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Conan didn't know about this thing at first. After he found out, the media surrounded him, asking for news and exclusive reports. But when Conan didn't provide them with any useful information and instead kept it very secret, turning his attention to the police, they were furious.
They've already paid so much in advance for consultations, and now so many murders and scandals are happening at the Metropolitan Police Department, yet Conan, who's always on the scene, isn't giving them a single piece of information.
Driven to desperation, the reporters and media personnel surrounded Conan, pressuring him to repay the money and pay them billions of yen in compensation according to the agreement. They threatened that unless he revealed the Metropolitan Police Department's information to them in advance, it wouldn't end there!
"I! Conan Edogawa! I'm 7 years old! Conan is seven! What legal effect do the agreements and contracts I signed have?!"
Although he felt wronged, he now had to compromise after initially being tough for a while, taking on the tens of millions of yen in debt, or leaking the information to the media, in order to keep his identity as a shrunken Shinichi Kudo a secret.
If Conan doesn't seek help from his biological father, Yusaku Kudo, he won't be able to repay the information fee that his predecessor, Conan, took in advance, based on his own abilities.
So, in order to pay off his debts and get revenge on his ex, the first thing Conan revealed to the media in advance was that he had given false testimony on the roller coaster and that Hitomi had turned herself in.
Compared to the recent uproar about the Metropolitan Police Department being cursed, the roller coaster case, while not as famous, still managed to generate just as much headline news, given that the 7-year-old boy realized his mistake and confessed and apologized in front of the entire public on live television.
After confessing and bowing in apology on live television, Conan felt a surge of excitement: he had finally turned the tables!
Real Conan, did you see that?
I, the fake Conan, am showing up on camera with your face, delivering a devastating blow to your carefully cultivated reputation as a primary school detective. If you're a man, come out now, stop hiding! I, the newcomer fake Conan, have something to tell you!
Chapter 53 Jiangcheng North: Mori, as a die-hard Yoko fan, it's time for you to stand up and take the blame for her!
In Conan's mind, he's not the real Conan Edogawa; he's just a shrunken Shinichi Kudo. So he doesn't care about Conan's reputation. Instead, he goes out of his way to cause trouble and sabotage things, all in an attempt to force the real Conan to show himself.
Thanks to Conan's reckless actions and the media's hype, the reputation of the elementary school detective Conan has taken a hit.
In particular, his attempts to renege on his media payments and his role in providing false testimony for Xiaotong have tarnished his reputation.
He even broke the law by helping Xiaotong give false testimony.
Fortunately, he was only 7 years old, below the age of criminal responsibility, and not even eligible for a public trial. Furthermore, he revealed the information himself; no one else had prior knowledge of it.
So he was lucky enough to escape legal punishment. At most, he suffered a little moral damage and was given endless verbal lectures by relevant personnel, who told him to memorize more laws and regulations.
While Conan's surrender severely damaged his reputation as a primary school detective, Inspector Megure gained considerable honor.
Within just a few days of adopting him, he had educated Conan so well, so quickly turning the elementary school student back to the right path and making him realize the mistakes he made before being adopted.
Encouraged by Megure, this elementary school student had the courage to come forward and turn himself in to the public, which is a remarkable achievement.
Compared to the previous two Kudo brothers, the current Conan keychain is much more useful.
In the past, you had to call them or go to their house to pick them up, but now you don't have to. When you go to work, you can just take this Conan keychain with you.
These past few days, the Metropolitan Police Department has been cursed by some plague god, plagued by bad luck, with people dying and scandals happening every day. If it weren't for Conan being there, able to solve cases promptly and finish the day's work on the same day, the pressure would be immense. The Metropolitan Police Department, which is on the front page every day, would definitely be blown up.
The Metropolitan Police Department managed to get through a period of daily murders safely thanks to Conan's ability to solve the case on the same day, preventing the public outcry from escalating further.
Speaking of this, I must give a special shout-out to Inspector Megure. Everyone knows what Conan was like before; he could stir up trouble even when there was nothing wrong with him. In these turbulent times, with murder cases happening every day, how much more so?
Seeing that Conan had just been adopted, Inspector Megure was able to change him, making him stop solving cases without calling the police as before, and instead stir up trouble in the media, fanning the flames to smear the police.
In just a few days, Inspector Megure has completely changed Conan. Not only does he stop actively contacting the media and causing trouble, but he also helps them solve cases and provides clues to the police.
