Ran Has Lost Her Memory / A Listening Device Hidden in a Cactus

Hearing Jiang Hang's words, Conan sighed and stopped thinking about Heiji Hattori.

He briefly explained the commission they had received to Jiang Hang.

Their client this time Dousan Nagato, is the chairman of a large conglomerate. He initially sought help from Heiji Hattori's father, who Heiji Hattori recommended Kogoro Mouri to him, hoping to test Conan.

"Hattori said he originally wanted to invite you over, but he refused because you didn't want to go out."

"The client wanted to find his first love from elementary school, but during our subsequent investigation, we discovered that his first love had died in a fire twenty years ago," Conan said, sounding somewhat wistful.

Jiang Hang listened patiently, because Conan's words meant there would definitely be some kind of twist later on.

The fire that killed the client's first love twenty years ago was actually caused unintentionally by the client's son Hideomi Nagato, and his son-in-law.

After discovering that the fire had spread, Hideomi Nagato rushed into the house and eventually rescued a little girl Sachi Hinata from the facade. She was the only daughter of the client's first love.

And afterwards, Hideomi Nagato took great care of the only survivor of the fire.

To repay this kindness, the little girl joined the Nagato Conglomerate after growing up and became the secretary of a client. Over the years, she fell in love with Hideomi Nagato, who had saved her, and even took the initiative to propose marriage to him.

However, Hideomi Nagato was never able to forgive himself for the crimes he had committed. After telling his lover about his past crimes, he felt that he could not bring happiness to his lover and thought of suicide.

Of course, Conan Heiji Hattori and stopped his suicide, thus preventing this tragedy from happening.

"In the end, the client went to persuade Ms. Hinata and her son. I think after this incident, the knot in their hearts should be untied, and maybe we'll hear news of their marriage soon."

After hearing the entire case, Jiang Hang's expression was quite interesting.

Although Jiang Hang didn't have much of an impression of the case at first, when he heard that Hideomi Nagato wrapped his face in bandages after being disfigured, Jiang Hang subconsciously thought of two famous bandaged people who appeared in the early part of the Conan story, and one of them seemed to involve Heiji Hattori.

In the original storyline, Hideomi Nagato should have committed suicide. And according to Conan's description, the client's son-in-law who was involved in the fire with him back then probably also died.

After being thwarted by Jiang Hang several times before, they managed to prevent the tragedy from happening this time, even without Jiang Hang's presence.

The speed at which these two guys are improving is just too frightening!

Seeing Conan seemingly still offering his blessings to the couple, Jiang Hang couldn't help but wipe his forehead.

He had thought that after being a detective for so long, his true abilities, apart from Eagle Eye, should have improved considerably. But now it seems that these two darlings of the world are the real bugs!

Chapter 202: Chapter 200: Ran Has Lost Her Memory

Conan, the darling of the world, has already returned home. According to Conan, Kogoro Mouri will be taking them to a wedding reception that evening.

Jiang Hang didn't pay much attention to this, after all, Conan had just prevented a tragedy from happening yesterday, and his death aura probably hadn't cooled down yet.

The next day, it rained heavily in Tokyo. Jiang Hang did not go out to accept any commissions, but instead continued to play mobile games in his own office.

He had thought today would be another peaceful day, but when Conan, soaked to the bone and with a complicated expression, appeared at his office, Jiang Hang knew that something big had probably happened.

Jiang Hang brought over a heater and told Conan to change out of his wet clothes and let them dry. The weather had started to get cooler recently, and after getting soaked in the rain, Conan was likely to catch a cold.

And the news Conan brought this time was indeed quite shocking.

Ran has lost her memory.

When Jiang Hang heard the news, he was completely stunned. He even glanced at the time to make sure that the timeline of this world hadn't suddenly jumped to April Fool's Day.

After confirming that the timeline of this world was still normal, Jiang Hang asked Conan about the specific events that had occurred.

Conan explained in a low voice, and Jiang Hang quickly understood the whole situation.

Last night, Kogoro Mouri attended the wedding reception of the sister of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Inspector Ninzaburo Shiratori, and Miike Sato was also in attendance.

