Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 300 Kogoro Mouri: Help, Kido!

Tokyo.

It was several days later when I returned to the firm.

Gao Mo finally achieved his small goal: the Kinda series of short stories was successfully published in "Literary Era," initially catching up with the currently serialized Detective Samonji series.

Although it has been a short time and he hasn't accumulated much fame yet, he already has a loyal fan base, and some people have even called the editorial department to inquire about his relationship with Kindaichi from the agency.

Considering that things were not yet stable enough, Gao Mo continued to contact the editorial department only under the pen name "Qingshan," and entrusted Dr. Agasa to handle the signing of contracts.

As for whether to create a new pseudonym or become the author directly under the name Kindaichi, that depends on whether it's necessary.

Strictly speaking, these two identities can further enhance one's fame, just as Yusaku Kudo, as a famous mystery novelist, often handles cases himself.

Novelist, Level 3.
Looking at the Novelist profession that had been upgraded to level 3 on the projected notes, Gao Mo smiled sincerely.

This feeling of accomplishment is pretty good.

While these professional ranks may not mean much, talent is a real thing.

The novelist talent I acquired this time is "immersion," which is a relatively important talent in this industry and can be considered the cornerstone of novel writing.

As long as the reader can immerse themselves in the story, the novel won't be too bad.

Furthermore, the freelance journalist has been upgraded from level 1 to level 2.
The new talent "News Intuition" is also quite good; it's a very important news-related talent.

Everything is thanks to the story material provided by the little mustache.

While completing the upgrade tasks, I also earned some extra money.

……

"Who is it? Who on earth is it?!"

At the Mori Detective Agency, the man with the mustache pointed at a pile of newspapers on the table, flying into a rage, shouting with red eyes.

"Which bastard is spouting nonsense in the newspaper? I'm furious! They actually called me a jinx and spread rumors that I'm getting my comeuppance! I don't want to find out who they are!"

Conan walked by and peeked at the newspaper's article information.

Although he didn't know why there was no author's name, he always felt that it was Hasegawa Shinji, who was also staying in a wooden cabin deep in the mountains.

Moreover, this Hasegawa Shinji is most likely Kido's alter ego; that lingering feeling is all too familiar.

No wonder it wasn't signed.

Looking at the pile of newspapers on the table, and then at the mustache that looked like a gas canister about to explode, Conan shrank his neck and didn't say anything.

Forget it, let this old man be angry.

Knowing the truth would probably be even more painful.

"Is Mr. Mori in?" A young, short-haired lady downstairs heard the mustache's roar and awkwardly knocked on the open door.

"Who are you?" The mustachioed man's curse was stuck in his throat.

The moment he saw the woman, he smelled money.

Based on his past experience, young women dressed like wealthy ladies are usually very generous with their money and don't seem to care about the cost at all.

Not to mention, the newcomer had a girlish air that didn't match her age, and it was obvious that she was well protected, and the man behind her was quite powerful.

"I am Fujieda Suka, and you are the famous detective Kogoro Mouri?" The short-haired woman seemed a little uncertain.

"It's genuine, no doubt about it. How may I help you, madam?"

The man with the mustache completely changed his demeanor. After secretly sweeping all the scandalous newspapers into a corner with his hands behind his back, he winked at Conan.

"Conan, aren't you going to pour some tea?"

"Hmph." Conan remained patient and didn't bother arguing with this guy.

“It’s like this,” the short-haired woman sat down at the coffee table and opened her phone’s photo album, “Recently, someone in my family has been trying to harm my husband, so I would like to ask you to find that person. I can offer ten million yen as a reward.”

"One thousand...ten million?" The mustachioed man, who was trying to strike a pose, shuddered.

It's been a long time since he's encountered a commission with such a high amount.

The last time, the champion of the competitive eating contest almost ate himself into the hospital while trying to win a prize of 500 million yuan.

This time, the commission fee has doubled, and it sounds very simple.

