Conan Rick's Investigator

When the task appeared, Qin Zhibo thought of who the murderer was without hesitation.

If the person living in the west room killed Su Fang Hongzi, there would be no need for him to crawl into the ventilation duct.

So it could only be that there was someone else besides me who crawled through the ventilation duct in the east room...

Chapter 405 True and False Face

In the dim bedroom where masks were scattered, Conan carefully avoided one mask after another on the ground, looking everywhere for clues that could be used for reasoning.

But if possible, Conan now hopes that someone can turn on the lights at the murder scene.

Conan can turn on the light himself, but he needs to stand on a chair.

If he accidentally alarmed Kogoro Mouri when he turned on the light, he might be "invited" to the murder scene again.

Who will turn on the light?

Conan was screaming in his heart, but Qin Zhibo and Maori Kogoro had no intention of turning on the lights at all.

Qin Zhibo even stopped in the middle of the room, looking around mechanically.

No matter how good your observation skills are, you can't use them like this, right?

What clues can be found in such a dark situation?

At this moment, the twin maids in the corridor saw the masks scattered around the room and exclaimed, "This is a curse! It must be the curse of the masks!"

"The teacher was killed by the curse of these masks!"

The two maids who were members of the atmosphere group looked extremely frightened. They squatted on the ground and hugged each other pitifully.

But what they should consider more now is that they are unemployed again...

Standing behind, Nagara Haruka took out card number 13, Death, from his pajamas pocket.

Just as Koizumi Akako said when she first came to the villa, someone will die on this journey.

But it wasn't me who died.

Koizumi Hongzi, who was standing by, also saw the Death Card in Nagara Haruka's hand and was a little surprised.

The deceased was not her...

……

Inside the room, Qin Zhibo looked around the dim surroundings and quickly found all the investigation points.

【Survey√】

[Some masks have a lot of blood on their mouths]

【Survey√】

[The bloodstains on the dagger are very special. If you hold the dagger in your hand, there will be no bloodstains on your hand.]

【Survey√】

[A sealed door faces the bed, which is a big taboo in feng shui]

Qin Zhibo stood there without moving and found all the available clues in the room.

[Has the investigation of all investigation points at the crime scene been completed? Will a scene reconstruction be conducted?]

【Re-enactment√】

The reenactment began, but Qin Zhibo did not see "Xiao Hei" in the room.

Where did "Xiao Hei" go?

Is it because it’s too dark here that “Little Black” hid?

Qin Zhibo walked to the door and turned on the light in the room, but still did not see "Xiao Hei" in the room.

Conan, who was searching for clues, suddenly saw his vision brighten up and immediately gave Qin Zhibo a look of gratitude.

Listen to me, thank you, because of you, you illuminated the murder scene...

At this time, Qin Zhibo remembered that the investigation point just now mentioned a sealed room door. Could it be that "Xiao Hei" was on the other side?

Qin Zhibo walked out of the room and went into the bedroom next door according to the structure of the house. Sure enough, he saw "Xiao Hei" who was "working hard".

"Xiao Hei" was seen hanging in the air, throwing things into Su Fang Hongzi's bedroom along the lattice board on the door.

[Fast forward] After a highly repetitive preparation process, "Xiao Hei" pulled something tight with the posture of a boatman, and then used the object in his hand to push it.

After you're done, cut it off.

[End of reenactment]

……

No matter whether it is windy or rainy, as long as it is within his jurisdiction and the road is not damaged, Inspector Megure will arrive "instantly".

"It's you again..."

Seeing the professional team, Inspector Megure smiled with a half-moon look as if he was used to it.

After experiencing so many cases, Inspector Megure has vaguely felt that Qin Zhibo has some of the characteristics of the "God of Death".

Brother Qin has been infected...

As for why it is "infected" instead of "infected", it is because when Brother Qin was away, the Maori family never stopped encountering murders.

"How should I put it... maybe the case is calling me, a famous detective..."

Maori Kogoro was about to speak, but Inspector Megure quickly raised his hand to interrupt him, "Just tell me the case."

"Yes! Officer Megure, the case is like this..."

Kogoro Mouri began to explain the case to Inspector Megure, while Tomohiro Qin stood not far away and listened.

At this time, Koizumi Hongzi came over and stood beside Qin Zhibo and whispered, "This eucalyptus is really the curse of the mask, right?"

"One of the bedroom's two doors was completely sealed, and the other had two locks. There were no signs of being damaged."

"In this case, there's no way a human could get in. Except for a mask, someone could get out through the latticework above that sealed door..."

After listening to Koizumi Hongzi's analysis, Qin Zhibo couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Ning is the famous detective - Koizumi Akako?

However, Koizumi Hongzi analyzed the case from a magical perspective, but in reality...

"This case has nothing to do with a curse, it's man-made."

"I know the murderer and his methods, but I still lack conclusive evidence."

"And if we solve the case now, the police will take the masks away as evidence, and we won't be able to get the 'Pale Mask'."

According to the criminal evidence retention period in this world, it would take at least a week to retrieve the evidence through connections, and by that time the mission would have already expired.

