Chapter 20 19. Giants and Phantom Thieves

On a certain afternoon about half a month after the Art Castle incident, a cute boy stood in the crowd on the platform of Tokyo Station. That was Yoshio Kobayashi.Readers are already familiar with the wise detective's young assistant. Kobayashi was wearing a well-ironed dark blue student uniform with a stand-up collar and a coat of the same color, a peaked cap that suited him well, and a pair of shiny shoes that creaked as he walked up and down the platform.He was holding a rolled up newspaper.Reader, there is a story in this paper of an astonishing plot by Twenty Faces, but we shall save that for a moment.

The reason why Kobayashi boy came to Tokyo Station was to meet his teacher Kogoro Akechi.The famous detective really came back from Manchuria this time. Zhizhi was invited to Manchuria to participate in the resolution of a major incident. The case was handled beautifully, and this time he returned home triumphantly.Originally, units such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Army should send a large number of people to welcome them, but Zhi Zhi hated that kind of ostentatious behavior the most. Tell the family when he is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo.Moreover, Mrs. Zhizhi never picks him up. According to the usual practice, it is Xiao Lin who comes forward.

Kobayashi looked at his watch frequently.In five minutes, the train on which Mr. Sensible, whom he had been thinking about day and night, would arrive at the station.The master and apprentice have not seen each other for almost three months.The infinite nostalgia made him feel extremely excited. Suddenly returning to his senses, a noble gentleman approached Xiao Lin with a smile and a slight smile. The gentleman was wearing a large warm mouse-gray coat, holding a rattan cane, gray beard and hair, and a pair of tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses on his shiny and chubby face.Although this person smiled warmly at him, Xiao Lin didn't know him at all.

"Couldn't you be Mr. Wise's subordinate?" The gentleman asked in a thick and soft voice. "Yes, I am..." Seeing the surprised face of the boy, the gentleman nodded.Next, I introduced myself and explained my purpose. "I'm Tsujino from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I know Mr. Akechi is coming back by this train, so I came here to meet him informally. On the one hand, I want to talk to him about some confidential matters." "Ah, is that the case? I'm Mr. Kobayashi's assistant." As Kobayashi took off his hat and saluted, Tsujino looked even happier when he heard it.

"Ah, I've heard your name. Actually, I saw your picture in the newspaper before, so I took the initiative to talk to you. The contest between you and Twenty Faces was very exciting. Everyone admires you, my family The children of my family are loyal Kobayashi fans. Hahaha..." He praised Kobayashi vigorously. Xiao Lin felt embarrassed when he heard it, and couldn't help but blushed. "Speaking of twenty faces, he used Mr. Wise's name to commit crimes in Shuzenji. It's really daring. Also, didn't the newspapers this morning say that he was about to attack the Imperial Museum? He really didn't take the police seriously and was arrogant. It's infuriating. We can't let it go. I've been eagerly waiting for Mr. Wise to come back, even if it's just to blow that guy down."

"Yeah, me too. Although I tried my best, I'm not his opponent after all. I hope the teacher can avenge me, so I can't wait." "The newspaper you are holding is from this morning?" "Yes, that's right. It's the newspaper that published the notice of the attack on the museum." As Xiao Lin said, he spread out the page where the report was published and let him read the news.Reports on the 20 Faces occupy almost half of the social pages.To give a brief summary, the general idea is that yesterday Twenty Faces sent a time-limited letter to the curator of the Imperial Museum, which stated that he would take all the artworks collected in the museum away like a bag.What a shocking teaser letter.And according to the usual practice, the date of december 10 was written clearly.Speaking of December 10th, do the math, there are only nine days left.

Twenty Faces of the Phantom Thief is ambitious and extremely arrogant.No matter what the result is, he is going to be an enemy of the country.He had stolen private treasures in the past, and while his actions were certainly heinous, they were not unprecedented.But raiding a museum is tantamount to stealing from the state.Since ancient times, has any thief ever come up with this kind of crime plan beyond the conventional?Such a terrifying thief can no longer be described as bold or reckless. However, if you think about it carefully, can such a difficult thing, in the end, really fulfill your wish?Speaking of the museum, there are dozens of librarians and police guards stationed inside.What's more, after he issued this kind of notice, the precautions will definitely become more stringent.It is not out of the question, if necessary, to surround the museum with a human wall built by the police.

Ah, twenty faces must be crazy, right?Or is it that that guy has such self-confidence that surpasses ordinary people, and he firmly believes that he will be able to accomplish this mission like fishing for the moon in the sea?Did he come up with a conspiracy beyond human intelligence? Well, let's stop with the twenty-face matter for now, we must meet the detective wise. "Ah, the train seems to be approaching the station soon." Before Tsujino finished reminding him, Kobayashi had rushed to the edge of the platform. Standing in the front row of the welcoming relatives and friends, turning his head to the left, the express electric locomotive carrying the wise detective drove slowly from far to near.

The air vibrated suddenly, the black steel box passed by, and the slowly moving passenger car stopped quickly with the rattling sound of the brakes.At the exit of the first-class car, there appeared the figure of Mr. Wise, whom he had missed for a long time: black suit, black coat, black fedora, all in black. He recognized Xiao Lin at a glance, and was smiling and waving to him. "Teacher, you are back!" Xiao Lin was extremely happy, and rushed to the teacher's side desperately. After the wise detective handed some suitcases to Red Hat, he walked off the platform from the train and walked towards Xiaolin.

