Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 289 Gunshots in the Tunnel
The following day, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Kōsaka Natsumi Castle is located in the coastal mountainous area of ​​Yokosuka.

The first time you see this ancient castle, it's a sight to behold.

"This castle seems to appear in advertisements all the time. I never imagined it was owned by Miss Xia Mei's family." Xiao Lan's eyes lit up. What girl doesn't love a castle? Especially if you can take wedding photos in a place like this, it would be even more special.

"really."

Joel felt the same way; a pure white wedding dress was already in her mind.

"What am I thinking? Xia Chuan hasn't proposed yet."

Joel murmured softly, glancing at her boyfriend. She vowed that they would definitely come to this place to take their wedding photos on that day.

"What did you say?"

Xia Chuan seemed to hear something, but he couldn't make it out.

"N-nothing," Joel hurriedly waved his hand.

The group chatted casually at the entrance, waiting for the others to arrive.

Soon.

Chinnikov, Qian Jiangyi, and Pu Siqinglan arrived in turn by car.

Conan looked around.

After returning home, Conan recalled Ryu's camera and suspected that Ryu's death might be related to it, since the guy had a habit of taking photos. However, he learned from Inspector Megure that the camera's memory card had already been taken.

The case thus reached a stalemate.

However, because of this, he was 100% certain that Scrooge was among them.

Just as the group was about to enter, two more cars drove into the castle.

"Officer Shiratori?" Joel asked in surprise.

Shiratori Ninzaburo got out of one of the cars.

"It's me. Inspector Megure was worried about your safety alone, so he asked me to come and help you."

After saying that, Shiratori subtly raised an eyebrow at Natsukawa, his true identity self-evident.

The other car was Professor Agasa's Beetle.

"Hey, Professor Agasa, what brings you here too?" Kogoro Mouri stared blankly at Professor Agasa getting out of the car, then noticed a group of children following behind.

The entire Junior Detective League was present.

Including Ai Haibara!

"How could I forget her!"

Xia Chuan's expression suddenly turned grim.

Binga was there, and Ai Haibara didn't know if she would be discovered.

As Ai Haibara was about to get off the bus, she suddenly felt something strange. Her heart started racing for no reason, and then her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground.

Anya was startled and quickly jumped back, indicating that she shouldn't be bothered with any staged accidents.

"Haibara, what's wrong?" Genta asked curiously.

"No, it's okay."

Ai Haibara's face was slightly pale. "I suddenly have a stomachache. Let me sit in the car for a while."

"We found it after all."

Xia Chuan's sharp gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Professor Agasa: "Professor Agasa, there might be assassins coveting the Egg of Memories. You'd better not come along. Take a few kids back with you later."

"Okay, I just brought a few kids to take a look. We'll wait for you at the foot of the mountain later." Professor Agasa nodded in agreement. He had only come to deliver the glasses in the first place.

The newly invented bulletproof glasses are especially important when facing killers who shoot at the eyes.

The group entered the castle. Knowing the nature of these kids, Kogoro Mori instructed the butler to lock the door after he closed it.

Following that, led by Natsumi Kosaka and the butler, the group spent half an hour touring the castle.

"That magic glass shows Yokosuka Castle, but after all this time, it seems like there's nothing there!" Kogoro Mori said, sounding a little impatient.

If it weren't for the beautiful Natsumi Kosaka and Seiran Ura, he would have wanted to go home and drink beer long ago.

The weather in August was very dry, and there was no air conditioning in the castle, so I sweated a lot while walking back and forth.

"Sister Xia Mei, does this castle have any secret passages?"

Conan unconsciously thought of the Blue Castle.

Both are ancient castles, and both are related to the Egg of Memories. He strongly suspects that this castle also has secret passages and basements.

"Miss Xia Mei, is there a room on the first floor where your great-grandfather often stayed?" Xia Chuan went straight to the point.

Natsumi Kosaka looked at the butler; the butler should know about this kind of thing.

Sawabe, the butler, had worked for her family for fifty years and knew almost everything.

"Yes, there is a study on the first floor. According to the deceased master, his father used to like to stay in that room."

“If there’s a secret passage, it should be there.” Xia Chuan nodded, handed the car keys to Joel, and then gave him some instructions.

Conan didn't hear what the young couple was whispering about, nor did he care; he was more interested in the study.

The castle's interior is in a German style, with a study at the end of the corridor, and the view of the boundless sea through the window.

The study has a simple layout, with bookshelves, a desk, a sofa, and teacups. There's nothing special about it. If there's anything special about it, it's probably the self-portrait.

