Chapter 345: Have you had enough of playing?

"Don't you think using this poem to describe what is about to happen in this villa is just perfect?"

Gunta Ikumi looked somewhat disdainful. Resting her chin on her hands, she said in a lazy tone, "Don't be stupid. If you want us to kill each other, you have to look at who the opponents are, and also see if we even have any intention of doing so."

The loudspeaker dummy did not answer Gunta Ikumi directly, but continued to announce in a high-pitched tone.

"None of you think about quitting this game halfway through. That is because you have long since been bewitched by the magic I used; there is simply no way for you to escape!"

"Now, we just wait for one of you to let out the first scream, and this game will begin."

"Listen up, whoever finds the treasure must go to the room in the center of the fourth floor and input the location of the treasure into the computer."

"At that time, I will naturally fulfill my promise and tell the winner half of the treasure and the way to leave this place."

As the voice fell, painful whimpering sounded around the group.

Turning their heads to look, they saw Mogi Harufumi clutching his throat with both hands, struggling to stand up, his eyes wide open, the pupils trembling constantly.

"What!"

The group made sounds of surprise, thinking that the words of the mastermind had come true so quickly.

But a few seconds later, Mogi Harufumi released his hands from his throat, and a strange smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"Hehe... was my acting convincing?"

The group finally breathed a sigh of relief, but only Akaso Kaze looked at Mogi Harufumi's neck, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He saw that on Mogi Harufumi's neck, right where he had just gripped himself, there were dark blue marks.

Would someone put on an act and be so ruthless to themselves?

If he hadn't stopped in time, Akaso Kaze did not doubt for a second that he could have strangled himself to death with the force he used in his "performance."

It was just a prank; was it necessary to be so serious?

Just then, the same voice came again.

This time it was the foodie detective sitting opposite, Oogami Yoshinori. He was also clutching his throat in pain. After a few whimpers, his body leaned back and he fell to the ground.

Having had the experience with Mogi Harufumi just now, the group felt that the same prank twice was no longer interesting.

"Have you had enough of playing?"

"If you've had enough, get up. The floor is cold..."

The group was dismissive of Oogami Yoshinori's "performance." Only Akaso Kaze, seeing the soul figure emerging from the top of his head, knew the situation was different.

Akaso Kaze said calmly, "He is not playing a prank. He is truly dead..."

"What!"

The detectives' faces changed, and they walked over one after another to examine Oogami Yoshinori's body.

"Confirmed, cardiopulmonary function has ceased."

"His lips have no blue or purple discoloration, but there is a smell of potassium cyanide—bitter almonds."

Everyone's expression changed completely.

Akaso Kaze suddenly narrowed his eyes.

A black mist suddenly surged rapidly from around the room, transforming into the shape of a bird, grabbing Oogami Yoshinori's soul and flying out the window.

Akaso Kaze used his Eye of Space to track it until it disappeared somewhere.

Sure enough, this villa holds a very great secret!

"Is it possible that the murderer is among us?" Hakuba Saguru said.

"It’s possible that the sound on this tape was recorded in advance by someone currently present, and played back while we were eating, so we could all listen to it together."

"Then, this murderer took advantage of our distraction to have Mr. Oogami drink the potassium cyanide prepared beforehand, poisoning him to death."

Senma Furuyo also analyzed, "Furthermore, judging from the content played on the tape, the time of Oogami's death from poisoning seems to have been long since mastered by the murderer."

Gunta Ikumi took the copper coin out of the cup, looked at it, and said, "The problem is, no traces of any cyanide compounds were detected in the black tea he drank."

Kaitou Kid frowned: "If there's no poison in the tea, that means it happened when the cup touched his lips..."

Gunta Ikumi shook her head, "That's also unlikely, because he brought that cup of tea to his lips two or three times."

The detectives analyzed for a long time, but could not find the method used to poison the foodie detective.

They couldn't help but turn their gaze toward Akaso Kaze.

"My lord Onmyoji, you haven't spoken since arriving at the dining room. I wonder if you have figured anything out?"

Gunta Ikumi asked, blinking her large eyes.

Akaso Kaze glanced at her and said indifferently: "Oogami Nobuyoshi had a habit of biting his thumb; that is how he was poisoned."

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this.

After checking, it was indeed so.

The poison was placed on the outside of the teacup, where the thumb touches; after getting it on his finger, Oogami Nobuyoshi put it into his mouth, and that is how he poisoned himself.

"Does my lord Akaso know who did it?" Gunta Ikumi asked.

Akaso Kaze did not answer.

The situation here is a bit strange; it is better to observe further. What is exposed now might not necessarily be the truth.

After discussing for a while, the detectives all felt the situation was somewhat eerie.

Everyone decided to go outside first to look at the blown-up cars; perhaps one or two might have survived, or maybe the explosion was just a bluff?

Arriving at the courtyard, amidst the sky-high flames were several lumps of metal that could previously have been called "cars."

