No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Kitahara Masaki picked up a piece of paper from the ground, on which was written: "My curse has now come true."

Upon hearing this, the two maids clasped their hands together, knelt on the ground, and trembled as they said it was the curse of the Mask of Shambles.

Even the other guests were quite frightened.

Only Kitahara Masaki and Conan stood amidst the pile of masks, looking at the deceased with their eyes closed.

"It seems she took sleeping pills, otherwise there would be signs of struggle, and her eyes should be wide open."

"Then the murderer only needed to use some method to stab her neck with the dagger. Judging from the scene, it should have been done with the help of Sheubull's mask."

"There are two doors in this room. One is the main door we just came in through, but that door is completely locked. In addition to the lock that comes with the door, there is also a padlock. The other side door leads to the next room, but the second door is sealed with nails. Judging from the marks, it has been sealed for more than half a year."

"In other words, the murderer couldn't have entered the room through the side door; they could only have entered through the front door. However, the front door needs to be locked with two locks. If it's a simple turn lock, you can use something like a fishing line to lock it from the outside. But if it's a padlock, you need a key to lock it..."

"The murderer doesn't necessarily have to enter the room through the front door to kill the victim. Isn't there a partition like a Venetian blind at the side door? Maybe he could get through there."

Kitahara Masaki and Conan were whispering to each other, which to others seemed like they were plotting some unknown conspiracy. As a result, the two of them ran to the bedroom behind the side door next door.

From the adjacent bedroom, Kitahara Masaki pushed the sealed door and found it was indeed nailed shut, with no possibility of opening it.

Then they looked at the louvers above the side door. Each panel was so close together that you couldn't even stretch an arm through. And the panels were tightly fitted together, showing no signs of having been removed.

"Kitahara-kun, do you think the murderer committed the crime using these small spaces?"

"Don't you think there's something wrong with those masks? Except for one mask which was almost entirely covered in blood, the others only had a little bit of blood on them at most. And the dagger that killed the victim was also like that. If a person had held it to kill someone, the dagger's handle shouldn't have been covered in so much blood."

Conan was lying on the blinds, and through the gaps between the blinds, he could vaguely see the victim lying on the bed. It could be said that the side door was directly opposite the bed.

Ah!

Oh, I see!

Conan turned to look at Kitahara Masaki and said:

"Brother Kitahara, I know the killer's method now. He never even went into the victim's room. He committed the crime using Xiao Bu'er's mask!"

Ok……

Kitahara Masaki nodded, but it seems something is still missing.

As Kitahara Masaki took out Holmes' magnifying glass to examine the evidence that could prove the murderer had committed the crime, Inspector Megure arrived with Takagi and the others. Upon seeing Kitahara Masaki, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. After all, they were on a call in the middle of the night, and without Kitahara Masaki, they probably wouldn't have been able to catch the real culprit until the next day.

"Brother Kitahara! Do you know who the real culprit is?"

"It's not that fast. This criminal is pretty good. This method of committing a crime doesn't require worrying about blood splattering or recovering the murder weapon afterward. Plus, there's a funny horror story to explain everything."

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Kitahara Masaki squatted down and said to Conan:

"You should use Uncle Mori's reasoning to at least tell everyone what the murderer's method was, and see if anyone will slip up."

"I understand. Kitahara-kun, now you can go find the evidence while I'm distracting everyone."

"You're a good kid. I'll take you out for a nice meal later."

After that, Kitahara Masaki went to look for evidence, since there was currently no way to prove the identity of the murderer.

Conan then began his traditional anesthesia techniques, and then used voice-changing technology to impersonate Uncle Mori to explain the methods of the crime.

"Oh, so it was Mori who came up with this idea first this time?"

"Yes, Mr. Mori is already in the zone. It seems that Kitahara-senpai won't have a chance to appear this time."

Conan chuckled. Since there was no evidence available at this stage, he had to draw attention to himself.

"Takagi, come here and do as I say."

Poor Takagi has turned back into Conan's underling.

"Takagi, find a long enough elastic band first."

“Yes, Mr. Mori.”

