Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

"..."

Tohru Tono turned around decisively.

Shiho Miyano seemed to be in a strange good mood; why did that familiar feeling come back again?

Since Professor Agasa had promised to treat the Junior Detective League to something to eat, the group followed the flow of people towards the circus exit.

Halfway there, they suddenly spotted a middle-aged man with a very Western appearance, a thick yellow beard, and yellow hair that was different from that of East Asians.

He was being bombarded by reporters with their cameras and microphones, looking quite troubled.

"Huh? Professor Agasa, who's that person who's being surrounded?"

Yuan Tai pointed curiously at the uncle who clearly wasn't a local but seemed quite famous and asked him a question.

"Hmm?" Professor Agasa adjusted his glasses and looked closely. "Oh, so he's the financier of this animal show, Mr. Randy Hawke."

Professor Agasa did some research before he came.

"He's from Oklahoma in the southern United States, and he made a lot of money after he started drilling for oil."

"Actually, collecting animals was just a personal hobby of his, but unexpectedly, his son Paul and daughter Annie also gradually fell in love with these animals... That's why he travels all over the world, using the special skills these animals perform to entertain everyone..."

Dr. Agasa's explanation sounded like something he'd read in a travel magazine.

Ayumi suddenly remembered that she had a magazine about this circus, so she opened it to read.

"Oh, right, you see his picture is on the last page of this magazine." Professor Agasa suddenly remembered this and asked Ayumi to turn to the last page of the magazine.

Curious, the crowd gathered around.

"I heard that his recent hobby is visiting zoos around the world with the circus. And no matter where he goes, he doesn't use bodyguards. He even said on TV that his family has been cowboys for generations and that he can protect his own life. Plus, he speaks fluent Japanese!"

Dr. Agasa blurted out all the information he knew.

So they were just nouveau riche from drilling for oil in the southern United States.

Toru Tohno felt that Professor Agasa had said so much, but this one sentence summed it all up.

and......

Tohru Tono carefully observed the person surrounded by reporters in the center.

This person is clearly not the same person as the one in the magazine...

Isn't that James Black, the FBI investigator born on Baker Street in London?!

Chapter 197 Made in Japan

"Mr. Hawke! Please say something!" In the crowd, a female reporter in an orange dress held up a microphone as if she wanted to shove it into James's mouth.

“That’s right! This way we can explain ourselves!” A reporter who seemed to be from the same newspaper as her squeezed through the crowd and chimed in.

"No... actually, my surname isn't Hawke at all..."

James was sweating profusely and hurriedly waved to the reporters.

"You're joking too much." The reporter clearly didn't believe it, thinking it was just an excuse for a celebrity to escape an interview.

"I heard you've been donating half of your show proceeds to zoos around the world. Is that true, Mr. Hawke?"

The male reporter was persistent and still wanted to extract some "exclusive news".

"I......"

What are your thoughts after three years in Japan?

"Would you like to offer your opinion, Mr. Hawke?"

"Mr. Hawke?"

"Mr. Hawke?"

The reporters surrounding James kept asking questions, but didn't give him a chance to speak.

Like a swarm of buzzing flies.

James felt like his head was about to explode.

He simply closed his eyes and roared, "I can't answer everyone's questions at the same time!!"

A sentence in English with a distinct British accent came out of his mouth.

"Ok?"

The reporters were all taken aback.

What is this person saying?

Conan looked at James with some confusion after hearing his loud shout.

If I heard correctly... this person is British?

......

"Look at this, a brave cowboy, turned into this."

Dr. Agasa looked at James, who was trapped in the crowd and unable to escape, and sighed with pity.

"Well, although I also hate reporters... this man isn't exactly a cowboy."

Tohno said with a smile.

"Huh?" Professor Agasa asked, puzzled.

"Don't you also think he's not the person in the newspaper?"

Conan looked up at Tohru Tohru with an expression that said, "I knew it."

"Actually, I've always found it strange that you guys think he's the same person as the one in this magazine... even though his appearance is quite different from the photo here?"

Tohru Tono pointed at James, then leaned over and picked up the magazine from Ayumi's hand.

“Look, first of all, their hair colors are completely different. Randy Hawke in the magazine clearly has brown hair and beard that fit our Asian aesthetic, but the one in front of us looks like a European, with hair that is more golden.”

"Hair color can be changed, but people who usually call themselves 'cowboys' wouldn't deliberately change the color of their hair, especially their beard, right?"

"Moreover, their appearances are completely different. Randy Hawke has more prominent cheekbones, and when he squints, he gives a rather cold and hard impression. His face is also relatively shorter."

“The person in front of us doesn’t have such prominent cheekbones, and their face is longer, so they give off a gentler vibe.”

"Huh? Really?"

Mitsuhiko spent a long time comparing what Tohru Tono had said with his own words, and then suddenly spoke up as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Just like what Tou-ge said, the more I look at it, the bigger the gap becomes!"

"So, the hair color is a bit different..." Professor Agasa stroked his chin.

"Well, anyway, let's go help him out of this predicament. I think he's almost out of breath from all the questions."

Conan was clearly a nosy kid; after saying that, he walked over.

"Seriously, I already said I'm not Hawk."

Meanwhile, James was still trying to defend himself against the reporters who were desperate for an exclusive story.

Clearly, no one believed him.

"Ah! So you've been here all along, Uncle Thomas!"

Just as the standoff reached a stalemate, a child's innocent voice suddenly came from below.

"Thomas?"

The female reporter was taken aback, turned around, and found a little boy in a blue suit and black sweater standing behind her.

"So, he really doesn't have the surname Hawke?"

"Ah, Uncle Thomas is a friend of my grandfather."

Conan spoke in the most innocent and childlike voice possible, and even turned around and pointed to Professor Agasa, who was grinning foolishly behind him.

"I came to Japan to teach English."

I used Judy's setting without permission.

"Alright, Uncle Thomas, shall we go?"

"Didn't we just agree to have lunch together at the restaurant?"

Taking advantage of the moment when the reporters were looking at each other in confusion, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi cleverly walked over and each took one of James's hands, leading him out of the reporters' encirclement.

"Uh, oh oh..."

James was a little confused.

Were these kids here to help me out of this predicament?

James was pulled along by the Junior Detectives, and they walked further and further towards the overpass.

Tohru Tohru hung at the back of the line, pretending to keep her eyes straight ahead, but her peripheral vision kept scanning her surroundings.

Is Shuichi Akai here too?

......

"Thank you."

Once on the overpass and out of the reporters' sight, James thanked the children: "Although some people have said I look like Mr. Hawke before, this is the first time I've encountered this situation..."

"In that case, you should disguise yourself when you go out."

Genta held the back of his head.

'Trying to be clever only makes people more suspicious,' Conan thought to himself.

And they're not wanted criminals, so why do they have to disguise themselves just because they look like them?

"But do you really enjoy watching Paul and Annie's animal shows that much?"

Mitsuhiko asked.

Paul and Annie were the mainstays of that circus duo.

"Of course, their performance was absolutely fantastic."