Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 313 The Lucia Doll Murder Case 2
Gao Yuanyao's room on the second floor.

After removing his mask, Gao Yuanyao calmly sat down opposite Youyue Laimeng, his thoughts unreadable.

The reason he came to this place was twofold: firstly, this woman had helped him out of trouble and was one of his few friends; secondly, he had recently seen a vague glimpse of the future.

It's not just his fate, but also Youyue's.

Gao Yuanyao glanced up at the beautiful woman smoking across from him.

Yuzuki Ryoumu will die in this Lucia Pavilion, her head chopped off by terrible malice.

That would undoubtedly be a humiliation for him, but now he seems to be in trouble himself.

He clearly felt the will of death.

He, who called himself a puppeteer, was ultimately just one of the puppets.

"What's wrong?" Youyue Laimeng's smooth, long hair cascaded down her shoulders like silk. "Don't you even have confidence?"

"I'm not good at solving puzzles, but I'm pretty good at designing them."

"Hehe, when did Hell Puppet Master Gao Yuanyao become so humble?"

Looking at Gao Yuanyao, who always had a detached expression, Youyue Laimeng laughed until her waist trembled.

"I know you've helped the police solve quite a few cases. If it weren't for what happened to your mother, you might even be a famous detective..."

"That Kindaichi is more than just a famous detective."

Gao Yuanyao flicked his fingers, but he was far less relaxed than You Yuelai Meng; he was simply better at hiding his emotions.

"And I'm really not sure if I can help you. I'm also a staunch supporter of the theory that human nature is inherently evil. This villa is filled with a sinister and dark malice—that Yamanouchi didn't organize this inheritance battle out of any good intentions."

"Oh, I can guess a little bit about that."

Youyue Laimeng suppressed her smile and took a deep drag on her cigarette.

"Although Yamanouchi is a virtuous person in public, we still have some feelings about him. He might have always wanted to kill us."

"Oh?" Gao Yuanyao became slightly interested.

"Let's not talk about others, let's talk about myself."

The moonlit night drifted into a dream, and I was lost in memories.

"During that period, I was doing illustrations for novels, and suddenly I felt a bit empty. I couldn't help but want to break free from the increasingly boring limitations of my professional field and express myself..."

"Perhaps I was bewitched, but when I was drawing illustrations for Yamanouchi-sensei's works, I secretly drew things in the illustrations that would reveal the secrets and mysteries."

"Of course I know that the mystery is the soul of a detective novel, but I really, really wanted to tell the answer to others, so in the end I couldn't resist..."

I remember it caused quite a stir afterward, with a deluge of reader complaints, which terrified me. After all, that work was one of Yamanouchi-sensei's masterpieces, written after a long hiatus; it was truly a labor of love.

As Youyue Laimeng spoke, her expression became much more serious.

"At the time, Professor Yamanouchi forgave me with a smile, which touched me deeply. I thought to myself, 'As expected of Professor Yamanouchi, who is admired by everyone from editors to readers.' But now, thinking back..."

I have a slight suspicion. Could it be that he actually hates me so much he wants to kill me? I don't have a feeling he's that noble.

Gao Yuanyao glanced at him slightly upon hearing this.

He would never forgive anyone who dared to treat his work like that.

Shaking his head, Gao Yuanyao offered no comment: "Your intuition is probably correct. If you back out now, perhaps I can help you..."

"So what if it's true?"

Youyue Laimeng mocked herself.

“I cannot back out. My brother suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in the fire and is still in a vegetative state, requiring a large sum of money… I must get the inheritance no matter what, by any means necessary.”

“Let’s get this straight,” Gao Yuanyao said, picking up a glass of wine. “I won’t help you kill anyone; that’s not part of my plan.”

"Of course, as long as you help me break this deadlock, that's enough."

Youyue Laimeng regained her gentle smile, but sorrow remained hidden deep within her heart.

"Please, I'm counting on you now."

Gao Yuanyao's brows furrowed even more.

That's why he doesn't like owing favors.

"Da da!"

Suddenly, footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. Gao Yuanyao opened the door a crack and found Gao Mo walking alone.

"Kindaichi... or should I call you boss?"

"call!"

Outside the door of critic Tadashi Kami, Gao Mo's mind was flooded with an image the mere touch of his finger on the door.

The body was dismembered in the bathtub, and hot water kept overflowing...

The death of Kamiji Tadashi?
In this Western-style mansion filled with malice, he seemed to see more.