Jiang Hang knew nothing about this matter. He knew Ninzaburo Shiratori, but the two had no dealings with each other and were merely acquaintances. Therefore, he had not been invited to the thank-you banquet last night.

At this thank-you banquet, a significant portion of the guests were police officers. Coupled with the recent shooting of a police officer, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department staff remained on high alert.

However, the murderer had planted a bomb in the hotel's electrical room beforehand.

After blowing up the hotel's electrical room, the perpetrator took advantage of the brief chaos to find Miike Sato in the bathroom in the darkness and shot her before throwing the pistol at the scene and fleeing.

Fortunately, the assailant's aim was not very good in the dark. Although he hit Miike Sato, the shot did not hit any vital areas. After being treated at the hospital, she is now out of danger.

Ran happened to be in the bathroom at the time and witnessed everything from behind Miike Sato. It is likely that the murderer discovered there were other witnesses in the bathroom, which is why he fled the scene without confirming Miike Sato's condition after firing the shot.

After witnessing the entire process of Miike Sato being shot by the murderer, Ran also fell into a coma. When she woke up, she had temporarily lost her memory due to the great shock.

Jiang Hang seemed somewhat surprised after learning that this case was still a follow-up to the incident in which the police officer shot him.

After all, in Jiang Hang's impression, Conan's cases are basically solved before the next one appears. Even if a new case appears before a previous one is solved, it will definitely be closely related to the previous case.

After learning that Conan had been taken away from Tokyo by Kogoro Mouri to take on a case elsewhere, he subconsciously assumed that Conan wouldn't be involved in the case of the police officer being shot.

It was this subconscious impression that led to Jiang Hang's oversight in his judgment.

Conan clenched his fists tightly. "Ran has lost her memory of everyone. Even the doctors can't be sure when Ran 'll regain her memory. It could be a few days, it could be a few months, or she might never regain it."

"It was because Ran got involved in this case that Inspector Megure told us about the situation," Conan explained to Jiang Hang in detail about the three suspects from the police's side.

After learning that two of the three suspects identified by the police in this case were relatives of police officers, including the son of a police superintendent, Jiang Hang understood why the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was trying to cover up the case.

"After the shooting, the hotel was sealed off for gunpowder reaction tests on everyone," Conan told Jiang Hang, not too optimistically, about the situation at the crime scene.

"However, no gunpowder residue was found on anyone in the hotel, including two of the three suspects. The other suspect had already left the hotel from the surveillance footage at the entrance before the incident, so he also did not have time to commit the crime."

"Either the two suspects who stayed in the hotel used some method to avoid the gunpowder reaction, or the suspect who left the hotel later returned to the hotel by other means to carry out the operation."

Conan paused for a moment before continuing, "Or perhaps the real culprit isn't one of those three."

"The bomb has been investigated by the police. It's the kind of bomb that's connected to a cell phone and will automatically explode as soon as it senses an incoming call."

"At the same time, at the crime scene, the police found a flashlight with Ran's fingerprints on it. If I'm not mistaken, the flashlight was probably turned on beforehand and deliberately placed in the bathroom by the murderer. After Officer Sato entered the bathroom, the murderer detonated the bomb, plunging the hotel into darkness. At that moment, he could use the flashlight to pinpoint Miike Sato's location and shoot her."

"However, the murderer probably didn't expect that the flashlight would fall into the hands of someone else, which is why he left the scene in a hurry after firing the shot," Conan sighed. "And Ran probably felt that because she took out the flashlight, the murderer found out Officer Sato's location, which caused her to suffer from amnesia."

Listening to Conan's explanation, Jiang Hang was trying hard to recall. After all, Ran's amnesia was a major event in Conan's story. If it were made into an anime, it would have to be a special episode, even if it wasn't a movie. However, after thinking for a while, he still couldn't remember any plot related to it.

Now, besides blaming himself for not watching enough Conan before he time-traveled, all he can do is catch the culprit in this case as soon as possible.

