Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

Kinoshita Goro then pointed to a painting and said, "About four hundred years ago, a group of defeated naval soldiers escaped to this island. Unexpectedly, the island's inhabitants, blinded by the bounty on their heads, attacked them. In the end, they were chased into a cave on the side of the island and were all killed."

"People die for wealth, birds die for food. Human nature is selfish. In those days, it was normal to fight for a reward. There was no right or wrong. It was just a matter of the winner taking all and the loser being condemned." Zhi Yong said calmly.

Conan's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this, and he asked again, "And then what happened?"

“Since then, one ominous thing after another has happened on this island,” Kinoshita Goro sighed.

"Is it because of the ghosts of the Navy?" Conan asked.

"So we set up a shrine inside the cave, hoping to appease the souls of these fallen naval soldiers," Kinoshita Goro replied.

"That's probably not true, it's just people's imaginations," Conan replied.

"No, that should be true, because later in the forest, people often saw ghosts wearing navy armor wandering around, and from time to time, chilling wails could be heard coming from the navy's caves," said Kinoshita Goro.

"Could it just be people's hallucinations?" Zhiyong asked.

"It shouldn't be. Five years ago, a group of university professors came to this island to conduct research. They didn't ask the island's residents beforehand and went directly into the navy's cave to investigate. However, just two or three nights later, the ghosts of the navy attacked those professors," Kinoshita Goro replied.

"Are all those professors dead?" Conan asked.

"I don't know, because we haven't seen them since. That's why no one dares to go near the naval cave now," Kinoshita Goro said, shaking his head.

After the visit, Takeo Mikami treated Kogoro Mouri and the others to lunch.

During the meal, Takeo Mikami politely kept urging him to drink, and when they were almost finished eating...

Takeo Mikami got straight to the point: "Mr. Mori, after the speech, I would like to trouble you to do something for me."

"I knew it. You invited me to give this speech just to cover your tracks. You want me to lead you to the location where the Ryujin sank, right?" Kogoro Mouri glanced at him and said.

"As expected of a renowned detective, I really do need your help. The Ryujin sank near that island back then. Once we know the location, we'll definitely be able to find those missing gold nuggets," Takeo Mikami said with a smile.

“Even if those gold nuggets are found, they will belong to the country and will not benefit you in any way. Why bother wasting your energy on this?” Kogoro Mouri shook his head and said.

“Although the government will take it away, isn’t there still one-tenth of the funds left for the local area? We need a lot of funds to develop our island, so I’m entrusting this matter to you, Mr. Mori,” said Takeo Mikami.

"This... no, I'm a famous detective, how could I do something like treasure hunting?" Kogoro Mouri shook his head vigorously.

“Your reward will be one-tenth of the funds our island receives,” Mikami Takeo tempted.

"Okay, it's settled then." Kogoro Mouri quickly agreed.

Just a moment ago they were so steadfast and unyielding, but now they've changed completely.

Kogoro Mouri's ability to change his expression so quickly is truly astonishing, even for Zhiyong.

Takeo Mikami turned to Goro Kinoshita, who was drinking with him, and said, "Kinoshita, explain the situation to Mr. Mori."

Kinoshita Goro cleared his throat and said, "The incident happened seven years ago on a typhoon night. About one kilometer offshore from our island, the Ryujin had a problem with its hull and sent out a distress signal. When we went out to sea to rescue it, the distress signal was cut off. The next day, we found the ship owner's body on the shore."

"Who owns those gold nuggets?" Kogoro Mouri asked, puzzled.

"It was the deceased ship owner. He was about to be arrested for tax evasion, so he converted all his assets into gold bars. On that typhoon night, he was preparing to sail the Ryujin to a foreign country, but he didn't expect to encounter an accident," Kinoshita Goro explained.

"Alright, I understand now. I have no more questions. Rest assured, with me, Kogoro Mouri, in charge, I will definitely find those gold nuggets," Kogoro Mouri boasted.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Detective Mori," Takeo Mikami said with a smile.

The meal was a pleasant one for both the host and guests.

Kogoro Mouri was already drunk. Looking at him like this, Zhiyong doubted whether he could really go on stage to give a speech.

However, Zhiyong doesn't care whether Kogoro Mouri can give his speech smoothly right now.

He now wants to find the location of the cave haunted by the ghosts of the navy.

While everyone's attention was on Kogoro Mouri, Zhiyong quietly left and arrived at the lighthouse.

The lighthouse is the highest point on the island, offering panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

At the lighthouse, Zhiyong saw a telescope with the words "Dragon God" written on it.

