Kano Shuuji was even more bewildered: "???" *Even the fact that I haven't spent a single yen has been exposed? Is this guy... has he been watching me all along?!* Thinking this, a chill ran down his spine. Although he'd heard rumors that Beika Batman had eyes everywhere in Beika and that no crime escaped him, experiencing it firsthand... *I didn't think it was actually true!*
Seeing Kano Shuuji didn't reply, Fujino frowned. He naturally didn't know what the other person was thinking, only that this guy was still feeling bad about his money. Right, five hundred million yen is no small sum. A simple threat probably wouldn't be enough. Thinking this, Fujino decided to add a little leverage. He extended his wrist blade, embedding it in the ground in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "Now you have three choices. First, give me a cut, and I'll consider letting you go. Second, I beat you up, then you tell me where the money is hidden, and finally, I send you to the police station... And for the third one, well, you should understand based on my mood."
Kano Shuuji: "..." *Are you sure there are three choices? This is clearly multiple choice with only one right answer! Putting aside the second option where I get beaten up, which is even worse than the first. The third one is clearly a death sentence, isn't it?! Based on your mood, if you're in a bad mood, even if it's not a direct death, it's bad!* Kano Shuuji looked at the silver glinting blade in front of him, swallowed, and hesitantly said, "I choose the first one!"
"A very wise choice." Fujino pulled out his wrist blade. "Alright, tell me, where did you hide the money?"
"I can take you there to get it." Kano Shuuji looked at Fujino, hesitating again. "Are you sure you'll let me go if I give you the money?"
"I always keep my promises." Fujino didn't give a direct answer, just replied simply. *Of course, I said I'd *consider* it if you gave me the money, I didn't say I'd definitely let you go. If you misunderstood, that's not my problem.*
"The money is at my house." Kano Shuuji seemed to have grasped an opportunity and quickly said, "As long as you untie me and come back with me to get the money, I'll hand it over to you." Even though it seemed highly unreliable, Kano Shuuji still guided Fujino back to his house, as he didn't really have any other choice.
...
After untying himself, Kano Shuuji quickly went to the washitsu in his house. He pushed aside the Buddhist altar in the corner of the washitsu, revealing a secret space underneath. He lifted the cover of the space, and what came into view were several large boxes. Also, next to the large boxes, there was a fully automatic handgun loaded with magazines. This handgun was something he had acquired back then. The purpose was to prevent someone from discovering his secret one day. At that time, he could use this handgun to catch the person off guard. He didn't expect to actually use it today... Kano Shuuji looked back, making sure Beika Batman hadn't followed him closely, then he stuffed the handgun into his back pocket. After that, he took out the large boxes one by one. He swayed slightly as he carried the large boxes together to Fujino's front. "This is all the money."
"Is this all of it?" Fujino gave Kano Shuuji a meaningful look.
"Yes!" Kano Shuuji nodded in reply. "All five hundred fifty million yen is right here."
"I need to count it." Fujino quietly looked at the large boxes, then walked forward and began checking them using his system's balance function one by one. These three suitcases contained a total of five hundred forty-five million four hundred ninety thousand yen exactly. Clearly, it was less than five hundred fifty million. However, considering normal rounding, this amount was relatively normal. Fujino quietly added two hundred forty-four million yen to his system balance, then looked up at Kano Shuuji. "Hmm, five hundred fifty million yen is indeed all here. You're very honest."
"Um..." Kano Shuuji looked at Fujino's strange operation. "Are we square now?"
"The money is pretty much all here." Fujino put down the boxes. "But you really are honest, you haven't touched this money all these years."
Kano Shuuji looked a bit helpless. "After all, the bills have serial numbers. If I had spent it, I would have been found out quickly."
"Ah, I see..." Fujino looked closely at Kano Shuuji. "I thought it was because you felt guilty towards your old friend, and that's why you hadn't touched this money."
"Old friend?! What are you...?" Kano Shuuji was stunned again. Clearly, the 'old friend' was referring to Satou Masayoshi, the one he had killed eighteen years ago. But the other person knew even this level of detail... Since when...?
"The 'Sorrowful Thinker' was supposed to turn himself in, right?" Fujino snorted coldly. "But you really are heartless. After killing your own friend, you acted as if nothing happened... But anyway, you've already killed one person, so killing another wouldn't make a difference."
