Isn't it very scientific to use the Death Note to kill people?

Below the poster was a bright red slogan: "No matter how hard you struggle, your name is already on the death list."

Wow! There are so many people!

Sonoko Suzuki, dressed in a bright and stylish outfit, stood at the entrance of the VIP passage, excitedly looking around. "As expected of Yoshiki-san's script, I heard the pre-sale tickets sold out in a minute!"

"That's because of the Suzuki Group's overwhelming publicity."

Conan squinted and mumbled something, then looked to his side.

Today, everyone was mobilized.

Not only did Ran and Sonoko come, but even Eri Kisaki, who is usually extremely busy, made time for today. Although Kogoro Mouri didn't say it, he actively changed into a new suit.

Hayashi Yoshiki was dressed casually today, wearing a dark gray trench coat over a turtleneck sweater and a pair of non-prescription glasses, looking like a young and refined university professor. Ai Haibara, wearing a baseball cap, silently followed beside him, holding a bucket of popcorn.

"Brother Jiashu!"

When Xiaolan saw Lin Jiashu, she waved happily, "Congratulations on the movie's release! We've been looking forward to it for so long!"

"Thank you." Lin Jiashu smiled gently. "I hope it meets your expectations, but this is a horror thriller after all. You can close your eyes at any time if you're not comfortable with it."

"Hmph, what's so scary about horror movies?" Kogoro Mouri said, hands in his pockets, a look of disdain on his face. "What kind of corpses haven't I, the great detective Kogoro Mouri, seen? It's these little brats..."

He pointed at Conan and Ai Haibara, and couldn't help but lean down to look at them. "I'm saying, is this kind of movie about dead people really suitable for children? Isn't the current film rating system too lenient? It would be embarrassing if they screamed in fright later."

"Dad!" Ran glared at him reproachfully. "This is PG-12 rated, so it's fine to watch with a parent or guardian. Besides, Conan and Ai are both very brave, unlike you who are cowards."

"Who, who's a coward?!" Kogoro Mouri jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I'm just worried that this is bad for the mental and physical health of teenagers!"

"Alright, that's enough, just shut up."

Eri pushed up her glasses and gave him a cold glance. "If you're scared, you can go back and drink your beer now. Nobody's begging you to come."

"you--!"

Seeing her parents about to start arguing again, Xiaolan sighed helplessly and quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

Conan quietly tugged at Yoshiki Hayashi's sleeve, gave him a look, and then walked towards the quieter rest area on one side of the hall.

Lin Jiashu understood immediately, whispered to Haibara Ai, "I'll go buy some drinks," and then followed her.

Reaching a secluded corner where no one was watching, Conan stopped, turned around, and a white light reflected off his glasses, his expression serious beyond that of a child.

"Brother Jiashu".

"What's wrong, Conan?" Lin Jiashu remained as gentle as ever, seemingly unaware of the tension in Conan's tone.

“This week has been too quiet.” Conan stared into his eyes and said in a low voice, “It’s not normal. James is dead, and the FBI agents have all returned to the United States… But what exactly happened to that organization?”

He paused, his fist clenching slightly. "What exactly happened that night?"

Looking at the inquisitive guy in front of him, Lin Jiashu thought that he still needed him to prolong this chaotic yet almost infinite time. For this reason, he was very friendly to Conan.

"Your intuition is very sharp."

Lin Jiashu's smile faded, and he bent down slightly, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I received some definite information from Mr. Amuro. That night was indeed a major purge within the organization."

"Clean?" Conan's pupils contracted.

"Rum, the organization's number two, is dead."

"what?!"

Conan almost cried out in surprise, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Rum... is dead?"

“That’s right. They died in internal strife, at the hands of Gin.” Lin Jiashu calmly dropped this bombshell. “Those two planes and the chemical plant explosion were the result of the struggle between Rum and Gin. Now the organization is in chaos, with various factions vying for the power vacuum left by Rum and having no time to pay attention to the outside world.”

