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

Amuro Tooru bent down to pick up the water bottle and handed it to Kazami Yuya. He walked up to Matsumoto Kenta and said with a serious look in his eyes, "You were right not to call. Since Ozaki Yuichi dared to leave his phone number, he was certain that you would panic and run away recklessly. If you had called, they would have been able to locate you immediately."

His tone softened a bit, "Now that we have the draft, you're safe. All you need to do next is cooperate with us to give a statement."

Kenta Matsumoto nodded, his eyes reddening, as if he had finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The sound of car horns came from downstairs.

Kazami Yuya walked to the window and looked down, then turned back and said, "Mr. Amuro, it's the Ōoka family head's car."

Amuro Tooru picked up the brown paper bag and put it in his pocket, then put the scattered important documents into a folder and handed it to Kazami Yuya: "You take Matsumoto Kenta back to the station to make a statement first, and Yuki and I will go see the head of the Ooka family."

Kazami Yuya took the folder: "Understood."

Kudo Yuki bent down and hugged the mouse into her arms.

The little mouse rubbed its head against her palm: "Xiaoxue, will we run into Nini's people attending the meeting?"

Kudo Yuki stroked its head, looked at Amuro Tooru, and met his gaze, which was filled with reassurance: "No, I'm here."

The group walked out of the apartment building, making the leaves rustle in the wind.

The patriarch of the Ooka family parked his car on the side of the road. When Butler Iori Muga saw them coming, he got out of the car and opened the door.

Amuro Tooru helped Kudo Yuki get into the car. As soon as he bent down to sit down, he saw the head of the Ooka family, who was sitting in the back seat, put down his teacup and stare sharply at the brown paper bag in his arms.

"Did you bring the stuff?"

Amuro Tooru handed over the brown paper bag: "Inside are the original manuscript of reporter Ogasawara's report, as well as the expense reports we found, which can prove the connection between the mud council and the members of parliament."

The head of the Ooka family took the paper bag and turned to look at Kudo Yuki: "You said before that the Mud Ginseng Association wanted to deal with other people?"

“Yes.” Kudo Yuki sat up straight. “According to the confession of the arrested person, the Mud Ginseng Association may take action against those who know about their financial dealings. We need to find these people as soon as possible and protect them.”

The head of the Ooka family seemed to be thinking.

A few seconds later, he looked up at Amuro Tooru: "I will keep the upper echelons of the Muddy Sand Association in check, but we must find Ozaki Yuichi as soon as possible. I will send someone to handle this matter; he may have dirt on other politicians."

Amuro Tooru was already planning his next move: [If Ozaki Yuichi dared to send someone to steal the manuscript, he wouldn't leave easily. He's probably still keeping an eye on Matsumoto Kenta's residence. If I set a trap, I can lure him out.]

Kudo Yuki looked at the pedestrians passing by outside the window and suddenly remembered something: "Head of the Ooka family, I need your help. This morning, Nichibumi Online News published an article titled 'Member Kondo Hidemine associates with members of a yakuza group and often dine with key members of the Mud Association.' We need to find something to cover up this scandal and prevent it from escalating further."

A knowing glint flashed in the eyes of the Ooka family head: "Suppressing the news is not difficult. I'll have Iori arrange it so that within half an hour, 'Ooka Group's Overseas Energy Cooperation Signing' and 'Metropolitan Police Department Cracks Transnational Fraud Case' will be trending on major online news platforms. As for the follow-up matters of the Mud Conference, there will be no trace of you involved."

The car merged into the traffic.

The mouse in Kudo Yuki's arms curled up into a ball, its chubby little paws clenching onto her sleeve, but its ears were perked up, listening intently to the conversation in the carriage.

Amuro tapped his knee lightly with his fingertips, his gaze falling on the head of the Ooka family: "I've already had Kazami keep track of Ozaki Yuichi's whereabouts. If he really is tailing Matsumoto Kenta, he'll most likely show up again tonight. But do he have backups of the political dirt he has?"

The head of the Ooka family picked up the freshly poured cup of hot tea, the rising steam blurring the emotions in his eyes.

"The backups will certainly be checked, but what's more important right now is to cut off the funding chain of the Muddy Association. They recently have a secret underground bank in the suburbs that specializes in helping politicians launder their gray income. I've already asked Iori to compile the address, and I'll send it to you later."

Butler Iori Muga, sitting in the passenger seat, turned slightly upon hearing this and said respectfully, "Master, the bank's security system is more stringent than expected. Should we allocate some manpower to assist Mr. Amuro?"

“No need.” Amuro Tooru immediately refused. “Xue and I are enough. As for you, when you’re suppressing the news, remember to leave a clue so the public doesn’t think it’s a deliberate cover-up. Just say ‘the results of the follow-up investigation will be released by the Metropolitan Police Department.’ This will both stabilize public opinion and buy us time.”

Kudo Yuki gently tugged at Amuro Tooru's sleeve, looked at the head of the Ooka family, and said with clear eyes, "Head of the family, there's something else. The member of the Muddy Association we arrested mentioned that they have an 'ledger' hidden in Ozaki Yuichi's old house, but they didn't say the exact location. If we can get the ledger, we can catch all the politicians who are colluding with the Muddy Association in one fell swoop."

