Solving cases with Detective Conan's science? No, I'm a cultivator!

Kogoro Mouri asked in confusion, "Brother Kitagawa, how did you know that Touya Aikawa was the murderer?"

Kitagawa Taki explained, "I could tell during dinner last night that he harbored resentment towards Su Fang Hongzi."

"I see."

Kogoro Mouri was so focused on eating last night that he didn't notice any of this.

"Brother Kitagawa, what is this elastic band?" Inspector Megure asked from the side.

“I don’t know.” Kitagawa Taki shrugged. “But the blood on it should be Su Fang Hongzi’s.”

Inspector Megure examined the area carefully and indeed found bloodstains.

"Elastic band... How did Aikawa Touya manage to commit a locked-room murder..."

Kogoro Mouri pondered deeply.

Kitagawa Taki suggested, "Let's go back to Suho Akako's room and take another look."

When everyone returned to Su Fang Hongzi's bedroom, the masks scattered all over the floor had already been collected.

“Inspector, we found that some of the masks were splattered with the victim’s blood, especially this one.”

Detective Denmi took out a mask, and it was clear that the area below the eyes of the mask was almost completely covered in blood.

"Some masks have traces of blood on the mouth area."

Kogoro Mouri speculated, "Could it be that Touya Aikawa was wearing this mask when he committed the crime?"

“No, Touya Aikawa definitely did not enter this room.” Taki Kitagawa directly refuted Kogoro Mouri’s guess.

Kogoro Mouri was somewhat taken aback: "How can you kill someone if you don't go into the room?"

Kitagawa Taki didn't reply, but instead looked at Inspector Megure and asked, "Inspector, where's the murder weapon?"

Detective Denmi then took out the murder weapon.

Chapter 149 Doubt

Upon seeing the bloodstains on the hilt of the murder weapon, Kitagawa Taki's lips curled into a slight smile; just as he had guessed.

Kitagawa Taki went outside and found Shimokasa Honomi. "Honami-san, could you please find me a dagger with a small hole at the end?"

Honomi Shimokasa paused for a moment, then immediately agreed.

A short while later, Honomi Shimokasa returned with a dagger.

Inspector Megure asked curiously, "Brother Kitagawa, what's this?"

Kitagawa Taki said, "I know Aikawa Touya's method now, Inspector. You can go to the next room, and I'll demonstrate it for you."

Inspector Megure nodded blankly; how come he didn't understand anything?

After the group arrived at the next room, Kitagawa Taki first threaded the dagger onto the elastic band, and then used the elastic band to put on the mask.

He didn't wear all two hundred masks properly; he only wore a few dozen to test if it was possible.

After putting on the masks, Kitagawa Taki pulled the elastic band back and stacked the masks one by one.

The dagger stood upright due to the elastic band, pressing against the mouth of the first mask.

Inspector Megure suddenly realized: "No wonder only that mask had so much blood on it, while some masks only had blood on the mouth."

"But is this enough distance?" Kogoro Mori estimated the distance between the dagger and the bed, feeling that even if he wore all two hundred masks, he still wouldn't be able to reach the bed.

"This is an elastic band. As long as you push it with something, the dagger can extend."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Taki gave a demonstration.

"Finally, just cut the elastic band that holds the mask and dagger together."

Kitagawa Taki cut the elastic band with a single stroke, and the mask scattered on the ground with a clatter.

The people in the next room widened their eyes instantly, as this almost perfectly replicated the crime scene.

"As expected of Mr. Kitagawa! Truly amazing!"

Takagi Wataru was somewhat excited. He had only heard about Kitagawa Taki from Inspector Megure before, but now that he had seen him in person, he was sure that the reputation was well-deserved.

"Brother Takagi, I'll have to trouble you to collect these masks again."

Inspector Megure smiled and patted Wataru Takagi on the shoulder.

While Takagi Wataru was busy putting away his mask, Kitagawa Taki also came to the next room to inquire about information from Inspector Megure.

Kitagawa Taki casually asked, "Inspector, is there any progress on the Beika City Hotel case from last time?"

Inspector Megure paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No."

