Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 310 Save My Daughter

Early in the morning.

Kido Detective Agency.

2th floor.

Because the study had no windows, making it uncomfortable to write novels, Gao Mo moved his studio to the master bedroom on the second floor.

A desk stands against the wall in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, along with a large, old-fashioned CRT monitor, a landline phone, a pen holder, several University Library magazines, and a sample copy of the novel "Kindaichi Case Files," which is about to be published.

The portable laptop next to him was still on, and several emails could be seen in the inbox.

"Renowned detective actor Hajime Domoto makes his first cameo appearance..."

"A famous actor who was cursed..."

"Famous detectives gather together as Hajime Domoto and Kogoro Mouri team up once again to solve a case..."

"Domoto Hajime has decided to retire from the entertainment industry to recuperate."

Thinking that it was better to burn oneself than to benefit others, Gao Mo wrote several news articles overnight after the incident on set, trying to capitalize on his own popularity and anonymously harass Xiao Huzi again.

He also revealed for the first time that the newspaper almost went bankrupt because of the Fujieda family's multi-million dollar commission fee—the newspaper seemed more interested in this, and the payment for the article was increased several times over.

Most importantly, the freelance journalist finally reached level 3 and also gained a strange talent called "Passerby A," which reduces his own presence and makes him good at gathering gossip.

Next, complete the bestselling book task to upgrade your novelist level to 4.
Both professions are going well for now, and Tier 4 doesn't seem too far away.

Gao Mo was fast asleep on the sofa next to him. Just then, the evening breeze blew open the curtains, and moonlight streamed in. In his dream, Gao Mo vaguely felt as if he had returned to the luxury apartment.

"My three-bedroom apartment..."

"call!"

A chilly morning breeze swept down his neck, and Gao Mo frowned, shivering. He instinctively rolled over and curled up, his dream instantly shifting from a warm, luxurious apartment to a small tavern in the countryside of Hokkaido.

The wind howled through the streets and alleys, and soon turned into a blizzard.

Other shops on the street were closing down. The young waitress, dressed provocatively, leaned against the counter, looking at the deserted scene outside, her expression gradually turning to disappointment.

Earning a meager hourly wage and exhausted from dealing with those tasteless, drunken old men, it's about time I left this place.

"It's snowing so heavily outside, there probably won't be any customers," the proprietress said lazily, leaning against the counter, and beckoned to the young waitress. "Xiao Zi, I think we should close up shop tonight..."

"We finally found a tavern, is it closing down too?"

"jingle!"

Three middle-aged men in thick coats opened the shop door, and the crisp sound of a bell caught the attention of a young waitress named Xiao Zi.

The three men were dressed in expensive clothes, unlike the local drunks, and their conversation suggested they were from Tokyo.

The thin old man in the middle seemed to be some important figure. He didn't look good and looked like a dead man, but the two people next to him were extremely flattering, constantly and eagerly calling him "teacher."

"I didn't expect to find such a beautiful girl here. Judging from your appearance, are you an adult?"

"Of course, I'm Xiao Zi, and I'm already 20 years old..."

The waitress, who longed for life in the big city, enthusiastically stepped forward to pour drinks and squeezed closer to the older man more than usual.

Although she claimed to be 20 years old and indeed had a voluptuous and charming figure, the girlishness in her bones was still noticed by a bespectacled uncle who was an expert in this area, but they tacitly refrained from exposing her.

There are already quite a few people in this industry who lie about their age, and rescuing these desperate young girls is also a bit of fun for these older men.

"Pour the wine for the teacher first."

“Come here, Mr. Yamanouchi.”

"I'm so sorry, teacher, this is the only small shop I could find..."

"Hehe, it's not bad for the countryside in Hokkaido, and there are beautiful women here too."

After drinking a glass of wine, the seemingly serious, deadpan face began to wander with its eyes and started to get a little restless, though it still maintained its aloof demeanor.

"Teacher... are you a doctor?" The girl stared at the dead face for a few more moments, feeling that it was somewhat familiar. It seemed to be the poor man who used to borrow money from her family when she was a child, back when she was a carefree young lady.

"Doctor? Haha, what are you talking about, miss?" the bespectacled man next to him laughed. "This is the famous mystery novelist, Mr. Tsunehisa Yamanouchi, who has been on the bestseller list for years. He's here in the countryside of Hokkaido today to gather material..."

It's understandable that you don't recognize him; the teacher is humble and doesn't appear in the media much.

Yamanouchi Tsunesei? Mystery novelist?
The girl's gaze froze, her smile and words gradually stiffening as she joined the proprietress in flattery: "Oh, it's you! I'm your biggest fan..."

"Yes, it's so exciting! I never expected you to come here!"

