Conan: No, why aren't you following the script?

More than an hour later, after circling around Beika Town, Kitagawa Isao finally found a parking lot to temporarily settle his car and took a train to Owatari Station in Tokyo.

This is also the headquarters of that counterfeit money manufacturing team.

Leaving the station, Kitagawa Isao glanced at the sky. The sun hadn't completely set yet, and he still had plenty of time.

Thinking back to the scene where he impersonated Junya's mother to "comfort" her, Conan Edogawa probably already knew about the strangely dressed man in black who had contacted Junya's family before him, right?

This brat, who gets agitated and completely loses his mind at the mere mention of black clothing, is probably just wasting his time following his circling route.

It's just a pity...

All of this was a trap set from the very beginning to lure him away.

Kitagawa Isao shrugged helplessly, bought a copy of the Evening News from a newsstand on the street, and then swaggered into the Lianhe Building next to the Otogawa Station.

The third floor here is the criminals' secret hideout. There are four members of the counterfeit money gang. At this moment, one of them should still be outside using counterfeit money, while the other artist is not much of a threat for the time being due to an arm injury.

The only people he needed to be wary of were the bandit leader, Silver Fox, and another man named Inuyama...

Disguised as an ordinary office worker with a keen sense of curiosity, Kitagawa Isao walked cautiously through the corridors of the Lianhe Building.

He knew very well that there were surveillance cameras installed in every corner of the building by the counterfeit money syndicate, and if he wanted to sneak in unnoticed, he would have to wait until night.

However, his goal this time was not to collect evidence or infiltrate an investigation. What use were two mere criminals even if they had guns?

Don't forget, he has the skill of 'dodging bullets 100% of the time'...

Therefore, in order to save time, Kitagawa Isao decisively chose Conan's approach, and walked into the building alone with 'strong curiosity', heading straight for the third floor.

He is waiting...

He was waiting for the thug named Inuyama to come forward and either dissuade or attack him.

And Inuyama did not disappoint Kitagawa Isao...

……

"Excuse me, sir, this is a private company and we do not accept outsiders for visits. Please leave immediately."

When Kitagawa Isao arrived at the second-floor staircase, a fat man wearing small black-rimmed sunglasses came out and blocked the stairs with an arrogant expression, putting his right hand behind his back.

Upon seeing his expression, Kitagawa Isao immediately understood.

Is this a case of trying to win over the enemy with courtesy first, then resorting to force?

"Excuse me, I actually came here for a job interview..."

Despite the crisis, Kitagawa Isao remained calm and quickly took out the newspaper he had just bought, feigning nervousness. "I saw your job advertisement in the newspaper, saying that you get a monthly salary of 500,000 yen, so I came to check it out first..."

"What? Five hundred thousand yen?"

Inuyama's face darkened. He had followed Silver Fox for so many years, and his salary for several months combined was not even enough for 500,000. Most of the time, he had to pay his salary with counterfeit money. How come the boss's conditions for hiring people are so extravagant now?

No, no, I'm always by the boss's side, how come I've never heard her mention recruiting new people?

And they were even recruiting through newspaper ads...

Gradually coming to his senses, Inuyama looked at Kitagawa Isao with suspicion for a few moments. He was about to tell him to go back and wait for news when he saw a figure sway in front of him.

The next second, Inuyama, who weighed almost 220 pounds, was easily struck in the Adam's apple by Kitagawa Isao and collapsed limply to the ground along the stair railing.

This scene not only startled Silver Fox, who was reviewing the surveillance footage, but also left Kitagawa Isao somewhat bewildered.

He never expected that he would be so strong. He subdued a strong man weighing over 200 pounds with just one blow.

Startled, he quickly reached out to check the patient's breath. Only after confirming that he hadn't caused any death did Kitagawa Isao breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems he should control his strength more, lest he accidentally send himself to join Little Black in death.

However, it seems that with his skills, as long as he pays a little attention, no one should be able to catch him, right?

Thinking of this, Kitagawa Isao silently stroked his chin, glanced at the security camera in the stairwell, and smiled knowingly...

……

Two minutes later, in the monitoring room.

Kitagawa Isao, who had rushed over, caught them red-handed. A woman codenamed Silver Fox and an artist with a big beard and a broken right arm in a sling. They were now standing face to face in front of the monitor, clearly at a loss.

They realized something was wrong when they saw Inuyama being subdued in an instant.

They wanted to charge out and fight back, but worried they were no match for the enemy; they wanted to escape, but felt that with a gun in hand, they might still have a chance.

Most importantly, they couldn't figure out who this person who suddenly attacked Inuyama was...

As a result of this hesitation, Silver Fox and the artist were cornered in the monitoring room by Kitagawa Isao.

Seeing the calm expression on Kitagawa Isao's face, Silver Fox subconsciously swallowed and then gave a wink to the artist's subordinate.

The artist instantly understood, cleared his throat, and asked, "Um, young man, I don't know your background, but if you're not a cop, could we sit down and talk? As the saying goes, 'well water doesn't interfere with river water,' and I don't recall ever offending you, young man."

"Provoke? No, no, no, you didn't provoke me. I was just... completing a mission."

Kitagawa Isao smiled slightly, completely unaware that behind the bearded painter, Silver Fox was secretly loading a pistol.

On the other side, upon hearing Kitagawa Isao's words, the artist was sweating profusely. Faced with someone he knew absolutely nothing about, he, who always prided himself on his resourcefulness, was now completely unable to come up with a single good solution.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, the bearded artist was so anxious that he almost bit his lip until it bled.

Just then, Silver Fox's clear voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

"Complete the mission? Dude, your mission must refer to this person, right?"

Behind the artist, Tatsuya, who had just been huddled in the corner, was now being strangled by Silver Fox with one hand, while the other hand held a pistol pressed firmly against Tatsuya's temple.

"I'm guessing you're a detective or a bounty hunter... Well, we don't have any grudges against each other anyway, so why don't you let us go? I'm willing to exchange this child for you, so you can have something to say when you go back. What do you say?"