Conan's brain was working at lightning speed.

Rum is dead... The person who had been hiding in the shadows and was even more dangerous than Gin, just died like that?

"That James..."

"He was Rum's mole in the FBI, and his presence there was to ensure Gin was killed... but they failed."

Conan fell silent.

Although many questions remain, the general logic is sound, and there's no time to discuss it in detail now. Rum's death brought him a sense of relief, but it was followed by a deeper fear of that organization.

Even the number two can be purged in internal strife. Just how terrifying are Gin and that mysterious Boss?

"Don't overthink it, Conan."

Lin Jiashu reached out and ruffled Conan's hair, interrupting his thoughts. "Although the current situation is chaotic, it is at least safe for us. Since they are busy fighting among themselves, we have a chance to catch our breath and regroup."

“…Okay.” Conan nodded, his eyes regaining their resolve. “I understand. Thank you, Yoshiki-nii.”

"Alright, the movie's about to start, let's go back."

Chapter 129: Gin's Hobbies

The lights in the cinema suddenly went out, leaving only the huge screen emitting a cold and unsettling glow.

Unlike traditional horror films with their jump scares and sudden appearances of monsters, or cheap massacres with splattering blood, this thriller embeds fear into the most ordinary and inconspicuous details of everyday life.

The cinematography is coldly detached, almost ruthless, like an emotionless bystander meticulously recording how a series of tiny coincidences, like dominoes, are pushed step by step into an irreversible abyss of death.

A dripping faucet, pages of a book rustling in the wind, a light bulb buzzing due to poor contact, and a screw that had long been loose but no one had noticed...

"ah--!!"

When the first victim on screen slipped and fell in the bathroom, his neck got caught on the clothesline and strangled, and he died from a burst of blood vessels in his desperate struggle, a series of gasps erupted in the theater.

That "inevitable" feeling of suffocation instantly gripped everyone's hearts.

Sonoko Suzuki was so frightened that she hugged Ran tightly, burying her head in Ran's shoulder and trembling: "Waaah... This is so real! Isn't that just like the clothesline we use at home? I'm never going to hang clothes in the bathroom again!"

"Sonoko, that's a movie, and besides, your house has a fully automatic dryer..."

She doesn't even have to do these things herself.

Although Xiaolan was comforting her friend, her face was also a little pale.

This kind of death, which comes without warning and cannot be resisted, is a psychological terror she has never experienced before, especially since she is used to facing violent crimes directly—she has always been afraid of ghosts.

"This kind of death..."

Kogoro Mouri had initially crossed his arms and looked disdainful, trying to project the confidence of a famous detective. But upon seeing this scene, his brows furrowed tightly, and a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. "This is a really unsettling scene... It reminds me of the company president who died last month after slipping on a bar of soap and falling into the bathtub."

"Yes."

Eri, standing to the side, adjusted her glasses, her eyes behind the lenses also grave. Her notebook was already closed. "As a lawyer, I've recently handled several insurance claims with the same cause of death… seemingly full of absurd coincidences, yet conforming to physical logic. It's like Death itself is coming with a calculator. This kid's script…"

She didn't quite know how to say it.

Although it was a movie, for her, who frequently encountered such cases, it felt more like a chilling reflection of the recent spate of unexpected incidents. She couldn't help but feel an indescribable sense of oppression because of that strong "déjà vu".

Conan sat in the middle, his glasses reflecting the image of the character struggling to die on the screen.

His palms were slightly sweaty.

so similar.

The technique used in movies—using environmental factors to create a chain reaction, utilizing wind speed, gravity, and friction to ultimately lead to the seemingly accidental but actually inevitable death of the target—while exaggerated for artistic effect on screen, seems to have the same core logic as those movies you've seen before.

There were no traces left by the murderer at the crime scenes; it was just a series of seemingly insignificant coincidences that came together.

If he weren't a detective, he wouldn't even have been able to detect the malice in it.

