24: Chapter 24 Villa Murder Case

Deep in the mountains in the afternoon, sunlight filtered through the layered leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

The white villa stood quietly in the valley, its wooden fence covered in green vines, and the stone path in front led to the parking lot, with the fresh scent of grass and soil filling the air.

Suzuki Ayako wore a pale purple yukata, a simple bow tied at her waist, waiting in front of the entrance.

Her long hair was loosely pinned up, revealing a smooth forehead, a gentle smile on her lips, and her eyes were calm. Her every gesture exuded the gentle beauty of a traditional woman, completely different from the lively and outgoing Sonoko, looking exactly like a 'Yamato Nadeshiko'.

"Ran, Mr. Mouri Kogoro, welcome."

Seeing the Mouri group get out of the car, Suzuki Ayako smiled and walked up to greet them, bowing slightly.

"Thank you for the long trip."

"Ayako!"

Mouri Ran smiled and returned the greeting, "Long time no see, you're getting prettier."

"You sure know how to talk."

Suzuki Ayako pinched her cheek and turned her gaze to Lin Long and Miyano Akemi, who were following behind, her smile remaining gentle.

"This must be President Lin Long, right? I am Suzuki Sonoko's sister, Suzuki Ayako."

She reached out her hand, her fingertips slender and fair, her nails neatly trimmed.

"Miss Ayako, hello."

Lin Long took her hand, a cool sensation coming from her fingertips, "Thank you for your invitation, the environment here is very comfortable."

Lin Long quietly sized up Suzuki Ayako—she seemed gentle and harmless, but in those slightly narrowed eyes, there was a trace of imperceptible scrutiny and shrewdness.

Growing up in a top-tier Zaibatsu like the Suzuki Conglomerate, and being able to make the spoiled miss Sonoko genuinely rely on her, she couldn't possibly be a simple 'good wife and mother'.

She invited him, likely not just to save face for Sonoko, but more to personally observe this 'latecomer' who had suddenly risen in the financial circles.

Suzuki Ayako was also sizing up Lin Long.

The man in front of her was even more outstanding than Sonoko had described; his build was tall and straight, his temperament steady, and his eyes were as deep as if they hid an ocean. He had neither the impetuosity of a young man nor deliberate detachment, and every movement exuded the composure of someone who had long been in a high position.

No wonder Sonoko was so fascinated by him; such a person certainly had the capital to stir up the business world of Tokyo in a short time.

"President Lin, you flatter me."

Suzuki Ayako withdrew her hand and turned to the side to invite them, "Please come in, the other classmates have already arrived."

Miyano Akemi followed behind Lin Long, nodding to Suzuki Ayako with some restraint.

She wasn't used to such crowded occasions, especially when facing a woman like Suzuki Ayako who clearly had an extraordinary status, so she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Lin Long noticed her unease, slowed his pace without changing his expression, walked side-by-side with her, and whispered, "Don't be nervous, just think of it as a getaway."

The warm voice fell into her ears, and Miyano Akemi felt a warmth in her heart. Her tense nerves relaxed slightly, and she let out a soft "Mm".

The interior of the villa was a typical combination of Japanese and Western styles, the living room was spacious and bright, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a lush green garden.

Several young people in casual clothes were sitting around on the sofa chatting. Seeing Suzuki Ayako bring people in, they all stood up to greet them.

"Ayako, is this the President Lin you mentioned?"

A man in a floral shirt with slicked-back hair walked over, his tone carrying a bit of flippancy. He was Suzuki Ayako's classmate, Ota Masaru, whose family was in the real estate business, and he had always been arrogant.

"Yes, this is President Lin Long," Suzuki Ayako introduced, "President Lin, this is my classmate, Ota Masaru."

Ota Masaru nodded perfunctorily at Lin Long, but his gaze went over him and landed on Mouri Ran, his eyes instantly lighting up.

Mouri Ran was wearing a white dress today, her long hair draped over her shoulders, dazzlingly white in the sunlight, as beautiful as a sprite in the mountains.

"And this young lady is?"

Ota Masaru rubbed his hands and leaned in with an ingratiating look, "I don't think I've seen you before, is she a new friend of Ayako's?"

Mouri Ran smiled politely, "Hello, I am Mouri Ran."

"Miss Mouri? What a great name!"

Ota Masaru exclaimed exaggeratedly, reaching out to touch Mouri Ran's hair, "I'm Ota Masaru, very nice to meet you, I wonder if Miss Mouri..."

