Mouri naturally wouldn't back down because of a piece of paper. Conan's reaction was unusually calm; he knew someone was about to die, and there was a high probability that the deceased would be Suō Beniko, the hostess of this charity dinner.
But, bound by 'fate,' he had already given up.
He had tried to prevent cases from happening before, and he had succeeded, but the price was other cases popping up out of nowhere.
That feeling, as if it didn't matter who died, but that someone had to die, drove him crazy.
He might as well give up.
Once the 'plot' ended, he would be free from his restraints.
As for when he would be free? Hmm... it should be when he reached third grade.
After moving the tree trunk blocking the road and driving for another ten minutes, they finally arrived at Suō Beniko's manor in the suburbs.
Ran exclaimed, "This mansion is so magnificent..."
From the perspective of an ordinary person in Japan, this mansion was indeed good, given the total land area, but from Yang Tao's perspective, this two-story mansion was still a bit small.
By this time, someone had already arrived, and Ran recognized the person: Katagiri Masanori, a very famous photographer. Just then, two more cars successively entered the manor.
The car doors opened and the people got out. This time, it was Mouri Kogoro's turn to exclaim, "It's... it's the Home Run King, Matsumoto Mamoru!"
Hearing Mouri Kogoro's exclamation, the other party looked at Mouri Kogoro, a smile appearing on his face, and said, "You are the famous great detective, Mr. Mouri Kogoro!"
Katagiri Masanori, who had been taking photos of the manor, heard Mouri's name and curiously came over, completely unaware that he was so close to 'death' itself.
"You are Mr. Mouri?"
Seeing this, Yang Tao couldn't help but sigh at Mouri Kogoro's reputation, which was practically a cheat in the Detective Conan World; as long as his name was mentioned, everyone recognized him.
Just then, a woman got out of the last taxi.
A beautiful woman instantly attracted the attention of Mouri Kogoro, Katagiri Masanori, and Matsumoto Mamoru.
Mouri Kogoro immediately said excitedly, "It's a beauty!"
Ran glanced at the excited Mouri Kogoro, sighed, and said, "This is Miss Nagara Haruka."
Haruka?
The Haruka who can ride on your head?
Matsumoto Mamoru, standing nearby, spoke as if he had met a celebrity, "She's the very popular tarot card master from magazines and TV!"
Japan greatly revered such mystical things, and some famous fortune tellers were highly respected.
However, Conan was different; he already knew a murder would occur today, so he carefully observed the people, hoping to find some key information in advance.
Just then, a maid walked out from each of the wooden doors on the left and right sides of the mansion. They were dressed in standard black and white maid outfits, with polite professional smiles on their faces. Under the maid's guidance, the group separated and entered the mansion.
Since arriving, Yang Tao had been itching to spoil the plot for Conan, but seeing Conan's serious expression, he could only keep comforting himself:
'Only when the fruit is ripe is it most delicious!'
Just as everyone was admiring the cursed mask, the last invited person also arrived at the mansion.
"Sorry, I'm late..."
The newcomer was a dashing young man. Ran was surprised that he would also appear here: "It's the big star Aikawa Touya... I never thought he would also be invited."
Yang Tao looked at the newcomer with a brilliant smile on his face.
'The fruit is ripe...'
He was worried that if he delayed any longer, the awakened Conan would discover some trickery.
Looking at Conan, who was seriously examining the mask, he slowly walked to his side, squatted down, and whispered in his ear, "The culprit is Aikawa Touya..."
Conan's body trembled, and he stared at Yang Tao, saying, "I knew it... I knew you would do this!!"
In an instant, he felt everything become dull and uninteresting.
Then, he said with a wronged expression, "Mr. Yang, is it okay for you to do this?"
Looking at Conan's helpless expression, Yang Tao felt very pleased. When he used to watch Detective Conan, this guy Conan always used phrases like 'I know!' or 'So that's how it is!' to gloss over things when he thought of crucial information, leaving Yang Tao, who lacked key clues, to wait eagerly until the final revelation stage.
This time, the boomerang finally landed on Conan.
"It's fine, but Aikawa Touya is a bit pitiful... sacrificing his future for an evil person like Suō Beniko is truly a shame."
Conan nodded slightly and said, "Even if I wanted to stop him, there's nothing I can do... If I stopped Aikawa Touya using some method, other cases would appear, perhaps even more heinous in nature. But if I let the culprit go after a murder occurs, that would go against my principles..."
"What if... You did it?"
Conan looked at Yang Tao with an incredulous gaze.
Yang Tao smiled and said, "Alright, I was joking. When he decided to commit the crime, he must have thought of the worst possible outcome."
"Adults must bear the consequences of their actions."
Conan nodded slightly, then said helplessly, "Mr. Yang, please don't say strange things anymore. I was really thinking about what would happen if I killed someone..."
"You're overthinking it."
Yang Tao reached out and patted Conan's head, then asked, "Oh, right, didn't you say Ran wanted to try the shrinking drug before? Why is she still a High school student?"
Conan fumbled in his pocket, then pulled out a small bottle and said, "Under Shiho Miyano's in-depth research, the transformation time can now be perfectly controlled."
"This bottle is a shrinking drug that can maintain the transformation effect for 24 hours..."
Yang Tao's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Conan, his gaze revealing complex thoughts like 'You city folks really know how to have fun!' 'Conan isn't a pervert, is he?' 'I remember I have a.50 antidote...' and so on.
Just then, Ran noticed the two 'conspiring' in the corner of the display case, walked over, and asked curiously, "Mr. Yang, Conan, what are you two talking about?"
"Nothing, Ran."
Yang Tao stood up and looked at the valiant Ran, a smile on his face, and said, "Just chatting with Conan about his recent life."
"I also came this time to invite you to be my guests. You can come with Conan then."
"Can we?"
"Of course, you can."
Yang Tao extended his hand and gave Conan a thumbs-up, then said, "Conan, I'm going back first and won't accompany you. Please explain it to Mr. Mouri for me."
Conan nodded slightly; he wished Yang Tao would leave immediately. Such a powerful and mischievous person truly made one's teeth itch with hatred.