After that, more guests came here and joined the group.
They are photographer Masanori Katagiri and famous fortune teller Haruka Naga. Masanori Katagiri is a very calm middle-aged man in his forties, while Haruka Naga is a beautiful woman in her twenties with a mysterious charm. After getting to know each other in front of the mansion, they decided to visit the owner first.
However... to their surprise, this mansion actually had two main entrances. What surprised them even more was that when everyone was considering which door to enter, both doors opened at the same time, and then a pair of twin maids who looked almost identical walked out.
Not only that, according to the two maids, people who were invited by the master to live in the East Building can only enter from the East Building, and people who were invited by the master to live in the West Building can only enter from the West Building... Well, this must be the master's inexplicable quirk.
But, twin maids.
Looking at the two people who looked exactly the same except for the position of their bangs, Fang Zheng couldn't help but think of Ram and Rem. Right now, the two were assisting Kurumi's clone with his work at the third coordinate point. Fang Zheng had contacted them before, and they seemed to be doing well, but... maybe he should go back and see them when he had time?
But then again, the symmetrical mansion and the symmetrical maids reminded Fang Zheng of the symmetry-obsessive-compulsive patient Moriya Teiji in the movie "Tower of Light".
If he were here, he would definitely like this design very much.
Finally, Maori Kogoro, Xiaolan and Conan lived in the East Building, while Fangzheng, the photographer and the fortune teller lived in the West Building. So everyone was divided into two groups, entering from the left and right doors respectively, and then, under the guidance of the maid, came to the Mask Hall in the center of the second floor.
It has to be said that the owner of this mansion really likes masks. You can see all kinds of masks hanging on the walls everywhere. Of course, I don’t know what he thinks, but other people feel a little scared when they see these masks. Especially after Conan pressed a button and opened the curtain that was originally covering the room, everyone was completely shocked.
Hundreds of masks were densely packed on the display cabinet behind the red curtain. Unlike other masks, these masks all looked the same, with two hollow eyes and a crescent-shaped mouth. Combined with the white background, they looked like grinning monsters.
And when the entire wall is filled with masks of the same style, the intimidating effect is enough to make people feel creepy, if nothing else.
No wonder the owner of the mansion blocked this wall, otherwise he would suffer from mental breakdown sooner or later.
No, it's more like it's strange that he hasn't suffered from mental breakdown yet despite living in such a strange mansion.
At the same time, everyone also met the owner of the mansion, Ms. Sufang Hongzi.
The lady is now over 60 years old. She looks like a kind and generous old lady. She first greeted everyone cordially, and then began to introduce the masks she collected. In particular, the "Shobel Masks" that filled the wall. According to the old lady, these white creepy masks were made by a sculptor in Spain a long time ago. At that time, the sculptor was betrayed by his brother and almost lost everything. So he carved more than 200 masks with resentment and then committed suicide.
After that, accidents happened to the people who bought these masks one by one, so this mask is also called the ominous mask...
But then again, knowing such rumors, you still dared to buy all these masks. You are really stubborn, old lady.
Looking at the complacent Sufang Hongzi, Fang Zheng was speechless. He couldn't figure out what was going on in the minds of these suicidal people in Conan's world. It seemed that there had been several times when the owners of the mansions were keen on collecting things with ominous rumors, and then they were all very stubborn and said that the rumors were just rumors, and then they all died.
So as the saying goes, if you don't seek death, you won't die.
However, misfortunes never come singly. At this time, Maori Kogoro told Ms. Sufang that when he drove here, he was blocked by a big tree, and there was a note pinned on it, warning him not to attend Ms. Sufang's charity dinner...
After seeing this note, others also said that they had received similar things.
"Did Brother Fang Zheng receive it too?"
Looking at Fang Zheng who was reading a book nearby, Conan curiously moved over and asked, and Fang Zheng nodded.
"I got it, but I didn't care."
“…”
Conan was somewhat speechless after hearing Fang Zheng's answer, but soon he rolled his eyes and looked at Fang Zheng.
"So Brother Fang Zheng, do you think the person who sent the threatening letter is among these people?"
You actually really treat me as a tool.
In response to Conan's question, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes and glanced at him.
"It's definitely there, and I think there might be a murder."
"Really?!"
Hearing this, Conan's face suddenly darkened.
"Brother Fang Zheng, do you really think there will be a murder?"
"Of course, according to my experience, when I meet you outside, more or less a few people will die, or have already died. This time is probably no exception. If I had known you would come, I would not have come."
Fang Zheng complained silently and refocused his attention on the novel in his hand.
Can you be a little more aware of your own death-predisposition?
"Well……"
Facing Fang Zheng's answer, Conan was speechless for a moment. He wanted to refute, but after thinking carefully, including this time, he and Fang Zheng had met outside three times. The first time was at Sayuri's wedding, where Sayuri was almost poisoned to death. The second time was a tour group of Sherlock Holmes fans, and the boss died...
Moreover, Kogoro Mori was not there on both occasions, so he couldn't put the blame on Kogoro Mori.
But...how much does he know?
Conan was also nervous when he saw Fang Zheng flipping through a book and seemed indifferent to the things around him. After the incident with the Sherlock Holmes fan, Conan's true identity was discovered by Hattori Heiji, who asked Conan if Fang Zheng knew his true identity and said that you must be careful in front of him. For this kind of micro-expression expert, he can guess what you are thinking without you doing anything. If Conan wants to keep a secret, he must be careful of Fang Zheng.