I'm getting better!
"Madam, please explain in detail!" The man with the mustache had a wise look in his eyes.

Conan pricked up his ears in the break room.

Don't let Uncle's reputation as a famous detective fool you. A million yen is a high commission for him. Even the Twilight Mansion case only cost 2 million yen. 10 million yen is unprecedented. Such commissions are extremely rare.

"Hmm, don't worry, I think it's someone in your family causing trouble. A seasoned detective like me can solve this kind of case with just a nap!"

Hearing the smug laughter of the man with the mustache outside, Conan suddenly had a bad feeling.

What detective would proactively say that a case is easy?

Please, what if someone thinks 1000 million is too much?
"Please sign the contract and then pay a deposit of 50 yuan," the man with the mustache said professionally.

……

three days later.

Kido Detective Agency.

While Gao Mo was organizing materials in his study, he suddenly received another call from the editorial department.

"Someone wants to see me?"

“Yes,” the editor said with a headache, “the other party originally wanted to serialize it in ‘Literary Times,’ but after hearing that the space was taken, they came to the editorial department specifically to do so.”

Although he didn't object to anything, he said he wanted to meet the author, saying he was deeply moved and never expected that mystery novels could possess such profound emotions, and that their connection to social phenomena might even open up a new genre of mystery fiction.

“You know I don’t like being in the public eye,” Gao Mo said, sitting back in his office chair. “But who is that person?”

"It's Fujieda Shigeru, who seems to be a friend of Kudo Yusaku, just like you."

The editor also really wanted to meet Gao Mo, and couldn't help but feel disappointed upon hearing this.

"Let's put that aside for now. There's another troublesome matter I'm wondering whether I should tell you. It's about that famous mystery novelist, Mr. Moroguchi Masutaka. He seems to have a problem with your novel being ranked ahead of his. The editorial department doesn't seem to mind, but I'm worried that he might say bad things about you in the media."

"Is the value of public opinion increasing?"

Gao Mo wasn't very familiar with other mystery novelists. Since the Kudo family's study didn't include any of their novels, it meant they weren't any particularly remarkable figures.

There are too many people who are hostile to him; one colleague is nothing.

"Never mind him, I have a new piece to write, I'll contact you later." After hanging up, another call came in quickly, this time from the newspaper and magazine that he had provided the press release for.

Having too many pseudonyms is a downside; it's funny if you don't pay attention and get them mixed up one day.

"beep!"

Gao Mo shook his head and put away his phone.

Simply reject the call and mute the phone.

As expected, profit is the fundamental factor; these guys ignored him before.

"Should we start calling him the great writer Kido now?" Yukiko Kudo smiled as Ai led her into the study, gently knocking on the door. "Long time no see. Kido-kun is getting more and more amazing. His reputation as a detective has even spread overseas."

"Mrs. Kudo?"

Gao Mo looked surprised.

"Why are you back? Where is Mr. Kudo?"

“A friend of Yusaku asked him for help, but he couldn’t get away, so he had to ask me to help. But I mainly wanted to come back and see Shinichi.”

Yukiko Kudo bent down and touched the black cat in Ai's hand.

"Is this the child Shinichi was talking about? Shinichi has complained more than once that you developed the antidote but didn't give it to him."

"It's just a temporary antidote; giving it to him would only harm him."

Xiao Ai turned her head away.

She harbored resentment towards this woman. In her past life, Shinichi Kudo killed so many people, and ultimately it was because this couple didn't take the Black Organization seriously and spoiled their precious son too much, without considering the terrible consequences if something went wrong.

"This child doesn't seem to like me very much," Yukiko Kudo thought Ai was just shy, and continued, turning to Gao Mo, "But seriously, you're much better than Yusaku was back then."

He also said you didn't have much talent for writing novels, so I made a bet with him that you would definitely surpass him in the future. Now it seems I still have a very good chance of beating him.

"Uh……"

Gao Mo didn't know what to say.

