Chapter 299: Acting (2in1)

"Are you sure that the blond big brother really saw the criminal?"

After listening to Genta's account of the incident, Conan, who had noticed something off about the blond man's behavior, asked again to confirm.

"It seems like it..."

Upon further questioning, Genta became somewhat uncertain. He scratched his head and said, "I was really sleepy at the time... but I remember seeing the robber, and that blond big brother was probably right next to me, so he must have seen too... But when I came to my senses, he was already sitting beside me."

"Was the robber still around?" Senichi asked.

"It seems like he was... or maybe he wasn't..." Genta looked at the ceiling awkwardly, clearly aware that this response was almost as good as saying nothing at all.

"Honestly, Genta, try to remember where you saw the robber!" Mitsuhiko's face showed concern. "It's a matter of your safety and your family's!"

"Even if you say that... I can't remember..." Genta sighed and looked distressed.

"Well... since Genta had a seat, and he was really tired... could it have been in a movie theater?"

"Or maybe on the train?" Mitsuhiko and Ayumi speculated about the location, but neither suggestion jogged Genta's memory.

"This is troublesome... If we had known that the criminal already had information about you, we should have had Officer Senichi hide instead of openly meeting us like this," Haibara furrowed her brow and surveyed their surroundings. "If the previous criminal had been following Genta, there's a good chance he would have seen us call Officer Senichi... In such a situation, to avoid exposing himself, he might try to harm Genta..."

"Don't worry, if that's the case, we just need to apprehend the criminal before that happens."

Facing Haibara's concerns, Senichi reassured her with calm and confident words, inadvertently instilling a sense of trust in her. This quickly alleviated Haibara's worries.

"Yes, Officer Senichi is here, and with Conan, the two of them working together will surely be fine."

With this thought, Haibara felt relieved and then turned to Genta, saying, "So, are there any other clues? Think carefully, even the smallest details can help!"

"I remember the robber was left-handed because I saw him smoking with his left hand! I told Mr. Police about this..."

Genta pondered with his chin in hand and continued, "And... the criminal seemed to be wearing a strange T-shirt... The T-shirt was entirely black, with a white skull pattern on it."

"Ah!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Genta immediately shouted and pointed at a young man nearby holding a tray of food. "It's that kind of T-shirt! The one this big brother is wearing is exactly the same as the one I saw!"

"Could you be the robber who tried to assassinate Genta!?"

Mitsuhiko pointed at the bystander, leaving the man utterly baffled.

"It's probably not him..." Genta scratched his head with a troubled expression. "Although the skull design on the shirt is identical, the lettering on the forehead part is different. It's not '1999' but '202'!"

"Sorry about that, kid. I apologize for the trouble caused by the misunderstanding."

Senichi patted Mitsuhiko on the head and then asked, "By the way, do you happen to remember where you bought this T-shirt?"

"Oh, this T-shirt?" The young man with the cap pondered for a moment and replied, "I bought it at a clothing store next to the station called 'BONES.'"

"Then let's go. We should check out the store next to the station." Senichi stood up and signaled for the kids to follow as they left the hamburger restaurant, heading toward the T-shirt store that the passerby had mentioned.

Unfortunately, the T-shirt they were looking for was incredibly popular because it was the time leading up to the millennium, and the trend of doomsday scenarios had swept the world. So, there were countless T-shirts with skull designs and phrases like "1999," "HELP," "ESCAPE," and other apocalyptic themes.

And now, those T-shirts are out of production, so they can't remember which customers bought them.

"Ah... what a wasted trip," Mitsuhiko said as he looked at Genta. "At least, Genta, if you could remember where exactly you saw the criminal..."

"Genta, are you sure it wasn't on the train or in the cinema?" Ayumi asked once more.

"That's unlikely, after all, both of those places you mentioned are non-smoking," Conan directly refuted Ayumi's guess.

"Could it have been in a family restaurant or a diner?" Mitsuhiko looked at Genta. "People tend to get drowsy after eating..."

