Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 796 Tang Ze's Secret

"The deceased was a member of the Black Organization. Was his death an unexpected situation that the organization did not foresee, leading to some consequences? This is indeed a possibility." Conan thought for a moment and nodded silently.

It may sound unbelievable at first that a member of the Black Organization died in an accidental murder, but if you think about it carefully, the logic is actually very logical.

Even in a criminal organization, not everyone is as proficient in all kinds of skills as Gin. If he was just a henchman responsible for delivering information and running errands for his superiors, and died defenselessly at the hands of another ordinary person, it would be reasonable.

Even after defecting, Haibara Ai was afraid that her identity would be revealed and bring disaster to others, but she only reacted strongly to the code members, which shows that the threat posed by these minions is quite limited.

He followed this line of thought and couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

"Could it be that the deceased happened to be holding some crucial information when he died, or that he was talking to some important person to exchange information..." Conan pondered, "In this case, the one who is really in danger is probably not someone else, but the murderer himself."

Otherwise, if it was just a piece of evidence or something like that that fell into the hands of the police, they could just sneak into the Metropolitan Police Department and find a way to take the thing away. Why would they bother attending the meeting and risk exposing themselves as not being the real person?
"It sounds like you have someone you suspect?" Haibara Ai heard that his thoughts had quickly turned to guarding against a mole among the investigators, and raised her eyebrows.

"Of course. This is actually a very clever choice." Conan shrugged and said his thoughts directly, "This task force is quite special."

The joint investigation team brought together police officers from all over the country, but less than half of them actually belonged to the first investigation section. In other words, most of the police officers in the team were not familiar with each other.

Even if he knew that there was a traitor, Conan himself couldn't make a judgment for a while because he didn't know everyone inside.

Having said that, Conan simply took a piece of paper, spread it on the coffee table, and started writing names.

"The first is Adachi Toru." After listing the name at the beginning, Conan drew two lines under the three Chinese characters to emphasize, "His identity is very suspicious. Although we cannot conclude that he is definitely related to the organization, it is unreasonable for him to be hired by Tokyo after being fired."

His relationship with Tang Ze meant that even if this person was not a member of the organization, his hands could not be clean.

It is hard to say whether such a person joining the investigation team investigating serial homicides will cause other troubles, but it is definitely not a good thing.

"His position in the investigation team is very ambiguous. I have asked several police officers from the Investigation Division 1. Adachi Toru was completely forced in by the management of the Metropolitan Police Department. That's why Manager Matsumoto suddenly contacted Uncle Mori to prevent him from interfering with the investigation team. Moreover, he also fits the description of a new face that others are not familiar with."

He had discussed the matter of Adachi Toru with Hattori Heiji before.

The reason why they are so suspicious now but have not directly targeted him is mainly because he doesn't look like a code member at all. He should be an ordinary grassroots person.

...There shouldn't be any code name member who would be so outrageous as to run directly to the prison and beat up Tang Ze!

Even if there is something wrong with this memory, implanting it into Tang Ze at least shows that he wants to do so.

"Secondly, among the several police officers from other places, the Yokomizo brothers are relatively unsuspicious, and Yamamura Sou can probably be ruled out. And Officer Morobushi, I overheard him talking on the phone with his colleagues in Nagano Prefecture who were following up on the case in order to investigate it, and I think it's more credible."

These are all police officers with established personal connections, such as the Yokomizo brothers. If anything unusual happens, it would be easily noticed by another. As for Zhufu Takami, he has been investigating the case in depth for a long time and is said to have a close relationship with his partner, so his suspicion is also greatly reduced.

...As for Shancun Cao, the sacrifice made by the members of this organization to play the role of Shancun Cao for a mission is a bit too great.

Not to mention that there is a high probability that Yamamura Cao will never have the chance to get to the core of the case.

"In the Investigation Division, Officer Megure and the others are very familiar with us, and we didn't feel anything unusual after meeting them today. If we have to pick one, it can only be Officer Matsumoto Kiyonaga, who we are not that familiar with. But Xiaolan chatted with him for a few words in the morning, and the topic was still about Sayuri teacher, and it seemed that there was nothing wrong..."

Haibara Ai watched him mumbling something while writing and drawing on paper and smiled.

There's a reason why they all think so highly of Kudo.

This list can be said to have perfectly hit the mark of Ireland's initial preparations.

If it weren't for Karasawa fabricating the identity of Adachi Toru and using Vermouth to forcefully hand it over to Ireland, the people he targeted would have been arranged according to the list in his hand, and there was a high probability that he would have chosen Matsumoto Kiyonaga.

