Chapter 46: Kogoro Mouri: Haha, Ten Million Yen

Sometimes hidden traps are laid within criminal deduction. A chain of clues that appears perfectly closed might actually be intentionally designed by the criminal to mislead...

Therefore, gathering clues is sometimes even more important than logical deduction.

It was afternoon tea time.

Yukiko, who possessed the soul of a consummate actress, always maintained the persona of a noble lady in front of her husband. After teasing Gao Mo with just a few light remarks, she withdrew from the room, leaving her husband and their guest to study and converse in the study.

So many details had been overlooked.

Gao Mo felt as though he had stumbled upon a great treasure.

With guidance from veteran author Kudo Yusaku, the difficulty level of Shinichi Kudo’s *Guide to Deduction* dropped dramatically.

It was as if specialized annotations targeted specifically at him had been added between the table of contents and the general principles. In just a single afternoon, Gao Mo had roughly grasped the concept of "information integration."

If he were to return to the "Bandaged Mansions Murder Case" now, even if he failed to immediately notice the issue with the fake fat man, he would not end up like before—finding the clues yet utterly failing to grasp the key elements.

A master was truly a master.

"Thank you so much for your trouble today." Gao Mo exhaled softly after watching the "Deduction" skill in his notes projection upgrade to Level 1, only to realize that the sky outside was beginning to darken.

Although he still wanted to ask more questions, continuing any further was clearly inappropriate.

Subsequent improvements were not something that could be achieved overnight.

"I had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation as well," Kudo Yusaku laughed heartily. "Usually, I'm constantly hounded by people chasing manuscripts; it has been a long time since I felt this relaxed."

Being a mentor to someone was a pleasure, and Gao Mo was not slow-witted. Though he lacked innate talent in deduction, his learning capacity was quite impressive.

Even if he could not become a master detective in the future, he would at least make a qualified detective assistant.

He would be able to help Shinichi to some extent.

"We haven't told Shinichi that we're back yet," Yukiko brought out more tea. "We're planning to give him a little surprise. Would you like to join?"

"A surprise?" Gao Mo's fingers paused slightly.

Kudo Yusaku said with a helpless sigh, "I've heard all the details from Professor Agasa. I think that even if we can't make him leave this dangerous country, he at least needs to understand just how perilous his situation truly is."

"Indeed, little Shin has never faced any setbacks," Yukiko added, looking quite troubled. "And he's so stubborn; speaking to him bluntly certainly won't work."

"I'll pass."

Gao Mo would be more than happy to see Conan get taken down a peg or two.

Whether it was due to becoming smaller, that kid often acted just like an impulsive child, self-centered and reckless, treating everyone else like fools—though there were indeed plenty of fools around, the world was hardly lacking in clever people either.

If anyone possessed even slightly sharper powers of observation, they could put an end to Conan's "Sleeping Kogoro" act right then and there.

However...

He simply did not have the time to play games with this couple right now.

There were far too many things he needed to do.

"If you two are truly worried about him, stop pampering him. The best course of action is to give him an unforgettable, profound lesson."

Recalling his recent interactions with Conan, Gao Mo offered a measured suggestion.

"Right, if you only make him face setbacks, he probably won't learn his lesson properly. I think it would be best to start through Ran; that fellow cares more about Ran than he does about himself."

Kudo Yusaku froze and exchanged a glance with his wife.

Gao Mo seemed to understand Shinichi even better than they did.

"Recently, he has anaesthetized Kogoro Mouri several times just to solve cases," Gao Mo recalled the mustache-wearing man complaining over the phone a few days ago about his neck feeling uncomfortable, "he's even bringing the sleeping master detective into it."

"That is indeed a bit childish." Realizing the severity of the matter, Kudo Yusaku's previously playful expression instantly turned serious.

Conan: *Achoo!??*

...

High-rise apartment.

Room 1604.

Having accomplished his mission with flying colors, Gao Mo returned from the Kudo residence carrying a large stack of books to further reinforce his "information integration" skill.

What he needed most right now was core deductive capability; studying a knowledge base was not nearly as urgent.

Since he was capable of extracting various professional books, he would eventually become his own knowledge base.

"Whew!"

A cold gust of wind blew in from the balcony, causing the curtains to sway and reveal the familiar urban nightscape.

Yet Gao Mo suddenly felt no urge to admire it.

As he piled the books onto the coffee table, he realized something: he lacked a proper study.

The luxury apartment suddenly felt a little less appealing.

The desire to buy another large house like the Kudo residence...

Gao Mo roughly calculated his current savings.

The Suzuki family still owed him an investigation fee, but even with everything added together, his savings amounted to just over three million yen.

While that might sound like a lot, when he actually wanted to accomplish something, he found it fell completely short.

