Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 218 The Magician Under the Moon, Female Kid?
"Crack!"

Gao Mo averted his gaze from the noise on the ground and, amidst the whooshing of the helicopter rotors overhead, operated the controller in his pocket, his attention completely focused on himself.

After all, he wasn't a professional assistant and hadn't had enough rehearsals to practice with, so it was already quite impressive that the helicopter pilot could hover steadily above his head.

The rest he had to do himself.

With a slight clicking sound, the specially designed cable hanging from the helicopter tautly connected to the shoulder and back mechanism, while the cables on both sides automatically detached and retracted, quickly and discreetly, without the slightest error.

Level 4 magic ability is still somewhat beyond his current talent. Being suspended in the air by wires requires a great deal of physical strength. However, after Gao Mo entered the Transparent World, he forcibly made up for his shortcomings, and no one noticed any flaws. Even Kidd in the future would not have been able to do it.

"Da da da!"

A series of footsteps echoed on the rooftops of the buildings on both sides.

Just then, Nakamori Ginzo and his group rushed up shouting, braving the cold air blast from the helicopter and running straight to the railing.

"Magic is magic, he definitely..."

Nakamori Ginzo stared with one eye open at Kid between the two buildings, standing with his hands clasped in mid-air, still as elegant as ever.

"No? How could that be? There are no steel cables here!"

"Inspector Nakamori!" his subordinate shouted over the walkie-talkie, "He's not here either! He really is floating in the air!!"

"Are you kidding..."

Ginzo Nakamori gripped the walkie-talkie tightly, but before he could do anything, he heard a series of footsteps. It turned out that "Kid" had started to take steps.

"how is this possible?"

Not only the police, but Conan, who had also run up to the rooftop, was dumbfounded.

Let's get moving!

The white figure, illuminated by the crisscrossing searchlights, seemed to defy Earth's gravity, walking step by step in the air as if on flat ground.

Conan gritted his teeth, feeling his worldview being shaken: "This kind of thing..."

"This is what hiking means?"

On the ground, Jirokichi Suzuki swallowed hard inside the live broadcast van, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Detective Mori, can you tell me how you managed to do something so illogical?"

"I……"

The man with the mustache was covered in cold sweat.

How could he know?

"Strange, where did Kido go?"

"This is Unit 4. Kidd is currently walking above Shiodome Park... no... he's about to reach the roof of the Suzuki Museum..."

"Where are the police? We need to stop him!"

"Clap!"

The echoes of the night ceased, and Gao Mo also stopped performing.

Although the screams from the crowd continued unabated, the magic show eventually came to an end, and continuing it could really cause trouble.

Moreover, walking on foot in conjunction with helicopter performances requires extremely strong control over the body, and maintaining a clear view of the world for a long time is a huge burden on both physical and mental strength.

This rehearsal is enough.

"Oh!"

With one last glance at the bustling ground, Gao Mo vanished into the smoke and explosion, nimbly entering Helicopter No. 3 like a cat, leaving only his discarded white clothes to distract the searchlights.

“That’s the end of the performance,” Gao Mo breathed a sigh of relief, indicating to the driver to continue circling normally. “Put me on a nearby rooftop later.”

"learn."

The driver was not surprised at all.

Of course, the performance show wouldn't actually involve taking the gems.

"That's amazing! Even more amazing than the real Kidd!" The driver said excitedly, giving Gao Mo a thumbs up.

He had been wondering why they would cast a woman as Kid, but now he understood – she's a master.

He's so much taller than Kazumi Sanada, who played Kid before.

"Kid!"

The shouts from the ground had not subsided. Everyone thought that Kidd would have a fierce showdown with Suzuki Jirokichi and the police, but unexpectedly, a miraculous magic show happened.

The dual enjoyment of magic and phantom thief; the more angry and confused Nakamori Ginzo is, the more excited the tourists become.

Even though the person in question had disappeared, the excitement at the scene did not diminish.

"Kaito, could there really be magic in this world?" Nakamori Aoko asked naively.

"No, that's definitely not magic! It's a technique similar to our magic troupe's 'Living Puppet' performance. There's something wrong with that helicopter! That guy must have been suspended by the helicopter!"

Kuroba Kaito laughed defiantly.

He was now certain that the fake Kid wasn't some hidden enemy; it was all a staged performance by Suzuki Jirokichi, who had even deliberately hired an actress to satirize him.

The Suzuki family has a precedent for this, but last time it was the magician Sanada Ichizo, which didn't have much of an impact on him.

This time it's gone even further!
"call!"

Buildings near the museum.

