After waiting for more than twenty seconds, the other side of the phone slowly picked up.
"Hey...who is it?"
Hearing this voice, Qin Zhibo frowned immediately.
The other party's voice was very lazy and slightly rough, sounding like he had just experienced a hangover.
Qin Zhibo first signaled Hiroki Sawada to start tracking the signal source, and then said.
"Hello, I am the parent of a high school detective who was invited by your program "Detective Koshien". I would like to ask you what the specific arrangements are for your program."
"Parents?"
The person on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, then hesitated for a while before asking: "Which high school student detective are you the parent of?"
This reaction speed made Qin Zhibo even more suspicious.
But he continued to talk, buying Hiroki Sawada more time for phone tracking.
"It's Baima Tan's parents."
"Bai, White Horse Detective..."
As if he had realized something, the other party's voice finally became more energetic, "Okay! Is Hakuba-san back from London?"
"Yeah, but his time is tight, so I'll contact the program team first..."
At this moment, the Q version of Sawada Hiroki on the laptop screen made an "OK" gesture and had already located the opponent's specific location on the map.
Qin Zhibo did a general scan and found that the signal location was within Tokyo, and could be reached in less than half an hour by car.
At this time, the person on the other end of the phone seemed unaware and was still introducing the program schedule.
"That's it. We will contact other high school detectives first, and then arrange a day to record the program. After all, we don't want to delay the studies of all the students..."
"That's it for now, I'll start making arrangements right now!"
The other party hung up the phone furiously.
On the other side of the phone, Qin Zhibo and Sera Masumi, who was listening in, looked at each other.
If this is a member of the organization, then...
This person's acting skills are also very good.
Whether it's the lazy feeling of being hungover, or the excitement of knowing that you can start preparing for filming.
Could it be that the opposite person is someone with acting skills like Bermod?
Or is it Belmod?
"Uncle, what should I say?" Shiliang Zhenchun asked Qin Zhibo for his idea.
Qin Zhibo glanced at the tracked address on the computer screen. Since he already had the address, there was no reason not to go.
"Let's go and see who the other party is."
…
Twenty minutes later, a red convertible Mustang parked on the street in front of an apartment building.
This is the signal location tracked by Hiroki Sawada.
Qin Zhibo did not get out of the car immediately, but sat in the car and observed the apartment building opposite.
To be honest, it was quite disappointing, and even made Qin Zhibo wonder if this was a trap set by the other party using anti-tracking methods.
This is not a high-rise apartment, but an old-fashioned single apartment, similar to the Trojan Horse Village next door to Dr. Ali's house.
The most notable features of such an apartment are poor sound insulation, small space, and relatively old decoration, so the rent is relatively cheap.
No one with a moderate social status would live in a place like this.
If members of the organization live in such a place, it can only be said that the organization's funds are no longer enough, and it is not far from destruction.
Of course, this is unlikely.
"I'll go down first to inquire. You stay here and don't leave."
After making sure there were no sniper ambush around, Qin Zhibo got out of the car and came to the courtyard of the apartment.
In the relatively messy courtyard, there are some men's clothes still dripping with water hanging, there is a flowerbed with nothing planted in the corner, and a red Suzuki car is parked.
The only experience the entire environment gave Qin Zhibo was a sense of relaxation.
Qin Zhibo first walked through the corridor in front of the first floor and found nothing unusual.
He then went to the second floor through the iron staircase. The door number of the first house at the corner had a familiar surname.
Hammer tail.
This is the surname left by the TV producer who invited White Horse Detective.
I have to say that these Japanese surnames are really arbitrary.
Mali is a mallet, which itself means idiot.
If you add "tail" at the end, you are an idiot among idiots. How can a person be a good person?
Qin Zhibo looked at the bright and upright house number in front of him. Faced with this incredible success, he felt a little hesitant in his heart.
Isn't this really a trap?
Just to be on the safe side, it’s better to check what’s inside.
Qin Zhibo retreated to the other side of the door, placed the [Guard Totem] into the room, and then closed his eyes.
When his vision connected with the spider in the room, he saw a man changing clothes in front of the full-length mirror.
The man's body is slightly swollen, and Dr. Ali has the same hairstyle, but the baldness is not as serious.