"Now that Officer Sato is out of danger, did she see what the criminal looked like?" Jiang Hang asked Conan.

Conan shook his head. "Officer Sato said that she was facing away from the murderer at the time, and lost consciousness after being shot. I'm afraid the only person who knows the murderer's true identity now is Ran, who was facing the murderer at the time... But Ran doesn't recognize anyone now, so she definitely can't recognize who the murderer is."

Chapter 203: Chapter 201: The Eavesdropping Device in the Cactus

Miike Sato is out of danger, but she hasn't seen the killer's true face. Ran Mori, who might have seen the killer's face, has lost her memory due to the trauma.

It's fortunate that these two people are not in mortal danger, but it also means that the murderer has once again hidden himself.

Jiang Hang is now thinking about what he would do if he were the murderer.

The target he wanted to kill didn't die, and his true identity might have been seen by others. As the murderer, he probably couldn't know that Ran had lost her memory.

In this situation, the murderer doesn't have many options.

He either needs to eliminate Ran before Ran wakes up and reveals his true identity, or he needs to escape Tokyo and even leave Japan before his identity is exposed.

With the shooting just now taking place, Ran and Miike Sato's hospital room is practically surrounded by Tokyo police. To attack Ran under these circumstances, "his" skills would have to be at least on Kaito Kid with Ran Kid.

Obviously, the murderer doesn't have that kind of skill, so logically "he" should have already run away by now.

But that would be too un-"Conan" style.

Jiang Hang has watched Conan for so many years and has never seen a murderer successfully escape. In fact, almost all murderers end up staying at the crime scene and courting death, only to be caught by Conan after he finds clues.

In addition to what Conan just said, this case may also be an inside job by the police. Using the plot of "Conan", the culprit may already know that Ran has lost her memory, and "he" may even be planning to stay and find an opportunity to get rid of Ran before she regains Ran memory.

Thinking about this, Jiang Hang seemed to have a complete story in his mind.

Ran possesses crucial clues but has lost her memory. Conan diligently gathers clues to find the true culprit, while the murderer also seeks an opportunity to harm Ran. The film includes gunfights or high-speed chases, various explosions, and large-scale scenes. Finally, at a critical moment, Conan successfully finds the true culprit and restores Ran's memory, bringing the case to a perfect conclusion and providing some sweet moments for fans of the pairing. Thus, a fresh theatrical film is born.

Of course, Jiang Hang had recently made a wrong judgment based on his own "impression," and now he couldn't say for sure whether the murderer had already left Tokyo.

"Let's go first and check on Ran's condition. Then we'll go to the hotel where the incident happened yesterday to check on her."

After buying a bouquet of orchids at the flower shop, Jiang Hang took Conan to Beika Hospital.

Outside the ward, Jiang Hang saw several police officers under Inspector Megure's command.

Besides Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki, Sonoko Suzuki is also in Ran's hospital room, talking to her about the past.

Kogoro Mouri was somewhat surprised to see Jiang Hang arrive, but when he saw Conan standing next to Jiang Hang with his hair not completely dry, he knew that it was Conan had told Jiang Hang about this.

Normally, he would probably say a few words of disdain to Conan, but now Kogoro Mouri just nodded sullenly at Jiang Hang.

Jiang Hang greeted everyone in the ward and placed the bouquet of orchids on Ran's bedside.

The bouquets delivered to the ward, including the one sent by Jiang Hang, only amounted to two, proving that only a few people knew about Ran's hospitalization.

From Ran's unfamiliar and confused gaze, Jiang Hang realized that she no longer remembered him.

He gave Ran a kind smile and greeted her. Then he walked aside and asked Eri Kisaki in a voice Ran couldn't hear, "I heard about what happened last night from Conan. Ran feeling any better now?"

Eri Kisaki shook her head sadly. "The doctor said that we need to observe her for another one or two days before we can know for sure, but she still hasn't remembered anything from the past."

Jiang Hang glanced at Sonoko Suzuki. She was holding a photo album and telling Ran who the people in the photos were and when they were taken.

