Conan's Distillery: A Semi-Workaholic's Slacking-Off Life

Chapter 20 The Scene of the Exposed Identity

……

"By the way, Kudo, is that person trustworthy?" Hattori Heiji whispered to Conan on the tour bus.

Conan just told Hattori Heiji everything that had happened, including the fact that Byakuya Shu picked him up.

Seeing Conan looking at him, Hattori Heiji gestured with his eyes towards Byakuya Xiu.

"If he were sent by the organization, I reckon he'd be dead by now. Anyway... he's still somewhat credible," Conan replied softly.

Hattori Heiji seemed relieved, then said, "But he doesn't seem to like talking much. He knows a lot, but we have to ask him to talk. Don't you think that's a little strange?"

Conan also fell into deep thought. Based on the performance in the case just now, it seemed that Bai Yexiu participated as an observer throughout the whole process, even though he knew quite a lot.

Even when the killer could attack at any moment, he was still leisurely making sandwiches in the kitchen.

Should we say he has an exceptionally strong mentality, or that he's a passionate food lover?

Conan glanced at the sleeping Shirayuki, then turned to Hattori Heiji and said, "He doesn't talk much, but he once tucked a flower behind my ear."

Upon hearing this, Hattori Heiji couldn't help but burst out laughing.

“…” Conan remained silent.

I should have kept quiet and not told him.

“Wait,” Hattori Heiji’s expression suddenly turned serious: “Does he know who you are?”

"When he found me that day, I impulsively told him the truth, and he thought I was playing a detective game." Conan was also a little worried, after all, he had told the truth that day, and there was no guarantee that Conan would believe him.

"You guys really don't treat me like an outsider."

A voice startled Heiji Hattori and Conan, who turned around to find that it was Hakuya Osamu who had woken up.

He overheard their conversation. They were separated by only an aisle, and Hattori and Conan thought that Byakuya was asleep, which is why they dared to talk like that. But he had woken up.

"Do you think I didn't believe you that day?" Bai Yexiu turned his head and revealed a smile that was hard for them to understand.

Conan's expression changed drastically—he'd been exposed again.

First, he was exposed in front of Hattori Heiji, and then he was exposed in front of Byakuya Osamu. In one fell swoop, the two of them knew his identity!

"Ryuzawa, so you knew all along?" Hattori Heiji asked tentatively.

"It's quite rare for a high school student to turn into an elementary school student, but it's not impossible. For example, didn't one happen to someone I know?" Bai Yexiu smiled and gestured to Conan, who was staring wide-eyed beside him.

Heiji Hattori realized that Byakuya Xiu hadn't answered his question directly, but he didn't know how to press the matter further.

Long Ze gave him the impression of being a mysterious riddle-maker, never giving a direct answer to other people's questions, leaving others to guess.

"But don't worry, you probably won't be silenced for the time being." Bai Yexiu casually put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes, and seemed to be planning to continue sleeping.

"Why are you so sure?" Conan's expression turned serious. Bai Yexiu's words gave Conan the feeling that he was there to silence him.

That's because I'm a member of the organization.

Of course, Bai Yexiu wouldn't say those words out loud: "Look, so much time has passed, and you're still perfectly fine."

This guy has a really big heart.

The same thought simultaneously crossed Conan and Heiji Hattori's minds.

Although this person seemed mysterious to Conan, he still couldn't be sure that he was a bad guy.

If he were a member of the organization, he would have died as soon as he shrunk, and none of what followed would have happened.

Conan silently added Byakuya to his "trustworthy list" in his mind.

"Ryuzawa, what do you think of that accomplice who can't be found?" Hattori Heiji asked with a serious expression.

After the murderer died, the two of them speculated about everyone, but no one had a motive.

They had suspected Shirayuki, but in Conan's memory, Shirayuki's position before and after the lights were turned on remained almost unchanged. Furthermore, according to the victim's description, the hand that pushed him was incredibly strong, sending him staggering back several steps. Shirayuki looked to be less than 15 years old; how could he possibly have such strength?

"An accomplice?" Bai Yexiu closed his eyes. "I have no clue either."

To the two of them, this action looked like they knew something but were avoiding the issue.

"Ryuzawa, you seem to know something. Tell me quickly." Hattori Heiji reached out and shook Bai Yexiu's arm.

Bai Yexiu ignored him. He was the "accomplice," so what could he say? And why did they always think they knew something?

"I've already told you," Bai Yexiu said, finally losing his temper and moving to the side. "How would I know something that even the two great detectives don't know?"

Why is Heiji Hattori so annoying...?

Bai Yexiu adjusted his sleeping position, feeling annoyed. He thought staying at the hotel to watch the excitement was quite worthwhile; not only could he enjoy the spectacle, but he could also hitch a ride back and catch up on some sleep in the car…

Conan and Heiji Hattori thought about it and realized that it might really be true... so they believed it.

They were about to turn around and discuss the poisonous snake with Bai Yexiu when they found that he had already fallen asleep.

Well, they were asleep, and they didn't want to disturb them.

"It's a real shame, Kudo, this case seems to have become an unsolved mystery." Hattori Heiji sighed.

"That poisonous snake in the living room might have been kept by that accomplice. Mr. Toishi was about to say his name when he died. What a coincidence..." Conan rested his chin on his hand, his face serious again.

Now, whenever he thinks about the accomplice, he can't understand what the accomplice's motive was. How did the perpetrator control a snake to precisely poison someone?

The bus was moving, and Conan and Hattori's minds were racing, but they couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for a long time.

At this moment, Bai Yexiu, who was leaning against the window, suddenly opened his eyes with a playful expression on his face.

"Speaking of which, the same thing happened at the video game company last time. The culprit was suddenly stabbed in the head with a scalpel." Conan had a flash of inspiration and recalled the unsolved case of the video game company culprit being murdered last time.

Seeing Heiji Hattori's puzzled expression, Conan explained the whole story.

"...I've seen the surveillance footage. The scalpel flew out from a blind spot in the camera's view, and no one was seen leaving from the company's other surveillance cameras."

Hattori Heiji listened very attentively, and then made a guess: "That incident and this incident are both about the murder of the perpetrator. Do you think it's possible that these two incidents were committed by the same person?"

"..."

Conan remained silent. He had already copied the video game company's surveillance footage to Dr. Agasa's computer and watched it countless times, yet they hadn't even captured a single trace of the culprit.

There's something fishy about these two things.

……

The next day, Bai Yexiu saw a report in a newspaper: the police are investigating the two murders that occurred in succession.

……