Ke Xue: Xiaolan delivers goods to your door at the beginning

This reminded Lin Xiaofeng of Matsumoto Ryohei's warning that there was something fishy about the charity gala hosted by Su Fang Hongzi.

Before anyone could even voice this, the female secretary made a blatant attempt to cover it up by claiming that all the criticisms leveled against the charity gala were rumors.

"That's right. I've received a lot of threatening letters since I started doing charity work, and I'm used to it."

"However, I will continue my charitable work with unwavering determination, like a lone hero..."

Su Fang Hongzi compared herself to a lone warrior, which deeply moved baseball player Matsudaira Mamoru, who immediately expressed his willingness to do his best.

As for what this effort is, it's a charity gala, of course it's about donating money.

Photographer Masaki Katagiri and rock singer Touya Aikawa also expressed that their wives and mothers had also died in car accidents, so they felt deeply for them and would do their best to cooperate.

……

After dinner, all the guests gathered in the entertainment room.

Lin Xiaofeng and Koizumi Akako stood by the window, quietly discussing their search for the Pale Mask.

"The masks are placed too close together. To find the specific one, we'll have to find a way back to the masquerade hall," Koizumi Akako analyzed calmly.

"Um……"

Just as Lin Xiaofeng was about to speak, he noticed that Conan was quietly approaching him from behind.

"Go! Go! Go……"

Lin Xiaofeng impatiently waved his hand, shooing Ke Nan away from where he was about to eavesdrop on the gossip.

"We can try to get into the masquerade hall around midnight..."

"Do you have a solution?" Koizumi Akako asked.

"Well, I guess so..." Lin Xiaofeng glanced back at the twin maids standing at the door waiting to serve him, then looked up at the ceiling.

"If I'm not mistaken, look at that... it should be a ventilation duct, right?"

Koizumi Akako looked in the direction of Lin Xiaofeng's gaze and saw a square wire mesh on the ceiling.

Lin Xiaofeng continued, "I saw the same grid in the masquerade room and the corridor just now, which means that the ventilation ducts of this villa should be extensive."

"really?"

“I can only give it a try…”

Just then, Lin Xiaofeng sensed someone trying to eavesdrop behind him. He immediately turned around and saw Su Fanghongzi's female secretary standing behind him.

"Mr. Lin, our president would like to invite you over..."

……

Following the secretary to Su Fanghongzi's private rest room, Lin Xiaofeng saw a large pile of trophies and masks.

It's here too...

Su Fanghongzi leaned gracefully against the sofa armrest, holding a glass of red wine in her hand, making Lin Xiaofeng think that he was a young man about to sell his body to a rich woman.

Of course, Su Fang Hongzi didn't covet Lin Xiaofeng's young body; instead, she was attracted to Lin Xiaofeng's reasoning ability.

"Mr. Lin, I would like to ask you to help me investigate something, which is the car accident involving Mr. Katagiri's wife."

"I'm still troubled by what I heard about Mr. Katagiri's deeds. I'll offer you 200 million yen as a reward after it's all done. What do you think?"

She had originally planned to hand over the investigation of this matter to Kogoro Mouri, but after listening to Kogoro Mouri's brilliant reasoning that he had stolen from Lin Xiaofeng, she changed her mind.

Lin Xiaofeng thought for a moment. Katagiri Masaki did mention at dinner that his wife had died in a car accident, but because he was thinking about the Pale Mask, Lin Xiaofeng didn't pay much attention to it.

However, judging from the fact that Su Fanghongzi cared so much that she needed to spend 200 million yuan to investigate, this matter must not be simple.

That might be the motive...

"I accepted the commission, but I don't want the 200 million yen reward."

"Oh?" Su Fang Hongzi looked puzzled and asked, "Then what do you want?"

Lin Xiaofeng said seriously, "If I can investigate this matter for you, I would like to ask you to give me one of the masks from this villa..."

