Chapter 94

The moment he heard the other party call him "Mr. Chuuya", Nakahara Chuuya was really shocked.

He actually knew himself?

After hearing the second half of the other party's words, Nakahara Chuuya fell silent.

His silence lasted until a sharp scream sounded from the direction downstairs.

"Someone's dead—"

"Another person has died in the corridor, help!"

"What……!?"

Nakahara Chuuya came back to his senses instantly and subconsciously wanted to rush to the place where the sound came from.

However, thinking of the young man who suddenly appeared in front of him, his expression suddenly became complicated.

The orange-haired young man opened his mouth, but the words were stuck in his throat. Before he could utter anything, Shen Dujianliu turned around and rushed to the source of the sound.

"Let's go over there first."

“…”

Nakahara Chuuya still didn't know how to start.

In short, they followed the white-haired boy opposite them and left the banquet room. They followed the sound to the inside of the corner of the first floor.

Delicate cashmere carpets cover the floor of the corridor, and there are only a few candlesticks hanging on the walls. The spacious and deep corridor extends to the end of the darkness.

In this dim vision, a maid stood not far away, covering her mouth with a look of fear on her face...

And the body lying on the ground.

The corpse was lying in front of the threshold of the guest room with its back to everyone. It was wearing a plain Japanese kimono, which was extremely simple without any complicated patterns or designs.

His body formed a sharp and harsh contrast with the carpet, like an abrupt dark block in an inharmonious portrait.

The shocking blood spread under the other person's body and blended into the dark carpet without a trace.

Shen Du saw Liu walking over, squatted down expressionlessly, and turned the dead man's body over.

The man had an average appearance and was young. His ordinary features were blurred in the candlelight. Even death could not bring him more attention.

It was the servant he had just met not long ago -

Adequate.

【? ? ? ? ? ? 】

[Help! Isn’t this the common-looking guy the one that was locked in the room by Liu just now?! 】

【ah? ? ? Is he dead? 】

[Things are getting suspenseful. Detective novels are not lying.]

[Agou!] How come you went down to look for Ah Mao so quickly? You deserve the name of a cannon fodder.]

So who is the murderer? Where did this maid next to her come from? Let’s interrogate her first! 】

Nakahara Chuuya's reaction was similar to the barrage.

He scratched his loose hair irritably, and his suspicious eyes first fell on the maid who was so frightened that she fell to the ground.

"Hello!"

"How did you find out he was dead?"

"Most of the people in this house are in hiding. Why are you still wandering around the corridors? Do you know him?"

Zhong Yuanzhong didn't have a habit of beating women, and he didn't grab the woman's collar and scare her with his fists as he did before.

But his cobalt blue eyes were extremely cold, and his calm and icy tone fully reflected the powerful aura unique to mafia cadres.

The air suddenly became cramped.

"Master, how could I not recognize you?"

The maid was so scared that she knelt down and almost kowtowed three times: "Have you forgotten me? I am the Madam's maid!"

"……ha?"

Three question marks appeared above Nakahara Chuuya’s head.

The "Madam" mentioned by the maid naturally refers to the mistress of this mansion, that is, the widow of the city lord.

And the identity of Shen Du Jianliu is one of the cousins ​​who have defected to the other party.

"The mansion is in such a mess right now, and the lady and young lady were brutally murdered. I was worried that you hadn't eaten yet, so I thought of bringing some dinner to the young master."

The maid pointed at the plate that had fallen beside her and the warm food had spilled all over the floor, "Who would have thought..."

"I didn't see any shadows of you, Young Master, or Young Master. Instead, I saw..."

"Your servant Ah Gou is lying here!"

"etc."

Nakahara Chuuya rubbed his temple with his index finger. His mind was a mess, as if he was back to the time when he was about to go crazy because of reasoning.

"You said I'm the eldest master?"

The handsome young man with ochre-red hair pointed at himself, then looked beside him.

After hesitating for a while, Nakahara Chuuya pointed his finger at the other person and said, "Is he the young master?"

"yes."

