Conan: I Always Feel Like He'll Blacken With One Wrong Move

Not only Ryoko Akagi and Conan outside the door were stunned by this kick, but the child who was happily playing video games with a controller was also startled by the commotion. He poked his head out of the house and stared blankly at the scene outside the door.

"Sister Ryoko?" Akagi Mamoru called out in confusion.

"Ah! Mamoru!" Ryoko Akagi snapped back to reality, stepped over the door panel pinning Uemura Naoki, and ignoring his pained cry, rushed into the house and hugged the little boy. "You scared me so much! How could you run out to play like this!"

"I left a note! School had a festival today, and Brother Naoki said he'd take me..." Akagi Mamoru said, excitedly pointing at the TV in front of him. "Look, Brother Naoki helped me beat this level! No one in our class has cleared it yet!"

Akagi Mamoru, completely unaware that he had been kidnapped for hours, was in high spirits. Conan sighed and walked over to Uemura Naoki, who was lying on the ground twitching. He nudged him. "Looks like he's still alive..."

Tang Ze casually moved the door panel away. After confirming that the man wouldn't be able to move for a while, he reminded Ryoko Akagi, who was hugging Akagi Mamoru and on the verge of tears, "You can call Mamoru's brother now. I guess this person didn't intend to hurt him."

Soon, Hideo Akagi, who had been called to the sidelines by the coach, received the news that his brother was safe.

The television in the living room was also broadcasting the soccer match, clearly indicating that Uemura Naoki had been following the game's progress.

Freed from his constraints, Hideo Akagi was like a tiger unleashed. Amidst the cheers of the fans, he scored two goals in quick succession.

The commentators' voices were almost cracking with excitement. Amidst the thunderous roars, they shouted hoarsely, "3 to 1! The Kicking Ace's divine power sweeps across the field! He's finally unleashed the power of Divine Shot! Coupled with that brilliant assist in the first half! This is Tokyo Aoyama Team's 'The Kicking Ace'! Hideo Akagi! The shining soccer genius!"

"Hmph, genius..." Uemura Naoki, dragged into the living room by Tang Ze, snorted coldly. "Yeah, he's always the genius. I'm just a stupid guy who only knows how to work hard without any talent..."

The few people turned to look at Uemura Naoki, who was being photographed and had to sit on the floor, cradling his leg in a cast. Facing their gazes, Uemura Naoki no longer hid his resentment and said bitterly, "Back in the high school team, our performances were similar, but his popularity and contract fees were much higher than mine. I was unwilling. Ever since I joined the Aoyama Team, I've practiced diligently day and night, just to surpass him, to prove that I'm better than him! Finally, I was about to catch up to him..."

"And then, in a practice match, he shattered my right lower leg! I'll miss an entire season, and I don't even know if I can recover my level!" Uemura Naoki angrily slammed his cast-covered right knee. "He did it on purpose, he definitely did it on purpose! Haha, 'Golden Gemini'... Kid, you were right, I didn't plan to hurt Mamoru. I just wanted to let that genius kid understand that he won't always win! The world doesn't always go his way!"

Conan's expression was serious, displaying the classic look of someone listening to a criminal's inner monologue.

"Ryoko, call the police. Have them come and take me away." Uemura Naoki, having vented his grievances, calmed down and looked at Hideo Akagi, who was being hugged by his teammates on the screen. "Hero would probably be very surprised if he knew it was me..."

"'Hero, who do you most want to share the news of victory with in this match?'" A reporter on screen, conducting a post-match interview, held the microphone to Hideo Akagi, who had brought victory to the team.

"'Ah, I want to tell Miss Ryoko and my brother, and... my best partner and rival, Uemura Naoki.'" Hideo Akagi sheepishly rubbed his sweaty cheeks. "'He's absent from the match due to injury. I've been thinking, if he were here, wouldn't we have scored even more goals?'"

Tang Ze stood up from the sofa, no longer looking at the stunned Uemura Naoki. He reached out and pulled Conan to his side. "Let's go, Conan. We're done here." Then, he raised an eyebrow and teasingly looked at "Ryoko" Akagi. "Miss Akagi, I don't think your surname is Akagi, is it? Changing surnames is something you should consider after marriage, you know?"

"Ah!" Ryoko Akagi jumped at his words, her cheeks visibly reddening.

On television, Hideo Akagi laughed heartily and waved his fist at the camera. "Get well soon! I'm waiting for you on the field, Naoki!"

Conan was pulled along by Tang Ze, looking back repeatedly. He saw Uemura Naoki collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down his face, muttering "idiot, fool..." He hesitated and asked, "Do we really not need to call the police?"

Tang Ze shrugged. "No one was really hurt anyway. Let the victims decide whether to call the police or not. That's their own choice. I'm not the type to pursue procedural justice, sorry, little detective."

Conan opened his mouth to retort, but then remembered Tang Ze's own experience of being framed and didn't know how to persuade him.

"Hurry up and go," Tang Ze grabbed the dawdling Conan. "If we don't leave quickly before they react, what if they charge us for the door?"

Is that the first thing you thought of? Conan's eyebrows twitched as Tang Ze carried him downstairs.

"Let me down!" Conan struggled out of Tang Ze's grasp and landed on the ground. "I only look like a child, don't treat me like an elementary schooler!"

"It's just more convenient this way..." Tang Ze coughed twice, suppressing his laughter, and changed the subject. "You seem very surprised that I didn't call the police."

"It's rare for a detective to do something like this, isn't it?" Conan crossed his arms behind his head and walked with Tang Ze towards the street.

"That depends on personal views," Tang Ze said, putting his hands in his pockets. "The coffee shop I live in is called 'Poirot.' You probably know that's also a famous detective's name, right?"

"Hercule Poirot?" Conan, a fan of mystery novels, of course knew the classic character.

Tang Ze nodded. "Yes. You must have seen the famous 'Murder on the Orient Express,' right? What's your evaluation of its ending?"

'Murder on the Orient Express' is a classic work by Agatha Christie. In this work, Agatha Christie innovatively designed a murder case where all the suspects each completed a part of the crime. It was a blood feud by the victims against a villain that the law had failed to punish. Therefore, Poirot, after understanding the whole story, gave up revealing the truth and let the culprits go.

Conan opened his mouth, feeling that the question was a bit dangerous. Tang Ze seemed to be implying that he was a detective like Poirot who only cared about the truth and the justice of the outcome, and such a detective was, of course, still a detective. After a moment of consideration, he said cautiously, "I don't completely disagree with Poirot's choice, but defining justice by personal standards is also a form of arrogance that disregards justice."

Tang Ze wasn't just chatting with Conan about life views and values for no reason; he was preemptively warning him.

From now on, Conan would encounter various cases continuously. Some Tang Ze could prevent using his Phantom Thief methods, and some he could stop in time with his spoiler ability. However, inevitably, there would be murders that Tang Ze couldn't or didn't want to stop. Preparing Conan psychologically in advance could avoid many future arguments.

Tang Ze thought for a moment, wondering if there was a movie adaptation of 'Murder on the Orient Express' in this world. He slightly altered a movie line and said, "I realize that the scales of justice cannot always maintain balance, and I am learning to coexist with imbalance."