So Qin Zhibo must now find a way to find the only pale mask among the two hundred masks of Xiaobul.

This is just the first step. After finding the mask, how to get it is also a problem.

Qin Zhibo's original plan was to use Koizumi Hongzi's magic to find the "Pale Mask", and then use the commission contract signed with Sufang Hongzi to get the mask he wanted in a fair and honest way.

But unexpectedly, now that Sufang Hongzi is dead, even all the Xiaobul masks have become physical evidence.

Conan... so unlucky!

Qin Zhibo attributed everything to Conan.

Koizumi Hongzi looked at Qin Zhibo with a look of disbelief on her face.

In Jianggutian Town where Koizumi Hongzi lives, there are relatively few homicides. Thefts and economic crimes are the most common types of crimes here, and local detectives are also quite proficient in catching thieves.

This was the first time she had witnessed a case being solved so quickly.

No, it was the same last time at the Rice Flower Shrine...

Huh? Why does it feel like that incident happened ages ago? It was only a little over two weeks ago...

Koizumi Akako fell into doubt about her understanding of time, but Qin Zhibo turned his gaze again to the Xiaobul Mask in the room.

The Noto forensic officer wearing white gloves was picking up the blood-stained mask on the ground and preparing to take it for testing.

These Xiaobul masks are not only works of art, but also antiques with a history of hundreds of years, and can be regarded as antique works of art.

If it is an antique work of art, will anyone clean off the blood stains left on it due to historical reasons?

Qin Zhibo remembered that there was a report on TV about Sakamoto Ryoma's three treasures. One of the treasures was a wine glass stained with Ryoma's blood when he was assassinated. The mottled bloodstains still remained on it.

It is the preservation of that trace of blood that proves the historical value of this wine glass.

However, the surfaces of all the Xiaobul masks collected by Sufang Hongzi were smooth, and no bloodstains could be seen on them before they encountered a murder.

The legend at the time was that Xiaobul committed suicide among these masks, as if the masks were sucking his blood.

This is why the cursed masks got their name. After obtaining these masks, there is no reason for any collector to clean off the bloodstains that prove their historical value.

Judging from this, there is only one possibility...

These Xiaobul masks are actually real "fake" masks!

Chapter 406: It’s better to exclude than to reason…

Thinking about this, Qin Zhibo walked over to the Noto forensic officer and asked, "Excuse me, can you detect bloodstains from over a hundred years ago?"

After a few seconds of silence, Forensic Officer Nouden shook his head helplessly, "I'm just an ordinary forensic examiner, not a scientist..."

"Okay, excuse me for interrupting you, please continue working."

In order to further prove his guess, Qin Zhibo wanted to see if he could use scientific means, but unfortunately, Inspector Megure's men were not scientific enough.

However, if Sufang Hongzi wants to forge this batch of Xiaobul masks, she must not be the only one who knows about it, and she must need the help of others.

In that case, the only one left is her secretary.

……

Qin Zhibo called his secretary aside and asked directly, "Ms. Inaba, I'd like to know if all the Xiaobul masks in Ms. Sufang's collection are fake?"

After hearing Qin Zhibo's words, the secretary was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile. "How is that possible? Those cursed masks are genuine. Otherwise, the teacher wouldn't have died tragically under the curse..."

The secretary's eyes were wandering when she said this, and even without using psychology to interpret it, you could tell she was lying.

"Ms. Inaba, your lying skills are not very good at all."

"Perhaps Ms. Su Fang chose you as her secretary because she saw this in you, because you can't deceive her."

"But..." Qin Zhibo's tone suddenly changed, and he became serious. "Your charity gala was fake. It's not easy for you to deny this, right?"

"Ah!" The secretary looked surprised. "Absolutely not!"

Qin Zhibo ignored him and continued, "Actually, the reason I suddenly want to attend your charity gala is because someone asked me to investigate the fact that you embezzled all the donations for the charity gala."

"As long as I ask Inspector Megure to investigate Ms. Soho Kouko's financial situation, we'll know everything. You won't be able to deny it."

Under Qin Zhibo's righteous words, the secretary still wanted to defend herself, but she really couldn't think of any good excuse, so she could only admit it.

"It was the teacher who was making money under the guise of charity. I was just assisting her..."

"I'm just an employee, what can I do? I'm just an employee..." the secretary began to mutter.

"Accomplices are also criminals, but I haven't told the police about this yet. If you turn yourself in now, I believe you won't be in jail for too long."

Looking at Qin Zhibo's serious face, the secretary's eyes were somewhat touched, "Thank you..."

"Can you tell me about Xiaobul's mask now?" Qin Zhibo asked.

"Oh, um..." the secretary explained, "Actually, Teacher Su Fang does have a cursed mask of Xiao Buer, but it's the only one."

"To satisfy his vanity, the teacher hired an engraver to create 1 1:200 replicas of the original masks. These are the 200 masks in the Mask Hall..."

Qin Zhibo nodded, things turned out just as he expected.

"Where is the only authentic one?" Qin Zhibo asked again.

"The original is locked in the safe in the teacher's lounge and is never taken out for display..."