“We performed an autopsy on Shigehiko Tomoguchi and found an unknown toxin in his body.”

"I see."

Whether it's due to the police's poor testing capabilities or not, Kitagawa Taki is relieved, as long as they can't detect anything.

……

The case is basically solved, but the mask, which is used as evidence, needs to be taken away by the police for the time being.

Takagi Wataru arranged the two hundred masks into several stacks, while Kitagawa Taki, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, simply waved his hand and put all the masks into his bracelet space.

When Takagi Wataru turned around again, the mask was gone.

"Inspector...the mask...it's gone!"

Takagi Wataru swallowed hard and stammered.

Just as Inspector Megure was about to leave, he looked back and, as Takagi Wataru had said, all those masks had vanished.

"This……"

The bizarre phenomenon sent chills down one's spine.

The thought of the legend of the Cursed Mask sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

Kogoro Mori muttered, "Could it be that Touya Aikawa was killed by the mask?"

"Dad!" Xiaolan was a little scared by what he said.

Koizumi Akako glanced at Kitagawa Taki discreetly. She didn't know what method Kitagawa Taki had used to remove his mask in front of everyone.

Since Kitagawa Taki has already taken action, she can't remain silent.

Koizumi Akako found the twin sisters.

Because of Su Fanghongzi's death, the two sisters could no longer stay in this villa.

So Koizumi Akako didn't have to put in much effort to "coax" the two of them to her villa.

As for the whereabouts of the mask, the police searched the entire villa but found no trace of it, so the matter was left unresolved.

……

Mihana Hospital.

Conan couldn't stay a moment longer and strongly demanded to be discharged from the hospital.

"Are you sure everything's okay, Shinichi?"

Yukiko Fujimine was still a little worried, after all, it was a gunshot wound.

"It's really okay now, Mom."

Conan couldn't even remember how long he had been trying to persuade her.

He'd had enough of the smell of the hospital these past few days.

"Alright then." Yukiko Fujimine instructed, "Shinichi, now that you're discharged from the hospital, I won't be able to take care of you like this anymore. Take care of yourself."

She knew that once Conan was discharged from the hospital, he would definitely go straight back to the Mouri Detective Agency.

"Okay, I'm not a child anymore."

Fujimine Yukiko covered her mouth and laughed, "But aren't you still a child?"

"I……"

Conan was speechless. Couldn't we have a pleasant conversation? She really is his mother, always reopening old wounds like this.

Just then, Conan's phone rang.

"Dad?"

Conan answered the phone.

Yusaku Kudo got straight to the point: "Shinichi, I've made some progress on the matter of Kitagawa Taki studying abroad, which you asked me to investigate."

"What do you mean?" Conan sat up abruptly.

“There shouldn’t be any problem.” Kudo Yusaku considered for a moment and continued, “Kitagawa Taki’s life as a student in New York is very simple, almost a routine of working and going to school.”

Conan paused for a moment, then said, "I understand."

Yusaku Kudo then changed the subject, "However, there might be a problem with something. You were also in New York during that time."

"Hmm?" Conan began to recall what had happened during his time in New York.

"You remember the silver-haired serial killer? He fled to the apartment that Kitagawa Taki rented when he was being pursued by the FBI."

The silver-haired serial killer, also known as the highway demon, was someone Conan certainly remembered. During that time, the silver-haired serial killer's affairs caused quite a stir.

"But this silver-haired killer was not the real silver-haired killer. The police later found his body elsewhere. Based on the estimated time of death, he had died long before the silver-haired killer appeared."

Conan's gaze sharpened. "That silver-haired serial killer was an imposter."

"Dad, do you suspect that someone from the Black Organization is impersonating the silver-haired serial killer?" Conan asked.

Yusaku Kudo said, "Yes, because I heard that there is a person in that organization called the 'Thousand-Faced Witch,' who is said to be able to disguise herself as anyone."

Conan said in a deep voice, "So, it's very likely that Kitagawa Taki had some dealings with the Black Organization back then."

Yusaku Kudo cautioned, "Shinichi, these are just our guesses. Don't act rashly."

"Don't worry, Dad, I know."