Detective Conan: The System Takes Me to Zero's World

Inside the Maori Detective Agency, there was a hint of warmth in the air, mixed with the aroma of oolong tea lingering on the table, giving the atmosphere a more tranquil feel than in the afternoon.

Mao Lilan looked at the surveillance footage playing repeatedly on the computer screen and speculated, "Could it be that he had already chosen a style and went in to pay and take it away directly?"

"Impossible." Kudo Yuki walked over with freshly brewed tea, her eyes fixed on Officer Sawatari's empty hands on the screen. "He didn't have anything in his hands when he came out, not even the store's signature velvet bag."

Conan stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes behind his glasses as he scanned the bag on the surveillance camera. This meant he wasn't going to pick up the pre-ordered merchandise. If that was the case, why would he go to this store?

Kudo Yuki looked up at him, her lips curled up in a knowing arc, her eyes filled with a tacit understanding that needed no further words: "The surveillance camera only captured the entrance, and the angle of the mirror in the trial area is very tricky. Let's go to the physical store and take a look. There may be clues hidden in the blind spots."

It was just after four in the afternoon when the taxi the three of them were riding in drove through Omotesando.

In the afternoon, a long line formed in front of the cafe. Young people in couples' outfits were snuggling and chatting, and the helium balloons in the girls' hands were swaying gently in the wind.

"There are indeed a lot of couples." Mao Lilan looked out the window with her chin in her hand, her tone full of longing for this atmosphere.

"It's Sunday after all," Conan responded.

"There's Yoyogi Park, Aoyama Cemetery, and the National Museum of Art nearby," Kudo Yuki suddenly said, swiping her fingertips across her phone to pull up a map of the area surrounding the jewelry store. "Add in these designer brands, it's definitely a great date spot."

The taxi slowly stopped in front of the jewelry store, and the sunlight reflected from the car body made people squint.

Conan was the first to open the car door and jump out. As soon as his little hands touched the scorching ground, he keenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the street corner. He immediately lowered his voice and called out urgently, "Xiaolan!"

Ran followed his gaze and saw Officer Sawatari walking towards them along the sidewalk. She immediately pulled Conan around and pretended to look down at her phone, but her shoulders were tense.

Kudo Yuki calmly leaned towards the glass door and quickly scanned the store.

The diamond necklaces in the display case shimmered in the overhead light. One of the platinum diamond necklaces was particularly simple in design, and it seemed... She was just thinking about it when she heard Mao Lilan's low voice: "Isn't Dad following him? Why is there no movement?"

Conan suddenly exclaimed "Ah".

A woman wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat walked quickly to Officer Sawatari. The two of them were talking in low voices, and the woman's fingers inadvertently brushed against his left ring finger.

"Could that person be..." Mao Lilan's words were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. She was still muttering, "Huh, you dare to date such a young woman? Watch me take a picture as evidence!"

"Dad! You're following too closely!" Mao Lilan warned him angrily, but he seemed not to hear and went straight behind Zedu.

Conan was so frightened that his eyes widened and he was almost sweating.

Kudo Yuki also thought to herself that this was not good, as Officer Sawatari was known to be very vigilant.

"Dad! Over here!" Conan suddenly ran two steps towards the street corner, opened his arms, "Please help me take a picture with this sign!"

"Oh? Okay, I pointed the camera at Conan and said, 'Stand still and smile!'"

Conan made a face and moved quietly towards Mouri Ran. He caught a glimpse of Officer Sawatari frowning and staring at Mouri Kogoro suspiciously.

It wasn't until the camera clicked twice that he looked away, nodded to the woman, and pushed the door open and walked into the jewelry store.

"You idiot!" Mao Lilan glared at her father with her hands on her hips. "How can you follow someone like that? You almost got caught!"

"Why are you three here too?" Maori Kogoro held up his camera confidently, "I haven't asked you yet!"

"Stop arguing." Kudo Yuki interrupted them, her eyes fixed on the closed glass door. "We need to find out what they're doing in the store."

"Need I say more? He must be buying jewelry to please his mistress!" Kogoro Mouri said as he was about to rush in.

"Wait!" Conan quickly pulled him back. "He saw you and me. If we go in again, we'll be suspected."

In the end, only Mao Lilan could go in to investigate.

Less than ten minutes later, she hurried out with a look of confusion on her face. "They didn't look at the necklace. Instead, they asked the clerk to take a tape measure and seemed to be measuring the circumference of the woman's left ring finger."

