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Chapter 1143: Waking Up to Find Someone Missing
On the street, two police cars were parked by the roadside, police lines cordoning off the driveway and sidewalk.
Onlookers stood behind the raised police lines, whispering amongst themselves, while police officers bustled about near a phone booth within the cordoned area.
Conan put away his mobile phone and walked to the side of the onlookers, intending to check out the situation. He was suddenly startled, however, by the sight of a familiar red car pulling up.
A red Lexus SC.
This kind of luxury car wasn't exactly common, and even less so in red…
After the car parked by the roadside, the person inside opened the car door and got out.
A tall, young man wearing a dark blue windbreaker jacket and black trousers, his face indifferent. His black hair concealed a pair of calm purple eyes, devoid of any apparent emotion. After closing the car door, he walked calmly yet purposefully towards the police officers, causing thoughts to subconsciously flash through the minds of those watching:
‘I’m here for revenge’, ‘Don’t mess with me’, ‘Stay away’, ‘Any accidental injuries aren't my problem’…Ahem, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but what was Chi Feichei doing here?
As Chi Feichei crossed the police line, he spotted Conan in the crowd. However, seeing the police officer in front of the police car looking up at him, he didn't greet Conan.
Early that morning, he had received a call from the Police, asking if he knew a man named Okubo Iwao.
He truthfully replied that he had met someone surnamed Okubo at an Izakaya last night, but he wasn't sure if it was the same person the Police were referring to.
After that, the police officer on the other end of the phone gave him an address in Beika Town and asked him to come over…
In front of the police car, a police officer with a square face and a serious expression looked up at Chi Feichei, momentarily stunned before approaching him.
He almost wanted to ask this young man if he had any intention of applying to the Police Academy; his presence was simply too commanding…
"I'm Chi Feichei," Chi Feichei extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sakurada from Beika East Precinct…" The police officer shook hands with Chi Feichei, formally introducing himself. He had just withdrawn his hand when he suddenly noticed a child running from under the police line, shouting, "Hey, kid, don't come over here!"
Conan ignored him, running to Chi Feichei's side and grabbing the hem of Chi Feichei's coat, acting like a "timid child clinging to an adult." He stood behind Chi Feichei's legs, weakly looking at Sakurada.
Since his Little Partner had struck up a conversation with the police, he could reasonably come over to glean clues and understand the situation; it was perfect.
Sakurada was momentarily confused. The child's reaction was as if he were some kind of villain trying to scare children, leaving him speechless. "Mr. Chi, you brought a child here?"
Chi Feichei lowered his head, seeing Conan smiling ingratiatingly at him, then looked back at Sakurada. "Sorry, I'm troubling you."
"No, I should be the one apologizing. I'm really sorry. It's troublesome for you to come all this way with a child," Sakurada paused, regaining his composure. "The situation is this: This morning, we received an emergency call reporting someone collapsed near the phone booth over there. After arriving, we found the victim. Besides his driver's license and medical card, we also found a notebook and several other people's business cards on him. He had written a schedule in his notebook, arranging a meeting with you at four o'clock this afternoon in Beihu Town. And because there was a paper strip in the victim's coat pocket with the same itinerary, it seems he valued this meeting with you very much. That's why I called you based on the phone number on the business card…"
Sakurada produced a driver's license, opened it, and held it up so Chi Feichei could see the photo. "Do you recognize him?"
Chi Feichei looked at the photo. "I do."
It was indeed the Okubo he had met last night.
Last night, he had seriously considered how to meet and talk to him today. Unexpectedly, he was gone when he woke up.
Moreover, since Conan was here, it meant he had stumbled into another incident. However, in all of Conan's plots, it wasn't uncommon for people in the entertainment industry to be involved in incidents, and he couldn't immediately recall which one this was.
Sakurada closed the driver's license and took out his notebook to take notes. "Then, what was your relationship with the victim...?"
"I'm an advisor for THK Entertainment Company, and he was Mizuhara Ryoji's manager," Chi Feichei explained briefly. "Last night, we had a gathering at an Izakaya with the President, and we met him then. I was supposed to meet him today to discuss Mizuhara Ryoji's new TV drama."