After all, Ireland is a tall man, and the range of disguises he can choose is very limited. It would be difficult for him to disguise himself as someone smaller like Shancuncao.

"It's a correct idea to keep a close eye on the murderer and the police surrounding the murderer, Kudo." Huiyuan Ai did not interrupt Conan's analysis and calculations on the draft paper, but said softly, "As for who is coming... I suggest that you try to organize it."

----

"Do you want to talk to Mingzhi about something?" As soon as he returned to the cafe, Tang Ze heard Conan's question and couldn't help but make a strange expression, "Can I ask what it is? Uh, you know..."

Strictly speaking, Goro Akechi is definitely not close to Conan and others.

Whether it is his outward image, his style of doing things, or his apparent interpersonal relationships, Goro Akechi is a detective who is completely different and incompatible with Shinichi Kudo.

This can be seen from the fact that almost no one discusses Goro Akechi and Shinichi Kudo together.

Even if you cannot understand the character of Goro Akechi who is warm on the outside but cold on the inside designed by Karasawa, the difference between Goro Akechi, who has outstanding commercial performance, and Shinichi Kudo, who has only appeared in the social version, is so clear.

In Conan's circle, the only person who has a good relationship with Akechi Goro is Karasawa himself. As for the others, even if there are no conflicts, their relationship is just a business acquaintance.

Karasawa's words were a euphemism to indicate that unless the reason was very legitimate, Goro Akechi would probably be too lazy to take the time to deal with Conan and the others.

Conan, who also had no favorable impression of Goro Akechi, waved his hand.

What, since Goro Akechi was too lazy to come see him, he was happy to see Goro Akechi? Funny.

If it weren't for the clear hint from Haibara Ai, he would not have been willing to contact this pretentious pretender.

"Of course it's a very important matter. Just call him out, I believe he will be interested." Conan touched the small medicine box in his pocket, remembering something, and changed the subject to ask Tang Ze, "By the way, can I ask how you met Mingzhi and how you have a good relationship with him? I remember you said before that he and you are 'fellow patients'."

Considering that Goro Akechi's true identity is the illegitimate son of Shigehiko Tsuchiguchi, Conan was not surprised by what Haibara Ai said, that he has an inseparable relationship with the organization.

Moreover, it was also very suspicious that Goro Akechi returned to Japan shortly after Karasawa arrived in Tokyo.

Karasawa's parents were similar to Huibara's past, and they were scientists under house arrest by the organization. Karasawa himself should also be very clear that everyone he met during his childhood treatment period was probably connected to the organization. So what is the basis for Karasawa's trust in Akechi Goro? This is the question that Conan can't figure out.

"Oh, you are a little suspicious of Akechi-kun because of the matter of Tsuchiya Shigehiko?" Tang Ze made a surprised expression, then spread his hands, "I know that Akechi's behavior is often a bit unpleasant. I also said that although he is trustworthy, he is really a nuisance. However, this is not his fault."

"...You mean, he has always been that smiling tiger since he was a child?" Conan imagined what Goro Akechi looked like when he was a child, and the corners of his mouth twitched twice.

Tang Ze recovered at the age of ten. He was the same age as Akechi Goro, so he could not have known Akechi Goro earlier than ten years old.

A ten-year-old kid with that fake, commercial smile...

"I said he and I were 'sort of' patients, but I didn't say it in a very definite tone, mainly because... Mingzhi is not actually sick." Tang Ze said this, his expression darkened, "He was one of the people who took the medicine after my parents started to develop drugs for the organization."

As Tang Ze spoke, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn down, and the smile that had always been on his face disappeared for a rare moment.

This wasn't just Tang Ze's acting skills at work; he was genuinely angry.

Because what he was going to say next was what really happened to Hoshikawa Teru.

"When you found KA03, I told you that my parents developed these psychotropic drugs for my illness. They were worried that I was different from normal children, and they developed these sedatives mainly to gently treat my emotions. But the organization certainly couldn't really let them make ordinary drugs to cure diseases and save lives. They took what my parents developed and processed and experimented with it according to their own needs... It's almost the same as the medicine you took."

When the APTX4869 line of drugs was first created, it was also for a very lofty goal.

——Delay aging and cure “death”, a “disease” that no one can escape.

But now, in the past few years under Miyano Shiho's control, the number of people who have died from this drug is at least in the double digits.

It is colorless and odorless, and cannot be detected during an autopsy. One pill will get rid of it once and for all. Maybe even an autopsy will show a negative result. Gin highly recommends it and it is trustworthy.

