Model worker and his little darling

"Speaking of which, it's a bit deserted to have only a few guests like us on such a big ship."

Looking at the middle-aged man who was already getting tipsy after drinking, Ping Qing smiled slightly. Once someone got drunk, the process of elimination would make it seem like there were too many people.

While they were eating, someone mentioned the two passengers who had been resting in their room.

The waiter, holding the drinks, said, "I heard there's a marine researcher named Ye Caisan, I think."

Upon hearing this, the seafood vendors' expressions changed drastically.

Officer Samezaki slammed his fist on the table and demanded, "Which room does that guy live in?"

"He stayed in room 101."

Seeing how excited Officer Samezaki was, Uncle Mori was a little puzzled and stroked his chin, saying, "Ye Caisan, I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

"Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten? He's the mastermind behind the 400 million yen robbery and murder case that you and I used to investigate together. The Shadow Planner—Ye Caisan."

After saying that, Officer Samezaki prepared to arrest Ye Caisan. Seeing his former boss working so hard, still thinking about past cases even after retirement, Uncle Mori followed him.

Conan and Hirai exchanged a glance and followed behind Uncle Mori.

When the room attendant opened the door, the room was empty, with no luggage inside.

Officer Samezaki got excited and immediately rushed out to continue the search.

Uncle Mori walked to the door of the detective's room, which had never been seen before, and gestured for the housekeeper to knock.

Seeing no movement inside, Uncle Mori took matters into his own hands, saying, "Listen up, you're in there, aren't you? Answer me quickly."

Just as Uncle Mori was about to ask the room attendant to open the door, the door opened and a dark-skinned boy appeared.

"It's so noisy! When will you guys ever stop? Hey, uncle, what are you doing here? Ah, Kudo... cough cough, Conan, Hirakiyo, you guys are here too."

Conan looked at Hattori Heiji speechlessly. Every time they met, this guy would start by saying "Kudo," as if he was afraid that others wouldn't know that he was Shinichi Kudo.

Since they were all acquaintances, the group went up to the deck and started talking about Ye Caisan.

"Ah, Hattori, you're here too."

"Xiao Lan, it's been a long time!"

"What a coincidence! So you're on this ship too. Well, Kazuha, you're coming along too."

Hearing this, Hattori curled his lip. "Why does that woman have to be here? She's nobody to me. We're not like you guys, always sticking together."

Upon hearing this, Conan's chubby little hands started flailing, "Uh..."

"I mean, you two have a really good relationship."

Pingqing stood to the side and couldn't help but laugh out loud. He saw Uncle Mori glare at Conan with great displeasure.

"Hattori, if you want, you can hang out with your dad all the time, hahaha..."

Thinking of that scene, Heishi laughed louder and louder, and Conan and Ran next to him also laughed.

Hearing Hirakiyo's arrogant laughter, Hattori punched him, "That's enough, what nonsense are you spouting?"

In the end, Uncle Mori and Officer Samezaki decided to continue searching for Ye Caisan's whereabouts, and Hattori followed Heikiyo and the others to the restaurant.

"I really didn't expect that you, Hattori, would like dolphins."

"dolphin?"

"Yes, didn't you get on this ship because you saw the advertisement in the newspaper?"

Pingqing yawned. He figured that Xiaolan was probably the only one on the boat who still cared about the dolphins.

"The reason I boarded this ship was because of a strange letter that was sent to me a week ago, asking me to come to Ogasawara's place to help him investigate a case. The letter also included 100,000 yen, which he entrusted to me for the investigation, and it was signed by Dai Furukawa."

Just as Ran and Conan were surprised, Hirai patted Hattori on the shoulder and said, "Hattori, why do you keep receiving strange letters? Are you some kind of Osaka mailbox? Aren't you a second-generation police officer? How come you're working as a postman?"

Hattori glared at Hirakiyo with annoyance. What kind of person is he?

Conan tugged at Hattori's clothes and whispered, "Hattori, don't worry about Taira no Kiyoshi. He's always been like this; he's not quite right in the head, and his focus is always on the unusual. Just explain the letter to him."

Ping Qing looked at Conan with a smile, and humphed, "It's been a long time since I've dealt with this brat."

Sensing the malice emanating from Pingqing, Conan shrank back. "Pingqing-nii, don't be angry. Your unique focus always helps you solve cases quickly. You're amazing."

Hattori looked at Conan with some confusion, "Hey, Kudo, Taira no Kiyoshi isn't that much older than us, so why do you keep calling him 'Taira no Kiyoshi-nii'?"

Conan rolled his eyes. Could he say he was used to it? Whenever he called someone "Heiji," the words "older brother" would follow. Most importantly, calling someone by their name directly would get him beaten up.

Hirai turned to Hattori with a smile, "What? Are you jealous because Conan and I get along well?"

"Don't talk nonsense, okay? What do you mean by being jealous?"

Just then, Ran, who had gone to greet Miss Isogai, returned. "What are you two talking about? Who's jealous of whom?"

Hattori quickly interjected, "It's nothing, we were just joking."

After talking for a while, Miss Isogai came over and suggested that everyone play cards together, which Ran found very interesting.

Pingqing refused; playing cards with the lucky one would only result in him being utterly crushed.

Just as Pingqing was dozing off, Uncle Mori returned, looking dejected, clearly still unable to find Ye Caisan.

Seeing this, the bartender asked Uncle Mori if he wanted something to drink, but Uncle Mori only asked for a glass of water because his old boss, Officer Samezaki, was still stubbornly working overtime.

As it grew late, everyone left, leaving only Pingqing and a few others in the restaurant.

The air grew cold and still, and the second hand began its relentless countdown. Everyone calmly passed midnight.

Officer Samezaki returned silently, his morale shattered. After lighting a cigarette, he prepared to drink himself into oblivion with Uncle Mori.

Suddenly, strange noises came from the ship.

"It was gunfire, coming from the deck."

Upon hearing Uncle Mori's words, Officer Samezaki angrily smashed his wine glass and announced that he would dispatch officers to the scene immediately.

Ping Qing moved his neck; after waiting for so long, the show was finally about to begin.

Following the sound, the group arrived on the deck and saw that the flag was on fire. Just as they were wondering if it was a prank, Conan noticed that someone had used a dagger to nail an old banknote to the deck with a message written on it.

“Poseidon, the god of the sea, has given me life again, and my shadow will be resurrected once more.”

Upon hearing this, Kujirai's expression suddenly froze. He walked shakily toward the railing, muttering repeatedly, "He's still alive..."

At the same time, an explosion occurred behind him.

The group rushed to the stern where the explosion had occurred and the ship was on fire. There, they saw a box containing a life ladder burning. In the flames, a person was burned beyond recognition.

The fire was quickly extinguished, but the body was charred beyond recognition.

Conan glanced around. "Who is it?"

"This is someone I know well! A close friend."

Conan stumbled, speechless. "Brother Pingqing, please stop acting silly at a time like this."

Pingqing pressed down on Conan's big head. "I wasn't wrong. He is indeed an acquaintance. Look at the big gold watch on his wrist. Isn't that the same one we've met before?"