Chapter 42: Mr. Kido!

"Whoosh!"

The wind and rain slanted across the balcony railing. Even though Gao Mo pressed himself as close to the wall as possible, he was still drenched.

Fortunately, he had finally made it to the outside of Ran's room—this could be considered protecting her, right?

It was rare to receive a mission involving Conan. Although the final target for the book extraction was quite random and not necessarily Conan, the quality of the mission had a significant impact on the star rating of the books. Moreover, it was only "not necessarily"—the probability was certainly much higher than with anyone else. It was best to complete this task.

...

The lights in the room had just been turned off, but there was still a faint sound of talking. Gao Mo did not get too close; his eagle-like eyes pierced through the curtain of rain, fixed intently on the suspension bridge.

Memories flooded his mind: the first time he saw the bandaged man, and the moment he met the others after entering the villa. He should have noticed it back then—unlike the others, the fat man’s reaction to seeing him hadn't been surprised at all, as if they had met before. Now that he thought about it, he had felt a subtle sense of familiarity the first time he saw the fat man. It really seemed to be that bandaged man.

But the physique didn't match...

A fake fat man?

Gao Mo grasped that flash of insight, and inspiration surged in his mind. That was it—a fake fat man! The "Makeup Guide" he had studied touched upon changing one's physical form—often used in film production in collaboration with prop masters—but because of his preconceived notions, he hadn't considered it here.

In the normal world, disguising oneself as a 100-plus-kilogram man, moving and eating without any sign of artifice, and deceiving both him and Conan would be incredibly difficult. But in the world of "Conan-logic," anything was possible. Takahashi had been a prop master in college; with careful preparation, it was entirely possible to make a fake appear real. Plus, since the guy’s face was naturally somewhat fleshy, no one would suspect he was a fake fat man.

"Crackle!"

A bolt of lightning illuminated Gao Mo’s drenched figure. Beneath the white mask, his eyes seemed to glow with a ghostly light.

He had finally found the missing piece of the puzzle—why there was no head of the female screenwriter at the scene of the dismemberment, or rather, the reason why the dismemberment had to happen at all. It was because Takahashi needed to borrow the head to stage a trick for everyone in the dining room, making them believe he had abducted the screenwriter, Tomoka Ikeda.

Disguising himself as a fat man was actually a way to conveniently hide the murder weapon, and at the critical moment, he had hidden the screenwriter’s head inside his prosthetic belly, only to secretly discard it near the scene while pretending to give chase. This way, he had an alibi and, due to the difference in physique, avoided suspicion of being the bandaged man.

"Boom!"

Another clap of thunder and flash of lightning occurred. Gao Mo’s shadow was cast, elongated, onto the balcony curtains.

Conan was thinking about the case with his head on a pillow, but he was flushed and distracted by the soft breathing of Ran beside him. He couldn't focus at all and didn't even notice what was happening outside. However, Sonoko, who had turned over in the bed next to them, rubbed her eyes in a daze and happened to catch the projection on the window.

It took a beat for the girl to react; then she scrambled up, teeth chattering, and pointed outside.

"It appeared—! Ran!!"

...

"What's wrong?"

"What is it?"

"Jinzaburo appeared! Hurry!"

Following the sound of chaotic footsteps in the hallway, the door to Ran’s room was flung open violently. The young man with long hair, already on edge, shouted as he rushed in, only to find the room unexpectedly calm.

The strange figure stood on the balcony outside, neither running nor attacking, as if waiting specifically for them. Under the shroud of the thunderstorm, he looked inexplicably terrifying.

"This guy..."

"Ran!"

A terrified Sonoko, tears welling up, hid behind Ran in grievance. Gao Mo’s terrifying silhouette had instantly shattered her dreams of a Prince Charming.

"Subdue him quickly, Ran! Show him the power of your karate!"

Ran offered an awkward smile. "Even if you say that..."

The figure outside didn't look like a normal person by any stretch. But at a time like this, she was the only one who could step up...

"Wait a moment, Ran-neechan!" Conan grabbed Ran, who was gathering her courage. "He’s not the killer!"

"Huh?"

"What nonsense are you spouting, kid?" The long-haired man didn't dare go outside but still lashed out at Conan. "This guy killed Tomoka! Everyone saw it!"

"But isn't it true that there’s no blood on him?"

Conan’s eyes were bright. He stared at Gao Mo, who looked menacing outside, and the corners of his mouth curled into an "I see" smile.