Lin Xiaofeng's conditions surprised Su Fanghongzi, because although she had a large number of masks in her collection, most of them were worth around 2 yen.

Even the high-end masks displayed in the masquerade hall are generally priced between 50 and 100 million yen, with no single mask exceeding 200 million yen.

Although the Cursed Mask of Sheabul is very famous, it has a bad reputation. Most mask collectors dare not collect it, and it is a rare find with a price tag. The value of a single piece is far less than 200 million yen.

Moreover, Su Fang Hongzi felt that Lin Xiaofeng probably didn't have the courage to provoke the cursed mask.

"Since Mr. Lin insists on this, then I have no choice but to accept it..."

Su Fanghongzi's face showed a kind of helpless reluctance, as if she had been taken advantage of, but in reality she was overjoyed.

Although all the masks in the masquerade hall are exquisite, none of them are unique; you can still buy them on the market if you want.

True unique pieces should naturally be kept in a safer place...

510. Bloodshed

When Lin Xiaofeng returned to the entertainment room from Su Fanghongzi's rest room, he saw all the guests gathered in a circle.

Lin Xiaofeng went forward to join the fun and found that they were watching Koizumi Akako and Nagara Haruka.

On either side of the divination table covered with a red cloth, Koizumi Akako and Nagara Haruka sat facing each other, their eyes locked in a fierce confrontation.

"What's going on?" Lin Xiaofeng asked Conan, who was standing next to him.

Conan explained, "Miss Nagara Haruka just gave my father a fortune reading, and Koizumi-neechan would like Miss Nagara Haruka to give her one too."

"It's just a divination, is it really necessary for so many people to watch?" Lin Xiaofeng felt that it was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Ran Mouri added, "Miss Koizumi said that if the divination result is inaccurate, Ms. Haruka Nagara will retire from the divination world forever..."

Women...

Lin Xiaofeng was helpless against Koizumi Akako's willfulness, since, nominally, he was still her "slave".

Since we can't afford to offend them, let's just join the crowd of onlookers.

……

On the square table, after a standoff with Koizumi Akako for more than ten seconds, Nagara Haruka finally picked up the tarot deck in his hand, shuffling the cards as he asked, "What aspect of life do you want to divine?"

Xiaoqun Hongzi smiled slightly, a hint of provocation in her eyes, "I won't make things difficult for you. Let's talk about your fortune for the next month."

Nagara Haruka, with her aloof demeanor, remained unmoved and laid out the shuffled and cut cards in front of Koizumi Akako.

"Please choose three cards..."

Without hesitation, Koizumi Akako raised her left hand and selected three cards.

Nagara Haruka gathered up the deck and then revealed the three cards one by one.

Nagara Haruka's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, and she said calmly, "Miss Koizumi, you will experience a tremendous turning point in the next month. This is a pivotal event. Seizing this opportunity will bring about a huge turnaround for your career and even your love life."

Conan asked curiously, "Isn't that the same as Uncle?"

Nagara Haruka shook her head, "That's not how it is..."

"Mr. Mori's divination question is about the next year, while Ms. Koizumi's question is about the next month."

"Ms. Koizumi's cards are the Wheel of Fortune, Judgment, and Pentacles, which indicates that this will be a huge turning point in her life, requiring teamwork to get through it smoothly..."

Ran Mouri was somewhat puzzled by the interpretation of this card.

I had chatted with Koizumi Akako before. She was a second-year high school student at Ekoda High School. She probably wouldn't be involved in such important matters as deciding her life goals yet, right?

Sitting in her seat, Koizumi Akako looked at the three cards on the table, feeling somewhat surprised.

Because she was learning red magic at home, Koizumi Akako actually started learning a year later than her classmates.

In another month, I will come of age and officially inherit the position of head of the Koizumi family, the Red Magic Clan.

"Hmph, you were right about this..."

Koizumi Akako had a smug look on her face, then said, "I'd like to do a fortune telling for you too."

