5: Chapter 5 The Unexpected windfall: The Italian gold coin incident

Days flowed like the waters of Beika Town, seemingly calm on the surface but with undercurrents surging beneath.

Lin Long's office gradually gained some fame. President Tanifuji's promotion was indeed effective; many people came to his door based on the reputation of "quickly finding missing pets" and "finding old neighbors' addresses." Most commissions were trivial matters, but they were steady and enough for Lin Long to maintain a facade of peace.

Beneath that peace, the Shadow Guards never ceased their actions.

In these few weeks, many more cases occurred in Beika Town: a councilman's secretary embezzling public funds, a jewelry store theft, a celebrity being harassed by sasaeng fans... Lin Long had the Shadow Guards intervene selectively, quietly absorbing the malice black qi each time without exposing themselves.

In just half a month, the numbers on the system panel had jumped to a staggering level:

[Current malice black qi: 7620 points.]

[Number of Shadow Guards available for summon: 8.]

[Distance to unlocking "Shadow Sharpshooter" (requires 5000 malice black qi + 100 Soul Points): Conditions met. Unlock now?]

"Unlock."

Lin Long sat in his executive chair, lightly tapping the virtual panel with his fingertip.

[Ding! Shadow Sharpshooter has been unlocked. Current number available for summon: 2.]

As the notification sound faded, two brand-new surges of energy poured into Lin Long's body. Unlike the pure stealth of the Shadow Guards, the Shadow Sharpshooter's energy carried a sharp edge, as if it could pierce through any obstacle. With a thought, two black figures slightly more slender than the Shadow Guards rose from the shadows. They held shortbows condensed from shadow energy, with faint blue energy arrows notched on the strings, and their gazes were even sharper than those of the Shadow Guards.

"Not bad."

Lin Long nodded with satisfaction. With the Shadow Sharpshooters, his long-range suppression capabilities had significantly improved, giving him more confidence when dealing with armed thugs.

Just then, Shadow One, hidden outside the window, sent information—not text, but a real-time video feed.

In the video, Conan Edogawa and the children of the Detective Boys were walking down a secluded alley. Genta held a freshly bought bowl of eel rice, eating until his mouth was covered in oil

; Mitsuhiko and Ayumi were huddled together, studying a treasure map they had picked up from somewhere; Conan walked at the back, his brow slightly furrowed, seemingly on guard.

In the shadows at the corner of the alley, three men in trench coats with fierce eyes were staring intently at them, whispering to each other. Although the content was inaudible, the undisguised greed and impatience could be felt even through the screen.

[Strong malice black qi detected: 320 points per person, totaling 960 points.]

Looking at the faces of the three men, Lin Long suddenly found them familiar. He searched his memory for the plot of Conan and quickly made the connection—weren't these the three robbers from the "Italian Gold Coins Incident"?

In the story, these three robbers from Italy had stolen a batch of gold coins. During their escape, they hid the coins and drew a treasure map as a marker, which was accidentally found by the Detective Boys. They followed Conan and the others, hoping to take back the coins, but were eventually subdued by Conan's schemes, and the gold coins were recovered by the police.

"So it's them."

A playful smile curled at the corners of Lin Long's mouth. The value of those gold coins was not low; for him now, it could be considered a "windfall from the sky."

More importantly, the malice black qi on these three robbers was quite dense. Absorbing them might directly unlock the next enhancement for the Shadow Guards.

"Shadow One, track them and determine the location of the hidden gold coins."

Lin Long immediately issued the command, "Do not alert anyone, especially Conan and those children."

[Shadow One received.]

The screen switched to Shadow One's perspective, which acted like a high-precision tracker, closely following the three robbers. Conan seemed to have sensed being followed and deliberately led the Detective Boys in circles before finally entering an abandoned warehouse—the exact location marked on the treasure map.

The three robbers exchanged looks and quietly followed them inside.

Like a drop of water merging into the darkness, Shadow One slipped into the warehouse silently. The warehouse was large, filled with old wooden crates and iron drums, and the air was thick with the smell of rust and dust. Conan and the others were searching deep within the warehouse, Genta's loud voice echoing in the empty space:

"Where exactly are the gold coins hidden? Could they have been carried away by rats?"

"Stupid Genta, the gold coins are so heavy, how could a rat carry them?"

Mitsuhiko retorted.

Conan didn't join the bickering. He leaned against a pillar, appearing nonchalant, but the corner of his eye was constantly monitoring the entrance. He was certain the three followers had come in.

Meanwhile, Shadow One had already found the batch of gold coins in a broken wooden crate in a corner of the warehouse—wrapped in oilcloth, they were heavy, and the round outlines and metallic luster could be seen through the cloth.

