Conan's grammatical investigator

Less than 1000 meters from the town of Bing, a hill stands there.

The oval-shaped hills look extraordinarily regular. Although they are only more than 10 meters high, they are extremely rare on this endless plain, and even a little weird.

Sitting in the car, Qin Zhibo used the telescope to observe there, and found that there were many bushes and tall thatch on the hill, making it impossible to see clearly inside.

The rest of the plain is bare, only that place is filled with a large number of plants, it is hard not to make people wonder whether it is artificially planted to cover up something.

Couldn't the hills be the marijuana grown by the locals?
But now Qin Zhibo didn't have time to study those, and he didn't want to cause trouble, so he drove the car back to the town after a long circle.

Before passing by a building similar to a small bar, Qin Zhibo opened the door and got out of the car, and walked over to the aunt who was sitting at the door knitting a sweater.

"Hello, auntie, is there a place to live here?"

The reason why Qin Zhibo asked where he lived was because the navigator showed that there was no hotel here.

The navigator will display public business places that are not private territories, and there are no hotels on it, which means that there are no hotels open to the outside world.

But Qin Zhibo still didn't give up and planned to ask. Now it's 1996, and this place should not be so backward that there is not even a place to live.

If you really don't have it, you can only feel wronged and sleep in the car.

The aunt with an obvious Indian face sat on a chair and looked at Qin Zhibo, then at Koizumi Hongzi, the co-pilot in the car, and after two seconds, pointed the way for him in silence.

Her old and discolored finger pointed to the most magnificent building in Binger Town, a small three-story building.

"Thank you."

Qin Zhibo didn't bother any more, and continued to drive to that building.

……

After driving a few hundred meters away, Qin Zhibo arrived in front of the building.

A faded plaque on the building reads "India's House" in English.

Judging from the signboard, this place may only serve Indians.

But for the comfort of sleeping tonight, Qin Zhibo decided to go in and ask if non-Indians are accepted.

"Wait in the car, I'll go in and ask." Qin Zhibo told Koizumi Hongzi.

Hongzi Koizumi contemptuously looked at this "modern building" with a history of at least several decades in the car. Most of the white paint on the outer long floor has faded, and the remaining half has been exposed to the sun all year round. .

"Sleep here tonight? Doesn't look good~"

"It's not certain whether you can sleep here... It's already this time, so don't ask so much."

Koizumi Hongzi, who was taught by Qin Zhibo, felt a little upset, but didn't say anything.

Since they met and experienced some incidents together, the relationship between the two has evolved from being unfamiliar with each other to a feeling similar to friends and comrades-in-arms.

Although Koizumi Hongzi has some temper, she will restrain herself a little in front of Qin Zhibo now.

……

Qin Zhibo entered the building named "Indian House" alone.

There was no one in the front hall, and Qin Zhibo didn't choose to ring the bell. Instead, he observed the environment first. This is an old habit of being an FBI+ detective.

It can be seen that this used to be a hotel, and the half-packed front desk of the old-fashioned hotel is still preserved.

It's just that the number of tourists may be scarce nowadays, most of the hotel has been transformed into a private residence, and many personal items are placed. Apart from looking a little messy, it is still clean.

Standing on the bright Indian aesthetic booth, Qin Zhibo pressed the copper bell on the front desk.

jingle--

A clear voice sounded, and after a while, a burly figure walked out from the dark corridor next to it.

This is an Indian man with a round face and broad forehead. While wiping his dark hands with a white towel, he cast a scrutinizing gaze.

"Hello, can I provide accommodation here?"

The Indian man wiped his hands silently until he finished wiping, and then went to the front desk to answer Qin Zhibo's question.

"Yes, but the rent is paid in advance. A room costs $60 a night."

"The price is fair and the deal is done."

It is not easy to find a place to live in this "wilderness", and the price is really reasonable, so Qin Zhibo immediately paid for two rooms.

Back in the car, Qin Zhibo hurriedly called Koizumi Hongzi down to carry the luggage, fearing that the Indian guy would regret it later.

The two returned to the front hall of the hotel with their luggage on their backs. The Indian man stared at them several times like a human flesh scanner before leading them upstairs.

