Chapter 38: Another duo queue session with Ray...
Good news: It wasn't Ray who called.
Bad news: It seems to be a detective.
Morofushi Hiromitsu, who was working with Rai late at night, felt uneasy when he saw the middle-aged man standing at the entrance of the TV station, grinning foolishly and claiming to be a detective. When he looked up again, he immediately saw the huge poster of Kudo Yusaku set up at the entrance of the TV station, and his heart skipped a beat.
Seriously? Again?!
Why would there be a detective at this time?!
At that moment, he felt as if he had been injected with a 72-fold concentrated dose of Mongolian medicine—he was so dizzy.
What's going on? Wasn't one robbery enough? Are they going to do it again? Who lured this detective here?! It can't be Zero again!
[Anti-Fraud Guru #148: Report! It's that man in the mascot costume!]
[Anti-fraud expert #205: Coincidentally, he's the target of this mission.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu's resentful gaze fell on the puppet man who was talking to the detective.
Accountant Ishimoto. This man, along with his subordinates, undermined the company president, Nagao Tsutomu, and also colluded with the president's secretary to secretly engage in arms smuggling. He is a hypocrite and a beast in human clothing.
If Lai hadn't done his research before taking action, President Nagao of their film company would have died in his place.
As he moved a little closer, he could hear the man establishing his persona for the detective:
“Mr. Mori, am I sure I won’t give myself away dressed like this? My daughter Miho knows me very well. If she finds out beforehand, it won’t be a birthday surprise.”
Detective Mori patted the beluga whale doll's big head and said, "This doll is so big and heavy that you can't even tell your size. Don't worry."
Morofushi Kagemitsu made his expression less ferocious and strode over, just in time to see what the accountant was about to do.
"That's good." Accountant Ishimoto, dressed in a heavy mascot costume, squatted down and held up a cardboard box for Detective Mori to see. "Please keep this safe for me, Detective Mori. It's a birthday present I bought for Miho—a white whale crystal ball. That child has such sharp eyes, I didn't know where to hide it, so I can only ask you for it."
Detective Mori took the small box. The unwrapped cardboard lid playfully popped open, revealing a cute little beluga whale inside. Perhaps there was some kind of mechanism inside, because in the dim light, the little creature seemed to wag its tail in the deep sea. It only calmed down when Accountant Ishimoto's hairy hand covered it.
"Mr. Ishimoto is so thoughtful. Your daughter must be very happy." Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at the gift and felt very ironic. He had transported countless explosives the size of beluga whales through his hands, and now the money he was raising for his daughter's special marine life program was stained with the blood of countless families.
Upon hearing a third person join their conversation, both of them turned to look at him. As the actual person in charge of the company, Ishimoto recognized him immediately, and his originally kind smile froze.
This living Yama has arrived!
Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at Ishimoto's expression, gave the two of them an embarrassed smile, and said, "Sorry, I was reminded of my little niece's love for beluga whales when I saw the mascot costume, so I took the liberty of interrupting. I am Asakawa Sora, the accountant of Seida Company, and also a partner of President Nagao."
He looked at Kogoro Mouri, extended his hand and said, "If I heard correctly, you are Mr. Mouri, right? It's a pleasure to meet you."
Upon hearing that the person was an acquaintance of his employer, Kogoro Mouri smiled, extended his hand, and took the opportunity to promote his business: "Kogoro Mouri, I'm a detective now. If you ever have any problems that are difficult to solve, you can come to the Mouri Detective Agency to find me!"
"Definitely, definitely."
The two men paused for a moment after clasping hands, then casually let go, as if it were just a routine social gesture.
With shooting experience and considerable skill, why would Ishimoto suddenly hire such a detective?
Morofushi Kagemitsu observed the two men discreetly. Kogoro Mouri seemed to have flaws everywhere, but he couldn't be sure if the man was doing it on purpose. Ishimoto, the accountant, was also unable to discern the man's thoughts because he was wearing a thick mascot costume.
Moreover, with the target dressed like this, it would be inconvenient for Rae, who was crouching on a high place, to confirm his identity or take action. It would be safer to lure him back indoors, at least away from that cumbersome rag doll head.
He straightened his clothes, as if chilled by the autumn night, and said, "Mr. Ishimoto, I've come to see you in the middle of the night because there's something important and urgent I need to discuss with you."
Ishimoto remained silent, huddled inside the doll, while Kogoro Mori, quick to read people's expressions, said, "Let's go inside then. We're not needed here anymore."
Ishimoto shook the puppet's head, which Kogoro Mori interpreted as agreement. He pushed the large puppet into the building before reaching out to remove the headgear.
Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced around and became even more convinced that the Mori detective had been specifically brought here by Ishimoto.
This is interesting. He remembered that when he was negotiating with them before, he hadn't shown any intention of silencing them. Besides, even if he needed protection, he wouldn't call someone over to wait here in the middle of the night, would he?
Did he hear something about it beforehand?
Moreover, why does this seem so familiar to him?
[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 11: Haven't you noticed yet? Isn't this exactly the plot from that 'Latest News' article?]
Huh? I thought the sniper in that article was talking about me?
[Anti-Fraud King No. 66: But on the surface, isn't Ray more suited to the role of a sniper?]
[Anti-fraud expert #214: Moreover, from an interpersonal perspective, Furuya is more likely to scam Rai.]
[Anti-fraud King #26: Wait, if the information really was leaked by Furuya-kun, then won't it be known that Kagemitsu and Rai are collaborating today?!]