"Maybe there were reasons for it," Kano Shuuji lowered his head, seemingly feeling guilty, and even shed a crocodile tear. "Actually, I wasn't the one who killed him back then. When I tried to commit suicide, he pushed me away, allowing me to barely survive."
"Ignoring your savior's dying wish to turn yourself in, you barely hung on and lived until now." Fujino slowly walked towards Kano Shuuji. "Your real intention was to get this large sum of money abroad and live a life of luxury after the statute of limitations expired, right?"
"There's no need to say all this now, is there?" Kano Shuuji shook his head. "Anyway, we're square now... Saying all this is pointless."
"Oh?" Fujino's eyes narrowed slightly at that. "The gun in your pocket isn't saying that."
"...?" Kano Shuuji froze when he heard that, his eyes widening in disbelief. *The gun in my back pocket, when did he find out about it? I was deliberately keeping my front facing him the whole time...* Not thinking too much, seeing his little trick exposed, Kano Shuuji quickly reached for his pocket. But before he could succeed, Fujino reacted quickly and grabbed his wrist. "Did you really think I'd be at ease letting you go get the money alone?" Saying this, his hand tightened slightly. "Ultimately, you're just a bank robber. But honestly, you're really naive, trying to pull out a gun or something and shoot me after I turned around..."
"Gah!" As the pressure on his wrist increased, Kano Shuuji's face instantly went pale. "What are you...?"
"Only secrets can make secrets seem more mysterious," Fujino said, wagging a finger. "Although the previous matter is settled, this gun issue hasn't been sorted out. You should know the consequences, right?"
"..." Kano Shuuji swallowed, feeling a chill run down his spine.
...
The next day, 4:00 AM.
The Metropolitan Police Department received a strange phone call saying that 'Beika Batman's surprise gift box' had been delivered and to please sign for it promptly. The experienced operator immediately contacted the Criminal Investigation Division, and then Inspector Megure, Officer Satou, and a large group of other detectives were called in for temporary overtime. A large Cheetah Express delivery box was somehow placed at the entrance of the Metropolitan Police Department. The shipping label read: [Live Delivery, Contains a Surprise, Please Note the Extra Bonus Inside When Opening; by Beika Batman]. Officer Satou knew the result even before opening the blind box. When she opened it, she found Kano Shuuji, beaten until he had only two or three breaths left.
Aside from Kano Shuuji, there was also around three hundred million yen in cash inside. After a quick verification, the police found that the serial numbers on the three hundred million yen matched the money stolen back then. Only the amount... didn't match. Five hundred million yen was stolen, but only three hundred million came back, essentially cut in half. Aside from the half of the cash that was secretly kept, the surprise blind box also contained a carefully designed bat card. It read: [Kano Shuuji: Culprit of the 18-year-old bank robbery and the Sorrowful Thinker case. Spent three years overseas. Due to a typhoon, the statute of limitations has only one day left. Please note the time.] Besides the card, cash, and the half-dead culprit, there were also audio and video evidence attached inside. Very thoughtful. As for the two hundred million yen... well, that money was eighteen years old anyway. It didn't really matter if some of it was spent by the culprit, as long as most of the serial numbers matched. The police didn't pay it much mind. Their responsibility was to catch the culprit. As long as someone was there to take the blame, that was fine.
...
On the other side, Beika Park.
After teaching Kano Shuuji a lesson that night, Fujino went home and slept. After waking up and regaining his energy, he used the excuse of morning exercise to deliver Kano Shuuji to the Metropolitan Police Department. After a simple workout, Fujino sat on a park bench and quietly opened his system interface.
[Detective Profession Mission Detected: The culprit from 18 years ago + The series of arsons in Tokyo; Completed]
[System Reward: 5 million yen + 300 Detective Prestige has been issued!]
[Current Detective Prestige: 1450|1500]
[Current Balance: 281,070,000 yen]
[Congratulations Host, your balance has exceeded 100 million yen! System Title Acquired: (Talented and Wealthy - pun on "Talented and Skilled")]
[Talented and Wealthy Title: Passively provides Host with a 10% positive influence bonus]
"Two hundred million yen?" Fujino stared at his system balance, slightly stunned. He was surprised by his bulging wallet. Indeed, it proved that saying: to get rich overnight, you have to overtake others by taking a different path...