“Hey, Baotian,” the deadpan face said with a hint of smugness, unable to resist the girl’s adoration, “bring a few of my books as gifts for them.”

"May I have your autograph?"

"of course can."

"As expected of a teacher, he really values ​​his fans. This book, 'The Lucia Doll Murder Case,' is his most memorable debut work..."

The sounds of wind and snow, along with the laughter of the older men, drowned out the girl's consciousness.

Gao Mo gradually woke up from his sleep, opened his eyes and found that it was already bright outside the window, and the soft sunlight shone on the balcony and into the room.

"A dream? Why would I have such a dream?"

Rubbing his sore neck, Gao Mo yawned and got up, finding that the memories from his dream were still vivid in his mind, as if he really saw a tired and bewildered girl in a country tavern forcing a smile.

He could indeed see many things, but this was the first time he had ever seen such a vivid and realistic scene.

Are new evil spirits being delivered to our door?
Gao Mo had no clue.

Ai and the black cat seem to have become his anchors to the dead, and this phenomenon has recently intensified.

But he's not some judge of the underworld, so isn't it a bit too tragic for him to offer himself up like this?

Whether or not to address the deceased's last wishes is entirely up to him.

Help my daughter!

Gao Mo checked the projected notes, only to find a single, incomplete sentence.

Could it be that he's going to go to the countryside in Hokkaido to rescue a lost girl?

He doesn't have that kind of free time.

And how do we save it? We can't just take it home.

There are too many people suffering at the bottom of society in this world, and countless people cannot find work. At least this young girl is able to make a living.

Gao Mo shook his head and walked down to the second floor. The familiar aroma of stir-fried dishes still wafted from the kitchen.

Sometimes he really wanted to ask, how does Ai always know what time he wakes up?
Or does he have his own foodie alarm clock?

"Detective Mori! Could you please offer your opinion on this murder case?"

The living room TV was still playing an interview with the man with the mustache. In the video, the man with the mustache looked very serious, while the black cat watched with great interest from the sofa.

"According to Mr. Nagumo, who was arrested, he committed the murder because he could no longer tolerate Mr. Kazami's long-term abuse of his son, Nobuharu. Is that really the case?"

"Yes, he's probably right. I'm just..."

Gao Mo casually picked up the newspaper from the entryway.

In the end, the man with the mustache did not give in to the beautiful classmate, but he also did not reveal the inside story of his father-daughter relationship.

"Ok?"

Ignoring the mustachioed man's remarks on television, Gao Mo's gaze flickered slightly as he focused entirely on the front page of the newspaper.

"A top-earning, bestselling mystery author, Tsuneo Yamanouchi, died suddenly on the eve of his 60th birthday. What will become of the billions of yen in assets he left behind, with no relatives..."

"Suffering from a serious heart condition, Yamanouchi secluded himself for a year to write, like a candle about to burn out, burying himself in writing in a villa deep in the mountains of Hokkaido. There is currently no further news about his posthumous work..."

"The villa where Yamanouchi lived before his death, the Doll House Lucia Mansion..." Yamanouchi Tsunehisa was the mystery novelist who had visited that girls' bar.

So that's who it was.

Gao Mo's eyes moved slightly.

Although he didn't care much about this, he couldn't resist the editor's constant nagging.

Japan has always been a mecca for mystery novels, with a constant stream of mystery writers. The most attention-grabbing aspect is, of course, the income rankings. It seems that one needs to earn over 100 million yen a year to be included in the rankings, and editors often use this to encourage new writers.

It's no surprise that Yamanouchi Tsuneo always appears in the middle of the list and has billions in assets.

"What exactly does this mean?"

Ai appeared behind Gao Mo like a ghost, clutching a sample copy of the novel "Kindaichi Case Files" and poking it hard with her finger.

"Here, and here, what exactly is the meaning of this female supporting character? Why does the mysterious female scientist have to have a crush on the protagonist who has a childhood sweetheart? And a younger, mystery-obsessed protagonist at that! Is she love-struck? Why label her like that? Does every woman like the protagonist?"

"Uh……"

Gao Mo then remembered that he had referenced "Detective Conan" from his previous life.

"It's just a novel, why are you getting angry?"

"I'm not angry!"

Ai slammed the sample copy of the novel onto a stool, trying to convey a sense of anger, but her small size and apron made her look somewhat comical.

"What are you laughing at?"

Xiao Ai was furious and got angry for a moment, but in the end she could only turn a blind eye to it.

"Change it quickly, or don't make him a scientist at all!"

"Change it now?" Gao Mo felt a chill run down his spine.

Sister, changing this isn't something you can do casually.

"Okay, I'll set it as a doctor, alright?"

