Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 317 The Mystery Novelist and the Famous Detective

The literary scene is destined to be very lively this winter, especially the mystery novel genre.

First, Yamanouchi Tsunehito dropped a bombshell, not only plagiarizing his friend's idea, but also attempting to complete a "New Lucia Doll Murder Case" set in reality after his death.

Just as one wave subsides, another rises. Riding the wave of the Lucia Pavilion's popularity, several veteran mystery novelists have released new works, claiming they are aiming for the Naoki Prize this year.

Before many mystery fans could even celebrate, University Library suddenly revealed Aoyama's true identity and began promoting "The Devotion of Suspect X".

University Library Editorial Department.

Gao Mo revisited the old place, admiring the bustling office, when Tong Jiang Xiangzi nervously ran over to pour him some water.

"You actually work here?" Gao Mo looked at the girl in her professional attire with surprise. It was a different feeling from her previous maid outfit. She had more of the vitality and innocence that belonged to her age.

"It was Mr. Iida who asked me to give it a try, starting as an intern, because my skills were relatively weak, and it would be best to familiarize myself with novel-related work first."

Tongjiang Xiangzi didn't know what was wrong with her.

I always feel flustered in front of this great detective, and I don't want him to see my disheveled state.

"Interns are great too. Whether they continue as editors or write their own novels in the future, they will have a future."

Gao Mo offered a sincere word of encouragement.

Perhaps because of that dream, he naturally became more affectionate towards the girl.

The five-star professional writing book provided by the girl's father was also a great help; otherwise, given his original level, it would have been a long time before he could have improved his writing to level five.

"Thank you."

Tong Jiang thought about running away with her head down. When she saw Editor Jing Tian and the chief editor surrounding Gao Mo in the corner, she felt a mix of envy and confidence.

Unexpectedly, Kindaichi is also a mystery novelist, and his new work is said to be of extremely high quality, far surpassing Yamanouchi, who can only attract readers with tricks. He has already been slated to win the Naoki Prize soon.

“Mr. Aoyama,” the editor-in-chief took a moment to warmly greet Gao Mo, “this time, the promotional collaboration is with Mr. Moroguchi Masutaka, who is also currently serializing in the magazine. With his help in generating buzz, ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ is sure to have a great start.”

The editor-in-chief didn't have much time, so he left in a hurry after a few words, leaving only editor Jing Tian to take Gao Mo to the lounge.

"Mr. Moroguchi is the one who had a problem with you last time," Ida whispered a reminder. "He's a rather difficult guy, so don't take it to heart later."

"I know him."

Gao Mo remained calm.

If Yamanouchi is merely a figurehead, relying almost entirely on other people's creative writing, then Moroguchi Masataka is a truly capable person.

At only 52 years old, he has won almost every detective novel award imaginable, and he is also a frequent guest on various TV adaptations, making him very popular with television stations.

In terms of fame, he is undoubtedly a Level 5 mystery novelist.

It is said that he may become a member of the Naoki Prize selection committee, so the university specially arranged this meeting.

Afterwards, a formal meeting will be held at the other party's home, and the man with the mustache will also attend—on the surface, it seems quite interesting, after all, the man with the mustache is also his partner as a detective.

"I heard his former editor committed suicide?" Gao Mo asked casually.

It wasn't that he was overthinking it; the mustache was just too powerful.

When they bring the guy with the mustache to their house for a talk, Ran and Conan usually come along.

Here comes the problem.

What kind of case will happen in the home of this Level 5 mystery novelist?

“Actually, it’s not certain whether it was suicide,” Ida said somewhat cautiously. “Mr. Moroguchi has some bad habits. Akiba… his former editor, could very well have been killed by him. Cough, don’t talk about this.”

"Ah."

Gao Mo remained noncommittal.

He specifically read several of Morokuchi Masataka's novels.

I always felt that the other person was a bit neurotic. The techniques in novels always describe every detail, as if they wanted to teach people to commit crimes in real life.

Moreover, he strongly suspected that the old author had actually tried those murder methods.

"Why is it taking so long? My time is very precious!"

Before even reaching the break room, I heard a roar. A fat old man wearing glasses was yelling at the female editor.

"And what's with this trailer? Why is my name 1 millimeter smaller than everyone else's? Are they looking down on me?!"

"No, teacher, I just think this font size and layout looks better..."

"Why don't you reduce the pen names of other writers as well? In what way am I, Zhukou, inferior to that junior, Qingshan? Huh?"

The fat old man threw the magazine and smashed it hard on the female editor's head.

"You useless piece of trash!!"

Gao Mo and Jing Tian exchanged a glance at each other at the door.

They are indeed not easy to deal with.

When it comes to the Naoki Prize selection, will this guy pull some tricks?
“Don’t worry,” Ida swallowed, “he won’t mess around with those kinds of awards.”

Please, you're speaking with such a lack of confidence.

Gao Mo secretly grumbled to himself.

Normal people might not act recklessly, but this old author seems to be a bit unusual, reacting so strongly to a font size that was only 1 millimeter smaller.

It seems he was caught up in some incident and became one of the suspects who harbored murderous intent towards Moroguchi.

In this abstract world, other aspiring novelists aiming for the Naoki Prize might actually be forced to take the risk and publish their work.

“Hey, go get us some coffee,” Ida said, pushing open the door to the lounge and winking at the female editor.

"Hmph." The fat old man's temper subsided slightly when he saw Jing Tian and Gao Mo, but he was still not very happy.