The maid kneeling opposite began to show a puzzled look on her face: "Didn't you and the young master come to our lady with two servants?"

"Originally, the young master and our young lady were engaged..."

"I didn't expect things to turn out like this. Everyone is dead. Woohoo... The former city lord has no relatives or male heirs. Now it all depends on your command, young master!"

Nakahara Chuuya: “…”

silence.

The air fell into silence for a long time, with only the sound of the maid crying.

He was not actually staying near this guest room at the beginning. On the contrary, when Nakahara Chuuya entered this novel world, he was on the top floor.

And just after waking up, he encountered a murder case.

He spent too much time at the top floor, beating people down one floor at a time. He thought he was just an ordinary invited guest.

After all, there are too many characters appearing.

It was unknown how long it had been before the ochre-haired young man turned his head with great difficulty and cast his gaze towards the white-haired young man who had walked to the corpse, squatted down, opened the dead man's eyelids, and was observing something.

——Two brothers who came to seek refuge with the city lord’s wife.

How could...

Nakahara Chuuya held his face. He really wanted to lift the corners of his stiff mouth, so that he could throw away all distractions and laugh out loud without restraint.

But I couldn't laugh at all.

How could it be... such a trick of fate.

No wonder he calls himself brother.

Shen Du Jianliu had already closed the eyes of his servant Aguo.

It’s okay. The other person’s emotions before death did not rise to the level of despair.

He remained in a half-squatting position on one knee, his face calm as he looked down and picked up the murder weapon that had fallen to the side.

That's right, there was a silver-white table knife lying next to the body.

It was covered with red liquid, some from the dead person and some from another person that had dried on it.

If nothing unexpected happened, it was the knife that Ah Gou had used to kill another servant and secretly hid in the drawer.

The new murderer carefully wiped off the fingerprints on the knife handle, and the blood did not stain the third person. Shen Du Jianliu could not identify the criminal based on the traces above.

However, he was sure that the maid opposite was not a murderer.

"Get up."

Shen Du Jianliu stood up, helped the girl whose tears and snot were almost stuck together, and took out the handkerchief that the original owner carried with her from her pocket.

The other party is in a panic, which is a bad sign.

He handed over the clean handkerchief.

"Don't worry, I know you didn't kill anyone."

"I trust you."

The boy's cold voice was like a sweet spring flowing through the mountains, which immediately brought the maid back from her collapse.

"Young Master... wuwu..."

She took the warm and clean handkerchief and was completely moved by Kamado Miru's stable mood: "Thank you."

"you……"

Looking at the scene in front of him that seemed familiar but had only been seen in memory, Nakahara Chuuya's heart couldn't help but soften.

He walked up to the fair-skinned, white-haired boy with a complicated expression.

"May I have your name?"

Shen Du Jian Liu:?

Is it because we haven’t seen each other for so long that I forgot his name?

Shen Du Jian Liu didn't care much about this. He took back the arm that was handing the handkerchief to the maid and reminded her calmly: "I am Jian Liu, brother."

“…”

For some reason, the reddish-brown-haired young man standing opposite looked like he was about to cry.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Du Jian Liu blinked.

He returned to Nakahara Chuuya, thought for a moment, raised his hand and grabbed the other's wide kimono sleeve, and said with a very serious expression: "Please rest assured."

"I will definitely protect you."

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”

Nakahara Chuuya twitched the corner of his mouth, and he grabbed Shen Dujian Liu Xianbai's wrist with his backhand.

The handsome young man's expression was filled with indescribable complexity and helplessness.

"Isn't it the elder brother's job to protect the younger brother?"

"This time...I will definitely protect you."

Even if it’s just in a book.

He tightened the strength of his fingers, and the final syllable was steady and firm.

"No, no matter what, Master and Master should find a safe place to hide!"

The maid standing next to them looked very nervous. She wiped the tears from her face and interrupted their conversation anxiously.

"So many people died in the house and on the street, it's like a curse."

"Also, I heard there's a particularly arrogant short man who's going crazy and beating people up everywhere!"

Nakahara Chuuya: “…”

Shen Du Jian Liu: "..."

