Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 340 Detective Koshien

The next day.

Kido Detective Agency.

Gao Mo woke up to the noise of Hattori Heiji and Kazuha, yawned, and felt a headache coming on.

I drank some alcohol at Rei Furuya's house yesterday, and I still feel unwell.

And I don't know if it's because of that news, but comets kept appearing in my dreams, and eventually I felt like I turned into a comet.

"I already said I still have to participate in the reasoning competition, how could I possibly go back now?" Hattori Heiji yelled at Kazuha while brushing his teeth, making Gao Mo's eyelids twitch.

Is this guy going to stay?
It's one thing to not make money, but constantly showing off their love isn't a good thing either.

"Kido-kun," Hattori greeted Gao Mo, "Is Master Kindaichi deliberately avoiding me? I never see him whenever I come here?"

"Why are you looking for Kindaichi?" Gao Mo turned and walked towards the other side of the restroom. "I told him he doesn't take on apprentices."

"The uncle next door said it's possible that Kindaichi is impersonating him, so I want to confirm it."

Hattori shrugged.

"Actually, I also think it might be Master. He didn't realize it was an imposter at all back then. I guess only Master could do that, right?"

"Why can't it really be Mori?"

“That’s what I thought at first too,” Hattori said with a smug smile, “but the old man next door had a missed call from Ran during his report. I was with the imposter the whole time and didn’t hear it. The old man also said that he couldn’t have silenced his phone in that situation…”

So there's only one truth: the imposter disguised himself as an older man, but he didn't bring the man's phone, which is why he asked us for it.

Tsk.

That's when they really got smart.

Gao Mo washed his face, stopped talking about the real and fake mustaches, and changed the subject, asking, "What was that reasoning competition you were talking about earlier?"

"Actually, I came to Tokyo because I received an invitation letter," Hattori said, his eyes full of excitement. "Yomiuri TV held a nationwide high school detective competition to select the best detective in Japan, and I was invited as the representative of the western region."

I was also curious to see what high school detectives from other places were like, so I agreed to participate. If I'm lucky, I might even run into that elusive Shinichi Kudo.

Conan, who happened to be there, immediately frowned: "You're the one hiding your true colors!"

"You want to compete against Shinichi Kudo?" Gao Mo paused in his movements.

"Yeah, that kid might represent the East this time, so he can't hide from me again," Hattori said with great enthusiasm. "Kido-kun, just wait and see, I'll beat that guy and bring glory to our West!"

"This is the east..."

Gao Mo was too lazy to bother with this guy.

"I think you're just unhappy that Shinichi Kudo is more popular than you."

Conan wholeheartedly agreed, nodding in approval as he stood by, but not forgetting his mission, he quickly called out, "Kido-kun, are you planning to attend the virtual game launch event next week?"

I will probably participate.

Gao Mo is still looking for a suitable class for level 5 upgrade; going to watch the game launch event might be a good idea.

Now that death is no longer watching him, he has fewer concerns.

"Oh, right," Gao Mo suddenly remembered something and continued to ask Hattori, "Your show isn't the Detective Koshien, is it?"

"How did you know?" Hattori turned around in surprise. "The invitation letter did say it was the Detective Koshien, but it's still in preparation, so no one outside should know about it."

Gao Mo understood.

Just as he suspected, someone impersonating Nichiri TV tricked several high school detectives into going to a deserted island for a competition, and it was the very case he remembered that revolved around high school detectives.

Can't these guys use their brains?

What kind of mystery-solving competition keeps absolutely no word of it? Similar programs definitely need to be heavily promoted to whet the audience's appetite, especially since it's planned by Nichibuki TV.

Filming first, then promoting? What are you thinking?

"Just wait for me."

Gao Mo turned around and went back to his bedroom. Using the identity of Domoto Ichi, he made a phone call to contact acquaintances at Nichiri TV, only to find that Kenzaki Osamu, who played Samonji, was available to answer the phone.