"Measure your finger circumference?" Conan stroked his chin, his eyes lighting up. "That's quite interesting..."

"Isn't this obvious enough? They're definitely getting engaged!" Maori Kogoro slapped his thigh, and his phone suddenly buzzed. He took it out and saw, "It's Inspector Megure!"

The moment the call was connected, Conan immediately went over.

Officer Megure's voice came through the receiver: "The search history didn't find anything, but we discovered that Sawatari's account had accessed the latest disciplinary guidelines—the Metropolitan Police Department's newly released internal regulations, which clearly state that infidelity will be punished."

The "Disciplinary Guidelines" state that "disciplinary violations" include "intentionally destroying or abandoning evidence" and "disclosing secrets learned during work" and other "disciplinary violations."

"So is it really him who is looking at the guide?" Kudo Yuki asked.

"The access log is indeed his account." Officer Megure paused, "What did you find?"

After hanging up the phone, Maori Kogoro stroked his chin and said, "Huh, there really is something wrong! Maybe he is planning something illegal."

"Measurable finger circumference..." Mao Lilan still felt strange, "If it's cheating, there's no need to be so blatant, right?"

Conan said nothing, tapping his chin lightly with his fingertips. If Sawatari had simply cheated, why would he bother investigating and punishing Conan? Unless...

Suddenly, the glass door was pushed open with a "ding dong" sound, and Zedu and the woman came out. The woman had a small velvet box in her hand.

"Oh no, they're leaving!" Kogoro Mouri quickly hid behind a pillar and took some photos with his camera.

Conan suddenly had an idea. Taking advantage of the moment when the two turned around, he deliberately slipped, cried out "Wow", and fell straight towards Officer Sawatari.

"Little brother, are you okay?" Officer Zedu squatted down subconsciously to help him. As soon as his fingers touched Conan's arm, he felt as if the other party had stuffed something into his sleeve.

"It's okay, thank you uncle!" Conan immediately burst into laughter, broke free from his arms, and ran to Maori Kogoro, "Dad, can we go over there and take pictures?"

Officer Sawatari frowned and looked at Maori Kogoro for a few seconds. Seeing that he was only busy coaxing the child, he turned around and left quickly with the woman.

"What are you doing, you little brat?" Just as Kogoro Mouri was about to get angry, he was stopped by Ran Mouri.

"It's better to let Conan tag along," she whispered, "that way Sawatari will just think you're the parent with the child and won't get suspicious."

Kudo Yuki nodded in agreement: "We've never met before, so it's more natural to act together."

Maori Kogoro finally gave up and followed him muttering. After walking a few steps, Conan suddenly stopped and looked at a flower shop on the corner of the street: "Sister Xiaolan, can you go to that shop and ask if Officer Sawatari bought any flowers just now?"

Mao Lilan was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "Oh, okay!"

Watching her walk into the flower shop, Conan touched the bug controller in his pocket, his eyes darkening: [Measuring finger circumference, investigating and punishing Ringan... What exactly is Officer Sawatari planning? And who is that woman?]

Conan handed a pair of spare monitoring glasses to Kudo Yuki and whispered, "Sister, they can come in handy at a critical moment."

Kudo Yuki took the glasses, and as the lenses touched her nose, two low voices talking came from inside.

"Mr. Sawatari, is it really okay for us to do this?"

"Don't worry," Officer Sawatari followed closely, lowering his voice. "It's just... if the police find out, I'm afraid I'll be disciplined."

The phone in Conan's pocket suddenly vibrated. He picked up the call and asked anxiously, "What's wrong, Xiaolan? What kind of flowers did he buy?"

After hanging up the phone, Conan turned around and raised his chin to Kudo Yuki: "Sister Xiaolan said she saw Officer Sawatari bought chrysanthemums. I'll go to the flower shop to confirm. Sister Xue, I'll leave this to you!"

Kudo Yuki took off her glasses and handed them back to him. The lenses reflected the glass curtain wall of the jewelry store in the distance.

When Conan took the glasses, he turned around and shouted to Maori Kogoro: "Uncle, don't get too close when you're following me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed into the crowd.

Maori Kogoro held up his digital camera and muttered, "How dare you, little brat, teach me a lesson..."

Having said that, the camera was firmly locked on the two people not far away.

Officer Sawatari glanced at his phone screen, then walked into the high-end jewelry store with the woman beside him.

