Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 316 is at writing level 5; new work: *The Devotion of Suspect X*.

Tokyo.

The afternoon sun falls on the window, and the winter sun paired with a cool breeze is warm but not scorching, making one want to take a nice afternoon nap.

The cat thinks so too.

While Gao Mo was writing his novel, the black cat comfortably arched its back and stretched, nestled in the sunlight with a look of enjoyment on its face.

Sometimes being a cat is much happier than being a human, especially for pet cats who don't have to worry about survival, even though black cats don't consider themselves pets.

"Snoring!"

Gao Mo resisted the urge to kick the black cat and continued writing to meet his deadline.

It's been two days since I returned from Hokkaido. The publication of Yamanouchi's posthumous work caused a great sensation. As the story of the Lucia Museum spread, Jodansha launched a major publicity campaign to attract more readers.

Regardless of whether Yamanouchi's reputation is good or bad, the "Kindaichi" character who ruined the script gained a lot of attention, and his book "Kindaichi Boy" also made a dark horse in the rankings.

He himself did not miss the opportunity, using a reporter's pseudonym to write an exclusive article and made a fortune.

The profession of freelance journalist was promoted to level 4 in a short period of time, becoming the same level as novelist.

The new talent, "King of Gossip," further enhances information gathering capabilities.

Now he not only knows everything about the police, but also about some private circles. He has unknowingly become a big shot on online forums.

The royalties offered by various magazines and newspapers were raised again and again, and in a short period of time, the earnings were no less than those from writing novels.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a quick-money-making industry where you can make enough to last a year from the very first day of

In this Lucia Pavilion incident, he emerged as the biggest winner thanks to his multiple aliases.

Yamanouchi is probably in despair, because just last night another ghost walked right into his trap, and judging from its malice, it is very likely that it was the evil spirit of Yamanouchi that had been hiding before.

The malice was so strong that it instantly added 20 stars to his rating.

However, compared to the number of stars this event has consistently provided, 20 stars isn't really enough.

"despair!"

After writing the last word, Gao Mo let out a soft breath and stretched his fingers.

More than the outside world's distractions, he is now concerned about advancing his career as a novelist.

After finishing that guide to creating mystery novels, my writing skills have already reached level 5 ahead of schedule. Although I'm a bit unbalanced, only focusing on mystery novel writing, it's still level 5, which is good enough.

All that's left is to achieve the required level of fame.

If fame were also divided into 5 levels, most authors with bestselling novels would only be at level 3, such as Kaoru Umezono, who reached her peak right from her debut.

Level 5 should represent national-level novelists, each of whom has basically achieved continuous success and spent a lot of time accumulating popularity.

It will be difficult for him to reach level 5 in a short time, but level 4 is something he can try.

With "Kindaichi Case Files" already laying a solid foundation, if another hit series comes out, the probability of it reaching level 4 is very high.

This time, he was very well prepared.

Not only did it retain the plot hole that "Kindaichi" is "Aoyama," but the novel itself is also a test-tested classic, "The Devotion of Suspect X"—created by the phenomenal mystery novelist Keigo Higashino, a bestselling novel with explosive influence.

The mystery novel awards are coming up soon, so maybe I can make it in time.

He's resorting to shameless plagiarism; he's determined to win as a novelist (level 5).

As for the impact of copying books... there is no Keigo Higashino in this world, so how can it be called copying?

He doesn't really want to become a novelist, so it's okay for him to temporarily take a different path.

"I should be able to finish writing it by tomorrow."

Gao Mo leaned back in his chair, enjoying the sun.

"The Devotion of Suspect X," a work that once dominated the charts, could even compete with Yusaku Kudo's bestsellers in this world, so it's almost a foregone conclusion that it would be a contender for awards.

He needs to consider localization and adaptation, as well as some optimization based on his own talents.

"Beep!"

Another phone call came in, and my phone vibrated incessantly on the table.

Gao Mo glanced at the lit screen and, seeing that it was Koji Takarada calling, promptly hung up.

This guy not only broke the contract, but when he left the Lucia Pavilion he also said he would pay a 100 million yen thank-you fee, but after returning to Tokyo he didn't pay a cent.

Do you really think he has no temper?
"Beep!"

The phone rang again. Gao Mo frowned and was about to block it when Xiao Ai suddenly ran up to him.

"Kido, someone has transferred 200 million yen to the firm's account. The email message tells you that you must answer the phone."

"Oh?"

Gao Mo stared at his continuously vibrating phone and waited a while before answering.

"Mr. Takarada, what exactly do you want?"

"Kindaichi Detective," Takarada's voice trembled, "Save me, save me! I'm going to be killed too..."

"No one will kill you, Mr. Takarada."

"It's true, please believe me!"

In a cheap apartment in the suburbs, Baotian huddled under the covers, looking utterly devastated.

