Possessed by the Grim Reaper?

On the car in front of the hotel.

Fujino withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes to rest, and no longer paid attention to Chizuru Bizen inside the hotel.

Although he had a premonition that the woman would probably die in the next few days, the empty hotel was the perfect opportunity to make his move.

But if they are not relatives or friends, and are not the clients, then just keeping a close eye on them is enough.

Fujino wasn't a bastard or a saint; he was just worried that his vacation would be ruined by the murder.

After all, seeing too many dead people can inevitably make one's mood heavy, but if someone really brings about their own demise, there's nothing that can be done.

Besides, this woman is indeed quite pretentious.

All we can say is to let go of our desire to help others and respect their fate.

Only the Shimokasa sisters and Chizuru Bizen remained at the hotel.

Arimori was a little worried and planned to go back and close the doors and windows.

Fujino and his group set off first in Shinobu Shimon's car.

A short while later, Arimori followed in a small truck.

The dirt roads on the nearby plateau are winding and rugged; although you can't drive fast, they're quite stable.

We drove for almost an hour, taking a quick look around, before finally arriving at our destination.

The lake near the top of the hill shimmered, with a cool, damp breeze blowing through it. Surrounded by mountains and forests, and shrouded in mist, it added a touch of mystery.

"Call..."

Fujino looked around at the scenery, took a deep breath, and suddenly a breeze blew by, bringing a cool feeling to his face, making him feel much more relaxed.

"The scenery here is really beautiful!"

Akemi Miyano looked around and remarked, "The air is so fresh."

"There is no pollution from car exhaust, and you are surrounded by pure nature."

Ai Haibara looked around thoughtfully. "Living in this kind of environment would make both my mood and my body feel much better."

"That's right, this kind of environment does make people feel very comfortable."

Arimori chuckled from the side, "Our hotel is located in a remote area and can't be considered a famous hotel. The reason we have guests is thanks to the natural environment around here."

"To be honest, it's been a long time since I've seen the scenery here. Every time I see it, I have a different feeling."

Shinobu Shimon surveyed the surrounding scenery, sighed, and then pointed to a point of light not far away, saying, "Oh right, that's the hotel we just stayed at."

Is it that close?

Akemi Miyano Shinobu Shimon pointing and said in surprise, "I remember we walked quite a distance just now."

"This is a plateau, surrounded by small mountains. The roads are winding and slow. Judging from here, the hotel should be only about ten kilometers away."

Fujino glanced at the hotel in the distance, but suddenly noticed a Xiao Hei.

The Vision Enhancement Glasses zoomed in, and I could see clearly that it was Cheng Yuan driving back to the hotel.

Fujino: "..."

Could it be that he happened to catch a glimpse of his wife being murdered?

My damn luck!

"Yes, Detective Fujino is right, the straight-line distance is actually only ten kilometers!"

Shinobu Shimon nodded, and couldn't help but recall, "Speaking of which, we used to go Hang Glider here. We would go paragliding from here until night, and at sunset we could see an even more spectacular view. Following the sunset, it wouldn't take long to get back to the hotel from here."

"Well?"

Just then, a white butterfly fluttered its wings and flew past Ai Haibara, causing her to take two steps back and exclaim in surprise.

"These are Deep Mountain White Butterfly from the deep mountains of this plateau region; they are very rare in other places," Arimori explained.

"Pieris rapae?"

Ai Haibara glanced up at the silver light shimmering on the white butterfly's wings, and a gentle smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Deep Mountain White Butterfly slowly fluttered its wings and flew to the side.

It just so happened that it landed on Arimori's shoulder.

After only a moment, the white butterfly fell to the side and never made a sound again.

"Butterfly..."

Ai Haibara frowned slightly, looking at the Deep Mountain White Butterfly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"These butterflies cannot survive without clean water."

Arimori removed the butterfly from his shoulder and placed it flat in his palm, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes. "It won't be long before this area is also contaminated..."

Fujino pondered for a moment, then asked, "Is it that development project of Shiromoto?"

Arimori sighed, "Yeah, he plans to build a nature park around here."

Fujino: "..."

His plan might fall through soon.

"How ironic..."

Ai Haibara shook her head, looking back at the scenery beside her. A gentle breeze blew, ruffling the hair by her ear. "Natural playgrounds, in the end, are achieved by polluting nature. Humans are always destroying the environment to satisfy their own selfish desires..."