Before his hand could touch Mouri Ran's hair, he felt a bone-chilling coldness strike from behind, as if he had been targeted by a venomous snake, making his whole body stiffen, unable to move.

Ota Masaru turned his head sharply and met Lin Long's cold eyes.

There was no anger or mockery in those eyes, only a dead silence, as if he were looking at a reckless ant.

Just one look made him recall the feeling of being stared at by the old man of his family when he was a child—it was a kind of pressure that could easily decide a person's life and death.

Ota Masaru's hand froze in mid-air, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

Only then did he remember that this seemingly gentle President Lin was the culprit behind the major reshuffle of the Seba Conglomerate's shareholders, and definitely not someone he could provoke.

"Mr. Ota."

Lin Long's voice was very soft, but it carried an unquestionable warning, "Miss Ran is my friend, please show some respect."

"Yes, yes... I'm sorry!"

Ota Masaru quickly withdrew his hand, stepped back awkwardly, not daring to look at Mouri Ran again, and scurried back to the corner of the sofa, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The surrounding classmates noticed that something was wrong, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Mouri Ran was also startled by the previous scene and subconsciously looked at Lin Long, but met his gentle gaze: "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Mr. Lin Long."

Mouri Ran shook her head, feeling a bit complicated. She didn't expect Lin Long to slap Ota Masaru in the face so directly for her sake, and even more, she didn't expect that just one look from him could scare the arrogant Ota Masaru like that.

Conan Edogawa was squatting on the ground playing with a remote-controlled car, but the eyes behind his glasses were staring fixedly at Lin Long, his teeth chattering.

This Lin Long, how dare he flirt with Mouri Ran in front of him, and even play the hero? It's just too much!

Sonoko was clicking her tongue at the side, whispering into Mouri Ran's ear, "Ran, look at how protective Mr. Lin Long is of you! I told you he was interested in you!"

"Sonoko!"

Mouri Ran's cheeks turned bright red, and she pushed her, but her heart was beating like a little rabbit.

Looking at Mouri Ran's slightly flushed cheeks, Sonoko's expression was a bit bitter.

Sonoko also liked Lin Long, but seeing that Mouri Ran also seemed interested in Lin Long.

In order not to affect the relationship between herself and Mouri Ran, Sonoko decided to choose the relationship between herself and Mouri Ran over love and friendship.

Lin Long naturally noticed Mouri Ran's embarrassment and Conan Edogawa's 'resentment', but he didn't care at all.

Just kidding, when Lin Long watched the show in his previous life, he especially hated Kudo Shinichi, thinking that Kudo Shinichi was not worthy of Mouri Ran at all.

Now that he has transmigrated into this world, he has the ability to change Mouri Ran's ending and keep her from getting hurt for love, so why shouldn't he do it?

As for Kudo Shinichi,

Lin Long said, if you don't want her, there are plenty of people who do.

Kudo Shinichi should just go be gay with that dark-skinned guy from Osaka.

He walked to Mouri Ran's side, pointed to the garden outside the window and smiled, "The scenery here is very nice, would you like to go for a walk outside?"

"Sure."

Mouri Ran hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Ota Masaru's harassment just now made her a little uncomfortable, and she did want to go out for some air.

The two walked out of the living room side by side, walking slowly along the stone path of the garden.

Sunlight spilled on them through the leaves, warm, and occasionally a breeze blew by, bringing bursts of floral fragrance.

"Mr. Lin Long doesn't seem to like Mr. Ota?"

Mouri Ran couldn't help but ask.

"It's not that I don't like him, it's that I don't like his methods."

Lin Long said lightly, "Respecting women is basic courtesy; someone who can't even do this is not worth deep association."

Mouri Ran was stunned, then laughed, "Mr. Lin Long is right."

She found that she admired Lin Long more and more; he was not only capable and responsible, but also respected women, completely different from some people who only used violence to solve problems (like Mouri Kogoro) and people who only knew how to solve cases (I won't name names here).

The two chatted on and off, from the scenery in the mountains to interesting things in Tokyo, the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.

Mouri Ran found that Lin Long knew a lot, whether it was art or sports, he could share unique insights, and it was very comfortable to chat with him.

Conan Edogawa, hiding behind the living room curtains, saw this scene and was so angry that he almost crushed the remote-controlled car.

