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

The deceased wasn't her...

……

Whether it's windy or rainy, as long as it's within his jurisdiction and the road isn't damaged, Inspector Megure will arrive "instantly".

"It's you guys again..."

Upon seeing the professional team, Inspector Megure gave a knowing look.

Having handled so many cases, Inspector Megure had a vague feeling that Lin Xiaofeng had also acquired some of the "Grim Reaper" qualities.

Brother Lin got infected...

As for why it was "infected" instead of "infected," it's because even when Brother Lin wasn't around, the Mori family never stopped encountering murder cases.

"Well... it's probably the case that's calling me, the great detective..."

Before Kogoro Mouri could say anything more, Inspector Megure quickly raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Just tell me about the case."

"Yes, Inspector Megure, the case is as follows..."

Kogoro Mouri began to explain the case to Inspector Megure, while Lin Xiaofeng stood not far away listening.

At this moment, Koizumi Akako leaned over and stood next to Lin Xiaofeng, whispering, "This case really is still the curse of the mask, isn't it?"

"The two bedroom doors, one was completely sealed shut and the other was locked with two locks, and there were no signs of forced entry."

"In that case, there's no way a human could get in, except for those wearing masks, who could squeeze through the grid-like panels above that sealed door..."

After listening to Koizumi Akako's analysis, Lin Xiaofeng couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Are you the famous detective, Koizumi Akako?

However, Koizumi Akako analyzed the case from a magical perspective, but in reality...

"This case has nothing to do with curses; it was man-made."

“I know the killer and the method, but we still lack conclusive evidence.”

"Moreover, if we solve the case now, the police will take these masks away as evidence, and we won't be able to get the 'Pale Mask' among them."

According to the retention period for criminal evidence in this world, even with connections, it would take at least a week, by which time the mission time would have already passed.

Therefore, Lin Xiaofeng must now find a way to find the one and only pale mask among the two hundred masks of Xiao Bu'er.

This is only the first step; how to get his hands on the mask after finding it is another problem.

Lin Xiaofeng's original plan was to use Koizumi Akako's magic to find the "Pale Mask," and then use the commission contract he signed with Su Fang Akako to openly obtain the mask he wanted.

But unexpectedly, Su Fang Hongzi is now dead, and even all of Xiao Bu'er's masks have become physical evidence.

Conan... what bad luck!

Lin Xiaofeng attributed everything to Conan (437).

Koizumi Akako looked at Lin Xiaofeng with a somewhat incredulous expression.

In Ekoda Town, where Koizumi Akako lived, murders were relatively rare; theft and economic crimes were the most common types of crimes, and the local detectives were quite skilled at catching thieves.

This was the first time she had ever witnessed such a swift and accurate case-solving.

No, it happened at Mihara Shrine last time too...

Huh? It feels like that case happened ages ago, even though it was only two weeks ago...

Koizumi Akako was caught in a doubt about her perception of time, while Lin Xiaofeng turned his gaze back to the masked figure of Xiao Bu'er in the room.

Wearing white gloves, the Noto forensic officer was picking up a mask with a lot of bloodstains from the ground, preparing to take it for testing.

These masks from Xiaoqunbuyaoer are not only works of art, but also antiques with over a hundred years of history, making them true antique works of art.

If it's an antique artwork, would anyone remove the bloodstains that remain on it due to historical reasons?

Lin Xiaofeng remembered that the TV had once reported on three treasures of Sakamoto Ryoma. One of the treasures was a wine glass that was stained with Ryoma's blood when Ryoma was assassinated. The mottled bloodstains still remain on it to this day.

It is precisely the preservation of that bloodstain that proves the historical value of this wine glass.

However, all the Xiaobuer masks collected by Su Fanghongzi had smooth surfaces, and no bloodstains could be seen on them before the murder occurred.

The legend of that time was that Shaubuhr committed suicide among these masks, as if the masks were sucking his blood.

The Cursed Masks are named for this reason; once a collector acquires these masks, there is no reason to wash away the bloodstains that prove their historical value.

Based on this assessment, there is only one possibility...

These masks of Shaubel are actually all "fake" masks!

513. Confused

With that thought in mind, Lin Xiaofeng walked up to the Noto forensic officer and asked, "Can you detect bloodstains from over a hundred years ago here?"

After a few seconds of silence, Forensic Officer Noto shook his head helplessly. "I'm just an ordinary forensic investigator, not a scientist..."

"Okay, sorry to bother you, you can continue your work."

To further prove his hypothesis, Lin Xiaofeng wanted to see if he could use scientific methods, but unfortunately, Inspector Megure's men weren't scientific enough.

However, if Su Fanghongzi wanted to forge these Xiao Buer masks, she certainly couldn't be the only one in the know; she would definitely need the assistance of others.

That means it's just her secretary.

……

Lin Xiaofeng called his secretary aside and asked bluntly, "Ms. Inaba, I'd like to know if all of Ms. Su Fang's collection of these Xiao Buer masks are forgeries?"

Upon hearing Lin Xiaofeng's words, the secretary was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile, "How could that be? Those cursed masks are all genuine, otherwise the teacher wouldn't have died so tragically under the curse..."

The secretary's eyes darted around when she said this, and even without psychological analysis, it was clear she was lying.

"Miss Inaba, your lying skills are not very good at all."

"Perhaps Ms. Su Fang chose you as her secretary precisely because of this, since you cannot deceive her."

“However…” Lin Xiaofeng’s tone changed, suddenly becoming serious, “You can’t easily deny that your charity gala was faked, can you?”

"Ah!" The secretary exclaimed in surprise, "Absolutely not!"

