Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 337 The Detectives' Requiem 4 [Detective Report]

Miracle Paradise.

After learning that they had been taken hostage, Xiaolan and the others were not so fragile. Instead, they gathered in the infirmary to wait for news.

Even Ayumi and the others, who are usually quite mischievous, obediently followed Ai's side at her request.

"Ran," Sonoko gripped her best friend's hand tightly, constantly checking the time, "There are only four hours left. Are they really going to make it? What if the client isn't satisfied with the final result? If you ask me, that client is a lunatic..."

“Alright, Sonoko,” Ran said with a wry smile, “Why are you more anxious than us? Dad can definitely do it. After all, he is the Sleeping Kogoro.”

"Really?" Sonoko asked skeptically.

It's better to rely on that Osaka black chicken than on Xiaolan's father.

I wonder how things are going with Kido-san.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get in touch with them at this crucial moment.

……

Red House Hotel.

Gao Mo took the elevator up, his eyes slightly closed. Heiji Hattori next to him tried to ask him a question several times but didn't say anything, which puzzled Conan.

He had a strange feeling that Gao Mo might have already solved the mystery.

But Gao Mo's behavior this time was strange, as if he had encountered some kind of problem.

Is it possible that solving the case will not resolve the crisis?

As they approached the banquet hall floor, Hattori Heiji couldn't help but say, "Hey, uncle..."

"Do not talk."

Gao Mo's thinking remained at a high speed.

On his way to the hotel, he thought a lot and realized that to defeat death, he had to create an information gap.

However, no matter how he deduced it, it seemed difficult to hide it from the Grim Reaper who possessed the wisdom of Takato Yoichi.

Must we just continue to be passive like this?

Should I abandon everyone else and first try to get myself to level 5?
Judging from the feedback he received from the notes, perhaps only at level 5 can one truly possess the notes, and at that time he should not be as passive as he is now.

But when that time really comes, what will be left around us?
Ai, Sonoko, Dr. Agasa, Mustache, Ran...

Gao Mo opened his eyes, as if he could see Ai's dependence and expectation, Sonoko's burning gaze, and the doctor's concern from afar.

When did he begin to feel at home in this world?

It seems to have been when I met Ai.

"Where's your phone?" Gao Mo stared intently at Hattori Heiji.

He wants to give it a try.

"Huh?" Hattori Heiji patted his pockets, his eyes widening suddenly. "That's strange, where's my phone? It's gone!"

"Looks like it's in that guy's hands."

Gao Mo thought of the thief disguised as Hakuba Saguru, asked Conan for his phone, and sent a message without looking: "This is Mori, where is Shimizu Reiko?"

It seems that Death is using Suehiko Ito and Reiko Shimizu as pawns.

Whatever your ideas, you must first thwart Death's plan, seize the initiative, and then find the opponent's weaknesses.

Even if we can't defeat them this time, we still need to gather enough information.

"Beep!"

The phone vibrated; it was Kid, disguised as Hakuba Saguru, replying to the message.

"Sōichirō Fukayama has been killed, and Reiko Shimizu's whereabouts are unknown. She should have gone to Miracle Paradise."

Sure enough, it was that guy who took the phone.

Gao Mo glanced down at the phone, avoiding the surveillance cameras, deleted the message, and returned the phone to Conan.

He seemed to know what Death was planning.

Shimizu Reiko is very likely to kill Ito Suehiko, who is hiding in the hotel, thus creating a new round of death crisis for Mustache and others.

This Grim Reaper seems to have been influenced by Takato Yoichi, no longer manipulating accidents, but simply using humans as pawns to advance the game, just like Takato Yoichi's codename "Hell Puppet Master".

Is this good news?
No need to see me off. See you next time, and I'll still call you boss next time.

Gao Mo seemed to see Gao Yuanyao's back as if it were floating in his mind's eye.

If we treat our opponent as an enhanced version of Takato Yoichi, instead of some god, wouldn't it be easier to deal with him?

Using Takato Yoichi as a vessel, the Grim Reaper gained more freedom, but it also seemed to reveal his health bar.

The key question is what weaknesses Gao Yuanyao has.

Gao Mo reconstructed the analysis model in his mind, incorporating all his contact data with Gao Yuanyao.

Confidence, or perhaps arrogance, coupled with a perfectionist approach to crime, means that if a puppet interferes with his criminal plans, he might even kill the puppet himself...

"Shh!"

The elevator doors opened, and the squinty-eyed secretary was already waiting outside, her twitching eyes revealing a hint of doubt and surprise.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Mori, and the young detectives. I didn't expect you to be back so soon."

The squinty-eyed man led the way.

"Are you sure you want to report now? We still have four hours left, if..."

"We're sure."

Gao Mo ignored the slight furrow in his brows.

The gameplay mechanics are also based on intelligence.

There is an information gap now; Death doesn't know that he defused the ID bomb, and the number of stars in the storage pool is constantly increasing.

The assassin rankings seem to have brought him new achievements as well. His star count, which had been depleted in the previous wave, has surpassed 1000 again, which is currently quite sufficient.

It's impossible for Death to even know how many stars there are.

Judging from his previous performance, he seemed to have been drained, but in reality, he could easily play another round.

Death might have thought he would be driven to the brink, but the opposite was true.

If it were Takato Yoichi, he would definitely let his guard down, and the Grim Reaper is probably the same way now...

Wait... I seem to have forgotten something.

Gao Mo suddenly paused, then turned to look at the ID on Hattori Heiji's wrist.

I almost forgot about this guy.

It's true that everyone else's IDs have been deactivated, but Hattori Heiji's is still functioning normally. Even if it's not actively detonated, it will still explode at 10 PM.

