Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 320 Professional Assassin Spider

"You're an illusionist too?" Spider looked nervously at the white smiling mask Gao Mo was wearing, confirming that there was just a pair of naked eyes under the mask, and there was no hypnotic device at all.

This is also the most terrifying place.

They dared to look directly into his illusionary eye without any protection, and were completely unaffected.

"What illusionist? Don't bother showing off your simple tricks."

Gao Mo clearly caught several needle-like reflections shining from under the spider's black cloak, and almost simultaneously fired several of the doctor's specially made explosive bullets.

The illusion devices hidden in various corners of the rooftop were all destroyed instantly, and the steel wires binding Kaito Kuroba were also completely broken.

Kaito Kuroba, having lost his support, collapsed to the ground, his eyes still unfocused and not yet out of hypnosis.

No wonder he's known as the world's number one illusionist. Unlike normal people, he concentrates almost all his superpowers on his eyes to avoid being targeted; otherwise, dealing with him would be quite troublesome.

After repeatedly turning his head to avoid the gleaming steel needles, Gao Mo's gaze returned to the man in black.

I don't know what this guy's relationship is with "Scorpion" Scrooge, but he kept aiming at his right eye. With the other party's flying needle technique, it would probably pierce through his brain.

"Swish!"

Ignoring the steel needles embedded in the wall behind him, Gao Mo turned his gun to aim at the man in black, about to switch to tranquilizer dart mode, when the red eyes on the man in black's face, which were creating illusions, suddenly went dark.

As if suddenly giving up resistance, the man in black let his hands fall to his sides and collapsed backward as if possessed.

What the hell?

Then it just fell straight down.

Gao Mo thought this guy was going to pull some trick again, so he chased after him to the edge of the rooftop, only to find that the man in black had fallen to the ground without any warning, his head smashing into a broken watermelon.

"So cruel?"

Gao Mo stood there, speechless, quite certain that he hadn't fallen under any illusion; the other person had truly fallen to their death right before his eyes.

The malice shown in the previous interview has completely dissipated.

Even if you don't want to be captured alive, there's no way you can die like this, right?

He doesn't look like the kind of killer who would commit suicide.

Hypnosis backfired?
After discovering that the police from the museum were already rushing downstairs, Gao Mo looked back at Kuroba Kaito's condition, slapped him hard, and quickly turned and left the scene.

Unfortunately, he couldn't openly report what was happening here.

And this spider is way too weak.

Aside from his flashy illusions and needle-throwing techniques, he was no different from an ordinary person.

"I am..."

Kaito Kuroba felt a burning pain on his right cheek, as if he had been slapped hard.

"Where's the spider?"

As he gradually regained consciousness, Kaito Kuroba jumped up and looked around, but he couldn't find the Spider Killer anywhere. There were only some traces of what appeared to be a battle.

In addition, there was the sound of police sirens coming from downstairs.

As he reached the edge of the rooftop, the sight of the Spider Man lying dead on the ground made Kaito Kuroba's gaze narrow sharply.

The shattered spider-eye mask was exactly the same as the one in the hallucination.

He was clearly pulled into an illusionary world by the other party, so how come the other party was the one who died?
“A strange guy saved you,” Hakuba Saguru explained, panting, after chasing after Kid to the rooftop in the cold wind. “I saw everything from that building across the street. I was originally trying to catch the spider…”

"But you were really lucky, you almost died at the hands of the spider."

"A spider?" Kaito Kuroba's expression returned to calm.

“A professional assassin, and his target seems to be you,” Hakuba Saguru said, adjusting his hat as he approached Kuroba Kaito. “You’re actually Kuroba-kun, right?”

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

Kaito Kuroba grinned and fled the scene in the exploding smoke before Saguru Hakuba could get close.

Although he didn't know who saved him, it seemed like there was no other possibility but those few people.

Unreliable parents, or... a helper hired by the boss.

The boss has several capable people around him.

"You won't admit it?" Hakuba Saguru's smile remained unchanged. He didn't chase after Kid, but instead looked down at the ground with a slightly responsible expression.

The world-class assassin "Spider" died so easily.

If he hadn't been investigating "Spider" and happened to witness the whole thing, probably no one would know how "Spider" died.

"but……"

Hakuba Saguru frowned in confusion.

"Where have I seen that masked man before?"

……

Before we knew it, it was the end of the month.

Gao Mo didn't get his big news, but he did use the time to improve his photography skills.

Thanks to the photography talent honed by being a freelance journalist, combined with my previous photography professional books, I barely managed to raise my photography level to 4.

As for the remaining five levels, given his current situation, he estimated he had no chance and didn't intend to delve deeper.

A byproduct of photography was that I photographed all the people and environment around me.

When Sonoko and Ran heard about it, they even brought their classmates over to take pictures. It can only be said that Level 3 photography is already quite impressive, while Level 4 and above are generally not noticeably different to the average person.

Level 4 focuses less on staged photos and more on capturing key moments.

Office.

Gao Mo kept a thick photo album and looked through it repeatedly.

Not only Sonoko and her group, but also all the photos of Mustache and others were collected, making Conan fans in another world extremely envious.

"Isn't today the Naoki Prize judging day? Aren't you going to take a look?" Ai ran over to remind her, and her eyelids twitched when she saw Gao Mo treating the photos like collectibles.

She didn't quite understand why Gao Mo started studying photography.

It looks like they're doing things haphazardly, but it also feels like they're preparing some important plan.

Because Gao Mo's seriousness and nervousness were genuine.