Whether it is his personal appearance or the interior style of the room, he is a typical middle-aged sloppy uncle.
However, the clothes he was changing in front of the dressing mirror aroused Qin Zhibo's interest.
It was a work uniform from a Japanese TV station. The overall color was green, and the Japanese TV station's logo was embroidered on the back.
The man was wearing a TV station uniform and posing in front of the mirror in various styles, looking very satisfied.
But Qin Zhibo felt that this dress didn't fit him at all, and the zipper around his belly could only be pulled up at best.
But this at least shows that there is no danger in the room, and that this man is the person who just talked to him on the phone.
Qin Zhibo withdrew his vision, came to the door of the room and knocked directly.
Dude, dunk, dunk.
After a few seconds, a shout came from behind the door.
"Who?"
"Hello, I'm checking the water meter."
"Water meter? But I just paid the water bill a few days ago..."
"Then it could be that your water meter secretly leaks water in the middle of the night. Can I check it?"
"Okay, wait a minute."
After waiting for a while, the sound of solid footsteps came from behind the slightly poorly soundproofed door.
Click.
As soon as the door opened a crack, Qin Zhibo pushed open the door, pinched the man's neck with one hand, rushed into the room, and closed the door with his backhand.
"Uh... you, what are you doing..."
The man stared in horror, and a few incoherent words came out of his throat with difficulty.
Qin Zhibo first tilted his head and glanced at the unobstructed view of the interior of the room, and then slightly relaxed his grip on his palms.
"Are you the program director of Nippon TV who just talked on the phone?"
"I……"
The man named Hammertail was hesitant. Although he didn't speak, he answered in disguise.
Qin Zhibo continued to press, "Who sent you to do this?"
"Ah...I..."
Hammertail's attitude hesitated again.
This instead proved that someone was indeed instigating him behind the scenes, and he was just hesitant to speak out.
A rookie who is so undecided and cowardly cannot be a member of the organization. He is not even qualified to be a grassroots member without a code name.
Seeing this situation, Qin Zhibo also had ideas for interrogation.
"You must have recognized my identity. My name is Qin Zhibo, and I am a detective."
"A big shot entrusted me to investigate you, and you must have heard of that big shot, because he is his son who you personally found."
Hammertail frowned, still not understanding.
Qin Zhibo continued: "The white horse detective you invited is the only son of the Japanese police chief."
Upon hearing this, Tsutsumi was startled for a moment, and then his eyes widened.
"Wha, what?!"
"Is it that Bai, Baima police chief?"
Although Hakuba's father is not a big star, he is the leader of the Japanese police and often appears on TV news, so many ordinary people have heard of him.
Qin Zhibo slowly loosened the collar of Zhuowei, but continued to threaten.
"So you used your identity as a TV director to deceive the son of the police chief. What was your intention?"
"If I add more details to your story and report it to that adult, I'm afraid you will be in Tokyo in the future..."
"No, it's just that it's hard to stay in Japan anymore."
"You're in trouble!"
Hearing this, Zhuowei knelt on the ground with a plop, bowed his hands repeatedly, and begged for mercy.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know that Detective White Horse was the son of the police chief!"
"If I knew, I wouldn't dare to touch Tai Sui even if I was given 10 million!"
Qin Zhibo looked at the hammer tail that had completely surrendered, and was a little surprised that the "Shangfang Sword" was so easy to use.
Looking again at the detailed information he had just investigated when he came into contact with Hammer Tail, he understood.
Hiroo Tsuchio, 41 years old, professional actor and associate professional thief.
It turns out it has three hands. No wonder I am so afraid of the police...
"Now that you understand the stakes involved, tell me everything you know."
"If it is found out that you are only being used by bad people, I will persuade that adult to be lenient to you..."
Upon hearing this, Tsutsumi's eyes immediately shone with hope, "Yes, yes, yes!"
"I will definitely tell you everything I know!"
…
Next, Qin Zhibo and Tsuchio sat cross-legged on the tatami in the room and calmly recounted what happened.
Tsutsumi's job is to be a supporting actor in a small local theater troupe.
One day, he received a letter claiming to be the director of a television station and asking him to pretend to be the director to prepare for filming a TV show called "Detective Koshien".
