Conan Rick's Investigator

At the door of Zhibo Detective Agency, Qin Zhibo returned driving a Mustang convertible brought back by a tow truck.

I had dinner with Conan and others, but didn't encounter any murder as expected.

Now all he needs is the reward for a side quest to redeem the last store item of the week, the [Starry Sky Fishing Rod]. It's normal for Qin Zhibo to be a little anxious.

But this last case has not appeared for a long time. Either there is no death, or it is related to voodoo.

Fortunately, after surviving the disaster, he found the clue again.

It is the book "African Wanderings" in my hand.

When I returned to the office, Toru Amuro was not there.

Toru Amuro is a good employee. If he needs to be absent from work, he will definitely call in advance.

The fact that no call was received in this regard means that Toru Amuro is out handling a commission.

On the day he was away, Qin Zhibo discovered that there were two rows of gray fabric sofas and a glass coffee table in the office.

This should be the furniture delivered by Cheetah Home Express while I was away.

The furniture was all ordered from department stores.

Qin Zhibo didn’t know how much time had passed in their concept of time, but for Qin Zhibo, this delivery speed should not be called a cheetah, but a seal.

As we all know, seals cannot run fast on land.

Qin Zhibo sat on the new sofa and tried it out. Apart from the "new" smell that had just come out of the factory, it was quite comfortable.

Putting the author's signed copy of "African Wanderings" on the coffee table, Qin Zhibo began

Chapter 671: The Fantasy Adventure of Kinoshita

Qin Zhibo sat on the sofa, reading the book in his hand.

Although Editor-in-Chief Iwata had recommended that he read it, Qin Zhibo didn't want to spend too much time on becoming a writer, so he didn't read it.

Before officially reading the book, Qin Zhibo read some editorial recommendations on the back of the book cover.

"African Wanderings" is a travelogue that tells what Tomonori Kinoshita saw and heard in Africa.

However, unlike traditional travel books, this book combines reality and fiction, integrating local customs and culture with fictional travel stories.

Magical and bizarre characters and plots, as well as various supernatural phenomena, are inserted into narratives and descriptions that reflect reality.

It transforms the mysterious African continent into a modern myth, with both bizarre fantasy atmosphere and realistic plots and scenes, where reality and illusion are mixed and it is difficult to distinguish between humans and gods.

It has a flavor of magical realism and is therefore popular among readers.

……

The above are comments from editors and the media. They do sound different from other boring travel books and are likely to arouse people's interest.

Start

The first chapter of the book is narrated in the first person, telling the story of the protagonist, Tomonori Kinoshita himself, who is the heir to a large company.

One day, his mother fell seriously ill. No matter how many major hospitals she went to for examination, no physical abnormalities were detected.

The only thing that caught his attention was a red pattern behind his mother's shoulder that looked like a human mouth, teeth, and tongue.

So, Tomonori Kinoshita began to look for information about the pattern in various books and consulted a professor at Touto University, and finally got information about the pattern.

It originated from the distant African continent and is a special pattern used by the Kenyan people in Africa during sacrifices.

Kenyans will tattoo this pattern on people to symbolize "the person destined by heaven."

In order to solve this mystery, "Tomonori Kinoshita" embarked on a thousand-mile journey to save his mother and headed to the mysterious African continent.

……

Qin Zhibo was not sure whether this story was true or not, but he always felt that the plot was somewhat familiar.

However, there are more cultural works in later generations, so it is normal to have similar plots.

……

Tomonori Kinoshita traveled around the world, took a ship from the Gulf of Aden, passed through the waters where pirates were rampant, and finally arrived in Africa.

The first country he settled in was Ethiopia, which was not considered a wealthy country in the barren African land.

The dry air and scorching sun weakened his body, and he fell ill as soon as he arrived in the Egyptian capital due to unfamiliar climate.

There was no other way, he could only recuperate in a small clinic here and wait for his body to adapt to the African land before setting off again.

In a tavern in Addis Ababa, he tasted a local specialty, a honey wine called Tej.

This is brewed from honey, water, and a plant called gesho. It is golden in color, has a thick and long taste, and is served in a special container with a big belly and round bottom, similar to a flask.

Although Tej honey wine is mellow and sweet, it has a very high alcohol content. People who can't drink much will get drunk after about half a glass.

There was barely enough in the glass to sip, but the aroma and flavor surpassed any vintage Chianti or the finest Château d'Yquem.

When experiencing this kind of wine for the first time, Tomonori Kinoshita accidentally drank too much and felt like he was in a trance.

According to locals, this mead was once called "golden mead".

As long as some special magic is added to the mead, the person who drinks it can maintain physical and mental integrity even in extreme situations.

Even the extreme cold and absolute vacuum of outer space cannot cause any harm to the body while Dusk Mead is in effect.

A wizard living in seclusion on Grey Worm Alley, the capital of Egypt, possesses such power that he makes enchanted golden mead for travelers from all over the world.

After drinking the golden mead, people never saw those travelers again, as if they had disappeared out of thin air.

In the end, even the wizard himself disappeared, leaving only a note at home saying "Don't try to find me, because I have flown away."

