Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 263 Driving Mastery

"The Tokyo Soul Team parade bombing incident... All the bombers have been arrested. It is said that a group of post office thieves who came to Tokyo deliberately imitated the bombing three years ago and sent threatening faxes to the Metropolitan Police Department..."

The peaceful Beika Town under the night sky.

Before the next day even arrived, a large amount of news had spread.

In a dimly lit room with the curtains drawn, the light from the television illuminated a gloomy, long-haired man wearing glasses. He appeared to be around 40 years old, with a gaunt face and significant hair loss at the front of his head.

The area around the coffee table was littered with empty wine bottles, and the ashtray on the coffee table was overflowing.

Watching the news footage of the police arresting the post office thief, the man sneered, revealing his blackened teeth.

"Impressive, they caught all the criminals in one go. Those police officers must be very proud now, maybe even opening champagne to celebrate... But it's too early to be happy."

The man exhaled a puff of smoke, his gaze falling on the date on the newspaper beside him.

"It's been three years. I was thinking of waiting another year, but I couldn't resist. I'm fully prepared. Let me see your determination one more time, brave police officers! Haha!"

"All the police deserve to die!"

……

"Huh? Your date with Sato was canceled?"

The deserted mountain road shrouded in night.

A yellow Volkswagen Beetle drifted and turned smoothly and steadily in the suburbs.

“Yes, she said she was cursed, that all the men she was close to would be taken by the Grim Reaper, and she didn’t want to go through the same pain again,” Takagi sighed on the other end of the phone. “Sato and I were never a good match.”

“You’re really useless,” Gao Mo said speechlessly. “You backed down just because she said that? This is when she’s most vulnerable…”

"But I don't want to take advantage of her, and... and I feel like she might like you more."

“She doesn’t like me, she just can’t forget Matsuda Jinpei who sacrificed himself three years ago. Besides, liking is not love. You are her present and future. She refuses to go on dates with you because she is worried that you will also be killed.”

Gao Mo saw it very clearly.

Just as Shiratori said, Sato only had a good impression of Matsuda Jinpei at most, after all, they had only spent less than 7 days together, but the other party's sacrifice left a deep impression on Sato.

Takagi was the one who stayed by Sato's side the longest.

"Officer Matsuda," Takagi asked hesitantly, "why... do you seem so keen to match me up with Sato?"

This is a good question.

Gao Mo remained silent for a moment.

"If I told you that Matsuda Jinpei wanted you to be with Sato, would you believe me?"

“Don’t joke around, Inspector Matsuda,” Takagi said with a chill running down his spine, forcing a dry laugh. “That man has been dead for three years. I wasn’t even in the First Investigation Division three years ago…”

"Just don't think I'm meddling. If I'm not going to try to bring you two together, am I going to break you up?"

Gao Mo continued drifting.

"Besides, I didn't do anything, I just gave you some advice."

"Does Officer Matsuda have someone he likes?" Takagi asked curiously.

Gao Mo fell silent again.

There's a reason this child is considered honest.

"Probably."

"What do you mean by 'probably'?"

"No, there isn't one."

Gao Mo lowered his eyelids.

He definitely doesn't have the kind of relationship he'd be dating.

It wasn't that he had any psychological trauma towards women; it was just that from the day he was resurrected, he had found it difficult to reproduce as a normal human being, and love had become a burden.

There are a few who like me, but most of them don't take things further, except for Sonoko, who is an exception.

Hints were useless; she was practically outright rejecting him—Sonoko never confessed her feelings; it was all in her head, giving him no chance to refuse.

Perhaps we can have a proper talk after we resolve the issues with the garden.

"Di Di!"

Suddenly, a sports car caught up in the rearview mirror. Its headlights were dazzling. As it passed Gao Mo, it honked its horn several times. After rolling down the window, it stretched out a hand and silently gave Gao Mo the middle finger.

Gao Mo frowned and looked over, only to find that it was a young man with dyed hair wearing sunglasses.

That's crazy, driving at night wearing sunglasses.

The young woman in the passenger seat, sporting braces, also gave a defiant look with her thumb upside down.

"call!"