"Domoto?" Kenzaki Osamu asked curiously, "Why are you calling me all of a sudden?"

When was the last time we met? I think it was with Mr. Shinmei?

"There's nothing I can do. Only your phone number is working. Everyone else seems to be busy."

Gao Mo's words silenced Kenzaki Osamu.

Zuo Wenzi's TV series has long since finished filming, and there's no news yet about the next one. He can only make a cameo appearance at the TV station, reprising his old job as a host.

"I'm busy too," Kenzaki Osamu chuckled dryly. "I'm just taking a break from my busy schedule. But speaking of which, why haven't you had any new projects lately? I was thinking of collaborating with you. Could it be that you've really retired from the industry?"

"I didn't withdraw, it's just that no one dares to contact me."

Gao Mo noticed the phone went silent again and quickly ended the conversation.

"If you have some free time now, could you ask the station if they have any plans for a Detective Koshien? You mean inviting high school detectives from all over the country to compete in a reasoning contest?"

"Detective Koshien?" Kenzaki Osamu raised an eyebrow. "I've never heard of such a plan. If it were true, there would be some word about it. Wait a minute..."

Kenzaki Osamu seemed to have gone to see the station's leadership, and soon replied definitively, "There's definitely no such plan. Do you have any ideas? It sounds pretty good, especially if we could participate as guests..."

"never mind."

"beep!"

The call was abruptly disconnected, and Kenzaki was stunned for a long time.

"No, I really think it's alright, really."

……

Kido Detective Agency.

Gao Mo skillfully shut down the phone, hid the disguised phone, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

I'm considering whether to let Hattori participate in this fake reasoning competition, and I'm also curious about the incident.

Aside from the early cases, there aren't many cases in Detective Conan that he can remember.

"My timing is impeccable," a slightly arrogant chuckle came from outside. "So you're also participating in the Detective Koshien. Are there any representative high school detectives in the West?"

"What did you say?" Hattori Heiji was successfully provoked. "Hattori from Kansai, Kudo from Kanto, Hattori is me, Hattori Heiji!"

"Kansai Hattori? Never heard of him, but I do know Shinichi Kudo."

When Gao Mo arrived in the living room, he saw Hattori Heiji grabbing the collar of a gloomy man with a middle parting.

"I am Tokitsu Junya, a high school detective representing the North. Although I was born in Tokyo, I grew up in Hokkaido."

The gloomy man smiled and pushed Hattori Heiji away.

"I've handled over 300 cases so far. This time I'm in Tokyo partly to participate in the Detective Koshien tournament, and partly to meet Shinichi Kudo, who's likely to represent the East. Hattori-kun, could you please move aside?"

"You bastard..." Hattori chuckled, grinding his teeth as he looked at the gloomy man with his self-righteous expression.

"What Tokatsu Junya? I've never heard of him! If you're looking for Kudo Shinichi, you should go back. Kudo Shinichi doesn't live here."

"Not here?" Tokitsu Junya frowned slightly. "Isn't this his house? Why isn't he here?"

"how could I know?"

Hattori Heiji snorted coldly.

"By the way, the number of cases I've solved so far... let me think, it should be at least 1000, I can't even count them all."

"1000?" Tokitsu Junya laughed. "That's amazing. Even if you only do one a day, it would still take three years. Don't tell me you included trivial requests like helping old ladies cross the street..."

"I want you to take care of it?"

"Then I shall take my leave."

Ignoring the enraged and embarrassed Tokitsu Junya glanced lightly at Gao Mo, then turned and left the office with his hands behind his back.

"I hope the representatives from other regions can be more capable, otherwise it's not interesting if the wins are too easy."

"This bastard!"

Hattori Heiji was furious; it was the first time he had ever been looked down upon like this.

"Back in Kansai, everyone knew my name, but this guy doesn't take me seriously. Compared to this guy who appeared out of nowhere with his weird accent, my fame has grown so much!"

His tone of voice is strange...