"Alright, it's already noon, I'll go get everyone's lunchboxes."

Arimori placed the butterfly's dead body on the heart of a purple flower and sighed.

Turn around and go down the hillside.

At the same time, a system notification suddenly sounded in Fujino's ear:

[A new job quest has been detected. Please check your inbox.]

"They're here..."

Fujino gave a deadpan look; although it was expected, he still felt somewhat speechless.

Another murder case during the holiday...

Damn it!

Why does it feel like every time I go on vacation, nothing ever goes smoothly?

Have I provoked the Grim Reaper's Power?

Or is he possessed by the Grim Reaper?

Fujino sighed inwardly.

Then, the system interface opened.

A screen of light appeared before my eyes:

Detective Profession Mission: The Fallen Deep Mountain White Butterfly

Mission Summary: The aging female celebrity Chizuru Bizen, has fallen from grace like Deep Mountain White Butterfly; the true culprit is lurking in a hotel.

Mission objective: Solve this case.

Mission Rewards: 2 million yen, 200 Detective Reputation Points

"A mature female celebrity, that's quite detailed..."

"However, with the fall of the Deep Mountain White Butterfly, this system is becoming more and more romantic."

"The description is a bit inaccurate."

"It's probably already dark..."

Fujino stared at the summary on the mission interface, silently complaining to himself.

The sun set in the blink of an eye.

After strolling around the hillside, playing badminton, and watching the sunset, the group decided to return to the hotel.

Just as Shinobu Shimon started her car, intending to take the group back to the hotel, Arimori's little train wouldn't start. Curious, she stopped the car and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It seems like there's something wrong with the car's engine."

Arimori poked his head out and said, "You guys go back first. I'll stay here and see if I can fix it."

"Do you need my help?"

Fujino also poked his head out and asked a question.

Although he doesn't know much about car repair, as an Old Driver, troubleshooting some obstacles isn't too difficult.

"Thank you, Detective Fujino."

Arimori smiled and said, "But it's not necessary. It gets very cold here at night, and it's not appropriate for the guests to stay here with me while I repair cars. You should go back first."

"Oh well."

Shinobu Shimon nodded and led the group back to the hotel first.

The entrance to the hotel.

The group had just parked their car when they ran into Cheng Yuan and his companion returning from fishing.

"Detective Fujino, you guys are back too."

Cheng Yuan got out of the car, carrying an insulated box for holding fish, and said, "We caught a lot of fish today, so there will definitely be enough fish for the barbecue tonight!"

"You guys have had a really good day..." Fujino smiled awkwardly.

Forget about grilled fish, I probably won't even be able to get a barbecue later.

The group pushed open the hotel door and entered. As soon as they entered, Shiromoto asked the Shimo-Kasa Sisters, "By the way, has Chizuru come downstairs yet?"

The Shimo-Kasa Sisters shook their heads in unison, looking somewhat bewildered. "We've been busy with hotel matters all day and haven't seen Ms. Chizuru come downstairs."

"That's really going too far, he's even refusing to eat."

Cheng Yuan complained a couple of times, then prepared to go upstairs to call someone.

"I'll go upstairs and wash my face too."

Fujino glanced back at Shiromoto, then made an excuse to go upstairs with him.

"Chizuru, Chizuru!"

Shiromoto arrived at Chizuru Bizen's door, knocked and called out twice, but received no response. He was getting a little angry, so he shouted, "Alright, now you should be calmed down, why didn't you even say a word?"

"What's wrong?"

Fujino happened to be passing by and glanced at Shiromoto, asking him a question with a puzzled look.

"Strange, I don't know what's going on either, no matter how many times I call, Qianhe won't open the door."

Cheng Yuan frowned, then murmured, "Could something have happened to her...?"

"Indeed, even if you're angry, you shouldn't refuse to open the door no matter how much you knock..."

Fujino glanced at Shiromoto with a strange expression.

Cheng Yuan's behavior... is a bit unusual.

Does this mean someone has gotten into trouble?

However, now that he knew the person was dead, he planned to speed up the process of finding the body.

So he suggested, "Do you need my help to break down the door?"

After thinking for a moment, Shiromoto nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you, Detective Fujino."

"Move aside a little..."

Fujino took a deep breath, glanced at the wooden door in front of him, and then kicked it.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the door was kicked open by Fujino.

