Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 339 Returning to the Beginning, Target Level 5

Shikoku Japan.

The weather in the south is warm yet cool, making it the best season. The rich fragrance of lavender wafts in the wind, as if the whole world has been dyed purple.

A tomboyish young girl walked to the edge of the cliff with a bunch of chrysanthemums in her hand. Her short, light brown hair was gently curled in the sea breeze, and her eyes held an unyielding sadness.

[Nanatsuki, help me! A high school detective with a strange accent suspects me of being the murderer, and the police want to arrest me!]

"hateful!"

Thinking of the phone call her friend made to her six months ago, the short-haired girl lowered her head in anguish, tears streaming down her face like pearls.

"call!"

The sea breeze blows away the chrysanthemums, lifts the folds of the short-haired girl's skirt, dries her tears, but cannot blow away the sorrow and anger as intense as the scent of lavender.

"I've found out everything. Now all that's left is the identity of that high school detective... I'll never let them go, even if it means death."

……

Tokyo.

The Miracle Park incident was ultimately handled jointly by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Kanagawa Police Department. The result was the arrest of Shimizu Reiko and the seizure of Ito's hidden wealth, including Miracle Park, which she had invested in.

The Suzuki Foundation is currently preparing to take over Miracle Park completely.

In addition, Fukayama Trading Co., Ltd. has also uncovered a large amount of criminal evidence. Although President Fukayama has been killed, the follow-up is very extensive and it is said that it also involves gang organizations.

Finally, there's Hattori Heiji and his group who were involved in the incident. Afterwards, Hattori Heiji didn't return to Osaka, but instead kept bothering the mustachioed man, which annoyed the mustachioed man to no end. He even called Gomo to complain.

“Really,” the man with the mustache complained on the phone, “I already told you that it wasn’t me. Do you think I don’t know whether I went to the hotel or not? Yes, I often have amnesia, and I did appear at the hotel afterwards, but it was definitely an imposter who brought me there!”

They actually said I might have another personality, something like sleepwalking—it's getting more and more absurd… Anyway, you'd better call that kid back right now!

"I understand. Just bear with it for now. He'll go back on his own in a couple of days."

The embankment has no banks of the river.

Gao Mo hung up the phone, ignoring the mustachioed man's complaints, and instead walked along the riverbank, following his memories.

I used to run here with my fitness coach, Kageyama, but he recently went back to his hometown in the countryside and I haven't heard from him for a while.

The number of people walking their dogs on the riverbank hasn't changed much.

The dogs that had previously run away showed no reaction when they saw him again; some of the silly dogs even wagged their tails at him.

Walking back along the riverbank, the place that used to have a meat stall sign has been replaced by a consulting office. Several menacing-looking tattooed men are gathered together smoking, and you can vaguely hear them saying things like "we're going to a meeting," "cadres going to jail," and "opportunity." When they see Gao Mo passing by, they glare at him fiercely.

In the world of Detective Conan, there don't seem to be any gangs like the Yamaguchi-gumi. The most famous gang is the Mud-Shan-kai, which is often used as a scapegoat by the Black Organization and also serves as their backup cash cow. Gin often extorts companies supported by the Mud-Shan-kai, such as the deal that caused Shinichi Kudo to shrink.

"Pretty face."

A blond-haired man with a pointed snout and monkey-like face gave Gao Mo the middle finger as he walked away, then turned back to light a cigarette for the fierce-looking, scarred leader.

Scarface ignored the blond guy's little tricks and waited for Gao Mo to walk away before continuing, "So? Boss Poison Island has spoken. As long as we take care of that guy, we'll have a chance to become officers..."

"Oh!"

Suddenly, the obsequious blond man's hand trembled, and the lit lighter slid down his collar into the scarred man's hairy chest, instantly bursting into flames.

"I...you're fucking insane?"

Scarface, in pain, slapped the blond-haired man, knocking out one of his teeth. He angrily tried to put out the fire, but couldn't, and his clothes caught fire as well.

"Quick, get me some water! It hurts like hell!!"

"Boss, I didn't mean to..."

"That was intentional! Beat him! Beat him hard!"

Gao Mo walked through the residential alleyway behind him, accompanied by screams and roars.

He doesn't usually hold grudges.

"call!"

A light drizzle suddenly began to fall from the rice fields, and a cold wind swept through the streets, bringing Gao Mo's memories back to the past.

Before long, Gao Mo found the site of the former supermarket where the explosion had occurred.

