Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 198 The Legend of the Snow Demon 6: The Amateur Grim Reaper
"call!"

Gao Mo stopped not far behind Ayatsuji Marina.

“I noticed when you discovered Akashi’s body—when that snowman suddenly appeared. Even I didn’t notice the body inside. You were just outside getting something from the car, but you suddenly ran back to the villa and said you found Akashi inside the snowman.”

"If I were the murderer, why would I let the body be discovered?" Marina Ayatsuji slowly turned around.

"Because everyone suspects Akashi is the murderer, and your goal is to frame the fake Himuro."

Gao Mo looked at the sunlight streaming through the snow-capped mountains.

"Your original plan was to kill Akashi after Ghana, but an accident happened. When you went outside to make arrangements, Akashi accidentally discovered you, so you had to act ahead of schedule."

However, if Akashi's body is discovered, the subsequent filming will be terminated, and your long-prepared murder plan—the alibi you designed to kill Ghana—will of course be impossible to carry out. Therefore, you must delay the discovery of Akashi's body.

From the murder of Ghana, to directors Akashi and Hiruda, and then to the suicide of the fake Himuro, the deaths of these people must form a closed loop according to your script, and it cannot be dragged out for too long.

If the weather suddenly improves, the police might swarm in, forcing you to abandon your plans.

On the other side of the woods, Yoko Okino arrived first, followed by Sato and the others, who looked at them from a distance but did not approach.

Shiratori wanted to step forward and question them, but Sato shook his head and pulled him back.

"A very good criminal plan, but Ms. Ayatsuji made a huge mistake."

Gao Mo continued.

"You used that self-portrait to frame the fake ice shop owner, and then staged a suicide scene... but you didn't know that the fake ice shop owner was actually left-handed."

"What?" Ayatsuji Marina's expression finally changed as she looked directly at Gao Mo in the fine snow.

"He uses his right hand in public because the fake Himuro who saw that self-portrait thought the real Himuro was right-handed and deliberately pretended to be so. However, in reality, he uses his left hand more often in private. I knew that when I saw his left hand."

Gao Mo paused.

"Moreover, there are quite a few tools in the studio specifically for left-handed people... These are all things I use frequently recently, and the same goes for the items in the drawers; commonly used items are all placed on the left side..."

“I can’t believe it,” Ayatsuji Marina’s eyes narrowed sharply. “I thought you accidentally saw me throw the key into that room at the end, but there was such a big loophole…”

But I don't understand, why did you find this place?

Marina Ayatsuji stared blankly at the cliff in the valley, which was only 3 meters away.

"It's hard to spot this place from above, and normally, like Inspector Shiratori, people should suspect the cable car area..."

"Because of will-o'-the-wisps."

Gao Mo explained patiently.

"An old man in the village saw the will-o'-the-wisp at the time of the incident, and it was also captured on the surveillance footage of the villa. The intersection of the two sides is here, and the cable car side may be able to allow people to travel back and forth, but the car side cannot."

This is the only place in the vicinity where cars can pass, and it's only about 200 meters from the villa; it only takes a few minutes to drive here from the main building.

“Mr. Domoto is really joking,” Marina Ayatsuji laughed and shook her head. “Do you think I could fly over here in a car? It’s at least 3 meters high, there’s no way a car could get here…”

"That's why there are will-o'-the-wisps."

Gao Mo remained calm.

"Outsiders may not know, but the local elders are very familiar with it. In the past, ice bridges were often built across the river valley. With a distance of 3 meters, it was perfect for building an ice bridge. All you had to do was string ropes along both banks, lay down branches and dry grass, pile up snow, and then pour water on it, and it would freeze instantly..."

Although I did not verify it, I still found half of the burned rope, and there were still many traces left in the valley.

"Mr. Akashi was killed because he saw you building the ice bridge, right? That's why there was straw on his body... The so-called will-o'-the-wisp was actually the firelight from when you burned down the ice bridge."

Silence fell over the snowfield as Gao Mo finished speaking, with only the sound of the wind remaining. Bai Niao, who had heard the reasoning behind, blushed and wanted to stand up and refute it, but found that he couldn't say a word.

His attempt to solve the case seemed to have become a joke, as he had completely fallen into the murderer's trap.

