Chapter 70 The Mastermind [VIP]
"Hmm..." Date Wataru nodded while taking notes. "What do you want to say about this?"
Cheng You smiled slightly: "If I remember correctly, drunk driving accidents in Beika Town aren't punished very severely?"
Date Wataru: "It varies from person to person; some people think it's heavy."
Cheng You smiled and continued, “I don’t think this is enough, it’s not strong enough at all. You think it’s unintentional, but it’s precisely these unintentional accidents that are the most painful. If I really die, the people who harmed me can be spared multiple sufferings just because it was an accident. Then the only ones who will suffer are my relatives and friends. They made mistakes but are complacent because the punishment is light, and they may not even realize their mistakes.”
Ida Hang nodded, handed Cheng You a few sheets of paper, and said, "The law stipulates that one person can hardly change anything."
Cheng You took the form; it was a medical examination report about him, showing no particularly serious injuries. The other form was the payment receipt for Cheng You's hospitalization, paid by Ida Hang.
Cheng frowned: "The police officer paid for me? Why didn't the drunk driver who hit me pay? Never mind, let's add each other as friends and I'll transfer the money to you."
Date patted him on the shoulder: "You have a strong sense of justice. We can't offer compensation right now. How about we try working together on this case?"
"Is that alright?" Cheng You couldn't help but ask. This was indeed an unexpected surprise. While he was still thinking about how to get close to Date Hang and work together to solve cases and find information on some car accident cases, Date Hang actually said it directly.
Date Wataru nodded: "You look somewhat familiar, and I have a strange urge to take care of you. I wonder if we've met before."
familiar?
Cheng You smiled slightly. He remembered that when he returned to the first year of the Conan world, Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Morofushi Hiromitsu all said that they seemed to have dreamed about the development of the original world line of the manga. They dreamed about their friends leaving and about the predetermined ending of their own fate.
This may not be a dream, but rather a message from a self who died in another timeline to their present self. They tell themselves to cherish this chance to live, to take revenge, and then to live happily.
Cheng never imagined that Date Hang's memories contained a blurry version of himself.
Cheng nodded: "Sure, I've always wanted to find an opportunity to intern at the Metropolitan Police Department."
In the following days, Cheng You stayed by Date Hang's side. Since their homes were close, the two often met. Cheng You gradually became familiar with Takagi Wataru and they would even joke around sometimes. However, Takagi Wataru was upright and serious and rarely joked.
In private, the two addressed each other as senior and junior brothers, but in front of Date Wataru, they addressed each other as Mr. Hirata and Mr. Takagi.
Occasionally, he and Wataru Takagi would be invited to Wataru Date's house for dinner, where they could also show off their affection in front of the two younger men.
While Cheng You was busy with these matters, he was also collecting information on all car accident incidents and their outcomes. One or two incidents might seem insignificant, but with multiple incidents presented together, Cheng You felt there was still a chance to bring these matters to the attention of the authorities.
Another car accident recently occurred in Beika Town. The case is currently being investigated by Date Wataru, who is also comforting the victim's family. The incident is quite serious, as the victim has died, and the death was very tragic.
The driver was driving under the influence of alcohol, and the victim claimed it was an accident.
Accident?
Looking at the clues at the scene, Ida Hang checked the surveillance footage, and his subordinate officers came to report: "There was indeed alcohol used."
Seeing the victim's family members weeping over the body, Ida Wataru sighed helplessly: "But this is a bit strange. In a normal accidental car crash, how could the deceased be in that state?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng You's eyes flashed. He had never actually been in a car accident, so he had no idea what it was like for someone to die in a car accident. The only time he had ever been in one was something he didn't want to face, so he had never paid attention to such things. After hearing what Yi Dahang said, Cheng You felt that his opportunity had come.
Cheng suppressed his inner turmoil and turned to walk towards the deceased's family members who were inconsolable.
“This was an accident, name your price,” Cheng You said.
The family member frowned and angrily rebuked him: "Get out! What do you know? You don't even care about my own child! You're just after a few stinking bucks."