The glass door popped open with a "ding dong" sound, and the waiter was bending over to hand over a velvet ring box.

Officer Sawatari took the box, turned around, and held the opened box in front of the woman - it was a platinum ring inlaid with diamonds, shining softly in the afternoon light.

The woman reached out and put it on herself. When her ring finger was circled by the cold metal, a relieved smile appeared on her face, and warmth was filled in the fine lines at the corners of her eyes.

Kudo Yuki watched the scene, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the phone in her pocket. The image of Inspector Samedani suddenly flashed through her mind. This incident must be related to him, but the specific details were like a mountain road obscured by mist, unclear.

She said to herself, "Sign in."

"Ding, congratulations to Xiaoxue for signing in successfully today. You received +260 mall points and a relationship card.

Current mall points are 9800. System space items: Healing Potion, Winery Status Information, Winery Base Location Map, Relationship Card. Please continue to sign in daily.

The rat in the pocket suddenly moved, and its chubby little paws poked out from the gap in the pocket and accurately tapped the system panel.

The system's notification sounded again, this time with a clear direction: "Relationship card analysis successful - the woman in the beige hat is Sametani Koji's girlfriend."

Kudo Yuki's pupils shrank slightly, and she immediately understood the connection: "Could it be..."

"Ms. Kudo, Brother Mori." Inspector Megure's voice interrupted her thoughts. He walked quickly towards her with his signature round hat on his head, and his uniform jacket swayed gently in the wind.

Maori Kogoro immediately rushed over with his camera raised: "Just in time! Look what I captured! There's irrefutable evidence that Officer Sawatari gave that woman a ring! With this..."

Officer Megure frowned and pushed open the door of the jewelry store. When Officer Sawatari looked up and saw him, the ring box in his hand snapped shut, and the color instantly drained from his face: "Officer Megure!"

"Officer Sawatari, is there something you should explain to me?" Officer Megure's tone was not harsh, but it carried an unquestionable heaviness.

Officer Sawatari straightened his back suddenly and bowed deeply. "I'm truly sorry... I did something a police officer shouldn't have done. Let's talk outside the store."

When the five of them sat down in the cafe next door, the afternoon sun slanted through the glass windows, casting diamond-shaped spots of light on the table.

Officer Sawatari stroked the rim of his coffee cup, his Adam's apple moving. "Where should I even begin to talk about this?"

"Tell me about your relationship first!" Kogoro Mouri leaned forward, his eyes wide open behind his glasses.

"I know!" Conan's voice suddenly came from the door. He and Mao Lilan walked in side by side. "For you, someone important has passed away, right?"

Inspector Megure and Maori Kogoro were both startled. Maori Ran added, "Inspector Sawatari bought a pair of chrysanthemums from a nearby flower shop a few days ago. Those kinds of bouquets are usually used for tomb sweeping."

"What is going on?" Inspector Megure's brows were twisted into knots.

"Aoyama Cemetery nearby," Kudo Yuki gently stirred her coffee. "Did you go there to visit the graves?"

Officer Sawatari's shoulders slumped, his voice filled with undisguised fatigue. "I didn't expect you'd even figure this out... Yes, her lover's grave is right there."

"So you started dating after that?" Inspector Megure asked.

"That shouldn't be the case," Mao Lilan said softly, "It's rare for people to date so close to a lover's grave, right?"

The cafe suddenly became quiet, with only the hum of the coffee machine coming from afar.

Kudo Yuki watched the white doves fly by outside the window, and she already had the answer in her mind—Inspector Samedani's girlfriend, her deceased lover, the paired chrysanthemums... These fragments pieced together an outline that slowly pointed to the secret hidden in the shadows of the Metropolitan Police Department. The rat in her pocket yawned, its little paws resting on the fabric, as if reminding her that something more important awaited her.

Maori Kogoro held up a digital camera, the screen still frozen with the scene he had just captured, "But I have solid evidence here. Officer Sawatari clearly gave her the ring!"

"Let me see." Conan reached out to take the camera, frowned slightly, slid his fingers across the screen to zoom in, and repeatedly confirmed the details.

He turned the camera lens towards the group and explained, "This photo doesn't look like a simple gift at all. If it was a genuine gift, why would it be given directly after purchase at the store? Even if it was given on the spot, Officer Sawatari should have helped her put the ring on her finger himself."

To be continued...