"I see, it was about work…" Sakurada pondered, nodding. He had also roughly figured out the victim's identity from his notebook; he was indeed a manager. "When did you last see Mr. Okubo?"
"Around eleven o'clock last night," Chi Feichei said.
"When you left the Izakaya?" Sakurada heard his colleague's voice on the intercom and picked it up. "Yes… we're confirming the victim's identity… Yes, we haven't found the man who discovered the victim and called the Police…"
Conan looked curiously at Sakurada. The first discoverer wasn't there?
An ambulance pulled up near the police cars. A young man with brown hair styled in a pompadour, wearing a red, yellow, and blue T-shirt, and a harmless face got out of the passenger seat and ran to Sakurada.
"He just ran away! After calling 110…" Sakurada was still using the intercom, and seeing the young man run up to him, he asked in confusion, "What is it?"
The young man pointed at himself and chuckled nervously. "You're talking about me, right?"
Sakurada put down the intercom and stepped forward, staring sternly. "You're the first discoverer who fled the scene in a panic just now, right?"
"I, I wasn't trying to flee the scene," the young man frowned helplessly. "I went to call an ambulance."
"Oh? To call an ambulance?" Sakurada looked at the man lying in front of the phone booth. "But that wasn't necessary, was it? Because we found that the victim had already passed away."
"Huh?" The young man was surprised.
Sakurada saw the Doctor looking over, and walked over to him.
The Doctor, crouching in front of the corpse, turned to Sakurada. "The deceased appears to have died instantly from a blow to the back of the head with a blunt object."
"Sorry to have wasted your time," Sakurada said.
Conan stepped forward to check on the deceased, but was quickly covered by the police, bumping into Sakurada who was turning back.
Chi Feichei reached out and pulled up Conan's collar, preventing the Famous Detective from being knocked over by someone's knee.
Sakurada was also startled. Seeing that Conan hadn't fallen, he said helplessly, "Mr. Chi, please keep an eye on the child and don't let him run around at the crime scene!"
"Sorry," Chi Feichei calmly released Conan's collar.
Sakurada felt that this apology lacked sincerity, but seeing Chi Feichei's calm face, he felt that he was being serious, so he didn't think too much about it and walked to the young man. "Sir, you went out of your way to call an ambulance that wasn't needed; that's quite bizarre, isn't it? Your name!"
"That's true," the young man said helplessly, "but how was I supposed to know if he was dead at the time...?"
"Your name!" Sakurada interrupted sternly, leaning closer and staring at the young man. "Your name."
The young man sweated. "I, I'm Hiromatsu Hiroshi."
Sakurada stepped back, handing over the clipboard, form, and pen. "Here! Address, name, age, profession… write it all down clearly for me."
Conan chuckled aside, this Police Officer was really something.
Hiromatsu Hiroshi received the clipboard and wrote his name on the top of a nearby police car.
"Hiromatsu Hiroshi?" Sakurada watched from the side. "Read it from top to bottom or bottom to top, it's still Hiromatsu Hiroshi. What a ridiculous name!"
Chi Feichei, standing nearby, spoke up. "Officer, making fun of someone's name isn't something a Police Officer should do."
Although the 'Chi' in his name and the surname 'Chi' weren't the same character, and their Japanese pronunciations were different, their Chinese pronunciations were the same.
So what if there's a repetition of sounds in a name?
Who did a name with repeated sounds offend?
"Huh?"
Sakurada felt his authority as a Police Officer had been undermined, and he turned to glare at Chi Feichei.
Chi Feichei, seeing Sakurada glaring at him, looked back coldly. "Even if you're a Police Officer, you don't live by the sea, so don't worry so much."
Sakurada: "!"
Did this guy know how harsh his words were?
Conan sweatdropped. Whoa, what's wrong with his Little Partner today? Is he in a bad mood…
"Don't do this, you two," Hiromatsu Hiroshi felt like there were bombs about to explode beside him, sweating. "Let's talk things over…"
"I understand," Sakurada was the first to look away. "Making fun of someone's name was wrong of me, I apologize… But Mr. Chi, you're pretty harsh with your words, and your cold jokes aren't funny at all!"
Hiromatsu Hiroshi: "..."