Cheng You shrugged and casually offered a price: "Five hundred thousand... US dollars?"
The family member didn't hesitate to say, "Get out!"
Cheng remained expressionless and continued, "Five million US dollars?"
"Get out! You're the parent of the murderer who killed my son?! You're all a despicable bunch!" The family member's eyes reddened.
Cheng paused for a few seconds, then said without blinking, "This was an accident. Even if you don't take the money, it won't have any lasting impact on the perpetrator. They'll just have to reflect for a few days. After all, it was an accident."
The family members were visibly stunned for a few seconds. Cheng didn't miss this opportunity and immediately raised the price: "Fifty million US dollars, enough for your happiness for a lifetime."
"..." When this number was mentioned, the family members remained silent for a long time. They looked at each other and sighed helplessly. Then, a family member with a fierce face stood up and raised his hand to slap Cheng Youyi, but fortunately Cheng Youyi dodged quickly.
Several family members pointed at him and cursed him, but Cheng You didn't care. He had finally found this opportunity, so he couldn't help but feel a little happy. Therefore, he forgave the behavior of the family members in front of him.
The police on the other side noticed the commotion and walked over. "Mr. Hirata?" He looked at Cheng You with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding why the deceased's family was so hostile towards him.
Cheng smiled slightly, and it didn't seem like a fake smile, since he was indeed in a good mood at the moment: "It's nothing, just a small misunderstanding."
The family member frowned, looking at the man in police uniform, then at Cheng You, who was dressed casually: "Officer, who is this?"
The police officer introduced the suspect: "Oh, this is Hirata Yan. Mr. Hirata is considered a trainee police officer here. He's quite intelligent sometimes, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him an advisor."
Cheng nodded in satisfaction after listening to the introduction.
The family members were incredulous upon hearing this. Just moments ago, this person had been threatening them like a perpetrator; how could he be a police officer? Or does the consultant have his own investigative methods?
Seeing the solemn expressions on the faces of the family members, Cheng You said to the police officer beside him, "Go and ask Mr. Ida if he has any clues. I have something to say to these family members."
"Okay, Mr. Hirata."
After the police left, the family members were on high alert, wondering if the consultant would retaliate against them.
Cheng leaned casually against the wall and said nonchalantly, "Don't be so nervous. I'm not exactly an advisor, nor am I a trainee police officer. I can only say... well, a resident with a sense of justice."
"..." A sense of justice? The family members dared not let their guard down for a moment.
“I was just testing you,” Cheng said bluntly.
"What are you testing?" the family members asked, puzzled.
"You know, drunk driving accidents aren't easy to punish the perpetrators of, let alone fake drunk driving incidents like this, which are hard to prove," Cheng You whispered as he approached them, his voice carrying a seductive undertone.
"What?! Forgery?!"
"Don't be shocked." Cheng You patted him on the shoulder. "We will try our best to find evidence, but I also need your help. If we want to reduce the number of these kinds of incidents, we can only make the law more severe."
Upon hearing that this involved amending the law, one family member immediately became agitated: "Amending the law is so difficult! Why are you asking us? We're not doing it!"
Cheng You didn't force him, nor was he angry. He simply said calmly, "Whatever you want. I just think that with so many unexpected events today, and so many more tomorrow, the probability of these events happening to anyone is uncertain. Who knows who it might be tomorrow? Why not change things now?"
Several family members nodded repeatedly: "That makes sense." "Let's try our best, consider it revenge for our son." "There are only a few of us..."
Cheng checked his phone. The messages he'd sent to the families of car accident victims were finally getting replies. ["I can help you."] ["I thought about it. If I really didn't help because of that money, my conscience wouldn't be clear, and my child's soul would be restless after death."] ["I can't do anything particularly big, but I'd be happy to do this small favor."]...
“That’s great.” Cheng You couldn’t help but laugh. He turned to the families who were discussing the matter and said, “It’s not just you. In recent years, there have been many car accidents. I’ve contacted many families of the deceased, and they are all willing to do this.”