Conan took a liking to the painting at first sight.

Given the precedent of the Blue Castle, the secret passage might also be related to the portrait.

"The two castles have different styles, so they shouldn't be designed by the same person. I don't think they're related," Xia Chuan commented, shaking his head.

"No problems can be seen anywhere else."

Kogoro Mouri inspected the entire bookshelf, but found nothing except to get his hands covered in dust.

Just then, Joel strode in. She held a stick of incense in her hand and handed it to Xia Chuan.

"We'll find out soon enough whether there's a secret passage or not."

Xia Chuan lit incense and began to walk around the room.

He remembered that the secret passage should be in a corner, but he would have to determine which corner it was by the wind direction.

"It seems Uncle Natsukawa was well-prepared after he arrived." Conan himself hadn't expected it to be done in this way.

Soon, the incense began to tremble unnaturally.

"Is this right here?"

Conan's eyes lit up, and he lay down on the ground to feel around, quickly discovering a suspicious groove.

Pulling along the groove, a wooden block was pried up, revealing a calculator inside.

Hmm, it's a combination lock that looks like a calculator.

Just as everyone was wondering about the password, Xia Chuan stepped forward and entered the correct password.

That is, the Russian translation of The Magician at the End of the Century.

"Uncle Xia Chuan, how did you know the password?"

As the secret passage gradually opened up, Conan fell into deep thought.

Solving a mystery always takes time, right? It's like you already knew what this secret passage looked like.

Is this how you play it?
"That word, in Russian, means 'the magician of the end of the century.'"

Beside him, the knowledgeable Russian ambassador, Chinnikov, helped explain the meaning of the code.

"I remember this text was written on Kaito Kid's announcement letter." Kogoro Mouri rubbed his chin, then suddenly pointed at Natsukawa: "Don't move!"

Everyone was startled and looked at him and Xia Chuan, wondering what they were up to.

"You're Kaito Kid, aren't you?" Kogoro Mouri grinned, reaching out his wicked hands to touch Natsukawa's face.

"The fact that Phantom Thief Kid used this title in his signature indicates that he already knew about this castle, while you have shown your special qualities from the very beginning, always staying ahead of this great detective."

There's only one truth! You're Phantom Thief Kid! Am I right?

"what!"

Everyone was astonished, and even Conan thought that Kogoro Mouri's words made sense and that there was indeed a problem.

A black line appeared on Xia Chuan's forehead.

Very good, very smart, but a little too smart.

“Impossible.” Joel shook his head, then reached out and pinched Xia Chuan’s face: “Look, it’s a real face. I pinched Xia Chuan’s face when we arrived.”

Joel hadn't originally intended to do this, but Inspector Nakamori called her at the last minute, saying that Phantom Thief Kid might make another move, and that she should be careful of the people around her, especially Natsukawa.

Although the possibility is very small, Inspector Nakamori still spoke up.

Xia Chuan also began to explain:
"The reason I know this password is because I had a friend investigate and found that the first owner of the castle, Mr. Harada Kiichi, was known as the magician of the end of the century in Russia before he returned to his country."

The code he left behind was in Russian; it's quite natural to think of his title, isn't it?

Although Xia Chuan's explanation was somewhat forced, it did make some sense, and everyone nodded and moved on from the topic.

"Alright, enough of that. Let's hurry down and take a look. Maybe there are other treasures besides the Egg of Memories. Miss Xia Mei, you must entrust them to my channels for exhibition!"

Qian Jiangyi was extremely excited and eager to try his hand at it, but considering that there might be traps in the basement, he still did not plan to be the vanguard.

Although I wanted to steal the Egg of Memories and run away, I couldn't just throw my life away, could I?

"Let's go."

Xia Chuan glanced at the other person; the guy's greedy gaze didn't seem fake, which reduced the likelihood of something being wrong.

Binga couldn't possibly be that conspicuous.

The secret passage had clearly not been opened for many years. Upon entering, a strong smell of decay wafted out, and the ground was covered with dust and gravel. It was obvious that it was not built with much care, or at least not in a particularly presentable manner.

Apart from the entrance, the interior passageway, though large, is equally rudimentary.

It's estimated that most of the money was used to build the castle, and there wasn't enough money left when it came time to build the basement.

"This passageway is so different from the Blue Castle."

Conan muttered something to himself, his brow furrowing slightly.

The Blue Castle and this castle should be related, so why are they so different?

