Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 181 The Boss and His Outstanding Employees

"Uncle Kido, can we really go to the movies whenever we want from now on?"

"As long as we don't cause trouble for others, it's fine, and it's best to wait a while before discussing it further."

"I understand, there are bad guys."

Beika-cho 2-chome.

Gao Mo led Ai and the others back from the movie theater. Conan, worried about Ran's date, left early on his own. The three kids also went home full of anticipation, while Sonoko went to her family to deal with the movie theater issue.

"Is it really that simple?" Ai didn't believe the case could be resolved so easily. "You made that young lady do that so that she could shift the hatred onto you, right? That man might actually kill you..."

"The most terrifying enemy in this world is always the one we can't see."

Gao Mo could still sense that the long-faced man's death was imminent.

He can handle this kind of trouble, but what he fears most is the kind of trouble that never ends.

For example, malice from all over the world, or the Black Organization as the world's villains.

"I've never seen you afraid of ghosts," Ai muttered softly.

Gao Mo did not respond, but suddenly stopped at the door.

Compared to when I left, the lawn in the yard had more signs of being trampled.

He deliberately left scraps of paper to fall from the crack in the front door—someone had opened the door in the middle, but Hattori Heiji should still be investigating the Sakonji case and hadn't returned yet.

The fact that Sakonji was burned alive in front of so many people is undoubtedly the biggest case in recent times, and it won't end so easily.

To an outsider who knows nothing about it, it seems like an impossible crime, even somewhat horrifying.

"Mr. Kido?"

Rei Furuya, wearing an apron and holding a soup ladle, opened the door and greeted everyone with a smile.

"When I heard the sound, I thought it might be you guys coming back. Come and try my new mixed soup."

"Amuro?" Gao Mo was taken aback and lowered his guard. "Why did you suddenly come?"

After the Egg of Memories incident, Furuya Rei asked for leave to go back to his hometown, which must mean he had some important mission.

“Things back home are settled, so I was thinking of coming back to handle some cases,” Furuya Rei said with a squinty smile, “but it seems like there aren’t any cases.”

"It might be because our fees are relatively high."

Gao Mo led Ai into the restaurant—they had known each other for quite some time, but Ai still rarely spoke to Furuya Rei, even though she knew Furuya Rei's true identity from the beginning.

Rei Furuya: "Is the fee high?"

"Now the commission fee is basically 30 yuan or more, plus there's an unreliable guy next door."

The guy next door with the mustache is still taking on small cases worth only tens of thousands of yuan, let alone 300,000. He's shameless.

Gao Mo sniffed as he spoke.

A fragrant aroma wafted out of the kitchen along with the steam.

Judging from a gourmet's perspective, Furuya Rei's cooking skills are far superior to his; he's probably at least level 3.
These guys spend their free time researching cooking, right?
“And recently there have been far fewer commissions,” Gao Mo added.

at the same time.

Maori Detective Agency.

After watching another episode of a TV series, Kogoro Mouri yawned boredly, surrounded by beer cans.

I thought I could relax since Xiaolan wasn't home, but it turns out I have to take care of my own dinner.

"That's really strange. Who's taking all these cases? Is a starting fee of 30 yen really that expensive? I'm a famous detective, yet I haven't had a job for almost a month... and Kido hasn't seemed that busy, has he?"

Staring at the several cases involving missing cats and dogs in his hands, the man with the mustache furrowed his brows.

Does this mean I have to go back to my old profession?
We can't keep going backwards as we get older.

How could a renowned detective like Kogoro Mouri accept such a case?

Let alone finding cats or dogs, he hasn't taken on any requests to find people in a long time now.

"A famous detective must solve difficult cases."

The man with the mustache tilted his head back, straightened his collar, and prepared to go out for dinner, but after glancing at his empty wallet, he quickly fell silent.

He lost the million-dollar commission from last time gambling on horse racing, and his allowance this month is pitifully small.

“It’s not like we can’t make an exception in special circumstances. It’s pitiful that they can’t find a cat… If Kogoro Mouri can’t take it, how about Kogoro Akechi? Kido can use a fake identity, so why can’t I?”

……

dinner time.

Hattori Heiji and Kazuha returned to the office on time, looking travel-worn and somewhat distracted even while eating.

"What did the police say?" Gao Mo asked as he helped clear the table.

"What else can we do?" Hattori Heiji said helplessly. "We can only treat it as an accident. Besides, Takato Yoichi is hiding somewhere, so we can't even verify it."

The only guess now is that the other party had anticipated this day, and that he must have stolen Sakonji's notebook..."