Forehead……
[Anti-fraud expert #205: Judging from the appearance description, Furuya-kun's bespectacled subordinate should be Kazami Yuya.]
Yes, Kazami knows me.
Morobuchi Kagemitsu couldn't help but feel nervous.
...Wait, I haven't confirmed that Zero was the one who leaked the information, right? But, if I think about it more carefully...
That's it, once you accept their logic, it seems like it'll be hard to get out of this situation!
He dismissed these unsubstantiated speculations from his mind, and under the guise of adjusting his collar, he lightly tapped the communicator hidden in his tie, "tap-tap—tap-tap—", meaning to tell Ray to change his position.
Not long after he sent the signal, he followed Ishimoto to his office.
Ishimoto has his own separate office. Perhaps because his company recently launched a special ocean-themed feature, his office is filled with related materials, and there are unfinished invitations on his desk.
[Connected to computer, searching for files...]
After entering, Kogoro Mouri casually placed the crystal ball next to the invitation, went to the window and said, "Your office has a really good location; you can see the garden on the back street." Then he casually drew the curtains.
Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at Kogoro Mouri and said, "Mr. Mouri, we need to discuss something. So..."
[Anti-fraud expert #198: This guy really did have dealings with Kumagai, and even slipped it into a pornographic file.]
...No, Akita or Ishimoto, what's wrong with all of you?
[Anti-fraud expert #148: He's all set up, you'd be doing him a disservice if you didn't scam him.]
Don't rush, clear out the people first.
Kogoro Mouri waved his hand and said, "Ah, you talk, you talk, I won't bother you here."
Hello……
Where did your eyesight go at this point?
Morofushi Kagemitsu sighed and put it more bluntly: "What we're about to discuss is a trade secret, and it's not something we should tell others." He then gave Ishimoto a chilling glance.
"Ah, yes." Ishimoto pulled out a tissue, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "Mr. Mori, would you please excuse me for a moment?"
Kogoro Mouri glanced at the two of them, agreed, and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you outside. Just call me if you need anything."
Having finally gotten rid of this nuisance, Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at Ishimoto again. Calculating the time, it would be almost time to carry out the mission once Rai returned, so he didn't waste any more words and said directly, "Your business with Kumagai Ichiro hasn't stopped yet, has it?"
Ishimoto struggled to suppress his nervousness and said, "Aren't you joking? Kumagai is dead, where would he get business?"
“But his methods are still working,” Morofushi Kagemitsu said meaningfully.
"This..." Ishimoto quickly denied, "It's a misunderstanding, absolutely a misunderstanding!"
Morofushi Kagemitsu roughly understood that there must have been a private deal, so he said, "Alright, but this question is meaningless now."
Ishimoto visibly panicked, reaching his hand into the cabinet on his right: "What do you mean...?"
Sure enough, he knew someone was coming to kill him tonight.
Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at Ishimoto without any emotion in his eyes. He wasn't afraid of Ishimoto pulling out a gun, but he didn't want blood to splatter on him, so he lied and said, "There's a saying in the organization that you can make amends for your crimes. You should think carefully about what to do."
Knowing he was still alive, Ishimoto instantly perked up and went to Morofushi Kagemitsu's side, wanting to say something.
Morofushi glanced at his watch, ignored Ishimoto who was trying to curry favor, opened the door, smiled and greeted Kogoro Mori, and then left.
He didn't care what those two were whispering about behind his back; as long as he could clear his name of suspicion on the surface, that was enough.
After he left the company, he whispered into his earpiece, "Don't rush to shoot, I'm coming to find you."
He wanted to confirm first whether Ray suspected Zero.
Moreover, from both an emotional and mission-related perspective, he did not want the conflict between Ray and Bourbon to escalate.
Have you found any problems?
Ray leaned against the edge of the rooftop, a cigarette dangling from his lips, enjoying the night breeze. His sniper rifle lay casually beside him.
“Ishimoto got the news in advance.” Morofushi Kagemitsu steered the conversation toward the previous bombing case. “I’m a little worried that something like what happened at the port last time will happen. Plus, the detective he hired is really good. I’ll have to change your position.”
Lei pondered for a moment before saying, "You think the figure that day was one of Ishimoto's men?"
Judging from Ishimoto's reaction, it seems so. However, starting today, even if it isn't, it has to be.
Zhu Fujingguang simply nodded.
Seeing that Ray didn't mention anyone else, he didn't say anything himself, but asked, "Where do you think he would hide the ledger?"
“I don’t know,” Lei said. “There are no ledgers, but there are a bunch of fairy tale picture books.”
"Could he have hidden it in the gift?"
Will he?
Morofushi Kagemitsu did not directly respond to this question.
He walked to the sniper rifle and crouched down to adjust the scope.
When Ray saw his actions, he raised an eyebrow but did not stop him. Instead, he carefully observed his habits.
This was the first time Ray had ever seen Scotland using a sniper rifle.
Those usually gentle eyes were now completely still, even calmer than when he used a handgun to shoot someone in the head at close range.
"Bang!"
The bullet shattered the white whale crystal ball, splashing water droplets that blurred the invitation on the table, making the word "happiness" unrecognizable.
Beside the whale's belly, which had been pierced through, he saw a white USB drive buried among the scattered shards of glass, illuminated by a streetlamp.
Generally speaking, fairy tales are all lies.
But Black Fairy Tales won't.
-----------------------
Author's note: Jingguang (wiping sweat): Very good, we've fooled Lai Yi.
Meanwhile, Zero, who discovered that her childhood friend had gone to see Rae again: (gritting her teeth) Moro, Hoshi, Dai!
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