Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Page 191

...Actually, Sano was wondering why Conan hadn't mentioned anything about the arena when he came to deliver the goods the day before yesterday and yesterday.

Whether Sano "found" another culprit or the appearance of rye, it doesn't matter.

Logically speaking, as Conan's current teammate, Sano felt that the other party should choose to discuss it directly with him, just like before.

...Or perhaps he rejected Conan's requests to communicate so many times that Conan no longer even wants to try and has simply given up.

Did I blacklist myself?

After a brief pause, Sano got down to business: "I heard that Detective Mori has been calling the police frequently these past few days, claiming he witnessed murders?"

Conan raised an eyebrow and tilted his head back in surprise—Sano actually has curiosity?

...Conan is actually quite interested in Kogoro Mouri's affairs, and even planned to stay and watch tonight.

As for why he didn't discuss it with Sano before, it was because Conan assumed Sano already knew.

After all... the two of them were considered "fellow sufferers," so it seems that Sano only just found out about this now?

"What, you also suspect that something's not right about this?"

Sano buried his head between the iron gate bars: "Maybe."

Tsk, another one of those vague, perfunctory answers.

Conan inwardly scoffed, "...I don't know much about this either. I'll see if I find any clues later and then let you know."

"Ah."

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from Conan, Sano pulled out his head and turned back to his room.

Then the night passed uneventfully... no, actually something happened.

Because Sano had been on guard, he finally witnessed the arrival of the police in the corridor tonight.

But this time it seems to be the same as before.

The police came and went in a hurry, leaving without making a fuss.

"Heh, it seems that famous detective is hallucinating again."

Ito Taka had somehow gotten close to Sano, yawning and laughing, "He'll probably be here tomorrow."

Sano ignored Ito Taka and simply narrowed his eyes.

To be honest, today was still just an "illusion," and the fact that nothing unexpected happened was both unexpected and reasonable for Sano.

...Judging from the current situation, tonight is Kogoro Mouri's fourth hallucination.

This is very illogical.

To be precise, it is the common sense of Ke Xue (a scholar who studied science).

After so many "ordinary hallucinations" in a row, something unexpected should happen tonight.

As the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times.

The reason it's considered reasonable is that there were no unexpected events in the previous few times, but tonight's unexpected event is not quite in line with Ke Xue's theories.

Firstly, if something unexpected happened tonight, there was a certain probability that a mission would be triggered here in Sano, but in reality, nothing did happen... Speaking of which, there haven't been any missions for two days, so I'm a bit bored, although staying in the hospital is a mission in itself.

Secondly, we must mention the sense of familiarity that Sano felt in Kogoro Mouri's current situation.

...It's a bit like the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

Just when everyone was numb and thought that Kogoro Mouri was just having a mental breakdown and hallucinating again, the unexpected really happened.

This would be more in line with the usual approach.

Since I'm free tonight, I guess I'll have to see what happens next.

Sano turned and went back to his room. Seeing this, Ito Taka called out, "Hey, Master, aren't you going to watch the show?"

"The excitement has long since dissipated; you're just gathering here to see nothing."

Sano waved his hand, closed the door, and went back to bed.

……

The next day was another day of eating, drinking, and having fun.

But before evening, when Ran and Conan were on their usual smuggling trip, Sano received a mission.

[Please ensure the mission objective is imprisoned. Completion will earn you 100 enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 11:59:59.]

Sano glanced at the red dot on the map, which was also located within Beika General Hospital, just like his own, and narrowed his eyes.

Sure enough, it was someone from the hospital who was up to something.

Patient or hospital staff?

After rubbing his fingers together, Sano set his sights on the nurse outside the iron gate.

Using his striking good looks and sweet talk, Sano successfully got the nurse to go to the office upstairs. When she returned, he explained the situation.

"That's Dr. Shirai's office. It's during working hours now, so Dr. Shirai is the only one in there."

That's what the nurse said.

"Okay, thank you, miss."

Sano, who had been staring at the map to make sure the red dot hadn't moved, had already figured out the answer in his mind.

