Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 153 Impossible Crime, Death Magic
Tokyo.

Kido Detective Agency.

Ai Haibara, wearing a white lab coat, was checking computer data while also talking to Gao Mo on the phone.

"It happened this morning. In the apartment in Beika Town, the chat room manager you mentioned, the escape king, Nishiyama Tsutomu, was found dead in front of his computer. There were also messages from the murderer on the computer screen."

'This is the first person... Shadow Mage,' it seems the motive for the murder was the comments in the chat room about Harui Kaze's death.

Xiao Ai paused, her voice carrying a hint of resentment and helplessness.

“I know you need the case, but is it necessary to take such a risk? To deliberately provoke the murderer and get yourself involved... Now you are one of the targets, and I don’t want to hear about you getting into trouble on the news.”

"I know it well."

Outside the wooden villa, Gao Mo leaned against the restaurant where shouts were coming from all directions.

If it were him, he certainly wouldn't have done that; he would have just followed Sonoko.

He had no choice but to accept the task.

Danger as it may be, it is a rare opportunity.

"Do you want me to call the police?" Ai asked, picking up the black cat that had jumped onto the table.

"No need, just remind Kogoro Mouri."

Gao Mo ended the call and went inside.

After a brief moment of panic, the chat room members finally realized that the villa's phone was malfunctioning.

"The phone line may have been cut... Is someone playing a prank?"

"Could it be that Shadow Mage guy?"

"There's no cell phone signal here..."

The sudden crisis caused everyone in the chat room to gather in the living room, leaving only a few people upstairs.

“Call Mr. Hamano down,” Doi Takuki said, frowning. “This is probably not an ordinary prank. There’s no way it would warrant burning down the suspension bridge.”

"Mr. Hamano is in room 302."

Kuroda, the bespectacled woman who was acting as the head of the department, ran upstairs. The remaining people had different expressions and had completely lost their interest in holding a party.

Gao Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.

A faint light emanated from everyone present, but it did not form luminous characters.

“But there’s no reason,” Araki said without taking off the landline microphone. “We don’t have any deep-seated hatred for each other. Like Mr. Kuroba said, we were just discussing escape magic in the chat room. Even if Harui Furuichi said he performed because he saw the chat logs…”

"It's not our fault, is it? We don't even know Harui Fuden, we've never even spoken a word to him."

"What's the point of saying all this now?" Tanaka said, looking out the window. "Is there really no other way besides the suspension bridge?"

"All other roads are dangerous."

Huang Yi then expressed his concern.

"Now we can only wait for people outside to discover the situation and call for rescue. The supplies in the villa can probably last for about 3 days."

“Three days should be enough,” Tanaka said with relief. “Ran and Sonoko’s families will definitely contact them by phone.”

"Mr. Hamano!"

Suddenly, Kuroda's scream came from the third floor. Before anyone could react, they saw Kuroda running down the stairs in fear.

"Oh no! Mr. Hamano has fallen from the building! In the backyard!"

"what?"

Takuki Doi, who had been deep in thought, was the first to come to his senses and rushed towards the back door.

In the center of the large backyard, Hamano Toshiya lay staring blankly in the snow, surrounded by fine snowflakes falling in the wind.

Gao Mo followed Tui Takaki and felt a chill in his face.

"do not come!"

Doi Takuki, with a grim face, checked Hamano Toshiya's breathing and pulse. Upon discovering that there were no signs of life, his eyes narrowed sharply, and he hurriedly shouted to stop the rest of the group.

"He's already dead. You'll only ruin the scene if you come here!"

"The scene? This..."

“This wasn’t an accident,” Doi Takaki said in a low voice, looking around. “He was more than 10 meters away from the villa; there’s no way he could have fallen down on his own… He was strangled and then placed in the snow, and there weren’t any footprints before we arrived—”

This is something that wingless humans couldn't do; it's impossible for them to commit a crime!

“Hey, hey,” Araki swallowed hard, “he’s been in his room on the third floor the whole time, hasn’t he? Could he have been attacked by a monster…”

"It wasn't a monster. The murderer was undoubtedly human. It's just that we don't know what method they used, but rather used life as a prop to perform an incredible death magic trick."

Doi Takaki stood up amidst the howling wind, his voice firm as he surveyed the crowd, his fingers clenched into fists behind his back, and a hint of anger flickering in his eyes.

"Using magic to kill people..."

What's going on with this guy?

Gao Mo shifted his gaze from Hamano Toshiya's corpse and noticed Doi Takaki's clenched fist.

Something felt off after I saw the suspension bridge was destroyed.

He seems particularly concerned about this case...

