Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

After this, more guests arrived to join the group.

They were — photographer Katagiri Masaki and the famous diviner Haruka Nagara. Katagiri Masaki was a very calm middle-aged man around forty years old, whereas Haruka Nagara possessed a mysterious charm and was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties. After recognizing each other in front of the Western Mansion, they decided to visit the owner first.

However...to their surprise, the Western Mansion actually had two main entrances. What shocked them even more was that just as they considered which door to enter through, both doors opened simultaneously, and out came a pair of almost identical twin maids.

Furthermore, according to the maids, those invited by the owner to stay in the Eastern Manor could only enter from the Eastern Manor, and similarly, those invited to stay in the Western Manor could only enter from the Western Manor... Well, this was certainly an inexplicable quirk of the owner.

But twins as maids, huh?

Looking at the two almost identical individuals with their bangs positioned oppositely, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but think of Rem and Lei, who were currently assisting Kurumi’s clone at the Third Coordinate Point. Fang Zheng had contacted them earlier and they seemed to be doing well. However...perhaps it’s time to visit them again?

But to speak of the symmetrical Western Mansion and symmetrical maids, it inevitably reminded Fang Zheng of the symmetry-obsessed patient Moriya Teiji from the film ’Detonate Skyscraper.’

If he were here, he would definitely love this design.

In the end, Kogoro Mouri, Ran, and Conan stayed in the Eastern Manor, while Fang Zheng, the photographer, and the diviner stayed in the Western Manor. Thus, the group split into two, entering from the respective left and right doors, and proceeded to the central Masked Hall on the second floor under the guidance of the maids.

To be honest, the owner of this mansion truly liked masks; no matter where you went, you could see all kinds of masks hanging on the walls. Of course, what the owner thought isn’t known, but everyone else found the masks a bit unsettling. Particularly when Conan, with itchy fingers, pressed a button that opened the curtain originally covering them, everyone was completely stunned.

Behind the red curtain, the display cabinet revealed hundreds of masks, densely packed. Unlike other various masks, these hundreds of masks were all identical, with hollow eyes and a crescent-like mouth. Coupled with the white base color, they gave off the impression of a sneering creature.

When the identical masks covered the entire wall, nothing else needed to be said—the intimidation was enough to make one’s heart palpitated.

No wonder the mansion owner had this wall covered; otherwise, it would eventually lead to mental exhaustion.

No, it’s curious how one hasn’t yet experienced mental exhaustion living in such a bizarre mansion.

Meanwhile, the group met the mansion’s owner, Madam Sofon Akako.

This lady was now over sixty, appearing to be just a kind and dignified elderly person. She greeted everyone warmly and then began introducing her collection of masks. Especially the wall full of ”Xiao Bu’er masks,” according to this elderly lady, these eerie white masks were crafted long ago by a Spanish sculptor. The sculptor was betrayed by his brother, almost losing everything, and thus carved these two hundred masks out of resentment before taking his own life.

Afterward, those who purchased these masks experienced unusual incidents one after another, hence they became known as ominous masks...

But come to think of it, knowing such rumors, yet daring to buy all these masks, Madam, you are quite bold.

Looking at the self-satisfied Madam Sofon Akako, Fang Zheng was speechless. He couldn’t understand the mindset of the death-seeking residents in the Conan World, as it seemed that several times, mansion owners were keen on collecting items with ominous reputations, and were stubbornly convinced that rumors were just rumors, then ended up dying.

So the saying goes, ”If you don’t seek death, you won’t die.”

However, misfortune never comes singly. At this point, Kogoro Mouri told Madam Sofon that when driving here, his path was blocked by a large tree with a note pinned on it, warning him not to attend Madam Sofon’s charity dinner...

After seeing this note, the others also said they had received similar messages.

”Did Brother Fang Zheng get one too?”

Seeing Fang Zheng reading quietly nearby, Conan curiously approached and asked, to which Fang Zheng nodded.

”Received it, ignored it.”

”......”

Conan was somewhat speechless at Fang Zheng’s answer, but soon he turned his eyes and looked at Fang Zheng.

”Then Brother Fang Zheng, do you think the one sending threatening notes is among these people?”

You’re seriously treating me like a tool, aren’t you?

Facing Conan’s question, Fang Zheng squinted his eyes and glanced at him.

”Definitely among them, and I suspect there might be a murder case.”

”Really?!”

At this, Conan’s face sank deeply.

”Brother Fang Zheng, you truly believe there will be a murder case?”

”Of course, based on my experience, whenever I encounter you out here, a few people usually die or have already died, and this time is probably no exception. If I knew you were coming, I wouldn’t have come.”

Fang Zheng silently muttered and focused his gaze back on the novel beside him.

Shouldn’t you have some awareness of your Grim Reaper physical quality?

”Uh......”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s response, Conan found himself speechless for a moment. He wanted to refute him, but after careful thought, he realized that this time, he and Fang Zheng had met three times outside. The first time was at Little Lily’s teacher’s wedding, where Little Lily’s teacher was almost poisoned, and the second time was at the Sherlock Holmes fanatic’s tour group, which resulted in the boss being killed......

Moreover, Kogoro Mouri wasn’t there for those two incidents, so he couldn’t put the blame on Kogoro Mouri.

But...... how much does he know?

