Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 170 The Magic Train Murder Case 2: The Magic of Death
"Tick!"

The hands of the clock inside the car kept ticking.

Gao Mo leaned against the window and continued to look through Reiko Kinmiya's information, occasionally checking the time with a puzzled look.

The malice didn't escalate further; in fact, it gradually disappeared after he left the dining car...

This is quite a rare occurrence.

We can't simply entrust him with finding out the truth.

Gao Mo continued to peruse the documents in his hands.

He already knew the basics of what happened between Reiko Chikamiya and the Illusion Magic Troupe, and with his photographic memory, he had memorized it all.

However, these materials are not only used for investigation, but also to enrich his knowledge of magic and his thinking about magic.

Magic level 3 is considered a common celebrity level, but level 4 becomes extremely difficult.

The members of the Fantasy Magic Troupe are basically at level 3. After more than ten years of magic careers and five years as a solo troupe, they are still living off the legacy of the Reiko Chikamiya era.

The more Gao Mo learned about her, the more interested he became in Reiko Chikamiya.

He gained something just from reading the materials.

Reiko Chikamiya's magic ability should be at least level 5, right?
His current abilities already amount to quite a few level 4, but level 4 certainly doesn't match Reiko Chikamiya's status—she has already achieved world-renowned accomplishments.

If he could watch Reiko Chikamiya's magic show once, with his talent and ability, he might have a chance to improve his magic level.

Gao Mo stroked his chin.

Even without that invitation, he would probably still have boarded this train...

"Dong dong!"

There was a sudden knock on the door of the private room.

"Excuse me," the train conductor said in a panic, "we just received a call saying that there's a bomb on this train. We'll be making an emergency stop at the freight station in 5 minutes. Please prepare to disembark as soon as possible!"

"bomb?"

"It's true, there was an explosion in the food truck, it wasn't a prank call!"

The train conductor wiped his sweat and hurriedly ran to inform the others.

The once relatively calm carriage immediately descended into chaos.

Upon entering the freight station, passengers panicked and poured out of the train from all directions.

"Everyone, calm down, don't push!"

"Don't panic!" the train conductor shouted hoarsely.

"Forget about the luggage for now!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Gao Mo walked out of the private room, puzzled.

He felt nothing.

Is there really a bomb?
"Hey, passenger!" The train conductor, seeing Gao Mo's unhurried demeanor, glared at him and shouted urgently, "Are you out of your mind? Get off the train right now!"

While others were terrified, this person was as relaxed as if he were on a picnic.

"Wow!"

Gao Mo stepped off the train empty-handed, his eyes gleaming slightly as he subconsciously activated Eagle Eye World to scan the entire scene.

Meanwhile, the members of the magic troupe gathered together amidst the chaos, seemingly searching for something.

After helping the train conductor guide the crowd to safety, Megure appeared to be contacting the local police.

“Wait a minute, Inspector Megure,” Heiji Hattori said, finding Megure’s side. “This commotion is probably just a prank. There’s no way a bomb could have been planted on the train!”

"Huh?" Inspector looked confused. "You saw the explosion in the food truck too..."

“It was just the rose salad that exploded,” Hattori said while inspecting the train. “The prisoner deliberately ordered that salad for the officer and hid a small bomb in it… But all the dishes in the dining car are made to order in the kitchen, so it’s impossible to tamper with them without being there in person.”

Moreover, their timing was impeccable, as if they were observing our actions and reactions up close...

That guy who calls himself the Hell Puppet Master is probably right next to us, on this magic train… Surely no one would blow up their own train, right? At least this Hell Puppet Master doesn't seem like he's trying to commit suicide.”

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Megure's face darkened.

The matter has escalated to such a great extent that it can no longer be easily resolved.

“If we don’t follow his plan, who knows what he’ll do?” Hattori Heiji continued to observe his surroundings. “And I also want to know what tricks he’s up to.”

"What do you mean by small bombs?"

Gao Mo walked through the crowd and approached.

"The food truck exploded after I left?"

"It was just a prank explosion, no one was injured," Hattori Heiji explained, looking past Megure. "That guy who called himself the Hell Puppet Master somehow slipped a walkie-talkie into the officer's pocket."

"First they announced the salad explosion, then they said there was a bomb on the train that would blow the entire train to pieces..."

Hattori Heiji spoke with a serious expression.

"Kido-kun, you should come with us from now on. It's too dangerous for you to go alone. I'm worried that we won't be able to find you if something happens."

"Uh……"

Gao Mo was speechless.

Doesn't it sound dangerous to be around you?

It's clear the criminals were after Inspector Megure.

Is he playing with the police or does he have another purpose...?

Gao Mo subconsciously touched his pocket—even though he didn't think anyone could secretly put things in there without him noticing.

empty.

That's strange, why are they targeting Inspector Megure but not him?
"Inspector Megure," Gao Mo said, looking around the room again, "may I see that threatening letter?"

"This, Brother Kido..."