Fujino slowly walked into the room and saw a figure wearing a red coat and a pink skirt hanging from the ceiling fan in the dimly lit room.

It is clearly Chizuru Bizen.

"7:20."

Fujino took out his phone, glanced at it, and then dialed the police.

"Chi... Chizuru!"

Hidehiko Jomoto was clearly startled, taking two steps back with a look of terror on his face.

After reporting the incident to the police, Fujino turned to Shiromoto and said, "Mr. Shiromoto, Ms. Chizuru is probably dead. This is the crime scene. If possible, please go outside and wait. I have some things I want to investigate."

Shiromoto nodded blankly and left the room.

Fujino then took out gloves, put on shoe covers, activated Eagle Vision, and began to survey the room.

This time, Hawkeye's clues were the security padlock on the room door he kicked open, and the glowing spot on the triangular part of Chizuru Bizen's skirt...

Fujino ignored the strange little light for the moment, thought for a moment, walked to the safety lock's hook, picked it up and examined it.

The gold-colored iron safety padlock was supposed to be installed next to the door frame, but he kicked it and it has now fallen to the floor of the room.

There were some minor scratches on the edge of the door lock.

Fujino turned his head and glanced at the door frame.

Similarly, there were some scratches on the door frame.

"If that's the case, the murderer must have opened the door and then used a screwdriver to re-lock the safety lock to create the secret room..."

Fujino stood up thoughtfully and walked to the body of Chizuru Bizen.

He looked up and glanced at them.

Yesterday she was alive and had a terrible temper, but now she's completely calm.

With his eyes closed, he had a peaceful expression on his face.

"If he doesn't put on a grumpy face, the overall impression is actually not bad."

Fujino murmured, "If that's the case, then she must have been killed while unconscious..."

After all, if someone were strangled to death while fully conscious, they would usually have Yoshikawa lines on their neck, and their death would not be so peaceful.

He reached out and touched the corpse's pale arm.

Rigor mortis has already set in...

Judging from the time of his death, it was around the same time that he triggered the detective mission.

Only Cheng Yuan returned at that time, so Cheng Yuan should be the murderer.

But...

Fujino narrowed his eyes and examined the light spot marked by Eagle Eye.

The light spot marks a patch of white powder on the skirt.

Fujino reached out, dipped his hand in the mixture, and kneaded it; it felt a bit like cosmetics.

He wasn't like Conan, a complete idiot, who dared to go over and smell it...

He's a celebrity after all; if it were drugs, he'd be finished. Once he gets even a little bit of that stuff, he'll never be able to get rid of it for the rest of his life.

However, with his keen sense of smell, he still detected some odors from a distance.

It smells bad...

An hour later, accompanied by the sound of sirens, police from Nagano Prefecture arrived at the scene.

"I am Koichi Mito detective from Nagano Prefecture."

A handsome detective in a gray suit surveyed the scene, then came out and asked Fujino with a somewhat unfriendly expression, "From what I've just heard, you were the first person to discover the body and enter the crime scene, right?"

"That's right, I was the one who called the police."

Fujino nodded, and casually pulled out his work ID from his pocket. "I am Fujino, an advisor in the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police Department. Just now, Mr. Shiromoto was worried that something might happen to her, so I broke down the door with his permission."

"Advisor Fujino..."

Koichi Mito at Fujino, his expression softening considerably. "I've heard of you. I didn't expect you to be here in Nagano Prefecture. Are you here for tourism?"

"That's right."

Fujino nodded in agreement, "A friend gave me a voucher for this hotel, and I was planning to come here for a trip during the long holiday, but I didn't expect to run into this."

"That was indeed quite upsetting."

Koichi Mito nodded heavily, empathizing with the pain of having to work overtime late into the night during the holidays.

Turning his head, he asked a slightly overweight detective in a dark blue suit behind him, "How's the on-site investigation going?"

"The deceased was the popular actress Chizuru Bizen, 30 years old. She had come to the hotel with her husband on a trip..."

The detective, holding a notebook, reported on the scene, "The deceased's time of death was approximately between 1 and 2 p. m. The room was somewhat stuffy, so there might be some discrepancy. The cause of death was compression of the neck."

"Judging from the situation at the scene, it seems like Ms. Bizen committed suicide."

Koichi Mito glanced back at the room, looked up at the white ribbon hanging from the ceiling fan, and then fixed his gaze on Chizuru Bizen there.