"What?" Hattori Heiji felt uncomfortable being stared at.

I don’t know if I’m overthinking it, but this uncle in front of me seems like a completely different person, or maybe he’s always had two faces.

"nothing."

Gao Mo averted his gaze and followed behind the squinty-eyed man into the banquet hall.

It's just an ID; even if it's about to explode, he can remove it in time, since he's already removed several of the same IDs.

“Mr. Mori,” Suehiko Ito’s figure appeared on the big screen, “please begin your report.”

"You must be Ito Suehiko?"

Gao Mo mimicked the mustache and looked serious.

"Actually, what you want is not the truth, but to hear what the detective wants to hear, such as you are the murderer who killed Nishio, right?"

When hijacking the armored truck in the carriageway, Nishio shot and killed the security guard who tried to resist, ruining your criminal plan. If you are someone who is obsessed with the perfect crime, you might have a motive to kill him.

However, the police suspect the murderer is Shimizu Reiko, who also worked at your company at the time and was frequently harassed by Nishio.

“That’s true,” Ito Suehiko said calmly. “Reiko and I have been dreaming of committing the perfect crime since our university days, committing a crime with the one we love, and witnessing our love together…”

"That guy Nishio actually ruined my perfect plan, which is why I killed him. But those incompetent police officers suspected Reiko, which drove her to the brink of despair..."

"A dead end?"

"Yes, do you know how much pain I felt when I learned of Reiko's death?"

Suehiro Ito clenched his fists, his face contorted in pain.

"The pain of losing a loved one..."

“You’re mistaken, Mr. Ito,” Gao Mo interrupted the man’s mutterings. “Shimizu Reiko is not dead at all. From beginning to end, you were just a scapegoat she pushed out. She should have planned to kill you and Nishio from the start.”

"Nonsense!" Ito Suehiko reacted fiercely. "I was the one who killed Nishio! I sniped him from the toilet of a nearby building, and in the end you're just as incompetent as the police..."

That's just what you think.

Gao Mo deduces the truth while Hattori Heiji is filled with trepidation.

"Perhaps you did shoot Nishio, but Nishio had already been killed at that time. You just fired randomly after Shimizu Reiko killed him."

"what?"

"The police aren't as incompetent as you think. A total of eight bullets were found in the office where Nishio was killed. Seven of them didn't even touch Nishio's hair, but one hit him squarely in the head. Clearly, there were two gunmen. The expert killed him with one shot, and then the rookie fired wildly..."

"Nonsense!" Ito Suehiko said angrily. "I clearly hit him! I saw Nishio fall down with my own eyes!"

"That's just because you happened to hit the chair. Think about it, would anyone sit in a chair and let you fire so many shots?"

Gao Mo rolled his eyes at Ito on the screen.

"The most direct evidence is the bloodstains. The chair back was covered with Nishio's blood, which flowed vertically down the chair back and solidified. There was also a pool of blood on the ground, which means that Nishio had already been assassinated by a shot to the head before you knocked the chair down."

"Shimizu Reiko never expected anything from you, so she only handed the sniper rifle to you after shooting Nishio, right? And the police even found Shimizu Reiko's signature mascara on the scope, which is why they interrogated her, understand?"

"How is this possible?" Ito was covered in sweat, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. "Reiko, she..."

"Afterwards, you rushed out of the toilet in a panic, forgetting to even dispose of the spent cartridges. You probably didn't even count how many shots you fired. Everything was part of Shimizu Reiko's plan."

Gao Mo continued his statement.

"After that, in order to deal with evidence such as the car and the sniper rifle, you drove to the dock alone, and then had a car accident at the dock. That car was probably tampered with by Shimizu Reiko, with the purpose of killing you as well."

"Nonsense! It's all nonsense!" Ito exclaimed, clutching his head in disbelief. "Reiko couldn't have done that..."

"Is that what happened?"

Hattori Heiji swallowed again, but this time he was shocked by Gao Mo's reasoning.

We were all investigating together, so why did this confused old man know so many clues?
The sleeping Kogoro was surprisingly sharp even though he wasn't asleep.

It seems that he misunderstood.

It's true that some famous detectives may seem confused in ordinary times, but that's just a disguise; they will deliver a fatal blow to the enemy at the crucial moment.

"Hehe." Conan saw Hattori's expression and immediately knew what the guy was thinking, so he couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Don't overthink it, the man in front of you isn't that man at all.

That person is genuinely clueless; even if they occasionally shine, they couldn't possibly be that good. At most, they're at the level of an excellent criminal investigator.

"You should know very well whether you're lying or not. I could tell from the clues you provided that you probably realized the truth, but your pride makes you expect to hear lies and you refuse to admit that you've been manipulated by Shimizu Reiko."

Gao Mo glanced at the time, then glanced at the squinty-eyed man beside him who looked like a secretary or servant but whose smile had faded.

"Mr. Ito, Shimizu Reiko won't let you off the hook. She's already killed Miyama, and she'll probably be here soon to silence you, right? But don't worry, I expected this. I won't let you die. In exchange, please remove all your IDs..."

“No need,” Ito said with a choked laugh. “It’s so good that Reiko is still alive. Besides, I was already dying, and I probably wouldn’t live past tonight. Dying at Reiko’s hands might be the best outcome.”

Damn it!
Gao Mo noticed the smile that had returned to his squinty-eyed face and felt a chill run down his spine.

That's why he hates these sycophantic men; they really seem to have something wrong with their brains.

You can choose to die, but can you die at the hands of death?
(End of this chapter)