Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 210 The Ineffective Curse, 200 Stars

"Boss Kido?"

Takagi's shout woke Gao Mo from his reverie.

"Inspector Megure asked me to review the case... Did you hear any strange noises around 2 o'clock?"

"No, it was very windy outside at the time, and Professor Agasa was snoring the whole time..."

Gao Mo gathered his thoughts.

The task he drew came from Conan—[Solving the Case].

There's no intention to redraw.

I can only apologize to the man with the mustache; he probably can't escape being anesthetized.

“But this is too strange,” Takagi said, troubled. “If your testimonies are correct, this case couldn’t possibly be man-made. But if there really is some kind of curse…”

"Has the entire investigation been completed?" Gao Mo looked at Inspector Megure, who was still talking to the villa's guests separately.

“Yes, no footprints were found around the villa, and the doors and windows were all intact,” Takagi scratched his head. “Judging from the current situation, it seems that only the five people in the west wing could have committed the crime, but Ms. Su Fang’s door was locked from the inside and had two locks.”

"Don't worry, with Mori around, solving the case won't be a problem."

"Even Mr. Mori..."

Faced with Gao Mo's words of comfort, Gao Mu hesitated before glancing at the composed-looking man with the mustache.

So calm and collected, could he really solve the case?
He is indeed far from being a master detective.

Actually, the man with the mustache is a little panicked now, as more and more evidence suggests that there really is a curse.

"The reason the murderer scattered the masks at the crime scene was simply to mislead the police investigation with this bizarre legend, but..."

“But the mystery of the locked room remains unsolved,” Inspector Megure said, his brow furrowed. “The only entrance is impassable, and the sealed door… the gaps in the grille are so narrow that even an arm cannot pass through…”

“Officer,” the man with the mustache said, perking up, “Ms. Su Fang asked me to investigate the traffic accident that killed Mr. Katagiri’s wife 20 years ago after dinner yesterday. I was wondering if it was related to Mr. Lan Chuan’s mother’s hit-and-run accident 20 years ago… In any case, perhaps we can start with the motive for the murder.”

"That's right. No matter what method the murderer used, there's no doubt that it was someone from the villa."

Megure gathers everyone again, paying special attention to photographer Masaki Katagiri and rock singer Touya Aikawa.

"Mr. Katagiri, could you tell me your real purpose for attending this banquet?"

Katagiri Masaki's forehead was slightly sweaty: "My wife was indeed the victim of the car accident that happened to Mr. Aikawa's mother back then, but what does that have to do with Ms. Su Fang's murder?"

"What's going on?" Professor Agasa asked, looking like he hadn't fully woken up, after being called to the restaurant by the police. "Why are the police here?"

“Professor,” Ai gently tugged at Professor Agasa’s trouser leg, “Ms. Su Fang was murdered in the early hours of the morning.”

"Oh, another person has died."

Professor Agasa just wanted to sleep, and only after rubbing his eyes did he realize what Ai was saying.

"Wait, Ms. Su Fang is dead?!"

“Doctor,” Inspector Megure said helplessly, “we’re still investigating the case. If you don’t have any leads to provide, you should go back to sleep.”

"Where's Kido?" Professor Agasa instinctively looked around.

“I also want to know where he went; he just vanished in an instant.” The man with the mustache touched his neck.

The third floor of the east wing.

Conan, still puzzled, went to check the room next to Su Fang and Hongzi.

Because it is a symmetrical building, the bedrooms on the east and west sides are almost identical, with no difference in even the furnishings and layout.

And that door that was sealed shut...

"Kido means the murderer committed the crime here? This is the crime scene? No, the crime scene is definitely next door, so why..."

"If Ms. Su Fang didn't bring those masks into the room herself, what other possibility could it be?"

A familiar voice sounded behind Conan.

"The only place in the entire room where a mask could pass through is the ventilation grille on this door, isn't it? You should also have doubts, so why not think about it further? Reasoning begins with trusting your own judgment, no matter how unreasonable it may seem."

"Of course I..."

Conan was startled. When he turned around, he vaguely thought he saw his father, Kudo Yusaku, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was Gao Mo.

How awful! She's actually mimicking her father's voice.

"Brother Kido, shouldn't you be helping Uncle solve the case?"

"There's no question of whether or not you'll help with solving a case."

Gao Mo took a chair and set up a platform, finding subtle bloodstains and friction marks on the ventilation grille.

The killer used elastic rope to string all the masks together, and this was probably left behind when the elastic rope was retrieved.

Conan stroked his chin thoughtfully: "But I don't understand, even if the mask can pass through the grille, a person can't get in and still can't kill someone..."