"Xiao Lin, you seem to have suffered a lot these days. I read about it in the newspapers, but luckily you are safe and sound." Ah, this is the teacher's voice that I haven't heard for three months.Kobayashi stared at the famous detective with a flushed face, leaning tightly against the teacher.Then the two stretched out their hands at the same time, and their hands were tightly held together. At this time, Mr. Tsujino from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to Akechi, and while handing over a business card with a title on it, he took the initiative to speak: "Are you Mr. Sensible? I missed the opportunity to meet you before, and here is my business card. To be honest, I heard through a certain channel that you will come back by this train, and I happen to have something urgent to talk to you privately Let's talk, so I take the liberty to come here."

Zhizhi took the business card, seemed to be thinking about something, pondered for a while, and finally, as if he suddenly changed his mind, he replied cheerfully: "Ah, Mr. Tsujino, is that so? I have heard of your name for a long time. Originally, I wanted to go home first. After changing clothes, I went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately. I am really embarrassed to ask you to pick me up." "I know you must be very tired now, but if you don't mind, I think drinking tea and chatting at the Railway Hotel here will never delay you for too long." "The Railway Hotel? Oh, the Railway Hotel." Akechi stared at Tsujino and muttered as if sighing for something, "Okay, I don't mind at all. Then, I'll go with you." Then, he approached the boy Xiaolin who was waiting a little far away, and whispered in a low voice: "Xiao Lin, I want to go to the hotel with this gentleman. You load your luggage into the taxi and wait for me at home." "Yes, then I'll go first." Watching Kobayashi follow Red Hood away, the detective and Tsujino walked side by side, chatting intimately, walked through the underground passage, and walked up to the Railway Hotel on the second floor of the train station. It seemed to have been ordered in advance, and the best room in the hotel was ready to receive guests, with the burly head waiter politely guarding one side. The two sat across the round table covered with luxurious tablecloths, sitting in easy chairs, as if waiting for other waiters to bring refreshments. "We have something to discuss in secret, you go down first. Don't let anyone in until I ring the bell." After Tsujino gave an order, the manager saluted and left.In the closed room, only two people sat facing each other. "Mr. Wise, you don't know how much I want to see you. I almost want to see you." Tsujino started the topic with a smile on his face, but his sharp eyes were directed at the other party. Akechi sat down deeply in the cushion of the easy chair, looked at Tsujino without showing any weakness, and replied kindly: "I'm the one who really longed to see you. I was thinking about that too on the train. I thought maybe you'd meet me at the station yourself." "You really have a clever plan. In this way, you also know my real name by heart." Tsujino didn't take it seriously, but there was a terrible power in the faint words.Probably because he was too excited, the tip of his left finger resting on the armrest of the chair even began to tremble slightly. "At least, from the moment I saw your fake business card, I knew you were not Tsujino from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If I were to tell you your real name, I would feel troubled, but the newspapers seem to call you 'Phantom Thief II Ten Faces'." Akechi said these shocking words calmly and calmly.Ah, readers, what the hell is going on here?The thief actually came to the station to meet the detective in person, but the detective knew the identity of the thief, but he accepted the invitation of the thief to sit down and drink tea together.How could there be such absurd things in the world? "Smart brother, everything is as I expected. You have already noticed my identity from the first moment you saw me, but you dare to accept my invitation knowing this. Even Holmes does not have the confidence and courage. I'm so happy. What a meaningful life this is. Ah, I even feel that my life is worth it just for this exciting moment." Transformed into Tsujino's twenty-faced face, a look of admiration for wisdom.However, you must not take it lightly.He is a bandit who is against the entire country. This desperado is planning an adventure that puts his life on the line.So don't be careless.You see, Tsujino's right hand has been stuck in the pocket of his suit and has not been taken out.What was in his pocket? "Ha ha ha... It seems that you are a little overexcited. To me, this is not surprising at all. However, twenty faces, I can't help but start to sympathize with you. Because I am back, you have a big plan carefully planned It will also come to naught. Since I am here, I will never let you touch the artwork in the museum. Also, Izu’s Kusakabe family treasures will never be allowed to be your own, you understand clearly Is it? I can assure you unequivocally." Although the verbal confrontation was intense, Akechi also seemed quite happy.He took a deep drag on his cigarette, blew it into the other's face, and smiled. "Then, I also promise you." Twenty Faces was not to be outdone, "I will definitely take away the collections of the museum according to the scheduled date. Also, the treasures of the Kusakabe family... Hahaha... How can it be returned? ? Because, wisely, weren't you an accomplice in that incident?" "Accomplice? Ah, that's it. You are quite good at telling jokes. Hahaha..." The thief and the famous detective, who both hold strong hostility towards each other and want to put each other to death, are talking and laughing like a pair of good friends at this moment.However, neither of them dared to have the slightest carelessness in their hearts. Since the thief dared to make such a bold move, he didn't know what kind of preparations he had made behind it.It wasn't just the pistol in his pocket that was scary.The weird manager from before might also be a thief's subordinate.In addition, in this restaurant, there are still many thieves who are ambushing. Now the positions of the two people are the same as the situation of two kendo masters holding white blades and staring at each other. This is a battle of willpower.As long as one side is a little careless, the winner can be determined immediately. The conversation between the two became more intimate, and the smiles on their faces became brighter.However, Twenty Faces seemed to be unable to hide his guilt anymore. On such a cold day, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.Only the eyes, like a mass of fire, are burning blazingly.