Hey, I said let's talk things over…
Conan: "..."
Aren't these two going to fight?
Chi Feichei didn't continue arguing with Sakurada.
He didn't intend to argue with Sakurada, but being reminded and then glared at by Sakurada was a bit annoying. But since Sakurada admitted that he shouldn't have made fun of someone's name, he would also admit that his words were harsh and his cold joke wasn't funny.
If he had to say it, Sakurada's attitude and words weren't any better, and in Conan's world, he was the type who easily got into trouble.
Sakurada calmed down, thinking that Chi Feichei was right, and felt a little guilty about his behavior. However, looking down at Hiromatsu Hiroshi's profession, he couldn't help but suspect, "A comedian? Did you two know each other before?"
"No," Chi Feichei said.
The entertainment industry wasn't that big, nor was it small. He wasn't deeply involved in the industry, so he couldn't possibly know every single person working in it.
However, he didn't say these words; arguing was something friends did.
For people he didn't know well, he only had a "can get along" or "can't get along" classification. For those he couldn't get along with, he only had four options: "ignore", "make them regret", "kill them", and "make them regret and then kill them". Arguing was pointless.
"I really don't know this gentleman," Hiromatsu Hiroshi said.
Sakurada looked at Hiromatsu Hiroshi. "I haven't seen you on TV…"
Hiromatsu Hiroshi chuckled nervously and scratched his head. "Because I'm not famous at all!"
"The first discoverer is already unconventional enough, and now even the deceased…" Sakurada muttered, looking down at his hands, then made a scissors gesture, facing forward, and smiled. "Peace…"
Conan looked at Sakurada in disbelief and bewilderment.
Whoa, is this Police Officer even normal?
"What does this mean…" Sakurada saw Hiromatsu Hiroshi handing over the form, took it, looked down, his expression turning serious in a second. He stared at Hiromatsu Hiroshi for a moment, then shouted back, "Iwai, Hirano!"
Two police officers ran over.
Sakurada held up the form for his two subordinates to see clearly. "Immediately find out about this guy for me, go now… Please!"
"Yes!" The two police officers ran off seriously.
End of Chapter
On the street, two police cars were parked by the roadside, police lines cordoning off the driveway and sidewalk.
Onlookers stood behind the raised police lines, whispering amongst themselves, while police officers bustled about near a phone booth within the cordoned area.
Conan put away his mobile phone and walked to the side of the onlookers, intending to check out the situation. He was suddenly startled, however, by the sight of a familiar red car pulling up.
A red Lexus SC.
This kind of luxury car wasn't exactly common, and even less so in red…
After the car parked by the roadside, the person inside opened the car door and got out.
A tall, young man wearing a dark blue windbreaker jacket and black trousers, his face indifferent. His black hair concealed a pair of calm purple eyes, devoid of any apparent emotion. After closing the car door, he walked calmly yet purposefully towards the police officers, causing thoughts to subconsciously flash through the minds of those watching:
‘I’m here for revenge’, ‘Don’t mess with me’, ‘Stay away’, ‘Any accidental injuries aren't my problem’…Ahem, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but what was Chi Feichei doing here?
As Chi Feichei crossed the police line, he spotted Conan in the crowd. However, seeing the police officer in front of the police car looking up at him, he didn't greet Conan.
Early that morning, he had received a call from the Police, asking if he knew a man named Okubo Iwao.
He truthfully replied that he had met someone surnamed Okubo at an Izakaya last night, but he wasn't sure if it was the same person the Police were referring to.
After that, the police officer on the other end of the phone gave him an address in Beika Town and asked him to come over…
In front of the police car, a police officer with a square face and a serious expression looked up at Chi Feichei, momentarily stunned before approaching him.
He almost wanted to ask this young man if he had any intention of applying to the Police Academy; his presence was simply too commanding…
"I'm Chi Feichei," Chi Feichei extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sakurada from Beika East Precinct…" The police officer shook hands with Chi Feichei, formally introducing himself. He had just withdrawn his hand when he suddenly noticed a child running from under the police line, shouting, "Hey, kid, don't come over here!"