"Kindaichi?" Tadashi Kami, drunk, flung open the door and flew into a rage upon seeing Gao Mo. "What are you doing here? You're not trying to steal information, are you? What kind of famous detective are you? You're clearly a thief!"

"nothing."

Gao Mo ignored the critics who kept hurling insults and instead pondered how to find Bao Tian outside the editor's office.

This critic is really pragmatic; once he realized he couldn't get his help, he immediately changed his attitude.

"what?"

Gao Mo squatted down and touched the door panel with his fingers.

There is a secret passage.

The lower half of the door seems to be able to be pushed open directly.

Did the builder of this villa have some kind of quirk?

"Wow!"

Just like before, images of death flooded Gao Mo's mind.

The body was still dismembered.

Gao Mo pondered for a moment and then took out the riddle that served as the first part of the code.

"At the band's morning assembly, heads were chopped off in front of back. Now let's rearrange them. Put the second person's head to the right of the fifth person's head, and the cheerful melody begins..."

A bizarre poem that sounds like a hellish joke.

Is someone planning to kill someone based on this riddle?
Gao Mo immediately realized the problem.

The riddle said to cut off the head, and the murderer actually did cut off the head.

Without entering Baotian's room, Gao Mo continued to examine the villa's structure.

The room layout is very distinctive, and the strange mechanisms make it easy for the killer to move around.

Another point worth noting is the occasion for announcing the message.

Why specifically choose the clock tower, and those Lucia dolls that serve as the code for the second part...?

"Wow!"

In Gao Mo's mind, the virtual structure of the villa gradually took shape, with numerous clues intertwined and flashing.

The newly acquired "trick" is also beginning to take effect.

Only by understanding the designer's intentions can the coded puzzle be more easily solved.

Just like solving math problems, the first step is to understand the question setter's intentions. This can help avoid many traps and save a lot of trouble by getting straight to the core issue. If Yamanouchi's initial intention was to kill these candidates, then someone else would be needed to carry out the kill...

A bright idea flashed through Gao Mo's mind.

The play cannot be completed by the five candidates killing each other; there must be another knife, a knife that can ensure the elimination of all the candidates.

"Mr. Kindaichi."

Gao Yuanyao, wearing a mask, passed by Gao Mo as if by chance.

"Can I ask a question? Is it possible for a person's fate to be changed?"

"It might work?"

Gao Mo paused.

"I don't know what the future holds, but at least I can make my own choices now."

Gao Yuanyao remained silent for a moment, then spoke again when Gao Mo was about to leave: "Then I'll take your good wishes. Good luck, Detective!"

"What do you mean there's no time left?" Gao Mo asked in return, but Gao Yuanyao waved his hand and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

This person is so inconsiderate.

Ask others questions, but don't answer them yourself.

Gao Mo curled his lip and happened to pass by You Yue Lai Meng's room. He lightly touched the door with his finger and saw the same scene of the corpse being separated.

This woman actually died.

Then I'm sorry, this fate cannot be changed unless he is willing to spend 100 stars.

He had privately analyzed that these 100 stars were likely not meant to erase the other person's name from the Grim Reaper's list, but rather to transfer the other person's fate of death onto him, thus indirectly saving the other person.

He must be incredibly bored to save a strange woman, even if she's very beautiful.

“Mr. Kindaichi,” the butler noticed Gao Mo pacing down the corridor, “are you looking for something?”

“No,” Gao Mo released his grip on the door. “Isn’t it time for dinner? I only had something to eat this morning.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kindaichi,” the butler said with his usual smile, “dinner will be served at 10:30 p.m. If you’re hungry, there should be some snacks in the kitchen.”

Why wait until 10:30 PM?

"Because the teacher had a briefing session before that."

"Oh."

Gao Mo felt he was getting closer and closer to the truth, and was about to see through all of Heng Sheng's designs.

The kitchen is near the lobby restaurant, separated only by a corridor, but it's still easy to get lost if it's your first time here.

Under the guidance of the butler, Gao Mo took the opportunity to tour the interior of the villa.

“This used to be a hotel. A Russian businessman who settled in Japan built it based on his own interests,” the butler said, recounting the story with great familiarity. “He seemed to really like this land, which resembles the scenery of his homeland, Russia, and brought a lot of things from Russia.”

"Is that so?" Gao Mo didn't think this place was built for a hotel. "But it looks like there are quite a few magical mechanisms here. I thought the builder was a magician... When did Mr. Tashiro come here?"

