Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 288 This time it's Hattori Heiji

Kido Detective Agency.

Gao Mo was in his study brainstorming his next short story. After finishing all the projected books, both his writing and photography skills reached level 3. He hadn't even tried photography yet, but writing was noticeably easier.

The process of choosing a topic, brainstorming ideas, researching, and writing all went very smoothly.

As expected of a Level 3 author, their writing ability is comparable to that of a Level 3 renowned writer.

However, it's still a long way off before Yusaku Kudo is around.

Even if luck plays a role, a world-class writer's writing ability must be at least level 5.

With that in mind, Gao Mo sent another email to Kudo Yusaku, but did not receive a reply immediately.

Yusaku Kudo should still be in London at the moment.

"A game related to Sherlock Holmes?" Gao Mo recalled a Conan movie that seemed to tell the story of a super artificial intelligence through a virtual game in which Yusaku Kudo participated.

Has it appeared yet?

Gao Mo glanced at his laptop subconsciously.

If there really is some kind of artificial intelligence, it's quite frightening; we currently have no way to counter it.

"Swish!"

It suddenly rained in the evening, so Sonoko decided not to go home and instead stayed overnight, despite the black cat's hostility.

Kazuha plans to return to Osaka first thing tomorrow morning.

Rei Furuya, who was discharged from the hospital, also came to the agency. After learning that "Kindaichi" had not appeared, he left in a hurry and took over all the cases that had accumulated in the agency.

When it comes to private detectives, Rei Furuya is truly a genius. His work is flawless, and he is perfect in every aspect.

"That's why I can neglect my proper job," Gao Mo couldn't help but sigh.

"What do you mean by neglecting one's duties?"

Sonoko peeked into the study and carefully brought over a cup of coffee.

"Kido-nii, I'll graduate from the cooking class in another month, and then I'll take care of Ai."

"..."

Gao Mo didn't know what to say.

Why does everyone feel like Ai needs to be taken care of?

"Something's wrong, Kido-nii!" Kazuha rushed into the study, nearly knocking over Sonoko's coffee. "Something's happened! Heiji..."

"What's wrong with Hattori?" Gao Mo asked, looking at Kazuha who was completely flustered.

“It’s about that gang of robbers,” Kazuha said, wiping away her tears and looking guilty. “The police in Kyoto said Heiji was attacked by criminals and has been taken to the hospital. It’s very likely…”

"calm down."

Gao Mo's eyes narrowed slightly.

If Hattori Heiji were to be murdered, he couldn't possibly have failed to foresee it, and his life should not be in danger.

But how could a temple's commission be attacked by criminals?
A bandit gang?
Gao Mo shared all the information about the Genji Firefly incident in his mind, checked the time, stood up and said, "I'll go to Kyoto now to check the situation. Don't worry, Hattori is tough, he won't be in trouble so easily."

That's it for now.

Gao Mo added in his mind, his brows furrowing as he turned away from He Ye and the others.

The prophetic vision he saw at the Mihana Art Museum actually pointed to Kyoto.

Ai, Sonoko, Rei Furuya... and now it's Heiji Hattori's turn?

His advancement speed was a bit slow, which affected the people around him.

"Meow~" The black cat squatted at the door, quietly watching Gao Mo pack his luggage, while Xiao Ai next to him tightened her clothes with worry.

When she was hospitalized before, Gao Mo was the same way, so calm it was frightening.

If the enemy is human, that's fine, but if...

Ai turned to Kazuha, who was crying and hugging Sonoko in the corridor.

Her feeling was exactly the same as during the Shibuya incident.

If Hattori Heiji is the bait, then Kyoto is undoubtedly a huge trap for Gao Mo. "I'm not the one who should be worried."

Gao Mo felt the gaze and ruffled Xiao Ai's hair.

"Sonoko, I'm leaving Ai in your care."

"Huh? Me?" Sonoko paused, pointing to herself. Remembering her earlier promise, she could only nod with a bitter expression.

She also wanted to go to Kyoto.

I already regretted not going to Ryukyu with the cooking class.

Xiao Ai wanted to speak, but Gao Mo interrupted her: "We don't know the prisoner's situation yet. Staying home and waiting for news is the biggest help you can give."

……

Rice flower station.

Gao Mo hurried along, carrying only a backpack as he boarded the train, followed by He Ye, whose eyes were slightly red.

He originally wanted Kazuha to stay, but he couldn't stop her no matter what he did.

Thinking that Hattori Heiji might need someone to take care of him, she didn't insist in the end.

"Boss Kido?"

Shiratori happened to be sitting next to him. When he saw Gao Mo and Kazuha, whose eyes were red from crying, his eyebrows twitched several times. Just as he was about to say something, Kazuha had already approached the Osaka Prefectural Police who was traveling with him.

“Officer Otaki!” Kazuha cried out, her voice choked with emotion, “Heiji…”

“I know everything,” the burly policeman said in a deep voice. “We were also planning to go to Kyoto to investigate. Heiji, as a key witness, has been taken into custody by the Kyoto police.”

"Are you sure the culprit is from the bandit gang?" Gao Mo followed up with a question.

“It’s not certain yet; we’ll have to wait until Heiji wakes up to find out,” the burly policeman, who was also familiar with Gao Mo, replied with a sigh. “It all happened so suddenly. Actually, before Heiji was attacked, another Genji member, Ying, was killed. His identity is suspected to be that of the member codenamed Ise Saburo, and Heiji was also involved in the investigation.”

"So, it's highly likely that the culprit is the same person?"

"Yes, that's why Heiji's testimony is very important."

Gao Mo crossed his fingers and didn't press the matter further.

Even Officer Otaki probably doesn't know the specifics of what happened; only by going to the scene can he truly understand the situation.

However, the shared talent is still a bit lacking in this situation, as it can only obtain document information rather than real-time intelligence.

This will undoubtedly waste a lot of time at crucial moments.

Forget it, the police's intelligence might not be reliable, it's better to investigate it myself.

He happened to have some questions for Hattori.

“Oh, right,” Inspector Otaki suddenly remembered, “could we trouble your company’s Detective Kindaichi to assist with the investigation? If it’s that famous detective…”

“Kindaichi has already gone to Kyoto,” Gao Mo said, pretending to check his phone messages. “Contact me directly if you need anything.”

……

Kyoto.

Umekoji Hospital.

Despite being bandaged, Hattori Heiji remained unconscious, and under the lamplight, a look of pain was faintly visible on his dark face.

In fact, this was not the first time he had been attacked. Back when he was invited to investigate Sannoji Temple in Kyoto, a strange man wearing a Noh mask shot an arrow at him.

At that time, he even chased after the other person for a long distance.

Then, after the murder, when he was preparing to return to Saneng Temple, he was attacked again.

This time, however, the strange man did not continue to run away, but instead lured him to the park for a sword duel.

"How is she?" A Kyoto police officer arrived outside the ward.

"He's still unconscious, but his injuries shouldn't be serious."

"That's strange, why would the prisoner specifically attack him?"

"Perhaps it's because he's investigating the missing Buddha statue at Sanon-ji Temple? That statue was stolen by Genji Hikari."

(End of this chapter)