The golden mead was thus lost, leaving only the Tej mead we know today.

……

In the second chapter of "African Wanderings", metaphysics begins.

The enchanted golden mead can keep a person physically and mentally intact in extreme situations.

This sounds a bit like a magic potion made by Koizumi Anko, or something like that.

However, the effect of this potion sounds a bit weird, as if it has some special purpose.

……

After staying in Egypt for more than half a month and recovering his health, Tomonori Kinoshita left Egypt and headed south to Kenya.

Some interesting events happened on the way, and I got to know some African customs and practices.

In Nairobi, Kenya's capital, Tomonori Kinoshita hired a guide to ask locals about the strange symbols on his mother's back.

Soon, he heard the news from some local elders.

In Nandi County in Kenya's Western Province, there lives the Nandi people, and this pattern is exactly what the Nandi people use in their sacrifices.

The elders also warned that some of the Nandi people there are hostile to races other than black people, so it is best not to approach them easily.

However, in order to save his mother, Tomonori Kinoshita still went there.

After arriving in Nandi County in the Southern Province, Tomonori Kinoshita asked the locals about the situation of Tu'an, but everyone kept silent to him.

Here, he couldn't even hire a guide or have a place to stay.

This place is more exclusive than you might imagine.

But just when he felt desperate and helpless, a woman appeared in time and helped him.

...The content of the third chapter is centered around saving his mother. The protagonist, Tomonori Kinoshita, arrives in Kenya, Africa, to seek help.

Mentioning Kenya made Qin Zhibo think of the bloody tongue.

Bloody Tongue, a powerful killer organization with branches all over the world.

Previously, Qin Zhibo discovered two Bloody Tongue killers in Japan, one was Tachibana Maya and the other was Killer Silver Fox.

Silver Fox was unfortunate and chose the same way to die as Xiunian while escaping.

Maya Tachibana is currently active in a Southeast Asian country. She has not been in contact with Qin Zhibo for a long time since she revealed the past of "Shi Kaobing" to him during the "Egg of Memories" incident.

But in other people's sense of time, maybe not that long has passed.

According to Maya Tachibana, the headquarters of Bloody Tongue is in Kenya, Africa.

……

The woman who helped Tomonori Kinoshita was named Mwiru, a Nandi with brown skin.

Mwiru's exact age is unknown, but he looks very young.

Although she was a black person, she could be considered beautiful according to the universal aesthetic standards, and the charm she exuded naturally attracted Tomonori Kinoshita at that time.

She runs a hotel and takes good care of the outsider Tomonori Kinoshita, which makes Kinoshita very happy.

However, precisely because he was too caring towards outsiders, Mwiru was targeted by the locals in various ways.

This made Tomonori Kinoshita feel guilty and he wanted to take Mwiru away from here.

He told his idea to Mwiru, who agreed.

That night, the two had sex.

The next day, Tomonori Kinoshita packed his luggage, and Mwiru said he wanted to go back to his hometown to see his parents before leaving.

Of course, Tomonori Kinoshita agreed, and the two of them went together to a mountain called "Black Wind Mountain" near Nandi County.

When he arrived at the "Black Wind Mountain", Tomonori Kinoshita was dumbfounded.

Here they were surrounded by dozens of locals wearing red-striped headdresses, holding various sickles and other terrible tools for skinning and bone removal.

Just as Tomonori Kinoshita manfully protected Mwiru behind him, Mwiru walked to the front himself.

Under Kinoshita Tomonori's incredulous gaze, everyone bowed their heads in worship towards Mwiru and called him "High Priest".

Only then did Tomonori Kinoshita realize that he had been fooled.

Everything is a scam.

Mwiru is the leader of this group of Nandi people and the high priest of the Bloody Tongue.

Chapter 672: The Fantastic Adventure of Wood (Part )

After reading the first part, Qin Zhibo thought it was a tragic elopement story, an African escape or something like that.

The result is only sadness, no beauty.

Kinoshita was deceived, both physically and spiritually by a priestess who was good at playing with people's hearts.

I just don’t know whether this is Tomonori Kinoshita’s own real experience or completely fictional.

However, the Bloody Tongue organization does exist, which adds more credibility to the story.

If this is false, I hope it is true.

If this is true, it would be great!

……

Only then did Kinoshita realize that he had been deceived, but it was too late.

He was tied to a wooden table by the local Nandi people and no matter how much he begged, it was of no use.

But instead of cutting his kidney, Mwiru tattooed him with special ink.

On the Black Wind Mountain, people raised their arms and cheered, and began to hold some kind of ceremony.

The terrifying carnival ceremony was accompanied by a storm raging on the earth. People danced in the wind and waved their sickles wildly.

During this process, Kinoshita felt that his body was being invaded by something.

An indescribable force flowed through his body, and an ancient will born from eternity ago controlled the thoughts in his brain.

Wandering on the edge of sanity and madness, he saw a chaotic royal court. Crazy musicians in the void played drums and fifes, and the marvelous notes made him gradually understand everything.

When he woke up again, he found that he was still alive.