"Even a doctor wouldn't work; setting her up as a heiress from a conglomerate would be better."

"Then it's the heiress of a conglomerate."

Gao Mo picked up the sample copy of the novel.

Fortunately, the role was simple, and changing the character's background only required informing the editorial department.

First, obscure her identity, then reveal her later as the daughter of a conglomerate.

“Just write your novel, don’t make up any nonsense,” Xiao Ai’s expression softened as she handed a file to Gao Mo. “This is the information you asked me to look up; everything I could find is here.”

"sorry to bother you."

Gao Mo carefully began to peruse the documents.

Hiroki Sawada, a 10-year-old MIT graduate student, is a genius boy known as the "Son of God."

After his parents divorced, he was taken to New York by his mother and later adopted by Thomas Schindler, the owner of the Schindler Group, a leading IT company. Two years ago, he jumped to his death from the roof of his apartment building in the United States.

He developed some kind of DNA tracking system during his lifetime and is suspected of having completed an artificial intelligence "Noah's Ark".

2 years ago?

Gao Mo had a slight sweat on his forehead.

The super artificial intelligence was actually completed two years ago, and it is very likely that it has been hidden on the internet all this time.

Fortunately, the online identity provided by the notes is a product of the rules; otherwise, that thing would definitely have noticed him.

Continuing to flip through the pages, there is very little information about Hiroki Sawada. The only connection is with the boy's biological father, Kashimura, a close friend of Yusaku Kudo.

Mr. Kashimura is also the person in charge of the development of the virtual game "Cocoon".

The virtual reality game "Cocoon," which claims to be ahead of its time, was developed and produced by a Japanese game company in collaboration with the Schindler Group. Yusaku Kudo was in charge of one of the game scenes—London, England, a hundred years ago.

"Are you going to a game launch event?" Ai poked her head out from the kitchen. "Maybe Noah's Ark is actually that child's soul. He had no freedom in Japan, and even after going to America, he was still treated as a tool and had no freedom. He ended his life by suicide. It's quite pitiful."

soul?

Gao Mo became somewhat interested.

Theoretically speaking, it is impossible for self-aware artificial intelligence to emerge in this era.

The soul is exactly his domain.

"Let's not talk about this for now."

Gao Mo put the documents aside and helped bring the dishes from the kitchen.

The restaurants in Japan are really hard to describe. The so-called high-end cuisine has no merits other than being expensive. It's just a waste of money.

Fortunately, both he and Ai can cook, so eating at home is much more comfortable.

"You dead cat, stop watching TV!"

Gao Mo called out to the living room, and the black cat reluctantly jumped off the sofa, even adopting a mustache-like gait.

It hurts the eyes.

Don't be fooled by his dashing appearance on TV; in reality, he's probably laughing smugly, and can be as sleazy as you can possibly be.

"I think I arrived just in time, haha."

Dr. Agasa entered the entrance hall following the fragrance, his chubby face flushed.

After enjoying the delicious food, he never wanted to eat takeout alone at home again. It lacked any sense of warmth and homeliness.

I didn't realize it before, but now I feel incredibly empty.

Being able to get a free meal is a real blessing.

“By the way, Amo,” the doctor wiped his drool and skillfully served himself rice, “that editor from the university contacted me again, saying he wanted to meet Yusaku and asked Yusaku to do his friend a favor. I told him I couldn’t get in touch with Yusaku, and he then came up with the idea of ​​asking you to help him contact Yusaku.”

"What is it?" Gao Mo and the black cat both stared at a plate of fish. With a flick of their chopsticks, Gao Mo tossed the fish head into the black cat's bowl.

"It seems to be some kind of inheritance. Yes, it's about that mystery novelist, Tsunehisa Yamanouchi, whose death caused quite a stir. Yusaku said he was unworthy of the title and wasn't a good person, so he rarely interacted with him, and therefore I also..."

"Let me meet his friend, as a detective."

Gao Mo paused slightly.

Inheritance can be a lucrative business.

He was also very curious about what this Yamanouchi Tsunesei was all about.

There should be a sequel to today's dream.

"I understand. I'll arrange a meeting time with him later."

Professor Agasa nodded, then picked up a piece of fish, his chubby face immediately filled with tears.

"Delicious! Ai's cooking skills are getting better and better."

"It's really delicious." Gao Mo activated his Gourmet Ability and could clearly feel Ai's improved cooking skills.

"Dong dong!"

Instead of being pleased by the praise, Ai slammed her hand on the table and pointed at the sample copy of the novel with drooping eyelids.

“Oh, right,” Gao Mo put down his chopsticks, “Doctor, could you ask them to revise the novel? I’ll send the parts that need to be revised to the editorial department as soon as possible.”

(End of this chapter)