Chapter 372 Banquet Hall
Chapter 372 Banquet Hall

"...Okay, that's it. Contact the Suzuki Group as soon as possible. Take action immediately after I finish my work tonight. Before the news spreads out. If necessary, use some of the core information we obtained to exchange for funds." After saying that, I hung up the phone.

Arriving at the twin towers of the Tokiwa Zaibatsu, I called Shoulang in a corner of the banquet hall and asked him to complete the preparations I had just mentioned.

"Kaoru, the winning point you just mentioned in the car is... Sonoko?" Seeing me hang up the phone, Shiho also walked over and asked me.

"Yeah." I nodded, and then pulled Shiho towards the banquet table. "I wanted to give up because I didn't have any victory points, but who would have thought that Miss Sonoko would give me face and directly give me the victory points."

"I don't quite understand." Shiho nodded and shook her head to express her confusion.

"Simply put, Sonoko's new hairstyle gave me inspiration." I picked up a plate of foie gras and bread from the table and started eating. "This time, the wavy hair and brown short hair, to be honest, at first glance I thought my Shiho had taken the antidote and got bigger. But after a closer look, well... my Shiho's facial features are indeed more three-dimensional and better looking."

"Not serious..." Shiho turned her head and spat. "I am of British and Japanese descent. It's normal to have three-dimensional facial features."

"Of course. That's why my Shiho is prettier." I said with a smile. "But... Gin doesn't know."

"Ok?"

"I think so. First of all, Gin doesn't know that we have become smaller. In his impression, Sherry should still be the woman with a cold face, a white coat, and short brown wavy hair. Right?"

"Ah."

"Secondly, even if Gin sent someone to the banquet hall to investigate, that person would definitely not be able to recognize you at first sight like I do, right?"

"Yeah... Yeah." After thinking about it, Shiho nodded.

"Third, if Gin chose to assassinate by poisoning, shooting, or using melee weapons such as bayonets at close range, then he must have come here. But don't forget, the police are waiting downstairs now. No matter how wild Gin is, he can't bring people in to kill people directly, right? What's more, I'm here at the scene. As long as I keep a close eye on him, at least in this place, I'm sure that as long as he makes a move, I can kill him in the first place. Although someone may be buried with him... On the other hand, as for long-range sniping, I've seen the nearby terrain and the nearest sniping point is 400 yards away. Gin can't see what Yuanzi looks like, and he will definitely recognize the wrong person."

"What you mean is that... Sonoko's unexpected change of hairstyle has become your bait to plot against Gin?" Shiho frowned after hearing this.

"Well... yes. Although this is very unfair to Sonoko." I clicked my tongue and nodded.

"The last time you showed such an expression was when you secretly sent Sister Shizuru out of the organization." Shiho's blue eyes stared at me closely. "But this time, you took the initiative to send Sonoko to the gallows."

"Don't say that..." I smiled bitterly. "After all, it's a trap for Gin, although there is a certain degree of danger in it, but..."

"What are the chances of winning?" Shiho interrupted me.

"Hmm... 70-30? I'll take 70."

"I won't agree unless the success rate is 100%!" Shiho's face was slightly cold, as if she was a little angry about my decision. After all, I was actually selling out my teammates now.

"It's not impossible." I thought about it, holding my chin. "But this way there will be more variables. Although I can definitely save the garden in another way, I can't guarantee that I can leave anything for Gin. It's even possible that we can only passively defend. In this case, it may be disadvantageous to us later."

"Do you remember what you told me this afternoon? Prevention > Escape > Profit > Assassination of members of the organization. Why take the risk now? Shouldn't assassinating members of the organization be the last item?"

"But Shiho, this is a winning point that comes naturally to me. I..."

"No!" Shiho's voice suddenly rose a few degrees, attracting the attention of everyone around us. Seeing this, Shiho stopped talking, waved his hand and walked out of the hall.

———————————Detective Conan the Movie 5 & Countdown to Heaven——————————

"Did you have a fight with Haibara?" After Shiho left, Conan came towards me with two drinks and handed me one of them.

"Alas... this girl, I don't know since when she started to meddle in my affairs." Looking at the direction where Shiho left, I couldn't help but shake my head helplessly.

"You've always let her take care of you." Conan laughed.

"Some things... you won't understand even if I tell you." After saying that, I gulped down the drink in the cup. "I'll go find her and come back."

"You should let her calm down for a while." Conan stopped me. "It's just on this banquet floor anyway. The only place we can go is the bathroom, it's okay. But I have something I want to ask you."

"Huh? What?"

"Are you planning something?"

"Hey... why are you gossiping too? Do you want to control me too?"

"I don't know what Huibara learned from you that made her react so strongly, but now I'm sure you are hiding something from me."

"It has nothing to do with you. Just enjoy the banquet."

"Did the news leak out?" Conan asked. "Did the organization know that we became smaller?"

"..." I stared at Conan's slightly serious face with a calm look, and finally smiled helplessly, "Almost."

"So it didn't leak, but its whereabouts were exposed?"

"...You can understand it this way." After saying that, I picked up a plate of salmon from the table and chewed it slowly. "In general, the matter is quite complicated and involves many things. After my investigation, I determined that there are indeed people in the Tokiwa Group."

"What?!" Conan's pupils shrank.

"But it's already dead."

"... Hara Jiaming?" The next second, Conan had already identified the person I was talking about.