Another supermarket has opened, but it doesn't seem to have much foot traffic.

As Gao Mo walked further, his memories became clearer and clearer until he passed the city supermarket where he used to work.

The supermarket that holds his memories as a cashier has closed down sometime ago, and there are still sublet advertisements posted outside.

The luxury apartment building remains the same as always.

After greeting the administrator, Gao Mo returned to his long-lost three-bedroom apartment.

Since moving to the office, I've only had a cleaning service to look after the apartment, and I haven't been back for quite some time.

"Boss Kido?"

Rei Furuya returned carrying a bag of groceries, and her eyes lit up when she saw Gao Mo. "Why did you decide to come back today? I thought you didn't want the house anymore."

"How could that be?" Gao Mo laughed. "I'll still come back to live here when I stop running the detective agency. But I remember you were busy clearing out the cases in Nagano, right? Why are you back now?"

“Everything’s been taken care of,” Furuya Rei said, lifting the ingredients in his hand. “Let’s have lunch together.”

"it is good."

Gao Mo secretly admired him.

Rei Furuya is still as capable as ever, but the key is that he also has obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he won't be satisfied until he clears all the commissions every time.

Should we hire another employee?

They are police officers after all; if you exploit them too much, they might attract the attention of the police.

Kazami Yu also had a lot of opinions about him.

"Mr. Fangtani!"

Kazami Yuya, who was watching TV in the living room, heard the door open. He quickly cleared his throat, straightened his collar, and came out to greet the doorman. However, when he saw Gao Mo next to Furuya Rei, his expression suddenly froze.

It wasn't just him who had a problem with this shop owner.

Although Rei Furuya has a lot of free time because of his undercover work, it's still too much for him to spend so much time on his small private detective agency.

Sometimes when Furuya Rei doesn't have time, they help him handle those requests privately.

Why should they work for the detective agency for free?

"The new comet discovered by the observation center has been named Kaguya. It is said to pass by Earth in about six months. Will it be visible to the naked eye?"

Gao Mo's attention was drawn to the television program in the living room, and he walked straight past Kazami Yuya.

“Yes,” the expert said, adjusting his glasses, “this comet is actually a bit strange. Before, it didn’t seem much different from ordinary comets, but after entering the solar system, it suddenly accelerated and emitted a jewel-like purple light, making it very valuable for research. If…”

Gao Mo automatically ignored the expert's explanation, his eyes only on the comet photos shown on TV. It looked like just an inconspicuous little dot, yet it gave people a wonderful sense of beauty.

What's it like to include an astronomer's profession?
With his abilities, he would be well-suited to studying astronomy. If he made a similar discovery and got the opportunity to name celestial bodies, he would probably skip levels like an assassin and go straight to level 5.

Astronomy doesn't have a high barrier to entry, so there are a lot of amateur enthusiasts, and even a group of professionals known as "star hunters" have emerged.

but……

This seems like it will require a lot of effort and also depends on luck, and he's never been very lucky.

It can be kept as a backup option for now, and we can study it further later.

"Beep!"

Kazami Yu also turned off the TV in a huff.

"Hey Mr. Kido, don't you have any other detectives in your agency? Mr. Furuya's time is very precious, we can't waste it all on those trivial matters."

"Are you coming to our firm?" Gao Mo asked with a smile.

If possible, he would like to take in this fanboy of Rei Furuya; he seems like an excellent employee.

“Me?” Kazami Yuya’s cheek twitched.

How could I possibly ask him that?

"I am..."

"Kazami," Furuya Rei winked, "can you help me prepare the ingredients?"

"Uh, okay."

Kazami Yuya swallowed back the words he was about to say, feeling unwilling yet helpless.

There was nothing he could do; he couldn't change his boss's mind.

Gao Mo smiled, then quickly walked calmly to the floor-to-ceiling window, put his hands in his pockets, and looked down at the ground.

Returning to the original apartment building felt completely different.

but……

Has the crisis truly ended?

The Grim Reaper who had descended was indeed dealt with, and he no longer felt that omnipresent threat.

However, the rules of death were not revoked.

He himself could no longer turn back.

Lately, I've been feeling this more and more deeply. It's as if the notebook is undergoing a mysterious revival. Even if it's slow, the process can't be interrupted. One day in the future, it might even be controlled by the notebook.

He needs a higher rank and more authority.

Level 4 is definitely not enough to control the notes.

(End of this chapter)