Chapter 2155 - 2153: The Time Has Come
The next day, everyone took Chairman Suzuki’s yacht back to Tokyo, and meanwhile, introduced by Fang Zheng, Kousaka Natsumi also met with Chairman Suzuki and took out her great-grandfather’s drawings for confirmation.
Fang Zheng was very familiar with this plot, so he didn’t pay too much attention. In fact, just like in the animation, Conan discovered the secrets hidden in the Egg of Memories. So, Miss Natsumi invited Kogoro Mouri to visit the castle in Yokosuka to explore, and others hoped to join, which Natsumi gladly agreed to.
But speaking of which, if you already have a castle at home, why work as a pastry chef in Paris? Your salary probably can’t even cover the maintenance costs of the castle.
Is this what they call "If I don’t work hard, I’ll have to inherit a fortune at home"?
So ultimately, going to the Yokosuka Castle were Kogoro Mouri, Conan, Ran, and Fang Zheng was also invited by Miss Kousaka Natsumi to accompany them. In addition, there were a Russian diplomat invited by Chairman Suzuki, a wealthy art dealer, a historian specializing in Tsarist Era cultural studies, and a dedicated photographer.
Having seen the movie version, Fang Zheng didn’t even need to choose; he directly concluded that the woman posing as a Tsarist Era historian, Pusi Qinglan, was the internationally renowned assassin Scout.
But speaking of which, Scout’s acting really was terrible. If you can’t speak Chinese, don’t pretend to be Chinese, okay? Wearing a cheongsam doesn’t mean you can fool everyone. Of course, if Fang Zheng weren’t present, it would be fine, as most people aren’t familiar with foreigners. But with Fang Zheng here, watching Scout pretending to be a Chinese person was really uncomfortable... If only Fang Zheng had evidence, he would have sent her flying.
But speaking of which, Conan, you’re really reckless.
Sitting on the sofa, sipping tea, Fang Zheng stared at Conan. Perhaps the mysterious treasure had gone to his head, as he truly seemed to be releasing himself. Whether finding clues in the Egg of Memories or the subsequent reasoning, he didn’t even use the classic "Oh wow, that’s strange," but instead jumped right into the action. No wonder Ran was suspicious of him. Making it this obvious, it would be strange if Ran wasn’t suspicious.
Especially not long ago on the yacht, Conan’s Grim Reaper’s Aura struck again, resulting in the photographer among the four being killed, and the videotape was stolen. It was only with Conan’s hint that everyone realized this was a case within a case. Originally, the photographer had a grudge against Secretary Nishino, so he deliberately went to Nishino’s room while he was taking a bath, hiding the antique ring he brought along and stealing Nishino’s pen, trying to frame the secretary with a fake scenario.
Unexpectedly, Scout intervened, and she wasn’t playing any small games. She directly shot the photographer in the head, sending him back home to get married. As a result, the two cases got intertwined, leading to Secretary Nishino being suspected of murdering the photographer.
Of course, it was Conan who finally stepped in, cleared up the case, and restored the truth. But the cost was... Ran kept watching Conan’s actions the whole time and it stuck in her mind.
By the way, Fang Zheng originally wanted to seize the opportunity to catch Scout, but unfortunately, he really had no evidence.
See, this is a professional assassin—no need for any secret rooms, alibis, or witness testimonies. Just go in, shoot in the head, and throw the gun into the water afterward. No clues can be tracked; simple, crude, effective. After washing up and changing clothes, even gunpowder residue can’t be detected, most likely putting a lifeboat to mislead people into thinking she’s already left the ship.
Faced with this situation, not even Conan had any solutions, and Fang Zheng had no intention to interfere further. Instead of considering Conanology reasoning, it’s better to catch them red-handed directly.
"Has Ran started suspecting Conan yet?"
Look, even the bystanders like Little Ai recognized the issue.
"Of course, he’s courting disaster, and no one can save him."
Facing Little Ai’s inquiry, Fang Zheng shrugged and laughed. Ultimately, it’s Conan’s problem. If he had defined himself as a precocious child from the start, there wouldn’t have been so many issues. But he insisted on disguising himself as a naive little brat—which naive little brat would run around the crime scene so energetically, get close to the corpse, and think "Oh wow, that’s strange"?
Fang Zheng wondered if the longer Ran watched, the higher her anger level accumulated—Shinichi, are you insulting my intelligence?
"So what do you think will happen when Edogawa is found out?"