As he spoke, Hattori Heiji stroked his chin again and said, "The notebook found on Takato Yoichi's body did not contain the magic trick that Sakonji performed. So, to be honest, the one who killed Sakonji could be Chikamiya Reiko, who was murdered 5 years ago. Takato Yoichi probably wanted to hand over the final stage to his mother."

What a terrifying guy!

"A Hell Puppet Master?" Furuya Rei maintained his smile.

It's a pity he can't leave Tokyo easily, otherwise he would probably participate in these exciting cases and personally arrest Takato Yoichi.

The detention center in that small town was definitely lacking, which is why Gao Yuanyao was able to escape so easily.

“By the way, Mr. Kido,” Rei Furuya suddenly reminded him, “did you encounter that assassin called Silver Fox?”

"Hmm?" Gao Mo was slightly surprised. "I was indeed at the scene... Is there a problem?"

"You'd better be careful. I heard that Silver Fox has a younger brother named Red Fox, who is extreme in his actions and even more crazy and ruthless than Silver Fox."

Rei Furuya casually offered a reminder.

At noon, he received news that the old man targeted by Silver Fox had been shot in the head at home.

Furthermore, the murderer seemed to be investigating something and even visited that shopping store once.

The Kido Detective Agency even showed signs of being targeted.

Among a group of ordinary citizens, Gao Mo, the owner of the detective agency, was just a little different, but it seems that he has already been implicated.

My luck is exceptionally bad.

"Red fox?"

Gao Mo felt the malice that had not dissipated.

It wasn't just the long-faced man in the movie theater who wanted to kill him; the silver fox's younger brother, the red fox, was also among them.

Why are these assassins like a fox den?

Gao Mo frowned as he recalled the situation.

He only briefly released his aura, triggering the killing intent that Death had accumulated over the past month, before dodging Silver Fox's deadly attack.

The silver fox, who failed to kill him, became the scapegoat instead...

No matter how you look at it, there's no trace of him making a move.

A completely unexpected event.

Just because he hid, does that mean we should seek revenge on him?

"Are there any other foxes besides the red fox?" Gao Mo asked with concern.

“There shouldn’t be any more,” Furuya Rei shook his head. “In any case, be careful. After all, the other party is a professional assassin, and we ordinary people can’t afford to mess with them.”

"Silver fox, red fox?" Hattori Heiji asked, confused. "When did Kido-kun get involved with assassins?"

“It wasn’t me who provoked them,” Gao Mo said as he went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes. “These killers are probably mentally unstable.”

It's best to get rid of these dangerous guys as soon as possible.

There is no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days.

Gao Mo glanced at Furuya Rei out of the corner of his eye.

It seems he doesn't need to take action himself?
If they actually dare to break in, then things will get interesting.

He didn't think these assassins were comparable to the combined officers of the police and the Black Organization. Night fell.

Gao Mo sat in his study reading, remaining completely alert throughout.

Upon discovering that the outdoor surveillance footage and alarm system had been completely hacked, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

They're quite capable.

However, the indoor system was not damaged.

Just as Gao Mo was about to get up to face the enemy, he felt the malice lessen and become negligible in an instant.

solved?
The outdoor surveillance cameras were back to normal, which made Gao Mo's eye twitch.

The one who hacked into the system wasn't an assassin, but Rei Furuya—or more accurately, the public security police officers under Rei Furuya's command.

Rei Furuya has always been a lone wolf in the Black Organization, a situation only the Public Security Bureau would act this way.

This is because they don't want him to see the police operation.

"take away!"

Outside the office.

Wearing a headset, Kazami Yuya coldly surveyed his surroundings, glanced one last time at the Kudo residence, and quickly got into his car and left the scene.

Also brought along was the movie theater director, a man with a grimacing face, who had come to investigate the situation.

"This one seems to be an accomplice who's keeping watch."

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" the long-faced man exclaimed in terror. "I'm not an accomplice; I just wanted to scare the people here..."

"Shut up!"

Kazami Yuya knocked out the long-faced man with electric shocks.

Regardless of whether they're accomplices or not, they don't look like good people.

Since I rarely get to make a move, I must leave a clean and efficient impression on Mr. Furuya.

Although I don't know why Mr. Furuya insisted on working under Takayuki Kido.

Kazami Yuya turned around, puzzled.

Mr. Furuya, didn't you want to recruit Kido Takami before?
How did I end up working for Kido Takamori?

Could Kido Takamori's true identity be a high-ranking member of the organization?
It seems that only this explanation makes sense.

……

Early the next morning.

When Gao Mo woke up, Furuya Rei had already left the office, saying that he had some urgent business to attend to.

No one else noticed what happened last night, except for Ai, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Kazuha chatted with Sonoko, who came over for a visit, and then enthusiastically suggested going shopping for clothes in Shibuya—since Ran wasn't there, the two became new best friends.

