After school at Teitan Elementary School, Conan, with his backpack on, was preparing to return to the Mouri Detective Agency.
Just as he passed an intersection, a familiar figure skipped across the street.
"That's… Nekomiya Mana!"
Conan's spirits lifted. Ever since he parted ways with Nekomiya Mana last time, he had been thinking of using the Cunning Hares to gather information on the Black Organization.
But fate had other plans, he was constantly entangled in various cases and couldn't find an opportunity to investigate the Cunning Hares.
Now that he coincidentally ran into Nekomiya Mana, he had to seize this chance.
Conan jogged after her. When he saw Nekomiya Mana turn into a relatively secluded alley, he subconsciously lowered himself and hid in a corner piled with discarded cardboard boxes.
"Billy, both the 'compound pork' and 'plant-based meat' were successfully sent out this time! Mission accomplished! Aren't I amazing?" Nekomiya Mana stood with her hands on her hips, looking as if she was waiting for praise, her cat ears and tail excitedly twitching.
Billy grinned, wiggling his butt. "Excellent work, Kitty! Nicole-oyabun, said this order went very smoothly, and everyone will get a bonus. Also, we're having a dinner party tonight, with all the mackerel you can eat!"
"Really? Long live mackerel! Long live Boss Nicole!" Nekomiya Mana cheered joyfully.
Conan, who was eavesdropping from the shadows, was now drenched in sweat.
'Compound pork?! Plant-based meat?!'
Conan was completely bewildered. These two terms could only make him think of code words for underground drug transactions.
Compound pork referred to chemically synthesized drugs.
Plant-based meat referred to drugs extracted from plants.
What did Nekomiya Mana mean by "sent out"?
Wasn't the Cunning Hares a detective agency?!
Conan's little brain whirred, quickly coming up with a possible guess.
Perhaps Nekomiya Mana had lied to him before, and the Cunning Hares was not a detective agency at all! It was a drug trafficking gang!
The Cunning Hares's previous investigation of Director Tsugawa at the Beika Library wasn't for justice at all, but to seize Director Tsugawa's drug channels or inventory!
That's right, he was the one who called the police last time.
If he hadn't called the police, the Cunning Hares might have succeeded.
Conan gritted his teeth, a surge of anger at being deceived welling up inside him.
Watching Nekomiya Mana and Billy prepare to leave, Conan quickly calmed down and jogged around to the next intersection they would pass, pretending to squat down to tie his shoelace.
The moment Nekomiya Mana skipped past him, Conan flicked his finger, and a chewed piece of gum accurately stuck to the edge of Nekomiya Mana's sneaker.
Inside this piece of gum was a miniature tracking bug invented by the Professor.
After doing all this, Conan stood up nonchalantly, even pretending to be innocent as he waved hello to Nekomiya Mana, who looked his way. "Hello, Nekomiya-neechan!"
"Oh, it's you, big-headed elementary schooler! Bye-bye nya~!" Nekomiya Mana responded with an unsuspecting smile, skipping away with Billy.
Conan looked at the flashing GPS signal on his glasses and smirked.
He maintained a safe distance, tracking the signal from afar, crossing several streets.
Finally, the signal stopped in front of an old-looking apartment building.
Conan's pupils constricted slightly, and he muttered, "The most dangerous place is the safest place? How audacious!"
He had been to this old apartment building before, it was directly opposite the Beika Police Department, the hideout where Silver Fox manufactured counterfeit money during the last counterfeit money case.
Because of Silver Fox's arrest, the rent here reportedly dropped significantly. He didn't expect the Cunning Hares to snap it up and use it as their base.
He cautiously approached, using the eavesdropping function of his glasses, and clearly heard the conversation inside the room.
"Long live Boss Nicole! Bonus! Bonus! I'm going to buy essential oils for a full-body treatment."
"Big dinner tonight! I want to eat ten portions of mackerel!"
"I want a burger…"
"Alright, alright, quiet down everyone! Get ready, we're heading out for dinner!"
After a burst of noise, Conan heard the sound of a door closing and footsteps gradually fading away.
The members of the Cunning Hares had left.
This was his chance!
Conan quickly slipped to the door of the Cunning Hares.
He examined the lock and found it was a common pin tumbler lock.
This was no challenge for him. He pulled out two thin steel wires from his pocket and easily opened the door without damaging the lock.
Click.
With a soft sound, the lock sprang open.
Conan quickly slipped inside the room, gently closing the door behind him.
Then, he was dumbfounded.
The scene inside made even Conan, who was accustomed to crime scenes, struggle to maintain his composure.
There was hardly any space to step in the living room, as it was completely filled with gray snakeskin bags, piled layer upon layer, reaching up to the ceiling.
The sheer quantity was astonishing!
"This… how much could this be?!" Conan's heart pounded, a bad premonition forming.
He immediately stepped forward and casually opened the seals of several snakeskin bags.
The first bag: inside were colorless crystals resembling rock candy, with uniform particles.
The second bag: inside were a large number of brightly colored small pills.
The third bag: inside was dry tea, pressed into brick shapes.
Conan's face instantly turned pale.
Aside from the tea leaves in the third bag, the contents of the first two bags had very typical appearances.
Methamphetamine! Yaba!
He made a preconceived judgment.
"This much quantity, it's practically a super drug den!"
Conan suppressed his shock and quickly checked the other rooms.
Like the living room, the other rooms were also filled with the same snakeskin bags.
Based on rough estimates of volume and density, this batch of goods from the Cunning Hares was conservatively estimated to be seven or eight tons.
This number made Conan feel dizzy.
This was a colossal case, enough to shake the entire Japanese police force!
His gaze fell on a computer in the corner of the living room.
He quickly walked over and found the computer was in standby mode. After putting on gloves, he gently wiggled the mouse, the screen lit up, and there was no password.
He quickly clicked on the chat history on the computer desktop, choosing the most recent one.
[Buyer A]: Is your "rock candy" pure?
[AAA Gentle Home]: Guaranteed, brother, we only sell premium rock candy, but not individually. It's only sold bundled with tea. Additionally, we will include a rock candy appraisal certificate, guaranteeing 100% rock candy, 8000 yen per gram, fair price for all!
[Buyer A]: Professional! Just hearing you talk, it's professional! Worth it! So worth it! This is much cheaper than what's on the market! Give me 50 kilograms!
[AAA Gentle Home]: OK! We will send it cash-on-delivery. If you're not satisfied, you can directly refuse to accept it.
"8000 yen per gram?!"
Conan's eyes nearly popped out.
What kind of rock candy could sell for 8000 yen per gram?!
It was confirmed! The Cunning Hares was indeed trafficking drugs!
And the Cunning Hares was selling hundreds of kilograms at a time. How many people would this harm?