The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

But that's to be expected, since even ordinary members of the organization like Miyano Akemi wouldn't know about this.

How could Conan, who hadn't been enlightened by Ai Haibara, have investigated to this extent?

……

The "host" remained silent for a moment, seemingly to give everyone enough time to examine the patterns on the tableware.

"Now you should understand, right? That's the family crest of Karasuma Renya, the wealthy man who died mysteriously about half a century ago."

"Ugh... Karasuma Renya!?" Kogoro Mori exclaimed in surprise.

The others also stared intently when they heard the name.

Even Conan subconsciously became serious.

“Besides the tableware here, every door, floor, handrail, and even the patterns on the chess pieces and playing cards in this villa were custom-made by the Karasuma family and are now rare. In other words, this villa was built by the Karasuma family. However, all of this has become history.”

"History?" Xiaolan was puzzled by the other person's words.

The other detectives all looked rather grim, clearly knowing what this guy was trying to say.

Sure enough, the model's "owner" slowly began to recount what happened back then, "Forty years ago, a horrific case occurred in this villa, once again unleashing a bloodbath!"

Upon hearing this, Xiaolan's face turned pale, as if she had remembered the bloodstains on the playing cards she had been holding earlier, and she began to tremble with fear.

Meanwhile, the detectives, including Conan, also perked up at this moment.

Da Shang Zhu Shan even subconsciously started biting his nails to help him think.

"I'm sure all you renowned detectives have already noticed that this annex is covered in bloodstains. That's right, these are the traces left from a bloody night 40 years ago."

"This villa once hosted a secret banquet for prominent figures from the political and business circles, ostensibly for the memorial service of Karasuma Renya, who passed away at the age of 99."

"But in reality, it was a secret auction of precious artworks collected by Karasuma Renya during his lifetime. There were more than 300 items up for auction, so the entire auction was expected to last for three days and three nights."

"Then, on a stormy night the very next day, two men, soaked to the bone from the rain, suddenly appeared at the villa. They claimed to be lost in the mountains and asked to stay the night. The host initially wanted to refuse, but after taking a puff of what looked like cigarettes they offered, he somehow changed his mind and invited them in."

"When other guests saw this scene, they also took cigarettes from the other party. Before long, the entire venue began to be filled with thick smoke."

"Wait, could that cigarette be..." Kogoro Mouri, who was listening, immediately realized what the cigarette the passerby was handing out might be.

“Marijuana?” Although Yuu Aragaki only gave a guessing answer.

However, it was clear that the people present all thought the same way, and none of them intended to refute it.

However, at this moment, the "owner" continued to tell the story of the villa: "After a while, although some of the guests at the auction were still arguing about the two people, the situation soon changed."

At this moment, the "master's" already gloomy voice began to become even more sinister and terrifying.

Suddenly, a man let out a scream as if he had seen a ghost, dropped the artwork he had finally won, and ran away frantically. Others, as if begging for someone's forgiveness, burst into tears that they couldn't stop. Still others, looking excited, held a pen and kept stabbing their wrists repeatedly...

"In the end, all the guests began to scramble for the auctioned artworks, and even picked up the famous knives and swords to fight each other. The entire villa was like a living hell."

"Ah!?" As if recalling the bloody scene at the time, Xiaolan was so frightened that she closed her eyes and covered her ears tightly with her hands.

"That's right. After this nightmarish night, there were eight more dead people and more than a dozen unconscious guests at the auction, while the two men disappeared without a trace with all the artworks."

After finishing speaking, the "master" paused for a moment to give the detectives enough time to process the story he had told.

For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the hall.

"That's strange. Why wasn't such a big case reported in the news back then?" Kogoro Mouri then raised his doubts about the story his "master" had told him.

"Hmph, the problem must lie with those guests."

However, without the need for the "master" to answer, Da Shang Zhushan gave his own answer directly: "Because those people were all celebrities in the political and economic circles at that time."

“Hehe, yes, rather than letting the world know that they were tricked by two strangers, it’s better to suppress the whole thing and preserve their reputation in society.” Aragaki Yu suddenly spoke up at this moment.

However, anyone could hear the sarcasm in his tone.

Chapter 422 Vase?

Just as everyone was discussing this matter without any restraint.

The maid who had gone to the kitchen to prepare black tea had already returned to the dining room with the tea.

"So now you should understand why I chose this villa as the stage for this game!" The voice of the "master" sitting in the main seat came again.

Without any attempt to conceal his intentions from the maid who was serving tea to the guests, he said with ill intent, "My purpose is naturally to see you reenact the horrific case from 40 years ago. I'd like to see you kill each other for that treasure."

The expressions of everyone present turned noticeably ugly after hearing what the other person said.

On the contrary, the maid took the "master's" words as a joke to set the mood and did not take them to heart.

"However, finding treasure in such a large villa is like finding a needle in a haystack. Here's a hint for you—two hurried travelers looked up at the sky that night, and a demon descended upon the castle. The king stole the treasure and fled. The queen wept over the Holy Grail, praying for divine mercy. The soldier, exhausted, drew his sword and committed suicide. The earth changed color!"