Gao Mo jumped off the chair and opened a drawer in the room to investigate: "I just looked around, but I couldn't find the elastic cord the killer used to string those masks together anywhere. Although I don't know how the killer committed the murders, those masks did indeed use elastic cords, and they were stained with blood..."

"Stringing masks together? Elastic rope?"

Conan felt as if he had been pricked by a needle, his mind went blank, and he stared blankly at Gao Mo's back for a long time before he could let out a bitter laugh, his glasses reflecting the light.

"So that's how it is. I actually fell into the killer's psychological trap!"

Kido, Kido, you must have seen the truth long ago, and you even went out of your way to remind him, treating him like a child.

However, this did allow him to grasp the key to the case, rendering the murderer's deception ineffective, and making everything incredibly simple.

At least he could easily fill in all the reasoning.

"The murderer went to great lengths to arrange the crime scene as a locked room, but didn't fake a suicide. After committing the crime, he deliberately called his uncle... All the mysteries are solved!"

Conan stood with his hands in his pockets, staring directly at Gao Mo.

"Kido-kun, if I didn't know you fairly well, I would really suspect that you are the murderer... or that you are giving the murderer advice. I don't know when it started, but every time I see the murderer committing the crime, it feels like I'm witnessing it with my own eyes."

"People can lie, but people on the scene don't. I just saw more of the truth."

Gao Mo met Conan's gaze.

That's about it for this case.

Although I'm a little curious about what those cursed masks are all about, it's best to avoid them for safety's sake.

As for the commissioned matter, the investigation became much simpler after Su Fanghongzi's murder.

That female secretary's breakthrough is quite easy; just scare her with a curse and you should be able to achieve something.

"Ms. Inaba!"

A loud shout suddenly came from downstairs at the villa. Gao Mo's heart skipped a beat. He had only reached the top of the stairs when he vaguely saw a splash of blood.

In the west wing, Takagi, pale-faced, looked down at his female secretary who had inexplicably tumbled down the stairs, clutching the cursed mask he had collected in a cardboard box.

The stairs weren't very high, but the female secretary fell headfirst, her neck bent at a terrifying angle; just looking at it sent chills down my spine.

His eyes were dull and lifeless, and a large pool of blood was flowing out rapidly; he was clearly beyond saving.

"This……"

"No."

After examining the area closely, Inspector Megure shook his head in a low voice.

“She’s dead…really, how could this happen? I was thinking of asking her some more questions.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Takagi swallowed hard, feeling the box of masks in his hands suddenly become much heavier. “She ran away like she’d seen a ghost, and then…”

"Could she be the murderer?" the man with the mustache wondered. "It seems she was the one who helped find that medium back then. Maybe she started planning this a long time ago."

"It's a curse!" Nagara Haruka put on his pajama hood, closed his eyes and kept muttering to himself, a hint of panic showing on his usually calm face.

"Like all others who obtained the Shambles mask, its owner would suffer misfortune and end in tragedy. The general manager of a British bank died while riding a horse the day after he received a certain mask, and a French jeweler also died in a robbery..."

With 200 masks gathered together, it's simply beyond the capabilities of any psychic medium!

"Miss Nagara, I think it's just an accident. Everyone, don't scare yourselves."

Megure gave the man with the mustache a wink.

It's been so long, it's about time it started to fall asleep, right?
"Mouri, aren't you sleepy?" Finding that the mustache guy didn't react at all, Inspector Megure had no choice but to ask directly.

"I'm not sleepy," the man with the mustache said, puzzled. "How could I possibly be sleepy after something like this happened?"

"Uncle!" Conan called out from the masquerade hall, "There's something strange on the third floor of the east wing, come and take a look!"

"It's you again, you little brat," the mustachioed man said irritably. "If you dare to lie to me again, I'll beat you up!"

This isn't the first time Conan has tricked him into going somewhere.

"There really is something!"

"Hmph, I'll trust you one more time."

"Um," Takagi said, clutching a box of cursed masks with a hint of despair, "I was just hugging it, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" The man with the mustache casually picked up a mask and examined it. "What curse could this thing possibly have?"

Gao Mo, standing behind, suddenly noticed that the decorative armor by the stairs was swaying, as if it was about to lose its balance.

Gao Mo glanced thoughtfully at the mustache, then his gaze swept over the cursed mask. He quickly stepped forward to support the armor, and removed the long-handled axe from the armor and placed it aside.

How is this curse related to the rules of death?

Gao Mo's brows furrowed.

The moment he did these things to save the mustachioed man, a sense of malice locked onto him, though it paled in comparison to what he had experienced before.