The atmosphere froze strangely for a moment.

【Hahahahahahahahahaha isn’t this Chuuya】

[Saying "short master" in front of the short master, thumbs upjpg.]

[Chuya: Asshole, I was just disappointed because my hat wasn't brought in! 】

[Who understands? Brothers reunited after four years and promised to protect each other. I am so moved.]

So who is the criminal who killed A Gou? 】

[Ji Liu has already seen Chuuya, so we can kill everyone and take him out! 】

As the comment said, the next step is very simple.

The so-called murderer is nothing compared to the talent of Kamado Miyazawa.

He asked the maid to find a room to hide, and he lay down on the carpet, listening carefully to the vibrations and sounds of the entire floor.

After confirming which room in the area was occupied, the delicate-cheeked white-haired boy immediately knocked on the door of the room diagonally opposite with someone behind him.

Nakahara Chuuya looked surprised.

"How do you know there's someone in this room?"

He knocked on every room upstairs.

“I heard it.”

“…”

"Who's outside?"

Sure enough, a very quiet question came from behind the door.

The other party opened the door a little, as if he was afraid of encountering a terrible murderer, so he only dared to look through the crack.

Shen Du Jianliu looked around the room through the crack in the door.

The next second, he grabbed the edge of the door to open a gap for the other party, and slashed at the owner hiding behind the door with a knife.

Nakahara Chuuya:! ! ?

"Why did you knock him out?"

"He is a murderer."

Kamado Kenryu motioned for Nakahara Chuuya to come in and pointed to the old-fashioned revolver that the man had hidden behind his back before he fainted.

Of course, the other party may be holding a revolver just for defense, which doesn't mean anything.

He brought the orange-haired young man to the private bathroom of the house, where a body was stuffed in the toilet.

Nakahara Chuuya: “…”

I have to admit it.

The younger brother in this book is as smart as my younger brother in real life.

He recalled the first time he and Kamado Miru went on a mission, when the two of them stood behind a container loaded with gems and counted the cargo.

"Let's go."

After finding out the other person's name and identity, Shen Du Jianliu walked out without hesitation and knocked on the door of the next room where someone was hiding.

In this way, from the first floor to the top floor, the two of them solved nearly 100 cases in this luxurious mansion comparable to a palace...

Including but not limited to closed room murder, poisoning, exchange murder, machine murder and many other methods.

The sky outside the window quickly turned into daytime.

The door of the mansion was opened.

Yes, there is a very suspicious phenomenon here. The door of the mansion is locked at night.

Leaving the mansion through the gate is possible only during daylight hours.

But there was no point in leaving, because the edge of the street was filled with thick fog that was so thick that one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Many people who wanted to escape were lost in the fog forever.

The residents of Mogg Street were all silent, and every family hid in their houses, and no one dared to come out.

The murders in the streets were no better than those in the mansions.

They easily solved three serial killers and countless small cases, big and small. Together with the 381 people previously arrested by Nakahara Chuuya, they have found 502 criminals.

Before Kamado Miru went to find Edgar Allan Poe, Edogawa Ranpo reminded him that there were a total of 505 murderers.

——There are still 3 people missing.

However, Shen Du Jianliu's brain was now in so much pain that he could hardly bear it.

It was a sharp pain that spread from deep within the skull, like a knife cutting the nerves in the brain.

The pain seemed to have life, and every thought was accompanied by a tearing pain, which continued to rage in his mind.

The boy's lips began to turn white to purple again, and blood flowed directly from his nose.

“Are you okay…!?”

Nakahara Chuuya looked at him worriedly and hurriedly searched for something to wipe the blood from his nose.

Even though it was written in the book, Shen Du Jianliu's health did not seem to be very good and his complexion looked very bad.

He was a little annoyed that he was clearly following the other person, but still made his brother so tired.

Before the action, Kamado Miru pointed out the murderer, and he himself was of no use at all.

"And... ahem, three prisoners..."

"You don't have to worry about that!"

Nakahara Chuuya bent down and carried his younger brother, who was standing opposite him and coughing softly, on his back.

