Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 167 "Pu Siqinglan's Assassin's Guide"

"Besides being an appraiser, I also work part-time as a detective."

Gao Mo stared at the projected text on Pu Siqinglan's body. The words "[Kido Gao Mo will die]" appeared separately again and were placed at the top of the list.

"The name Pusiqinglan, when rearranged, becomes Rasputin... I don't know what your relationship is with Rasputin, but as it stands, you seem more like a descendant of the emperor."

"Is this a good idea? Miss Xia Mei might be your real family, and yet you want to kill her and even destroy this princess's castle..."

"Shut up!"

Pu Siqinglan shouted angrily, and the muzzle of her gun turned sharply towards Gao Mo, the red dot locking onto Gao Mo's right eye as if she were dealing with anyone else.

The foreseen scene has finally become a reality.

The blurry black shadow completely overlapped with Pu Siqinglan's slender figure.

“My ancestor was Rasputin, who was brutally murdered, and even if I am a descendant of the emperor, I have absolutely no relation to Xia Mei…”

"You must have had your suspicions too. Back then, neither the First Prince nor Maria were found. I think Maria is very likely to be Miss Xia Mei's great-grandmother."

Gao Mo's gaze remained calm in the firelight.

"The castle is German-style because Maria's mother, Queen Alexandra, was German, and there is no photograph of Maria's wife because of Maria's special status..."

Mr. Kiichi rescued Maria from the Revolutionary Army and then went into seclusion here... You might be disappointed by that underground chamber. There may be treasure inside, but it's probably not the dynastic treasure you're thinking of.

"Saving Maria was already difficult enough; Mr. Kiichi couldn't possibly bring too much treasure to attract attention."

"You make it sound like you saw it with your own eyes."

Pu Siqinglan snorted and glanced at Kidd behind her. She picked up the fallen Egg of Memory and moved away from the fire, seemingly wanting to get past Gao Mo and retreat to the hall.

"Whether there's treasure or not, this is enough..."

"Don't you want to know exactly what's inside the secret room, and how to open the underground secret room?"

Gao Mo's gaze swept over the injured Kidd and the card gun that had fallen to the side.

Kidd couldn't even defeat Scrooge in a head-on fight.

He seemed to have underestimated this scorpion-like, long-legged beauty.

Experienced and wise, extremely skilled in life-or-death combat...

"You know?" Pu Siqinglan asked, her face filled with surprise and doubt.

"Of course, it's not just me. Kidd should also understand what's going on. The Egg of Memories is not a key, but part of a mechanism. The evidence is that there are lenses on the top and bottom of the egg, and there is also specially treated glass inside."

"call!"

Seeing that the fire was still spreading, Gao Mo grabbed a grenade and walked straight toward Pu Siqinglan.

"Stop!" Pu Siqinglan shouted sternly.

Despite being just an ordinary person, she posed a far greater threat to him than Kid.

They said they were some kind of detective...

"Do you think you can distract me by spouting nonsense?"

Pu Siqinglan held the gun steadily, without even glancing at the Egg of Memories in her hand.

"Hmph, he has some guts, but he can't see the situation clearly and foolishly runs out to his death!"

"hateful……"

Kidd stared at his card gun, gritting his teeth inwardly.

With Gao Mo drawing attention in front, he could actually launch a counterattack, but Pu Siqinglan would definitely be able to react in time.

This assassin is both ruthless and cunning, and has seen through his thoughts time and again.

Retreat is not a problem, but that way we won't be able to save Gao Mo...

"Then shoot." Gao Mo continued forward under the two men's surprised gazes, his expression unchanged even when the red dot locked onto his right eye.

Kidd was shaken to his core.

If Pu Siqinglan fires the final shot, he is confident that he can launch a counterattack before the opponent can reload.

This detective...

"Do you really think I dare not kill you?"

Pu Siqinglan had a slight sweat on her forehead, and her expression kept changing as she faced Gao Mo walking towards her.