After Gao Mo removed all his disguises and sorted out all the details, he was finally able to relax and return to Suzuki Jirokichi's side as the appraiser Kido Gao Mo.

Even as everyone was bewildered, they remained vigilant.

"He's vanished! What tricks are they up to?" Suzuki Jirokichi wiped his sweat and, finding no trace of Kid anywhere, hurriedly ordered his men to activate the mechanism.

The goddess statue on the museum's roof is turned upside down and retracted into the building at night, replaced by a fake.

Seeing this, Nakamori Ginzo said helplessly, "This is useless. This won't fool Kid at all."

“Of course I know,” Suzuki Jirokichi said gravely. “The biggest problem now is, where is Kid? If we don’t come up with a solution soon, that guy will definitely be all over the front page next time!”

"..."

Even now, they're still thinking about the front page.

The man with the mustache turned his head away speechlessly, only to find Gao Mo standing right behind him in surprise: "Kido kid? When did you get back?"

"I just went out for a short while."

Gao Mo looked at the tense group of people and said thoughtfully.

"Could it be that Kidd has already left? The trailer didn't seem to mention taking the gem; it only said that he came to visit on foot."

"Huh?" Suzuki Jirokichi's expression froze slightly. He quickly took out the preview card and checked it again. "It seems that's really the case, but..."

“How could that be?” Nakamori Ginzo said, dissatisfied. “Since that guy Kid sent out a warning letter, he would definitely steal the treasure. How could he just come to take a look?”

“I find it strange too,” the man with the mustache said, stroking his chin. “That guy never used to put on such a grand magic show.”

"Could this be a rehearsal? It seems like they've done this many times before."

"What an arrogant guy, and he even dressed up as a woman again, it's the first time I've ever seen him like that."

"Dressed up as a woman?" Sonoko pondered suspiciously, recalling her strange dream. "I mean, could it be that Kaito Kid is actually a woman? Everyone says Kaito Kid has a cross-dressing fetish, but no one seems to consider that he's actually a woman?"

“This…” The people in the discussion looked at each other in bewilderment.

Indeed, the gender of Phantom Thief Kid is not yet fully confirmed. It's just that when Kid appears in that white outfit, he always has a male voice. But what if the white-clothed Kid himself is also in disguise?
"Could Kid really be a woman?" Nakamori Ginzo was no longer so confident, frowning as he recalled the scene of his duel with Kid.

To be honest, he always felt that Kidd was very familiar, like someone he knew well, and Kidd seemed to know him very well, even the little things about him at home.

Is it...

The adorable image of his daughter, Nakamori Aoko, flashed through Nakamori Ginzo's mind.

Impossible, impossible!
How could Aoko possibly be Kid?
Nakamori Ginzo shook his head violently.

He had once suspected Kaito, but it turned out that Kid could impersonate anyone, and unless he was arrested in person, suspecting those around him would only throw him into disarray.

"It doesn't matter whether he's male or female!" Nakamori Ginzo rallied. "The most important thing now is to protect that sapphire and, ideally, figure out the principle behind his aerial walk, otherwise what if he pulls this trick again?"

"Hmph," Suzuki Jirokichi said fiercely, "His biggest mistake was the rehearsal. The same trick won't work the second time. I'll rent all the surrounding buildings and deploy several times more helicopters and security personnel than I did tonight!"

Does having money make you superior?
Nakamori Ginzo was slightly annoyed.

This old man is determined not to rely on the police anymore.

"But Kidd didn't say he'd steal any more treasures," Ran asked doubtfully. "If this was a rehearsal, wouldn't he have announced the time of the next operation?"

“That’s easy,” Suzuki Jirokichi scoffed. “No matter what that thief is up to, I’ll challenge him publicly! This duel isn’t over yet. Unless he steals the ‘Miracle of the Sea,’ I won’t accept it!”

Gao Mo had a headache.

The front page of the news should be fine, right?

He didn't want to actually become a phantom thief.

Putting everything else aside, Kaito Kuroba will definitely come looking for him, and he might get caught red-handed.

Besides, he doesn't have the talent for theft.

“Mr. Jirokichi,” Gao Mo coughed lightly, “I don’t think simply adding more helicopters is very safe. It would be best to figure out the principle of the aerial walk. As long as it’s magic, it can definitely be cracked. After the news spreads tomorrow, Mr. Jirokichi can reveal the inside story of the crack. Are you still afraid of not getting the front page?”
On the contrary, challenging Kid by stealing treasure is not very reliable, since the police have never won against Kid.

Nakamori Ginzo's eyebrows twitched: There's no need to emphasize the last sentence.