"That's enough." He held the white-haired boy's hips with both hands, turned his head and said seriously: "Leave it to me next."

Not to mention 3, he would grab 13 and give them a beating.

I can't let my brother work too hard anymore.

Fortunately, there was only one small house left on this street that I hadn't visited.

The murderer is definitely hiding in that house.

Shen Du Jian Liu: "..."

Because he was really feeling unwell, he didn't refuse but just lay down on the other's shoulder obediently.

The current situation does not require me.

Mr. Chuuya's talent alone should be enough.

“Knock, knock.”

Freeing his hand, he knocked on the door of the house. Nakahara Chuuya looked at the wooden door that received no response. He raised his leg and was about to kick open the dilapidated door when he suddenly felt a murderous aura that was hard to ignore behind him.

As a mafia gangster who has been involved in bloody fights for many years, Nakahara Chuuya is very familiar with this atmosphere.

He narrowed his blue eyes instantly.

Carrying Shen Du Jian Liu on his back, he turned sideways and jumped out of his original position easily. The young man with ochre-orange hair held Shen Du Jian Liu's wrist hanging on his neck with both hands to prevent the other party from falling, and at the same time kicked the enemy.

Unfortunately, the person who attacked them turned out to be the maid from before.

Her full-strength sneak attack was dodged, and she stabbed the wooden door not far away with her knife, but couldn't even pull it out. She was so scared that she collapsed to the ground.

"Please, please don't kill my father!"

The other party shouted in a collapsed tone.

Nakahara Chuuya's kick stopped 2cm away from the opponent's cheek.

"Your father??"

His handsome eyebrows were twisted together.

It turned out that the maid had secretly followed the two men out of the mansion.

She seemed to realize that the two brothers were investigating the murderer, and she couldn't help but think of her alcoholic father hiding at home.

Although the guy who was idle all day long drank and gambled, abused the black cat on the street, and even accidentally killed her mother when killing the cat...

But he is his father after all, and he has a younger brother at home who needs to be raised by him.

The maid was worried that the brothers would arrest their father, so she followed them secretly.

At the same time, the maid also became a murderer.

Because the tip of the knife she inserted into the wooden door pierced the eyes of her younger brother who happened to be hiding behind the door.

The entire eye was pierced deep into the brain behind the eyeball.

There's no hope.

Shen Du saw Liu struggling to get down.

"What's wrong?"

Realizing that he wanted to get off his back, Nakahara Chuuya, who had been silent at first, quickly turned his attention away from the brother and sister.

"Please... ahem, knock her out."

The maid must be made unconscious before she becomes irreversibly hopeless.

Shen Du Jianliu couldn't just watch despair spread in front of the barrage.

Although he didn't know why he did this, seeing how hard he was struggling, Nakahara Chuuya of course fulfilled the other party's wish without hesitation.

Now, two more murderers have been confirmed.

There is 1 left.

But they had already searched this street and the mansion at the end of it, so there shouldn't be any place they missed.

Nakahara Chuuya carried Kamado Miru on his back and left the house. After stepping over the "corpse" of the maid's father, he couldn't help but shake Kamado Miru's body.

"Didn't you have a good meal?"

Too light.

Even though gravity was lost, Nakahara Chuuya had no difficulty carrying the other person on his back.

As thin as a bamboo pole, if it was his real brother...

He will definitely take the other person out to eat a lot of food to make up for it.

"Anyway, let's go back to the house first."

The handsome young man with ochre hair raised his head and glanced at the thicker fog gathering at the edge of the street. He said helplessly, "Maybe there is a murderer in that mansion and we haven't found him yet."

“No more.”

Shen Du Jianliu leaned against the other's back and suppressed a cough.

Nakahara Chuuya was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but quicken his pace towards the mansion.

"How do you know it's gone?"

"Maybe there are still people hiding somewhere that is not easy to detect..."

"Because, the last murderer was me."

Shen Du Jianliu's calm voice interrupted the other party.

The air suddenly turned cold, causing the surrounding temperature to drop by one degree.

Shen Du Jianliu had already noticed it when he was staying in the mansion before.