"Whew..." Fujino took a deep breath, calming his mood. Although it was expected, getting rich overnight truly felt exciting. After all, in normal understanding, this balance far exceeded the typical savings level of an average Japanese person. Take a detective supervisor, for example. With a salary of five to six million a year, it would take over fifty years without eating or drinking to save this much.
However, since he had such a huge sum of money on hand, he pulled back his thoughts and instead opened the system's gacha interface, immediately pressing the Profession Ball draw button.
[17,800,000 yen has been consumed for the Host]
[Current Balance: 263,270,000 yen]
Accompanied by streaks of light, the items drawn this time appeared on the system interface. At the same time, a system prompt echoed in Fujino's ears:
[Congratulations Host, you have obtained: Batman's Cloak (Purple) A Certain Phantom Thief's Glider x1 (Purple) High-Grade Strength Enhancement Card x2 (Purple) High-Grade Perception Enhancement Card x1 (Purple) High-Grade All-Around Enhancement Card x3 (Purple) Virtual Identity Card x1 (Purple) Otaku's Happy Water x1 (Blue) Electromagnetic Stun Baton x1 (Purple)...]
"No gold rarity this time..." Fujino sighed mournfully, looking at the items drawn on the system interface. This time, the twenty consecutive draws only gave him some enhancement cards and consumable items. But he wasn't too disappointed. After all, with money, your mindset changes. Compared to his two hundred million yen savings, just over ten million yen felt like a mere trifle. From this, he also saw the system's usual annoying behavior. As expected, it adjusts the offerings based on the person and plays with big data manipulation. Seeing that he had money, it went with the "robbing" approach. However, this draw was considered full value. After all, three practical things came out.
[A Certain Phantom Thief's Glider: A modified version of a certain phantom thief's glider, with a small propulsion device allowing the user to soar in the air.]
[Batman's Cloak: A black cloak that changes color based on the surroundings, a great tool for DIY players. It also provides extended air time and is similar in function to a glider, but can withstand high temperatures, freezing temperatures, certain explosive damage, and even large-caliber machine gun rounds (Note: Do not attempt to block missiles with the cloak).]
[Electromagnetic Stun Baton: An ordinary police baton, a non-lethal weapon that can cause harm and deliver electric shocks. It's designed to maximally hit people without killing them (Note: Do not stick it in water).]
These three items – two of them provided him with the missing ability to stay airborne. And the cloak could also be a useful defensive tool, which made it well worth it. However, what he liked the most was the stun baton. A wooden sword, while sturdy, was really impractical for knocking people out. The stun baton was just right. It could cause pain + physical damage while also including magic damage (electric shock). Using this to hit people, achieving the best effect couldn't be easier...
Pulling back his gaze, Fujino looked at his still relatively ample balance. Turning, he then looked towards his portable space. As for the portable space, it was currently a more practical item. Putting anything in it was super worthwhile... It's just that the upgrade price of ten million yen was as much as a Mid-Grade gacha draw. However, considering the expanded space, it was still quite worthwhile. Thinking this, Fujino upgraded his portable space. At the same time, the upgrade notification appeared on the system interface.
[8,900,000 yen has been consumed for the Host]
[Current Balance: 254,370,000 yen]
[Portable Space Upgraded!]
[Small Portable Space: Can store and retrieve items at any time. Current space size: 8x8x8 (meters). Next upgrade requires: 20,000,000 yen]
"With space this big, there'd be plenty of room even for my car, right?" Fujino stroked his chin. "Being able to fit a car certainly makes things a lot more convenient." After doing this, the system interface closed. Fujino leaned back against the park bench.
He tilted his head slightly, not planning to continue spending money on gacha. Spending two hundred million yen all at once would definitely look like squandering money, and spending it all was actually a very uneconomical way to consume. Rich people play the game of investing and compounding interest. With this much money, while it might not be enough to start a company, at the very least it's enough to casually buy a villa... Thinking of a villa, Fujino suddenly seemed to remember something. If he remembered correctly, in the Conan world, there seemed to be a place called the Twilight Manor...
(End of Chapter)