Following the direction of the telescope, Zhiyong saw the cave haunted by the spirits of the fallen navy.

Remembering that the gold was inside that cave, Zhiyong also observed the path leading to the cave.

Zhiyong didn't have much time.

If this goes on for too long, Conan will become suspicious.

Zhiyong changed his riding boots and clothes, put on gloves and a hat, covering his whole body, and then quickly became invisible.

Following the route he had chosen, Zhiyong quickly arrived at the cave haunted by the spirits of the naval vengeful spirits.

……

Chapter 67 The Real Treasure

After observing his surroundings and finding no one else, Zhiyong entered the cave.

Inside the cave, there was a faint candlelight.

Zhiyong walked for a while in the cave and saw an altar with several candles lit on it.

Suddenly, a series of ghostly wails startled Zhiyong.

"Damn, that sound is truly terrifying."

Fortunately, Zhiyong knew that it was just the wind blowing into the cave from the cracks in the rocks, causing a resonance inside the cave.

Otherwise, Zhiyong would really have turned and run away.

The cave was indeed quite cold and damp, probably because it was connected to the sea.

The roar of the naval ghosts is merely a product of past ignorance.

Even if ghosts did appear in this place, they couldn't possibly survive for hundreds of years.

Zhiyong pushed aside the altar, revealing another hole.

After descending a few steps, he noticed that the steps beneath his feet were somewhat unstable, and he realized that these were the gold nuggets disguised as steps.

Zhiyong shone his flashlight around and then retreated back to the cave entrance, utilizing the space's spatial functions.

In just a few minutes, Zhiyong had stored all the gold nuggets into his spatial storage.

Wisdom and courage are aided by space.

If we let him carry it himself, it would probably take a long time.

Zhiyong came here to collect gold.

Zhiyong looked up the steps again, but found no more gold, so he prepared to leave the cave.

At that moment, Avril suddenly spoke up: "The space has the materials it needs."

"What?" Zhiyong asked in surprise.

He never expected to meet him here, which made him extremely excited.

Holding a flashlight, Zhiyong followed Avril's directions and went down to the cave wall on his left.

Zhiyong asked curiously, "Could that thing be buried here?"

Avril replied, "There's another cave about five centimeters behind this cave wall, and the thing is inside that cave."

Zhiyong touched the cave wall with his hand after hearing this.

Damn, this is a rock. Even if it's only five centimeters long, it's still not easy to handle.

Fortunately, he had prepared various tools in his space. He took out a large iron hammer and started smashing it against the cave wall.

Three minutes later, Zhiyong smashed through the cave wall and widened the entrance so that one person could fit inside.

Zhiyong took out a gas mask and put it on.

He took out his flashlight again and shone it into the cave.

The cave wasn't large, but there were dozens of skeletons lying haphazardly on the ground, along with quite a few samurai swords.

However, these knives all look rusty.

Inside the innermost part, there were more than a dozen boxes, one of which was broken, revealing a lot of jewelry.

Zhiyong looked around again and thankfully didn't see any snakes or insects inside.

He certainly didn't want to lose his life here for these treasures.

Zhi Yong climbed into the cave.

He put all the knives on the ground into his spatial storage, as well as the boxes and the jewels that had fallen out.

Now is not the time to look at these things.

Zhiyong circled the cave again but didn't see anything else, so he left.

They simply covered up the hole they had smashed open earlier.

The location is quite hidden; unless you observe very carefully, you won't be able to find the entrance.

After returning to the cave entrance above, the altar for offerings was restored.

Not many people can notice this place yet.

Zhiyong remembered that tomorrow this naval cave would sink into the sea, and at that time, everything here would become a secret.

He left the naval cave and quickly made his way to the vicinity of the hotel.

Zhiyong hurriedly entered the space and used the clean water stored inside to quickly wash himself.

After changing back into the clothes she had worn when she arrived, she left the space again.

When Zhiyong returned to the hotel, he heard that Kogoro Mouri had also returned and was injured.

When Kogoro Mouri pulled back the colorful balloons on stage during his speech, a huge fireball fell from inside, and he almost became roasted pig.

He was lucky, though, because he was pulling the colored ball.

Because he was drunk and unsteady on his feet, he took a few steps forward after pulling the ball, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

Therefore, when the fireball fell, it only burned his buttocks.

At this moment, Zhiyong suddenly remembered that there was indeed such a thing, but he had only been thinking about the gold and had overlooked it.

What a sin, what a sin.