Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 917: Humble and Open-Minded Kumer

Before answering Hakuba Tan's question, Tang Ze slowly straightened his cuffs.

After listening to Hakuba Tan's explanation of why he returned to Japan, he guessed that this guy would ask this question.

Judging from his style of doing things, in addition to self-confidence and ego, Bai Ma Tan has always been a guy who likes to take the initiative. He will never passively accept the script or settings arranged by others. The real reason why he accepted this variety show may be here.

The fact that he asked this question showed that he had basically determined that Tang Ze was the couple's son, and his purpose of coming here was actually very clear.

"——You knew from the beginning that this was a variety show planned by me, right?" Tang Ze said something irrelevant to the question, in order to take back some of the initiative in the conversation, "However, as expected of the son of the Superintendent General, your reaction speed is fast."

This was an implicit criticism of him using the convenience of the police system to investigate Tang Ze's personal information.

Bai Matan smiled and was not irritated by his sarcastic words: "It is true that I took some shortcuts, but I believe that I can identify their identities very quickly without any assistance. This is just saving some time. Although Ms. Karasawa Ikawa and Ms. Karasawa Leona are not well-known in Europe, they were once very famous neurosurgeons in the Japanese medical community. It is only a matter of time for me to identify them."

This is a disguised admission that the protagonists of the "story" he told on the boat were the Karasawa couple, and it is also a disguised statement that Goro Akechi should have clearly known this information.

"Then shouldn't you have already come to your own conclusion? Are you coming to me to get the answer?" The expression on Tang Ze's face did not change at all. He seemed unmoved by the two names he proposed. He also revealed some confusion at the right time, as if he was really wondering why Bai Ba Tan suddenly came to him.

"That's a preliminary conclusion, but there is one." Bai Ma walked to the edge of the deck, leaned against the railing, and said with emotion while looking at the waves rolling outside the ship, "That's why I'm particularly curious about where you came from. 'Genius boy from America'? Maybe I'm just ignorant and didn't find many traces."

Tang Ze glanced at his back, walked to his side, and also looked at the sea outside the boat: "Are you worried that I will threaten Tang Ze's safety? Or, do you think those things are related to me?"

This was an ambiguous statement that did not clearly point out what it was referring to, but Bai Ma Tan obviously understood it.

"Strange, it's really too strange." Bai Ma Tan didn't look at him, and whispered as if talking to himself, "There's nothing wrong with my reasoning. The life safety of this family is seriously threatened. Not long after the Tang Ze couple died in Northern Europe, Tang Ze Zhao was imprisoned for causing disability in a conflict with others. The records after that are really too strange. There is no report during the detention period, only a few formatted interrogation records, and the trial records are strictly encrypted because the defendant is a minor..."

Tang Ze glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and vaguely realized the meaning of Bai Ba Tan's words.

"Soon, Tang Ze Zhao accepted the protective observation and arrived in Tokyo. Two weeks later, the genius detective Akechi Goro suddenly appeared. After several stunning appearances, he announced that he had joined an unknown agency. The manager of the agency happened to be Tang Ze Zhao's guardian. What was even more surprising was that Tang Ze Zhao, whose living space was compressed very small, suddenly seemed to have never experienced anything, and really started his ordinary student life in Tokyo step by step..."

Tang Ze lowered his eyes and basically confirmed his guess.

Hakuba Tan was indeed suspicious of something, but he was not doubting whether Akechi would threaten Tang Ze Zhao's safety.

Maybe he did have doubts before meeting me, but after coming into contact with me, his doubts changed direction.

Especially in the last case, he confirmed Tang Ze's situation up close and personal, and confirmed that Tang Ze was indeed himself, without any disguise, and neither his performance nor his condition seemed to have been replaced by someone else.

"No one would change the fixed trajectory of action for no reason. If there is no major change in the plan, it is impossible to change it casually. The 99 steps of the plan have been completed, why would they stop at the last step?"

Seemingly not caring about his feedback at all, Bai Ba Tan just continued with his one-man show.

Tang Ze, who had completely understood what he was saying, leaned on the railing and crossed his hands, covering the lower half of his face: "You seem to suspect that I am the perpetrator, but you seem to be shaken. To be honest, I am not very interested in your detailed reasoning process. What exactly do you want to ask, Hakuba-kun?"