“This…is not the one from before…” Xiao Lan, who was standing to the side, quickly realized that the other person’s hint was actually the horror story he had just told.

"Hehe~" The mysterious "master" suddenly let out a sinister laugh, "Don't you think it's the perfect prophecy to predict the story that's about to unfold in this villa!"

"Don't be silly. If you want to fight each other, you not only need to see who your opponents are, but you also need to be willing to do it!" Ikumi Gunta said, glancing at her "master" with disdain.

Looking at the detectives sitting around the dining table with their various expressions, but none of them exuding any murderous intent, Aragaki Yu clearly understood that none of them were cooperating with the host of the banquet in a game where "only one person can survive to the end."

"Hehe, of course." The mysterious "master" was not angry at Gunda Ikumi's words. Instead, he said with a smile, "But none of you should think about escaping this place, because you have already been bewitched by the magic I have cast! Come on, this game will begin when one of you lets out the first scream."

Just as everyone was puzzled by what the other party said, the "master's" voice continued to come from the model family.

"Also, listen carefully—whoever finds the treasure must immediately come to the room on the fourth floor of the Central Tower and enter the location of the treasure into the computer. Then, as agreed, I will tell the winner half of the treasure and how to leave this place."

However, Harufumi Mogi dismissed the other party's words as mere alarmism. He stood up from his chair with disdain and said coldly, "I'm not going to play this game. I've never been interested in treasure hunting."

After saying that, he put his hands in his pockets and prepared to walk out the door.

Rather than wasting time on such a nonsensical matter, he would rather spend an entire night mourning for his beloved car.

"But... how are you going to leave here?" Ran asked with some concern as she watched Haruto Mogi's departing figure.

After all, the outside world is a dark and terrifying forest, and it took quite a bit of time to drive here, not to mention that all the cars have now been destroyed.

"Don't worry about that!" Harufumi Mogi turned around and looked at Ran with a smile.

He had already considered this. "This isn't some isolated island in the ocean, is it? I just need to wander around in the mountains, and I'll eventually find my way down..."

"I'm off now, fellow detectives!" As soon as he finished speaking, he waved to the few people still sitting in their seats and turned to walk out.

It seems he really has no intention of staying.

"Clang~"

However, just as he stepped out of the restaurant door...

Suddenly, a chair fell to the ground in the restaurant.

Mogi Harufumi, who had just stepped out of the restaurant, paused, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

When he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw that Da Shang Zhu Shan, for reasons unknown, suddenly had a ferocious expression.

He clutched his own neck, staggered to his feet, and looked extremely pained.

Da Shang Zhu Shan opened his mouth wide and gasped for breath, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only stammered twice before collapsing onto the restaurant floor.

Everyone in the restaurant was stunned for a moment when they saw this scene.

"Mr. Oogami?" Kogoro Mouri, who was sitting next to Oogami Shuzen, immediately got up from his chair and quickly came to his side.

After crouching down and examining the body, he shook his head at everyone and sighed softly, "It's hopeless..."

Nearby, Hakuba Saguru, who had also rushed over, instinctively took out his pocket watch to check the time after hearing this, saying, "Time: 22:34:51 PM. Cardiac arrest confirmed..."

"His lips showed no signs of cyanosis or discoloration, but there was a smell of cyanide gas." Ikumi Gunta appeared beside Ogami Kisuke at some point and knelt down to examine his body.

"Cyanide gas?" A panicked Ran had already hidden behind Miyano Akemi, but she was a little confused by the technical term that Gunda Ikumi had used.

"That is, potassium cyanide, a poison. Although it is colorless and odorless, when potassium cyanide reacts with cells in the human body, or more precisely, with water, it eventually produces hydrocyanic acid, which gives it a bitter almond smell." Miyano Akemi explained to Ran after turning her gaze away from Ogami Kisaki lying on the ground.

For Akemi Miyano, a member of the organization, this basic knowledge of poisons had already been learned during the organization's onboarding training.

"Oh……"

Xiaolan nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Conan, on the other hand, glanced at Miyano Akemi with some surprise.

I never expected that Ms. Masami Hirota would know this kind of information.

As a detective by nature, he subconsciously developed a slight suspicion of Ms. Hirota Masami.

However, when Conan realized that she was Yuu Aragaki's assistant, he quickly dispelled his doubts.

After all, if a detective's assistant doesn't know this kind of information, wouldn't he just be a decorative figurehead?

Could it be that Aragaki Yu always brings Hirota Masami with him just so she can be his driver?

(A Gin driver: "Heh, are you being polite?")

Chapter 423 Conan, how could you mess with other people's heads like that?

Considering the timing of potassium cyanide's effects, the detectives present immediately ruled out the dinner issue and all looked at the black tea that Da Shang Zhu Shan Cai had drunk not long ago.

"No, there is no acidification-reduction reaction in black tea."

Chima Kazuyo, who did not run to Ogami Kisen's body, was standing next to Ogami Kisen's seat, showing everyone the coin that had just been dipped in the tea that Ogami Kisen had drunk.