After the case was solved, he didn't try to steal the limelight. Instead, he proactively gave the credit to Megure and Takagi, always putting the police's interests first.
Compared to the previous Conan who was always causing trouble, this Conan is more straightforward. He's content as long as there are dead people and cases to solve.
As for deliberately criticizing the Metropolitan Police Department or joining the media in mocking its incompetence, the current Conan wouldn't do that. He would only help the Metropolitan Police Department solve cases for free, acting as a pure tool for solving crimes.
They love Conan like this.
Compared to the Conan of the past, the current Conan is practically a saint, the Virgin Mary of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Therefore, Megure, who adopted Conan and completely transformed him, became extremely popular in the Metropolitan Police Department and enjoyed unparalleled prestige.
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Conan tries to force the vanished former Conan out by ruining his own reputation, but he is destined to be disappointed because the current Jiang Chengbei cannot become Conan.
Of course, Jiang Chengbei was indeed a bit depressed right now. It wasn't because the reputation he had painstakingly built up as a primary school detective was ruined, nor was it because Conan was now helping the police solve cases every day. Rather, it was because his plan to turn into a little chubby bird and fly to the Megure family's house to pull off Conan's blanket in an attempt to make Conan catch a cold had made absolutely no progress these past few nights.
Conan's health was so good that, despite being so engrossed in solving the case, Jiang Chengbei didn't let Conan catch a cold, no matter what tricks he played at night.
Since Conan isn't interested, Jiang Chengbei can't complete Conan's main mission of turning him back into Shinichi Kudo, which makes Jiang Chengbei very frustrated.
Jiang Chengbei was feeling down, and as an idle fruit shop owner, he inevitably spent more time at the place of the equally idle owner of the Mouri Detective Agency.
Then, after dark, the Mori Detective Agency was greeted by two mysterious men who were heavily disguised.
Despite their disguises, Kogoro Mouri, being a die-hard fan of Yoko Okino, recognized her at a glance: the woman wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a scarf was Yoko Okino.
Upon seeing his idol, whom he watches on TV every day, Kogoro Mouri immediately went back to the bathroom and, in less than half a minute, transformed himself, making himself look incredibly handsome.
Yoko Okino and her manager Eiichi Yamagishi visited. There wasn't much to say; they just wanted to find a tight-lipped detective to investigate the fact that Yoko Okino was being followed.
After some introductions and reaching an agreement, everyone drove together to Yoko Okino's upscale apartment.
Of course, after Okino Yoko entered the house, Xiaolan expressed that she was a loyal fan of hers, which provided great emotional support. She also wanted to visit her idol's home, so she got into the car to go to Okino Yoko's house.
Since Xiaolan had gone too, Jiang Chengbei couldn't be left behind. He used the excuse that he would need the car on his way back to follow her in his own car.
Soon after, Jiang Chengbei and his group arrived at the upscale residential complex where Yoko Okino lived, and took the elevator to Yoko Okino's home on the 25th floor.
As soon as the door opened, everyone saw a fat man lying in a pool of blood, with a fruit knife stuck in his back, the blade of which was embedded in his body.
After letting out two screams of pain, Xiaolan instinctively ran to call the police.
At the same time, Kogoro Mouri is still a good detective and hasn't been corrupted by Conan yet, so he didn't go in to touch the body on his own. Instead, he kept everyone outside, protected the scene, and waited for the police to arrive.
While waiting for the police to arrive in the corridor, Jiang Chengbei was quite bored. Since he had nothing better to do, he decided to stir up some trouble to pass the time.
So Jiang Chengbei said to Kogoro Mouri, "Brother Mouri, you're a huge fan of Yoko, aren't you?"
“That’s right, I’m a huge fan of Yoko.” After answering Jiang Chengbei, Kogoro Mouri turned to Yoko Okino and said:
"Miss Yoko, don't be afraid, I will protect you."
"Thank you, Detective Mouri." Yoko Okino, shivering and snuggling up to Ran, thanked Kogoro Mouri.
Xiaolan: "What about me, Dad?"
Kogoro Mouri: "Your fists are harder than mine, do you need me?"
Xiao Lan was furious.
Jiang Chengbei: "Brother Maoli, don't just talk the talk. It's time to protect Yoko. As a die-hard fan, show some sincerity."
Upon hearing Jiang Chengbei's words, Kogoro Mouri asked, looking completely bewildered, "What sincerity?"
"Take the blame for Yoko!"
"Nani?"