"Whether I go or not, it won't change the outcome." Gao Mo was much calmer now.

Moreover, he was worried that his presence might trigger some kind of case.

"Just wait, the selection process will last for a month, and we won't know the results until then." "Another month?" Xiao Ai wondered if she should learn more about these industries.

"That's the process; the awards ceremony will be held a month from now."

Gao Mo maintained a stable mindset.

The Devotion of Suspect X has been a hot topic since its release, receiving a barrage of positive reviews after some initial criticism.

In less than a month, it broke various sales records, and it can be said that this book has already put him in the circle of top mystery novelists.

Japan TV even approached them early on to discuss adaptation, and unprecedentedly offered a huge adaptation fee.

The Naoki Prize is merely icing on the cake, just another form of recognition.

Even without the Naoki Prize, he can wait for the adapted drama to air to further expand his influence.

Don't underestimate the power of adaptation; many novels become bestsellers precisely because of their adaptations.

However, advancing to level 5 as a novelist was much more difficult than he had anticipated, even though he thought his current fame and status as a novelist were certainly sufficient.

Is it a side effect of leveraging the fame of the famous detective?
Thinking about this gave Gao Mo a headache. He had only just learned that the Naoki Prize would be awarded for a month.

We need to speed it up.

Gao Mo put away the photo album, his eyes lighting up under Xiao Ai's questioning gaze.

Why wait?

Since Nichiri TV has taken a liking to his novel, he could easily do an interview as the novel's author beforehand.

The university also has a similar author promotion plan, but he doesn't want to go to the signing event, and the previous dialogue event ended without success due to the Moroguchi incident.

There's no need to worry about any unexpected incidents during television interviews.

……

Two days later.

Japanese TV station.

Early in the morning, Gao Mo, accompanied by his editor Jing Tian, ​​went to the TV station to record a program, where he talked about his writing experience and why he wanted to write novels.

Surprisingly, the news anchor in charge of the interview was none other than Rena Mizunashi, who has recently become very popular.

Her bright blue cat eyes were quite distinctive, and her long, straight, black hair was tied in a low ponytail, with fine hairs hanging down on both sides of her forehead like antennae.

At first glance, I thought it was my black cat that had turned into a human.

She's even prettier than on TV, and her smile gives off a very pleasant feeling.

However, Gao Mo knew very well who this woman was.

Regardless of her private life, Rena Mizunashi is a CIA spy, currently infiltrating the brewery under the codename "Kiel".

"Teacher Aoyama!" After finishing the program, Rena Mizunashi hurriedly called out to Gao Mo, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? How about we go to the TV station's cafeteria for a meal together? The cafeteria here is really great, and I also have some questions I'd like to ask you."

"Please just call me Kindaichi in private."

Gao Mo stopped in his tracks, wondering what this woman was up to.

Although the collaboration on the show went smoothly, he didn't want to get too involved with these spies.

“Okay, Kindaichi-sensei.” Rena Mizunashi seemed to sense Gao Mo’s aloofness, and her smile became more hesitant.

She wasn't a detective enthusiast; she was simply a novel fan.

Yesterday, in preparation for the interview, she specifically bought a copy of "The Devotion of Suspect X" in advance, and she hasn't fully recovered from reading it since.

To be honest, this was the first time she had ever read a mystery novel of this social and emotional type.

The author's strong sense of immersion, suspense, and subtle, unspoken emotions make it hard to believe that he is a relatively new author.

Especially after learning that the author is a famous detective and that writing novels is just a hobby, I was instantly shocked.

Even famous detectives are getting involved.

“Mina-sensei!” Hakuba, who had been waiting outside the studio, called out, interrupting Mizunashi Rena’s thoughts. “It’s been a long time. Thank you so much for last time.”

"what?"

Rena Mizunashi came to her senses.

"Oh, it's Hakuba Saguru! What brings you back to Japan?"

"I happen to have something to take care of."

Hakuba Saguru was still dressed like a Sherlock Holmes detective, and when he greeted Mizunashi Rena, he glanced curiously at Takamori.

"The last time we met was at the Twilight Mansion, wasn't it, Mr. Kindaichi? I've heard about the Shibuya incident even overseas; it was quite something."

"where."

Gao Mo always felt that the boy's gaze was somewhat scrutinizing, as if he were questioning something.

"I'm here to record a show, where's Bai Ma?"

"I'm here to see someone." Hakuba Saguru didn't probe too much, greeted him, and left.

Rena Mizunashi exclaimed in surprise, "So Kindaichi-sensei knows Hakuba-kun too?"

"We solved cases together before."

Gao Mo withdrew his gaze from Bai Ma Tan.

The mind network didn't detect any problems, so it seems to be just a coincidence.

"Mr. Aoyama," Ida said helplessly after being left standing there for a long time, "I won't disturb your meal any longer. There's still work to be done at the editorial department."

"There are other people working in the editorial department, you can join them too."

Gao Mo was the first to head towards the cafeteria.

If he were to go out to eat alone with Rena Mizunashi, he could imagine what the tabloids would say. Even though TV is sold here every day, it's still possible for some busybodies to spread rumors.

Whether it's Rena Mizunashi or him, there are always people who are envious and can't stand it.

"Okay, alright." Ida touched his bald head.

If it were any other writer, they would definitely be eager to get rid of him.

The teacher was indeed not the kind of person who would be easily tempted, and did not become arrogant because of fame.

That's right, the teacher is a famous detective, he's just always kept a low profile.

(End of this chapter)