"Akechi is one of the subjects of the KA series of drug experiments. I don't know how long he was forced to undergo drug research after I left there, but... you also know that this type of drug is addictive." Tang Ze closed his eyes when he said this. "After taking KA for a long time, his emotional feedback has become disordered and abnormal. Although he looks like a normal person now, his smile must not be real. His heart has been closed by the drugs, and it is not easy for him to become a normal person again."

"It's a bit like your past 'illness'?" Conan stroked his chin thoughtfully, "So that's why you said he was your fellow patient?"

"Yes. It must be very difficult for him to enter the society in his current state and live like a normal person. It's hard for me to blame him for those annoying things." Tang Ze sighed, put the iced coffee to his lips, and drank it all in one gulp as if he was holding a wine glass. "Anyway, it was all caused by my parents and me."

Of course, part of what Tang Ze said was about the identity background fabricated by Goro Akechi, but most of it was about Hoshikawa Teru's current situation.

A large part of the lingering gloominess and hostility in Xingchuan Hui is the aftereffects of the drugs.

When he was still taking the medicine, he was completely unable to express his emotions, and his face was blank and expressionless.

After taking the antidote for a period of time and gradually recovering, he was only able to express his emotions normally.

Having lived under this shadow throughout his childhood and having not received a decent education, Xingchuan Hui actually did not understand how a normal person would handle everything, and it was difficult for him to learn.

If he had accepted Tang Ze's proposal and left Japan, even with the generous living conditions provided by the FBI, Hoshikawa Teru would still need many years, or even his entire life, to heal this confusion and emptiness.

When he thought of this, Tang Ze would briefly understand the tearing and pain in Haibara Ai's heart.

I didn't kill Bo Ren, but he died because of me. It's really hard to let it go.

"This is a problem caused by the organization. You don't have to take the responsibility on yourself." Conan was a little bit enlightened. Thinking of Goro Akechi's face, he couldn't help but persuade him, "Akechi might be deeply involved with the organization. You'd better be careful."

"This is the second point I want to make. No matter who he betrays, he will never betray me." Tang Ze curled his eyes and made a somewhat creepy statement, "The KA series of drugs and the accompanying mental soothing devices were created to regulate my perception and emotions. Let me tell you a secret that perhaps the organization doesn't know, which is that there is a basic rule in this brainwashing program - 'Tang Ze is someone you can and should always trust.'"

This part is also true. This is the record in the memory card of the Tangze couple. Tangze feels that it is impossible for them to lie to their son about such a thing.

——This is also the fundamental reason why Tang Ze was able to accept Xingchuan Hui’s surrender at a critical moment.

It was even part of the basis for Karasawa's design of Vermouth's script.

The experiment that Vermouth underwent was definitely more than just a drug, but she was more or less affected, and her initial favorable impression of the image of "Tang Ze Zhao" must have been quite high.

If Calvados hadn't volunteered to be the conspicuous bag, if it were Vermouth who took action, she might have secretly let the Tangze couple escape, or at least left them a glimmer of hope.

Damn it, so he was angry when he thought of Calvados, the licker. Tang Ze couldn't help but pour himself another cup of coffee.

"You, your parents are really..." Conan's eyes and eyebrows twitched greatly, and he couldn't help but complain, "Are they leaving a backdoor in the organization's brainwashing program?"

"No, they didn't expect that the organization would use it that way at first. If you have to say it, it's the organization that shot itself in the foot." Tang Ze shrugged.

The Tangze in this sentence does not refer to Tangze himself, but to the Tangze couple.

Please, it is originally an early education system left for children, allowing children to know and trust their parents. This is the first step in establishing a normal growth relationship step by step.

The organization has evil intentions and uses it to do other things. It's not their fault.

"As for Mingzhi... well, I don't know what you want to say to him, but if you insist on seeing him, I can say it for you. He will definitely not refuse my request." Tang Ze lowered his head and started drinking coffee again. "He has a full schedule now, and he is slowly returning to a normal life. I think the pain will slowly heal."

The same goes for the current Teru Hoshikawa.

After being brought out of the Tōngguchi family by Karasawa, as the Phantom Thieves went about their busy daily lives and as he was forced to help Karasawa deal with his multiple identities, he gritted his teeth and imitated Karasawa's every move, and was indeed slowly regaining the appearance that a young man of this age should have.

With Tang Ze as his role model, although he actually never knew how to laugh normally and could hardly find what his own smile should be like, having such a starting point was a good start.

Even though his living environment is special, Tang Ze believes that he will be fine with everyone in the Phantom Thieves around him.

(End of this chapter)