Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 299 Prince of Tennis
The next day.

In the early morning, insects and birds chirped in the deep mountains, and the rising sun shone on the earth as quickly as if it were catching a wave.

While Kogoro Mouri and his group were still fast asleep, Gao Mo got up early, carrying a photo of himself eating curry rice with a small mustache, ready to leave.

"I'll give it to you."

Akashi Hiroto changed his clothes and looked much better than yesterday.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going abroad to study in a few days to realize my old tennis dream."

"I wish you success."

Gao Mo glanced back at the second floor of the detached house and met the vicious gaze of the old man by the window.

The world is a big place and there are all sorts of strange people, especially in Japan, where there are many eccentric individuals. Every year, quite a few tourists go missing while traveling in the countryside, which is not like the "simple and honest folk" portrayed on some TV shows.

Perhaps he should write a novel.

I remember there were many similar dark themes in my past life.

“Actually,” Gao Mo withdrew his gaze, “in the deep mountains and forests, even if you faked an accident and pushed the old man down the stairs to his death, no one would suspect you as his son. Such accidents are very common, and there is absolutely no need to find any eyewitnesses.”

"Huh?" Akashi Hiroto was stunned and wiped his sweat.

Is this a matter of letting him kill or not letting him kill?

And why do you look so experienced?

“Just kidding,” Gao Mo chuckled. “Let him fend for himself, don’t get your hands dirty.”

The old man's head was already radiating a palpable aura of death; he wouldn't live more than a few days.

"Yes, yes," Akashi Hiroto replied with a dry laugh, sweating profusely. After a night of thinking, he no longer wanted to kill anyone.

A reporter who's also a famous detective—that's too weird.

It was as if they were waiting for him to commit a crime.

"Go back, no need to see me off."

Gao Mo waved his hand and stepped onto the jungle path.

The effects of the flash flood have subsided, but the river water is still quite turbid and the riverbanks are prone to collapse. However, there is no danger as long as you stay away from the riverbanks.

Gao Mo spotted the mustachioed man's stranded car at a bend in the river, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily.

This is really bad luck. It reminds him of the Twilight Mansion incident. He was originally thinking of taking some time to buy a luxury car, but this has seriously discouraged him from doing so.

After a brief silence, Gao Mo picked up his camera and started taking pictures.

The car was not mentioned beforehand.

I'm having trouble deciding what to write for the press release.

Here comes the material, doesn't it?

Detective Kogoro Mouri's car overturned and fell into the river; his fate is currently unknown.

Why do famous detectives often rent cars?

Is it Death or Plague?

The Secret That Kogoro Mouri Couldn't Tell

Shocking! A famous detective loses his entire car over a fish!

The Misfortune of the Famous Detective

……

Karuizawa Suzuki Family Villa.

Unlike the lucky mustachioed boy, Tomizawa Yuzo, who got separated from his fishing trip yesterday, spent the night outside. It was Gao Mo who found this unlucky young master who got lost on his way back.

"Hoohoo!"

In the villa's living room, Ayako Suzuki poured a cup of hot ginger tea for Yuzo Tomizawa with heartfelt affection.

Even wrapped in a thick blanket, Tomizawa Yuzo was shivering from the cold and sneezed several times.

I never imagined that I would almost die in the mountains while fishing.

Most importantly, not a single fish was caught.

“I heard Mr. Mori and the others shouting, and I was going to go check on them, but then the flash flood suddenly broke out,” Tomizawa Yuzo said, feeling a pang of unease. “I told them it was dangerous for them to be fishing there, but Mr. Mori insisted it was fine. I wonder how they are now. What if…”

"Cough cough."

The man with the mustache stood awkwardly at the door.

Those involved were fine; they not only enjoyed a delicious curry rice meal but also had a wonderful nap in a mountain cabin.

"Thank goodness!" Tomizawa Yuzo almost burst into tears. "You're all alive! Thank goodness!"

"yes……"

The man with the mustache seemed a little hesitant to look directly at the unfortunate young master.

“Thanks to a family in the mountains who took us in… They should have called back yesterday.”

"Sonoko did make a phone call."

Ayako Suzuki glanced at Sonoko, who looked guilty.

This girl completely forgot about her brother-in-law, making her think that everyone was staying at Akashi's house.

"I'm so sorry, sister," Sonoko shrank back, "I thought Brother Yusan had already gone home, who knew he would come looking for us on the riverbank..."

"Never mind, Ayako," Tomizawa Yuzo said, taking several sips of hot tea. "It's good that everyone is alright."

“Really,” Ayako Suzuki shook her head, “we have to thank Mr. Kido for saving you this time.”

"Right?" Sonoko exclaimed excitedly, "Kido-nii is amazing!"

"But why is Kido-nii outside?" Conan asked suspiciously. "Wasn't Kido-niii at the villa last night?"

"I went out to look for people because I was worried about you."

Gao Mo interrupted Suzuki Ayako, who was about to reply.

"Is there anything to eat now? I've been starving all night."

"I'll have the chef prepare the meal right away." Ayako Suzuki rushed to the kitchen without thinking of anything else.

Ai sat down to one side, holding the black cat, her eyes glancing repeatedly at Gao Mo.

You big liar! I clearly ate several bowls of curry rice yesterday.

Did you think she wouldn't recognize you after you disguised yourself?

They just didn't want to expose it.

"Meow~" The black cat licked its paw, looking disdainful.

Conan glanced back and forth, still suspicious, but said nothing more.