At first, he even thought that the Blue Castle was also built by Harada Kiichi.

Now it seems not.

The passageway was long and had no other rooms; it spiraled downwards.

Where is Miss Pu Siqinglan?

After walking for about ten minutes, Joel suddenly frowned. She was walking in front, and there should have been three people behind her, but suddenly one of the footsteps disappeared. When she turned around, Pu Siqinglan had vanished.

Upon hearing this, everyone stopped in their tracks.

Such an event occurring in such an unknown environment is instinctively worrying.

"Oh no, there might be a trap here!" Kogoro Mori's heart skipped a beat, and he waved his hand, "Everyone, move to the corner, there might be a trap on the ground!"

Kogoro Mouri took the lead and leaned against the wall.

The others waited a moment before reacting, and were about to imitate them when they heard a snap, and Kogoro Mouri's left hand, which was pressing against the wall, suddenly sank.

There's a mechanism in the wall!
"Oops!"

Kogoro Mouri only had time to say those words before his feet gave way, and he began to fall in freefall.

Xia Chuan's lips twitched. This guy is really clueless about the ways of the world.

"I'm going to rescue Mr. Mori. You all wait for me here." After Xia Chuan finished speaking, he noticed that another person had disappeared from the crowd.

Inui Shoichi, who was originally by Sawabe's side, has also disappeared.

"Good words can't persuade a damn devil."

Xia Chuan naturally knew why Qian Jiangyi had disappeared, and shook his head with a cold laugh.

"Is Dad alright?" Xiaolan asked worriedly, peering into the trap from beside it.

The hole below the trap was rather dark, indicating that the distance was no more than one meter.

"It should be fine. After all, this is not the tomb of an ancient emperor. Mr. Harada Kiichi should also consider the future generations entering it, so he certainly wouldn't have left any deadly traps."

Harada Kiichi's castle was, after all, intended as a tomb for his wife, and how could Kogoro Mouri, a member of the main cast, die so easily?

Sure enough, before Natsukawa could roll up his sleeves and go inside to check, Kogoro Mori had already climbed up.

They peek outwards like gophers.

By this time, his suit was tattered and torn, with obvious scratches on the shoulders, seemingly caused by the hole narrowing downwards and getting stuck.

"Are you okay!?"

Natsukawa helped Kogoro Mouri up.

"It's alright, the pit isn't very deep. I think Miss Pu Siqinglan is probably in the same situation."

Upon hearing this, Joel frowned and said, "I'll go take a look. You guys continue on your way."

Joel handed the Egg of Memories to Xia Chuan.

Pu Siqinglan's disappearance was too strange; there wasn't a sound at all.

She can hear any sound; if there is no sound, it is very likely that the other party is acting on their own initiative.

This makes it very suspicious.

Xia Chuan nodded in agreement. Even he had to give Joel some leeway in terms of combat power, so it was impossible for Scrooge to get the better of her.

The group continued onward, with Natsukawa bringing up the rear. Once he was sure no one was watching, he approached Kaito.

"Have you found anything?" Xia Chuan asked.

"No, these people's performances were mediocre. If someone from the distillery is really among them, then he is indeed a master of acting."

Before long, they arrived at the end of the passageway.

At the end of the passageway is a stone wall, which is engraved with many patterns, the most eye-catching of which is the double-headed eagle crown pattern in the very center.

"There's no road here at all."

Kogoro Mouri walked up to the stone wall and struck it hard.

The stone wall was very thick and heavy, and hitting it had no effect at all; instead, it made my arm ache from the impact.

"boom!"

Suddenly, gunshots rang out from behind. The sound echoed through the passageway for a long time before slowly fading away.

"Has something happened to Joel?" Mori asked gravely.

"Officer Shiratori, take the Egg of Memories, I'll go take a look."

Upon hearing the gunshot, Xia Chuan had a sudden inspiration, which became the turning point for him to go from the light to the shadows.

Before leaving, Natsukawa nodded to Kaito, who would then be in charge of looking after these people.

Xia Chuan ran several hundred meters in one go, which was about half the distance of the passageway.

However, despite being at such a distance, Joel was still nowhere to be found.

The passageway was simple, but Natsukawa suspected that Joel might have entered a gap between some of the passageways.

In the original story, since the Junior Detective League could enter through the side tower of the castle, it proved that Harada Kiichi had built other passages. He saw several along the way, but did not enter any of them. Now he needs to enter them one by one to check the situation.

If possible, he would seal off all the gaps and passages to prevent Binga from escaping.

(End of this chapter)