Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

The treasure hunting team began to lose members, and the art dealer was about to give up the treasure hunt due to heart problems. The old butler was worried about him being alone, so he chose to stay with him, and they went to the restaurant together.

However, after the number of people was reduced, the treasure hunt progressed rapidly - Edogawa Conan found a secret door on the floor of the study, with a cipher disk hidden underneath, all with Russian letters on it.

After trying again and again, they finally guessed the password and opened the secret passage leading to the basement.

At this time, Aoyagi Akimitsu finally showed some professionalism as an agent. He first performed a series of safety tests to make sure that there was ventilation below and no toxic gases before leading the others down the secret passage.

Seeing him walking in front, Edogawa Conan subconsciously wanted to follow him, but Maori Kogoro held his head and said, "Stay beside me, don't disturb Aoyagi!"

The boy retreated angrily.

He noticed that Pu Siqinglan was looking at him not far away, so he raised his head and gave her a bright smile like a child.

Pu Siqinglan also smiled at him.

The secret passage was not deep. After walking about one floor high, they successfully reached the ground. Several of them looked around with flashlights.

"It's better than I expected," said Aoyagi Akimitsu.

He was not the only one who thought so. The passage in front of him was wide and there were not many forks in the road at first glance. It was not the underground maze that often appeared in some treasure hunting movies.

"Don't let your guard down. The butler said there are many traps in the castle, and there may be some here as well." The tall Russian secretary reminded.

"Of course, I'll pay attention."

The FBI agent from the United States responded to his reminder with a good-natured smile.

The group walked forward, with Aoyagi Binguang still walking in front to explore the way. After walking for about five minutes, they stopped in front of a door with a double-headed eagle engraved on it.

Seeing the eagle, Qingliu Binguang turned the flashlight and continuously scanned the entire heavy door up and down. When the light passed over the crown on the eagle's head, a violent vibration came from under everyone's feet.

Everyone looked at this scene in amazement. The ground slowly opened up and a staircase leading downwards appeared before them.

Pu Siqinglan looked at the downward passage. The strong heart that had been nurtured through long-term killing was now beating faster in intense excitement.

Thump, thump.

More than one person's heart was beating violently in the darkness.

Aoyagi Binguang looked calm and was the first to go down.

After he went down and looked around, he immediately took out a lighter with a shiny gold shell and two human faces facing each other on it. He bent down and lit the surrounding candlesticks one by one.

Orange candlelight was lit in the room. Pu Si Qinglan watched him casually smooth his hair that had fallen to his shoulders and push it back to the back of his head. A warm color also jumped into his light brown eyes.

The others put away their flashlights. He stood in front of a large wooden box and politely said to Kosaka Natsumi, "Ms. Kosaka, I remember you brought a key. Would you like to try it?"

Natsumi Kosaka should have been the person most curious about this underground space among the group, but she hadn't spoken a word since she entered the secret passage. When she heard Aoyagi Akimitsu speak, she even shuddered.

"Good, good."

She hurried over to Aoyagi Binguang and took out the key from her bag. The candlelight illuminated her face, which was full of tension.

She took a deep breath, carefully inserted the key into the keyhole, and turned it gently. The heavy lock fell with a click.

Aoyagi Akimichi lowered his head to estimate the weight of the top cover in front of him, and pressed it with his right hand. He looked up and said to Kosaka Natsumi, "I want to open it and take a look. Is that okay?"

Kosaka Natsumi nodded, and quickly stepped aside as if she was afraid of the dust.

"Squeak-"

A slow and heavy sound echoed in the room, echoing under the dome of the tomb. The wooden box was actually a coffin, and inside it lay a skeleton that was no longer recognizable. The only way to tell that it was the remains of a woman was because she was wearing a skirt.

She folded her hands and placed them on her abdomen, with a red egg of memories quietly placed beside her hand.

Aoyagi Akimichi politely asked Kosaka Natsumi for her opinion again, and after getting her consent, he took out the egg directly and held it in one hand without any respect, as if it was just a worthless toy.

Pu Siqinglan's eyebrows jumped and murderous intent surged up in his mind.

"Mr. Qingliu, what do you want to do?"

Edogawa Conan noticed him walking towards a stone platform half a person's height.

"On the Shinkansen this afternoon, I looked at the design that Ms. Kosaka brought. It explained the design principle - it's similar to Russian nesting dolls. Just put one inside the other and shine a light from below to see the memories stored by the Tsar's family."

"It just so happens that Chairman Suzuki gave me another egg of memories. I can try it out here... Could you please put out the candle over there?"

Aoyagi Binkou took out another egg of memory from his bag, combined them into one and placed it on the stone platform, then turned around and spoke to them.

Pu Siqinglan walked to the candle closest to her and leaned over to blow it out. With this action, she once again observed the positions and environment of the people around her.

The tomb chamber was very large. In addition to the passage they had just come from, there was another passage - right behind the stone platform.

Kogoro Mouri stood behind her, blowing out two candles; the kid named Edogawa Conan was in front of Kosaka Natsumi, farthest away from her; the Russian secretary was opposite her, walking towards the last candlestick.

Aoyagi Binkou stood alone at the edge of the stone platform. The wind blew in from the passage behind him, lifting his black hair, and emeralds sparkled in his hair.

Pu Siqinglan was pleasantly surprised to find that her current position was so convenient.

As long as she shot Aoyagi Hikari, she could rush over and grab his hair ornaments and the egg of memories next to him, and then run away unimpeded from the passage behind. With the positions of the others, they couldn't stop her at all...

"Mr. Chinnikov?"

Aoyagi Binguang shouted, he held the flashlight but did not turn it on for the time being, as if waiting for the other party to make a move.

The tall Russian silently snuffed out the last candle with his fingers.

——Darkness suddenly fell.

……

"boom!"

In a bar, Vodka suddenly jumped up from his seat, and instinctively reached for his inner pocket to take out the gun, but when he turned around, he met Gin's gaze that looked like a fool.

He was startled and his eyes slowly moved downwards.

There was a glass lying on the ground, which Gin had held in his hand just a few seconds ago. The milky white liquor was all over the ground, and the faint smell of anise filled the air.

"...brother?"

Vodka shouted and looked at his eldest brother cautiously, not understanding why he suddenly smashed the wine glass.

Gin ignored him and the bartender who came to clean up. He watched the other party quickly clean up the accidentally fallen wine glass and the remaining aniseed liquor on the ground, and reached into his pocket.

Through the thin fabric, he felt the phone lying there. From the moment he entered the bar until now, his phone had been silent and no messages had come in.

He uttered a low tut in dissatisfaction.

...What on earth is that guy doing? (End of this chapter)