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

Only then did everyone get a clear look at Takahashi Ryoichi's face. His eyes were wide open, and his face was filled with terror, as if he had seen something horrifying.

Hiroki Kakutani mustered his courage and stepped forward to check Ryoichi Takahashi's breath, but immediately withdrew his hand, stammering, "Takahashi, he... he's dead..."

The sudden and bizarre death sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.

Kitagawa Taki inadvertently noticed that Suzuki Ayako's squinty eyes had opened slightly, just as she turned to look at him.

Their eyes met, and Ayako Suzuki smiled slightly.

Kitagawa Taki sensed something was off; his old classmate had just died, yet he couldn't see a trace of sadness on Suzuki Ayako's face.

Considering the previous speculations, could it really be true that those with squinty eyes are all monsters?

At that moment, Ayako Suzuki suddenly asked, "Kitagawa, what do you think of Ryoichi Takahashi's death?"

Kitagawa Taki paused for a moment, then calmly said, "It's good that Takahashi Ryoichi died."

Now everyone's eyes were on Kitagawa Taki.

Hiroki Kakutani stared at Taki Kitagawa: "Mr. Kitagawa, you've gone a bit too far with your words."

Kitagawa Taki scoffed, "Too much, huh? If you knew he killed Ikeda Chikako, would you still think I'm being too much?"

Hiroki Kakutani retorted, "What? Takahashi is so fat, his body type is completely different from that bandaged monster's!"

Kitagawa Taki didn't waste any words with him. He walked up to Takahashi Ryoichi's corpse, lifted his clothes, and found bandages, a bloodstained axe, and a dummy head of a bandaged monster inside.

Now everyone present had to accept the fact that Takahashi Ryoichi was a fake fat man and that he was the bandaged monster who killed Ikeda Chikako.

Conan looked shocked. He was still wondering who the culprit was and how he managed to get an alibi, but little did he know that Kitagawa Taki had already discovered the truth.

He even wondered if he had shrunk and his intelligence had deteriorated, otherwise why did he always lose to Kitagawa Taki?

Sonoko murmured, "Why did he want to kill me? I didn't know him at all before, and we only spoke alone once. Could it be..."

Conan immediately pressed, "Sonoko-neechan, what did you say to him?"

Sonoko recounted her encounter with Ryoichi Takahashi on the balcony.

Conan had a sudden inspiration and quickly ran to the second-floor balcony to check the railing.

He understood. Ryoichi Takahashi's method involved using piano wire, inflatable dolls, and Chikako Ikeda's head to create an alibi.

Because Sonoko encountered him setting up props, he thought Sonoko had seen him, so he decided to kill him.

As for Ryoichi Takahashi's motive for killing Chikako Ikeda, it became a secret with his death.

Now Conan's doubts have all been resolved, but Takahashi Ryoichi's death was rather sudden. Judging from his appearance, it seems that he died of a heart attack caused by shock.

When Conan returned to the first floor, everyone left the dining room and went to the living room.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet.

The group sat there until dawn, when the rain stopped. Hiroki Kakutani and Masaru Ota went down the mountain to call the police.

Police heard that two people had died at a Suzuki zaibatsu villa and rushed to the scene.

Because the evidence was conclusive, the murderer was dead, and the cause of death was clearly a heart attack, the police quickly concluded their investigation.

Chapter 31 Just because it doesn't exist now doesn't mean it won't exist in the future.

Kitagawa Taki secretly dealt with Ikeda Chikako's evil spirit, otherwise, if any member of the Suzuki family came over and encountered her, they would be in big trouble.

With the help of the police, the suspension bridge was rebuilt, and everyone drove down the mountain.

Sonoko was called together by Ayako Suzuki.

Sonoko fastened her seatbelt and looked at Ayako Suzuki, asking, "Big sister, what did you want to see me about?"

"What, can't I come to you for no reason? I think you've forgotten about your sister now that you have a man!" Ayako Suzuki teased.

Sonoko retorted, "What?! Taki and I haven't even done that yet..."

Ayako Suzuki said seriously, "I didn't say Kitagawa."

Sonoko realized she had just voiced her innermost thoughts, and her face instantly turned bright red. She lowered her head shyly, clutching the hem of her dress tightly with both hands, trying to hide her embarrassment and bashfulness.

Ayako Suzuki smiled and shared her opinion of Taki Kitagawa, "Kitagawa is indeed a good person. Sonoko, you're absolutely right to praise him."

"Of course! My judgment of people goes without saying! By the way, the talisman that Taki gave me yesterday protected me!"

Speaking of this, Sonoko was no longer sleepy and even took out the amulet to show Ayako Suzuki.

Ayako Suzuki asked, "A talisman? Is it the kind that Kitagawa used to cure Uncle Tomizawa last time?"

"Yeah! But the effect should be different. When that bandaged weirdo swung his axe down, I thought I was going to die, but then a golden light appeared and blocked the axe."

As she spoke, Sonoko opened the amulet, intending to show it to Ayako Suzuki, but found that the amulet was missing.

"Hey, where did it go? I definitely put it in there."

Ayako Suzuki guessed, "It's probably disposable!"

