supernatural power told him that his men were in chaos and were indeed dead.

Complex emotions such as disbelief, sadness and anger surged up. Fukuzawa had taught the child more than once that he should put his own life first and not put himself in danger no matter how important the mission was.

He watched Luanbu grow up, and after nearly ten years of raising him, he still clearly understood Luanbu.

If he had not been forced to do so, if he had not had any choice, how could he have used death to prove something so easily?

Although Fukuzawa saw Ranpo alive again, he was still afraid. But now, after Edogawa Ranpo's explanation, these worries and fears turned into anger and murderous intent against the inhuman "005".

"The other me probably had to do this for some reason." The imprisoned person said, "Mr. Fukuzawa, didn't you notice that if it were me, I wouldn't care about anything that didn't endanger everyone."

"So all of this was done under someone's orders. If I didn't do it, then Mr. Fukuzawa or everyone else would be threatened."

The locked-up man was not nervous. He guessed what his other self was thinking, so he said, "So that's how it is," and then sat down leisurely.

He then used the determination of the one-day hunger strike to make Fukuzawa show up. He knew that no matter whether he was the president or not, as long as it was Mr. Fukuzawa, he would definitely soften his heart.

As expected, although the other self emphasized that Mr. Fukuzawa should not talk to him, Edogawa Ranpo still used a trick and successfully talked to Fukuzawa.

He had long suspected 005's identity, because his other self's dislike for 005 was written directly on his face. And when he used 005 as an excuse to attract Fukuzawa's attention, the latter frowned and began to hesitate.

As expected, Mr. Fukuzawa had already suspected this, so his guess was correct. Ranpo Edogawa became more and more certain of his thoughts, but his mood became complicated.

All of this is because of this thing in front of me, and the other me is willing to resist it even at the cost of death.

"All this is because of you, right? Because you secretly instructed me to do it, and forced me to do it." Edogawa Ranpo squatted down and looked directly at the dodging cat eyes, "Because of you, he had to do this. Are you a human or something else?"

Since Dazai Osamu has touched it, it is definitely not a supernatural power to transform into a cat.

Looking at those green eyes, 005 felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. He looked at the two people in front of him and felt a mountain of pressure.

When being stared at by those eyes, it seemed that no matter how hard he tried to hide his secrets, they would be seen through. He felt the pressure from someone other than the deer ninja, and a sense of tension that made him want to escape.

He will die, and will be mercilessly killed by the silver-haired samurai, even if the samurai is a cat lover. But the most terrifying thing before he dies is that everything about him will be guessed and analyzed, and he will no longer have any secrets.

Only then did 005 truly feel the kindness of Lu Ninja. He wanted to cry but had nowhere to escape.

"Another idea I have is to deliberately let the detective agency fail when the goods are transported." Edogawa Ranpo stood up and then analyzed, "Then blame the loss of the goods on the port mafia, and cause chaos in Yokohama."

"If chaos is caused, the treasure will be opened. Inside will probably be something that can threaten Yokohama's safety... No, it may even threaten the world."

Fukuzawa did not deny it, which was also a disguised acknowledgement of Edogawa Ranpo's speculation. But he did not know what the treasure was, because it was a "promise" between him and Fukuchi.

Perhaps because they were too familiar with each other, after knowing Luanbu's plan, Fukuchi asked him to ignore his plan.

Ranbu trusted him very much, so as long as he didn't say anything, Ranbu would probably still believe Fukudi. Because he trusted Fukudi and Ranbu trusted him, the plan that originally had no loopholes had flaws.

“I hope to change the world through my own choices.”

Fukuzawa couldn't refuse his friend's solemn request. Besides, he and Ranpo didn't belong to this world, so they had no right to interfere too much.

"Is that so?" Edogawa Ranpo smiled and clapped his hands, "Then let's make a plan! Make a plan to save me."

"And you..." Edogawa Ranpo changed the subject and looked down at 005 again, "Just stay like this until I find a way to completely kill you."