Conan ignored him, running to Chi Feichei's side and grabbing the hem of Chi Feichei's coat, acting like a "timid child clinging to an adult." He stood behind Chi Feichei's legs, weakly looking at Sakurada.
Since his Little Partner had struck up a conversation with the police, he could reasonably come over to glean clues and understand the situation; it was perfect.
Sakurada was momentarily confused. The child's reaction was as if he were some kind of villain trying to scare children, leaving him speechless. "Mr. Chi, you brought a child here?"
Chi Feichei lowered his head, seeing Conan smiling ingratiatingly at him, then looked back at Sakurada. "Sorry, I'm troubling you."
"No, I should be the one apologizing. I'm really sorry. It's troublesome for you to come all this way with a child," Sakurada paused, regaining his composure. "The situation is this: This morning, we received an emergency call reporting someone collapsed near the phone booth over there. After arriving, we found the victim. Besides his driver's license and medical card, we also found a notebook and several other people's business cards on him. He had written a schedule in his notebook, arranging a meeting with you at four o'clock this afternoon in Beihu Town. And because there was a paper strip in the victim's coat pocket with the same itinerary, it seems he valued this meeting with you very much. That's why I called you based on the phone number on the business card…"
Sakurada produced a driver's license, opened it, and held it up so Chi Feichei could see the photo. "Do you recognize him?"
Chi Feichei looked at the photo. "I do."
It was indeed the Okubo he had met last night.
Last night, he had seriously considered how to meet and talk to him today. Unexpectedly, he was gone when he woke up.
Moreover, since Conan was here, it meant he had stumbled into another incident. However, in all of Conan's plots, it wasn't uncommon for people in the entertainment industry to be involved in incidents, and he couldn't immediately recall which one this was.
Sakurada closed the driver's license and took out his notebook to take notes. "Then, what was your relationship with the victim...?"
"I'm an advisor for THK Entertainment Company, and he was Mizuhara Ryoji's manager," Chi Feichei explained briefly. "Last night, we had a gathering at an Izakaya with the President, and we met him then. I was supposed to meet him today to discuss Mizuhara Ryoji's new TV drama."
"I see, it was about work…" Sakurada pondered, nodding. He had also roughly figured out the victim's identity from his notebook; he was indeed a manager. "When did you last see Mr. Okubo?"
"Around eleven o'clock last night," Chi Feichei said.
"When you left the Izakaya?" Sakurada heard his colleague's voice on the intercom and picked it up. "Yes… we're confirming the victim's identity… Yes, we haven't found the man who discovered the victim and called the Police…"
Conan looked curiously at Sakurada. The first discoverer wasn't there?
An ambulance pulled up near the police cars. A young man with brown hair styled in a pompadour, wearing a red, yellow, and blue T-shirt, and a harmless face got out of the passenger seat and ran to Sakurada.
"He just ran away! After calling 110…" Sakurada was still using the intercom, and seeing the young man run up to him, he asked in confusion, "What is it?"
The young man pointed at himself and chuckled nervously. "You're talking about me, right?"
Sakurada put down the intercom and stepped forward, staring sternly. "You're the first discoverer who fled the scene in a panic just now, right?"
"I, I wasn't trying to flee the scene," the young man frowned helplessly. "I went to call an ambulance."
"Oh? To call an ambulance?" Sakurada looked at the man lying in front of the phone booth. "But that wasn't necessary, was it? Because we found that the victim had already passed away."
"Huh?" The young man was surprised.
Sakurada saw the Doctor looking over, and walked over to him.
The Doctor, crouching in front of the corpse, turned to Sakurada. "The deceased appears to have died instantly from a blow to the back of the head with a blunt object."
"Sorry to have wasted your time," Sakurada said.
Conan stepped forward to check on the deceased, but was quickly covered by the police, bumping into Sakurada who was turning back.
Chi Feichei reached out and pulled up Conan's collar, preventing the Famous Detective from being knocked over by someone's knee.
Sakurada was also startled. Seeing that Conan hadn't fallen, he said helplessly, "Mr. Chi, please keep an eye on the child and don't let him run around at the crime scene!"
"Sorry," Chi Feichei calmly released Conan's collar.
