Conan Rick's Investigator

Conan had been here to pick matsutake mushrooms before, so he naturally knew where they grew and could pick them easily.

The key now is that Conan wants to ask Qin Zhibo the question he wanted to ask before going to the United States.

"Uncle Qin, have you heard of the Book of the Dead?"

"Necronomicon?"

After hearing Conan's words, Qin Zhibo, who was putting on the magic extractor and preparing to cast the locating spell, was stunned for a moment. Huibara Ai, who was sitting and resting nearby, was also stunned.

This guy actually still remembers that incident...

Haibara Ai was a little surprised at Conan's persistent desire for knowledge, while Qin Zhibo shook his head.

"never heard of that……"

This answer surprised both Conan and Haibara Ai.

Because based on the various circumstances the two of them had previously learned, Qin Zhibo had every reason to know about the Book of the Dead.

A Michigan University student who is interested in the occult doesn’t even know about the most precious occult book in the Michigan University library?

This... is unbelievable!

However, what they didn't know was that Qin Zhibo had never heard of the Book of the Dead.

The "Ceremony of the Corpse-Eating Ceremony", "The Secret of the Worm", and "The King in Yellow" are quite clear...

"What is the Book of the Dead? Can you tell me, uncle?" Conan's sudden question actually aroused Qin Zhibo's interest.

Qin Zhibo suddenly asked him something seriously with a kind look, which made Conan a little uncomfortable for a while.

"Actually... I also saw it online. It said there's a mythology system called 'Old Mythology' that comes from this 'Book of the Dead'."

"An old myth?"

Qin Zhibo thought about how Conan didn't believe in these ghosts and gods before, and suddenly he wanted to know about these things. This must be related to the "Cthulhu" he mentioned recently.

"Is 'Cthulhu' also from the old mythology?"

Conan nodded and continued, "And in the last arson case, the cultists mentioned Cthugha, and that's also..."

"Oh? Is this happening?"

Qin Zhibo touched his chin, vaguely feeling that he had discovered a big melon.

If Cthugha and Cthulhu are both gods mentioned in the Necronomicon, then this Necronomicon seems to be very important to me!

"Then have you heard of the 'King in Yellow'?" Qin Zhibo asked again.

……

Not far away, Ai Haibara looked at the duo of detectives discussing the topic of mysticism with each other and felt that the scene was a bit weird.

Who has led whose worldview astray?

Chapter 528: Children Don’t Fall in Love Too Early

"The King in Yellow?"

When Qin Zhibo mentioned this word, Conan felt a sense of déjà vu.

Previously, in the residence of the president of Kana Music Company, Conan saw Qin Zhibo take away a book called "The King in Yellow".

Conan looked up at Ran Mouri who was looking for matsutake mushrooms in the forest with her three little friends not far away, and his mind recalled the experience of a year ago.

A year ago, after finishing his final exams, he took Mao Lilan to travel to New York, USA, and solved the first murder case in his life on the plane.

From then on, my life of cheating became uncontrollable...

After getting off the plane, Yukiko came to pick him and Mao Lilan up and went to the Ghost Theater on Broadway.

There, I met actress Sharon Wynyard and watched a stage play.

The name of that stage play was "The King in Yellow".

However, the play was not completed. Halfway through, the actor who played the "King in Yellow" was killed by the actress on the stage. The motive was that the actor was going to act in a movie and killed the role of the "King in Yellow".

When the actress said like a fanatic, "He clearly knew that I was deeply in love with the role of the 'King in Yellow'," everyone present was stunned.

The King in Yellow...

"Is the 'King in Yellow' you mentioned a stage play?" Conan looked up and asked after finishing his recollection.

This made Qin Zhibo feel a chill in his heart.

Conan actually knew...

"The King in Yellow" is essentially a script for a stage play. I didn't expect Conan to know this. He is a little too "knowledgeable".

However, Qin Zhibo thought about it for a moment and did not continue asking. He just shook his head indifferently.

"no……"

"I just said it casually."