"Akiba is much better. He can do everything comfortably and can perfectly fulfill any of my requests, unlike this guy who is so slow at collecting information."

“Mr. Moroguchi,” Ida said, trying to ease the tension, “hole blowing is actually not bad either.”

"You call this 'not bad'?" The fat old man sneered, glancing sideways. "Someone like Qiuchang is what I call 'not bad.' What's that saying again? Right, 'To die for it'."

The atmosphere in the lounge suddenly turned cold, and the female editor, who was about to leave, visibly stiffened.

"You're that famous detective Kindaichi, right?" The fat old man turned his gaze to Gao Mo, his expression scrutinizing. "A famous detective writing mystery novels, how rather boring."

Solving cases doesn't mean you can write good detective novels. After all, detective writers need to devise plots; in some ways, we're rivals to detectives.

"Haha," Ida said with a headache, and quickly interjected to explain, "Actually, Aoyama-sensei is also very good at designing tricks, even Kudo Yusaku-saku praises him highly."

"is it?"

Moroguchi Masutaka clearly felt a bit disgusted when he heard Kudo Yusaku's name, and his gaze towards Gao Mo became even more unfriendly.

He was practically at the top of the industry in China; otherwise, he wouldn't have the right to boss his editor around like that, and even large publishing houses like University Press would have to cater to him.

But internationally, nobody paid any attention to him, let alone welcomed him worldwide like Yusaku Kudo.

"I still don't think famous detectives can write good novels."

Zhu Kou tilted his head slightly, pretending to casually show off the large diamond ring on his hand, his face full of arrogance.

“Look at this. This ring was specially made to commemorate my 100th appearance on television. I originally requested that it be set with 100 diamonds, but it would be too big and look like a tailor’s thimble.”

Gao Mo was starting to regret coming to see this guy.

It is indeed an exaggeration to say that 100 works have been adapted, but how many of them are truly outstanding?
He's just an old guy who's built up his seniority by chasing sales volume.

Do you know what makes my work good?

Zhukou acted like a superior senior.

"My novels focus on detail and realism, unlike yours which are based on assumptions. All the techniques in my novels can be reproduced in reality. If I were a criminal, you famous detectives might be out of a job, hahaha!"

Ida's expression darkened considerably, and as he left, he couldn't help but complain, "Thank goodness I'm not his editor, or I really couldn't stand it."

"Wasn't he going too far with his editor?" Gao Mo then saw the female editor being yelled at. "This is the editorial department, after all."

"There's nothing we can do. He's gotten to this point that even the editor-in-chief has to be appeased. He just happened to be passing by today. Normally, we're the ones who have to visit him in person for everything. He treats the editors like servants." Jing Tian explained helplessly.

This is too exaggerated.

Gao Mo always felt that this old author was shrouded in a deathly aura.

Such arrogance is not allowed in the world of Detective Conan.

So what if he's a top-tier mystery novelist? Even high-ranking government officials can die suddenly, and even the prime minister could be vindicated.

"Anyway, that's how it is," Ida said with a wry smile. "I'll take you to Professor Moroguchi's house first thing tomorrow morning. Besides our editorial department, the TV station might also be there. If you need any preparations, you can tell me."

"There's nothing to prepare." Gao Mo wasn't afraid of gossip.

"Let's grab a quick bite nearby," Ida said, checking his watch. "We can invite Sōko along too."

He had already read "The Devotion of Suspect X" and was utterly amazed. He thought that both the narrative and the tricks in the novel were far superior to Moroguchi's works.

In particular, the novel's rich emotional descriptions are completely different from the Aoyama-sensei he first met. The writing is sincere and touching, and even he, a seasoned writer, felt his nose tingle after reading it.

It can only be said that it is indeed a masterpiece as Aoyama-sensei claims it to be—although he doesn't know how a teacher who has only recently debuted could have such a masterpiece.

Furthermore, what Moroguchi just said is also incorrect. Suspect X's Devotion is not based on mere speculation, because it leans towards social realism and is even more realistic than many of Moroguchi's works.

The only somewhat puzzling thing is that Aoyama-sensei, as a famous detective, seems to have a special understanding of criminal psychology, and the entire novel contains a lot of perspectives from the murderer.

"No need, I just came to check on the situation."

Gao Mo saw Katagiri Sōko, who was still doing odd jobs in the editorial department, and didn't want Ida to misunderstand anything.

"Xiangzi is the daughter of a friend of mine. She is very talented in trickery, and I hope you can nurture her well."

Doesn't he have talent?

Even without talent, he wouldn't have been designed by Yamanouchi to be a killing tool.

Afterwards, he asked Katagiri Sōko, and she said that the girl had already stored the method of murder in her mind—it was actually the draft of a novel she had written for Yamanouchi when she was working as a maid.

That guy Yamanouchi even used the idea of his old friend's daughter in his posthumous work.

"A friend's daughter?" Ida paused for a moment, then muttered to himself.

Could it be my daughter?

He has also encountered many people in the industry who deliberately concealed their identities in order to train their children.

However, no matter what, we still need to take care of them.

Aoyama-sensei might become the next Yusaku Kudo.

"Let me show you around here again." Ida's attitude became much more respectful.

Gao Mo secretly curled his lip upon seeing this.

There's no need to explain.

The more you explain, the easier it is to cause misunderstandings.

And he genuinely hoped that Katagiri Shizuko could escape that twisted, dark world and truly return to normal.

Even the most abstract world has a beautiful side.