Chapter 28: The One That Got Away

"Woooo—!"

Late at night, police sirens wailed outside the Beika Shrine. Gao Mo looked down at the gruesome corpse of Anzai, his field of vision once again obscured by glowing text.

【Task Extracted: Escape Anzai's Entanglement — Taeko Togaki】
【Confirmed, Completed】
【Task Reward: "Taeko Togaki's Makeup Guide" (4-Star)】 (The star rating of the book does not represent the skill level, but is relative to the current character.)
【No additional rewards】

...

Beside him, Conan’s expression remained grave. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation—he felt like he had stumbled upon a case, yet no matter how he looked at it, it was an accident.

Recalling Anzai’s behavior before the incident, Conan looked up again at the unnervingly calm Gao Mo. "Brother Kido, at that time, Mr. Anzai was actually trying to return to the inn, right? If it weren't for that 1,000 yen, he probably wouldn't have walked this way... This path leads to the convenience store."

"It’s all the same."

Gao Mo withdrew his gaze from below. He hadn't really done anything; he had simply prevented Taeko Togaki from becoming a murderer. Anzai was destined to die.

However, Anzai’s final words weighed heavily on his mind. The past of the "other" himself... after receiving those memories, it was, in fact, his own past. He hadn't dwelled on it before. He wasn't the type to be shackled by the past. Having died once, everything was, of course, a fresh start.

"Can I trust you, Brother Kido?" Conan’s tone was unprecedentedly cautious and serious. Gao Mo not only knew his true identity and the fact that he needed to hide to avoid danger, but now he also possessed a certain quality that Conan couldn't quite fathom.

"Of course," Gao Mo smiled slightly. "Like you, I am a fish that slipped through the net, constantly facing a crisis of survival... We are, strictly speaking, on the same side."

Conan opened his mouth, then paused. Gao Mo seemed reluctant to continue discussing Anzai’s death. But "a fish that slipped through the net"... Gao Mo was indeed, as he had suspected, facing threats from the same organization.

"But is this really okay? A lot of people already know you, and 'Kindaichi' has become famous along with Uncle."

"It's fine for now. Just keep an eye on the old man for me."

Gao Mo glanced at Taeko Togaki, who was weeping in her fiancé’s arms near the shrine. He didn't go over to disturb them, instead turning away from the crime scene and heading back to the inn. "I'll leave the follow-up statements to you. It was just an accident, so it shouldn't be much trouble."

"Hey, wait a minute..."

Conan stared speechlessly at Gao Mo, who was walking away without a backward glance. He was just a child, after all.

...

"What happened?"

Kogoro Mouri was groggily awakened by the sirens. He followed the others out of the inn, only then learning that Anzai had been struck and killed by Shingo Nachi.

Police officers had found several candid photos in Anzai’s room. They were all of Shingo Nachi having a rendezvous with a married actress, with a love hotel clearly visible in the background.

"It looks like Nachi is finished," the director sighed worriedly. "An accident is an accident, but we can't rule out the possibility that he hit him on purpose..."

"Yeah," several other crew members chimed in, their faces grim. "I saw it earlier when we finished filming. It seemed like Mr. Nachi was being threatened and blackmailed by Anzai."

"Are we still filming tomorrow?"

"What do you think?"

Kogoro Mouri’s mind was a blur. He was both shocked by the accident and worried about whether he would still receive his consulting fee. If the TV show couldn't be aired, he wouldn't be credited. Miss Yoko might be affected too...

What bad luck!

Kogoro Mouri slapped his forehead hard. The Hatamoto case last time had also involved a string of deaths right after he’d gotten drunk. He vowed not to drink so freely when he was out in the future.

"Kid Kido!"

Noticing Gao Mo returning from the direction of the shrine, Kogoro Mouri called out to him. "What on earth happened? Was it an accident or a murder case?"

"Hah!"

Gao Mo didn't respond to the mustachioed man, his footsteps freezing at the corner of the road near the inn. A familiar scent of death drifted on the breeze—not strong, but lingering persistently. It seemed that because he had interfered with death, the trail had extended from Anzai to him.

"Kid Kido?"

"Hah... hah!"

The mustachioed man’s shouts were drowned out by the wind. Gao Mo’s breathing grew heavy as he turned to survey his surroundings. A streetlamp flickered and died; nearby branches swayed; a pebble rolled from the stone steps of the shrine all the way to the center of the road...

The tires of a police car not far away, the ripples on the surface of the river by the road, and the guests running out of the inn to watch the spectacle. In a trance, he seemed to see himself being hit, falling into the river, and drowning.

*Gurgle, gurgle.* He felt the suffocating sensation of drowning.

"Tap!"

Gao Mo’s pupils dilated. He stepped forward and kicked the pebble into the river, and the sensation of drowning vanished instantly. It was as if it had been a hallucination. When he came to his senses, everything had returned to calm, and the mustachioed man was still calling out to him.

"Why are you standing there like a fool?" The mustachioed man asked, puzzled, trying to rouse Gao Mo, who was sweating on his forehead. "It’s just a death; you didn't react like this before."

"I'm fine."

Gao Mo breathed a sigh of relief. When he scanned the area again, the sense of danger was gone.

"I'm a bit tired, I'm going back to sleep."

"Wait," Kogoro Mouri said, stunned. "At least tell me what happened."

...

Back in his inn room, looking at the wooden walls and paper doors, Gao Mo finally felt at ease once he confirmed there were no more premonitions of death. It seemed that it had just been the aftershocks... it hadn't fully drawn the attention of the Grim Reaper.

However, the scent of death hadn't completely dissipated; he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

He grabbed a towel to wipe off his sweat and, while sipping some juice, checked the system projection.

Taeko Togaki’s 4-star book, "Makeup Guide."

A 4-star profession allowed him to acquire the corresponding skills without needing to ask Taeko Togaki for guidance, which solved his immediate problem. Makeup involved disguise, which was even more urgent for him than physical training or acquiring combat skills. Only by hiding himself could he hope to cope with the Grim Reaper.

Only by surviving would there be a future.

"Mr. Kido," the landlady suddenly called from outside. "A package was delivered to the front desk. I’m not sure if it’s yours, but it’s addressed to this room."

Gao Mo pulled his gaze away from the book projection. His eyes flickered as he recalled the package from the Hatamoto family. This system he was carrying was mysterious, its creepiness on par with the Grim Reaper outside.

"Give it to me."

He slid the paper door open and took the package from the landlady. It was indeed in the same style. The return address was the Beika Art Museum, and the sender was Kubota.

After opening the package, he found the same anti-counterfeit envelope with a special wax seal. Seeing the book-shaped emblem on the wax, it looked blood-red to him.

Gao Mo opened the envelope solemnly, but he was slightly taken aback when he saw the invitation inside. Unlike the letter from the old butler of the Hatamoto family, this invitation was of a much lower grade—the material was crude, the handwriting was exceptionally sloppy, and the prose was vulgar.

It was as if he had fallen from a noble mansion into a slum. It lost all the mystery of the outer wax-sealed envelope.

*The sender is such a cheapskate.*

Gao Mo collected his thoughts and carefully examined the contents. In two days, he was to go to the Beika Art Museum to take Kubota’s place in preparing for the "Medieval Art Exhibition."

New profession: Art Museum Staff.

It was lower in status than a mansion butler... but it would be much easier to act out.

Just some odd jobs, after all.