Looking at Qin Zhibo's somewhat dull expression, Conan wanted to ask something, but Kojima Genta over there had already started complaining.

"This is so infuriating! The guy at the hotel said there were a lot of matsutake mushrooms growing here, but I didn't see a single one!"

Genta Kojima transformed himself into a stupid groundhog, digging hard into the soil under the roots of the tree with his hands, without considering at all that matsutake mushrooms could not grow in the soil.

Mao Lilan, on the other hand, didn't spend much effort and picked two matsutake mushrooms just by luck. Seeing that Yuan Tai was unhappy, she said gently: "Yuan Tai, how about I give these two matsutake mushrooms to you?"

"No! What's the point if I didn't find it myself!" Yuan Tai, who was both unsophisticated and ambitious, retorted, "Matsutake mushrooms rank first in autumn food value. It would be amazing to eat one I picked myself..."

At this moment, Huihara Ai, who had come over after hearing the noise, explained, "The Japanese were the first people in the world to begin appreciating matsutake. In ancient times, it was a food only enjoyed by royalty and nobles. By the Edo period, only wealthy commoners used it to show off their status, and it was called the 'divine mushroom.'"

"Legend has it that the first plant to grow out of the land destroyed by the atomic bomb was the matsutake mushroom..."

Mao Lilan beside him nodded in agreement after hearing this, "I think I saw this on TV. It's true."

Ran Mouri originally thought that she could use this opportunity to gain Ai Haibara's approval and improve her relationship with this somewhat cold child, but Ai Haibara "changed her mind".

"However, I think legends like this are just for fun. Even if the first matsutake mushroom really did grow on the land after the nuclear explosion, it wouldn't necessarily be edible. It might still contain terrible radiation..."

This high-quality rebuttal made Mitsuhiko's head tremble and he felt a little moved.

The history of matsutake mushrooms, nuclear bombs, radiation…she knows so much!

In Mitsuhiko's eyes, the already cute Haibara Ai has an added aura of knowledge.

Also looking at Haibara Ai was Qin Zhibo, but Qin Zhibo was not longing for Haibara Ai. He simply remembered that he had once swam in the sewage after a nuclear bomb explosion.

Haibara Ai seems to be studying biology, so I should find an opportunity to ask her about the specific method to confirm whether there is any exposure to nuclear radiation, which would be safer.

Conan, who is also the "God of Knowledge", did not think that the knowledge that Haibara Ai said was beyond the scope. When he turned around, he found that Mitsuhiko and Qin Zhibo were paying attention to Haibara Ai at the same time.

Conan: "..."

Qin Zhibo's expression was relatively normal, but Guangyan's was a little...

"You, you're blushing..."

Qin Zhibo turned his head and noticed that there was something wrong with Guangyan's expression.

"I didn't~" Mitsuhiko blinked and avoided the gaze embarrassedly.

Seeing this scene, Conan and Qin Zhibo both realized that the child was in love.

"It's not good to fall in love too early. Listen to your uncle and don't fall in love too early. It will affect your studies..." Qin Zhibo advised in the tone of a Chinese parent.

Conan blushed, remembering how he fell in love with Ran Mouri at first sight when they were in kindergarten.

"Ahem... Well, actually, it's okay for a child to fall in love for the first time, but it depends on who it is..."

"You're not looking at Huibara Ai, are you?"

Qin Zhibo and Conan were talking to each other like parents, which made Guangyan speechless.

"Ah! Actually, I don't have any other intentions..."

Without waiting for Mitsuhiko to argue, Conan put his hand on Mitsuhiko's shoulder and advised in a deep voice: "Mitsuhiko, listen to me, I'm not trying to throw cold water on you, but just give up on her. Huibara is definitely not someone you can pursue..."

In fact, Conan’s subtext is: Give up. If you want to pursue Haibara Ai, you must be able to deal with a long-haired man who drives a Porsche.

Qin Zhibo beside him also nodded and agreed, "Conan is right."

