Chapter 109: Dramatic Effect |
Bai Mu and Misty Rain exchanged a glance. She wiggled her eyebrows in Conan's direction, wearing an expression that said she had seen through everything.
It seemed they were the only two unaffected by whatever buff was in play, allowing them to track Conan's movements the entire time.
"Hahaha, as expected of me!" Mouri Kogoro laughed exaggeratedly, looking extremely sleazy. "I've solved yet another murder case."
Endo chimed in, "It looks like the case is closed. Mr. Mouri truly lives up to his reputation."
Bai Mu felt things weren't going to be that simple. He was still waiting for Sleeping Kogoro to make an appearance.
Sure enough, after coming out of the bedroom, Conan sneaked around to the back of the sofa.
Bai Mu caught the flash of a silver line that struck Mouri Kogoro right in the neck with a soft swish.
Following that, Mouri Kogoro stumbled around like a drunkard. He swayed and spun two or three times on the floor before collapsing onto the sofa with incredible precision and coincidence, assuming the standard sleeping pose often seen in the newspapers.
Bai Mu almost lost his composure.
And why, after crashing onto the sofa, was he sitting in such a perfect posture without slouching at all!
This completely violated basic physics!
Shouldn't a normal fall end with him sprawled flat on the ground!
"It's here! The Sleeping Kogoro!" Endo shouted in excitement. "I knew things wouldn't end that easily."
"Wait a moment, Inspector Megure. Hayakawa Ryosuke is not the real murderer," Mouri Kogoro's voice echoed from behind the sofa.
Bai Mu could easily pinpoint the source of the sound. Mouri Kogoro wasn't speaking at all; his lips didn't even twitch. Even though his head was lowered, his mouth and throat were still clearly visible.
Unless he was a trained ventriloquist, a person's throat and mouth had to move at least a little when talking.
Yet Mouri Kogoro showed no such signs. His mouth seemed welded shut, completely motionless, and not a single person in the room found this suspicious.
This was clearly that elementary schooler Conan doing the talking, wasn't it?
With so many people at the scene, did absolutely no one see him run behind the sofa?
Bai Mu felt a strong urge to march over to the sofa and drag the hiding kid out into the open. He stared intently at the backrest, absolutely certain that Conan was crouching right there.
He had probably used a tranquilizer dart or a similar gadget to knock Mouri Kogoro out, and was now using some sort of voice changer to mimic his voice and deduce the case.
However, he knew that if he actually did that, he would instantly derail the entire flow of this murder case.
According to the standard procedures of these scripted events, this segment was indispensable. It could even be considered the most crucial part.
If he really yanked the kid out, the Main Quest would likely fail on the spot. Who knew what would happen to the Script then.
He suppressed his inner impulses, reasoning that since it was his first time at a murder scene, he should focus on participating and familiarizing himself with the process before stirring up trouble later.
Still, he couldn't resist wanting to see exactly what was happening behind the sofa. He stood up, tip-toeing as high as he could to peek over, but strangely enough, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't catch a single glimpse of Conan.
"Mr. Ishikawa, what are you doing?" Endo asked in confusion.
"Stretching my neck," Bai Mu replied. He took two steps in another direction, only to realize that the placement of the sofa was utterly incomprehensible.
Whether he moved left or right, forward or backward, the area behind the sofa remained completely obscured from view. Furthermore, not a single police officer present was standing anywhere near it.
It was as if an invisible wall of air surrounded it, blocking all the NPC cast members from getting close.
'Is this the legendary absolute territory...' Bai Mu mocked inwardly.
He was certain now. Daily life in Beika Town was essentially a movie set that completely defied common sense.
Everything served the dramatic effect. When faced with contradictions involving the laws of physics or basic logic, reality had to step aside and make way for the drama.
Helpless, Bai Mu could only stand back and obediently listen to the famous deductions of Sleeping Kogoro.
While his eyes showed a hint of resignation, Misty Rain remained completely unfazed. In fact, she looked like a spectator eager for a show, casually pulling off her mask and taking a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket with great interest.
"Want some?" Misty Rain offered the seeds to him.
Once the deduction began, Endo's attention was fully captivated by Kogoro. Taking advantage of the distraction, the two players had slipped away to a secluded corner of the room.
"Where did you get sunflower seeds?" Bai Mu grabbed a handful and started cracking them open, noting they were green tea flavored.
"Drew them from a Script chest," Misty Rain explained. "These are about the only things on me that weren't restricted."
"Who do you think the killer is?" Misty Rain asked.
"Probably Nishizono Shinichi," Bai Mu said.
"Why's that?" Misty Rain glanced at him.
"Intuition," Bai Mu replied. "He hasn't been suspected at all so far. If this follows a subverted trope formula, he has to be the murderer in the end."
"I think the female assistant is highly suspicious too," Misty Rain whispered, leaning in closer. "She didn't even blink when she saw the corpse. Doesn't that scream cold-blooded killer?"
Realizing the implications of her words, she hastily added, "Bro, don't misunderstand, I'm not talking about you."
Bai Mu silently continued cracking seeds. "Do you know what this set actually is?"
"Seeing that kid jogged my memory," Misty Rain said. "I don't usually watch this stuff, but that elementary schooler named Conan is pretty famous. He has a nickname, the Grim Reaper Kid. Wherever he goes, people die."
"So this really is a TV show set?"
"A long-running anime set," Misty Rain corrected. "I get it now. Clearing this Script isn't actually hard. I'm guessing we just need to slack off and cosplay as Forensic Doctors at the crime scenes, and we'll pass."
"The process is just a bit long since we have to play pretend as Forensic Doctors for a hundred days."
"True," Bai Mu nodded. "What do you think would happen if I dragged Conan out right now?"
"I haven't thought about that," Misty Rain mused. "But the Script would probably collapse. In the original setting, Conan is a high school Detective turned into a child by poison. The core appeal is watching him solve cases using Mouri Kogoro's mouth."
"This secret has lasted for over a thousand episodes. If he gets found out, the Script wouldn't be able to continue. The lore states that once his identity is exposed, the Black Organization will hunt him down and shoot him."
"I figure the moment you pull him out, the Black Organization will show up, spray us with bullets, and the Script will end."
"Is that so," Bai Mu nodded.
"This Script is pretty simple. I think we can treat this as a vacation now." Misty Rain cracked her sunflower seeds in a relaxed manner. No one was paying attention to her anyway; all eyes were fixed on Kogoro's famous deductions.
Bai Mu narrowed his eyes, reviewing the conditions for the Main Quest.
[Play the role of a Forensic Doctor well, and do not let any residents of Beika Town discover any flaws in your disguise.]
He carefully pondered the meaning of this sentence, sensing a great deal of room for maneuvering. He felt that the requirements for a perfect clear of the Script were nowhere near that simple.
However, since this case was already drawing to a close, there was nothing left to exploit. He could only wait for the next opportunity.