Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 161 Historical Examination of Soldiers: One of Four Options
Is there really some treasure?

Kogoro Mouri bent down to examine the Egg of Memories on the table, his eyes bulging but he couldn't make out any information.

"But that guy is actually willing to pay 10 billion... Why would he need to search for treasure if he has that much money? That's too greedy."

“Haha,” Chairman Suzuki laughed, “This Egg of Memories comes from a special period when that dynasty fell. If there is a treasure, it is indeed a considerable fortune, and the significance of finding the treasure far exceeds its value.”

"Chairman Suzuki!"

Superintendent Chaki Shintaro of the Metropolitan Police Department's Second Investigation Division led Nakamori Ginzo into the chairman's office.

"Why bring so many irrelevant people here at a time like this? Kidd isn't the only one eyeing the Egg of Memories!"

Nakamori Ginzo, who considers Kid his lifelong enemy, has a stern face and sharp eyes scanning everyone present, seemingly considering the possibility that Kid has disguised himself and infiltrated the group, with a particular focus on observing Ran and Kazuha.

"By the way, Officer Chaki," Chairman Suzuki said with a relaxed attitude compared to the serious police officers, "have you deciphered the second sentence of the notice?"

"This one……"

Chaki Shintaro's momentum instantly weakened.

"I still don't understand. It sounds like it should be the exact time when Kid committed the crime, but..."

"Hmph, I do have an idea about this."

Kogoro Mouri smiled confidently.

"It's an English letter. The 12th letter is L, which corresponds to 3 o'clock on the hour and minute hands. Tomorrow at 3 a.m., it will be right before dawn, which perfectly matches the girl at dawn!"

"I see!"

Chairman Suzuki exclaimed in surprise.

"As expected of a famous detective, that was a brilliant solution!"

"Hahaha!" The mustachioed man laughed triumphantly. "With Kogoro Mouri on the case, any code is a piece of cake! Don't worry, Chairman Suzuki, I will absolutely not let Kid steal the Egg of Memories!"

"3 a.m.?"

Nakamori Ginzo's expression was solemn. Although he didn't particularly like Kogoro Mouri, he didn't doubt the other's professional abilities.

"Alright, this time we must bring Phantom Thief Kid to justice!"

"Mr. Mori, there's a special investigation meeting regarding Phantom Thief Kid later," Inspector Chaki reminded him. "Why don't you join us to further discuss preventative measures..."

"It's not just about being on guard, Inspector Chaki!" Nakamori Ginzo emphasized, "This time, we must bring Kid to justice!"

Chaki said helplessly, "I know you want to arrest Kid, but first we must ensure the safety of the Egg of Memories, as this is related to the prestige of our police force!"

"I have already made arrangements for this, so please rest assured."

Nakamori Ginzo turned to Chairman Suzuki and said.

“In the past, we always foolishly placed our prey in the places Kidd predicted, which is why he succeeded. This time, I plan to secretly move it to a place he would never expect…”

"Of course, I'll personally oversee it. As previously agreed, we'll use fakes in the exhibition hall."

"Huh?" Chaki turned to Nakamori in confusion.

What's wrong with this subordinate?

When were they discussed?

He knew nothing about the plan.

"Hey, Nakamori..."

“Only I know exactly where it is,” Nakamori Ginzo said confidently. “I don’t believe that Kidd can succeed like this… I’ll leave the task of capturing Kidd to Inspector Chaki.”

When everyone left the president's office, everyone except Ai and Conan had their faces roughly pulled, including several girls.

Sonoko complained, "What's wrong with that Inspector Nakamori? He acts strangely whenever he talks about Kid."

“Yeah,” Hattori Heiji retorted, “He doesn’t even care about his superiors… How did someone like that become a police inspector?”

Gao Mo paused, then suddenly turned to look at a pigeon outside, noticing the transmitter fixed to its leg.

monitor?

Kidd has already started scouting the location.

Is the crime really committed at 3 a.m. tomorrow?
Magic is the art of deception, and Phantom Thief Kid's practice of sending out advance notices before an operation is not just for show.

The psychological battle began as soon as the police received the notice.

"This uncle seems to be highly regarded," Hattori Heiji said, watching the man with the mustache leave with the police. "You can't judge a book by its cover. Was his usual muddle-headedness just an act?"

"hehe."

Conan gave a forced smile, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

That's the real Kogoro Mouri.

It's a miracle that he hasn't been exposed yet—my uncle is getting better and better at talking nonsense and playing dumb.

“Mr. Kido,” Chairman Suzuki turned around and invited, “Let’s have a simple meal together tonight. My wife told me that my daughter has caused you a lot of trouble.”

