Hearing the young woman complain that her companion couldn't come due to a cold, leaving an extra ticket, Mouri Kogoro's eyes lit up as if he had grasped a lifeline.
He immediately rubbed his hands, put on a fawning smile, and approached her.
"Excuse me, Miss."
Mouri Kogoro spoke politely,
"I overheard your call just now, it seems one of your companions can't make it to the concert?"
The woman, who looked to be in her twenties and wore a concert support headband, sized up Mouri Kogoro and nodded.
"Yes, my sister's boyfriend, Kenji, suddenly caught a cold and fever and can't come. Honestly, he's letting us down at the crucial moment."
"Oh, that's truly a shame."
Mouri Kogoro immediately expressed sympathy, then got straight to the point,
"To be honest, Miss, we are also fans of Astra Yao and Okino Yoko, but unfortunately, I accidentally lost my ticket. What do you think... could you transfer your extra ticket to me? I'm willing to buy it at its original price!"
The woman paused, looked at Mouri Kogoro's sincere expression, hesitated, and then waved her hand. "You don't need to buy it, it'll be empty anyway. However, I have a condition."
"Name it! I'll agree to any condition!" Mouri Kogoro patted his chest and promised.
"We originally agreed that Kenji would drive my sister and me to the concert."
The woman explained,
"Now that he can't come, it's not very convenient for us to take a taxi. If you can drive us sisters there, I'll give you this ticket."
"Drive? No problem! Leave it to me!"
Mouri Kogoro readily agreed, for him, it was like a pie falling from the sky.
"I am Mouri Kogoro, and I can assure you, my driving skills are absolutely top-notch!"
"Huh?" The woman was stunned, showing a shocked expression, "Are you that famous... *cough... Sleeping Kogoro? I read about you in the Eccentric Weekly, no, the Metropolitan Morning Post, I am truly honored."
Mouri Kogoro's face instantly turned ugly, but to get the ticket, he pretended not to notice anything amiss.
Through conversation, he learned that the woman's name was Aoshima Zenda, and she had a younger sister named Aoshima Meina. The Kenji who bailed at the last minute, full name Terahara Kenji, was Meina's fiancé, and they were already at the stage of discussing marriage. The concert tickets were also hard to come by.
So, Mouri Kogoro quickly went to a car rental agency, rented an ordinary sedan, and, guided by Zenda, headed to their sisters' apartment.
In the car, Aoshima Zenda seemed to try to ease the awkward atmosphere by making small talk.
"Detective Mouri, please don't take offense. I know those small weekly magazines often fabricate news, and the photos in their reports are definitely Photoshopped. But I really didn't expect a famous detective like you to still need to rent a car."
Ran, in the back seat, sighed helplessly at this and explained for her father.
"Miss Zenda, please don't misunderstand, it's not that my dad can't afford a good car. It's just that he has a bad luck with cars, he's not destined to own one.
He bought several in the past, but each time they were destroyed by various bizarre accidents, either blown up by bombs or hit by bodies falling from high places. The worst time, it directly fell into the river... So now he can only rent cars."
Ran's tone was filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.
Aoshima Zenda listened, an incredulous expression on her face, and gave two dry laughs. "Oh, so that's how it is."
She didn't ask any more questions, only silently guided the direction.
Conan watched Aoshima Zenda, whose expression had been off ever since she recognized Detective Mouri, and his vigilance heightened.
Her reaction was very similar to that of a suspect who wanted to use the uncle as an alibi, only to find out he was a detective... Meanwhile, at the Astra Yao concert.
The atmosphere was still lively, but in the VIP section, Rina's brows were slightly furrowed.
She subtly tugged on Rin's sleeve next to her, leaned in slightly, and whispered. "Rin, something's not right."
"Hmm?" Rin snapped out of the exciting performance and looked at Rina in confusion.
Rina's gaze discreetly swept over several surrounding areas.
"Notice how there are a lot of strange people around? They look like they're watching the show, but their attention is clearly not on the stage, and they're all wearing earphones... They're slowly moving towards that direction."
She gestured with her eyes towards Vodka, who was completely engrossed in cheering and oblivious.
Rin followed Rina's hint and observed carefully, quickly spotting the strangely behaving people.
It was like plainclothes police disguised as pancake vendors who just couldn't make a good pancake.
Although these people were dressed in ordinary casual clothes, their movements gave off the impression of professional agents, definitely not ordinary audience members.
Soon, Rin recognized a familiar figure in the crowd—FBI agent Judy.
"It's the FBI..."
Rin instantly understood and speculated.
"They probably found Vodka alone and want to arrest him at the concert!"
Indeed, the FBI agents silently tightened their encirclement, cutting off all possible escape routes for Vodka.
And the one who delivered the final blow was a tall man wearing a black knit cap.
Although his face was unclear, Rin guessed that the man was likely Akai Shuichi.
He moved silently through the crowd, circling behind Vodka, who was completely immersed in the idol's singing.
"Mmm mmm mmm—"
A handkerchief soaked in a sedative was pressed over Vodka's mouth and nose by Akai Shuichi.
Vodka didn't even have time to struggle, his massive body went limp, the glow stick in his hand clattered to the ground, and he toppled forward.
Akai Shuichi and another agent immediately supported him, one on each side, with incredibly natural movements.
"Sorry, my friend drank too much and got a little too excited."
Akai Shuichi explained to the nearby audience who cast questioning glances, with a slightly apologetic tone, while shaking his head helplessly, as if he were truly taking care of a drunk friend.
It must be said, the FBI's level was indeed high, their timing was impeccable.
Aside from Rin and a few others who had noticed something was amiss and were paying attention, the rest of the audience's attention was entirely on the stage.
When Akai Shuichi made his move, the other agents behind him very cooperatively used their bodies to shield him.
Thus, after subduing Vodka, the FBI team, supporting the completely unconscious Vodka, discreetly left the VIP section and disappeared into the aisle.
To the background music of "Is it you ♫ ~ Like a flying star ♫ ~ Unflinching with my heart ♫ ~ Holding fragments of yesterday's beautiful dreams ♫ ~."
Rin watched this scene, a smile appearing on her lips. "They actually... really succeeded. Now, Gin will have a headache."