The head of the Ooka family put down his teacup and tapped the brown paper bag lightly with his knuckles: "In the reporter Ogasawara's manuscript, there is an address of Ozaki Yuichi's old house, which he marked before he died. Before you go to the money exchange, you can go there and take a look first."

The car stopped at the entrance of the alley where the old house was located. Amuro Tooru got out first, walked around to the other side, opened the car door, and placed his hand protectively on Kudo Yuki's head to avoid the withered branches hanging from the eaves.

The old house is a typical Showa-era building, with its wooden doors faded to light gray.

Kudo Yuki stepped into the entryway carrying the little mouse. Just as she touched the sliding door, the little guy in her arms suddenly sat up and pointed his chubby little paws into the inner room: "Yuki! There's something 'flashing' in there!"

Amuro Tooru looked up at the sound, his gaze sweeping over the tatami mat covered in cobwebs before finally settling on the old wooden box in the corner.

The lock on the box was rusty, but the box itself was unusually clean, indicating that someone wiped it down regularly.

Amuro Tooru crouched down and tapped the side of the box, producing a hollow, muffled sound: "The place where things are hidden is mostly at the bottom of the box."

Kudo Yuki placed the mouse on the tatami mat.

The little guy immediately ran towards the wooden box with his short legs, pressed his nose against the wooden board, looked up and exclaimed, "There's a crack at the bottom! And... there's an ink smell!"

Amuro Tooru looked in the direction it pointed and found a narrow gap between the bottom of the box and the ground, through which he could vaguely see the corners of light blue paper peeking out.

He pulled a Swiss Army knife from his pocket and pried open the rusty lock.

The lid of the box was opened, revealing several stacks of documents neatly arranged inside, with a dark brown leather notebook on top—the very ledger they were looking for.

Kudo Yuki reached out to grab it, but the mouse jumped onto the box and pressed her chubby little paws against the back of her hand: "Wait! There's something on the back of the notebook!"

Upon hearing this, Amuro Tooru pinched the edge of the ledger with his fingertips and gently pulled it out. A folded note fell from the back cover, with handwriting in pen on it. The ink had smudged a little, indicating that it was written hastily before his death.

“'If you see this letter, I am no longer here. The Mud Ginseng Association is looking for another piece of evidence I hid, in 'the warehouse with a view of the cherry blossoms,' and the key is in the old spot at my usual coffee shop.'”

Amuro read the contents aloud softly, his fingertips clenching the note tightly. "Ozaki Yuichi knew all along that something would happen to him, and he's deliberately trying to lead us to him."

Kudo Yuki picked up the ledger and opened it. It not only recorded the financial transactions between the Mud Association and politicians, but also had cherry blossom symbols drawn in the corners of every page.

The little mouse came closer, rubbing its head against her wrist: "Did he draw so many cherry blossoms because he was afraid we wouldn't be able to find them?"

Amuro Tooru stood up, looking out the window toward the alleyway: "He's not only guiding us, he's also giving us time. It's not far from here, let's get the key first, then go to that warehouse."

Kudo Yuki put the ledger into her backpack, bent down and picked up the little mouse. The little guy hooked his paws around her collar: "So, will we be able to find Ozaki Yuichi soon?"

She turned to look at Amuro Tooru, her eyes reflecting the sunlight: "Let's go, let's go see the 'other piece of evidence' he hid."

The car was parked at its destination.

Amuro Tooru surveyed his surroundings and, after confirming that there were no suspicious individuals, turned back and reached out his hand to Kudo Yuki.

Kudo Yuki got out of the car carrying the little mouse. The little guy peeked out from her arms, his little nose twitching: "It smells so good, like cake! But... it also smells a little weird."

Upon hearing this, Amuro Tooru's eyes darkened slightly, and he quickly walked inside, pulling Kudo Yuki's wrist with him.

A bronze key was pressed on the corner of the table, with a cherry blossom pendant hanging from the keychain—just like the one mentioned in Yuichi Ozaki's letter.

“Here it is.” Kudo Yuki bent down and picked up the key.

The mouse tensed up, its chubby little paws grabbing her collar: "Xiaoxue! There are strangers outside! Lots of them!"

Amuro Tooru peeked out from behind a corner of the curtain.

As the group of people attending the mud gathering prepared to leave, Kudo Yuki silently recited in her mind: [Sign in.]

"Ding! Congratulations to Xiaoxue for successfully checking in today. You have received 500 mall points and a Möbius strip."

Your current in-game store points are 10,500, and your system space items include: Healing Elixir, Distillery Update, Distillery Outpost Location Map, and Möbius Strip. Please continue to check in daily.

Amuro Tooru shielded Kudo Yuki behind him: "We'll go through the back door and go straight to the warehouse."

The two squeezed into the alley through the narrow back door.

The mouse pointed ahead: "The warehouse! It's over there! I see the cherry blossom symbol!"