"Dad?" Sonoko asked nervously, "We're going to Osaka with Kido-san."

“Yeah,” Hattori Heiji said, snapping out of his reverie. “We promised to host Kido-san last time, and Kazuha and I have been looking forward to it for a long time. My mom has also been asking when you’re coming.”

"What are you..."

Chairman Suzuki looked puzzled.

I don't know how Gao Mo got involved with the only son of the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief.

“I’m a detective at Kido-san Detective Agency now,” Hattori Heiji said with an awkward laugh. “Because of this, my old lady mother made a big fuss about it and went all the way to Tokyo to cause trouble…”

In short, Kido-san's schedule for today is in my hands, along with this little sister..."

Heiji Hattori bent down and said, "It's really rare that you've come all this way. You must really want to come to Osaka to play, right? There are also many places suitable for children to play here... Kazuha, I'm leaving these two children in your care."

"Me, taking care of a child?" He Ye's face froze.

Having lived in Tokyo, she knew how difficult Ai Haibara was, and there was another brat named Conan...

“I’ll take care of Ai and Conan,” Ran said with a smile. “Everyone should be fine together.”

"I'm not feeling well, I'll go back to the hotel and get some sleep first," Gao Mo said, having no plans to travel for the time being. "You guys can take Xiao Ai out for me."

"Going back to sleep at this hour?"

"Kido-nii, wait for me!"

Under Ran's intense gaze, Conan quickly caught up with Gao Mo and whispered, "Kido-kun, how much longer until you do what you promised me? If this keeps up, Ran's going to force me to come clean."

"Haven't we had the chance yet? Don't worry, I've already made the mask. I'll help you when we get back to Tokyo." Gao Mo got on the elevator.

"What do we do?" Kazuha asked blankly, "Kito-nii is gone..."

"There's nothing we can do but go have fun by ourselves," Hattori Heiji said, turning to the girls around him with a puzzled look.

What a headache.

Going shopping with these guys... he already had a premonition of how bad things would get him.

The original plan was for boys and girls to play separately.

"It's alright, Ai," Ran said, watching Conan leave with a strange feeling in her heart. She bent down to comfort Ai, who was also lost in thought. "I'll take good care of you for Kido-nii."

Ai's gaze was calm.

She knew that Gao Mo was deliberately trying to get rid of her.

Are they really going to arrest Shi Kaobing?

……

Osaka Castle Hotel.

Not only Gao Mo and his group, but also the art dealers checked into the hotel. Gao Mo immediately attracted attention upon his arrival.

Pu Siqinglan, who was reading in the lobby lounge, showed a slight change in expression. She lifted her legs, and the already slit short cheongsam could not cover her at all. She was sexy but not vulgar, and her elegant temperament was not ruined by her sexiness.

Conan, who was following behind Gao Mo, glanced at him by accident and immediately blushed.

Children can see it more clearly from their perspective...

“Mr. Kido,” Pu Shiqinglan raised her glass, “would you do me the honor of having a drink?”

Do you have juice?

Gao Mo also saw Pu Siqinglan's seductive movements, and his temples throbbed.

She's such a vixen...

This woman is very good at using her long legs.

A red, super short cheongsam... No one else could pull off this look.

Too dangerous.

"juice?"

Pu Siqinglan was stunned for a moment before noticing Conan behind Gao Mo.

"There's juice in the freezer next to the elevator... Little friend, can you go and get a few bottles of juice? I want to have a chat with Mr. Kido."

At the corner of the lobby staircase, art dealer Qian leaned against the wall and glanced at the alluring Pu Siqinglan in the rest area. After seeing Gao Mo sit down in the rest area, his expression turned extremely ugly.

What a slut! She actually used her beauty to seduce people.

"The Romanov dynasty's treasure is mine!"

Qian Jiangyi's expression shifted, sometimes sinister, sometimes sneer, completely unaware of Han Chuanlong filming behind him with a camera.

The camera lingered on Inui for a moment, then zoomed in and turned to Pu Siqinglan.

"I've got some good stuff, hehe." Han Chuanlong couldn't help but whistle.

As for whether Pu Siqinglan will be the first to know about the treasure...

He wasn't worried at all.

As a freelance photographer, it's difficult to even scrape together 2 million yen, so there's not much of a competitive advantage to begin with.

Unlike the others, who were either wealthy, Russian diplomats, or stunningly beautiful women...

He actually hoped that Pu Siqinglan could get some information out of him, so that he would have a chance to participate.

"Why did Miss Qinglan choose to study the Romanov Dynasty in the first place?" Gao Mo noticed several gazes behind him, but didn't pay much attention to them.

He deliberately mentioned secrets in the expert report, anticipating this situation.

