Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

Zhiyong nodded and said, "But, when we were chatting just now, I heard that Miss Atsuko committed suicide two years ago, and Miss Chikako's novel, Blue Kingdom, was a big hit and was even made into a movie. Now that I think about it, could it be that Miss Chikako plagiarized Atsuko's novel, which made Miss Atsuko unable to think straight and commit suicide?"

"What? Chikako plagiarized Atsuko's novel? How is that possible?" Hiroki Kakutani exclaimed in surprise.

"I haven't read the contents of the two books, I'm just guessing. However, now that Ms. Chikako has been murdered, I feel it's probably true. The murderer is among us, and he's doing this to avenge Atsuko."

Zhiyong sighed and said, "If only I had remembered sooner, perhaps no one would have died."

Zhiyong pretended to be compassionate and empathetic, and he almost believed that he was the savior.

"How is this possible? What about Ota Katsumi? Why was he killed? And Miss Ran, this should be the first time she's met us, why would the murderer attack her?" Hiroki Kakutani asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Perhaps he saw something he shouldn't have seen," Conan replied.

"Were they silenced?" Hiroki Kakutani asked, puzzled.

"Is the murderer really among us?" Sonoko asked doubtfully.

“That’s right, I’m now certain who the murderer is,” Zhiyong replied.

"Who is it?" Sonoko asked again.

“Mr. Takahashi, you’re the one hiding in the shadows, disguised as the bandaged monster, aren’t you?” Zhiyong said expressionlessly.

"How could I be a bandaged monster? You must have misunderstood me," Takahashi Ryoichi said innocently.

“Takahashi? How could it be him? We didn’t know when Ota was killed, but we just saw that bandaged man, and he kidnapped Chikako. Takahashi was not far from us, so he didn’t have a chance to disguise himself as the bandaged man,” Hiroki Kakutani said.

"Although Mr. Takahashi is not far from us, it's not that he couldn't do it, is it? He just set up a small mechanism to clear his name, which is why he misled you."

"A little trick?" Sonoko asked, puzzled.

"To be honest, Mr. Takahashi, your method of murder this time was really ingenious. When I thought about the past, I realized that the murderer might be among us. So I came up with a method. It was because you were on the second floor that I became suspicious of you. So I went to the second floor, which led me to discover clues and find evidence."

"What clue?" Sonoko asked, puzzled.

"Actually, the bandaged strange man we saw outside the window just now was just a dummy."

"A dummy?" Xiaolan asked curiously.

Zhiyong nodded and said, "He fixed Miss Zhijia to the mannequin, then tied two piano wires to the mannequin's head, and let one of the piano wires pass in front of the railing of the central balcony, and tied both ends of the piano wire to the railing directly above the window."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Mr. Takahashi was on the second floor just now. He cut the piano wire that was crossing the railing, and let the dummy fly past the window. He only needs to put away the bandaged dummy and Ms. Chika's body."

"Don't joke around, how could I do such a thing?" Takahashi Ryoichi said very kindly.

Ryoichi Takahashi's demeanor is so deceptive that most people would never believe he would kill someone.

“There are still traces of piano wire on the second-floor handrail. Only you, who was repairing the villa’s roof at the time, could have done that. Moreover, as the person in charge of props, making such a small mechanism would have been a very easy task for you,” Zhiyong said softly.

“But you can’t just say it was me. Chika’s body was found in the woods. I was following you guys chasing that strange man when we found Chika’s body. I didn’t touch the body at all before that,” Takahashi Ryoichi argued.

“That’s right, we all saw it too. Takahashi definitely didn’t touch the body at the time,” Hiroki Kakutani said, puzzled.

"Actually, why do you have to make this desperate struggle? Since I came out to testify against you, how could I do such a thing without evidence?"

Then Zhiyong added, "You just take her out from the back openly and follow us."

Ryoichi Takahashi retorted, "How could that be? If I were carrying a corpse, wouldn't you have noticed?"

……

Chapter 64 What isn't yours will always have to be repaid.

Zhiyong said seriously, "If it's a corpse, of course it will be discovered, but what if it's just a head?"

"Heads?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

The way they looked at Takahashi changed; they unconsciously distanced themselves from Takahashi Ryoichi.

Although it has not yet been proven that Ryoichi Takahashi is the murderer, many people are already somewhat convinced that he is.

But they hadn't expected it.

Ryoichi Takahashi is so ruthless. Killing people is already terrifying, but he can also dismember bodies.

Afterwards, I was able to sit with them as if nothing had happened.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spine just thinking about it.

“The Chikako we saw at the window just now was actually a mannequin and Chikako’s head wrapped in a cloak. The reason he dismembered Chikako was for the purpose of what we just did,” Zhiyong said.

"Sato, that bandaged guy and Mr. Takahashi are different in build. Mr. Takahashi is much fatter than the bandaged guy," Ran said, puzzled.

Everyone has recovered from the tension just now.

Now that things have calmed down a bit, they've started to defend Ryoichi Takahashi.

After all, Ryoichi Takahashi was their friend of many years.

They didn't want Takahashi Ryoichi to be the killer, even if it was for Atsuko's sake.

Hiroki Kakutani stepped forward and said, "Yes, that bandaged weirdo isn't fat at all, he's very different from Takahashi."

Ayako Suzuki comforted herself, saying, "Yes, it must be a mistake."

Zhiyong explained, "You two meet once every two years. As you mentioned before, you haven't seen each other since Ms. Atsuko passed away. That means you haven't seen each other for two years. How could any of you know if Mr. Takahashi has gotten fatter or thinner?"