Yukiko Kudo has a strange personality. She especially likes to tease the younger generation and is always acting like a little girl. This is probably because she has been too well protected by Yusaku Kudo.

I don't know if it's for real or a joke.

If it's true, Yukiko Kudo will probably be disappointed.

He had no idea of ​​surpassing Yusaku Kudo.

There are so many ways to make money and gain fame, there's no need to exhaust yourself.

The easier it is to read a book, the more painful it is to write one.

This is under the condition that I have level 4 writing ability and no one is urging me to submit my manuscript.

"How's that game that Mr. Yusaku is busy with going?" Gao Mo changed the subject.

"What else can I do?" Yukiko Kudo complained, pouting. "She's always talking about Sherlock Holmes, just like Shinichi. When he gets busy, he doesn't care about anything else. He even had the nerve to make me come back alone to handle a friend's request."

"What commission?"

"It seems someone in a friend's family has been threatened, and we need to find the perpetrator..."

"Kirouto!"

A terrifying scream of pain suddenly rang out from outside. The black cat was so frightened that it fell to the ground from Xiao Ai's arms, its fur standing on end.

Before anyone could react, Kogoro Mori rushed into the study with a shrill voice, grabbed Gao Mo's arm with tears streaming down his face, and almost knelt down on the ground.

"You must save me, Kido! Only you can save me now!"

"What's wrong?" Gao Mo asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Three days ago I received a commission with a reward of 10 million,” the man with the mustache said with a face full of regret and a strong smell of alcohol. “I thought it was a small matter, so I borrowed some money from a friend and went to Ginza for two days. I didn’t expect that when I went to the client’s house afterwards, I found out that it was a trap and I couldn’t find any useful clues at all…”

"Wait, how much is 'one point'?" Gao Mo muttered to himself.

No wonder the man with the mustache suddenly offered to treat us three days ago, but he declined because he was busy writing his novel.

"Not much, just 300 million," the man with the mustache said dejectedly.

"It's only 300 million. I'll cover it for you first, and you can pay me back later." Gao Mo was speechless.

Such a famous detective, yet he can't even come up with 300 million.

Didn't he just win 500 million yuan in a competitive eating contest not long ago?

"If only it were that simple," the man with the mustache said dejectedly. "To try and earn the money back, I borrowed more to gamble on horse races, and ended up losing another 500 million..."

Seemingly afraid that Gao Mo would misunderstand, the man with the mustache quickly pleaded, "I'm not asking you for money, I just want to ask you to help me with that case. We can split it 50/50, and I'll have enough to get by with 5 million."

"You."

What else could Gao Mo say?

I can't just abandon my old partner and friend.

This guy didn't go to his wife for help, but instead came to him, which in a way shows that he trusts him enough.

"I only need 10%, but let's make it clear first, after you get the payment, don't go betting on horses again. Just hand it over to Xiaolan for safekeeping," Gao Mo agreed beforehand.

Gambler's mentality is terrifying; the more you try to win back your money, the more you end up losing.

"No problem!" The man with the mustache was so moved he almost cried. "You have to keep this a secret from Ran for me, brother. If she finds out, she'll definitely tell Eri..."

As they were talking, the man with the mustache suddenly realized something, stiffened his neck, and turned to Ai and Yukiko, who were watching the melon seeds nearby.

The latter, in particular.

He arrived in such a hurry that he didn't notice at all, and had no idea that this woman was there.

"Yukiko? When did you get here?!"

"Heh, heh heh, just arrived," Yukiko said with an awkward smile, wanting to pretend she hadn't seen him, but with nowhere to hide. "Kogoro, it's been so many years, you... you've changed a lot."

"Would you believe me if I said I was just joking?" the mustachioed man asked tentatively.

"I believe it, of course I believe it."

Yukiko nodded repeatedly, but the smile in her eyes made the man with the mustache's heart turn to stone.

(End of this chapter)