“Then the elastic band was threaded through the two hundred masks and a dagger, which was to be used as a murder weapon, was tied to one end.”

Shaubur's mask was carved with gaps in the eyes and mouth, making him look like a smiling person without a nose, but somewhat eerie.

"Do you want both hundred masks?"

"Yes, we can't recreate the scene without doing it this way."

The silent Takagi then strung the eerie masks together one by one, like stringing beads. However, after looking at these masks that looked almost identical for a long time, Takagi couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine.

"Alright, Mr. Mori!"

After a full half hour, Takagi finally strung together the two hundred masks.

“Okay, then throw the dagger into the victim’s room first, followed by the mask.”

Because the gap in the partition on the door was only big enough for one mask to pass through, Takagi had to throw them into the next room one by one.

"All right!"

Ten minutes later, all two hundred masks were finally placed in the next room.

“Very good, let’s continue. Takagi, just slowly apply force and tighten the elastic band. Once you’ve stretched the two hundred masks into a row, they can be pulled together!”

As a hardworking and conscientious police officer, Takagi used all his strength and finally managed to pull up the two hundred masks.

"I can't hold on much longer..."

Officer Takagi, are you sure you can handle this?

Chapter 120 A Murder Method That Will Make You Lose Your Mind

"Please consider this: if each mask is 1.5 centimeters thick, then all 200 masks stacked together would be at least 3 meters long. And the victim was sleeping in bed, about 3.5 meters away from the Venetian blinds..."

At this moment, Takagi pulled hard on the elastic band with both hands, and the two hundred masks were stacked one after another. After the elastic band was tightened, the two hundred masks stretched out from the partition like a giant centipede, and the mouth of the mask at the front had a straightened dagger in it.

"This...this is too..."

No one present expected that such a locked-room crime could be accomplished by using a mask; it was a method that no ordinary person could come up with!

Adding to the length of the dagger, the tip of the straightened dagger was now aimed directly at the victim's neck, only a few centimeters apart. The stacked masks were strung together by the elastic bands passing through them, but because Takagi's hand was trembling slightly, it looked as if the centipede formed by the masks was shaking up and down, and the dagger was like a snake's forked tongue. This horrifying scene made everyone's hearts pound, but this was the process of revealing the truth, and they were also very curious about how Miss Su Fang was killed.

It's fair to say that the audience experienced both pain and pleasure.

However, Takagi was completely wearing a mask of pain, because Conan said:

"Officer Takagi, next, please hold the elastic band with one hand and take out a small wooden stick with the other hand. Push it behind the mask, and the last few centimeters will be eliminated. The dagger will then be inserted into Ms. Su Fang's neck. What happened next was just like what we experienced. After being awakened by the internal phone call, we heard Ms. Su Fang scream."

"By the way, Mr. Mori, after I heard the scream, I also heard a sound like a lot of things falling to the ground."

"Hehe, after the murderer used this method to commit the crime, he couldn't retrieve the mask that was stuck in another room, so he took out a small knife and cut the elastic band directly. Then the mask, which was originally taut, would naturally fall everywhere because the force holding it down disappeared. After doing all this, the scene we finally saw was created in this way. By the way, the letter left at the scene was also slipped through the blinds above the door."

However, even after Conan finished recounting the entire crime, Takagi remained silent.

"Brother Takagi! What's wrong?"

"Ah! Inspector Megure, and Mr. Mori, when I tried to hold the elastic band with one hand, I realized I couldn't hold it at all!"

"What! I'll give it a try. We were right at the last step, how did you manage to mess up?"

When Inspector Megure went to the next room, he realized that he couldn't hold the elastic band with one hand as soon as he tried to pull it up. Because of the stacking of masks, the strength required to pull up two hundred masks was far beyond what one hand could handle.

"Brother Mori, there's something wrong with your technique! You can't do that with one hand at all!"

After hearing Inspector Megure's words, Conan understood that the only way to bring the culprit to justice was to rely on Kitahara Masaki to find the evidence that could be driven without human intervention as soon as possible.

"Inspector Megure, try using this."