"That's right, it must be like that! Someone like Genta would definitely start dozing off after eating," Ayumi confidently declared.

"But I don't remember eating anything," Genta countered confidently. "If I had eaten something, I definitely wouldn't forget it! Moreover, when I was watching him, he didn't eat at all; he was just smoking and reading a newspaper."

"You can remember these trivial details, but you can't recall the location?!" Mitsuhiko chastised Genta upon hearing his words.

"What can I do if I don't remember?" Genta looked at Mitsuhiko with frustration.

"It's a bit strange... Genta said he was watching the person closely, and in such a situation, most people would react in some way, even if it's just getting angry," Haibara pondered with a furrowed brow.

"Did the person glare at you or something?" Ayumi quickly asked.

"No, it's like he didn't even see me; there was no feeling of making eye contact at all," Genta said with a troubled expression.

And it was precisely this casual remark that made Senichi instantly have a realization, like a lightning bolt flashing through his mind.

I see!

It's like this!

A skull with the letter "202," left-handed, and no matter how closely Genta stared at him, it felt like the person didn't even notice him...

Perhaps Genta saw that person there!

Lowering his gaze to Conan, he saw that Conan was also wearing a knowing smile, clearly having unraveled the puzzle and now knowing where Genta had witnessed the criminal!

The two exchanged a glance, nodded to each other, and then Senichi followed them for a few more steps, before stopping with a helpless sigh. He said, "Genta, if you don't have any other clues, there are other things I need to attend to."

"Well then, Officer Senichi, you go ahead with your work!" Before the other kids could speak, Conan quickly chimed in with a smile. "We'll contact you if we come up with any leads!"

"Alright, let's do it this way. I have some other matters to attend to," Senichi waved his hand and bid farewell to the group.

"Conan-kun, why did you make Officer Senichi leave?" Mitsuhiko couldn't help but speak up as he watched Senichi walk away.

"Yeah, now that Officer Senichi is gone, it could be dangerous if the criminal shows up and Genta can't remember," Ayumi added, her face filled with concern.

"There's no other choice. Officer Senichi also has things to do," Conan shrugged helplessly. "Besides, Genta really can't recall anything, and we can't keep Officer Senichi here with us school kids, wasting his time."

"Well, I guess you're right..."

"It's true..."

Hearing this, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi nodded in resignation. Meanwhile, Conan took out his phone, revealing a mischievous smile. "Don't be so down. Let me show you something fun."

"Something fun?"

Curious, the others gathered around as Conan tapped his phone's keyboard and said, "Hmm? Why can't I find it? Just give me a moment."

After a few taps on his phone's screen, the kids burst into laughter.

"How is it?" Conan nudged Genta. "Did I get it right? It's pretty funny, isn't it?"

"That's right! It's exactly like that!" Genta nodded vigorously. "You're amazing, Conan!"

As the five of them continued to chat and walk, Conan and Haibara eventually stopped and bid farewell to the three kids. "Well, we're heading this way now. See you tomorrow!"

"Don't forget, if you find anything, remember to contact Officer Senichi promptly," Haibara reminded them, waving her hand.

"We got it. See you tomorrow," Genta nodded obediently, and the three of them waved goodbye to Conan and Haibara.

"Where exactly did you see the robber, Genta?"

With only the three of them left, Mitsuhiko was still deep in thought, and Ayumi occasionally chimed in.

But even though the two of them were actively brainstorming, Genta, who was the supposed protagonist, had long since lost interest in the conversation. By the time the other two realized it, Genta was already drooling in front of an ice cream shop.

"It's really like him, always so greedy..." Mitsuhiko shook his head helplessly.

"If you keep this up, Genta, you'll just get fatter and fatter!" Ayumi laughed as she watched Genta enjoy his ice cream.

"It doesn't matter how I turn out, I just love to eat..." Genta replied nonchalantly to Mitsuhiko and Ayumi's comments.