Upon hearing Jiang Chengbei's words, everyone in the room exclaimed in shock, "What?!" and looked at Jiang Chengbei with incredulous eyes.
"That's right, Mori, you've been cultivating your fans for a thousand days, but you're only using them for one. As a die-hard Yoko fan, it's time for you to show your worth. Go and take the blame for Yoko!"
We've already prepared our statements, so when the police arrive, we'll say you killed the person inside.
"Wait a minute, I'm a huge Yoko fan, but why should I take the blame?!"
Kogoro Mouri was very excited. He even changed his usual way of addressing Yoko, calling her Yoko directly, just like Jiang Chengbei.
"Wait, I didn't kill him, so why should Detective Mori take the blame for me?!"
Along with Kogoro Mouri, Yoko Okino also spoke up. Now it seemed that she was being accused of being the murderer, so she disregarded her fear and shouted excitedly, trying her best to deny that she was the murderer. Her face looked so anxious that she was almost crying.
Chapter 54 Mori, since you, a fake fan, refuse to take the blame for Yoko, then I will!
"Mouri, you've disappointed me so much. You wouldn't even take the blame for Yoko. What use is a fake fan like you?"
"I'm not a fake fan, I'm a real fan, but why should real fans take the blame for their idols? What kind of logic is that?"
"Because you're almost forty years old, you've enjoyed everything you could and had everything you could have, so you have no regrets in this life."
Moreover, you once had a happy family, a beautiful wife, and a filial and obedient daughter; your life was already complete.
But given your current state of decadence, living another day would be a desecration of the happy days you once shared. You might as well use your remaining strength to take the blame for Yoko.
Jiang Chengbei's words made Mao Li lose face, but he still firmly disagreed: "Impossible!"
"Brother Maoli, instead of living a life of debauchery and doing nothing, spending your days either drinking and blowing bubbles or going to nightclubs to have fun, even if you have some money, you should spend it on pachinko, horse racing, or finding women."
He might as well go in and calm down, and reflect on why his wife left home, and why his daughter, who was not even ten years old, had learned to cook, do housework, manage accounts, and take care of her father!
A prison cell is a good place. It's quiet and peaceful, free from worldly troubles. You have time to calm down and reflect on where you went wrong in the last ten years.
People can't just keep their heads down and keep moving forward; they have to stop from time to time to think about whether they are living the life they want and whether their lives are meaningful.
Mori, how have you been these past ten years? Have you found any meaning in them? Do you want to take some time to rediscover yourself?
There's nothing in jail, except time to rediscover yourself from ten years ago.
After being swayed by Jiang Chengbei's heartfelt words, Kogoro Mouri paused for a moment, then sighed and said:
“Over the years, I have let Xiaolan and Yingli down, so I can’t go to the prison to contemplate life. I have to stay outside to take care of them.”
"Brother Maoli, don't worry about that. I'll take care of your sister-in-law and daughter. They'll definitely be better off than you were when you were out there."
This isn't the future; everyone understands what it means to help your older brother take care of his sister-in-law and children. The internet hadn't yet become commonplace, so people were much more innocent. Kogoro Mouri didn't think much of it at all; instead, he said gratefully:
"No need to trouble you, brother. I'll take care of Xiaolan myself."
But don't even mention taking the blame. I, Kogoro Mouri, never do anything illegal or criminal. Taking the blame is against the law, and I cannot do it.
Seeing that he couldn't fool Kogoro Mouri, Jiang Chengbei could only tease him by saying, "Mouri, you fake fan, I've seen through you."
Who said that even if Megure is not good at solving cases, he is very fast at responding to police calls, and that although he is not capable, his attitude is first-class?
Anyway, Jiang Chengbei felt that they had been waiting for so long, and Megure still hadn't arrived, so his response time wasn't very fast either.
After Jiang Chengbei finished having fun with Maoli, he had no choice but to change his target since the Metropolitan Police Department hadn't arrived yet. He had nothing better to do anyway.
"Miss Yoko, there's something I've been keeping to myself, and it's been so painful to keep it inside. Now I don't have much time left, and the time has finally come when I have to say it."
"Oh? What's the matter, Mr. Jiang Cheng?"
Because she was constantly worried about the death in her room, Yoko Okino was restless and somewhat frightened. After hearing Jiang Chengbei's words, she was a little slow to react.
"Actually, I'm also your fan, but not a fake fan like Mori, but a real, genuine fan, the kind of fan who would die for you!"
"ah?!!!"
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