Chapter 022 Hot Spring Hotel (Part 4)
After the autograph session with Kogoro Mouri ended, everyone did not go back to their rooms directly. Instead, they sat around in the cleaned-up restaurant and started chatting.
At first, everyone was listening to Maori Kogoro's story about the case, but he could only talk about a few things, and after that, he had nothing more to say. Then, somehow, the topic turned to the boss.
Higashino understood. Next came the key clues to the character's initiative!
Yumino Ruko told everyone the history of this hot spring hotel.
Her grandfather was a lumberjack, a lifelong enthusiast for the mountains and their trees. One day, while in the mountains, he discovered a hot spring—a high-quality sulfur spring. At the time, her young father was suffering from an incurable skin disease. Seeing the sulfur spring, her grandfather decided to buy the forest.
Because the location was remote, no one was willing to buy it, so my grandfather successfully got a bargain.
After soaking in the hot springs, his father's illness gradually improved and he recovered. When he grew up, he also became a lumberjack.
In their spare time, the father and son used the remaining wood to transform the hot spring pool bit by bit, from a thatched hut with drafts on all sides to an exquisite mountain cabin.
The owner often came here to play with her family as a child and had a deep affection for the hot spring hut. However, due to the deaths of her relatives one after another, she suffered a great blow and dared not come alone, so the place was abandoned for many years.
It wasn't until three years ago that she met her ex-husband, Kento Toya. With his company, she gradually overcame the trauma of losing her loved ones. After their marriage, she remembered the hot spring cabin and decided to transform it into a hot spring hotel to make it more accessible to more people.
Kento Toya agreed with her decision and provided most of the funds. It must be said that he was instrumental in making the hot spring hotel what it is today.
But the good times didn't last long, as their relationship broke down and they divorced quickly. The hot spring hut was a legacy from their parents, a pre-marital property, so ownership was definitely hers; but the rebuilding of the hot spring hotel had been invested in by Kento Toya, and he refused to accept repayment, so she had no choice but to support him as a shareholder.
The hotel officially opened two years ago, and since then, Toya Kento has been coming up from time to time to "inspect." In order not to disturb other guests, the owner had to reserve a separate room for him.
A group of people listened to the boss's gossip with great interest, wishing they could have two more plates of melon seeds.
At this time, Edogawa Conan asked: "Have you heard the rumors about the wild men?"
Yumino Ruko nodded: "Yes, everyone in this area knows it."
Hattori Heiji then asked, "When did this rumor start?"
Yumino Ruko thought for a moment and said, "It was probably around sixty years ago, around the time my grandfather's generation came out. It seems like it was photographed by some geological survey team. It's said that a certain group hired people to come and explore, intending to develop a resort or something, but after photographing the wild man, they abandoned the area and moved to other hills. When I was a child, I often heard the village elders lament, saying that it was the wild man's fault for scaring off investors, otherwise the village would definitely have developed better."
Edogawa Conan asked again: "What about recently? Have you heard any news about the wild people?"
Yumino Ruko thought about it carefully and shook her head, saying, "I don't think I've heard of it."
At this time, the cleaner Ono Reimi said: "Yes. I saw the news on the Internet." She pulled up the favorite web page from her mobile phone and handed it to the boss.
Yumino Ryuko frowned as she watched. She looked up at Ono Reimi and said, "No wonder you asked for your resignation a while ago. So this is what you're afraid of?"
Ono Reimi scratched her face awkwardly.
"I don't know who wrote this news, but no one around here has heard of the wild man reappearing." Yumino Ruko returned the phone to Ono Reimi and said, "But if the wild man can still live today, he should be old and there's nothing to be afraid of, right?"
Ono Reimi put away her phone and lowered her head silently.
Higashino Hi listened and felt like something was missing. How come Chef Kuwahara Makoto didn't have any story at all?
So he asked tentatively, "Could the so-called wild people be people who got lost in the mountains? It's just that surviving in the wild is too hard, so they don't have much image anymore?"
Yumino Ryuko shook her head. "From the outside, there's still some difference between savages and humans. Besides, every year there are hikers who get lost here, and the villagers are very familiar with their attire."
"Every year? They all come out safely?" Hattori Heiji raised his eyebrows.
Yumino Ruko spread her hands and said, "How would I know? I'm not from the rescue team."
Ono Reimi whispered, "Two years ago, someone went into the mountains and disappeared, and never came out. That guest even stayed with us for one night."
Yumino Ryuko looked at her and said sternly, "Don't talk about things you're not sure about!"
Ono Reimi shrank her neck.
The detectives present all had their radars alerted, and intuitively felt that this matter was related to the letter of commission.
Higashino Hi also felt that this missing case might involve Ono Remi or Kuwahara Makoto!
The atmosphere suddenly became stagnant, and the topic of the wild man could no longer be discussed. Everyone simply got up and went back to their rooms. When they came out of the restaurant, Higashino Xi saw Higashino Kento's figure flash by at the end of the corridor.
Higashino frowned slightly. He didn't know if Higashino had heard what his boss said. If this led to a conflict, that would be bad.
After returning to the room, Dong Yexi was still thinking about this.