"Shirai Mitsuo? Master, are you investigating him?"

Ito Taka had somehow gotten close to Sano again... Why "again"?

This has happened several times already, hasn't it?

Sano stared intently at Ito Taka. Even with the superhuman enhancements, he could hardly detect the other's approach. How could this guy have such a low profile... He'd be quite suitable for the intelligence team.

"What, you know this guy?"

Sano countered with a question.

The nurse only mentioned that he was Dr. Shirai, without giving his full name, "Mitsuo Shirai," but Ito Taka did say his full name directly, and judging from his tone, he clearly knew some secrets.

"Well, I heard that this guy actually got in through connections. He was even threatened by Eto Katsumi, who came in the same year, because of this. The two of them have a grudge against each other... Although Dr. Shirai doesn't seem to want others to think that the two of them are not on good terms, since it might expose that ugly secret."

After Ito Taka nodded, he revealed the "gossip" behind Shirai Mitsuo.

...He can even get this kind of gossip out of him; this guy is definitely a good candidate for intelligence work.

Sano nodded. In this way, the actors playing the roles of murderer and victim were both in place.

As for the method... Sano also had a guess in his mind.

The task this time was very similar to Abe Yutaka's previous one: to ensure the other party was imprisoned.

This time, however, was different from the last time. The latter had already taken action, and Sano needed to find out the truth... although in the end, no evidence was found.

As for the former, Eto Katsumi is most likely still alive.

I heard that Kogoro Mouri has been calling the police at 11:30 p.m. these past few days. Considering the mission deadline, there's a very high chance he'll make his move at 11:30 p.m. this time as well.

Let's just catch them in the act to save ourselves the trouble.

Then Sano waited until midnight.

...Ran and Conan delivered the goods again today, but after delivering them, the kid hurriedly ran away again, showing no intention of communicating with Sano.

Damn it, this teammate is useless, might as well just get rid of him.

Sano exhaled, looking at the chained gate in front of him, wondering if his superhuman-powered physical abilities could break it.

Or should we just remove the door altogether?

"Master, do you want to go out?"

Sano looked expressionlessly at Ito Taka, who peeked out from behind. Before he could even ask, Ito Taka explained with a grin, "I knew you wanted to go out tonight just from your reaction during the day, Master."

"But I must remind you, Master, even if you can break this thing, if you go out without gaining anything, it will be detrimental to your discharge from the hospital later."

...How can this guy be so sure that he will be discharged from the hospital in the future?

Sano narrowed his eyes: "Then what do you think we should do?"

"Hey, just you wait and see."

Chapter 211, Section 210: The Mentally Ill Individual Has Escaped!

Ito Taka pulled a wire from his pants, went to the door, and busied himself with the chain.

...This guy can even pick locks? He's definitely more and more suited for the intelligence team.

Sano looked at Ito Taka.

To be honest, Sano originally thought that this guy would suddenly pull out some kind of secret passage to get out of here, such as some weird thing like a cave.

...After all, the other party was mentally ill before, and the fact that he was in charge of the smuggling network makes it hard not to have any suspicions.

It seems that Sano was overthinking things.

Indeed, the skills that Da Zhonghua possesses are not so easily learned by outsiders.

In just a few seconds while Sano was lost in thought, Ito Taka clicked open the lock and then, like a greeter at a restaurant entrance, pointed Sano in the right direction.

"Please, Master."

Sano stared at Ito Taka with a strange look in his eyes.

Not only can he pick locks, but he can pick them so fast.

If the other person hadn't been living here even earlier than him, Sano would have suspected that this guy was actually an intelligence agent of the organization, and that he was here just to keep an eye on him.

"What's wrong, Master?"

Ito Taka blinked.

"It's nothing, you don't need to lock the door. Go back to sleep, I'll lock it myself when I come back."

Sano pushed open the door and went out, giving an order.

"Ok."

Sano glanced at the alarm clock hanging on the corridor wall. It was 11:20. As long as he kept an eye on Shirai Mitsuo, he should be able to catch him in the act.