This 1V2 situation made Mitsuhiko a little overwhelmed.

In the distance, Haibara Ai was looking at the two people who were trying to persuade Mitsuhiko to retreat, and a big question mark appeared in her head.

Are they trying to get Mitsuhiko to join the discussion of mysticism?

……

After a while, Kojima Genta was completely tired and gave up.

Conan gave some timely scientific advice, suggesting that it is more likely to find matsutake mushrooms under red pine trees with yellow-green leaves.

Everyone immediately dispersed and took action after getting the clues, and for a while, the joyful sounds of harvest could be heard from all directions.

When everyone had almost finished picking, they gathered again and found that one person was missing. Yuan Tai, the most noisy one, was missing.

Based on the mud on the barbed wire, Conan immediately analyzed that Genta had crossed the first barbed wire and entered.

He didn't have his detective badge with him, so he couldn't communicate and had to send people out to look for him.

Qin Zhibo, who possessed the spell of finding things, wanted to take the initiative to step forward and look for it, but the problem was that the mesh of the wire mesh was too small. Adults could not step on it, and only children could climb over it.

It seems to be God's will...

In this way, the four little ones climbed to the other side of the barbed wire in groups of two and began to look for Yuantai. Qin Zhibo and Mao Lilan needed to go around to the barbed wire door to get in.

Chapter 529 Conan's High Technology

There are two barbed wire fences in this forest, and you have to jump over them to enter the hunting area.

In addition, the personnel allocation is very scientific. Conan and Ayumi are in one group, and Haibara and Mitsuhiko are in another group, which can avoid the situation where naughty children run around and cause congestion.

Qin Zhibo and Mao Li Ran first found the barbed wire door, passed through the first barbed wire, and soon found Conan and Ayumi who had already discovered Genta.

Strictly speaking, the two of them did not find Yuanta, but Yuanta appeared on his own after picking matsutake mushrooms.

Yuan Tai was holding a lot of matsutake mushrooms that far exceeded the amount he had picked. He said with a smile, "I want to help everyone pick some matsutake mushrooms, too." Then he ran to the other side without realizing it.

When Mao Lilan saw the dozens of matsutake mushrooms in Genta's arms, she forced a smile on her face, but her wallet felt a little tight.

The extra matsutake mushrooms I picked have to be purchased at market price, and I don’t know if the money I brought is enough. If not, I’ll have to borrow money from Mr. Qin…

"Okay, since everyone is fine, it's fine. The only ones missing are Huiyuan and Mitsuhiko..."

Qin Zhibo looked around and thought that as long as he could retrieve Huibara and Mitsuhiko, he could go back to the hotel and start the side quest.

On the tour bus, Qin Zhibo has been observing the interpersonal relationships of other tourists on the bus. Although he has not seen anyone with particularly "bad breath" for the time being, as long as they drink at night, someone will definitely show their true colors.

When the time comes, Ran Mouri will be responsible for screaming, I will be responsible for reasoning, and Megure will be responsible for collecting the bodies. It is also a standard procedure.

But at this time, Conan took out the detective badge and found that he could not contact Haibara and Mitsuhiko again.

"Please, it's their turn to get lost again..."

Conan was a little helpless and began to use the positioning function of his high-tech glasses to find the location where the detective badge was left.

This surprised Qin Zhibo, who was already wearing a magic extractor. He was surprised that Conan's technology was always so ahead of the times.

"Your glasses are quite advanced."

Conan was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Qin Zhibo, "This was done by Dr. Agasa..."

"Can you lend it to me, uncle?"

Conan: "-_-||...For you."

Conan could only take off his glasses and hand them to Qin Zhibo, teaching Qin Zhibo how to operate them.

Under Conan's guidance, Qin Zhibo saw a pale blue photoelectric image displayed in the left lens, which looked somewhat like the HUD system on future cars, but the luminous body was this glass lens.

There is a flashing red dot in the pale blue coordinate system, which looks somewhat like the mission location marked by the navigator.

"They are over there..."