In Gao Mo's reasoning, he seems to have truly become a child.

"Domoto, this guy..."

"Haha," Ayatsuji Marina stood up and took off her glasses, her stunning face revealing itself as her long hair fluttered in the wind, only to be shattered by two lines of tears. "My intuition was right, Mr. Domoto knew everything... but why didn't he stop me?"

Why stop it?

Gao Mo quietly met the woman's gaze.

Give my mother back to me!

The wind intensified, and the surrounding environment gradually blurred, transforming into a snow-covered mountain forest ravaged by an explosion.

Debris from the wrecked plane was everywhere. Among the broken trees, a little girl wearing only one shoe stood crying in the wind, her cheeks blackened by smoke.

A group of four people who came in from outside were discussing how to impersonate Himuro Ichisei and acquire billions of dollars.

"Please, please, save my mother!" "Get out of my way!"

"move!"

"Please, please, my mother is over there, please, otherwise my mother..."

"I'm sick!"

"why?"

The little girl, distraught, returned to the wreckage of the plane, her small body trying to support the twisted and deformed fuselage.

"Mom, I will definitely rescue you!"

"It's no use, Marina, you must live..."

"mom!"

The aircraft wreckage collapsed.

Gao Mo reached out to grab the little girl who was sitting alone in the ruins, her tears dried up, but his arm passed right through her.

Everything was just footage recorded in the Death Note.

The notes once manipulated the past of death...

“It was actually me who suggested that Mr. Domoto participate in the program,” Ayatsuji Marina’s tears dried quickly as she whispered, turning towards the cliff, “because I needed someone to identify the fake Himuro as the murderer, but I never expected…”

Thank you. This nightmare is finally over. I no longer have to face those horrible images and can finally get a good night's sleep.

"Shh!"

Gao Mo snapped out of his past memories, his gaze flickering as he quickly grabbed Ayatsuji Marina, who was hurtling towards the cliff, and barely managed to pull her by the arm, hanging her above the valley.

"Why?" Ayatsuji Marina looked up in confusion. "Why are you stopping me now?"

"The people who couldn't save your mother back then included you, her daughter, so in the end, the one you have to kill is yourself..."

Gao Mo unleashed his muscle power, easily gripping the woman's arm.

"But have you forgotten? Your mother's last thought was for you to live."

"What do you know?" Ayatsuji Marina broke down in tears. "How could you possibly know? Mom is never coming back!"

……

"Buzz!"

A helicopter flew over the valley in the sunset, the sound of its rotors reaching the ears of everyone in the distance.

Gao Mo calmly watched Ayatsuji Marina being arrested.

At the last moment, the girl paused, seemingly wanting to turn back and say something, but she still lowered her head and was led away.

“I still don’t understand,” Shiratori finally couldn’t help but say, “Even if everything else is true, what about that suicide note? It has a fake Himuro’s signature on it…”

"So the signature is Himuro Kazusei. It's not that the fake Himuro doesn't recognize himself, but that Ms. Ayatsuji specifically asked for his autograph in advance."

Gao Mo stared expressionlessly at the notes projected onto the snow.

[Book: *Shiratori Ninzaburo's Cooking Guide* (2 stars)]

Despite the deaths of three people, there was surprisingly no extra star reward this time.

Ten years ago, a plane crash occurred... Marina, the only survivor, is still alive and will continue to live—this woman is not on the list of new Grim Reapers.

"Wow!"

As the notebook's projection turned the page, the original inscription "Ayatsuji Marina (Kuse Marina)" vanished like dust in the wind.

The cries that lingered in my ears seemed like an illusion, and never appeared again.

Gao Mo gathered his thoughts and returned to the villa.

The notebook is the Grim Reaper of the past; the separated rules of death have become the Grim Reaper of the present, and he…

Although he is destined to fight against the current Grim Reaper, he does not want to repeat the past and present.

Perhaps... Death isn't only capable of reaping souls, but can also save them.

"Domoto Hajime!" Shiratori called out to Gao Mo, her face flushed. "If you really saw through her plan, why did you let it go? If you had stopped it sooner, things would have been different from Ruda and the fake Himuro..."

“I only found out at the very end,” Gao Mo said, his steps unwavering. “No matter what, I’m just an actor, an amateur.”

(End of this chapter)