Hakuba turned his head and looked at him with a meaningful look: "I have gone around in circles so much, I think I don't need to elaborate on my thoughts. Let's be direct, are you the Phantom Thief of Hearts, Akechi-kun?"

"...Interesting guess." Tang Ze turned around, "Now I've changed my mind. I'm starting to think about how you came to such a ridiculous conclusion."

The only controversial and easily criticized label about Goro Akechi in the public eye is that he is a rare public figure who openly opposes vigilante trials such as the Phantom Thief of Hearts.

Having been active in Tokyo for so long, no one would question why they call themselves Phantom Thieves anymore.

No one knows how the Phantom Thieves of Hearts accomplished so many incredible feats. Some people speculate that they used physical threats or mental control, while others think that they might just be hackers with advantages in information technology. But after all the speculation, no one can confirm their speculation, so on the spiritual level, they are indeed a group of "Phantom Thieves."

Because we don't know their specific behaviors, it is difficult to define whether they are outsiders of the law. Most public figures who are careful about their reputation will use vague words to brush off the term when it is mentioned. Knowing that the public has a natural liking for this kind of urban vigilante, some even publicly support it and claim that they admire them very much.

Akechi's views on this issue can be described as radical, and it is estimated that he is the Phantom Thief of Hearts, and he is almost a bit of an enemy in Honnoji.

"Don't worry, your status as an open opponent is still very solid. I just made some guesses based on some details." Baiba Tan said, moving closer and whispering in Tang Ze's ear, "Being too good at psychology is helpful for being a detective, but it can only play a negative role in clearing yourself of the relationship. I've looked through the case files you handled, Akechi-kun. It must be uncomfortable to know the answer first and then work backwards to figure out the process, right?"

Tang Ze raised his eyebrows, and this time his look showed a little more genuine admiration.

Although the conclusions drawn were somewhat biased due to misleading information, Bai Ma Tan did hit the nail on the head.

Tang Ze is an excellent undercover agent, which has stood the test of time. His record of clearing the game with one life is verifiable. However, as a detective, his experience is very limited. In this world full of detectives, it is indeed difficult to hide the truth from everyone's eyes.

From the beginning to the end, Tang Ze was not a detective, but playing a detective. Detective was just a superficial identity for him.

We can see this from the cases he handled, and we have to say that Baibatan is indeed a detective with very solid basic skills.

Tang Ze laughed.

"It's okay if you don't want to admit it. My target is not you." Bai Matan waved his hand and leaned back on the railing. "I just want to remind you of something, so that you won't be careless because of your stable state. I will go to Northern Europe, not to complete some assignment as I said in the story. I encountered this incident on the way to track down the serial killer I have been catching, and took over the investigation of the case for the same reason. It is not just a group of people who are targeting the Tangze family. What you and I want to protect from the darkness is a treasure at the cusp of the storm. Countless eyes will be watching here. Are you mentally prepared for this?"

Tang Ze's heart moved slightly, and he turned his eyes to meet Bai Matan's confident and determined gaze.

Judging from his expression, he had no intention of discussing this with me. It seemed more like he was informing me than communicating with me.

Tang Ze raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "If, now, the railing of the ship suddenly broke due to aging and wear, and an outstanding detective with a promising future accidentally fell into the sea and died during the voyage, then no one would bear any responsibility for it, no matter how many suspicions there were, and our conversation would become a secret known only to the sea. Are you mentally prepared for this?"

The smile on Bai Matan's face faded, and he instinctively lowered his head and looked at the railing under his palm.

The railings were wiped clean and looked like new, but the slight traces of rust beneath the paint proved that what he said was true.

His words were a bit of a personal threat, so Bai Ma Tan quickly retracted some of his focus and looked back with a little caution. These words were a counterattack to Bai Ma Tan's words that just contained sarcasm.

Bai Ba Tan asked him if he was ready to fight against unimaginable forces, and his answer was that if necessary, for safety reasons, he could ask Bai Ba Tan, who knew the secret, to keep his mouth shut.