The treasure is important, but your own safety is more important.

Now that she knows the Egg of Memories is a mechanism, she can open the secret room herself afterward and eventually figure it out.

"Die, you fool!"

"careful!"

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out among the knights.

After pulling the trigger, Pu Siqinglan instinctively raised her hand quickly to change the magazine, but the next moment her eyes widened suddenly.

Gao Mo miraculously dodged the bullet by tilting his head as if he had a premonition.

"what?"

Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

Pu Siqinglan's gaze trembled as she met Gao Mo's gleaming eyes. She wanted to say something, but then she saw the bullet she fired bounce off the knight's armor and turn toward her right eye as if she had seen a ghost.

"when!"

As a sharp, agonizing pain struck her right eye, Pu Siqinglan felt as if a television had suddenly lost power, and her vision went black, causing her to completely lose consciousness.

At the same time, Kidd had just picked up the card gun and stood there stunned for a long time, unable to come back to his senses.

How can this be?

What just happened?
"My one hundred million..."

Gao Mo quickly walked to Pu Siqinglan, who had fallen to the ground.

His face, pierced through the right eye, still showed signs of shock, as if he had never expected this outcome.

After he dodged the bullets, death fell upon Pu Siqinglan...

Gao Mo grabbed a handful of hair.

He can escape death, but he cannot control it.

Will I still be able to get the 100 million bounty?

"Hoohoo!"

Thick smoke filled the air, and the fire started from the tapestry and spread towards the ceiling.

Gao Mo snapped out of his daze in the heatwave.

If it continues to burn, it will get out of control.

"That gun should be able to be used to put out the fire too, right?" Gao Mo picked up the Egg of Memory and turned to Kidd. "I'll leave this to you. I'm going to rescue the others."

"Kuroba Rokuro..."

Kidd finally looked away from Pu Siqinglan's corpse and, staring at Gao Mo's back, suddenly guessed aloud.

"You must be Rokuro Kuroba, the Shadow of Death, right? Most detectives wouldn't be this polite to me, and besides, you're the most likely person to be with that kid..."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't have time to deal with you right now."

Gao Mo put away the Egg of Memories.

After taking one last look at the deceased Pu Siqinglan, he confirmed the task he was to draw.

What did my great-grandmother look like? — Natsumi Kosaka

It turns out it's this mission...

Fortunately, it was still manageable.

He had originally prepared to abandon the mission in order to deal with Pu Siqinglan.

"biu~"

Kidd quickly treated the wound in his right eye, then played a series of cards, creating a powerful blast of smoke that extinguished the flames.

The remaining smoke obscured Gao Mo's figure; only the sound of footsteps could be heard as he left the castle.

"There's absolutely no mistake, this guy is clearly Kuroba Rokuro... In any case, I owe you my life."

Kidd's voice was low and somber.

He might have been able to escape in time even if Gao Mo hadn't intervened, but who knows?

That wouldn't stop Pu Siqinglan from taking away the Egg of Memories.

Instead of following Gao Mo to the tower, Kidd quickly cleaned up the mess and left the castle.

He came here for two purposes: one was to stop Scorpion, and the other was to deliver the complete Egg of Memories to Natsumi Kosaka...

If Gao Mo were Kuroba Rokuro, he felt that the latter no longer needed him.

"call!"

Kidd took one last look at the castle, then unfolded his hang glider into the wind.

That guy, Rokuro Kuroba, figured out the truth in just a few words... and last time he even said he wasn't a detective.

"See you next time...it shouldn't be too long, Detective."

……

"Kaitou Kidd?!"

Rei Furuya arrived at the castle in the dark, and upon seeing the white hang glider disappearing into the night sky, he paused for a moment before getting out of the car and running into the castle.

The hall was still filled with smoke.

Following the source to the knights who were emitting the pungent smell, they immediately saw the corpse of Pu Siqinglan left on the floor.