This Lin Long is definitely doing it on purpose! He must expose his true colors!

...

In the evening, the villa party gradually reached its climax. Some people were singing in the living room, some were helping in the kitchen to prepare dinner, and some were having a barbecue in the yard, with laughter and joy continuing.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

Miyano Akemi slowly adapted to the atmosphere and was plating food with Suzuki Ayako, occasionally showing a faint smile.

Lin Long leaned against the courtyard railing, watching the group play not far away, his eyes calm.

He knew that the peace was soon to be broken.

Takahashi Ryoichi, the man who had disguised himself as a fat person and joined the gathering to take revenge on the classmate who stole his novel manuscript, had already begun to move.

Sure enough, before long, a scream came from the second floor!

"Ah—!"

It was a woman's shrill scream, so piercing it made one's scalp tingle.

Everyone's expressions changed drastically as they rushed to the second floor.

A glint of cold light flashed in Lin Long's eyes as he gave a look to the Shadow Guards hidden in the shadows—act according to plan.

The door to the second-floor study was wide open. A woman in a red dress was collapsed by the desk, a fruit knife plunged into her chest. Blood had stained her skirt, and she had already stopped breathing.

She was the female novelist who had stolen Atsuko's manuscript back then—Chikako Ikeda.

"Chikako!"

Suzuki Ayako cried out, her face pale.

Mouri Kogoro immediately stepped forward to check and said in a heavy voice:

"She's dead. The wound was fatal."

Conan Edogawa squeezed to the front, his sharp gaze scanning the scene—the doors and windows were all locked from the inside, and there were no signs of a struggle. It looked like a suicide, but the look of terror on the victim's face betrayed the truth.

It was murder!

"What on earth is going on?!"

Ota Masaru's legs went weak with fear,

"Could it be the bandaged man?!"

"The bandaged man?" Mouri Ran asked in confusion.

"It's... it's the legend we heard before!"

A girl said, trembling,

"They say there's a bandaged man in the mountains around here who specifically kills young women..."

"And when we came to this villa earlier, we seemed to have run into a bandaged man."

Panic spread like a plague; everyone turned pale and looked at each other with suspicion.

Hearing these words, Mouri Ran leaned a bit closer to Lin Long's side out of fear. Lin Long knew that the bandaged man they had seen earlier was Takahashi Ryoichi in disguise.

Originally, Mouri Ran and Mouri Kogoro's group should have encountered him by the bridge, but because they had to wait to meet up with him, they arrived a bit late and didn't run into him.

Just then, the villa suddenly lost power!

"Ah!"

A girl's scream came through the darkness.

"Don't panic! I'll go get candles!"

Mouri Kogoro shouted as he fumbled his way out.

In the darkness, a fat figure quietly approached Mouri Ran, holding an axe slick with cold sweat—it was Takahashi Ryoichi in disguise.

During the day, when Mouri Ran and the others went upstairs to find their rooms, they had accidentally opened Takahashi Ryoichi's door and seen him changing clothes.

He believed Mouri Ran had discovered his secret, so he wanted to kill her to silence her.

A murderous glint flashed in Takahashi Ryoichi's eyes as he raised the axe to strike Mouri Ran!

However, before his axe could fall, he felt a pain in the back of his neck, his vision went black, and he collapsed like a pile of mud.

A dark shadow emerged from the corner, efficiently slung Takahashi Ryoichi's body over their shoulder, and disappeared silently into the darkness.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, and the people in the darkness were completely unaware.

A few minutes later, power returned to the villa.

"Ran! Are you okay?"

Mouri Ran looked around, still shaken, and sighed in relief when she found herself unharmed.

"I'm fine..."

Mouri Ran was a bit confused; it felt like someone had passed by her just now, but it was too fast to see clearly.

Conan Edogawa frowned, feeling that something was off.

In the darkness just now, he thought he heard the sound of something heavy hitting the floor, but it was too fast; by the time he Ran over, there was nothing.

Lin Long stood on the periphery of the crowd, looking at the illuminated study, the corner of his mouth curling into a barely perceptible arc.

The Shadow Guards were very efficient.

...

Late at night, the villa was deathly silent.

Everyone was too terrified by the murder to sleep, huddling in the living room waiting for dawn.

Mouri Kogoro and Conan Edogawa were still in the study investigating clues.

"Strange, the scene is too clean. Aside from the victim, there are almost no traces left."