It has to be said that although Sonoko Suzuki often swoons over boys, her friendship with Ran is exceptionally strong. The fatigue on Sonoko's face shows that she didn't sleep well last night because of Ran's amnesia.

Jiang Hang silently scanned the entire ward with his Eagle Eye, his gaze finally settling on a seemingly inconspicuous cactus placed on the windowsill.

The cactus itself was nothing special, but the person who brought it to the ward seemed to be no ordinary person.

Jiang Hang walked up to the cactus and examined it. Then he asked the people in the ward who had brought the cactus there and when.

"A cactus?" Kogoro Mouri glanced at the cactus Jiang Hang was referring to. "Hmm... hasn't this always been here?"

Eri Kisaki, however, remembered it clearly. "This morning, a female nurse came and gave Ran a brief check-up, and then she put this cactus there."

The two of them seemed a little confused as to why Jiang Hang suddenly brought up cacti, but Conan, who knew Jiang Hang's abnormal observation skills, immediately walked nervously to Jiang Hang's side.

Sure enough, the next moment Jiang Hang pulled a small listening device out of the soil of the cactus.

When Jiang Hang picked up the bugging device and gestured to everyone, the faces of everyone in the ward immediately turned grim.

No one marveled at Jiang Hang's observation skills at this moment. Kogoro Mouri reacted immediately. "I'm going to find Inspector Megure right now. That nurse is definitely a prime suspect!"

Soon, Inspector Megure arrived and took the bugging device away as evidence. Kogoro Mouri and the other police officers on duty at the door could all remember what the nurse looked like that morning.

Almost everyone thought that finding the nurse would lead to the real culprit in the case, including Conan.

After all, who else but the murderer would risk planting a listening device in Ran's hospital room at this time?

It didn't take long for Inspector Megure to locate the nurse using the hospital's surveillance footage.

Surprisingly, the nurse was on leave and hadn't come to work at the hospital at all. When Inspector Megure called her, she was relaxing at home watching TV, seemingly completely unaware of what had happened that morning.

In the subsequent investigation, the nurse's family members were able to testify that she had stayed at home since morning and had not gone out at all.

This lead was cut off as soon as it was discovered, which only made the whole case more confusing.

Chapter 204: Chapter 202: I've solved more cases than Jiang Hang

The mysterious nurse simply vanished without a trace, and the crucial lead to the listening device went cold, leaving Inspector Megure and his team somewhat frustrated.

Jiang Hang was frowning as he pondered who had disguised themselves as the female nurse and placed the listening device in Ran's ward.

He always felt that this couldn't have been done by a criminal.

He had reviewed the hospital's surveillance footage. The "nurse's" disguise was indeed very effective; at least in the surveillance footage where Eagle Eye couldn't be used for inspection, he couldn't find anything wrong.

The police had just conducted a thorough search of Miike Sato's room, and Jiang Hang was also asked by Inspector Megure to check it out, but they found nothing in Miike Sato's hospital room.

Moreover, if the murderer really had such a powerful ability to disguise himself, he wouldn't need to worry about Ran seeing his true face at all. Wouldn't it be more reasonable for him to simply disguise himself and find an opportunity to get rid of Miike Sato?

His gaze lingered on the cactus. Why did the "nurse" specifically choose a cactus instead of some other green plant?

At least other green plants should be much more understated than cacti.

Kogoro Mouri seemed to want to throw the unsightly cactus away, but Ran said she didn't mind.

"It's okay, just leave it there."

Now that the listening device inside the cactus has been removed, she figured it wouldn't matter if the cactus remained on the windowsill.

Hearing Ran say that, Kogoro Mouri didn't force him. Right now, besides catching that despicable murderer as soon as possible, all he could think about was hoping that his daughter could regain her memory as soon as possible.

When the middle-aged man learned that Jiang Hang was going to investigate the hotel where the incident had occurred the previous night, he silently gave Jiang Hang a grateful look.

Before leaving, Jiang Hang also met with Kyosuke Kazato, the psychologist in charge of Ran's treatment.

He was a rather refined-looking doctor, who appeared to be in his early thirties.