"Found them."

Lin Long watched the screen, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. He was about to have Shadow One take the gold coins directly when a sudden flash of inspiration brought a mischievous idea to mind.

"Wait, Shadow One."

Lin Long stopped the Shadow Guard about to act, a mischievous grin curling his lips,

"Don't take the gold coins directly. Go to a nearby dessert shop and buy a batch of chocolates similar in size and shape to the gold coins, the golden ones wrapped in a layer of tin foil."

Shadow One's movements paused, as if trying to comprehend the instruction—though it lacked true "thought," it could sense the "unusualness" of this command.

"And then,"

Lin Long continued, struggling to suppress his laughter,

"replace the gold coins in the wooden crate with the chocolates. Move fast and leave no trace. Hide the swapped-out gold coins in the woods outside the warehouse first, and retrieve them after everything is over."

At this point, not just Shadow One, but even Lin Long himself felt this move was quite wicked. He could almost imagine the expressions on the faces of Conan and the three robbers when they finally found the "gold coins" only to discover they were a pile of chocolates.

[Shadow One obeys.]

In the video, Shadow One's figure vanished for a few minutes. When it reappeared, it held a bag filled with glittering chocolate gold coins.

It moved extremely fast, silently approaching the broken wooden crate. It unwrapped the oilcloth, poured out all the real gold coins, replaced them with the chocolates, rewrapped the oilcloth, and placed it back in its original spot.

The entire process was seamless; even the dust on the wooden crate was barely disturbed.

Shadow One packed the real gold coins into a cloth bag and silently transported them out of the warehouse, hiding them in a hollow tree in the woods outside and marking it with a stone.

Having done all this, Shadow One faded back into the shadows to continue monitoring the activities inside the warehouse.

Lin Long leaned back in his chair and opened the surveillance feed, ready to enjoy the "farce" he had personally directed.

Inside the warehouse, Conan finally confirmed the location of the treasure and pointed at the broken wooden crate, saying to the others:

"It should be in here."

Genta was the first to rush forward, forcefully lifting the lid of the wooden crate. Seeing the "gold coins" wrapped in oilcloth inside, he immediately cheered:

"Found them! There really are gold coins!"

Mitsuhiko and Ayumi also crowded around, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

Just then, the three robbers jumped out from the shadows, holding short clubs and shouting fiercely:

"Hand over the gold coins!"

"Wah! It's bad guys!" Ayumi cried out, hiding behind Conan in fear.

Genta, however, stiffened his neck and shouted:

"We found these! Why should we give them to you!"

"Cut the crap!" The lead robber stepped forward, reaching for the wooden crate.

Conan's eyes sharpened as he quietly pressed the button on his Stun-Gun Watch, while saying to Genta:

"Genta, use your 'finishing move'!"

Though scared, Genta instinctively complied and lunged at the robber. At the moment the robber's attention was drawn by Genta, Conan pulled the trigger, and an anesthetic needle accurately struck the lead robber's neck.

"Ugh..."

The robber swayed and fell flat on his face.

The other two robbers were stunned for a moment. Before they could react, they were hit by an iron drum kicked by Conan using his Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes. They fell to the ground screaming and soon lost consciousness as well.

The entire process was executed in one smooth motion, leaving the Detective Boys dumbfounded.

"Conan, you're amazing!" Ayumi said admiringly.

Conan gave a dry laugh, but inwardly he was muttering: These three robbers were too easy to beat. He stepped forward, picked up the oilcloth bundle containing the "gold coins," and weighed it. His brow furrowed slightly—it seemed a bit lighter than expected?

"Open it quickly! See if they're real gold coins!"

Genta said impatiently.

Conan unwrapped the oilcloth, revealing the glittering "gold coins" inside. He picked one up, weighed it in his hand, and scratched it with his fingernail—the tin foil was scratched open, revealing a dark brown "core."

"This is..."

Conan's expression changed bit by bit. He picked up the "gold coin" and sniffed it; a rich aroma of chocolate wafted into his nose.

"Chocolate?!"

Mitsuhiko and Ayumi cried out in unison.

Refusing to believe it, Genta picked up a "gold coin," popped it into his mouth, and bit down hard. Then he froze:

"It really is chocolate... and it's milk-flavored!"

Conan looked at the crate full of chocolate gold coins, his face turning as green as if he'd just been pulled from a swamp. He clearly remembered the treasure map was real, and the following robbers were real, so how did the gold coins turn into chocolate in the end? Had he made a mistake somewhere?