It's the woman in the photo in Gao Mo's email. "This woman... is she the Shi Kao Bing that Kido Gao Mo mentioned?"

Rei Furuya looked slightly disheveled.

He was still on an urgent mission and had originally planned to come back tomorrow... but after retrieving the detailed information, he realized how dangerous Scrooge was.

In addition, they were unable to reach Gao Mo by phone, so they had to change their plans at the last minute.

But if it was Scorpius, how could he have been shot through the right eye?

Where did Kido Takamori go?
Still too late?

Rei Furuya looked around and found that there was no one else in the castle.

The restaurant was filled with steaming hot dishes, which looked like they had just started serving.

"Cough cough!"

Conan, still feeling a bit dizzy, crawled out of the underground passage, caught his breath on the study floor, and looked up to meet Rei Furuya's gaze.

"Mr. Amuro?" Conan asked anxiously, surprised. "What's the situation outside? Have you seen a woman with a gun?"

"If you mean Scrooge, it seems he was shot dead."

"Shot dead?"

"Have you seen Mr. Kido?" Furuya Rei breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Conan.

"Kido-san?" Conan realized that Gao Mo had disappeared. "I haven't seen him since... he's probably still in the basement."

……

Castle tower.

The twin maids were terrified by the gunshots and hid trembling inside the tower until Gao Mo appeared, at which point they peeked out from a corner.

"Mr. Kido..."

"It's okay now."

After calming him down, Gao Mo used the rope to return to the underground. At this time, the group with the mustache were all gathered around Qian Jiang's corpse. Upon seeing Gao Mo, they hurriedly asked, "What are you doing here? Isn't this the exit?"

"I came down from up there."

Gao Mo took out the Egg of Memories.

"We'll also need this to unlock the treasure."

"Who cares about the treasure now?" The man with the mustache grabbed Gao Mo urgently. "Where are Miss Qinglan and the others? What's the situation up there?"

"Miss Qinglan accidentally killed herself, and I don't know much else."

Gao Mo looked at everyone.

"Where's Conan?"

"That brat was the first one to chase after her," the man with the mustache said, both angry and worried. "He's really courting death. How am I supposed to explain this to Xiaolan?"

"I'm fine!"

Inside the tower, Conan slid down the rope to the ground, nearly landing on the mustachioed man's face.

"Mr. Amuro went to find the rope ladder and will be back soon."

"Amuro? Where is Mrs. Suzuki?"

"Mrs. Suzuki is actually Kid, and she just left."

Conan explained to Gao Mo.

The Egg of Memory is in Gao Mo's hands, which means that Gao Mo was present the whole time during the battle with Pu Siqinglan.

The voice I vaguely heard was Gao Mo.

What method was used to make Pu Siqinglan commit suicide?

Simply unbelievable.

"Mrs. Suzuki is Kid?" The man with the mustache realized belatedly. "No wonder she insisted on coming here."

Let's leave him for now.

Gao Mo led the way back to the main passage, and soon walked back to the mural and re-embedded the Egg of Memory.

The man with the mustache followed behind, puzzled: "What do you want to do, Kido? We've already tried, and there was no reaction at all..."

That's because there's still one last step to take.

Gao Mo took the light bulb from the man with the mustache and focused the beam on the top of the Egg of Memories.

After a brief exposure, the light processed by the Egg of Memory illuminated the murals, and the calm passage floor rumbled and slowly sank, causing the spot where the mustache stood to part to reveal a staircase leading down.

"This is……"

“It’s a photometer mechanism,” Conan exclaimed. “No wonder he’s a magician from the end of the century; he even has such an ingenious mechanism… It’s almost a century old now, unbelievable.”

"There's such a mechanism?"

The man with the mustache didn't quite understand, but he was deeply impressed.

"Kido, you figured it out from the start?"

"Not just me, Kidd should know too."

Gao Mo took the Egg of Memory and continued to lead the way into the underground chamber.