Mouri Kogoro rubbed his chin, looking perplexed,

"How did the killer manage it?"

Conan Edogawa crouched on the floor, using a flashlight to illuminate the gaps in the floorboards, hoping to find a shred of evidence like hair or fibers, but there was nothing.

The killer was clearly very cautious and had cleaned up all traces.

"Dad, could it be someone from the inside?"

Mouri Ran asked worriedly.

"It's possible, but what would the motive be?"

Mouri Kogoro shook his head.

Just then, Ota Masaru, who had gone to the yard for some fresh air, suddenly screamed:

"Ah—! Come look, everyone! What is this?!"

Everyone rushed out to find something covered with a white cloth under the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard.

Mouri Kogoro summoned his courage and pulled back the cloth—underneath was a headless corpse, and next to it sat a bloody human head!

It was Takahashi Ryoichi's head!

His eyes were wide and round, his face still frozen in an expression of terror and disbelief.

"Takahashi?!"

Suzuki Ayako covered her mouth in fear, her whole body trembling.

"W-what's going on?!"

Ota Masaru slumped to the ground, incoherent,

"Could it be the bandaged man?

He killed Chikako, and then he killed Takahashi?!"

Panic reached its peak; everyone felt their skin crawl.

Looking at the scene before him, Conan Edogawa's pupils suddenly contracted.

Something was wrong! Very wrong!

Takahashi Ryoichi's head had been severed cleanly with a smooth cut, clearly the work of a professional. Moreover, the body had been moved here and arranged with unusual "orderliness," more like a... declaration.

This was definitely no ordinary revenge killing; there had to be a more complex reason behind it!

Conan Edogawa was extremely puzzled and couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

He suddenly looked at Lin Long, who was standing on the periphery of the crowd with a calm expression, as if the bloody scene before him had nothing to do with him.

Mouri Kogoro was also stunned by the sight. It took him a while to react before he pulled out his phone to call the police:

"Hello? Police? A murder has occurred here! Two people! Yes! At the mountain villa..."

...

Early the next morning, police sirens wailed as they entered the valley. Forensic doctors and officers were busy investigating the scene, taking photos for evidence, and carrying the two bodies away.

Mouri Kogoro and Conan Edogawa were called by the officers to give statements. Both were overwhelmed, but because of Takahashi Ryoichi's sudden death, they had lost their most important clue. They could only classify the case as the "bandaged man serial murders" and wrap it up hastily.

As they left the villa, Mouri Ran looked back at the white building, her eyes full of lingering fear:

"It's too dangerous here. Sonoko, don't ever come back to this place."

"Yeah, it's too dangerous."

Suzuki Sonoko also had lingering fears, but then she gushed,

"But Mr. Lin Long is really amazing. He was so calm even when something like this happened. So cool!"

Conan Edogawa listened from the side, snorting inwardly.

Calm? He thought it was more like cold-blooded!

Sitting in the car and watching the villa recede into the distance, Lin Long asked the Shadow Guards in the driver's seat:

"Is everything cleaned up?"

"Reporting to Sir, the traces at the scene have also been cleaned. No clues will be left behind."

The Shadow Guards' voice came from the front.

"Very good."

Lin Long closed his eyes, and the system notification sound surfaced in his mind.

[Detected Takahashi Ryoichi's fear and resentment, malice black qi +800 points.]

[Detected the fear of everyone at the villa, malice black qi +1200 points.]

[Current malice black qi: 32,000 → 34,000 points.]

Quite a good harvest.

Miyano Akemi looked at Lin Long's calm profile. After hesitating for a long time, she still asked softly:

"Mr. Lin Long, Mr. Takahashi's death... was it your doing?"

Lin Long opened his eyes and saw her nervous look. He didn't hide it:

"Yes. He wanted to hurt Ran and had already killed someone. Leaving him alive would only be a nuisance."

Miyano Akemi was stunned; she hadn't expected Lin Long to admit it so bluntly.

But strangely, she didn't feel afraid. Instead, she felt very safe—

This man could always protect those around him at critical moments.

"Something like this won't happen again."

Lin Long ruffled her hair, his tone gentle,

"Don't worry."

Miyano Akemi nodded, the last shred of doubt in her heart vanishing. She

knew that the man she chose to follow might not be perfect and might use ruthless methods, but he would never let those he cared about be harmed.

The car drove out of the deep mountains and headed toward Tokyo. Sunlight poured through the car window, warm and bright.