As she spoke, Koizumi Akako reached out to take out her usual tarot cards.

However, since she was there to do something else, Koizumi Akako spent a long time trying to draw a tarot card but couldn't find one.

Haruka Nagara casually handed her tarot cards to Akako Koizumi and said lightly, "If you don't mind, use mine..."

"Thank you."

Koizumi Akako accepted the tarot cards and began shuffling them.

At this point, Nagara Haruka, who was quite interested, added, "My question is the same as yours, about my fortune in the coming month."

After Koizumi Akako shuffled the cards, just when everyone thought Nagara Haruka would have to draw them herself, Koizumi Akako casually picked up the deck and started drawing cards herself.

Conan was puzzled: "Sister Koizumi, this..."

Koizumi Akako's lips curled up, and she said confidently, "I'm not like ordinary fortune tellers; I can use magic."

"With magic, one can do whatever one wants..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Koizumi Akako drew the top card from the deck and placed it on the table.

When Koizumi Akako unfolded the card from left to right with her slender fingers, a Grim Reaper holding a scythe and wearing a red robe was clearly visible on the card.

"Death...it's obvious you're in for a bloody disaster..."

Everyone present looked surprised upon hearing this.

Even someone completely unfamiliar with tarot cards should be able to tell that the meaning of this "Death" card is definitely not good.

Furthermore, Nagara Haruka's problem is about his fortune in the next month, which means that Nagara Haruka will encounter danger in the near future, right?

Everyone turned to look at Haruka Nagara, a professional fortune teller, wanting to see what she had to say about the divination result.

Nagara Haruka's eyes twitched slightly, but then she regained her composure and said calmly, "I'm sorry, your kind of divination can only yield incorrect results..."

Koizumi Akako did not respond to Nagara Haruka's statement, but instead took out the second card and placed it face up on the table.

"The power of reversal..."

"You will lose your clear judgment because of power, and you will not be able to resist the temptation, which will cause you to hit a bottleneck..."

· ······Requesting flowers· ····

"enough!"

Nagara Haruka suddenly screamed hysterically, and the pearl necklace around her neck trembled, startling everyone present.

Everyone stared at Nagara Haruka in astonishment, surprised that this icy beauty fortune teller had her persona crumble from anger at such an "unreliable" divination.

“Miss Nagara…” Conan felt worried, fearing that something was about to happen.

Lin Xiaofeng also quietly tugged at Koizumi Akako's sleeve.

Just as the atmosphere in the recreation room was getting a little awkward, the twin maids suddenly appeared beside everyone.

"Distinguished guests, I apologize for disturbing your enjoyment..."

"Over the years, this mansion has had a rule of locking the masquerade room at midnight..."

"Once locked, the east and west wing rooms can no longer be connected to each other. Until then, we can only ask everyone to go back to their rooms to rest."

.... ... ....

"I hope everyone will cooperate..."

The two squinty-eyed maids explained the rules one after the other, which relieved everyone present.

Nagara Haruka was the first to gather up the tarot cards on the table and was about to get up and leave.

However, Koizumi Akako then solemnly warned, "The bloodshed associated with the Death Card isn't unavoidable; as long as you're careful..."

Previously, when Koizumi Akako was doing a divination for Kuroba Kaito, she also drew the Death card, but Kuroba Kaito still managed to escape danger.

In other words, Koizumi Akako is not very skilled at tarot card readings, but crystal ball divination is her traditional strength.

Before going out this time, she had already divined through a crystal ball that she would encounter the dead.

Previously, the identity of the deceased was unknown, but now everything seems to be clear.

"If I suffer a bloody disaster, then so will you..."

Nagara Haruka drew the top card from the pile of cards in his hand, and it turned out to be a Death card.

However, this was because when she was collecting the cards, she placed the Grim Reaper on top. Nagara Haruka wanted to imply that Koizumi Akako had secretly shuffled the bad cards to the top.