Sakurada felt that this apology lacked sincerity, but seeing Chi Feichei's calm face, he felt that he was being serious, so he didn't think too much about it and walked to the young man. "Sir, you went out of your way to call an ambulance that wasn't needed; that's quite bizarre, isn't it? Your name!"
"That's true," the young man said helplessly, "but how was I supposed to know if he was dead at the time...?"
"Your name!" Sakurada interrupted sternly, leaning closer and staring at the young man. "Your name."
The young man sweated. "I, I'm Hiromatsu Hiroshi."
Sakurada stepped back, handing over the clipboard, form, and pen. "Here! Address, name, age, profession… write it all down clearly for me."
Conan chuckled aside, this Police Officer was really something.
Hiromatsu Hiroshi received the clipboard and wrote his name on the top of a nearby police car.
"Hiromatsu Hiroshi?" Sakurada watched from the side. "Read it from top to bottom or bottom to top, it's still Hiromatsu Hiroshi. What a ridiculous name!"
Chi Feichei, standing nearby, spoke up. "Officer, making fun of someone's name isn't something a Police Officer should do."
Although the 'Chi' in his name and the surname 'Chi' weren't the same character, and their Japanese pronunciations were different, their Chinese pronunciations were the same.
So what if there's a repetition of sounds in a name?
Who did a name with repeated sounds offend?
"Huh?"
Sakurada felt his authority as a Police Officer had been undermined, and he turned to glare at Chi Feichei.
Chi Feichei, seeing Sakurada glaring at him, looked back coldly. "Even if you're a Police Officer, you don't live by the sea, so don't worry so much."
Sakurada: "!"
Did this guy know how harsh his words were?
Conan sweatdropped. Whoa, what's wrong with his Little Partner today? Is he in a bad mood…
"Don't do this, you two," Hiromatsu Hiroshi felt like there were bombs about to explode beside him, sweating. "Let's talk things over…"
"I understand," Sakurada was the first to look away. "Making fun of someone's name was wrong of me, I apologize… But Mr. Chi, you're pretty harsh with your words, and your cold jokes aren't funny at all!"
Hiromatsu Hiroshi: "..."
Hey, I said let's talk things over…
Conan: "..."
Aren't these two going to fight?
Chi Feichei didn't continue arguing with Sakurada.
He didn't intend to argue with Sakurada, but being reminded and then glared at by Sakurada was a bit annoying. But since Sakurada admitted that he shouldn't have made fun of someone's name, he would also admit that his words were harsh and his cold joke wasn't funny.
If he had to say it, Sakurada's attitude and words weren't any better, and in Conan's world, he was the type who easily got into trouble.
Sakurada calmed down, thinking that Chi Feichei was right, and felt a little guilty about his behavior. However, looking down at Hiromatsu Hiroshi's profession, he couldn't help but suspect, "A comedian? Did you two know each other before?"
"No," Chi Feichei said.
The entertainment industry wasn't that big, nor was it small. He wasn't deeply involved in the industry, so he couldn't possibly know every single person working in it.
However, he didn't say these words; arguing was something friends did.
For people he didn't know well, he only had a "can get along" or "can't get along" classification. For those he couldn't get along with, he only had four options: "ignore", "make them regret", "kill them", and "make them regret and then kill them". Arguing was pointless.
"I really don't know this gentleman," Hiromatsu Hiroshi said.
Sakurada looked at Hiromatsu Hiroshi. "I haven't seen you on TV…"
Hiromatsu Hiroshi chuckled nervously and scratched his head. "Because I'm not famous at all!"
"The first discoverer is already unconventional enough, and now even the deceased…" Sakurada muttered, looking down at his hands, then made a scissors gesture, facing forward, and smiled. "Peace…"
Conan looked at Sakurada in disbelief and bewilderment.
Whoa, is this Police Officer even normal?
"What does this mean…" Sakurada saw Hiromatsu Hiroshi handing over the form, took it, looked down, his expression turning serious in a second. He stared at Hiromatsu Hiroshi for a moment, then shouted back, "Iwai, Hirano!"
Two police officers ran over.
Sakurada held up the form for his two subordinates to see clearly. "Immediately find out about this guy for me, go now… Please!"
"Yes!" The two police officers ran off seriously.
End of Chapter
