At the door of the crime scene, Mao Lilan stood outside the door of the room, looked up at the lights that flickered from time to time, and said worriedly, "How do you feel that this light is getting darker and darker, Dad, can they really come back before the wires are completely broken......

No one responded for a long time after saying that, and the girl looked down to the side, and the little boy who was supposed to be guarding the door with her was gone.

Conan——?! Where did you go again?! ”

In the room, Conan Edogawa, who was collecting clues everywhere, was frightened by this shout and stood up, but forgot that there was a cabinet above him, because of this action, his forehead hit the edge of the cabinet directly, and the pain made him squat down with his head in his hands.

It hurts——!

The little detective was about to stand up with the bag that had been knocked out of his head, but stopped when he saw the carpet in front of him.

"It's ......"

He leaned over with a frown, and turned on the light of his watch on his wrist again, only to see a small piece of carpet that he had not seen because of his perspective.

There was a place on it that was more colorful than the other sounds, and Edogawa Conan reached out to touch it, and it was a cold and moist touch, but when he got closer, he couldn't smell anything else.

There was a very thin and long trail underneath the trail of water, as if something had been dragged along the carpet after touching the pool of unknown water.

It's a pity that only this water trail was left on the carpet, and the trail disappeared when it was dragged to the floor.

What is this line used for......

Conan Edogawa frowned and came out from under the cabinet, and when he looked up, he just saw a ventilation pipe that didn't fit in the room.

Before he could think of anything, he felt his body suddenly lighten, and Maolilan didn't know when he appeared behind him, dragging his arms from the carpet and picking him up.

"Really, Conan, you're running around again." She puffed up and hugged the fluttering little detective in her arms, "Didn't Dad say that you can't just go in, what if you accidentally destroy some important evidence." ”

"Because I-"

Conan Edogawa was about to say something with his face tilted up, when he was interrupted by a voice coming from outside the door.

"Miss Lan, and Conan." The maid stood at the door with a tray with two cups of steaming coffee, "I've got your coffee ready, let's have some coffee to refresh yourself." ”

"Thank you, Miss Oya." Mao Lilan reached out to take the coffee from the other party, and had just put another smaller cup in the hand of the boy next to him when he heard him ask.

"Sister Xuya—what is this?"

Looking in the direction of Edogawa Conan's finger, the maid nodded clearly, "This is just a ventilation pipe."

It's not uncommon to see ventilation pipes in bedrooms nowadays... However, because this is a renovated villa in an old villa, it will be very troublesome to remove the previous room settings, so I simply keep it. However, these pipes are no longer used. ”

"I see." Edogawa Conan took a big sip of his coffee, "What kind of room is under this pipe?" ”

"Below the pipes is the kitchen, and below that is the storage room, and the rooms are connected."

The pantry, kitchen, and bedroom are actually connected.

The boy looked moved, put down his coffee cup and ran towards the balcony outside, he leaned on the railing of the balcony and looked down, and could indeed see that the kitchen window was directly below.

The villa has three floors, and he is located on the balcony of the second floor room, but most of the rooms on the third floor are set up as a study or screening room, and there is no balcony.

So when you look up, there is nothing else blocking the view, and it is easy to see the roof of the villa and the windows of the smaller rooms above.

Conan Edogawa tilted his head vigorously and shone the flashlight on his watch on the wall above.

"Alright, I think we'll go out first." Putting the coffee cups that the two of them had drunk back in the tray, and didn't dare to step into the room where Yasuda Ichiro's body was still lying, the maid Xuya stood outside and shouted, "Put."

The door of this room was locked along with the door of Mr. Ikekawa next door, which should prevent the murderer from coming back and destroying the scene. ”

"Not necessarily, if Brother Chikawa is not the murderer, then the murderer must have other ways to enter this room, but I'm afraid it won't work just locking the door."

"That's right." Listening to Edogawa Conan's words, Mao Lilan thought about it and refused the other party's invitation to go to the living room together, "I think it's safer for me and Conan to stay here, and we'll go down after everyone comes back." ”

"It may take a long time for them to come back...... In this way, it just so happens that Dr. Nozawa left the playing cards here, so it is better to relieve your boredom and use them well. ”

As she spoke, the maid took out a somewhat old deck of playing cards from her apron pocket, "I wanted to give it back to him today, but he went too fast and didn't have time to tell him about it." ”

"Huh? Does Dr. Nozawa like to play poker? The long-haired girl took the cards from the other party's hand, and thought about the Dr. Nozawa she had seen at the time, and was a little surprised.