"With his small arms and legs, I’m afraid he can’t withstand one punch from Ran, but what does this concern me? After all, it’s not me hiding my identity and sleeping alongside Ran."
"Wow... Has he really done something like that?"
Upon hearing this, Little Ai was shocked. She originally had some sympathy for Conan, since it was her drug that shrank him. But what surprised Little Ai was that this so-called high school detective actually took the opportunity to do such things!
What a rogue!
"Hehe, so I’m just waiting to see how miserable he’ll be when his identity is exposed."
Thinking about how this day was soon to arrive, Fang Zheng expressed he couldn’t wait already.
Eventually, the case of the murdered photographer was concluded, and the assassin Scout was thought to have fled after the crime, so after that, everyone went to the castle in Yokosuka.
One must admit, seeing this castle, Fang Zheng was quite tempted. Not to mention, the Western mansions and castle buildings in the Conan World are indeed beautifully made and nice. If it weren’t for Conan being around, Fang Zheng might have even bought a castle, like the one in the "DeShula Murder Case" to enjoy a good time.
But in the Conan World, unfortunately, these places usually have deaths...
Hmm, better to just live in my own apartment honestly.
On the way, both Fang Zheng and Little Ai stayed hidden the whole time, treating themselves like passersby, following at the back of the group, not speaking nor communicating, watching Conan doing reckless high jumps. So they watched Conan find the path leading to the secret chamber, open the door to the chamber, and then find the second Egg of Memories from the coffin.
Then, with Conan’s guidance, everyone combined the two Eggs of Memories into one, placed it on the pedestal, and soon, under the illumination of the light, everyone was amazed to see the secret within the Egg of Memories---photos shot out from the Egg of Memories, reflecting on the walls around them, and in the dark room, this dreamlike scene fascinates everyone.
Even Fang Zheng was deeply moved, although he was amazed by this magical design in the theater version, seeing it with his own eyes still felt quite shocking.
Moreover... everyone seemed to not have noticed something else.
Thinking of this, Fang Zheng glanced at the photo of the Tsar’s family, and another photo of Miss Natsumi’s great-grandfather and his wife. In fact, the wife of Miss Natsumi’s great-grandfather is the Tsar’s third Princess Maria, and her gray eyes are inherited from her.
In other words, if the Tsar still existed now, Miss Kousaka Natsumi would also be considered a Royal Family member, a princess identity. Hmm... normally, that means one should assassinate the Tsar’s direct relatives, then marry this princess, support her weak claim, and then legally get Russia’s territory...
Hmm, but sadly, it’s just a thought.
The time is about right.
Seeing the light gradually fade away, Fang Zheng reached out his hand and gently patted Little Ai next to him, gesturing towards Miss Kousaka Natsumi, while Little Ai nodded, taking advantage when no one was paying attention to walk towards Kousaka Natsumi. Meanwhile, Fang Zheng stepped back two steps, disappearing into the darkness.
At this moment, everyone’s attention was fixed on the Egg of Memories, completely oblivious to Fang Zheng’s disappearance. Meanwhile, Conan noticed a red dot slowly moving, aiming at Kogoro Mouri.
Not good!
"Danger!"
Conan hurriedly threw a flashlight at Kogoro Mouri, scaring him into falling backward to the ground, when at the same time, a bullet shot out, narrowly missing him.
"Hey, what are you doing, Conan!"
But at this moment, Conan had no time to heed Kogoro’s complaints because he was horrified to discover the red dot reappearing, targeting Ran who was about to pick up the flashlight!
"Don’t pick it up, Ran!"
At this moment, Conan could no longer conceal his identity, directly rushing towards Ran. At that moment, the shadow aiming at Ran’s right eye also revealed a sinister grin, then pulled the trigger --- but at that instant, suddenly a hand appeared below, grabbing the shadow’s wrist and lifting it up.
"Bang!!"
The bullet responded, shooting towards the ceiling above. Meanwhile, Fang Zheng tightly grasped the wrist of Little Black, his other hand clenched into a fist, punching Little Black’s abdomen.
"Ugh!!"
Under Fang Zheng’s strike, Little Black’s eyes opened wide, letting out a moan, then fell to the ground unconscious.
"What on earth happened?"
At this time, the others also reacted, urgently picking up flashlights to shine over here, only to be surprised to find Fang Zheng reversing the self-proclaimed Tsar researcher Pusi Qinglan to the ground, with a handgun dropped beside her.
"This, this is?"