"More importantly, Sonoko, what do you really think about Kitagawa? Unlike me, your parents would definitely agree to your free choice in a relationship."

"Big sister—" Yuanzi said coquettishly.

Ayako Suzuki chuckled lightly, "Our Sonoko is always quick and decisive, why is she being so hesitant now?"

"Does Kitagawa have another girl by his side?"

Sonoko shook her head and said, "No, Taki doesn't have any other girls around him."

Ayako Suzuki said meaningfully, "Just because it doesn't exist now doesn't mean it won't exist in the future."

Born into the Suzuki zaibatsu, she had seen far too many examples like this.

Sonoko pretended not to understand.

Ayako Suzuki shook her head; she didn't want to interfere too much in her sister's romantic relationships.

The Suzuki family has only two daughters, and she is already engaged to the son of the Tomizawa family, so Sonoko must inherit the Suzuki zaibatsu.

Logically speaking, Sonoko's future husband would definitely be a son-in-law of the Suzuki family, but if it were Kitagawa Taki, the situation would be different.

In her view, a talented and extraordinary person like Kitagawa Taki would definitely not agree to marry into the family, and there would inevitably be some twists and turns.

……

Kitagawa Taki drove Conan and Ran back to the agency. Just as he was about to rest, he received a message from Busujima Kiriko saying that the money was ready.

He replied to Kiriko Busujima and said he would pick it up tomorrow.

Arriving at the fourth floor of the office, one of the rooms was used by Kitagawa Taki to store money. A large stack of yen was neatly piled in the corner, and the smell of ink and paper emanating from the banknotes was intoxicating.

Kitagawa Taki took out several stacks and put them into the bracelet's space. He felt that he needed to open an overseas bank account, otherwise having too much cash would be a problem.

Back in his bedroom on the third floor, Kitagawa Taki began to meditate and cultivate. He felt that he was only one step away from reaching the third level of Qi Refining.

Several hours later, Kitagawa Taki had already entered the third level of Qi Refining, and the space in his bracelet had expanded again, now about the size of a regular suitcase.

After that, he began to cultivate the "Fighting" technique, a pure combat method that draws spiritual energy into the palm of the hand and releases lightning to attack the opponent.

After refining a few talismans, an afternoon had passed just like that.

Kitagawa Taki went downstairs to have dinner. He usually eats out these days. There's a Poro Cafe downstairs from the Mouri Detective Agency across the street, and an Iroha Sushi restaurant next door.

However, compared to sushi restaurants, Kitagawa Taki prefers Polo Cafe; he's okay with sushi only occasionally.

Stepping into the coffee shop, the staff member greeted me warmly, and I quickly recognized the familiar atmosphere.

"Mr. Kitagawa, what would you like to eat today?" He then asked, his voice trembling with unease.

Kitagawa Taki casually said, "Spaghetti, please!"

"Miss Zi, has your coffee shop not hired any new staff yet?"

Kitagawa Taki asked this because he remembered that Amuro Tooru, the "King of Part-Time Jobs," used to work here.

槺捐饕∫⊥罚耙膊恢牢裁次颐堑目Х鹊昊脊饷茨颜械饺恕！ �

Maybe, perhaps, it's already been reserved by the highest-paid employee?

……

The next morning.

Kitagawa Taki received ten million yen from Busujima Kiriko, who even brought out the ledger for him to inspect.

He was now completely convinced that Kiriko Busujima truly wanted to follow him.

According to Kiriko Busujima, the now unified Mud Ginseng Association is expanding its influence in all directions, including recruiting members, expanding its territory, and infiltrating the political and business circles...

Therefore, there are many places where money is needed, so there is relatively little money available to give to Kitagawa Taki.

……

Dr. Agasa's house.

Professor Agasa pulled out several gadgets at once. "Shinichi, these are the things you asked me to make for you last time, and there are two new gadgets as well."

These foot-strengthening shoes look no different from ordinary shoes, but they can greatly enhance foot strength by stimulating acupoints on the feet with electricity and magnetism.

Tracking glasses, equipped with miniature trackers and eavesdropping devices.

Solar-powered skateboards are equipped with high-performance turbine engines, but can only be used in the sun.

Conan was very satisfied and gave Professor Agasa a big thumbs up.

These power-enhancing shoes could be used to deal with criminals, but we don't know how effective they are.

Tracking glasses and solar-powered skateboards are both very useful items that can help track down criminals.

"Shinichi, have you found any clues about those men in black lately?" Professor Agasa's sudden question instantly soured Conan's mood.

Since encountering the silver-haired man in black during the last Maple Leaf Gold Coin incident, he has never encountered another man in black who resembles the Black Organization.

According to the information released by the police, there was no useful intelligence, and the man in black seemed to have disappeared without a trace along with the maple leaf gold coins.

Conan had no idea that the Black Organization he was investigating had already visited his home twice.

"Since that day, I haven't obtained any information about them." Conan looked dejected. At this rate, when would he ever get back to normal?

Conan said unwillingly, "Professor Agasa, is there really no way you can make an antidote?"

"Without a sample of the poison, it's absolutely impossible to create an antidote out of thin air," Dr. Agasa sighed.