Gao Mo watched in silence as Tokizu Junya left.

The notes projection suddenly started responding.

Save Nanatsuki—A Maid Who Committed Suicide

A new legacy.

I could faintly smell the fragrance of lavender.

“I just saw it,” Ai said casually in a low voice, “It was a beautiful but pitiful maid who was probably killed by that high school detective.”

"I don't care about that."

Gao Mo shook his head.

Could following Tokitsu Junya be the root cause of this incident?
It didn't seem like there was much to gain, and as an adult, he didn't really want to get involved in these high school detective stories, but...

Gao Mo glanced at Hattori, who was still gritting his teeth.

……

in the afternoon.

Port and wharf.

Gao Mo, disguised as Hattori Heiji, found a Nichiuri TV employee waiting in front of a luxury ship.

I could tell at a glance that the other party was a fake; they even had the Nichiuri TV logo on their clothes reversed.

"You must be Hattori Heiji?" the imposter said anxiously, wiping his sweat. "You're way too late! My plans here were meticulously arranged down to the second!"

"Sorry," Gao Mo said with a smile as he caught up with the imposter, "it took a little time on the way."

"Alright, let's hurry up. Everyone else has already boarded the ship, only you're missing," the imposter glanced at his watch. "We need to get to the island quickly!"

"Okay."

Gao Mo's smile remained unchanged.

He's a professional actor; he can even perfectly imitate Heiji Hattori's unique Osaka accent.

However, we can't be so foolish as to just go to some island.

Gao Mo turned to look at Professor Agasa, who had brought him there, and quietly made a gesture.

Meanwhile, the real Hattori Heiji rushed to the dock with Kazuha, wiped his sweat, and looked around blankly at the agreed location where there wasn't a single staff member.

"What's going on? Where is everyone? We agreed to meet here."

There was a luxury cruise ship docked at the pier, but it didn't seem like people were allowed to board.

"I was just a little late..."

“Heiji,” Kazuha pointed to a ferry leaving the dock, “could it be that ship? I think I saw a staff member wearing a Nichiuri TV uniform!”

"No way? Hey! Wait for me!"

Hattori Heiji was even more dumbfounded and hurriedly ran to the shore to shout loudly.

However, as the ferry sailed further and further away, no one noticed him at all.

"What's going on? I'm the representative of the West, and you just leave me like this?" Hattori was completely confused and couldn't understand why the production team would do this.

Ferry cabin.

Gao Mo spotted Hattori shouting on the dock with his eagle eyes, smiled and ignored him, instead quietly installing the locator invented by the doctor on the ferry.

His destination was a deserted island, and he certainly didn't want to be stranded there and become background to the cases in the Conan world.

There are far too many people in this world who have been stranded and died on deserted islands for various reasons.

"You actually came."

Tokizu Junya glanced at Gao Mo, then started playing a game console in the cabin.

Next to her was a tomboy wearing sunglasses and headphones listening to music—Natsuki Koshimizu, the representative of the Southern High School Detectives.

This was also Gao Mo's goal for this trip.

Although she claims to be 18 years old, her actual age is 20.

Thinking of the last wish in the projected notes, Gao Mo glanced at the tomboy a few more times, immediately attracting the other's attention.

"Are you Hattori Heiji, the representative from the West?" Koshimizu Nanatsuki crossed her legs and casually propped her chin up. "You've been staring at me since earlier. That's not very polite. I don't think I'm worth your attention."

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen any representatives from the East yet," Tokitsu Junya said, his fingers rapidly manipulating the game console. "Could it be that no one from the East is participating?"

"The representatives from the east have already arrived on the island."

The fake director followed them into the ship's cabin.

"Once we arrive on the island, please stay in your rooms and do not come out before dinner. The event will be scheduled after dinner, but the competition will start before then. Just a heads up."

"learn."

Tokitsu Junya was rather nonchalant.

"I hope it will be interesting. I even turned down a case to come all this way."

(End of this chapter)