Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 144 Uncle Domoto
Kido Detective Agency.

Xiao Ai put down Gao Mo's main machine, looked out the window for no apparent reason, and then used the voice-changing pen newly invented by the doctor to say, "Why are you making phone calls so late at night?"

Not only did they not come back for dinner, but they also made the professor return the phone and the pen with the recorded audio...

They said they would record the call if an acquaintance called.

What are they up to now?
"Beep!"

Just as I was thinking about it, another phone call came in.

"Hey, Kido-kun," Hattori Heiji called out excitedly, "Do you know that mystery novelist, Shinna Niitaro? I've got a clue about the mystery..."

"Let's talk about it tomorrow!"

"what?"

Osaka, Hattori's residence.

Osaka Black Chicken stared blankly at the phone that had been hung up.

He thought Gao Mo would be very interested in the fees for solving the mystery.

They're very easy to talk to when it comes to money.

"Have I misunderstood?"

……

University Building.

The filming of the show is still ongoing, and the man with the mustache who had made a false appearance to pee has been found again.

"Mr. Mori, haven't you made up your mind yet?"

"Could it be that even you can't solve the riddle?"

"Hahaha, how could that be?" The man with the mustache laughed to ease the awkwardness. "I just feel that there's no need for me to get involved in this kind of thing. Wouldn't it be pointless to solve the mystery now? That new teacher probably doesn't want it to be so soon either..."

Damn it.

I couldn't get through to the "Kindaichi" number, and when I finally got through to another number, the call was hung up before I could say anything.

That Kido kid...

"Uncle Domoto."

Conan tugged at Gao Mo's sleeve.

"Does Uncle already know the answer?"

“Little boy,” Gao Mo resisted the urge to ruffle Conan’s hair, “why would you think that?”

Why does this kid always like to call me "uncle"?
"Because Uncle looks just like a famous detective!" Conan exclaimed, gesturing excitedly. "Just now, Uncle looked like he suddenly realized something..."

"I just think the novel is very exciting." Gao Mo turned his gaze to the other side of the program crew.

The man with the mustache is quite good at making things up; he easily fools everyone else.

The production team will likely return empty-handed soon.

He already had a clue to the answer to the riddle. With a basic direction in mind, the Mind Palace could help him with some deductions and brute-force solutions.

By filtering through different combinations, we will eventually find the final result.

However, it doesn't seem like a good thing if he gives an answer now.

The production team clearly values ​​Kenzaki Osamu more and wouldn't allow him to overshadow Kenzaki Osamu during filming.

He didn't want to waste an opportunity to increase his fame for 300 million.

In the end, it might all end in a mess, and you might offend people for no reason.

It's better to wait until the production crew leaves before saying anything. Even if the media spreads the news afterward, it won't have a big impact. You can just say that you happened to have an inspiration.

"But……"

Conan looked a little anxious.

By combining the questions from before, he has solved part of the mystery.

Shinmei Nittarou is definitely conveying a message through dialogue, and he is likely caught in some kind of major crisis.

The provocative change in style in the prologue, the author's first appearance in the main text, the chaotic text in the dialogue...

The opening dialogue can be extracted to include the line "Hurry up and save me."

The author was under some kind of threat and could only hide the information in the text, hoping that the reader would discover it—this was no longer a puzzle-solving activity.

I thought this person should have noticed it too.

What are you doing?
Was it just pure luck before?

"Why is the title 'Half of the Crest'?" Conan tugged at Gao Mo's sleeve. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the novel's content."

He still had some questions that he hadn't answered, and since he couldn't easily numb Uncle Mori, he could only offer hints.

Compared to his confused uncle, Hondou is more likely to discover the problem. "Oh my," Conan said dramatically, holding several manuscripts, "these signatures are so strange. The signatures in chapters 1 to 4 are slightly different, but the signatures in chapters 4 and 5 are exactly the same."

"..."

Gao Mo was speechless.

He simply couldn't stand the kid's affected acting.

"boom!"

Suddenly, the man with the mustache walked up behind Conan, his face darkening as he snatched the manuscript from him: "You brat, don't mess with the manuscript! What if you ruin it?"

“But if the signatures are exactly the same, then there’s no point in having one,” Conan dodged the mustachioed man’s heavy punch. “Could it be that Uncle Shinmei can’t write anymore?”

"kid."

Gao Mo brought Xiao Lan over.

"It's possible that it was written in advance and sent over in separate parts."

"I'm sorry," Ran said apologetically, pulling Conan away. "This kid just runs around everywhere when I'm not looking."

"Wait, Sister Xiaolan..."

Conan tried to struggle, but Ran carried him outside the editorial department.

At this point, the production team also gave up on continuing filming.

Although the mystery was not solved in the end, the footage was enough to make a decent episode.

"Thank you for your hard work, Kenzaki."

"That's all for today," the director said goodbye to the portly editor and the editor-in-chief who had taken the time out of his busy schedule. "Sorry to bother you."

"Domoto?"

Yoko Okino was about to leave with the team when she turned around and found that Gao Mo and the group with the mustache had stayed in the editorial department.

"Aren't you going back?"

"I'll go back by myself later," Gao Mo replied, shaking his head.

The man with the mustache really wanted to keep up with Yoko Okino, but Conan stopped him with a question: "Uncle, is it possible that you can't solve the mystery at all?"

"Are you kidding me?" The mustachioed man was starting to lose face. "Miss Yoko, just wait for my news. Nothing can stump me, Kogoro Mouri!"

"Uh……"

Yoko Okino wasn't really interested in solving the mystery, so she could only give an awkward smile when she heard that.

"Good luck, Mr. Mori."

After the main crew of the production team left, the editorial department returned to its original state.

Shinmei Kaori also stayed behind, looking at the faxed original manuscript in her hand, her voice slightly choked: "I don't understand, Dad has never done this before, he should at least have called me."

“Perhaps Teacher Xinming has his own reasons,” the chubby editor said upon returning. “This is what I think: the teacher specifically asked you to host the event.”

Shinmei Kaori lowered her head: "What's the trouble you're hiding from me?"

Gao Mo glanced at Conan beside him, who was making corrections on a photocopy with a pen, and turned to the chubby editor to ask, "Has today's manuscript arrived yet?"

"Already almost there."

The chubby editor glanced at the time; just then, the fax machine in the corner began printing the manuscripts one by one.

"It's here! Episode 6 of Shinmei-sensei has arrived!"

Gao Mo took the first page of the manuscript.

Just as Conan said, the signature remains unchanged.

"Oh no!" Conan stood on tiptoe to check the signature, his expression changing drastically. "Did Uncle Shinmei really write it together beforehand? Uncle, we'd better call the police quickly! Maybe something happened to Uncle Shinmei!"

"Don't worry," Gao Mo quickly glanced at the remaining manuscripts, "Mr. Xinming should be fine."

The characters in the Hall of Thought continue to be combined.

Finally, in a flash of inspiration, I found the final answer.

"what?"

"If you want to know, why don't you just go and take a look?"

Gao Mo turned his gaze to Shinmei Kaori.

"I think your parents must be getting impatient by now."

"Eh?"

"What do you mean?" the mustachioed man asked, voicing Conan's confusion. "Do you know where Mr. Shinmei is?"

"These manuscripts contain all the answers."

(End of this chapter)