Ke Xue: Shinichi and I are childhood friends.

Upon seeing who it was, Amuro Tooru was somewhat taken aback: "You're from next door..."

That's right, this person is none other than Kanenori Wakita, a waiter at the Iroha Sushi restaurant.

Kenjiro Wakita said with a smile, "I originally wanted to ask Chef Kogoro to tell me about his case-solving experiences, so I brought some sushi for you to eat. I accidentally overheard your conversation."

He gestured to the sushi he was carrying: "You seem to be missing a companion who enjoys deduction?"

Ran Mouri hesitated for a moment: "That's right, but the itinerary requires us to stay in Nagano Prefecture for two days and one night. Is your work at the sushi restaurant okay?"

Kenjiro Wakita said with a smile, "It's alright, it's alright. I just need to tell the boss that my stomach isn't feeling well and that I want to rest today and tomorrow."

Yuya & Conan: This guy is even more casual than Amuro Tooru.

However, their stomachs were upset... The two glanced towards the toilet, but they could no longer hear Kogoro Mouri's voice. They didn't know if he had finished or had passed out.

"Then it's settled!" Seeing that Ran Mouri didn't object anymore, Kanenori Wakita finalized the matter on his own, and patted Tooru Amuro on the shoulder, "Please take care of me, Kogoro's top disciple~"

Amuro Tooru smiled calmly: "Yes, I look forward to your guidance as well."

And so, the decision was made.

For this request, Yuya will be acting in place of Kogoro Mouri, accompanied by Conan, Tooru Amuro, and Kanenori Wakita.

Ran Mouri stayed behind to take care of her father.

···

On the Shinkansen,

While everyone ate the sushi brought by Kenjiro Wakita, they waited for Yuya to confirm the details of the request.

Kogoro Mouri has sent Yuya the details of the request via email.

The client's name is Yasuo Nihara. One of his friends hanged himself in an abandoned church deep in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture.

A piece of paper lay at the feet of the deceased, with a 6x6 grid of 36 squares filled with pseudonyms—it appeared to be a coded message.

Yasuo Hihara suspects that his friend was murdered, and that the code might hold the truth of the case. So he asks Kogoro Mouri to help him investigate, decipher the code, and find the truth.

Yasuo Hihara couldn't understand why his friend had committed suicide, so he sought out Kogoro Mouri, hoping he could help decipher the code and perhaps find out the reason for his friend's suicide.

"That's the content of the request," Yuya finished reading the email, then took out a folded piece of paper, which unfolded to reveal the 36-square cipher paper.

Amuro Tooru examined the coded paper, pondering, "This code..."

Kenjiro Wakita added, "It might be a murder case!"

Yuya nodded slightly: "That is indeed possible. The client also thinks so. In addition, according to the client, the scene has not been moved much and remains as it was."

Conan interjected, "Hasn't Uncle Kogoro met with that client?"

Yuya: "Yes, my uncle said in his email that they only contacted each other a few times by letter and email, and the tickets and commission fee were also sent by letter."

"But it's okay, the agreed meeting place is at the church anyway, so I'll be able to see him then."

Amuro Tooru glanced at the time: "We still have some time before we arrive. Shall we rest for a bit, or play some games?"

“Let’s play a game,” Wakita Kanenori said, pulling out a deck of cards from somewhere. “Let’s play Jokers.”

None of them had any objections; they were just killing time anyway, so they were fine with whatever they did.

As time passed, the four players had fewer and fewer cards left in their hands.

Conan only has two cards left, Amuro Tooru and Wakita Kanenori also have cards left, and Yuya only has one card left, giving them a significant advantage.

Conan held up the two cards in his hand, hiding his face behind them.

Yuya reached out and picked between two cards, and Conan's eyes involuntarily followed his fingers as they moved back and forth.

Suddenly, Yuya grabbed one of the cards and pulled it out forcefully—Conan immediately let out a cry of surprise.

Yuya glanced at the card he had drawn and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "I won again."

He casually slapped the cards that made up a pair onto the table—now he only had one card left in his hand. Once Amuro Tooru took that card, his hand would be empty, and he would naturally win the game.

Conan showed a displeased expression—damn it, it's one thing to lose to Yu in deduction, but how come he keeps losing at drawing Jokers too?

Yuya burst into laughter, vigorously ruffling Conan's hair: "You're so bad~~~"

Conan's forehead is even darker now.

Amuro Tooru smiled and took the last card from Yuya's hand: "As expected of Yuya-kun, those discerning eyes of a great detective can easily see through the problem."

Yuya smiled faintly: "Drawing the Joker requires not only luck, but also a lot of observation skills. You can deduce what card you will draw from the other person's expression, eyes and every move."

“I see,” Amuro Tooru said, feigning realization. “I thought you could tell right away which card was the problem.”

“No, no, no,” Wakita Kanenori said meaningfully as he pulled a card from Amuro Tooru’s hand, “I wish I had eyes like Yuya-kun that could easily see through the truth, so I could know who betrayed me.”

"For example, which unscrupulous wholesaler sold me stale fish at a high price?"

Amuro Tooru stared at Wakita Kanenori without fear, then suddenly smiled and said, "As expected of a sushi chef."

"Hahaha, is that so!" Wakita Kanenori laughed heartily, scratching the back of his head.

Yu glanced at Wakita Kanenori without showing any emotion—betrayal, traitor...

If someone else had said that, Yuya wouldn't have thought much of it.

However, Kenjiro Wakita is one of Rum's suspects, and he said this to Tooru Amuro.

Who is Amuro Tooru? A public security police officer, an undercover agent who infiltrated the organization; to the organization, traitor is indeed his label.

It's getting increasingly suspicious...

···

Time flew by, and the four arrived at their final destination: an abandoned church.

Heavy snow has already fallen in the deep mountains of Nagano Prefecture.

Looking at the completely silent church, Amuro Tooru chuckled dryly, "Nobody's here to greet us."

Kenshinori Wakita sneezed loudly.

Conan lowered his half-moon eyes and shrank his neck to keep warm.

Yu remained silent: "The client hasn't arrived yet, has he? After all, the roads in the deep mountains are difficult to travel, so it's normal for them to be a little late."

Kanenori Wakita seemed unable to bear the cold and stepped forward to tentatively push the church door. With a creak, the door opened.

"Huh? The door isn't locked?"

Amuro said, "After all, it's an abandoned church."

The church was abandoned and almost no one came here. In addition, the case was ruled a suicide, so the police probably didn't think it was necessary to lock it up.

Yu also tightened her clothes: "Let's go inside first, it's too cold outside."

He then led the way into the church.

The remaining three exchanged a glance and followed them inside.