"I've almost died several times, just like that god-like man. It can't be a coincidence! Someone must be trying to kill me!"

“Calm down,” Gao Mo said, taking a sip of water. “If I were you, I would take a shower and go get something good to eat right now.”

"Detective Kindaichi..."

Baotian was even more desperate.

Even over the phone, Gao Mo's nonchalance was palpable.

"I was wrong, Detective Kindaichi. That 200 million was all I could come up with. You know, that bastard Yamanouchi had no good intentions and never intended to leave us any inheritance. I didn't get anything!"

"I'm serious, you need to relax right now..."

"beep!"

Before Gao Mo could finish speaking, he heard a busy signal.

Hang up.

Gao Mo exchanged a glance with Xiao Ai and shook his head helplessly.

He was right. In the final moments of life, it's better to seize the time to enjoy life and say goodbye to the world in advance than to live in fear.

"He's dead."

Gao Mo put down his phone after pulling blacklist Bao Tian.

The Lucia Pavilion incident is not over, but he's already too lazy to pay attention to it anymore.

The only person he cared about was Takato Haruichi.

The man seemed to have slipped out of his control.

……

Cheap apartments.

There was a train crossing nearby, and as a series of alarm bells rang, the barriers on both sides slowly lowered.

The ground vibrated slightly as the train approached.

No one noticed that a razor blade had been pulled onto the railway tracks by the clothesline.

"Kuku!"

"They actually told me to just wait to die! Do they think I'm an idiot?"

Koji Takarada cursed into his phone for a while, then suddenly sensed that someone was watching him from outside.

He came here not only because of the multiple accidents, but also to escape his creditors.

This trip to Hokkaido was a complete mess, causing him to inadvertently borrow another sum of money. In the end, his lawyer told him that he would not be able to inherit the considerable fortune that Yamanouchi had amassed.

"What famous detective? He spent two million just to answer a phone call! That guy definitely did it on purpose, trying to make a fool of me, huh? Just wait until I survive..."

Koji Takarada cautiously peeked out the window, but before he could see who was watching him, his vision suddenly went black. In his last moments of blurred consciousness, he only saw a headless body by the window with blood gushing out.

"Bang!" The train passed the level crossing, and because it was rush hour, almost no one noticed the little incident that happened at the cheap apartment.

The only one who saw the whole thing was Gao Yuanyao, who had been standing at the intersection early on.

He wasn't tailing him, but protecting Koji Takarada. He had already saved the guy several times, but he was still caught off guard.

He was clearly in his room, yet he died so casually.

Gao Yuanyao frowned deeply, unable to maintain his composure.

He hadn't been this angry in a long time.

Koji Takarada chose this cheap apartment near the level crossing for safety reasons, and he never went out after arriving. Even he never expected that there would be danger there, and then he died in such an unreasonable way.

"Di!"

The phone made a soft ringing sound, and Gao Yuanyao remained silent for a long time before unlocking it to check.

My good friend Youyue has indeed run into trouble.

Starting with Tadashi Kami, he deduced that the next one would be Kouji Takarada, and then it would be Yuuki's turn, so he tried various ways to interfere.

It was all in vain.

Gao Yuanyao left the cheap apartment expressionlessly and hailed a taxi nearby: "To Beikacho 2-chome."

Kido Detective Agency.

After Gao Mo put aside Bao Tian's matter, he received a call from editor Jing Tian.

“I never expected Baotian to be this kind of person. I’ve been looking for him for the past few days, but I haven’t heard anything from him. I’ve known him since I entered the industry. It’s a shame he was the deputy editor-in-chief of Changtan Press.”

"Ida said with considerable annoyance."

"Mr. Aoyama, what do you think about the new book...?"

"The Chodansha Publishing House has also contacted me. Takarada has already left the Chodansha Publishing House, and they are very sincere." Gao Mo had no personal relationship with this editor and spoke only about the facts.

These two publishing houses are giants in the current Japanese publishing industry, corresponding to his previous "Shogakukan" and "Kodansha" respectively, and they have a wider range of businesses. Anyone who has read Japanese manga should know these two companies.

Although his relationship with Gyokukan is quite good, he could switch to Jodansha if the conditions were better.

"Sincerity?" Jing Tian said hastily, "We can discuss the royalties and profit sharing again. We've had a very pleasant working relationship before, haven't we? The editor-in-chief has already made significant concessions..."

"Royalties and royalties are important, but not the main point. My new book is my masterpiece, so I want to try my best to win awards," Gao Mo interrupted. "Changtan Publishing House has promised to help me win awards with all their might."

In terms of awards, Changtan Society is undoubtedly more professional.

He set his sights on the "Edogawa Rampo Award," a prestigious award representing the highest honor in Japanese mystery novels, which was led by the other party. His new book had not yet been published, making it a perfect fit for his needs.