Through the dark and narrow stairs, the two were brought upstairs.

"You can choose any room on the second floor. The room may be a little dirty. If you need to clean it, go to the utility room on the first floor to get cleaning tools."

"I'll deliver the bedding later, but there's no water heater on this floor. If you want to take a shower, you can come to my room on the first floor..."

After speaking, the Indian man went downstairs.

The remaining two looked at the two rooms in the corridor, and Qin Zhibo decisively chose the room facing the exit of the town and overlooking the hill.

But when they opened the door and entered the room, the two realized they had been fooled.

It's not that the room might be dirty, it's very dirty!
The corners of the walls are full of dusty cobwebs, and the simple furniture in the room is also covered with a thick layer of dust. Living in it can be said to be uncomfortable.

"be cheated!"

Qin Zhibo shouted that he was cheated, no wonder he had to charge the room fee first, so he was waiting here!
Crafty natives!

……

It took an hour to tidy up the room, and the Indian man also sent the bedding.

After the bed was made, it was already evening and it was time to eat.

Although there are some pitfalls in the housing conditions, this "hotel" provides three meals a day. The main course is the traditional Indian charcoal-grilled animal meat, served with salty bread and raisins.

During the meal, Qin Zhibo asked the name of the Indian man because he couldn't understand the Indian characters.

"My name is Running Bull, just call me Running Bull."

This is a name named after an animal, which is full of Indian characteristics.

Ben Niu grabbed the charred roasted meat with his hands and put it into his mouth, without any regard for how he would eat it in front of the lady Koizumi Hongzi.

Qin Zhibo also ate a lot of this kind of charcoal-grilled animal meat, because the taste is really acceptable, similar to the original barbecue.

But Koizumi Hongzi just sniffed the plate with her nose, and never touched them again, only ate a few raisins.

Compared with this kind of rude game, she appreciates the instant noodles she brought.

After the meal, Benniu took out some tea leaves, steeped them and brought them to Qin Zhibo, while Koizumi Hongzi went back to the room to eat the instant food he had brought.

Sitting leisurely and comfortably on the wrapped fabric sofa while drinking tea with a clear fragrance, Qin Zhibo felt that the 60 dollars was not a complaint.

But he didn't forget the business, and asked Ben Niu who came to pack the tea set.

"Has there been any other outsiders in town lately?"

Benniu thought about it, shook his head, "No."

Hearing this answer, Qin Zhibo's eyes were thoughtful.

The "outsider" he asked was naturally Mr. Clock.

I discussed the meeting place with Mr. Clock before, and I stayed in New York for two days because of business. Mr. Clock should already be in Binger Town.

Or is he lurking somewhere nearby?
If there was anything to hide in the plains around Binger, it was the hill not far away.

But at this moment, Ben Niu, who has always been taciturn, took the initiative to ask: "Are you planning to go to the 'hill'?"

"Hill?" Qin Zhibo asked in confusion.

"It's that haunted hill outside town."

"Ghost?" This topic aroused Qin Zhibo's interest, "May I ask what's going on?"

Running Bull put the tea set aside first, and said with Furui's expression: "It used to be a very popular place for exploration decades ago. It is said that there are often souls of red ancestors holding blue torches on the hills. wandering, and thus attracted a lot of white explorers."

"But almost all the explorers disappeared mysteriously on the hills, and no one knows where they went."

"There was once a colonel who came here to explore and returned successfully, but he became crazy, and kept babbling words like 'people lurking underground', 'blue light', 'golden city'..."

Hearing "people lurking underground", Qin Zhibo smelled a main mission.

If the legendary underground world "Kunyang" is nearby, that hill is likely to be the passage to Kunyang.

"Anything else you know? Can you tell me everything?"

Qin Zhibo asked again, but Benniu shook his head, "I don't know the details. By the time I was born, the adventure fever had faded a lot."

"The old man in the town who knew what happened at that time also passed away. My father should be the last person to know the secret."

"However, when he was leading the way for a lady more than ten years ago, he disappeared forever..."

Under the description of Ben Niu, Qin Zhibo probably understood the experience of this small town.