"Actually, he rarely plays, and I asked him before if he would gamble on such a faux pas, but he got a negative answer."

"'I don't want chips at the table.'" The maid pretended to have a cigarette in her hand and imitated, "Anyway, that's what he said at the time, okay, then I'll ...... first"

The word 'chip' and the silver pendant around Dr. Nozawa's neck when he left made Edogawa Conan frown, and he grabbed Xuya, who was about to leave, and his voice was a little eager, "Sister! Is there any ...... on that doctor's uncle?"

He choked for a moment, feeling that it was a little strange to suddenly ask if there was a gunshot wound, and finally just compromised, "Is that doctor uncle a doctor in the hospital?" Why did you come here to see Mr. Yasuda? ”

"I don't know how he and the master met... He's not a doctor in a hospital, but he's a good doctor, so I guess for some reason he can't be a surgeon anymore, right? ”

"Some reasons?"

"I guess it's because of an injury or something, so I can't have another surgery, right? Once, when he came to see Mr. Yasuda, he rolled up his sleeves, and I saw a large scar on his left arm. ”

The maid gestured above her forearm, "Right here...... It's a strange scar, like a lot of lightning bolts huddled together......"

“...... Is it cracked? ”

"yes, that's the shape."

Edogawa Conan sank into color.

Scars of this shape are most likely caused by bullets.

Whether it is silver, bullet wounds on his body, or chips in his words, it seems to be equated with the inexplicable description of the name Columbai by Kenzo Kameyama before his death, as well as the words of Gray Hara.

But... The doctor looked to be in his thirties, a far cry from what he had inferred from Ashbara's words.

And compared to this doctor, who basically has all the characteristics to match, he is more suspicious of the young chaebol who has a lot to do with Amuro and doesn't seem to be quite right with Okiya.

——

Watching Enoch return to the woods, Ikekawa Na straightened her coat before walking towards the storage room that Maid Xuya had said.

As he approached the door, he suddenly sneezed.

Odd... Is it because it's too dusty?

Reaching out and rubbing the tip of her nose, Ikekawa Na walked into the storage room and found the candle on the shelf according to the note written by the maid just now.

; Setting things aside, he closed the door to the storage room, and after making sure there was no other movement around, he removed his headband with his eyes down.

He had been wondering why a memory fragment suddenly flashed in his mind when he was in the alley with Gin, but then he only felt familiar with the scene he had seen, and it was rare for him to directly recall the past like this.

Again, the eye drops were not used again, and the reason could only be found in other variables.

Just came out of the bathtub

At that moment, Ikekawa Na suddenly figured out what the variable was.

Suffocation.

That time in the alley. Gin's hand was just at the back of his neck, coupled with the familiar image and the gun on his forehead...... The slight suffocation and the familiar imagery and his own memories of being shot at the time turned into flashbacks.

Even the time he dreamed in the car was because he buried his face in a thick blanket and breathed heavily.

Because the most severe amnesia comes with the bullet that sinks into the chest, does the body or brain automatically hook the suffocation caused by the bullet piercing the internal organs and the blood blocking the trachea......

Ikekawa hooked the corners of her mouth, picked up the headband without a smile, and tied it around her neck.

A very simple knot, a long section hangs out on one side, and you only need to pull the front end to gradually exert force, which can make the loop on the neck tighter and tighter, bringing uncomfortable pain, suffocation, and even death.

He tugged at the side, his arm exerting force.

What are the necessary conditions for retrieving memories...... Fragments of a memory, such as familiar images or voices, cues within the brain, and a feeling of suffocation.

It was a bit bold and not very thoughtful to do this in such a place, but he was somewhat desperate to test the idea. If he didn't do this with the time he had to get things alone, he would probably have to wait for the next mission, when he left the villa again.

Which one do you want to recall... What are the images or sounds that you can use now......

That's right, that scene.

On the way to the villa at the Chau Lou Winery, he woke up from his sleep, and when he looked up, he saw the scene of the villa like a coffin from that perspective.

He must have seen this scene from the back seat like this, otherwise he wouldn't have had that strange sense of trepidation when he suddenly saw the villa.

What happened after that......