The corner of the old warehouse's exterior wall is painted with faded cherry blossom patterns.

Amuro Tooru quickened his pace and used the key to open the warehouse door.

The warehouse was dimly lit, with only a ray of sunlight streaming in through the skylight overhead, illuminating the huddled figure on the ground.

Kudo Yuki gasped.

The mouse shrank back in fear, crying out, "It's...it's Yuichi Ozaki!"

Amuro Tooru rushed over and crouched down to check on Ozaki Yuichi's condition.

There was a clear knife wound on his chest, and his shirt was soaked in blood. His breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.

Yuichi Ozaki opened his eyes with difficulty, his gaze falling on Tooru Amuro and Yuki Kudo. His lips moved but no sound came out; only his trembling fingers pointed to the iron rack deep in the warehouse.

Kudo Yuki looked in the direction he pointed and saw a black camera on the iron rack, with a blue folder next to it.

Suddenly, the mouse cried out, "He's looking at us! He seems to want to say something!"

Amuro Tooru grasped Ozaki Yuichi's hand, his voice softening: "We know you hid evidence, cameras and folders, right?"

Ozaki Yuu nodded, his eyes glistening with tears, his fingers gripping Amuro Tooru's wrist tightly, as if confirming something. A few seconds later, his hand fell limp, and his eyes closed forever.

"He...he's gone." The little mouse's voice was choked with sobs as it buried its head in Kudo Yuki's palm.

Kudo Yuki crouched down, gently closed Ozaki Yuichi's eyes, and observed three seconds of silence: "He's been waiting for us to come and get the evidence."

Amuro Tooru stood up, walked to the metal rack, and picked up the camera and folder. Opening the folder, he found another ledger, containing more detailed records than the one he had found before, even noting the financial dealings between the Muddy Association and foreign forces.

He pressed the play button on the camera, and Yuichi Ozaki's voice rang out in the warehouse.

"If anyone sees this video, it means I've already met with misfortune. The Mud Gathering not only colluded with politicians, but also smuggled contraband; all the evidence is in the ledgers..."

In the video, Yuichi Ozaki has a serious expression, and there is a stack of documents behind him, which is obviously pre-recorded.

Amuro Tooru turned off the camera and put the ledger and camera into his backpack: "The evidence is ready. We'll go and submit it to the head of the Ooka family now."

The mouse peeked out from Kudo Yuki's arms and looked at Ozaki Yuichi's corpse: "He was so brave. He knew there would be danger, but he still left evidence."

Amuro Tooru's gaze fell on Ozaki Yuichi, his tone filled with respect: "He was a good reporter. We will arrest all the people from the Muddy Association and not let his sacrifice go to waste."

The mouse wriggled out of Kudo Yuki's arms, its short legs trotting to the alley entrance, its nose twitching incessantly in the direction the mud-covered vehicles had left. It turned to look at Kudo Yuki, its chubby paws slapping the ground, its tone unusually serious: "Yuki! They haven't gone far! Don't let them get away!"

Kudo Yuki paused for a moment before realizing that the mouse had said "Möbius strip".

The mouse jumped over and pressed her hand down with its paw: "This mouse is going to make them go in circles!"

The little guy grabbed one end of the rope from the system space with his chubby little paws, and gently tossed it into the air. The rope turned into a glimmer of light and floated out towards the alley entrance, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Amuro Tooru raised an eyebrow. Although he couldn't see the rope, he could guess what the mouse was doing from its focused expression.

A few seconds later, Mouse jumped up excitedly: "It's done! Their car is going in circles! Like grasshoppers tied to a string, no matter how they drive, they can't get out of that street!"

Kudo Yuki took out her phone and checked her real-time location.

That was the tracking function attached to the Möbius strip. The screen showed the location of the mud-carrying vehicle, which was repeatedly circling around the intersection three blocks away, unable to leave that area.

She sent her location to Iori Muga's butler, along with the following message:

Vehicles participating in the event are stuck in mud; please come and intercept them immediately.

The phone quickly received a reply, a brief "Received, will be there in five minutes".

Amuro Tooru looked at the red dot flashing on the screen in Kudo Yuki's hand and understood: "I didn't expect you to have this ability."

The little mouse puffed out its chest: "Of course! I'm very powerful! But... this rope can only hold them for ten minutes, we need to get Butler Iori here quickly!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the roar of a car engine could be heard in the distance.

Kudo Yuki and Amuro Tooru exchanged a glance and quickly walked to a secluded spot at the alley entrance to observe.

Three black sedans sped towards them; it was the Ooka family's convoy, with Iori Muga leading the way. The convoy blocked the intersection where the vehicles attending the mud assembly were circling. Iori Muga got out of his car first, and his years of police experience allowed him to quickly direct his bodyguards to form an encirclement.

"boom!"

The people attending the event tried to ram the car, but found that no matter how much they pressed the accelerator, the car could only spin in place.

In the end, they had no choice but to obediently open the car door and be pressed down by the bodyguards to the side of the car, with their hands tied behind their backs.

To be continued...