Ignoring the two young men with dyed hair, Gao Mo stepped on the gas and drifted around the corner, leaving the sports car behind.

"Driving proficiency" may not be a top-tier talent, but it's enough for him to quickly master Furuya Rei's driving skills.

The driving skill level was originally only 1, but it was directly raised to 3, which is basically comparable to that of a professional race car driver.

"What's wrong?" Takagi asked, puzzled, upon hearing the loud revving of the engine. "Are you practicing driving?"

"I..." "Squeak!"

"boom--!"

Suddenly, a screeching sound of brakes came from behind the bend, followed by a deafening roar.

The young man with dyed hair, for reasons unknown, drove his sports car off the edge of the cliff, crashed violently into the other side of the mountain wall, and then turned into a fireball and rolled down into the valley.

hiss.

Gao Mo pulled over and stopped the Beetle. Even with his strong mental power, he was a little taken aback.

He dares to drift because he can do it and can anticipate danger.

Are these two people faking an accident?

It probably has nothing to do with him...

[Storage Pool: +2 Stars]

"Officer Matsuda?" Takagi's voice trembled. "What was that sound just now? Are you alright?"

He heard that Gao Mo had suddenly taken to driving recklessly these days, and even Inspector Megure had forbidden Gao Mo from touching a car.

"I'm fine. It seems there was a car accident somewhere. Let's talk another day."

Gao Mo hung up the phone without looking to the side and pretended not to have seen it, then descended the mountain via another path.

If he were to be considered a witness, it would be difficult to explain clearly. He was driving Professor Agasa's Beetle, and even if Takagi was slow-witted, he would inevitably overthink things.

With such a commotion, he must have seen more than just it; we should leave as soon as possible.

But death is really random in this world.

Why take risks if you're not capable?
That's two lives.

……

Kido Detective Agency.

Professor Agasa stood at the gate of the courtyard, waiting anxiously until his beloved car finally appeared at the end of the street.

"Why are you coming back now?"

"Just took a quick drive."

Gao Mo returned the car keys to the doctor and turned around to find that the living room lights were still on.

"Is Ai still awake?"

"Go and see for yourself." The doctor gestured with his chin, his gaze towards Gao Mo quite subtle.

"What's wrong?" Gao Mo looked puzzled. He entered the house and found that Yuanzi and Xiaolan were both there.

"They said the national mock exam is next weekend, so they're rushing to review," Dr. Agasa explained.

"..."

If you're going to review, why come all the way to the firm?
Gao Mo stared blankly at Ai, who was explaining math problems to Sonoko.

Ran kept giving a look of sudden realization, while Sonoko was sweating profusely and looked utterly hopeless, seemingly unable to understand why her child needed tutoring in math.

What is this?

Gao Mo shook his head speechlessly.

However, with exams approaching, Sonoko finally had no energy to care about anything else.

High school students in this world are just bored. If they have to take exams every day, how can they possibly be in the mood for dating?

and many more……

Gao Mo suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Sonoko's future remains unchanged, only the manner of her death has become exceptionally ambiguous.

Xiaolan gave him the same feeling.

Can an exam really kill you?

"Kiroto-san?"

Sonoko yawned and stretched, only then noticing Gao Mo's return. She quickly sat up straight and, like Xiao Lan, became engrossed in solving the problem, her eyes gleaming with wisdom.

"Hmm, calculus..."

"Oh no, it's so late!" Xiaolan snapped out of her reverie, frantically checking the time. "I still have to cook for Dad..."

“Just leave that old drunkard alone,” Sonoko lamented inwardly, realizing she couldn’t handle calculus. “You’re working too hard, Ran, having to prepare for exams and take care of the kid and the drunkard… I think we should just go to Kido’s place for intensive training for the next week, where we can study better without being disturbed.”

Oh dear, she didn't want to look stupid.

"No way," Xiaolan said helplessly, "If I don't go back soon, the house will definitely be a mess again."

"I'm going to take a shower and go to bed now."

Xiao Ai covered her mouth and yawned, glanced at Gao Mo, and left the living room with her hands behind her back.

Although tutoring Sonoko and the other girl was very rewarding, having to act while also putting up with the clueless Sonoko was truly a torment.

(End of this chapter)