Ikekawa Na took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled it, and as she thought about it, her right hand was slowly tightening the headband around her neck.

The feeling of suffocation grew stronger as he moved, and his instinct for survival made him want to let go of his hand and let in fresh air.

He bit his lower lip, forcefully suppressed the instinct of this kind of person, and his hand continued to exert force, and between the dizziness caused by suffocation, another image suddenly flashed in his mind.

*————*

Villa study, familiar furnishings.

This villa is designed with a lot of European classical decoration, whether it is a tall wooden bookcase or a thick place, leather sofa, which is incompatible with the kimono that Ikekawa likes to wear.

But this time, it was rare that the man standing in the study did not wear his usual kimono, and the black bib shorts of the suit outlined the straight back of a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy.

The well-worn calf socks on his legs obviously didn't protect against the cold outside, and his knees were red from the cold, and he didn't even recover from the warm room.

The little master stood in front of the bookshelf and pursed his lips and looked at the sofa not far away. The armchair he had often used to snooze up, but now it was occupied by another person.

A man who looks no more than thirty years old, the contours of his face are three-dimensional that belongs to the mixed race.

The boy raised his head, looked at the gray-blue eyes that showed no emotion, his lips pursed, and finally spat out an inaudible word.

“...... Mr. ”

"Come here, kneel here."

When these words fell, the atmosphere in the study was a little heavier than just now.

He stood up straight and didn't move.

"Young Master... Go and confess your mistakes to the boss......" Next to him, the butler standing at the door had his forehead already wet with sweat, and he seemed to know what was going to happen next, so he could only use this way to keep reminding the child he brought up not to make that person angry.

Under the emotionless eyes of the man sitting in the chair, all his incoherent and chattering words were swallowed back into his stomach, and only a few struggles flashed in his eyes, which gradually died out.

"You go out first." The man raised his chin at him.

"Young master, he ......"

Silenced in the other party's gray and blue gaze, the housekeeper hesitated and could only unscrew the door of the study and walked out.

The door of the study opened, briefly letting the outside light into the study, which was drowsy, as the curtains were tightened, but as the door closed, the light disappeared again.

"One last time." The man narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the armrest of the sofa, "Come here, kneel here." ”

The boy took a small step forward almost subconsciously, but soon he clenched his hands and suppressed the movements he made out of fear.

He stepped back a bit, leaning his back against the cold bookcase, the rhetoric he had been brewing no longer working when he was staring at him, and he could only turn his head and respond with silence to the other party's command to admit his mistake and compromise.

I don't know how long it took, but suddenly a chuckle sounded in the room.

"Maybe I was too indulgent of you before."

The boy subconsciously felt fear, he gritted his teeth and held back without moving, he kept staring at the man getting up from the chair, walking this way at a normal pace, and when the shadow was about to envelop him, he was finally carried away by fear, turned his head and ran towards the door of the study.

Before he could grasp the closed door, a hand reached out from behind and covered his mouth and nose fiercely.

The man easily covered the young master's mouth and nose from behind with one hand, and his wrist and forearm were stuck next to his neck, strangling the person in his arms.

The other hand grasped one of the horns of the bronze statue of the goat next to the bookshelf, and with a twisting motion and a heavy click, the middle bookshelf suddenly receded backwards, revealing a secret door.

His eyes widened, and he looked into the secret door, which was almost black—

*————*

Ikekawa jerked the headband off her neck, and fresh air poured into her mouth and nose.

Just a little bit... I can barely see what's inside the secret door, damn it......

He couldn't gamble on the possibility of causing excessive suffocation, so he could only quickly let go when the suffocation was already beyond the dangerous value, so as not to really get out.

That memory is......

If you want to use this method to find memories in the future, let's find a more reliable guy..... But if you go to Gin and ask him to choke himself by the neck without strangling someone, will that guy agree......

"Bang bang—"

The sound coming from outside the storage room made the black-haired man's eyes widen instantly.

A moment before more fresh air poured in, he reached out and covered his mouth and nose strongly, dragging out the whole process of suffocation, and did not allow himself to choke and cough in embarrassment from the sudden inhalation of a large amount of air.

After a little relief, he frowned and coughed lightly twice, barely relieving the discomfort in his throat before he spoke, "Who?" ”

“...... It's me. Okiya's voice came from outside, "Miss Oya-chan asked me to help you find the candle." ”：，，.