"Are you saying the murderer is among us?" Araki Yoshizawa's forehead was covered in sweat. "No one went to the third floor before Ms. Kuroda, right? Only Ran and the others stayed on the second floor..."

"Could it be that Shadow Mage?" Tanaka guessed. "That guy might have been hiding in the villa from the beginning."

"So to say……"

Huang Yi opened his mouth.

“Someone did break in here a few days ago. I thought it was a thief, so I even installed a few new locks in the wine cellar—the only valuable thing here is the wine.”

"Could you take me to see it?" Doi Takaki asked thoughtfully. "Also, since there was a thief, didn't you check the villa when you came here?"

"Yes, it has been inspected. Everyone even went around the villa to check it out."

"call!"

A light breeze and fine snow were still blowing.

Gao Mo followed behind the group, instinctively gathering clues from the surroundings.

He hasn't encountered any supernatural crimes yet, so the killer most likely used some kind of tool to move the body to the center of the snow.

Moreover, it takes very little time, probably less than 10 minutes.

Tanaka's task at the time was to go to the woodshed to heat water for bathing...

“It’s easy to climb up the woodshed shed,” Doi Takaki interrupted Gao Mo’s thoughts. “Where are the windows on the roof?”

"The window at the end of the second-floor corridor."

"At the end of the second-floor corridor... you can go directly to the third floor, right?"

"What do you mean by that? Are you doubting me?" Tanaka said, dissatisfied. "I went to the bathroom to check on the water, anyone could have climbed up there while I was gone... Besides, there simply wasn't enough time to kill Hamano and then move the body to the backyard, right? The murderer couldn't be us!"

“Yes,” Kuroda added, “Leaving aside how to get Mr. Hamano to the middle of the snow in the backyard, even if such a magic trick existed, it wouldn’t be something that could be set up in a short time, would it?”

"I didn't suspect you, it's just..."

Doi Takaki frowned.

Judging from that lottery trick, Tanaka is really suspicious.

But he wasn't a detective after all, so investigating cases was really a bit difficult for him.

Damn it, although I don't really like those detectives who are always chasing after me, I have to admit that it's better to have a detective present in these kinds of cases.

"Anyway, let's go check out Mr. Hamano's room on the third floor first."

Doi Takaki then led a few more people into the villa.

It seems they really want to solve the case.

Gao Mo's eyes fluctuated.

At this moment, the faint light above everyone's heads had condensed into words.

Doi Takaki – [Solve the case quickly and stop the murderer from committing further crimes]

Tanaka Takahisa – [There's another one]

Naoko Kuroda – [Leaving this awful place]

Araki Yoshinobu – [Contact the police]

It feels a bit subtle.

Gao Mo turned his gaze away from the tree.

To avoid being exposed, he fully immersed himself in playing the role of a magician, while Kaito Kid took on the role of a detective.

third floor.

There weren't many guest rooms available, and Hamano was the only one staying on the third floor.

The French windows of the balcony were wide open, and the curtains swayed in the breeze. "Ms. Kuroda," Doi Takaki continued, "did you notice any mechanisms when you came here?"

Kuroda's face still showed fear: "No, I saw the window was open and thought he was playing some kind of trick, but..."

"Wow!"

Gao Mo stood on the edge of the balcony, activating his Eagle Vision, and had a clear view of the snow in the backyard and the corpse of Hamano in the center of the snow.

There are slight scratches on the balcony railing.

Magic?
Tanaka is indeed very skilled, whether it's that little magic trick he used to draw lots before, or the impossible crime magic trick he uses to move corpses now.

He was quite certain that Tanaka was the murderer, but he couldn't quite figure out the methods he used.

Not to mention finding any evidence.

It must be said that magicians are far more skilled at killing than ordinary criminals.

Even ordinary detectives would find it difficult to deal with.

But... well, what can you do when he's a detective who knows magic?
GaoMo Eagle Eye Vision performs a wide-area scan of the backyard.

Regardless of the method used, it must be completed in a very short time, and without making too much noise...

Therefore, it couldn't possibly be a large prop.

In addition, it should be easy to dismantle and hide afterwards.

If it were him...

Gao Mo's gaze lingered on the trees surrounding the snowfield.

Magic is not magic; it must be aided by props. If it were him, he would definitely use this forest.

"Wow!"

Eagle Vision continued scanning, and the trees on both sides became clearer, revealing two crossbow bolts stuck in the tree trunks on the left and right sides respectively.

I see. Tanaka hasn't had time to fully deal with the items yet, especially in the forest—Tanaka can't go and retrieve the items right now.

……

2th floor.

Gao Mo paused slightly as he passed by Sonoko and her friend's room, just as Xiao Lan opened the door.