Inside was an egg-shaped dome-shaped space, with a Western-style wooden coffin placed on a platform at the far end. Apart from that, there was nothing particularly special about it.

"So there really was no treasure?"

The old butler smiled bitterly as he looked around the secret room, finally glancing at the coffin.

The coffin surface features the same double-headed eagle pattern as the murals.

"It seems that Master Kiichi buried his wife here... But I don't understand, why wasn't she buried in the Kosaka family cemetery?"

"Perhaps it's because the lady is Russian?"

"Kido-kun," Conan suddenly asked, "was Miss Natsumi's great-grandmother really Maria, the third daughter of Nicholas II?"

"Only in this way can it be explained that Mr. Xiyi did not leave any information about his wife's identity, not because he did not want to, but because he could not leave it."

Gao Mo glanced at Natsumi Kosaka.

"Would you mind opening the coffin?"

"Is...my great-grandmother inside?"

Natsumi Kosaka gently bit her lower lip and nodded.

"If possible, I would also like to confirm my great-grandmother's identity. After this, I will bury my great-grandmother and great-grandfather together."

"Good weight."

With a flushed face, the man with the mustache forcefully lifted the coffin, releasing the smell of decaying dust and revealing a skeletal skeleton in the flashlight beam.

A red egg of memory was placed beside the body.

It was exactly the same as the incomplete blueprint, and a size larger than the first Egg of Memory.

"This is the real Egg of Memory?"

The old housekeeper gave up completely.

Although the Egg of Memories was incredibly valuable, it wasn't the treasure he truly wanted to see.

"Does 'memory' refer to Master Xiyi's memories and longing for his wife? Does the master hope that someone will discover this place someday..."

"It's empty!" The man with the mustache opened the red egg of memory, staring back at Gao Mo with wide eyes. "What's going on?"

"Just like Russian nesting dolls, you'll know once you put them in."

Gao Mo wasted no time and directly embedded the green egg of memory into the red one. After hearing a slight clicking sound, he carried the egg of memory to the stone platform in the center of the secret chamber.

The stone platform is hollowed out at the bottom, and the top is just big enough to hold the entire Egg of Memories.

"Actually, this room already gave a hint: it's the stage that Mr. Kiichi uses to perform magic of light."

Under everyone's gaze, Gao Mo once again focused the flashlight beam, reached out and placed it under the Egg of Memories. After a brief sound of the mechanism, the light, like that of the mural, illuminated the entire Egg of Memories.

The red outer shell turned completely transparent, revealing a golden figure rising up inside, turning the pages of a book as if wound up.

"Another photometer? How did they manage that?"

The group with the mustache gathered around the stone platform and looked up to see old photos projected onto the dome by the Egg of Memories.

"It's the emperor's family..."

"Could that be Maria? She looks exactly like Miss Natsumi."

The burly Russian man and the old butler were all dazzled, as if the projected photos had transported them back to the last century.

Not only the emperor's family, but also Kiichi and Maria took photos in this castle.

“I see,” the old butler’s face softened, and a sense of relief appeared in his eyes. “This is indeed the most precious treasure of the Kosaka family and the Emperor’s family. Father was right.”

Kousaka Natsumi stared at the woman in the photo with her great-grandfather for a long while before she came to her senses. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked Gao Mo for confirmation, her eyes filled with gratitude and joy, but also with a hint of disbelief: "That's my great-grandmother? Maria, the emperor's daughter?"

[Drawing a 4-star copy of "Pu Siqinglan's Assassin's Guide"]

Gao Mo nodded slightly as the projected text flickered.

Actually, he was somewhat speculating.

I never expected that Kiichi Kosaka would preserve the photos in this way.

A magical mechanical illusion.

He truly deserves to be called a magician of the late 20th century.

Unfortunately, he ended up drawing Scrooge, who would have preferred Kiichi Kosaka's Magic Mechanics Profession Book to "The Killer's Guide".

He's not going to become an assassin.

(End of this chapter)