Mumu looked troubled.

Such matters are generally not revealed to outsiders, and his mention of "Hell Puppet Master" is already considered a violation of regulations.

“Just agree to it, Inspector Megure,” Shiratori said as he stepped off the train. “Mr. Kido isn’t an outsider, and I haven’t seen him before…”

Gao Mo turned to face Shiratori Renzaburo, and suddenly felt a familiar gaze upon him.

He had felt strange since morning.

Shiratori Ninzaburo was no ordinary extra, yet he couldn't recall this young master having any interest in magic.

Is this guy really Shiratori?

Since it was inconvenient to use his superpowers in person, Gao Mo could only observe.

Since we have never met Shiratori Ninzaburo in person, it is difficult to make a distinction; we can only analyze the traces of disguise and his behavior.

Human subconscious habits can sometimes reveal one's occupation and lifestyle.

"What's wrong?" Shiratori noticed Gao Mo's gaze.

"Why is Officer Shiratori only coming out now?" Gao Mo couldn't find any flaws.

It seems like a disguise, yet no trace of it can be found...

“Because I just went to the restroom,” Shiratori chuckled. “Mr. Kido, you don’t suspect I’m a puppeteer from hell, do you? I wouldn’t play such a silly trick.”

"There are only 5 minutes left until the explosion."

"Imperial Megure said solemnly."

"Regardless, treat it as a bomb. Everyone, please stay as far away from the train as possible!"

After retreating to a safe distance, Inspector Megure took out a few photos from his pocket.

"The threatening letter is still at the Metropolitan Police Department, but I have photos of it, not only the threatening letter, but also the magic box that came with it."

"Three days later, the train bound for the Shikokuhara wetlands of Hokkaido will be enchanted, and a magic show of death and terror will soon unfold—the Hell Puppet Master..."

Heiji Hattori leaned close to Gao Mo and read a sentence aloud, but he didn't notice any other hidden information.

"Just like Inspector Megure said, nothing special... Does Kido-kun know something?"

"No, I was just curious."

Gao Mo returned the photos.

He didn't see anything either.

However, there were other gains as well.

Officer Shiratori appeared to have already seen the threatening letter.

If someone were truly a magic enthusiast, they couldn't possibly be indifferent to magic box mechanisms, yet Shiratori didn't ask a single question after seeing the photo.

“Inspector Megure,” Gao Mo put aside his doubts for the moment, “after boarding the Magic Train, did you encounter anything unusual? Something different from a normal train ride?”

"If I had to pinpoint anything different... it would just be the magic, wouldn't it?" Inspector Megure recalled. "Yesterday before I went to sleep, a magician performed a rose magic trick for everyone in the carriage." "That's true," Hattori Heiji nodded in a deep voice. "A magician who was completely covered up, wearing a mask, and even using a voice changer... At the time, I thought it was a magician from the Illusion Magic Troupe, but now that I think about it, could it have been that Hell Puppet Master?"

After a pause, Hattori Heiji suddenly said to Gao Mo, "Is Kido-kun questioning on behalf of Mr. Kindaichi? If it's Kindaichi, it's not surprising that he would be interested in this kind of case."

Shiratori raised an eyebrow slightly: "Kindaichi?"

“It’s that top detective from our agency,” Hattori’s eyes gleamed with renewed determination. “Even when he’s not at the scene, he can deduce things based on the information Kido provides. Although he’s always been seen as Kogoro Mouri’s assistant, the one who really puts in the work is Mr. Kindaichi…”

"Oh?" Shiratori's interest was piqued.

"Now is not the time to talk about this."

Gao Mo pulled Hattori Heiji, interrupting the conversation.

"How long until the explosion?"

"It's now……"

As Inspector looked at the train in response, an explosion was heard just as he finished speaking.

It wasn't a bomb that exploded; rather, smoke burst from the top of the train, then shot up like fireworks.

As if performing magic, rose petals rained down all over the place.

"boom!"

"This……"

The station was eerily quiet; everyone was bewildered by the scene, and after a while, people began to whisper among themselves.

"What exactly happened? Are they just trying to scare us?"

Just to be on the safe side, the train conductor conducted a thorough inspection before restarting the train.

The passengers returned to their sleeper berths.

A seemingly prank-like disturbance caused many people to curse and swear, but the people involved, including Megure, were even more nervous, clinging to their old cell phone that could only make calls.

However, no further incidents occurred on the train until the penultimate stop, Asahikawa Station, and the old cell phone remained silent.

"We've arrived at Asahikawa Station. Passengers who need to transfer..."

The station was crowded, and most passengers got off at Asahikawa.

Most people who head to the final stop, "Dead Bone Plains," are there to see a magic show.

dining car.

Gao Mo and Bai Niao ordered afternoon tea and casually chatted about interesting anecdotes from the magic world.

Almost all the famous Japanese magicians have died, and now it's mostly a new generation that's active, the most famous of whom is Sanada Ichizo.