Otherwise, he might see through your true identity at some point.
To be honest, Conan himself was also hesitant about this, mainly because Fang Zheng had given him too much of a shock the previous two times, especially the first time when Sayuri teacher was nearly poisoned to death. Conan was present throughout the whole process, and he did not notice that Takasugi Toshihiko had the intention of killing someone, but Fang Zheng actually noticed the problem just from the eyes and actions of both parties, and even took direct action to interrupt the crime.
The same thing happened with the second Sherlock Holmes fan tour. At the time, Conan didn't think the murderer was anything unusual, but Fang Zheng saw through his thoughts at a glance and gave the answer directly...
So Conan was also very worried. What if Xiaolan mentioned her own affairs to Fang Zheng one day, and Fang Zheng might just chat with him for a few words at that time? No, that's not right. Why did he feel as if Fang Zheng had seen through him a long time ago?
Come to think of it, when the second Sherlock Holmes fan tour was going on, he and Hattori Heiji were still lying on the ground looking for clues, and he came over and gave them the answer directly, as if he had no doubts or suspicions at all about a primary school student like himself lying on the ground looking for clues... Generally speaking, it is normal to go up and stop a child running around at a murder scene, as Uncle Maori did.
And what he just said... generally speaking, it's not something he would say to a child.
After all, if Conan was really a child, wouldn’t Fang Zheng’s direct words like “someone will die every time we meet you outside” hurt Conan’s young and fragile heart?
What does he know, and how much does he know?
Thinking of this, Conan couldn't help but recall the information he had obtained before. Since Fang Zheng's identity as a consultant to the Metropolitan Police Department was not a secret, Conan had used his identity to inquire about some information about Fang Zheng from Officer Megure and Officer Takagi. Only then did he discover that Fang Zheng was already quite famous within the Metropolitan Police Department.
In particular, Officer Takagi also told Conan about a case in which they arrested a criminal but never found the murder weapon. The possible locations were the river bank, the criminal's own villa and the warehouse of their company. The criminal also believed in the principle of "confessing and being lenient, and being in prison for life, resisting and being strict and going home for the New Year", and he refused to speak no matter what.
The police were pressed for time and did not have time to search three places at the same time. Fang Zheng happened to come over at that time. He took the map and pointed to three places in succession to the criminal, then repeatedly asked him whether the murder weapon was hidden there.
In the eyes of Gao Mu and others, the criminal's behavior had hardly changed, but Fang Zheng directly concluded that the criminal had hidden the murder weapon in the warehouse. Then the police conducted a comprehensive search of the warehouse and found the murder weapon that had been hidden and not yet disposed of.
This incident also made Fang Zheng famous in the Metropolitan Police Department, so much so that after that, if the police encountered a criminal who refused to speak, their first reaction would be to ask Fang Zheng to step in, and he would basically be able to solve the problem.
Conan is also very afraid that Fang Zheng will appear in front of him one day and ask him "You must be Kudo Shinichi, right?" and then get the answer directly - poor him, he doesn't even realize where he has been exposed!
Now Conan finally understood how those criminals felt in front of the detective. He was now in a state of panic, fearing that Fang Zheng would see through him, but he was helpless and didn't even know where he had been negligent...
The only thing that reassures Conan is that Fang Zheng's technique doesn't require evidence. Even if he sees through it, he can't prove it with evidence. This is probably why he never tries to deduce or look for clues. Therefore, as long as Conan insists on not admitting it, then even if Fang Zheng sees through it, he can't do anything to him!
Well, thinking of this, Conan suddenly felt much more relaxed.
For example, if someone took drugs and shrunk into a child, there would be no way to find any clues.
If Fang Zheng can find clues, doesn't that mean he is a member of the Black Organization?
Wait, that seems even worse!
Because of this, Conan didn't enjoy his dinner very much, but Fang Zheng enjoyed it very much. Not only that, he also summarized the current "plot" based on his own experience of watching Conan.
First of all, Ms. Su Fang said that the reason she held a charity dinner for children who lost their loved ones in car accidents was because 20 years ago one of her subordinates had caused a car accident that resulted in death, and that subordinate blamed himself for it and eventually chose to commit suicide.
Okay, we have the cause of death.
Then at the dinner table, the last guest, rock singer Aikawa Toya, said that it was his mother who committed suicide at that time, and since then, he has been taken care of by Soho Akane...
At the same time, the photographer at the same table also said that his wife also died in a car accident 20 years ago, so he was also willing to support Ms. Sufang's good deeds.
Well, now we have a motive for murder.
In another situation, this might really be a coincidence, but since Conan is here, it is definitely not a coincidence.
According to the usual style of the Conan animations that Fang Zheng has watched, this Ms. Sufang will most likely be in trouble. The reason is probably that the car accident twenty years ago was not caused by her subordinates, but by herself. Her subordinates were just taking the blame for Sufang Hongzi.
As for whether the murderer is the rock singer Aikawa Touya who is seeking revenge for his mother or the photographer Katagiri Masaki who is seeking revenge for his wife...
This is just a choice between two.
So Fang Zheng has determined that the problem now is not whether people will die, but how they will die? How many people will die?