Chapter 51: Takeshita Didn't Die in Vain

"What was the opening weekend box office for *Ring*?" Shoichi asked.

"The numbers haven't been compiled yet," Nakata Hideo replied.

Although the figures had not yet been finalized, Nakata was certain that the box office earnings for *Ring* would by no means be low.

With such aggressive promotion and such a massive allocation of screen counts, could these be numbers achieved by a typical horror film?

Furthermore, the quality of the movie was guaranteed to a certain extent. After all, failure meant death, and he hadn't dared to show the slightest negligence during the shoot.

Though he had been somewhat unhappy about directing a film at gunpoint earlier, the thought of the flowers and applause awaiting him upon the movie's success made it all seem worthwhile.

It was truly wonderful to lean against a giant tree.

"Then tell the media that the opening weekend box office for *Ring* is five hundred million yen," Shoichi said with a wave of his hand.

Nakata's eyes widened, his jaw seemingly slipping out of his control. "Mr. Shoichi, this is a horror film."

The market for horror films had been sluggish for a very long time. Moreover, following the economic crisis, Japan's film industry as a whole had fallen into a slump.

To claim an opening weekend box office of five hundred million yen—wasn't that a bit too absurd?

"I've said it before, I don't know much about the film market," Shoichi said calmly.

Nakata pondered for a moment before saying, "Since Mr. Shoichi isn't familiar with it, let me make an estimate for the opening weekend figures. Given the scale of promotion for *Ring*, an opening weekend of two hundred million yen would already be exceptionally high."

Even this was an exaggerated figure on Nakata's part.

Shoichi looked at Nakata with a faint, inscrutable gaze.

"I already told you, I don't understand the film industry."

***

*<Internal sources reveal that the opening weekend box office for "Ring" has crossed five hundred million yen!>*

*<Evil stems from the heart, the most terrifying thing resides within oneself—A review of "Ring">*

*<Exposed! Near the cinema, men in black suits were seen forcing audience members to enter and watch "Ring"!>*

*<The underlying logic of female ghost terror: Societal betrayal and unfulfilled vengeance. The tremendous success of "Ring" is entirely due to Japan's impending doom!>*

*<A brief discussion on the resurgence of horror films sparked by "Ring," redefining horror through unique Eastern aesthetics, psychological oppression, and social metaphor.>*

*<Boycott "Ring," boycott this film that scares people to death!>*

Regardless of whether money was spent or not, the majority of print media in Japan were reporting on the film, and the overall critical reception was exceptionally high.

Shoichi had already slapped the title of "the greatest horror film in history" onto it.

***

Yamamoto and Yamashita breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw how explosive the film's popularity was.

It was simply wonderful that movie tickets were selling so well.

Through immense effort, a reporter managed to contact Yamashita and asked him directly, "Mr. Yamashita, I'm Koike, a reporter for the *Justice Daily*. I heard that you allocated such a high screen count to *Ring* because you were threatened by Sumitomo Shoichi. Is that true?"

Yamashita's expression shifted, and he rebuked Koike angrily, "Nonsense! It was I who recognized the potential of this film, which is why I arranged so many screenings! Facts have proven that my judgment was correct—*Ring* deserves the best! Our theater will continue to increase the screen allocations for *Ring*!"

Where did this reporter come from? Spouting nonsense everywhere!

"Security! Throw this troublemaker out!" Yamashita shouted at the guards.

***

In a remote little theater, two men—one fat, one thin, both wearing airtight black clothing despite the scorching summer heat—sat in a corner watching the fiercely popular movie.

Gin had never been a man of fine manners. He pulled out a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and asked Vodka, "How much dirty money can this movie help us launder?"

"Not sure, but since that guy directly claimed a five hundred million yen opening weekend box office, you can tell his ambitions are still quite grand," Vodka replied.

Vodka kept his eyes glued to the screen. Lady Yoko's silver-screen debut required absolute support.

"Just how much tax are we going to have to pay on this?" Gin asked.

That was Gin's primary concern.

"Probably not that much, right?"

Vodka pulled out the newspaper he had bought just today and said, "Because of the economic downturn, in order to stimulate the vitality and development of companies in Tokyo, a policy of low taxes and even tax exemptions has been decided for multiple corporations, including the Justice Group."

The taxes he had to pay would be much lower than those of a normal company. The taxes that should have been paid were likely spent elsewhere.

"Puff~"

Gin exhaled a plume of smoke.

As the movie ended, Gin and Vodka left the theater.

On their way out, they could faintly hear people talking. "This movie is genuinely terrifying, completely different from those splatter films of the past."

"Yeah, no wonder it scares people to death."

***

An explosive film ignited everyone's passion for movie-going.

As the reviews for the movie grew increasingly positive and the actual box office figures climbed, the amount of "water" Shoichi added to the numbers grew larger as well.

Okino Yoko and the other primary creators were currently promoting the film in Tokyo and would soon head to Osaka.

Shoichi watched the soaring box office numbers and stretched lazily.

With this, Gin shouldn't be breathing down his neck constantly anymore.

He had been far too busy lately; he urgently needed to find a workhorse to come and help manage this sprawling mess of affairs.

Having labored for a whole day, Shoichi went down to the cafe on the ground floor to drink a cup of coffee and relax.

"Here is your coffee, sir."

A blonde man in a white shirt placed a cup of coffee on Shoichi's table, then stood straight behind the counter, wiping it down with a clean rag.

Shoichi found the man looking rather familiar.

After finishing his coffee, Shoichi walked up to the counter and asked the man, "What's your name?"

The man was slightly startled, then replied with a gentle smile, "Toru Amuro."

As expected.

Shoichi handed him a business card and said, "Interested in working for me? A man like you shouldn't be confined to a tiny cafe."

Toru Amuro gave Shoichi a peculiar look.

As a Japanese public security officer undercover in the organization, and one who had always worked in intelligence, he naturally recognized Shoichi, a prominent and recently notorious figure.

"Why invite me?" Amuro asked.

"Because of my intuition. I believe you could become an exceptional CEO." Shoichi said.

As the ultimate working stiff of the Detective Conan universe, Amuro's energy was undoubtedly boundless. Throughout history and across cultures, those capable of achieving great things were invariably energetic people; otherwise, they would have long since been worked to death by crushing workloads.

Toru Amuro was simply a natural-born workhorse.

"Apologies, I have no plans to resign from this cafe," Amuro said apologetically.

This inexplicable invitation looked suspicious no matter how one analyzed it.

Shoichi frowned. What usually happened to people who rejected him again?

"Very well, good luck to you." Shoichi sighed.

He was an upright gentleman and would not force others to do things they disliked.

After leaving the cafe, he immediately sent an email to Ran.

*[I'm recommending a great cafe to you. The desserts here are exceptionally delicious, make sure to bring Conan along to try them. —— Shoichi]*