At this time, Hatori Yuiichi asked as he made the bed, "Senior, do you want to take a hot spring bath or just go to bed?"
Dong Yexi came back to his senses and said, "I'll soak for a while before going to sleep."
Hatori Yui nodded: "Then you go ahead and soak first."
Dong Yexi walked to the bathroom door, turned around and said, "Actually, we can take a bath together. I've seen it, it's quite big inside."
Hatori Yui paused and said, "You go first."
Dong Yexi thought about it and felt that it was okay for a group of people to take a bath, but it seemed a bit weird for two people to take a bath alone.
He touched his nose and pushed the door open to go into the bathroom.
Their hot spring wasn't open-air, and the bathroom was a bit small. As soon as I turned on the water, steam filled the entire room.
Higashino Xi soaked in the pool, stretched, and thought: Fortunately, Hatori Weiwei didn't come in, otherwise the two of them would have to curl up while taking a bath, and would not be able to stretch their legs like they do now.
However, the leisurely time did not last long as he received a task update notification.
Dong Yexi: Alas... there is no way to avoid the disaster!
He clicked on the system interface and saw:
【Upcoming Event】：A person was attacked and killed in the forest of Gunma Prefecture
【Weapon】: Electric saw
Cause of death: Excessive blood loss
[Suspects]: Yumino Yuko, Kuwahara Makoto, Ono Remi, Toya Kento
[Death Countdown]: 04:59:59.59
Dong Yexi's eyes widened with fright.
How did this weapon get upgraded?! How can I block a chainsaw with my bare hands? Wouldn't that just be me getting chopped off?!
Dong Yexi thought of the horror movies he had seen before, the cruel chainsaw killers, and the tragic deaths of the victims. For the first time, he began to feel a genuine fear from the bottom of his heart. Even when soaking in hot water, he felt cold all over and his face turned pale.
He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down, but found that his brain began to feel heavy and his limbs began to lose strength.
Oops! Something is wrong!
Dong Yexi brought his hand to his mouth, took a big bite, and then climbed out of the pool regardless of his posture.
In the sunken pool, he couldn't use his limbs, so he could only stick his upper body out and then try to roll up.
After finally rolling onto the shore, he was too tired to move and his vision was blurry. He looked up at the distance between himself and the door and it seemed that he really couldn't climb over.
He could only touch the toiletries placed beside him.
He picked up a brush and, with the last of his strength, smashed it against the bathroom door.
Boom!
Then it was plunged into darkness.
Hatori Yui, who was outside the bathroom, heard the noise and immediately turned around.
He walked to the door, knocked, and asked, "Senior, what's wrong?"
There was no response from inside.
Hatori Yui frowned and knocked on the door a little louder: "Senior Tono? What happened?"
Still no response.
Hatori Yui no longer hesitated and immediately opened the bathroom door.
The moment he opened the door, he saw Dong Yexi lying face down on the ground in a spread-eagle position.
Before he even walked in, his nose twitched slightly and his expression instantly darkened.
He held his breath, picked up a towel beside him, wet it and covered his mouth and nose with it, then walked into the bathroom, opened all the windows and exhaust system, then picked up a bath towel, wrapped Dong Yexi in it, and carried him out.
He helped Dong Yexi dry his body, put a yukata on him, put him on the futon and covered him with a blanket. Only then did he pick up his phone to call others.
Not long after, Kindaichi and Matsuzaki Tetsu rushed over. They also went to ask for help from Maori Kogoro, and then Amuro Toru, who was sharing the same room with him, also found out and hurried over.
Kogoro Mouri observed Higashino Higashi's condition, while Toru Amuro went to search the bathroom.
"It does smell like drugs," Amuro Toru said as he walked out. "Even after ventilating the room for a while, I can still smell the residual smell, which means the dosage is quite high."
Maori Kogoro frowned and asked, "How long after he went in did he faint?"
Hatori Yuiichi said, "Five minutes."
Amuro Toru said, "Call the police. Using such a large dose of drugs shows that the criminal doesn't care whether the victim will suffer any sequelae. His purpose may be even more terrifying."
Everyone's expression darkened.
Yui Hatori immediately called the police, but what he described to the police was completely different from the actual situation.
He said: "We found clues about the serial killer in a hot spring hotel in the mountains of Gunma. Please come to support us as soon as possible!" Then he hung up the phone neatly.
The other four people were stunned.
Amuro Toru asked, "Why do you say that?"
Hatori Yuiichi said, "Exaggerating the details will draw attention. But I'm not making this up." He looked at Amuro Toru and said, "You just said that the dosage of the drug was very high. I doubt anyone who has so much of it in his possession has any other criminal record."
Jintian nodded in agreement. Then he called the police again and said something similar.
"This is the only way for the police to be sure it's not a prank," Kindaichi said.
Amuro Toru: ...The police are not that unreliable, right?
After Maori Kogoro thought about who was in charge of Gunma Prefecture, he nodded in agreement: "It would be good to let him pay attention to it."
Hatori Yuiichi looked at them and said seriously, "Then, until the police arrive, please don't spread the news for now. Please also help monitor the people in the hotel. Everyone in this hotel is a suspect."
The four of them looked at each other, then nodded solemnly.
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