“This…” Hiroki Kakutani asked, puzzled.

"He must have been preparing for this plan for two years, otherwise he wouldn't have waited until now to kill. Once he takes off his clothes, everyone will understand his true physique."

"You mean, Takahashi isn't fat at all, and his current weight is just an act?" Sonoko asked.

“That’s right, that’s why he was able to hold Miss Chikako’s head in his arms. He could take Chikako’s head out in front of us without arousing our suspicion. It seems he killed Miss Chikako outside and then brought her head back, thus completing his plan. His plan was indeed very clever,” Zhiyong sighed.

"I remember now. When I came here, I didn't know which rooms were empty, so I opened their doors randomly. They were all changing clothes, and that's when I saw Mr. Takahashi's real physique," Ran suddenly recalled.

Zhiyong glanced at Takahashi Ryo and said, "That's why Mr. Takahashi attacked Xiaolan. He was afraid that Xiaolan would remember his real body shape, so he wanted to kill her to silence her."

“Takahashi…”

Ayako Suzuki didn't know what to say.

Ryoichi Takahashi looked at Tomoyuki, his expression constantly changing.

He now knows he can't hide it anymore.

Ryoichi Takahashi said with grief and indignation, "That's right, I killed Chikako. Back then, Atsuko showed me her novel, 'The Land of Blue Sky,' saying that she hoped to become a novelist in the future. However, she suddenly hanged herself. But, after reading Chikako's 'Blue Kingdom,' I completely understood the real reason."

"Could it be that Chikako's novel, Blue Kingdom, is actually plagiarized from Atsuko's novel?" Ayako Suzuki asked.

When Zhiyong said it just now, Suzuki Ayako had already believed it to some extent.

However, deep down, Ayako Suzuki still hoped that what Tomoyuki said wasn't true.

Ayako Suzuki truly didn't want Atsuko to commit suicide because of Chikako's actions.

“Absolutely right, I’m doing this to avenge Atsuko. Atsuko showed me her novel, *Blue Kingdom*, after she finished writing it. Chikako’s debut novel, *Blue Kingdom*, is exactly the same as Atsuko’s *Blue Kingdom*, except that the characters’ names haven’t changed.” Takahashi Ryoichi roared.

"But how do you know that Atsuko committed suicide because of this?" Hiroki Kakutani asked, puzzled.

“On the day Chikako won the award, the day before Atsuko committed suicide, Atsuko called me and said she would never trust anyone again. She just didn’t say who stole her novel. But after I read Chikako’s novel, Blue Kingdom, I understood everything,” Takahashi Ryoichi said through gritted teeth.

"So, you planned to kill Ms. Chikako this time?" Zhiyong asked.

“That’s right. My original plan was to lure Chikako into the woods, but I didn’t expect that after I killed Ota, I wouldn’t be able to get her out. So, I used an excuse to enter her room, knocked her unconscious, and lowered her downstairs with a rope.”

Ryoichi Takahashi paused for a moment, then said angrily, "Then I took her into the woods and cut off her head. Who told that despicable woman to trample on Atsuko's ideals?"

After saying that, he threw out all the stuffing he had put in his arms.

"But why did you kill Ota? He was innocent after all; he didn't steal Atsuko's novel," Hiroki Kakutani asked in a deep voice.

“He accidentally saw me while I was dressing up as the bandaged monster. I told him that it was a performance I was going to put on at the party, but if I killed Chikako, he would definitely know that I killed Chikako. So, I killed him first.”

As Takahashi Ryoichi spoke, his expression had changed slightly.

Such honest people are even more terrifying when they go crazy.

“It’s all over now, and I’m going to be with Atsuko.” With that, he pulled out a knife.

"Wait a minute, Takahashi, don't do anything foolish again," Hiroki Kakutani hurriedly called out.

"Don't come any closer."

Ryoichi Takahashi brandished his knife wildly, preventing anyone from getting close.

He shouted, "I will go to another world as a messenger of justice and live with Atsuko."

Seeing that he had the opportunity, Zhiyong stepped forward, grabbed Takahashi Ryoichi's hand holding the knife, and slapped him across the face with his other hand.

“Perhaps at the beginning, you did it for Miss Atsuko, but when you killed Mr. Ota, were you doing it for her too? You were only doing it for your own selfish heart. Now you are nothing but a hideous murderous demon,” Zhiyong shouted.

For someone like Ryoichi Takahashi, whether or not he dies is irrelevant.

Now, with several beautiful women in front of him, Zhiyong naturally had to show his righteousness.

However, after Zhiyong said those words, he really began to believe that he was a man of integrity.

Perhaps it was because people told so many lies that Zhiyong came to believe them to be true.

After listening to Zhiyong's words.

Ryoichi Takahashi seemed to have no strength left. He sat on the ground, repeatedly muttering, "Atsuko, Atsuko..."

A friend's betrayal led to his death, and this tragedy turned the friend into a demon.

However, Zhiyong also discovered that he had become extremely hypocritical.

However, Zhiyong's initial actions were fake.

However, what Takahashi Ryoichi and Tomoyuki said was almost the same, which made everyone completely believe it.

I never imagined that Zhiyong was just lying.

The next day, Zhiyong and his group went down the mountain to report the incident to the police.

This incident dealt a heavy blow to Ayako Suzuki.

According to Sonoko, her sister suffered a great shock and fell into a coma after returning home.

It took a week for my health to gradually improve.

After Ayako Suzuki recovered.