“But then again, it’s really strange to have a house deep in the mountains,” the man with the mustache tugged at his collar. “The son is fine, but the old man doesn’t seem like a good person. At first, I was a little worried and didn’t dare close my eyes all night.”

Conan glanced sideways: "Nonsense, I was snoring all night."

He really didn't sleep all night, only managed to doze off for a while in the morning.

"Are you fishing again today?" Gao Mo asked abruptly.

"No, I'm not going." The man with the mustache felt a little sad, and then he remembered his car.

He already wants to go back to Tokyo.

Although the firm has considerable savings, those are funds used to mitigate risks and are generally not to be touched. Right now, he urgently needs commissions, any kind of commission, as long as the money is good.

"It would be great if there were also competitive eating contests."

"The weather's pretty nice today," Sonoko said, her mind racing. "We should be able to play tennis, right?"

"But didn't all the luggage get washed into the river?" Xiaolan was about to go to the kitchen to help.

"Oh, it's nothing, we can just buy it at a nearby store."

……

The same tennis court.

Gao Mo was also pulled over by Sonoko after breakfast.

The tennis court, which was deserted yesterday, was packed with students early today. The man with the mustache stared at it, momentarily forgetting that his car had been washed away by the flood.

The youthful white hair and long legs are irresistible to middle-aged men, and the mustache and lecherous face are stuck tightly to the outside of the iron fence.

"This trip was definitely worthwhile!"

“Kido-kun,” Sonoko said, ignoring the mustache who had become a background figure, “I’ll teach you how to play tennis!”

"Then I'll teach Conan," Ran said, grabbing Conan's bleeding nose. Her cute face seemed to be shrouded in a storm. "You like watching, right?"

"Yes... oh, no!" Conan quickly denied.

Oh no, a few girls weren't wearing safety shorts.

I saw both white and pink underwear.

"Hmph," the mustachioed man said, displeased by Conan's reaction, "This kid knows everything at such a young age. Ran, you'd better watch out for him."

Conan glanced sideways at the man's words, ignoring the old lecher.

He didn't mean to peek.

Besides, he's just a kid now, so there's nothing he can do.

"That's strange," Sonoko said, slightly bewildered by the way Gao Mo was holding his racket. "Kido-nii, do you even know how to play tennis?"

"know a little."

A flood of tennis knowledge and real-life scenarios flashed through Gao Mo's mind.

Although he knew that Hiroto had only glanced at the tennis guide, the projected notes still included level 1 tennis.

Tennis doesn't seem to pose much of a challenge for him now.

Tennis lv1 (lv4).

The hidden level starts at level 4.

That's true. Once you use superhuman strength, these skillful sports become child's play.

The problem right now is simply a lack of experience and relevant knowledge.

Tennis lv2 (lv4).

I was just thinking about it when I leveled up again.

Simply by watching the students play on the court, the tennis guide was further absorbed, and in an instant, it reached the level of a formal athlete.

The image of Hiroto Akashi teaching tennis for a long time immediately appeared in Gao Mo's mind.

He doesn't know if he has tennis talent, but his current overall talent is no less than that of someone with specialized tennis talent.

Feeling the racket in his hand, Gao Mo felt a surge of excitement.

There are two different feelings about not knowing and knowing; even at level 2, he completely overwhelmed the students on the tennis court.

After all, it's a professional versus an amateur.

I have a strong urge to go on stage and perform.

"call!"

Gao Mo took a deep breath to calm himself down.

There's absolutely no need to seek the limelight if there's no benefit to it.

It's alright for playing around.

"Snapped!"

With a light swing of her racket, Sonoko began to sweat profusely on the court, feeling that every ball she received was incredibly comfortable, as if it were being fed directly to her mouth.

"Kido-san, catch the ball!"

"When did Sonoko become so amazing?" Ran couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"It's Kido-nii who's amazing," Conan said, pouting.

He finally saw it.

He claimed he couldn't play tennis, but turned out to be a tennis pro. He might not be as good as the top professional players, but he'd be a pushover on a casual court like this.

Then think back to that ethereal swordsmanship from before...

He really couldn't understand it. It was fine to have some knowledge, but did he have to become an expert in everything?
"Snapped!"

Gao Mo continued to feed the ball to the garden.

Saying you're not interested is just because you're not good at it. If you were better than everyone else, tennis would be quite interesting.

However, level 2 seems to be the limit.

Hiroto Akashi is ultimately just an ordinary tennis coach. If he wants to go further, he will probably need to undergo a lot of practical training, and his opponents will have to be athletes.

Or perhaps another professional book by a tennis master will be revealed.

"Isn't this Kido Takami?"

Someone in the audience recognized Gao Mo.

"I haven't seen him in a long time. I heard he retired from the entertainment industry due to depression..."

"Is this called depression?"

"He's still so handsome! I thought he was disfigured!"

"Disfigurement?! He looks just like a tennis prince! Ah, I'm in love again!"

"what happened?"

Sonoko, who was playing the game well, suddenly lost interest. Seeing a group of female college students staring at her like a pack of hungry wolves, she quickly threw down her racket and hurriedly pulled Gao Mo away from the court.

"Brother Kido, let's come another day!"

"Well."

The man with the mustache, who was watching the show from the sidelines, murmured to himself. After the beautiful college girls chased after Gao Mo and left the court, his face instantly looked much more weathered.

He was actually quite popular when he was young.

How about learning tennis?
Seeing his daughter still on the court, the man with the mustache felt quite gratified.

At least Xiaolan isn't that superficial.

It would be best if they stopped thinking about the detective kid all the time.

"Xiao Lan, Daddy also wants to learn tennis."

(End of this chapter)