Tang Ze saw his action, smiled, and loosened his hand on his shoulder: "'A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall', instead of worrying about Tang Ze, you should worry about yourself first. Trouble comes from the mouth, Bai Ma."

After waving his hand, Tang Ze left without looking back, but after taking a few steps, he completely retracted his smile.

Taking out his cell phone, he called up the interface of Phantom Thief Line.

【Joker: KID, are you there? 】

[Joker: Do you have a record of the magic show that your father died in? Any information will do, but a video record would be best.]

【KID: Huh?! Why are you asking this all of a sudden? 】

【KID: After exploiting me for so long, have you suddenly felt guilty and decided to lend a hand and help me find some clues?】

【Joker: No, I got some news that you may never laugh again if I tell you.】

[KID:? 】

[Joker: It is possible that we two will go together on the main mission of being phantom thieves.]

【KID:?!?!】

----

"Kumeil is a difficult guy, isn't he?"

As soon as he walked into the dressing room, he heard these words. Amuro Toru turned his head to look at Mizunashi Rena and smiled.

"I don't know what you're talking about, young lady."

Rena Mizunashi took the seat in front of the makeup mirror, tapping her nails regularly on the armrests of the makeup chair, and glanced at Toru Amuro in the mirror.

"Who else could you be referring to? Of course, Akechi. Although he seems to have a good personality, he's probably not an easy boss to deal with in private, right?"

"Are you trying to collect dirt on Akechi?" Amuro revealed a somewhat surprised expression, "Why do you think so? Akechi is always polite and friendly to the staff he works with. His relationship with you seems a little cold, but I think this has nothing to do with Akechi's personality."

"I see..." Mizuno Rena nodded.

His answer was flawless, as if he had never heard the previous conversation. If she hadn't been there, she would have thought that this was an innocent agent who knew nothing about Mingzhi's true identity.

There is absolutely no room for dialogue or recording, it's really a strict defense...

What should we do? How should we find out the true relationship between that guy named Toru Amuro and Kumail?

Being Goro Akechi's agent and the boss of his agency, it is impossible that he has no connection with the organization. The way he speaks to Akechi and the pattern of his conversation make it sound as if Kumail is his superior and he is a henchman assigned by the organization.

But, I always feel that there is something wrong...

"Miss Mizuno, did you come to the dressing room to discuss something with Akechi in private?" Amuro interrupted her thoughts. "Although it's inappropriate for me to say this, Miss Mizuno, according to Japan's current standards, Akechi will not be considered an adult for another two years..."

Rena Mizuno's expression stiffened for a moment, and soon the corners of her mouth straightened.

"Of course I didn't mean that." What could a mercenary and cold-blooded Codename member like Kumail have in mind? Is she crazy?

"I don't mean anything else, it's just that it could easily cause misunderstanding..." Amuro gave a faint apologetic smile, and took some effort to prevent the corners of his mouth from curling up too much.

Well, he admitted that it was fun, and it wasn't Tang Ze's fault that he couldn't help but play a trick on others sometimes.

"Oh, you guys seem to be having a good chat. Is it something you can only talk about behind my back?"

There was a sound of the door behind her opening, and Mizunashi Rena looked up.

Tang Ze strode in with a big smile on his face, threw his suitcase on the sofa beside him, and waved his hand with a smile: "Don't worry, it doesn't matter even if you say bad things about me. I will pretend that I don't know if I didn't hear it. I am very generous and always open-minded."

Because of the nonsense he blurted out, Mizuno Rena couldn't help but lean back slightly, as if trying to distance herself from him.

Kumail is magnanimous? How ridiculous.

Ask Ireland, who is buried somewhere in Tonkin Bay, if he believes it.

"Okay, it's okay if you don't want to answer." Tang Ze shrugged, walked up behind Mizunashi Rena, held the back of the chair, looked at her face in the mirror with makeup on, and said in a very gentle tone, "You came at the right time. Someone just asked me a question, which I found quite interesting, so I wanted to ask you too."

Feeling Tang Ze's hand on the back of the chair, controlling the seat from above, Mizunashi Rena's fingers twitched instinctively, but she quickly controlled them with her excellent qualities.

"Oh? What's the problem?"

"Do you know Karasawa Akira, Ms. Mizuno?"

(End of this chapter)