The Merchant's Purpose
Today's launch event for the Cocoon project had suffered one catastrophic security disaster after another — the president of the Sindora Group arrested by the police, the artificial intelligence destroying itself, misfortune piling upon misfortune. It was painfully obvious the project could not continue, which meant every coin invested in it up to now was as good as sunk.
Having lost such an enormous sum, Conan was genuinely curious how Ningguang planned to claw back her losses from here. Perhaps it was worth asking Agasa to keep a closer eye on her movements going forward — he might just learn more about the people who carried those Visions.
At that very moment, Kudo Yusaku, who had only just unmasked the killer, was watching the same Miss Ningguang.
Truthfully, this was the first time he had ever laid eyes on her in person, but his son and Professor Agasa had once asked him to look into her background, so he already knew the broad strokes of her situation. The really detailed information had proven beyond even his reach — yet even from the surface-level history of her rise that he had managed to gather, the picture was striking. In less than a decade, she had gone from having nothing to her name to being, by any reasonable measure, fabulously wealthy. Even he couldn't help but admire her commercial talent. Sharp instincts, decisiveness, courage — she had all of it, and not a piece could be spared.
According to everything he'd uncovered, Ningguang had hardly made a single losing deal in all those years.
And Yusaku did not for a second believe that a person of that caliber would sit idle in the face of today's sudden catastrophe. If anything, he found himself curious what move she would make to cut the losses from this disastrous launch — or perhaps even turn them into a profit.
He waited nearby for a while, and when her conversation with the staff wound down, he stepped forward and offered a greeting. "Miss Ningguang, hello. I'm Kudo Yusaku."
He nodded, smiling, and went on. "We've crossed paths before, but I believe this is our first proper introduction."
Ningguang returned the nod with a smile of her own. "Mr. Kudo, the pleasure is entirely mine — your reputation precedes you by miles. Your mystery novels are brilliant, and several of my friends adore them, the Night Baron series above all. If it's not too much trouble, might I trouble you for a few autographs later?"
"Of course, it's no trouble at all. I had no idea Miss Ningguang counted fans of mine among her friends." Yusaku agreed to the signatures without a second thought.
Then, shifting his gaze to the somewhat chaotic scene of the launch event, his expression turned concerned as he steered the conversation elsewhere. "I'd heard long ago that your business acumen was exceptional, Miss Ningguang, and when I learned you'd invested in the Cocoon project, I'd hoped to meet you. I never imagined our first proper meeting would be at a crime scene. What dreadful timing."
"That said, with Noah's Ark and the Sindora Corporation both failing at once, the project is beyond saving. I'm curious what you intend to do next." Realizing how that might sound even as he said it, Yusaku hurried to add, "Of course, I have no intention of prying into trade secrets. What I mean is — if you run into any technical difficulties and need a hand, you're welcome to contact me or my friend Professor Agasa at any time. After all, we were involved in this project ourselves."
The smile on Ningguang's face never wavered. She neither accepted nor declined, merely answering in a gentle tone, "Then allow me to thank you in advance, Mr. Kudo."
A moment later, she seemed to hesitate, then continued. "But you needn't worry yourself. The moment I saw what had happened to Mr. Kashimura and called the police, I contacted my assistant and had her begin negotiating with the other directors of the Sindora Corporation to buy up their shares. I expect to hear good news from her before long."
Yusaku raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So from the very moment you saw the crime scene, you already knew the killer was Schindler himself? Then why didn't you say so when the police arrived?"
As though entirely oblivious to the faint chill that settled over the air at his words, Ningguang smiled. "Why, I did mention it earlier, didn't I? Mr. Kashimura adored Nahida, and he kept up no guard whatsoever around her. Things he couldn't conveniently tell anyone else, he would sometimes let slip in her presence. So the moment she saw what happened to him, Nahida guessed straight away that the culprit was Schindler."
At that answer, Kudo Shinichi frowned — and suddenly realized what had been nagging at him all this time, that vague sense of something out of place around Ningguang: the little girl who had been trailing at her side, Nahida, was gone.
Unaware that Yusaku was quietly wondering where Nahida had gone, Ningguang carried on. "As for your second question... Mr. Kudo, I am a merchant, and a merchant's purpose is to make money. Solving crimes is the business of the police and detectives. In the marketplace, timing and information are everything. The moment I learned the head of the Sindora Group was likely to go down, my first priority was naturally to seize the initiative — to take the Sindora cake for myself before anyone else even knew it was on the table."
Yusaku didn't follow. "But the Sindora Group's troubles hadn't come to light yet. The company was flourishing. Why on earth would those directors agree to sell you their shares?"
At that question, Ningguang let out a small laugh. She walked past Yusaku to the window, rested her hand on the sill, and gazed out at the distant city for a long moment. Then she turned her head. "Well... that would be my trade secret, wouldn't it?"
Yusaku turned, studying her silhouette against the light — her backlit figure leaving him unable to make out the expression she wore as she said it.
Suddenly, a rapid set of footsteps sounded behind him, drawing near. He saw Ningguang lift her head toward the approaching figure, and a satisfied smile spread across her face, as if good news had just arrived on those footsteps.
Curious, he turned to look. A gentle, composed young woman was walking toward them, her bearing brisk and capable. She had long blue hair gathered into a low ponytail that fell naturally down her back, and she wore a short white qipao trimmed with gold embroidery, matched with white sleeves of the same style. Amid the Chinese knot ornament at her waist sat a blue bead framed in precisely the same fashion as the one at Ningguang's hip. Her arms were loaded with documents, and she was clearly coming to deliver her report.
Yusaku's gaze lingered a moment longer on the Chinese knot at her waist before he smoothly looked away.
He noticed that as she passed him she gave him a small, courteous nod, then continued on to Ningguang's side. "Miss Ningguang, everything you asked me to handle is done. Miss Keqing has spoken with every Sindora Group director over in America — all of them have agreed to transfer their shares at market price. Here are all the documents they sent over. You may want to look through them briefly."
Ningguang flipped through the papers, and while she was plainly satisfied, her face betrayed no particular surprise — as though she had expected nothing less.
With a few brief words, Ningguang introduced the two of them to each other.
Only then did Yusaku realize that this young woman was the assistant Ningguang had mentioned earlier.