He knelt down and carefully inspected the wooden crate, then searched the entire warehouse, not even sparing the rat holes. But aside from this box of chocolates, he couldn't find even a trace of a gold coin.

"Damn it! Who did this?!"

Conan punched the ground, doubting his own reasoning for the first time.

Just then, the sound of sirens came from outside the warehouse. Inspector Megure arrived with his officers—evidently, Conan had called the police in advance using his Detective Badge.

"Conan! Are you all okay?"

Inspector Megure rushed into the warehouse. Seeing the three robbers lying on the ground and the bewildered Detective Boys, he immediately understood the gist of it. "Are these the robbers who were following you?"

"Yes."

Conan nodded and pointed at the box of chocolates, his tone complicated. "Inspector Megure, look at this..."

Inspector Megure stepped forward, picked up a chocolate gold coin, froze for a moment, and then burst into laughter:

"Hahaha! What's going on here? Did the robbers intentionally hide a box of chocolates just to mess with you?"

The officers also started laughing, and the atmosphere instantly lightened. The three robbers were woken up. Seeing the box full of chocolates, they were stunned at first, then began shouting frantically:

"Impossible! What we hid were gold coins! Real gold coins!"

But no matter how they argued, no one believed them. In the eyes of the police, this seemed more like a lie fabricated by the robbers to escape punishment.

"Alright, take them away."

Inspector Megure waved his hand, signaling the officers to take away the still-struggling robbers.

He turned around and looked at the dejected Detective Boys, especially Ayumi and Mitsuhiko, whose eyes were red. Feeling a bit sympathetic, he picked up a chocolate gold coin and said:

"While they aren't real gold coins, these chocolates look like they taste good. As a reward for discovering the robbers and reporting them to the police in time, these chocolates are for you!"

"Really?!"

Genta immediately cheered, grabbing several pieces of chocolate and stuffing them into his mouth, eating with great joy.

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko looked at each other and also took some chocolate. Although they were still a bit disappointed, receiving Inspector Megure's praise was a decent consolation. Only Conan, holding a piece of chocolate with a deep frown, felt that things weren't that simple.

Who had swapped the gold coins? And for what purpose?

He faintly felt that there was an invisible hand manipulating things behind the scenes, yet he couldn't find any clues.

...

In the Lins Information Consulting Office, Lin Long looked at Conan's "done with life" expression on the surveillance screen and Genta clutching the chocolates with a silly grin, and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"This is too interesting..."

He wiped away the tears from laughing. "This was worth it; not only did I get the gold coins, but I also got to see a good show."

Shadow One had already retrieved the real gold coins hidden in the woods and placed them on the table in front of Lin Long.

The oilcloth was unwrapped, revealing the glittering gold coins inside, engraved with Italian text and shining with an alluring metallic luster.

Lin Long picked one up and weighed it, playing with it in his hand with great interest. The total value of this batch of gold coins was conservatively estimated to be over tens of millions of yen.

[Strong negative emotions (rage, despair) detected from the robbers due to the gold coins being swapped. malice black qi available for absorption: 680 points.]

The system notification sounded again, and the number on the panel jumped to 8300 points.

"Not bad, another unexpected windfall."

Lin Long was in a great mood. He put the gold coins into a secret room. "Shadow One, continue monitoring the movements of those three robbers to see if they have any accomplices."

[Shadow One received.]

Lin Long stretched and walked to the window, watching the sky gradually darken outside. The figures of the Detective Boys had already disappeared around the corner. Before leaving, Conan had looked back at the abandoned warehouse with eyes full of confusion.

"Keep guessing, kid."

Lin Long shook his head with a smile. A prank of this level was just a small interlude in his long-term plan.

His gaze turned toward the city's night view in the distance, where the lights were brilliant but also hid countless evils.

The gold coins incident was just a beginning. With the unlocking of the Shadow Sharpshooters and the accumulation of malice black qi, there was much more he could do.

For example, investigating the movements of the Black Organization. For example, unlocking more powerful Shadow Trooper Corps. For example, making the Lins Information Consulting Office a presence in Beika Town that no one dared to underestimate.

Lin Long picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number—it was an underground bank he had contacted before. He needed to exchange this batch of gold coins for cash and deposit it into a legal account.

"Hello, it's me. Help me process a batch of 'goods.' The price is negotiable..."

A respectful response came from the other end of the line. Lin Long hung up, his smile deepening.

As the night deepened, the lights of the Lins Information Consulting Office were unremarkable among the many buildings, yet they were like a quietly planted seed, waiting to break through the soil in the darkness and grow into a towering tree that would blot out the sky.