"About 10 years ago, shortly after the teacher became famous, he bought this place. I heard from the teacher that the original owner of this place was a Russian businessman."

The two walked all the way to the kitchen.

To Gao Mo's surprise, there was no chef in the kitchen, only a young maid.

"This is our maid, Miss Tongjiang. She'll be in charge of dinner," the butler said, glancing at the time. "It's already 5 o'clock. Xiangzi, start preparing dinner."

"Ok."

The maid was making coffee. Upon hearing this, she wiped her hands on Cuihua's apron and hurriedly turned around. She was gentle yet capable, with the charm of a young married woman. When she saw Gao Mo next to the housekeeper, she blushed slightly and lowered her head, looking flustered.

Maid Kirie Nozomi, 18 years old.

Gao Mo's eyes narrowed slightly.

This girl seemed to be the same girl who served him, "Xiao Zi," from his dream.

Although their clothing and makeup were completely different styles, he still recognized the face immediately.

Most importantly, he saw the projected text: "[Take back everything that belongs to me and my father]"

If there were some things I couldn't understand before, after meeting this girl, all the reasoning became clear.

"Miss Xiangzi looks so young, how come she's working as a maid in this remote mountain area?" Gao Mo suppressed his turbulent thoughts.

“I was originally a fan of Mr. Yamanouchi,” Kirie said in a clear voice. “After he read my novel, I became his student and stayed here to work.”

"Have we met before? I think I saw you at a small bar two years ago," Gao Mo asked casually.

He had inquired with editor Takarada and learned that Yamanouchi's trip to the countryside of Hokkaido for research was two years ago.

"Huh?" Kirie's face stiffened for a moment. "Mr. Kindaichi, you're joking. I never go to bars."

"That means I was wrong."

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Gao Mo casually asked for something to fill his stomach, and then his thoughts returned to the reasoning duel, focusing on Yamanouchi Tsunesei.

When Yamanouchi's first and most famous work, "The Lucia Doll Murder Case," was published, the villa had not yet fallen into his hands, but the novel's background and plot were exactly the same as this Lucia Mansion.

The subsequent purchase of this place was by no means accidental.

Based on the girl's experience and the information he has gathered so far.

This place may have originally belonged to a girl's family, and "The Lucia Doll Murder Case" may not necessarily be entirely a work by Yamanouchi.

Before coming here, he had studied all of Yamanouchi's works.

The other party is just like the previous Fantasy Magic Troupe, very restrained in producing works, and compared with the tricks in the works, other aspects are completely third-rate.

This is also why he has never won an award, and why there was a time when the mystery was revealed prematurely, causing confusion – because the main appeal of Yamanouchi's works is the design of the tricks.

Tadahiro Shinmei also made his judgments based on this, suspecting that Yamanouchi had plagiarized.

Gao Mo walked out of the kitchen, lost in thought.

It feels like Yamanouchi got a "Trick Notes" that's similar to "Magic Notes".

Considering the various mechanisms and designs within this villa, it's truly a question whether the tricks in the work were conceived by Yamanouchi.

If Yamanouchi actually knew the maid Kirie Shizuko's true identity...

As Gao Mo walked, he seemed to enter a world of thought.

The entire villa was transformed into a 3D perspective view.

If this final trick was also recorded in the "Trick Notebook," and this notebook ended up in the hands of Kirie Koko, who wanted to reclaim everything...

This former young lady became the missing sword in Yamanouchi's hand.

Gao Mo's gaze grew increasingly calm.

In the last year of his life, the mystery novelist may have wanted to write a work of his own, or perhaps he wanted to surpass the author of "The Trick Notebook," as if offering his soul to the devil, attempting to compose his final work on the stage of reality.

"I already know the answer to the riddle."

With the clues in Gao Mo's mind coming together, he not only completed the psychological profile but also successfully solved the mystery of the Lucia dolls.

Whether it's the placement of the dolls or the meaning behind the poetic codes.

The perspective view of the villa disappeared, leaving only five Lucia dolls and a huge clock outside the window where the dolls were located.

"Mr. Kindaichi," Editor Takarada rushed over, calling out anxiously upon seeing Gao Mo, "What are you doing here? Everyone's started solving the mystery and researching those dolls. If we fall behind them..."

"It's alright. Isn't there another video recording in Yamanouchi that's due at 10 o'clock? It's still early." Gao Mo didn't reveal that he had solved the mystery yet.

(End of this chapter)