"Mr. Kuroba, what exactly happened? Mr. Hamano was really..."

"Well, for now the body can only be kept in the backyard. We'll see if the police come tomorrow... Your father will probably notice something is wrong and call the police."

Gao Mo glanced inside the room.

"Is Sonoko alright?"

"Her fever has gone down, but she's still not awake," Xiaolan said, blaming herself. "I should have taken her straight to the hospital. Now we're stuck here, what if..."

"Let me see."

Gao Mo walked to the bedside, first touched Sonoko's forehead, and then asked Xiao Lan a few simple questions.

"Did you vomit?"

“No, she only said she was very cold and extremely sleepy,” Xiaolan shook her head, then hesitated, “Mr. Kuroba, you…”

"Oh, magicians should know a little about medicine... It's good that she's not vomiting. It's normal to be sleepy. Go get some hot water, give her another dose of her medicine, and let her get a good night's sleep. She should feel better tomorrow."

"Thank you so much."

"nothing."

Gao Mo saw the glowing words on Xiao Lan and Yuan Zi.

Ran Mouri – [Get well soon, Garden!]

Sonoko Suzuki – [Let Kido take care of me]

"..."

Even when I'm trying to sleep, I have all sorts of wild thoughts.

This is really overwhelming.

"Kido-nii?" Sonoko opened her eyes groggily, unable to see Gao Mo's face clearly, but he seemed familiar.

“He’s Mr. Kuroba,” Ran said, putting a wet towel on Sonoko’s forehead. “Don’t sleep yet, I’ll go get some hot water and give her another dose of her medicine.”

"Yes, thank you, Ran." Sonoko responded weakly, clutching the blanket, and glanced at Gao Mo with a puzzled look between coughs.

The feeling when my forehead was touched just now was the same as when I was close to Kido-san.

"Mr. Kuroba is a magician? Why would a magician need to know medicine?"

"You should get some rest and not think about anything else."

Gao Mo glanced at Xiao Lan, who had gone out to pour hot water, then turned his gaze to the window.

Whether Sonoko was just infatuated or genuinely in love, he found it hard to accept.

It wasn't because Sonoko was too young, but because his future couldn't accommodate love.

From the moment he was marked by Death, he was no longer able to marry, have children, and live a normal life.

After advancing to the second rank, he went a step further, completely turning to the opposite side of Death.

There's no going back now.

At this point, ordinary cases can no longer fool the Grim Reaper. If it weren't for the notebook covering his tracks, he probably would have died in the Twilight Mansion.

The path ahead can only lead to becoming a Shinigami or an equal to a Shinigami, or forcing a Shinigami to return to the Notebook.

"boom!"

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from next door, followed by screams from Tanaka and Kuroda.

hurried footsteps echoed in the corridors and stairwells.

"what happened?"

Doi Takaki shouted and rushed into Tanaka's room. He immediately saw the broken French windows and a crossbow bolt stuck in the wall next to the door.

"This is……"

"I was looking for a coat when an arrow suddenly shot in! What a jerk! What did I do to offend him?!"

Tanaka stood up, his voice trembling with anger, and rushed straight to the balcony without a second thought.

"Come out here, Shadow Mage! I know it's you!"

"Don't go there!"

Doi Takaki's expression changed drastically.

"return!!"

"boom!"

The villa made another crisp sound.

This time, it was the downstairs bathroom window that was broken.

Tanaka shouted in alarm and anger, "There seems to be someone over there in the woods!"

After quickly pulling Tanaka back into the room, Doi Takaki gritted his teeth and hurried downstairs, shouting, "Damn it! Nobody should go near the window now!"

Xiao Lan had just returned to the second floor with the hot water when she saw the scene and her worry deepened.

What should have been a nice gathering of online friends has turned into this mess.

"I can't leave Sonoko's side anymore. It seems she's also involved in the discussion about the escape magic." Ran helped Sonoko carefully feed her the medicine.

"The criminal's target was not her."

After watching Sonoko fall asleep, Gao Mo turned and walked out of the room.

【Extraction】

[Solve the case quickly and stop the murderer from committing further crimes] — Takuki Doi.

It's directly Kidd's mission...

also.

First, help Kidd solve the case.

In any case, it's not good to be constantly targeted by prisoners.

You can't sleep on the verge of being killed.

Gao Mo watched Doi Takaki's impatient back and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He wouldn't risk exposing his identity to show off like Conan does.

However, solving a case doesn't necessarily require you to take action yourself.

Let this guy solve a case and experience the detective profession, which is the opposite of the phantom thief.

(End of this chapter)