A few minutes ago, the real-world Sugie House-

In the sky, which was still a little sunny, it was already cloudy at some point. The house is very poorly lit, the room is very dark, far from the window, the darkness is not much worse than the night.

Ayumi was dragged into the nearest room by Conan, trembling in shock.

After holding her breath and waiting for the people in the corridor to pass by, she looked at Conan, who was sticking to the doorway, peeping out through the crack in the door, and asked in a crying voice:

"Why do you come in the daytime, and you will also encounter real ghosts? …… Woo, is it because it's cloudy today, and they've all run out? ”

"I told you, it's not a ghost." Conan whispered, "There's still running water, and in many of the rooms, the windows are open, but there's not much dust on the floor—there must be people moving here." ”

He strongly suggested that the "expedition" time be changed to a weekend morning, not to prevent ghosts, of course, but to worry that those "supernatural phenomena" were caused by some idle people hiding here.

If you come at night and a group of small children meet them, it can be dangerous.

…… It's just that Conan didn't expect that when he came during the day, he still didn't escape.

- Mitsuhiko and Motota have already disappeared after letting out a scream, and he and Ayumi look around, but they can't find their friends, but they almost hit a woman with long hair pushing a food cart.

If it weren't for the fact that Conan decisively hid with Ayumi after hearing the movement around the corner, they might have ended up with their missing partner.

After the woman left some distance, Conan planned to follow him to see if he could find Mitsuhiko and Motota.

As soon as he opened the door, Ayumi behind him suddenly let out a small scream.

Conan turned his head sharply, raised his arm vigilantly, and pressed his watch open.

I saw Ayumi stepping back a few steps, trembling and pointing to a wardrobe very close to the door: "I—I wanted to hide in it, but it was ...... inside. There seems to be a person inside! ”

"Anyone?"

…… Could this be a place to hide corpses?!

The thought naturally crossed Conan's mind. His face was grim, and he hurried over and pulled the cabinet door.

However, with a hard tug, the door was not opened.

The rattle of a string of chains sounded, and Conan only opened a gap three or four centimeters wide.

Looking through the gap, through the dim light, you can indeed see a seated humanoid inside.

Conan took a deep breath and sniffed carefully, not smelling the smell of corpses and blood, and was slightly relieved.

Then he took the flashlight that Ayumi brought and shone it inward through the gap.

First, he saw the chest that was unique to living people, and then a mask that impressed Conan jumped into his eyes.

"......" A cold sweat broke out behind Conan's back, and the person stiffened slightly.

Isn't this the suspicious person who suddenly disappeared in the park yesterday! How could he be here?!

Ayumi hid behind Conan, her eyes closed, and she thought, "Was he killed by a ghost and then stuffed here?" ”

"No......" Conan had always felt that something was not right just now, and after Ayumi mentioned it, he finally realized the problem.

- The chains are hung from the inside!

This man wasn't moved here, he locked himself in!

This made Conan a little nervous, because it meant that the man in black inside could escape at any time, and he was a dangerous person who could be related to the organization in black.

As for why it is related, of course, it is because he is dressed in black and behaves strangely......

But then again...... Why is this man hiding in a cupboard in an ancient house?

Ran to a place where no one was practicing magic tricks, only to fail to transform into a living person and make yourself unconscious?

Conan snorted, shook the unreliable thought behind him, thought for a moment, and closed the cabinet door again.

Before closing the door, he actually thought about whether to take the opportunity to make up for the injection and put an end to the hidden danger.

But there was only one anesthetic needle, and there was a woman of unknown origin outside, so she should still use the equipment on the blade.

Before coming here, Conan thought that in the "haunted house", there would be some wanderers who occasionally came to spend the night.

I didn't expect that there were really people here for a long time, and now, there is an inexplicable person in the closet......

The complexity of the matter was beyond Conan's expectations, and he thought for a moment, not understanding what was happening for a while, so he made the simplest and most effective judgment: he had to find a way to call the police.

In any case, the most important thing is to catch the people in the black organization and ask about the poison ingredients that make him smaller.

Although I don't know if he is or not, but it is so suspicious, I will ask again after arresting it......

The two children returned to the door, and Conan warily pulled the door open a crack.

Before he could look out, he heard the tiny rolling sound of the wheels.

Conan immediately stopped his movements, motioned for Ayumi to keep quiet, and peeked out through the crack in the door.

I saw the woman in the black dress pushing a food cart and fluttering through the door.

There was a buttoned dinner plate on the dining car, and next to the dinner plate, there was a kitchen knife with a little rust. Ayumi saw the knife clearly, her face turned pale, and she shuddered again.

When the woman passed by, she nervously grabbed Conan: "She, she took the knife!" I didn't have it yet...... Is she going to kill someone?! ”

Conan didn't answer this, he turned his head and said solemnly:

"The woman went deeper into the house, and you just now went back to the first floor, and left through the side door, and ran away. I remember there was a convenience store around the corner, and you went there to explain the situation and find someone to call the police. ”

As for himself......

"I'll go up and have a look." Conan was also concerned about the extra kitchen knives.

Think about the missing Motota and Mitsuhiko, and then think about the "haunted house rumors" that Qimei said before, there is a dog that accidentally broke into this ancient mansion and was found to be a dog with white bones...... The situation may be more urgent than he thought.

Although the two children were noisy and disobedient, and very annoying, Conan couldn't see death without help.

The layout of the bungalow wasn't too complicated for Conan, and he trotted in the direction the woman had left.

Ayumi looked at Conan in the distance, and then looked back at the lonely hallway.

Fear made her swallow and quickly ran behind Conan, following him.

In order to prevent detection, when there was still some distance from the woman in the black dress, Conan slowed down and cautiously kept a corner distance from her.

Therefore, when he turned another corner and found that there was a dead end in front of him, and the woman in the black dress was gone, Conan was stunned for a moment.

The person disappeared, and the dining cart she was pushing just now was still quietly parked at the end of the corridor, and the tray and kitchen knife had been removed.

Conan, a staunch materialist, certainly did not believe that people would disappear into thin air.

He turned on his flashlight, walked over to the dining car, and searched.

Soon, he succeeded in finding the secret door that opened downwards on the ground.

Squatted down and lifted it up twice, his arms were sore, but the door didn't move.

Conan could only straighten up again and begin to ponder.

Instead of pondering why he was able to move the anesthetized Mori Kogoro and unable to lift a single door, he was thinking about what handy props could solve this dilemma.

Soon, Conan's eyes lit up and he removed the strap from his bib pants. It was then fastened to the doorknob with one end, and hooked to the raised ornament on the wall next to it with the other.

When the switch was pressed, the strap began to shrink at a uniform rate, and the door on the floor slowly lifted.

Behind the door, a dark downward staircase was revealed.

Conan felt the humidity inside, looked at the walls that didn't have much moss and mold, and realized that there must be people in this hidden tunnel.

He took Ayumi with him and went down carefully.

Before stepping down the last step, the door that Shiraishi had seen appeared before their eyes.

To the left of this door, there is actually a passage.

But the lighted room on the ground floor, which is close at hand, is even more curious.

Conan saw that the door was not closed tightly, and his hands were itching, so he stepped forward lightly and pulled the door open a crack.