It didn't cause much of a reaction.

"Kaka!"

Before Gao Mo could do anything, the blood-stained mask that the mustachioed man was holding suddenly shattered with a crack, and even its luster dimmed considerably.

"Brother Mori?" Inspector Megure was somewhat incredulous.

What are you doing?
The instruction to break the curse doesn't mean you should take action directly.

"no……"

The man with the mustache looked stiff, unsure whether to let go or not. Finally, with a tearful face, he turned to Megure and pleaded, "Officer, I didn't do anything! I didn't expect it to be so fragile; just a touch and it..."

"Forget it," Inspector Megure sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Luckily, we've already collected the evidence. You should hurry up and help me find out the truth. Curse-murder and stuff... I can't even write a report about that."

"Okay, okay." The man with the mustache smiled sheepishly and hurriedly followed Conan away as if fleeing a disaster.

Nagara Haruka couldn't hold onto his fingers, letting the tarot cards fall to the ground, and stared at the mustachioed figure as if he were a god.

The Schoble Mask, which has been passed down for so many years and has caused countless deaths, has been ruined just like that?

Whether there is a real curse is uncertain, but the Grim Reaper is definitely real!
Xiao Ai quietly moved closer to Gao Mo and whispered, "What exactly happened? Just now..."

"do not know."

Gao Mo stared at a box of cursed masks, lost in thought.

It feels like these masks have all turned into ordinary wood, and there's nothing extraordinary about them anymore.

[200 stars].

The newly added stars appearing in the note projection seem to come from these masks.

Was this a curse that backfired on him?

This is the first time I've encountered this situation.

The extraordinary items in this world don't seem to be scary things, but rather a huge fortune.

"Wow!"

A glint flashed in Gao Mo's eyes.

After the number of stars in the storage pool exceeded 100, he vaguely understood the other uses of stars. 100 stars could save someone who was about to die once, but it seemed that it required Tier 3 authority, which he could not do at the moment.

“Amo.”

Professor Agasa looked at the cursed mask, his face full of sighs and a sense of melancholy.

"I didn't expect things to turn out this way, but I think Ms. Su Fang's death shouldn't be some kind of curse, right? I know you accepted the investigation commission to investigate Ms. Su Fang's charitable work... there must be something wrong with her death?"

"The cause of death was the car accident that happened 20 years ago."

Gao Mo had no time to investigate and quietly watched as the police took away the mask—probably because Conan was preparing to deduce and solve the case.

Conan definitely doesn't believe in any curses.

These masks were no different from ordinary goods in his eyes, even though they were indeed ordinary goods now.

pity.

Gao Mo looked away.

Most curses are false.

He had studied quite a few cases, but he only encountered the Cursed Mask as the sole exception.

I don't know when I'll encounter the same thing again.

……

"You already know who the culprit is?"

The room on the east side of the third floor.

Mustache falls for the trick again and becomes a sleeping Kogoro, while Conan hides behind him and deduces the truth.

The guests who were called into the room all turned their attention to Aikawa Touya.

"You took advantage of the rule that the masquerade hall is locked at midnight, and now you've made yourself the prime suspect... I think the motive is that car accident 20 years ago, right?"

"When Ms. Su Fang learned that Mr. Katagiri's wife had died in a car accident 20 years ago, she immediately asked me to investigate and promised to pay 200 million yuan after the matter was completed. She was obviously suspicious."

"If I'm not mistaken, the person who actually caused the accident and fled the scene should be Ms. Su Fang."

"As far as I know, the car accident happened on the evening of October 31st, which was Mr. Lan Chuan's birthday. Logically speaking, it would have been impossible for 6-year-old Mr. Lan Chuan to spend his birthday alone on that day, and the claim that he abandoned his son and committed suicide afterward is utter nonsense..."

Conan impersonates a mustachioed man to solve a case inside the house.

Downstairs, Gao Mo had already started packing his luggage.

The charity gala next week was already difficult to hold due to Su Fanghongzi's murder, and now that the female secretary has also died unexpectedly, the investigation is becoming increasingly difficult without this breakthrough.

This can only be addressed through a full investigation by the police.

However, the incident happened suddenly, and I believe the client can understand.

"By the way, who is the client?" Gao Mo suddenly remembered and asked.

“It’s Ai Ukawa Touya,” Ai said without turning around. “He must have discovered something and wanted to have someone investigate, but he didn’t expect it to happen all at once.”

"..."

Gao Mo sat back on the bed.

The man with the mustache's client died; his client was the murderer.

(End of this chapter)