Kaitou Kid slumped to the ground, wailing with a pained expression: "My rented car~~"

The others had also lost their beloved cars, but they did not wear their heartache on their faces, all maintaining a calm and indifferent appearance.

As for Akaso Kaze, he had already replaced his car with a true illusion down the mountain.

An illusion car that can be driven, sat in, and even burned—magic is truly very miraculous.

The detectives checked the burned vehicles and were surprised to find the maid's car parked in the back.

Senma Furuyo and Mogi Harufumi drove off to see if the bridge had really been blown up.

Originally, Mouri Kogoro, who was disguised by Kaitou Kid, should have gone too, but he insisted on staying behind.

Just as the remaining few returned to the hall, a black shadow fell from a height and crashed heavily onto the ground.

Looking closely, Hakuba Saguru was immediately shocked; the one that fell was actually his hawk.

At this moment, Watson was covered in blood, half of its originally sharp beak was broken, its feathers were scattered all over the floor, and its body lay paralyzed on the ground as if it had rickets.

Hakuba Saguru hurried forward, wanting to help but not knowing where to start, looking at the hawk helplessly.

The hawk's originally sharp gaze gradually weakened, and its drooping wings flapped powerlessly, as if it wanted to crawl to Hakuba Saguru's side to seek some comfort.

Everyone looked at the dying hawk, feeling uncomfortable inside, and even more unclear about who would commit such a vicious act against this hawk.

After all, the hawk is a bird of prey, not a small animal; it holds an absolute dominant position in the sky, and it is difficult for humans to threaten it.

Moreover, judging from its body, it was not a gunshot wound, but something else.

Akaso Kaze couldn't help but think of the strange bird made of black mist from earlier.

The hawk's body gradually turned cold and stiff, its spread wings like a dead object such as a feather fan, no longer moving.

Hakuba Saguru knelt beside Watson's corpse, burying his head deep, remaining silent throughout.

Keeping hawks is one of the traditional customs of British nobility, and this purebred Harris's hawk was obtained by Hakuba Saguru two years ago from a British noble client.

At this moment, Hakuba Saguru felt immense regret, regretting why he had brought it here.

"I'll go bury it first."

Hakuba Saguru silently picked up Watson's corpse and walked gloomily toward the door.

"Judging from the hawk's corpse just now, it shouldn't have been a gunshot wound. Was it fighting with something before it died?"

A voice sounded beside him, and at the same time, a soft sensation came from his arm.

Akaso Kaze turned his head to look; Gunta Ikumi was leaning against him.

This former prosecutor seemed to be a little scared too.

In terms of the food chain, hawks have no natural predators.

To kill it in hand-to-hand combat, it would have to be a creature capable of flight.

This has already exceeded the scope of normal case-solving.

At the very least, the one who killed this hawk should not be a human.

"Let's search floor by floor first; maybe that thing hasn't gone far," Akaso Kaze said.

Gunta Ikumi nodded in agreement.

She hugged Akaso Kaze's arm, pressing her softness against it, as if this could make her feel a little safer.

Behind them, Kaitou Kid's gaze drifted, not daring to peek or make a sound.

He was afraid of annoying the Onmyoji; if he were ignored, he would be finished.

Originally, Kaitou Kid wasn't this scared; after all, he had a hang glider on him, and at worst, he could jump off the cliff and fly away.

But seeing that even a trained hawk had been killed, he felt that even if he encountered that kind of creature, he might not be able to escape unscathed.

It's better to be the Onmyoji's lackey; safety is guaranteed.

As for the boss flirting with girls or whatever, it's best to pretend not to see it.

Akaso Kaze and Gunta Ikumi started searching from the second floor and soon found some fresh bloodstains on the carpet.

The bloodstains were scattered across most of the hallway; the two followed the source of the bloodstains until they found a room with an open door.

Turning on the room lights, it was a piano room with a large piano placed inside.

Stepping forward to check, they saw scratches on the piano's lacquer surface caused by sharp objects; these marks were very fresh and should be the hawk's claw marks.

This might be the place where it fought with the unknown creature.

Gunta Ikumi put on her gloves and opened the keyboard cover; the inside was actually well-protected.

However, a yellowed piece of paper was wedged right between the keys.

Gunta Ikumi pulled out the paper, and Akaso Kaze also leaned in to look.

On it was fountain pen writing with a sense of age, and the content was exactly the same as the hint the loudspeaker dummy had mentioned in the dining room.

At this moment, a rumbling explosion was heard faintly from the distant mountains and forests.

Kaitou Kid immediately rushed to the window and saw a faint firelight at the bridge leading to the outside world.

Akaso Kaze looked through his Eye of Space.

He saw the maid's little yellow car explode, and Mogi Harufumi was looking at this scene with a stunned expression.

Meanwhile, Senma Furuyo was lurking in the grass with her body low.

After observing Mogi Harufumi's reaction for a while, she turned and left.