During this period, he not only conducted his own investigation, but also asked Kudo Yusaku to find a lot of historical records.

Almost all of his victims were connected to the Romanov dynasty, and he would target any treasures left behind by the Romanov dynasty.

One politician was shot dead simply for commenting on the Romanov dynasty.

Yusaku Kudo deduced that the other party was a descendant of the emperor or related personnel.

If you know there might be hidden treasure, you can't possibly remain indifferent, whether it's real or not.

“Because my grandfather happened to be Russian and a scholar of the Romanov dynasty,” Pu Siqinglan sighed softly, “I’ve been interested in this since I was a child and have always dreamed of owning a piece of Romanov dynasty artifact…”

It's a pity I don't have much money, otherwise I would definitely have tried to buy the Egg of Memories, although President Suzuki doesn't seem like the type to sell it.

As she spoke, Pu Siqinglan earnestly grabbed Gao Mo's arm again.

"Mr. Kido, what is the secret of the Egg of Memory? I really want to know. Since I can't have it, I at least want to know why there is a 51st egg..."

Gao Mo felt as if his arm was being squeezed by bread.

Goodness, they really went all out.

"I did discover something, but I promised Chairman Suzuki I couldn't tell..."

Gao Mo quickly got into character, stuttering as a novice should avoid overdoing it.

“Just tell me secretly,” Pu Siqinglan said with a hint of disdain in her eyes. “I won’t tell Chairman Suzuki.”

"Mr. Kido, don't be fooled by this woman!"

Qian Jiang burst into the rest area with a shout, interrupting Pu Siqinglan through gritted teeth.

"This guy just wants to use you. Tell me the secret of the Egg of Memories, and I'm willing to pay 1000 million, plus a share after we find the treasure..."

Pu Siqinglan's eyes turned slightly cold: "Mr. Qian, aren't you the one with ill intentions? All you do is offer empty promises. If you were really rich, would you have come all this way to search for treasure?"

“That’s right, this guy doesn’t look like a good person.”

The tall and imposing Russian diplomats sat down in the rest area.

"Mr. Kido, putting the treasure aside for now, could you please help me persuade Chairman Suzuki? Compared to these scheming fellows, it would be more appropriate to donate it to our Russian Art Museum. The Egg of Memories should rightfully belong to Russia."

This is even more ruthless; they're going to take the pot too.

Gao Mo had observed the three people who were on the verge of exchanging blows.

Even so, it's still impossible to tell who Skobing is.

The simplest way is to find a murder case and use the rules of death to explore the true thoughts of the people involved.

Now...

While it's questionable whether a diplomat is Russian, Skobing may not necessarily be Russian, and it's not impossible that he was of mixed race.

Of these people, only Han Chuanlong does not have obvious mixed-race characteristics.

Moreover, the owner of the castle that Ai mentioned should also be a descendant of the dynasty.

Gao Mo noticed that Pu Siqinglan's eyes were the same gray color as her hair: "Miss Qinglan, do you have a castle?"

"Huh?" Pu Siqinglan responded blankly, "N-nothing..."

"And you two?" Gao Mo turned to the other two.

"Mr. Kido likes castles?" Inui frowned. "If I can find treasure, I'll give you a castle."

“Don’t believe him,” Pu Siqinglan crossed her arms, her chest almost bursting. “Giving a castle is even less reliable than giving money. The real trouble with a castle is the taxes and maintenance costs.”

“That’s right,” Han Chuanlong said, approaching with a camera in hand. “I’ve heard that some castles can be bought for just a few dollars, but the aftermath… might bankrupt you.”

"You're all just jealous! You're afraid of the news that I'll buy the treasure all by myself!"

Gan Jiang was so angry he was about to breathe fire, but he still didn't take any real action.

He's obviously the kind of stingy businessman who never even considered paying.

"Everyone, I'm not really sure if it's related to the treasure, since I don't know much about the Romanov dynasty."

Gao Mo shook his head.

"If we had more dynastic documents, I might be able to find the key information."

“I brought a lot of documents with me,” Inui said happily. “They’re in my hotel room. I can bring them to you later if you need them.”

Pu Siqinglan looked grim: "I came in too much of a hurry, and all the documents and materials are in Tokyo... But if Mr. Kido has anything he wants to know, he can ask me directly. I know quite a bit about the dynasty, especially the emperor's family."

Conan didn't go to get the juice; instead, he hid to the side and eavesdropped, not understanding what Gao Mo was up to or why he was deliberately provoking these troublesome people.

After the group left, Conan returned to Gao Mo's side: "Kido-nii, could Kid be among these people? But that doesn't make sense..."

"Children shouldn't ask too many questions."

"..."

(End of this chapter)