Chapter 77: Trial of Keyboard Warriors

“We… seem to be meeting for the first time, right?” The fat young man Doi Takeshu scratched his cheek and looked at Xia He with a silly smile on his face.

“Don’t pretend. Even though you disguised yourself very well, I can still tell right away that your current face is disguised. This is not based on observation and reasoning ability, but on the sense of smell.”

“Sense of smell?” Doi Takeshu was stunned.

Then Xia He continued, “The materials used for disguise have a faint scent. Normal people can’t smell it, but I can.”

Well, he was just talking nonsense.

Because he had read the original work, he knew from the beginning that Kuroba Kaito would disguise himself as Doi Takeki to sneak into the party, but if there was no legitimate reason, how could this guy admit it in person?

“Are you a dog nose?” As expected, Kuroba Kaito, who really believed what Xia He said, switched back to his real voice: “But… I’m not the only one who can disguise myself, how did you know it was me?”

“If you read the kana of ‘Doi Takeshu’ in reverse order, wouldn’t it be ‘Phantom Thief Kidd’?” Xia He said.

“Kid, I really can’t hide anything from you.” Kuroba Kaito smiled helplessly.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“It’s a long story. I came here just because I was curious. Why is the ‘Fraud Boy’ who should have died a long time ago still communicating with people in the chat room? But now it seems… most likely that the old man’s descendants are continuing to use his account.”

The chat room member, whose ID is Fraud Boy and is called “Old Gentleman” by Kid, is actually the deceased famous escape magician – Harui Fuden.

However, the person currently using this ID is a woman named Tanaka Kikue.

Speaking of which, Harui Fuchuen’s death was actually quite dramatic.

Harui Fuden, who had retired for many years due to his advanced age, often saw members in the chat room praising and reminiscing about the magic he had performed. So on a whim, he chose to make a comeback. After successfully completing an escape magic trick, he wanted to reveal the secret to the members in the chat room that he was Harui Fuden.

It’s a pity that the hero is getting old and it’s hard to see him return to his prime.

Harui Fuden unfortunately died during that magic show.

Before the magic show started, he wrote a message in the chat room with great anticipation, intending to send it out after the performance was successful.

The text content is roughly like this:
[I succeeded. What do you think of this magic trick?

——From the Fraud Boy and Harui Fuden]
A very sad story.

Xia He also remembered that the woman named Tanaka Kikue was actually the granddaughter of Harui Fuden.

The reason why she continued to use her grandfather’s account, contacted the members of the chat room, and participated in this offline meeting was actually for revenge.

It wasn’t because she blamed these members for her grandfather’s death, but when she was packing up her grandfather’s belongings, she accidentally saw the conversation in the chat room on her grandfather’s computer.

Phantom: [Did you guys watch the news? It said that Mr. Harui Fuden died yesterday while performing an underwater escape magic trick]
The Silent Ventriloquist: [I saw it in the newspaper. I was shocked at the time. After all, he just announced his comeback not long ago…]
Escape King: [He is already quite old, yet he still comes here to attract attention. I said at the time that this old man would have an accident sooner or later]
Escape King: [Well, he must have wished for it to die on stage, right? (laughs)]
Disappearing Barney: [Indeed, if you think about it carefully, for an old man like this, this is probably his only wish for the rest of his life(^^;)]
These conversations, unsurprisingly, aroused Tanaka Kikue’s murderous intent.

So she planned everything in advance, intending to put the two “Internet trolls” to eternal sleep on this ordinary day.

Before coming to this place, the “Escape King” had been killed at home by Kikue Tanaka.

She now has only one target left, and that is the “disappearing Barney”, the man who is currently performing magic for Xiaolan in the living room – Hamano Toshiya.

[Unlock Mission: Trial of Keyboard Warrior]

[Mission content: The life and death of the keyboard warrior is up to you. Save Hamano Toshiya, or watch the murderer kill the other party, and you can get a talent.]

[Task progress: not completed]

Xia He: “?” Regardless of life or death…

That means, even if I just stand by and watch the show, I can still get the talent reward?

Is there such a good thing?

Looking at the tasks that popped up in his mind, Xia He thought to himself.

“Also, there is one more thing…”

Kuroba Kaito spoke again, but Sonoko came over and asked, “What are you two talking about?”

She had an expression that said, “You two must have known each other before,” but Xia He replied, “Ah, nothing. He asked me for a light.”

“Hey, Mr. Doita actually smokes?” Sonoko asked curiously.

“Ah? Yes, I do smoke, but not often, just two cigarettes occasionally.” Kuroba Kaito nodded quickly.

“I see. Smoking is harmful to your health. Mr. Doita should pay more attention to his health.”

“Ha…hahaha, got it.”

……

That evening, at 7:30.

Xia He was sitting at the dining table, cutting steak, when suddenly, a red light appeared outside the window.

Then, Conan’s voice rang out from near the suspension bridge: “Xiaolan!!!”

Everyone who heard the noise stood up and ran to the door.

Only Xia He and Kuroba Kaito were still staying in the hall, with no intention of moving.

“When you crossed the bridge this afternoon, didn’t you smell gasoline?” Xia He suddenly asked.

“I smell it.” Kuroba Kaito nodded.

Xia He looked at him strangely, “Then why didn’t you say it?”

“I just smelled it vaguely, and I didn’t think much about it at the time. How can it be compared with your dog’s nose?” Kuroba Kaito stuffed a piece of steak into his mouth. “Besides, didn’t you say anything yourself?”

Xia He: “.”

The reason why he didn’t tell others at the first time was simply because he wanted to see if there was a chance to trigger the next task. After all, it had been a long time since the last “Bandage Monster’s Good Friday” released by the system.

“So, who do you think set fire to the bridge?” Xia He asked again.

“Not sure.” Kuroba Kaito shook his head.

“Do you think it’s possible that… it’s related to the dead magician?”

Just now, he felt the murderous aura emanating from Tanaka Kikue becoming increasingly stronger.

If nothing unexpected happens, the woman will take action immediately.

(End of this chapter)