Just when everyone thought this amazing and surprising method was impossible, they suddenly heard a sound coming from some kind of electronic device in the next room. Upon hearing this sound, someone in the room suddenly trembled, which was naturally noticed by the sharp-eyed Conan.

Afterwards, after using that electronic device, the dagger was plunged into the neck of the dummy used for the experiment. Then the snapped elastic band was pulled back, and the scattered masks bounced everywhere, making it look exactly like a crime scene.

"Yes, the only limitation of this method is that it's impossible for a person to lift so many masks with one hand. However, after using a special electric reel, there will naturally be no more trouble caused by manpower. While I was making my deductions, Inspector Kitahara went to look for the key evidence, which is this electric reel that can free up your hands. I think there should be the murderer's fingerprints on it. The fact that such a special reel was found here can be considered irrefutable evidence! Mr. Aikawa Touya!"

what!

All the guests stared at the rock singer in disbelief; he was the one who had killed his adoptive mother!

"I……"

"Stop making excuses. This electric reel was found in your room, and your fingerprints were found on it. So whatever you say will only sound like a lie... In that case, why don't you tell us your motive? Didn't Miss Su Fang adopt you after you lost your parents in a car accident?"

Kitahara Masaki only said a few words, but it made Ai Kawai Touya kneel down and cry out in anguish:

“That woman! She only adopted me because she was afraid that one day her crimes would be exposed! She's the one who killed my parents! After the hit-and-run, she used her connections in the entertainment industry to get in touch with people in the police station and get the traffic surveillance footage that could identify her deleted. A retired traffic policeman told me all this through a letter! If he hadn't had a change of heart and couldn't bear the torment of his conscience, he wouldn't have told me what his superior had done. I would have thought that woman was my second parent for the rest of my life!”

Those who heard it wept, those who saw it were heartbroken, but Kitahara Masaki never bothered to waste time on such useless matters. He asked directly:

“If you trust me, you can give me that letter, and I will definitely give your parents justice.”

Looking at Kitahara Maki, Aikawa Touya shook his head and said:

“I never thought I could escape Mr. Mori and Inspector Kitahara’s eyes. I was already certain that you would find clues to confirm that I was the murderer, so I handed over the recording of my confession and the letters to the reporter of Ming Diao News…”

This is a huge mess!

Upon hearing this news, both Kitahara Masaki and Inspector Megure immediately had the same thought: this unexpected turn of events, which gave the media an excellent target, was exactly what all police officers feared most. It was a terrible feeling to have to share the blame when it had nothing to do with them. However, they wouldn't have their salaries deducted because of this, since they were, after all, civil servants.

"Ahem, Mr. Lan Chuan, why don't you come back to the police station with us first?"

If we get stuck here with the media, I don't know when we'll be able to go back.

As soon as the villa door opened, blinding flashes of light and thunderous questions were directed at Kitahara Masaki, causing him to involuntarily take two steps back.

However, upon seeing that even TV presenter Rena Mizunashi had come, Masaki Kitahara could only sigh that it wasn't easy for anyone to be a working person.

Chapter 121 A Balance Between Work and Rest

"As soon as I got back, you made me go mushroom picking?"

Seeing that Vermouth had taken precautions against mosquitoes and sunburn, Kitahara Masaki nodded and replied:

"Eating more mushrooms is good; they can effectively prevent Alzheimer's disease."

Vermouth's fists clenched at the blatant implication, but remembering that she was still in front of her child, she continued to play the role of a rich girl who was infatuated with the handsome police officer.

"Oh, is that so? I really didn't know. And shouldn't you still have a job? How come you're so free now that you can pick mushrooms with these kids?"

Three days have passed since the case of Cursed Mask - Landry's torture was closed. On the first day of the case's closure, Kitahara Masaki used the "illness escape" excuse, saying that he had suffered from endocrine disorders due to too much stress and needed several days to recover his energy, so he needed a vacation of several days.

Even though the police chiefs fully understood what he meant, they could only approve it. Basically, no one felt anything was wrong with his behavior of solving cases and then leaving.