Kogoro Mouri looked at Pusi Qinglan who was knocked out by Fang Zheng, and was bewildered, while Fang Zheng leisurely took out handcuffs from his pocket and cuffed Pusi Qinglan, then looked at Kogoro Mouri.
"She is the Scout, caught red-handed, finally she can’t get away."
"What? Miss Qinglan is the Scout?"
Hearing this, everyone was unsettled, while Fang Zheng nodded, put away the gun, and then lifted Pusi Qinglan up.
"I had been suspicious of her earlier, so I specially asked the Metropolitan Police Department to contact Interpol for an investigation. Her name and identity are all fake. Now caught red-handed, she can’t escape."
Speaking while looking at Pusi Qinglan whom he held in his hand.
In the original movie version, Pusi Qinglan escaped and even tried to burn everyone in the castle, but now with Fang Zheng here, naturally, she won’t have that chance.
Such a beautiful castle, isn’t it a pity to burn it down?
What followed was simple. Capturing the Scout, Fang Zheng immediately called the police, and Officer Megure promptly led a team to arrest her. Miss Natsumi regained the inheritance left by her great-grandfather and found her great-grandmother’s remains, fulfilling her wish.
By the time everyone returned home from Yokosuka, it was already late at night.
"Uncle is asleep."
Returning to the Detective Agency, Conan looked at Ran as he spoke. Ran nodded, placed the pigeon in her arms into the basket, and then stood up and walked to the window. She looked at the rain outside the window, remained silent for a moment, then turned to look at Conan.
"Thank you for saving me in the castle."
"Sister Little Lan?"
Perhaps noticing something odd in Ran’s tone, Conan was taken aback.
"Conan was so cool at that time, just like Shinichi... really, just like Shinichi..."
As she spoke, Ran looked at Conan, her eyes gradually filling with tears.
"......"
At this moment, seeing the tears in Ran’s eyes, Conan also fell silent.
He was neither foolish nor dumb. Seeing this, Conan understood the truth. Clearly, Ran had discovered his true identity.
"But, you two are different, right?"
Tears slid down Ran’s cheeks, she quietly looked at Conan, and whispered.
"Isn’t that right? Conan?"
"......"
Seeing this, Conan slowly closed his eyes and finally showed a helpless smile.
Seems like it can’t be hidden anymore.
Well......
Conan slowly took off his glasses and then raised his head.
"Actually, Ran... Actually, I..."
However, Conan’s words were not finished, because at this moment, he was surprised to find Ran’s gaze shifting to behind him.
"... Shinichi?"
"Ah?!"
Hearing this, Conan was shocked, he hurriedly turned his head, only to find someone who looked exactly like him standing at the door, smiling at Ran!
"You, you really are Shinichi?"
At this moment, Ran also quickly wiped her tears and looked towards the "Shinichi Kudou" standing at the door.
But at this moment, suddenly a hand reached out, followed by a flash of cold light, and in the next moment, a silvery handcuff clicked onto "Shinichi Kudou’s" wrist.
"Alright, Phantom Thief Kid, this is the end."
At the same time, Fang Zheng stepped out from the side and glanced at the frozen "Shinichi Kudou."
"..........."
Faced with this sudden scene, Conan and Ran were both shocked, while "Shinichi Kudou" broke into a cold sweat.
"Wait, wait, Mr. Fang Zheng, what are you saying, I am not Phantom Thief Kid, I am Shinichi Kudou!"
"Just stop pretending in front of me, meddling in other people’s marital affairs, what business is that of yours."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng turned his head and silently glanced at Conan.
"I’ll be taking Kid away, thanks for your cooperation, Shinichi Kudou."
"Eh? Eh?!"
"Oh, right, Ran."
While pressing Phantom Thief Kid’s head, Fang Zheng looked at the stunned Ran.
"Shinichi Kudou now has small arms and legs and can’t withstand your karate, be careful not to hurt him when you hit him. Alright, see you later... Alright, Kid, the Metropolitan Police Department’s pork chop rice is quite tasty, now you’re the only one missing."
"Wait, wait... hey? No, help..."
Watching Fang Zheng and Phantom Thief Kid leave, Conan and Ran stood stunned, not knowing what to say. But soon, Conan heard Ran’s voice behind him again, accompanied by the cracking sound of joint bones.
"... Shinichi?"
"Ah..."
Conan turned around cautiously, looking at Ran, whose anger seemed to transform her into an avatar of the Bright King, his face turning pale.
No need for deduction, he already knew this would be a very difficult night...