"Don't worry," Sonoko said confidently, "This time it's my turn to host you. I know Shibuya very well, so just tell me what you want to buy!"

"Xiao Lan still doesn't have time?"

"Xiao Lan is with her mother..."

“Honestly,” Hattori Heiji complained, “saying he was worried about me coming to Tokyo alone, but it turns out he just came here to buy clothes.”

“That’s true,” Kazuha snorted and tilted her head back. “If it weren’t for your aunt asking me to take care of you, I wouldn’t want to run around with you.”

"That sounds nice, but I don't know who insisted on dragging me to Hokkaido to see magic shows..."

“You two have such a great relationship,” Sonoko couldn’t help but get gossipy. “Ran said you two are childhood sweethearts, you were a couple when you were little, how romantic!”

Kazuha blushed and turned her head away: "No, I've just always thought of Heiji as my subordinate since I was little."

"A subordinate?" Hattori Heiji was stunned. "What do you mean? You should be the subordinate!"

“Just like last time,” Kazuha said, pulling Sonoko away, “Leave any hard or tiring work to Heiji.”

"hateful……"

Hattori Heiji recalled accompanying a few girls shopping at Osaka Castle.

"I won't fall for it this time. Besides, we have other plans for today."

"Other arrangements?"

“It’s my dad. One of his friends needs my help,” Hattori Heiji said, turning to Gao Mo. “Kido-kun, come along too. It feels weird if I go alone.”

He didn't want Gao Mo to suffer the same hardships he had endured.

Hattori Heiji subtly gave him a wink.

"The other party is the Nagato family. If the deal goes smoothly, the commission fee will definitely not be a small amount."

"The Nagato family?" Sonoko asked in surprise. "Is it the Nagato Group? I visited the Nagato family a few times when I was a child. Did something happen to them?"

"It's nothing serious, just helping to find someone."

……

The Nagato family was a powerful family that was no less so than the Suzuki family.

The mansion in Tokyo is like a small estate, with several family villas sitting side by side, exuding grandeur.

An old butler led Hattori Heiji and Gao Mo upstairs and said, "My master is on the third floor. He has been ill recently and has difficulty moving around."

Hattori Heiji whispered to Gao Mo, "If I came alone, there would definitely be no commission fee, but if you, Kido-nii, are here too, the Nagato family certainly won't be stingy."

Very aware.

Taking in Hattori Heiji was a good choice back then.

Gao Mo straightened his clothes, thinking about how to approach Chairman Nagato later.

After all, "Detective Conan" is a detective world, and detectives, especially famous detectives, are very popular in wealthy families. In addition, given his previous identity as an appraiser, he can now be considered to have some social status.

"This way, please." The old butler bowed and opened the door.

In a spacious bedroom on the third floor, which resembled a large hall, an old man with a white beard lay smiling on the large bed, looking quite well. Beside him stood a short-haired female secretary, and another middle-aged man with squinting eyes and sword-like eyebrows.

Hattori Heizo?

Gao Mo turned to look at Hattori Heiji.

The head of the Osaka Prefectural Police, who frequently appears on television, is highly recognizable. He is very similar to Yuji Suwa, but is more robust and exudes an imposing aura, like a raging beast.

Heiji Hattori visibly tensed up.

"Dad."

“That’s settled then. I should probably head back to Osaka,” Hattori Heizo said, glancing at his watch. “Regarding that matter… my son will take my place. Don’t worry, he may be young, but he has a keen eye for detail and some skills. He should be able to help you.”

As he spoke, Hattori Heizo grabbed his son and forcefully pulled him to the old man's side to bow.

"It's a good opportunity to have him handle the search for the person as well."

"Stay for my birthday party tonight," the old man urged. "It won't take up much of your time."

"There's an urgent matter to attend to in Osaka."

Hattori Heizo glanced at Gao Mo.

"This must be Mr. Kido? I was planning to meet you when I was in Osaka last time, but unfortunately I couldn't find the time... Please take care of my son."

“I’m the one who should be taken care of,” Gao Mo said gently, shaking hands with Hattori Heizo. “Heiji has helped me a lot.”

Master.

Even without activating Eagle Eye or the Transparent World, Gao Mo could still clearly sense the powerful aura emanating from this man.

Like Yusaku Kudo, he is a true big shot.

"Who is this?" Chairman Nagato asked, his expression surprised.

I hadn't heard of Gao Mo before, but judging from my old friend's reaction, he doesn't seem like an ordinary person.

“Kido-san is my current boss at the detective agency I work for,” Hattori Heiji explained.

"Oh, so you're a detective too," Chairman Nagato said with realization, but his attitude was not cold. He greeted them warmly, "Welcome, welcome. Thank you for your help today."

(End of this chapter)