Chapter 4: The Disguised Immortal

International Supermarket.

Gao Mo and Amuro followed Takagi to the scene. Several employees from yesterday had already gathered at the entrance of the temporarily closed supermarket.

The atmosphere was tense.

“What?”

“The manager is dead?”

“Discovered dead early this morning at a nearby hotel,” Megure’s piercing gaze swept over them. “The time of death is estimated to be between 9 and 10 a.m. yesterday... Did none of you notice anything?”

It was ironic that the supermarket still operated normally for a whole day despite the manager’s death.

“Well... we all worked according to the schedule as usual.”

“Yes, and the manager also said he had something to attend to outside…”

“When was the last time each of you saw the manager? One by one,” Megure interrupted as the employees started to speak over each other.

As a seasoned inspector of the First Investigation Division, cases that coincided like this were nothing new to him.

Back when Kogoro Mouri was his subordinate, that was a disaster. Cases would lead into labyrinths, and it was tough to solve even one in a month.

Hmm.

Now, Kogoro seemed smarter, having solved several major cases consecutively as a detective.

But maybe he clashed with him.

It felt like when Kogoro was around, even his subordinates’ minds didn’t work well.

“The last time we saw the manager…”

The group exchanged glances and all looked at a female colleague who, like Gao Mo, worked as a cashier.

“It seems the last person to see the manager was Xiao Cai.”

“Yes, yes, it was Xiao Cai who told us the manager went out.”

“Hmm?” Megure’s suspicious gaze fixed on the fragile-looking woman. “So you were the only one who saw the manager?”

“Seems so…”

Xiao Cai nervously moved closer to Gao Mo.

“Because the manager was very angry and said he was going to fire Mr. Chenghu, I went over to check… After the manager hung up on Mr. Chenghu, he stormed out, but he never came back that night.”

“Again, it’s you.”

Megure narrowed his eyes and turned to Gao Mo.

Being involved in two cases in one day, both as a key figure, was quite frustrating.

Was it bad luck or good fortune?

He had heard that Gao Mo was even attacked by the culprit last night.

“The manager did call me,” Gao Mo looked at the woman, feeling a strange sense of detachment. “My phone ran out of battery and automatically hung up… I left immediately afterward and then ran into you officers.”

“It was around 9:30,” Megure frowned. “So the manager was still alive at 9:30…”

He suspected the culprit was among the supermarket staff, but now everyone had an alibi.

From 9:30 to 11 a.m., all employees were in the supermarket and did not leave.

“Alibis, huh…”

Amuro had followed along, observing the scene carefully before focusing intently on the frightened woman beside Gao Mo.

Her testimony seemed consistent, but she was still the only one who had seen the victim.

“Are you sure the person who called you was the manager?” Amuro pulled Gao Mo aside and asked quietly.

“Should be…”

Gao Mo rubbed his tired eyes and tried to recall the phone call from yesterday morning.

He hadn’t paid much attention at the time.

“Is something wrong?”

“No… it’s just that you’re quite interesting,” Amuro’s golden bangs partially obscured the glint in his eyes. “You have real potential to be a police officer.”

“A police officer?” Gao Mo instinctively glanced at Inspector Megure and Takagi.

What future did being a police officer hold?

Starting from the bottom, one might remain a sergeant or even a patrol chief for life. Theoretically, sergeant was the peak, like Megure.

Exams, seniority… who knew how much time would be wasted? It was sheer drudgery.

Most importantly, it was extremely dangerous.

One experience like yesterday was enough.

Did he not know policing was hazardous?

Many police officers had died in the Conan world; being assigned undercover was even worse. With a death mark, it would be a death sentence.

“This case seems quite troublesome, you…”

Gao Mo turned to speak but saw Amuro had already left the supermarket entrance and was talking to a short-haired man in a trench coat.

Tall and thin, wearing glasses, scowling, slightly older than Amuro but lowering his posture when addressing him, like a sycophant.

A husky?

A strange image popped into Gao Mo’s mind, and he shook it off.

There was no time for distractions now.

In a matter of moments, a strange glow appeared above the heads of several people around him.