"Does the 'Grim Reaper' who has always been hiding behind the scenes think the same way...?"

Conan thought to himself, a strange chill creeping up his spine.

He couldn't help but turn to look at Lin Jiashu beside him.

In the dim light, Lin Jiashu's profile appeared exceptionally gentle and focused.

He was also watching the movie very attentively.

Conan didn't think about it too much.

He just felt that Yoshiki had served as a consultant for the accidental murder task force, and this movie was his understanding of the killer's methods of killing.

—After all, he has always been good at identifying with the murderer to solve cases, and this kind of accidental killing without any evidence left behind is just like trying to identify with a non-existent "Grim Reaper".

Were you scared?

Noticing his gaze, Lin Jiashu looked down at him.

Conan shook his head and continued looking at the screen.

He certainly wouldn't doubt Hayashi Yoshiki.

And there's no way to doubt Hayashi Yoshiki...

After all, Lin Jiashu, who silently gave everything for everyone behind the scenes, was also an undercover police officer. No matter what, his identity and deeds could not be tainted.

……

Meanwhile, in a secluded movie theater somewhere in Tokyo.

This is a midnight showing of "Final Destination".

Even at this time, the theater was still quite full, mostly with couples. But in the back rows, a few figures sat out of place.

They were all dressed in black, and although the styles varied, they all exuded a chilling aura that kept strangers at bay.

"Damn it, why are we watching this boring movie so late at night?"

Chianti scratched her hair in frustration and kicked the back of the seat in front of her. The butterfly tattoo at the corner of her eye looked particularly eerie in the dim light, and the Coke in her hand was already crushed. "I'd rather use this time to shoot some target practice or go for a race. Hey, Cohen, you think so too, right?"

"Shut up, Chianti."

Cohen, sitting next to her, spoke in a muffled but unusually firm voice.

He was still wrapped in thick bandages, looking like a seriously injured patient who had escaped from the hospital. Yet, at this moment, he was intently watching the screen, holding a bucket of popcorn in his hands, his eyes behind his sunglasses fixed on the screen without blinking.

“This is the most important thing,” Cohen said.

Are you really sick in the head?

Chianti was about to complain when she felt a cold gaze sweep over her, and she immediately shut her mouth.

Just then, the plot on the screen suddenly changed.

A taciturn man wearing a black windbreaker and sunglasses appeared carrying a fishing box.

He didn't take a gun, but went to the area under a bridge under construction, skillfully assembled a fishing rod, and stared at the water with the sharp eyes of a sniper.

The character's name slowly appeared in the subtitles at the bottom of the screen—【Korn】.

"Oh……"

Sitting in his seat, Cohen pointed at the screen, a strange blush appearing on his usually expressionless face. His hand holding the popcorn trembled slightly, and his voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, "Look... that guy named Korn... he's fishing, that's me."

"Huh?" Chianti looked disgusted. "A fisherman? What's that?"

“You don’t understand… patience, waiting, and a decisive blow.” Cohen muttered to himself, “Jundu, he really understands me.”

The story on screen continues.

Korn was focused on fishing and didn't notice the subtle changes in the water flow caused by the release of water from the upstream sluice gate.

Suddenly, the fishing float sank sharply!

It's a big fish!

【Korn】 jerked the rod up sharply; it was a huge bass. However, in the instant he pulled back with force, the taut fishing line, due to the angle, got caught on a rusty metal cable hanging from the bridge pier behind him.

"collapse--!"

The high-strength carbon fiber fishing line did not break; instead, it resembled a bowstring fully drawn.

The enormous tension was instantly transmitted upwards, causing a solid steel pipe on the bridge maintenance frame, which had already become loose, to lose its final balance.

The camera switched to slow motion.

Korn seemed to notice the wind above him and instinctively looked up.

The steel pipe, as thick as a wrist, fell vertically, like the Sword of Damocles thrown by God.

"Pfft-"