"Ah! So that's how it is. You are truly righteous, no wonder you deserve to be praised by the police." The family members couldn't help but shed tears, their hearts filled with hope for a successful future.
Cheng You smiled and looked at Date Hang, who was reporting to his subordinates: "Is that so? I'm righteous..."
The drunk driving incident that day was carefully investigated by the group, and Cheng helped Ida Hang find evidence. In the end, they discovered that what appeared to be an intentional drunk driving incident was actually a murder case that the killer had disguised as an accident.
The murderer had a good alcohol tolerance; he killed the victim while sober and easily disguised it as an accident, all to evade the law.
Because murder and accident are different, especially in Beika Town where drunk driving accidents are not severely punished.
After the police caught the murderer, he refused to confess. However, after the police threw the evidence in his face, he reluctantly admitted to the crime.
His testimony also provides a strong argument for the severe punishment of Cheng You for drunk driving accidents.
Because some people will disguise murder as an accident, this time it was just because the murderer wasn't very smart. If a smarter murderer is encountered in the future, it will be impossible to deduce any useful information from the scene. By then, it will be too late to correct the loopholes in the law.
Cheng sent this evidence to the victims' families, hoping they would make good use of it.
In the following days, Cheng You was unaware of how things were progressing, as he was extremely busy assisting Date Wataru with the latest case at the Metropolitan Police Department, working alongside Takagi Wataru.
On a quiet evening after several busy days, Cheng finally had time to check the messages and see the progress and situation of the family members when he got home.
Cheng You had a vague sense of unease because he hadn't received any messages from his family members that evening, nor had he sent any messages himself.
Has anything unexpected happened recently?
Cheng You was just about to take a hot bath to relax when he received a call from Date Kou: "Hello, Mr. Date?"
"Hirata, come to the Metropolitan Police Department. There's something here that needs your attention," said Date Wataru, his tone sounding somewhat serious.
Cheng You responded and hung up. He was silent for a moment, not understanding what had happened. It was almost 10 p.m., and no matter what emergency the Metropolitan Police Department had, it was none of Cheng You's business, unless it was something related to him.
Could it be...?
Thinking of the family members who hadn't messaged him tonight, Cheng You suddenly had a bad feeling.
He hurried to the Metropolitan Police Department, his mind elsewhere the whole way.
The mastermind behind this incident was undoubtedly Cheng You. This kind of incident can be considered a disturbance from any perspective. As the instigator of the disturbance, Cheng You naturally had to undergo a thorough interrogation.
What will Ida Kou think of him? Will he think that Cheng You's sense of justice is just a facade, and that he only does things that cause unnecessary trouble? Will he become annoyed or misunderstand Cheng You?
Cheng You didn't care about being accused of instigating the trouble, since in this world, such a situation wasn't considered very serious.
What he's worried about now is whether Ida Hang will still take care of Cheng You as before after this incident.
Will this mission fail again due to Cheng You's mistake?
The moment Cheng You stepped into the Metropolitan Police Department, he felt only silence, an eerie silence.
The hallway was dimly lit. He groped his way to Ida Kou's office, where he could see the bright lights and hear the noise coming from afar.
Their voices were low and difficult to hear, but Cheng Youneng vaguely made out a few words: "troublemaker," "mastermind," "has been doing this all along," "the purpose of getting close to you," "for this"...
Despite using only these words, Cheng could roughly understand what they were saying.
It's simply that Cheng had a purpose in getting close to Ida Kou, in order to investigate the car accident case, and then he joined forces with the families to start this chaos.
Although Cheng You initially approached Date Hang with a purpose—to save him—this time, his approach was entirely driven by attraction, drawn to Date Hang's dazzling acts of kindness.
When asked if he had ulterior motives, Cheng couldn't refute it.
A note from the author:
What Cheng did is unacceptable in reality!
Not advisable!!!
Please note the background: the story is set in the world of Detective Conan, not entirely in the context of Japan.
The Beikacho Grand Stage is managed by the Beikacho King (a manga artist).
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