Lin Xiaofeng ignored him and continued, "Actually, the reason I suddenly wanted to attend your charity gala is because someone asked me to investigate the fact that you embezzled all the donations from the charity gala."

"I'll find out everything if I ask Inspector Megure to investigate Ms. Suho Akako's finances. You won't be able to deny it."

Faced with Lin Xiaofeng's righteous words, the secretary tried to defend herself, but couldn't think of any good excuses and could only admit it.

"It was the teacher who used charity as a pretext to make money; I was just assisting her..."

"I'm just an employee, what can I do? I'm just an employee..." the secretary began to mutter to herself.

“Accomplices are criminals too, but I haven’t told the police about this yet. If you turn yourself in now, I believe you won’t be in jail for too long.”

Seeing Lin Xiaofeng's serious face, the secretary's eyes showed some emotion. "Thank you..."

"Now can you tell me about the Mask of Shambles?" Lin Xiaofeng asked.

“Oh, um…” the secretary explained, “Actually, Teacher Su Fang does have a Xiao Bu’er’s Cursed Mask, but there’s only one.”

"To satisfy his vanity, the teacher hired a sculptor to create 200 replicas of the original masks, just like the 200 masks in the masquerade hall..."

Lin Xiaofeng nodded; things had indeed gone as he had predicted.

"What about the only genuine one?" Lin Xiaofeng asked again.

"The genuine articles are locked in a safe in the teachers' lounge and are never taken out to be displayed..."

Lin Xiaofeng remembered the lounge where Su Fanghongzi had asked him to discuss the case; there was indeed an inconspicuous safe in the corner.

"Alright, go and turn yourself in."

Under Lin Xiaofeng's gaze, the female secretary lowered her head and walked shakily toward Inspector Megure, who was discussing the case with Kogoro Mouri.

……

What! You want to turn yourself in?!

So you were the murderer!

Inspector Megure and Kogoro Mouri exclaimed in surprise, shocking Conan and the others nearby.

Although Conan hadn't figured out the method, he realized that the culprit was probably one of the six people living in the west wing.

Although Koizumi Akako has an eccentric personality, Conan trusts Lin Xiaofeng because she was brought here by him, so he extends that trust to Koizumi Akako and doesn't think she could be the culprit.

In that case, the murderer is one of five candidates.

Just as Conan was about to proceed with the process of elimination, one of the five people unexpectedly came forward and confessed.

"Are you really the murderer? How did you kill Ms. Su Fang in the locked room?"

Upon hearing Kogoro Mouri's question, the secretary quickly shook her head and waved her hands, refusing, "No! I am not the murderer of Ms. Su Fang!"

"I only assisted Teacher Su Fang in embezzling and falsifying charitable donations!"

With the secretary's explanation, everyone understood what had happened.

Inspector Megure suddenly felt bored and casually told his friend Takagi to go and inform the Second Investigation Division next door to come and collect their commission.

However, just as Takagi was about to take the person away, Kogoro Mouri suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "...Wait a minute, Officer Takagi..."

Takagi, who was walking out with his secretary, froze on the spot. "Huh?"

"Hmph... I understand now." Kogoro Mouri wore his usual confident expression. "The culprit is you! Secretary!"

Everyone: "Huh!?"

“We were almost fooled by you. You thought that I, the famous detective, was about to deduce the truth of the case, so you tried to cover up your big crime with a small one.”

"Actually, you killed Su Fanghongzi because you and Su Fanghongzi embezzled money together, but you couldn't split the spoils!"

Kogoro Mouri was seriously eliminating the possibilities.

For Kogoro Mouri, deduction depends on his personal state, but elimination does not.

It's better to eliminate possibilities than to deduce them. Making the culprit feel comfortable is worse than (good job, Zhao). It's Mori's personal talent...

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure nodded repeatedly in agreement, "I see..."

Conan, who was listening in, also felt that it made sense, because although the murderer had gone to great lengths to create a locked room, he had not disguised the scene as a suicide.

In that case, the police will eventually find the murderer. Rather than being discovered, it's better to just admit to another less serious crime to mislead the police.

Conan had seen this kind of tactic before in Beika Town.

Was the case solved so vaguely?

Seeing that everyone was misunderstanding again, the secretary quickly shook her head and explained, "This is not what we agreed on!"

"What agreement?"

Inspector Megure and Kogoro Mouri took a step closer at the same time, their faces dark as they questioned the crowd.

The female secretary quickly explained loudly, "It was Detective Lin who told me to turn myself in!"

514. Koizumi Akako falls in love with Hayashi Kofuyu.

After a while, the police finally found Lin Xiaofeng crawling out of the ventilation duct.

"Yes, I was the one who made her turn herself in, but it was just for embezzlement..."

Lin Xiaofeng climbed out of the ventilation duct, bringing with him evidence.

"The evidence is in my hands, it's this thing."

Lin Xiaofeng took out a piece of rope and a pair of gloves from his hand. A section of the rope was still stained with bright red blood.

"Brother Lin! This is..." Inspector Megure looked surprised.

A confident smile appeared on Lin Xiaofeng's face. "This is precisely the evidence the murderer threw into the ventilation duct..."

"Is that so, Mr. Aikawa Touya?"

As Xiao Huangmao Lan Chuan Dongya looked at the evidence in Lin Xiaofeng's hand, cold sweat streamed down his forehead and temples.

Everyone gave up the spotlight that belonged solely to the murderer and stared at him.

Despite the immense pressure, Aikawa Touya still managed a forced, relaxed smile as she defended herself.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Detective Lin, this is a locked room. There's no way I would go in there and kill someone."

Originally, Aikawa Touya's plan to exonerate himself was that the east and west wing rooms could only be connected through the masquerade hall, so the police would subconsciously suspect the guests in the west wing room.