"Yes."

"So... Yuan Jiaming was killed by someone from the organization?"

"Preliminary judgment is yes." "Then what about the small wine glass we saw at the scene earlier?"

"The murderer who killed the congressman rushed over afterwards, only to find that the man was already dead. He left evidence behind."

"You know who he is?! Tell me!"

"Do not."

"Why!"

"Your detective game... why should I participate? Besides, you don't have any evidence now, so what can I do if I tell you?" I teased. "Enjoy this party. The clues will eventually show up."

"You are really..." Conan glared at me helplessly. "Wait... You said so much in one breath, and you completely diverted my topic. You just mentioned that we were exposed."

"To be precise, only Shiho was exposed, or rather, only Sherry." I said calmly. "However..." I raised my chin towards Sonoko who was still chatting and laughing with Xiaolan.

Conan followed my gaze and understood what I meant in an instant.

"This... wouldn't the garden be dangerous?"

"Yeah, to be honest, I don't even dare to let her stand at the window now, for fear that a bullet will be sent directly at her."

"What should we do? Should we let her leave first?"

"Do you think she would be in danger with so many people here? Can she get away now if she's left alone?"

"What should I do? You must have a solution, right?"

"Yes, there is, but..." After saying that, I turned my gaze towards the direction where Shiho had just left.

"Are you not sure?" Conan looked serious. "No wonder Huiyuan quarreled with you." Conan's thinking ability must be praised. With just a few words, he analyzed many things.

"It's just a little dangerous, but things are different now. I used to do whatever it takes to get rid of a target, but now..." I shook my head. "Forget it." I'll act according to the situation.

"No matter what, you can't just leave Sonoko alone. Huibara and I are on the same page on this point." Conan patted my shoulder. "I can temporarily not investigate who the murderer is. I will go back and investigate it myself, but I may not be able to help the organization. Everything depends on you."

"It's not a matter of life and death. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll keep an eye on the garden in this hall, but there's one thing you need to pay attention to."

"what?"

"Don't let Yuanzi get close to the window, otherwise a bullet will fly from 400 yards away, and I really won't be able to save her in the first time."

"Oh, that's no problem." Conan thought for a moment. "But what about you?"

"I have to prepare for what's going to happen next. I don't know if the organization will come looking for me, so I have to prepare for the worst."

"Now? We are in the banquet hall now. There are people everywhere, how do you prepare?" Conan looked around.

"Let's go later. If the organization's people really come, then things will soon become uneasy here, and that will be the time for me to take action. If they don't come, then everything will be fine, and this matter will be over, so I'll go first..."

"Everyone, thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokiwa Group's twin towers." Before I finished speaking, I was interrupted by the voice of the loudspeaker. It turned out that the banquet had already begun. Tokiwa Mio, the representative of the Tokiwa Group, had walked up to the podium and began her speech. "Before the formal start, I have an entertainment program here. I hope everyone can participate in this little game."

"Let's go to the stands first." I called Conan. "You go to the garden. You can't use badges and other public items. Keep your phone open and in touch at any time."

"Okay. Be careful from now on." Conan nodded to me and walked towards the garden.

"This game is taken from my father's name, Tokiwa Kinjo. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Tokiwa Group, I want to play a time guessing game. In other words, a 30-second game! The person who guesses it exactly, or the person who comes closest, will receive the prize, which is the luxury car you can see in front of you."

After the words fell, the audience exclaimed. An imported convertible is not a small number. It may not be worth mentioning to some high-ranking officials, but there are some middle-class and even civilian people at the scene, and even worse, there are a group of half-grown children. Such temptation can be said to be quite great. Looking at the excitement of Genta Mitsuhiko and others from afar, it is estimated that they put all their hopes on Ayumi for 30 seconds.

"Of course, if two people guess correctly, then the only way to decide is by rock-paper-scissors, and the loser will have to make do with this off-road mountain bike with a helmet."

"Hahaha.."

Funny lines are always the main attraction of banquets. Just like this, a casual joke from Tokiwa livened up the atmosphere.

"Well... okay, since you're giving it to me, I won't be polite." I raised my lip and looked at the car not far away. "Although I don't necessarily need to drive it, it's nice to have it at home. It can also be given to Shiho as an apology gift."

"Ahem." Just as I finished speaking, there was a slight cough beside me, as if to say, "I'm back." I turned around and saw Shiho, who had recovered, standing beside me.

"Oh. You're back." I greeted Shiho. "Are you feeling better?"

"Forget it." Shiho closed her beautiful eyes, lowered her head and sighed softly. "Thinking carefully, it seems that I am being too stubborn. Your plan should not have been affected by me. I said unnecessary words."

"Huh? Why are you so good all of a sudden?" I suddenly wondered. "Did anyone tell you anything?"

"No, it's just... maybe I've been away from the organization for too long, so I've forgotten the sense of crisis I once had." Shiho said with a little disappointment. "In the past, I wouldn't have dared to ask for so much. Maybe it's because my life is too comfortable now, so I've become greedy."

"Okay, okay, isn't life pretty good now?" I responded with a smile. "I was wrong this time. When I win this car back, I'll give it to you as a gift, okay?"

"I'm not in good health enough to drive now." Shiho glanced at me unhappily.

"How about converting it into a Prada bag?"

"...good."

"..."

(End of this chapter)