"It is said that the Fantasy Magic Troupe is going to officially return to China to develop. Even if they don't come up with any new ideas, those few incredible magic tricks should still be able to secure a place in the domestic market."

"Does Officer Shiratori know anything about those magic tricks?" Gao Mo asked, sipping his drink. "If it's really as advertised, it should be able to do even better overseas."

"Who knows? Maybe he's run out of ideas and can't create anything original anymore?"

The white bird's gaze was inquisitive.

"Mr. Kido is quite surprising. He knows a lot about magic. Besides being an appraiser... could he also be a magician?"

"Since someone gave me a lot of magic information, I took the opportunity to learn more about it..."

Gao Mo felt he had the wrong target.

This guy isn't a Hell Puppet Master.

If I had to say, he's more like an acquaintance—that magician-turned-thief, Kaito Kid.

"I'm going back."

Gao Mo got up and left, then entered the Transparent World again when no one was paying attention.

This superpower is not X-ray vision, but it is similar to it. It's like opening one's mind's eye, allowing one to not only control oneself but also see a lot of information that is normally invisible.

The whole world was crystal clear, as if you could directly see the flow of blood in a human body...

Absolutely.

This guy is Kaito Kid.

No wonder his words were always subtly probing, never mentioning "Kuroba Rokuro" but every sentence pointed to him.

It's like a persistent ghost...

"Everyone run away!"

"Get down!"

Suddenly, a shout of surprise and anger came from the first-class carriage.

Before Gao Mo could make a move, another series of crackling explosions followed.

It sounds like a bunch of balloons have been popped.

"Officer Megure?"

"do not come!"

Megure crouched in the aisle, carefully checking room number 7. Only after the noise had completely subsided did he slowly and solemnly open the door.

The smell of gunpowder spread.

The private room was piled high with thorny roses, with only one section in the middle left empty.

"Gone!" Megure was covered in sweat. "The body of that magic troupe leader was just here... and he vanished in an instant!"

"What, the commander's corpse?"

Several private rooms nearby opened one after another, and the members of the magic troupe threw a tantrum.

"There's a limit to playing pranks, officer! We're preparing for a magic show tonight, and we were planning to take a break..."

"This is no joke!" Inspector Megure said solemnly. "Your commander's body was indeed lying in the roses just now! But for some reason, it suddenly disappeared... This private room should be your commander's, right?"

"They're talking strangely, what do you mean by 'corpses disappeared'?"

“I know,” a magician laughed. “It must be the Mountain God Commander’s new trick. He’s definitely playing a trick on us. No wonder we haven’t been able to find him since he showed up this morning…”

“The corpse just now didn’t look fake,” Hattori Heiji, who had witnessed the whole situation alongside Inspector Megure, frowned deeply. “And we can still smell blood… Your commander wouldn’t be deliberately provoking the Metropolitan Police Department inspectors, would he?”

"Inspector?"

When the members of the Magic Troupe saw the police manual that Megure showed them, they finally realized something was wrong, and their faces stiffened, revealing a hint of fear.

"Why would the police be here...?"

“Someone sent a threatening letter to the Metropolitan Police Department, and it was that guy who just called us here.”

Hattori Heiji felt as if his thoughts were stuck in a quagmire, and a look of surprise still lingered on his face.

"Death magic, disappearing into thin air... How is that possible? Can magic really do something like that?"

"call!"

Gao Mo glanced at the surrounding members of the magic troupe, then thoughtfully looked towards the private room where the incident had occurred.

The smells of roses, gunpowder, and blood... and the ground was littered with shattered balloon fragments.

He already had a general understanding of the situation.

Looking beyond the surface, whether it's a criminal or a magician, seemingly useless props often have their purpose.

Perhaps because he was a semi-outsider and not completely fooled like Inspector Megure and Heiji Hattori... he vaguely saw the criminal's intentions.

The explosion, seemingly a prank, was actually intended to reinforce the impression of a "bomb explosion."

So Megure didn't even go into the private room to check.

This gave the body about a minute to disappear...

Gao Mo's gaze remained calm as he re-examined the members of the magic troupe who were being questioned by Megure.

He had been prepared for the deaths, but he didn't expect it to start while he was still on the road—logically speaking, the hotel at the final stop should have been the stage for the incident.

The Kindaichi Case is indeed very different from the Conan series.

However, it made little difference to him; he didn't care whether these people lived or died, nor did he have any intention of saving those who were destined to die.

The incident actually helped him pinpoint his identity as the "Hell Puppet Master".

A faint glow from the projection has already begun to appear.

No matter how well you hide it, committing a crime in front of him will inevitably expose your weakness.

“Kido-kun,” Hattori Heiji took a deep breath, ceasing his forced reasoning, “can you contact Mr. Kindaichi? This is undoubtedly a murder case, and the perpetrator even committed the crime right in front of us… It’s a provocation against our Kido Detective Agency!”

Gao Mo: "..."

What does this have to do with the detective agency?

(End of this chapter)