His part-time career could not be put on hold, and his detective agency needed to be opened as soon as possible.

The mustache man's business was booming, and the reasons went beyond mere fame—this world had already ushered in the spring of detectives.

Once his detective rank rose, he could use his alter egos to take on troublesome cases himself, and additionally hire a few staff detectives; that should bring in a considerable amount of money.

With this thought in mind, Gao Mo leaned back against the sofa in contemplation and checked his mobile email.

Nichiuri TV had actually sent him a movie offer; the director from before wanted to collaborate with him again to shoot a new crime suspense film.

Beyond that were a few opportunities introduced by Yoko Okino's manager.

The pay for all of them started at one million yen, but the prerequisite was that he had to make his comeback under the name Higo Kamo.

Whether it was riding on past glory or something else, it certainly held strong appeal for an ordinary fading star—

He rejected them all.

"Ping!"

A new message popped up.

Gao Mo instinctively clicked on it, only to find it was a recruitment notice from Nichiuri TV.

They were all minor roles, and even mixed in with some strange things—looking for a suit actor substitute.

Not Kamen Rider; those popular roles faced fierce competition, so they wouldn't need to send messages to scout people.

They were simply short a few temporary monster suit actors.

Gao Mo shook his head and ignored it.

Putting aside whether he could even act the part, this was not the time to waste energy doing manual labor.

It would be much better to wait until his disguise ability improved further, create a dedicated actor alter ego, and start fresh from the beginning.

When that time came, he could ask Yoko for an opportunity on behalf of his alter ego.

...

Over the next few days, Gao Mo remained holed up at home reading and studying, feeling as though he had returned to the days when he was wholeheartedly preparing for graduate school entrance exams.

Oddly enough, Furuya Rei, who had occasionally popped up in the past, went completely silent as if in hiding, seemingly having not returned home for a long time.

"Ten million yen?"

On this day, Gao Mo went to Professor Agasa's house as arranged to pick up some equipment, when he suddenly received a boastful phone call from the mustache man.

Disguised as Conan's parents, the Kudo couple had handed the mustache man a hefty sum of living expenses before leaving Japan.

He had almost forgotten about that.

However, even if he wanted that money, he couldn't get his hands on it.

And he had no interest in looking after Conan anyway...

"Hahaha," Kogoro boasted proudly, "just looking after a kid casually brings in ten million, they really are generous. I reckon this is just the beginning; from now on..."

"Heh."

Gao Mo gave a dry laugh without feeling overly envious.

That ten million yen was hardly for just casual caretaking; given the timeline of this world, it probably wouldn't be long before the mustache man started complaining.

Besides, had this guy forgotten the "impish child" side of Conan?

"How about it? My treat today, want to go to Ginza to broaden your horizons?" Kogoro generously offered. "The girls over there, they speak sweetly and are so pretty..."

"Dad—!" Ran's roar sounded from the other end of the line, followed immediately by a flurry of crashing and banging.

After a good while, Kogoro lowered his voice to speak: "Let's talk another day..."

"Wait a minute, Uncle," Gao Mo interjected promptly, "can we start with the judo lessons now? My physical condition has recovered."

"Huh? Judo? You still want to learn judo?"

Kogoro hadn't expected Gao Mo to still be keen on learning judo. Glancing back at his daughter, who was wielding a feather duster, he hastily swallowed hard before replying.

"Sure, judo is great! Let's meet at the Chome Three training hall."

"Dad," Ran said, standing with hands on hips and a fierce glare, "you'd better actually go teach Mr. Kido judo, otherwise..."

"Thump—!"

The cabinet that had been replaced only recently suffered disaster once more.

"Kido," Professor Agasa handed the completed voice-changer over to Gao Mo, "what on earth are you planning to do? You mustn't do anything reckless. I only agreed because I trust you..."

"Do I look like the reckless type? Don't worry, it's just for work."

Gao Mo examined the voice-changer roughly.

The front mainly consisted of two patch components used to adjust throat vocalization, while the neckband served as the battery and fixation mechanism, complete with a specialized dial for adjusting tone.

As long as he wore clothing with a slightly higher collar, it would be easy to conceal.

He wondered if this was the later version.

"Ahem! Professor, do you have replacement batteries?"

After testing it by speaking a few words, he found the effect to be quite good.

"I have spares here, but they're only for emergencies; I'll give you the batteries another day," Professor Agasa stuffed the remaining accessories into Gao Mo's hands, "and here is the tone comparison chart I compiled earlier. Just use it as reference; you probably won't be able to mimic specific voices the way Shinichi does."

"That's fine."

Gao Mo had no need to imitate anyone else's voice.

"Thanks, Professor."