“Mr. Aoyama, what Jodansha can do, we can do too,” Ida said through gritted teeth, glancing at the stern-faced editor-in-chief beside him. “Besides, the Naoki Prize selection is just around the corner. If the new book is truly Mr. Aoyama’s masterpiece… no, as long as it surpasses the level of the last chapter of Kindaichi, it still has a great chance of winning the prize!”

He never expected that this newly debuted novelist would generate such a buzz.

There are even rumors that "Aoyama's" true identity is Kindaichi.

He couldn't even imagine what the editor-in-chief would do to him if their rival, Kodansha, poached Aoyama-sensei.

They might suspect he's an undercover agent for the Changtan Society.

And that bastard Baotian just walked away, leaving the matchmaker in a bad situation.

"Naoki Prize?"

Gao Mo is no longer a novice in the literary world.

If the Edogawa Rampo Prize is the top award in the world of mystery novels, the Naoki Prize extends even further to the literary world.

Most importantly, the selection is held twice a year, so there is no need to wait too long, which is undoubtedly a better choice for him now.

"How about this, let's arrange a time to meet, in a private place."

"Meet?" Ida paused for a moment, then overjoyed. "Okay, let's meet at Professor Agasa's house. There shouldn't be any problem meeting there."

"Ah."

Gao Mo nodded slightly.

He ultimately preferred the university building.

There's nothing he can do. The Changdan Society says they don't care, but he still messed up their plans, so there might be some complications.

He simply wasn't in the mood to deal with human nature.

Gao Yuanyao's unusual behavior made his time even more urgent, so he wanted to minimize the number of things to do.

"Ok?"

Just as Gao Yuanyao was mentioned, a familiar figure suddenly appeared downstairs at the firm.

Still wearing a mask to cover her face, she looked up at Gao Mo as she got out of the taxi.

living room.

Ai poured hot tea for Gao Yuanyao and couldn't help but glance at him a few more times before leaving.

It's quite surreal that a famous detective and a wanted criminal would have tea together.

“Youyue is dead.” Gao Yuanyao finally managed to utter a sentence, staring intently at Gao Mo as if trying to pierce his soul.

“It has nothing to do with me. I have no reason to kill her.” Gao Mo had just taken a sip of tea when he almost choked.

Why does it feel like the roles are reversed?

A wanted criminal actually suspects a famous detective of murder.

"I should say I even saved her life."

“That’s the problem,” Gao Yuanyao said, crossing his arms and producing a rose with his fingers as if by magic. “You said that fate can be changed, but that’s not the case.”

"I only said it was possible, not that it could definitely be changed. You're not going to blame me, are you?" Gao Mo's expression remained unchanged. "I'm just a detective, not a god."

How could I possibly blame you for something like this?

Gao Yuanyao chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"You're my boss, or maybe even a god, who knows? I've investigated for a long time—the embodiment of death, the shadow of death..."

"What are you saying?" Gao Mo pretended not to hear.

As long as he doesn't admit it, it's not true.

“If the boss doesn’t know, then so be it,” Gao Yuanyao closed his eyes briefly and shifted his gaze to the window. “I see my own future, and I see the boss’s future. I don’t even know if I’m still alive right now.”

"You still look alive no matter how you look at it." Gao Mo's heart sank slightly.

"It certainly seems that way, but at one point I did die, and it was then that I discovered the truth of this world. What I thought was art crime was a joke from beginning to end, utterly meaningless."

Gao Yuanyao magically transformed the rose into a check, stood up, looked around, and then walked out of the office with his hands in his pockets.

"No need to see me off. See you again next time. I'll still call you boss next time."

Gao Mo watched Gao Yuanyao get back into his car and leave from the doorway, feeling utterly bewildered.

Did you suddenly come here just to chat with him?
And his speech is unclear.

It sounds like this guy has been resurrected and become an agent of death, but this appearance doesn't match the future he sees.

That wretched riddle-maker! That riddle-maker deserves to die!

Would it kill you to speak more clearly?

"Ten million yen," Ai exclaimed in surprise, picking up the check from the coffee table. "It's a real check. What did you do with it?"

"I do not know either."

Gao Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.

Gao Yuanyao's words just now were indeed loaded with meaning, as if he was hinting at something.

Either he's being deliberately mysterious because he's disgusted, or he simply can't explain it.

Is a storm coming?
Gao Mo glanced back at Ai, who was putting away the check with a satisfied expression, and after thinking for a moment, decided to use 100 stars to bind Ai.

The number of stars in the storage pool is sufficient; it's better to be on the safe side.

If the Grim Reaper really makes a move, Ai, who has been by his side for a long time, will be in the most danger, as he may not be able to foresee the crisis in time.

(End of this chapter)