Due to the adventure fever and gold rush, Binger Town was once lively for a while, and there were even rumors that there was a city made of gold under the hill.

But as the adventure fever faded, people gradually gave up coming here, and the town became declining.

Originally, Binger Town was supposed to expand the size of the town with modernization, but the locals were afraid of violating the souls of the Indian ancestors on the hills, so they have never dared to make large-scale construction projects, let alone approach the hills.

Therefore, this place basically maintains the appearance of the 30s and [-]s.

However, running bull's father, an Indian named "Gray Eagle", was very business-minded, and opened this hotel during the period of exploration fever, and received many explorers who came here.

But even so, the last time explorers were received was 15 years ago, when a lady in red and her servants came here and hired an old gray eagle as a guide.

But to this day, the lady in red, the servant, and the old gray eagle have never returned, just like most explorers, they disappeared into the vast red soil.

Qin Zhibo felt a little alert, and asked, "What is that lady in red? Did you leave your name?"

Ben Niu shook his head calmly, "I don't have a name...but I remember that lady in red often communicated with her servants in a language I couldn't understand, and was also very interested in my father's amulet."

"Amulet? What kind of amulet?"

"It's a metal disc handed down from our family, with weird patterns carved on it."

Hearing what Benniu said, Qin Zhibo turned his eyes, took out his wallet from his pocket, and was about to take off the badge of the University of Michigan.

But when he turned to the back of the badge, he saw a small yellow sticker.

"Ok?"

Uncover the sticker, which contains a thin layer of electronic components, which looks familiar.

Isn't this Conan's signal tracker?

Why do I have this thing on me?
Qin Zhibo didn't know that it was at Reina Mizumu's house, and Conan stuck it in his wallet.

But now this signal tracker has long been out of battery and has lost its function.

Conan thought that his tracker had been discovered by Qin Zhibo, so he didn't think of a way to recover it, and just kept sticking to it.

This Conan, even I investigated...

Qin Zhibo, who thought about everything clearly, made a silent note in his heart, and showed the back of the badge after the sticker was removed to Running Bull.

"Is it this pattern?"

Ben Niu stared at it carefully, shook his head and said, "No, it's a much more complicated pattern than this one. I remember a snake and an octopus engraved on it..."

"Snake and octopus?"

"Yes, perhaps there was a toad, too? But it's so long ago that I can't remember."

"Where is that amulet now?"

"On my dad, the last time he was a guide, he wore it."

Apparently, the amulet didn't do much.

But what Qin Zhibo is more curious about is the guide to where to go. If you are going to a hill, you don't need a guide at all. The mountain is there, you just need to climb up.

Facing Qin Zhibo's doubts, Ben Niu explained.

"My father knew long ago that there was a secret passage in the valley that led down to that hill."

"He had really seen that place before, but he didn't go crazy and came back alive."

"But the same luck doesn't come a second time..."

Running Bull's words once again reminded Qin Zhibo that there is more than one way to enter Kunyang.

He still decided to start his investigation from the hills outside the town.

……

Back in the room, Qin Zhibo told Koizumi Hongzi the news from Benniu.

However, he deliberately concealed the part about the "lady in red" to avoid any impulsive actions by Koizumi Hongzi.

The two agreed to go to the hill to investigate before Mr. Clock showed up.

In the middle of the night, Qin Zhibo and Koizumi Hongzi walked to the hill a few hundred meters away.

The hills with a height of more than ten meters have slopes with the same inclination angle, and the difficulty of climbing up is the same no matter where you come from.

However, Koizumi Hongzi brought her magic broom, and easily carried the two of them to the top of the hill.

The length of this hill is 20 meters, the width is only less than [-] meters, and it looks like a long and narrow oval from the top view.

At night, the top of the hill is dark, quiet, and breezy, and the lush bushes and tall thatch somewhat obscure the view, but it looks the same as during the day.

"I'll go over there and have a look."

"Okay, but don't go far..."

Koizumi Koko strolled in another direction alone, while Qin Zhibo summoned Minase Harumi.

At this time, it is natural to make good use of her "wall penetration ability".