However, it seemed he was eating too quickly, as his mouth was now smeared with ice cream. Ayumi pointed at his mouth and said, "Haha, Genta, you ate too fast; you've got ice cream on your mouth."

Hearing this, Genta quickly wiped his mouth, but as he looked at the ice cream in his hand, he seemed lost in thought.

"What's wrong, Genta?"

"Did you suddenly remember an important clue?"

Mitsuhiko and Ayumi couldn't help but ask when they saw Genta seemingly recalling something.

"It's nothing," Genta casually waved his hand.

"Alright then, I'm off~ Bye~" Mitsuhiko also waved at the intersection and bid farewell to the two.

"Sizzle, sizzle, slurp! Sizzle, sizzle, gulp~~"

Accompanied by the sound of sizzling as high heat evaporated water and oils, the aroma of barbecue wafted under Genta's nose.

"So delicious!"

Genta sniffed the air and quickly turned his head to locate the source of the enticing smell.

Watching passersby in front of a food stall buying lots of delicious food, Genta's mouth started watering instantly.

(ˉ﹃ˉ) *slurp*

"My stomach suddenly growled..."

Hearing this, Ayumi looked at Genta, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation. "But you just had an ice cream a moment ago..."

"But I'm hungry now!" Genta insisted. He seemed to be lured by the aroma once again, turning his head to discover a French restaurant.

"F-French cuisine..."

Seeing that Genta was practically glued to the spot, Ayumi quickly pushed him forward, rescuing him from the abyss of hunger.

After all, going hungry because you can't afford food is a form of torment.

However, just as she had pushed Genta a couple of steps forward, she didn't expect him to have a contemplative expression as he stared at the French restaurant's door, where the tricolor flag of France was proudly displayed.

"Red, white, blue..."

"What's wrong, Genta?" Ayumi raised her head, puzzled by Genta's gaze at the French flag. "What about that French flag?"

"It feels so familiar..." Genta scratched his head. "Ayumi, think about whether we've seen these similar colors somewhere before."

"Hmm... Conan's outfit matches these three colors: a blue suit jacket, a red bowtie, and a white shirt..." Ayumi looked at the tricolor flag of France and subconsciously recalled Conan's attire.

"W-What!! Did you witness Conan as the criminal!?" Ayumi asked in a panic.

"How could that be!" Genta responded irritably. "Conan wouldn't commit a robbery, and besides, that person was clearly an adult."

"But it's strange; I keep feeling like those three colors on the flag have been spinning in my head..."

"Really?" Ayumi exclaimed with excitement. "Does that mean you remember where you saw the robber?"

"Not really..."

"Well, if you do remember, be sure to call Officer Senichi," Ayumi waved her hand. "I'm heading this way. See you tomorrow. And don't go wandering around, go home quickly."

"Oh, you're so naggy!" Genta awkwardly shouted and then waved at Ayumi. "See you tomorrow."

With a hint of frustration, Genta put his hands in his pockets and muttered, "Geez, Ayumi always talks about my body like that."

Leaning against a shop's mirror, Genta observed his reflection and said, "I'm not as fat as Ayumi makes me out to be..."

"Ah!!"

But as he continued to look at himself, Genta suddenly realized something, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "I remembered! It was there! At the station building, on the seventh floor... right in front of the elevator..."

With an anxious and frantic expression, Genta immediately started running towards the elevator doors in the building. Seeing that the doors were about to close with a man and a woman inside, he yelled urgently, "Wait! Don't close the doors!"

"What floor are you going to, little brother?" a stylishly dressed woman in the elevator asked as Genta ran inside while gasping for breath.

"To, to the seventh floor..." Genta replied, panting. But just as the elevator doors were about to close, they were held open by a hand and slowly pushed back.

"Oh, isn't this the little brother from last time?" A man with a large blond crewcut, standing outside the gradually opening elevator doors, looked at Genta with a mischievous smile. "What a coincidence."

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