Looking at Fang Zheng, who was flipping through a book and seemingly indifferent to what’s happening nearby, Conan also felt very nervous. After the Sherlock Holmes fanatic incident, Conan’s true identity was discovered by Heiji Hattori. At that time, Heiji Hattori asked Conan if Fang Zheng knew his real identity, and warned him that he must be careful around Fang Zheng. For an expert on micro-expressions, you don’t need to do anything; he can tell what you’re thinking. If Conan wanted to keep a secret, he had to be careful around Fang Zheng.

Otherwise, who knows when he might see through your true identity.

To be honest, Conan himself felt uneasy about it, mainly because the first two encounters with Fang Zheng gave him such a strong impression. Especially the first time when Little Lily’s teacher was almost poisoned. Conan was present the entire time, and he didn’t notice any intention of killing from Toshihiko Takasugi, but Fang Zheng somehow detected issues from their eye contact and movements and directly intervened to stop the crime.

As for the second Sherlock Holmes fanatic tour group, it was similar. Conan didn’t find anything unusual about the suspect, but Fang Zheng saw through the other person’s intentions straight away and quickly provided an answer......

So Conan is also very worried, if one day Ran talks to Fang Zheng about him, Fang Zheng might just need a few conversations to figure him out. No, wait, why does he feel like Fang Zheng has long seen through him?

Thinking back, during the Sherlock Holmes fanatic tour group, he and Heiji Hattori were crouching on the ground searching for clues, when Fang Zheng came over and gave them the answer, as if he had no doubts or suspicions about a little kid looking for clues there...... Generally speaking, someone like Uncle Mouri would stop a kid from running around a murder scene, right?

And the phrase Fang Zheng just used...... Normally, it wouldn’t be something said to a child.

After all, if Conan really was a child, would Fang Zheng saying ”Every time I meet you outside, someone dies” not hurt Conan’s young and fragile heart?

What does he know? And how much does he know?

Thinking of this, Conan recalled his previous intelligence collection. Fang Zheng’s identity as a consultant for the Metropolitan Police Department wasn’t a secret, so Conan once used his identity to subtly get some information about Fang Zheng from Officer Megure and Officer Takagi, and found out that within the Metropolitan Police Department, Fang Zheng was already quite famous.

Especially with Officer Takagi telling Conan about a case. At that time, they had arrested a suspect but still couldn’t find the murder weapon. The possible locations included the riverbank, the suspect’s villa, and their company’s warehouse. Yet, the suspect firmly believed ”Confessing leads to leniency, resisting to severity,” refusing to speak.

With time pressing and not being able to search all three locations simultaneously, Fang Zheng happened to come over. He took the map and pointed to the three locations continuously, asking the suspect repeatedly if the murder weapon was hidden there.

To Officer Takagi and others, the suspect’s responses seemed unchanged, but Fang Zheng directly determined that the suspect had hidden the murder weapon in the warehouse. Subsequently, the police conducted a thorough search of the warehouse and indeed found the hidden murder weapon that hadn’t been dealt with yet.

This case not only made Fang Zheng famous within the Metropolitan Police Department but also resulted in the first response being to invite Fang Zheng if a suspect refused to cooperate, generally resolving the problem.

Conan is also afraid that one day Fang Zheng will appear before him and ask, ”Are you Shinichi Kudou?” and then directly get an answer——— Poor him, unaware of where he’s exposed!

Now Conan finally understands the feelings of those criminals in front of a detective, like him now—anxious, fearing being seen through by Fang Zheng, but helplessly not knowing where he made an oversight......

The only thing that reassures Conan is that Fang Zheng’s skill doesn’t rely on evidence. Even if he sees through him, he won’t be able to prove it with evidence, which might also be why he never goes for deductive reasoning or to find clues. So as long as Conan holds onto denial, even if Fang Zheng figures him out, he can’t do anything about it!

Hmm, thinking this relieved Conan a lot.

Things like taking medication to shrink in size to a child can’t possibly have any clues.

If Fang Zheng could find clues———wouldn’t that mean he’s part of the Black Organization?

Wait, that sounds even worse!

Because of this, Conan didn’t enjoy his dinner very much, whereas Fang Zheng did quite enjoy it, eating heartily. Not only that, he also summarized the current ”plot” based on his experience of observing Conan.

Firstly, Madam Sofon said she organized the charity dinner for children who lost relatives due to car accidents because twenty years ago, her subordinate caused a fatal car accident, and she felt guilty, resulting in her ultimate choice of suicide.

Alright, there’s the death reason.

Then at the dinner table, the last tardy guest, rock singer Fuyutai Aogawa, expressed that his mother was the one who committed suicide, and ever since, he had been cared for by Madam Sofon Akako......

Meanwhile, the photographer at the table also said his wife died in a car accident twenty years ago, so he was willing to support Madam Sofon’s charity.

Alright, there’s the motive for murder.

If it were a different setting, it might truly be a coincidence, but since Conan is here, it’s definitely not.

According to Fang Zheng’s experience watching Conan animations, this Madam Sofon is probably headed for a downfall. The reason being, that the car accident twenty years ago wasn’t caused by her subordinate but by herself, with her subordinate taking the blame for Madam Sofon Akako.

As for whether the murderer avenges the mother as the rock singer Fuyutai Aogawa or avenges the wife as the photographer Katagiri Masaki......

It’s just a binary choice.

So Fang Zheng had already determined that the issue now is not about people dying, but how? And how many?