——The one who killed Aguo was himself.

Or, in other words, the author of the novel had this identity he acquired kill one of the servants who followed him.

It has nothing to do with whether Shen Du Jianliu personally performs it or not.

Because of his words, Nakahara Chuuya slowed down his pace a little.

"Haha...are you kidding me? You are my brother..."

However, there was a sudden slight movement in the surrounding streets.

As if the truth had been revealed and it was beginning to gradually fall apart, the golden light became increasingly stronger along with the vibrations in the air.

Even the most ignorant person can see that the world is about to collapse.

it's all over.

"Put me down."

Shen Du Jianliu patted the red-haired young man on the shoulder and said, "I am the last murderer."

“That’s the truth.”

…

Nakahara Chuuya stopped completely.

He lowered his head, and his scattered red bangs cast a faint shadow in front of his eyebrows, completely obscuring the other person's expression.

His five fingers slowly tightened, and finally, he let Shen Dujian off his back.

The houses not far away began to break into golden fragments. The swirling wind rushed along the street, blowing up the hair around the ears of the two people.

The atmosphere fell into an extremely strange silence, and no one spoke.

Nakahara Chuuya still had his back to him.

Shen Dujianliu put his hands on his lips and coughed lightly a few times.

Just when he thought that the other party might be a little angry that he had concealed it from him and wanted to explain, the ochre-haired young man who clenched his fists again suddenly turned around -

Hug him tightly.

"See the flow."

Nakahara Chuuya gritted his teeth.

He buried his head in the shoulder of the white-haired boy, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "It's me..."

"I failed to protect you."

"It's all my fault that I was on a business trip at that time and didn't get back in time."

His voice seemed to be recalling something, and his tone was filled with endless regret.

"I clearly... I clearly promised to take you to eat the most complete seafood dishes."

"I bought you a lot of gifts from my business trips. I want to take you to eat steaks, talk to you a lot, and take you to many places to have fun."

"I clearly want to do my best to fulfill my responsibilities as a brother."

“But I didn’t do it.”

Nakahara Chuuya hugged the boy tightly in his arms, holding the back of his head with trembling fingers.

"How I wish I could stay."

"Being able to meet you in the world of books is something I never dared to imagine."

The dazzling golden light has completely covered the surrounding streets, and only two figures are left in the huge world of the novel.

But now, the increasingly bright light could no longer accommodate even the two of them.

In this huge airflow, Nakahara Chuuya finally raised his head with difficulty. He lowered his voice and said softly, "See the flow."

"Can you call me brother again?"

“…”

In this dead silence, Shen Du Jianliu frowned slightly.

He silently raised his arms and grasped his restless chest with his hands, not understanding what this emotion was.

Very strange.

Is it because the other party's actions infected the barrage and were an act of spreading hope, so he developed this unknown emotion?

Maybe it’s because of this…?

Otherwise, things that have nothing to do with spreading hope are not worth your attention.

He doesn't understand.

Mr. Edogawa Ranpo once said that it doesn't matter even if the author sets him up as a murderer, as long as he finds himself, he can leave this world.

So he won't stay here.

Letting go of the hand that was grabbing the clothes on his chest, Shen Du Jianliu was silent for a while, then stretched out his arms to hug the orange-haired young man who was hugging him tightly.

"OK."

The boy's voice should have been cold, but it unconsciously added a bit of gentle emotion.

"elder brother."

"ah."

Nakahara Chuuya looked at him with a gentle expression, and his eyes seemed to be filled with moist tears.

"To be able to hear you say this at the end, this adventure is worth it."

As the other party's voice fell, brilliant golden light completely submerged the two of them.

A huge repulsive force rose and swirled from the soles of their feet, mercilessly blasting them out of this fantastical and absurd world of suspense novel.

…

The golden light dissipated and everything around changed.

At this moment, in a remote and quiet corner of a luxury cruise ship.

Nakahara Chuuya, who escaped from the book, stood there very stiffly...

He looked at the white-haired boy who was also standing opposite him.

They even kept hugging each other.