"The dismemberment scene was so gruesome; even with the rain, it’s impossible for there to be no blood on him. And if he really wanted to attack us, wouldn't it be better to wait until everyone was asleep?"

He had been suspicious when he saw those shoes by the back door. Thinking back to the crow and the ice-cold cola—the reason the guest actor had to disguise himself and act so strangely wasn't because he was a maverick. He knew what was going on now.

"Hmm?"

Gao Mo glanced at Conan’s strange smile and felt a sense of trepidation. With his current abilities, it was indeed difficult to hide things from this kid. The disguise had failed after all. But the evaluation of his performance didn't matter anymore. Since he had stood here, he was prepared to show his hand.

The key was the killer, Takahashi.

Gao Mo scanned the people in the room, but he didn't see Takahashi’s fat silhouette.

He didn't come?!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a chill crept up his spine, and the surrounding sounds seemed to be muffled.

Conan continued with conviction, "In any case, he is absolutely not the killer, because he is..."

"Bang!"

Accompanied by a continuous peal of thunder, the floor-to-ceiling window next door was suddenly pushed open. Turning his head, Gao Mo saw Takahashi shouting and charging out with an axe, a flash of ferocity crossing his seemingly terrified face.

"You murderer! I'll kill you!"

"Stop!"

Conan’s expression changed drastically in the lightning, his face filled with shock and anger as he watched the axe descend toward Gao Mo. Beside him, Ran stood frozen, still in a daze.

"Kido-niisan!!"

"Whoosh!"

Gao Mo’s eyes glowed faintly as he activated his "Eagle Eye" super-vision once again.

In the wind and rain, Takahashi’s movements suddenly slowed down. It was as if time had been stretched; his dynamic vision, surpassing human limits, flooded his mind with information about the motion of everything. He could see Takahashi’s arm and the axe moving frame by frame—even the splashing raindrops and the momentary look of malice on the fat face were crystal clear.

He felt the surge of adrenaline once again.

*Dodge!*

His footsteps were rapid yet fluid. He successfully shifted to the side at the critical moment.

*My body—it reacted!*

5... 4...

Gao Mo quickly regained his composure. Before the dizziness from his ability set in, he adjusted his position again, guiding Takahashi to step onto the wet balcony floor.

"Clang!"

The ferocity on Takahashi’s face turned into astonishment. His feet slipped, and he accidentally swung his axe, smashing it into the door frame. Just as he tried to scramble up to attack again, he heard a call from beneath the white smiling mask.

"Ran!"

"Right!"

The familiar call triggered Ran’s muscle memory. As if she had found her direction in a labyrinth, she kicked off and leapt with the same swiftness she’d shown on the cruise ship during the power outage. The moment Takahashi raised the axe, she kicked—shattering the door frame and the axe handle together.

"Bang!"

The broken axe flew high into the air, spinning into the wind and rain outside the villa.

Takahashi, left with only half an axe handle in his hand, stood with a stiff neck, then collapsed onto his rear in fear. "Y-you, what are you doing?"

"We should be asking you that," Ran said, pulling back her leg in anger. "What on earth are you doing?"

"I was so scared," Takahashi sobbed, wiping away tears. "And I was worried this murderer would hurt you, so I..."

"You are the murderer, Takahashi."

Gao Mo looked down at the fake fat man who was still putting on a show. Did he really think he was easy to bully? If it weren't for this guy acting recklessly, he wouldn't have had to expose his identity.

"What are you talking about?" Takahashi retorted excitedly. "It was you who killed Tomoka... and now you’re trying to attack Ran and the others!"

"He wasn't trying to attack us," Conan said, breaking into a cold sweat. He let out a long breath and turned to Gao Mo with a smile. "He was actually protecting us, right?"

"Protecting?" Takahashi scoffed. "A kid is just a kid. How does this look like protection..."

"It’s Mr. Kido!" Ran realized. She looked at Gao Mo’s masked figure in surprise, still finding it hard to believe. "Are you Mr. Kido?!"

"Kido? Who's that?"

Takahashi’s expression froze like a clown’s. He turned his head just in time to see Gao Mo pull back his hood.

As the white smiling mask was removed, the face of a handsome young man with slightly pale skin and tousled hair was revealed to everyone. His eyes were clear and clean, completely devoid of the eerie, terrifying aura of the "stranger."