"Break magic tricks?" Suzuki Jirokichi considered seriously upon hearing this. "We could outshine Kid in magic, but we don't understand these things..."

"You're so stupid, Uncle," Sonoko said anxiously. "Kido-san's magic troupe is famous all over the country now. They must have a way to break Kid's magic!"

“I see,” Suzuki Jirokichi belatedly realized, his eyes brightening considerably as he looked at Gao Mo. “I almost forgot, if you can really help me break the magic, I can pay your magic troupe 2 million yen, preferably within the next two days, the sooner the better!”

"22 million yen?" The man with the mustache stiffened, his mind blank.

The largest commission he received was only 2 million yen. If taking in Conan could be considered a commission, it would only be 200 million yen. But Gao Mo easily received 1 million yen.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing about magic, let alone how to break Kidd's magic tricks.

“No problem.” Gao Mo and Suzuki Jirokichi shook hands firmly.

No problem at all.

As long as we get tomorrow's front page, this old man can do whatever he wants afterwards.

"The Kido Magic Troupe?" Nakamori Ginzo raised an eyebrow and looked Gao Mo over again.

He hadn't paid much attention to the Kido Magic Troupe before, but a few days ago, his daughter happened to attend a banquet, and those magicians were indeed quite skilled.

If possible, he also wanted to know how Kidd managed to levitate.

"Can I have these surveillance videos?" Gao Mo asked, pointing to the live broadcast truck. "The helicopter footage might provide some clues."

“Of course,” Suzuki Jirokichi readily agreed, seemingly already anticipating the moment he would reveal the principles behind his technique. He patted Gao Mo on the shoulder and laughed triumphantly, “I’m counting on you for everything!”

Conan, who was standing beside him, felt that something was amiss.

Previously, Gao Mo had always shown little interest in Kid, preferring instead to follow murder cases. This time…

Maybe it's because of Kidd's magic show?

Out of the corner of his eye, Conan noticed the dejected man with the mustache and muttered to himself.

Another possibility is that it's because of the 2 million yen; Gao Mo had already tasted the benefits of the Egg of Memories last time.

"Brother Kido," Conan said with a cute childlike smile, "Can I help solve the problem too?"

He also felt there might be some clues in the video.

"What are you doing getting involved, kid?" The mustachioed man glared at the heartless Conan, then stroked his chin thoughtfully, "If there wasn't a rope, could it be some kind of invisible glass? You didn't notice it because you never thought of glass, and the wind might have been quite strong at the time..."

"We're not stupid!"

Nakamori Ginzo glanced at the mustachioed man as if he were an idiot.

"How could someone with such a large pane of glass not be able to see it? And how would they transport and install it?"

"Well..."

The man with the mustache chuckled sullenly.

"It might not be glass, it could be something else we can't see? The reason Kidd disappeared after walking for a while must be because the path wasn't long enough to continue."

“We’ve already checked, and we can confirm there’s nothing there.” Nakamori Ginzo felt that this famous detective was playing a trick on him.

Perhaps they are only good at criminal cases, but are novices in other fields.

"Kido-nii," Sonoko said, pulling Ran along to catch up with Gao Mo, "we'll help too!"

"Okay."

Gao Mo took all the video materials from the staff.

“Don’t damage these videos, we need to provide them to the police later,” Nakamori Ginzo reminded him from behind. “I don’t know why Kid would do a public magic show, it’s not like Kid at all.”

"Wasn't the announcement already confirmed to be Kidd's work? There's no mistake."

Gao Mo stepped off the live-streaming vehicle without changing his expression.

The crowd still hadn't dispersed, seemingly believing that Kidd was still there, with some even thinking that Kidd had switched the "Miracle of the Sea."

No one suspected that "Kidd" was an imposter, just a magician for a performance.

"Shh!"

A girl draped in a cloak walked through the crowd. Underneath the hood was a head of long red hair, and her wine-red eyes held a hint of mischief and an air of aloof mystery. Her stunningly beautiful face seemed to be unique in the world.

"Strange, how can there be two Kids? There's no reason for my divination to be wrong."

Witch?

Gao Mo caught a glimpse of the girl and a thought flashed through his mind.

It felt dangerous but there was no real threat.

"Who?" The girl was startled and turned to look for the source of the prying gaze, but was suddenly grabbed by the arm.

"It really is Akako!" Nakamori Aoko exclaimed in surprise. "You've come to see Kid too?"

Kaito Kuroba's face darkened further: "Could it be you?"

Koizumi Akako, his witch classmate.

This guy is definitely capable of performing what he just did.

(End of this chapter)