If the fake identity is not discovered during the process, there will be a reward of 500,000 yen; even if it is discovered, as long as you persist, you will receive a reward of 250,000 yen.
Tsuchio was living in a tight situation, so in order to make money, he decided to participate in this plan.
"This is the plan that was mailed with the envelope at that time. Everything I did was in accordance with the instructions above, so this matter really has nothing to do with me!"
"Whether it matters or not, I will decide on my own."
Qin Zhibo took the bag containing the planning book. There were several pages of printing paper inside, and above was a program planning book printed by the printer.
The content includes preliminary personnel invitations, as well as later shooting locations and shooting plans.
Qin Zhibo took a quick glance and found that, as Chuiwei said, the four famous detectives invited had already been decided in the plan.
Eastern representative, White Horse Detective.
Western representative, Hattori Heiji.
Representative from the north, Tokijin Junzai.
Representative from the south, Nanatsuki Yuesui.
Logistics support personnel, Jiagu Liansan.
Each person's name is followed by contact information.
But for Qin Zhibo, apart from Hakuba Tan and Hattori Heiji, who were familiar with him, the other three people had never heard of them.
Qin Zhibo continued to ask, "Who have you contacted among these people so far?"
"Except for White Horse Detective, everyone else has already been contacted and has agreed to shoot."
Tsutsumi explained dejectedly, "But because the director stipulated that everyone must be present before filming can start, so the filming never started..."
Qin Zhibo: "How do you usually contact that person?"
Hammertail shook his head, "There has been no contact between us, and there is no need for contact."
"The letter said that I just need to prepare according to the plan and then bring everyone to the island to participate in the filming."
"In order to ensure the confidentiality of the filming of the program, after arriving on the island, I can contact the program team through the island's radio to inquire about the next filming plan."
Qin Zhibo glanced at the follow-up to the plan, and it was indeed mentioned that the filming would take place on an uninhabited island not far from Tokyo Port.
"Then how are you sure this man's plan isn't a prank?"
Tsuchio replied: "Because there is 50,000 yen mailed along with this plan, which is the filming fund provided by the other party."
"I used the money to find someone to order a set of work clothes for a Japanese TV station, and I also negotiated the price with the boatman at the port..."
Worried that Qin Zhibo wouldn't believe it, Tsuiwei also showed off the Japanese television station uniform.
Qin Zhibo just glanced at this suit and discovered a very big problem.
In addition to the rough workmanship, the swirl pattern on the head of the rat logo on the back of the clothes is reversed from the original direction.
Qin Zhibo had just come out of the Rimai TV building, so he was quite impressed by this pattern.
In this way, it seems that what Tsutsumi said is indeed true.
As for the "mysterious person" who asked him to cooperate, he was probably not someone from the organization, let alone the director of the Japanese TV station, but someone in the plan.
This routine is very similar to the Twilight Annex incident. The inviter is least likely to be discovered when he is hidden among the invitees.
Qin Zhibo picked up the plan book again and stared at the list of program invitees above.
There are two points worth wondering about in the list.
Kudo Shinichi, the "Japanese police savior", is obviously more famous in the east, but the candidate invited by the "program" is Detective Hakuba.
Secondly, even the logistics support personnel were specifically named, and this person had to be invited before filming could begin.
Generally speaking, the person who is forcibly added is likely to be the initiator of the mysterious party.
But if Kabutani Renzo was the initiator, there would be no need for him to hire Tsutsumi, because with one more insider, the secret of the false shooting would be more easily exposed.
And judging from the fact that the invited people are high school detectives, there is a high probability that the inviter is also a high school detective himself, so it is more likely that they have interacted with each other.
In other words, the initiator of this party is one of the high school detectives.
Excluding old acquaintances Hattori Heiji and Hakuba Tan, the only ones left are Tokizu Junya and Koshizui Nanatsuki.
But what motive do these two people have to invite other high school student detectives?
Qin Zhibo continued to read the contents of the plan, which stated that Tsuiwei and the invited Renzo Kotani were going to stage a play in a house on an uninhabited island.
The general content is that Hammertail plays the victim and is tied behind his back in a room, and the entire room must meet the conditions to form a secret room.
The winner of Detective Koshien will be the person who solves the mystery the fastest and gives the answer to Koshitani Renzo.