Focusing, the words of their “missions” appeared above the heads of those who had spoken with or contacted him.

Above Amuro’s head was “Punish Shuichi Akai” — indeed, the future Amuro Tooru, the masked agent.

He shook his head and looked away.

Above Megure’s head, it read “Find Clues,” while Takagi’s showed “Get me and Officer Sato to date”… No, there was an additional one — “Make lots and lots of money.”

Simple tasks, more like wishes than missions.

Unfortunately, he himself had no money; excluding his house, he was less wealthy than Takagi.

Ignoring Takagi, Gao Mo pondered the female colleague.

Her tasks were “Hide or transfer crime, avoid arrest” and “All men should die.”

(⊙o⊙)

Huh?

Is this woman the culprit?

Such a direct mission information?

This woman…

Gao Mo stared stiffly, then quickly looked away.

He knew why he felt the disconnect. Though his actor level was currently only lv0, he still came from the entertainment industry.

After reading “The Career of a Fallen Idol,” the related memories deepened further.

Plus the passive hawk-eye vision…

There was no doubt.

This woman had been acting the whole time, including deliberately talking to him earlier.

Meaning… that phone call yesterday morning was suspicious? The manager was already dead then?

Hiss!

In just two days, Gao Mo felt he had truly learned a lesson in the world of Conan.

Anything was possible.

As someone involved, he had assumed the gentle, kind, cute female colleague couldn’t be the culprit.

Yet she had plotted against him.

Was her expressed concern not genuine but also acting? All a performance?

The legendary “green tea” personality?

He hadn’t noticed before…

Gao Mo’s feelings were complicated, and faced with so many missions before him, he found it difficult to choose.

But the glowing text didn’t trouble him; only one “Draw” option popped up.

The first-tier counterfate bronze badge granted one redraw opportunity… two chances in total.

“Random draw?”

Gao Mo didn’t rush to confirm. Instead, he moved among the crowd, talking to everyone, trying to activate all mission points.

Two chances were still too few; he worried about drawing the mission on Takagi.

...

“Mr. Furukawa, here is all the information on Gao Mo Chenghu.”

The short-haired man, Fuumi Yuya, wary of the crowd and Gao Mo’s odd behavior, frowned deeply.

“But why are you here? Is there a problem with Gao Mo Chenghu? If he’s involved in a case…”

“I just met someone interesting,” Reiji Kuroya carefully reviewed the files. “He seems suitable to be an informant or even a colleague.”

This was the first time he had such a feeling. From the moment Gao Mo turned the tables on the culprit, something had drawn him in…

Hence he had his subordinate Fuumi specifically pull the files.

But was this really the same Gao Mo Chenghu in the documents?

“A colleague? A washed-up idol?” Fuumi eyed his glasses warily.

For Kuroya to bypass him and recruit a newcomer—did that mean dissatisfaction with his work?

No, they had just drunk together, and Kuroya had praised him for his perfect performance as an indispensable right-hand man.

Or… was it because Fuumi secretly ordered a glass of rye whiskey?

(Note: Shuichi Akai’s codename is Rye Whiskey; Reiji Kuroya is extremely sensitive due to personal grudges.)

Fuumi’s heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, he felt he had been glaringly stared down earlier, could it be…

Kuroya didn’t like rye whiskey? It was supposed to taste good…

“Fuumi?” Kuroya called his subordinate with curiosity. “My situation is special now. For the time being, avoid meeting me… Also, from now on, I am Amuro Tooru.”

“Ah… understood!”

Fuumi stood at attention.

Surely he was overthinking. As Kuroya’s right-hand man, all he needed to do was work harder and become better.

No more rye whiskey from now on.

“Mr. Kuroya, be careful. Being involved in two cases simultaneously, that Gao Mo Chenghu might be some kind of legendary death-marked person.”

Fuumi couldn’t help but warn.

“Apparently, it’s especially dangerous to be near such a person.”

Kuroya waved his hand in exasperation. “Watch less TV.”

This subordinate was good in every way except incredibly superstitious.

Fuumi asked, “But… is there anything else you need me to do?”

“I will keep an eye on Gao Mo Chenghu. Just make sure none of our people contact him.”

End of page.