Outlaw in the World of Conan, Tokisaki Kurumi

The box was slowly opened, and the items inside immediately caused the surrounding people to gasp.

"Why, why is there a hand inside!"

Village Chief Kuroiwa looked at the hand in the box, which was continuously bleeding thick blood. His entire body went limp, and he sat down on the ground.

"What!"

"How could this be?"

As the only woman present, Mouri Ran had already covered her face in fear, not daring to look at the severed hand emitting a bloody stench from the box.

Frowning tightly, Mouri Kogoro looked at the severed hand in the box, feeling that something was amiss.

The events on the island had completely exceeded his expectations.

Although equally shocked, the experienced Great Detective Conan was not scared at all.

Being a child prodigy, he instead leaned closer. After observing for a while, he said in a deep voice, "Uncle, this hand... was probably cut off less than an hour ago, and..."

From the wrist, Conan noticed that the flesh and bone at the severed end were very smooth, and it was precisely at the wrist joint that it had been cut off.

"It looks like the person who did this used a very sharp weapon to directly sever this hand." Mouri Kogoro had also noticed the abnormality at the severed wrist.

As Mouri Kogoro analyzed, the atmosphere in the room almost froze.

"A curse! It's Aso Keiji's curse!" Hirata, the man with glasses who was the strongest but surprisingly timid, shouted in fear.

"No! This is definitely not a curse!" Conan, with his brows furrowed, held the sticky note attached to the box, his expression unusually serious. "This was done deliberately by someone!"

This time, Mouri Kogoro did not refute Conan. Instead, he nodded and looked at his daughter. "Ran, call the police immediately." After she hurriedly took out her phone to call the police, Mouri Kogoro looked at Hirata again. "Mr. Hirata, I need you to tell me exactly how you found this box!"

Having personally witnessed Hirata's fear, Mouri Kogoro felt that Hirata should not have known that the box actually contained a hand.

Because that kind of fear and terror was genuine, not something deliberately acted out to deceive them.

"Yes..." Having been addressed by Mouri Kogoro, Hirata recounted the entire story of how he found the box in the corridor.

It turned out that just a few minutes ago, when Hirata left his office to go to the restroom, he noticed the box suddenly appearing in the empty corridor.

Strange, was this box here just now? Inevitably curious, he walked over to the box and squatted down to examine it, as if it were a cake box.

Holding the box in his hand, Hirata became even more confused.

Judging by the overall weight of the box, it shouldn't contain cake.

Could it be a small gift?

As Hirata looked at the box from all angles, he noticed a small sticky note attached under the bow on top.

A small gift for Village Chief Kuroiwa? Hirata, filled with curiosity, did not notice the folded corner at the end of the note.

After a lengthy explanation, Hirata said with lingering fear, "That's how it happened. After seeing the writing on the note addressed to the village chief, I brought it straight over."

"Didn't you notice the folded signature on the note?" Mouri Kogoro pressed Hirata.

"No! Because I had work to do at the time, I just wanted to deliver this box first..."

Beside them, Conan, carefully observing Hirata's tone and expression while he spoke, felt that this person was likely not lying.

"Hirata! Did you see who put this box in the corridor!"

At this moment, Village Chief Kuroiwa, who had just gulped down a large glass of water to calm his panic, shouted loudly.

"No, I just went to the restroom, and when I came back, I saw this box on the ground!" Facing his superior's interrogation, Hirata answered honestly. "There was definitely nothing on the ground when I passed through the corridor before going to the restroom!"

Analyzing rapidly in his mind, Mouri Kogoro asked, "So, you're saying this box was placed there by someone during the time you went to the restroom, Mr. Hirata?"

41 Kurumi's Other Objective (Second Update)

Hirata, being questioned by Mouri Kogoro, frowned. Although he knew what he was saying sounded bizarre, that's exactly how it happened.

He had only spent a minute or two in the restroom, and he was telling the truth.

"But, weren't all the staff at the Community Center sent out to search for Kawashima at this time!" Village Chief Kuroiwa, who had recovered and was sitting in his chair, suddenly changed his expression.

"Wait, this hand isn't..."

"It's likely as you suspect, Village Chief Kuroiwa." Mouri Kogoro looked at the severed hand. Judging from its appearance, it was undoubtedly the hand of a man around forty years old.

Combining this with Kawashima's age, Mouri Kogoro guessed that the owner of this hand was likely Mr. Kawashima, who had mysteriously disappeared last night.

After hearing Mouri Kogoro's words, Mouri Ran exclaimed, "Could it be that Mr. Kawashima has been murdered, Dad?"

"It's likely so." Although it was just a suspicion, the possibility that this hand belonged to Kawashima was very high.

The thought of someone having met an unfortunate end made Mouri Kogoro's tone heavy.

"How could this be?"

Meanwhile, at Narumi Aso's clinic.

Unlike the somber atmosphere in the Village Chief's office at the Community Center, Kurumi and Narumi Aso were happily drinking coffee brewed by Kurumi.

"Sister Seijitsu, has the wound of that scumbag been treated?" Kurumi asked, having just returned not long ago after finishing her business.

Narumi Aso naturally knew who Kurumi was referring to as "that scumbag."

"That should be about enough," Aso Narumi mused. "As you requested, I cut off both of his hands. Since he's already paralyzed from the neck down, I didn't even need anesthesia, which saved me a lot of trouble."

Recalling how he had cleanly severed the two appendages in front of Kawashima that morning, and how the other man had shown no reaction, Aso Narumi, knowing Kawashima was completely broken, was surprised at his own lack of guilt. Instead, he felt a surge of vengeful pleasure.

This abnormal psychological state made Narumi feel like something was wrong with him.

Across from him, Kurumi noticed Narumi's hesitant expression and saw the worry in his heart. She smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry so much, Sister Seijitsu."

"You know, Kawashima, along with Kuroiwa and the others, committed such a cruel act. Plus, their dealings in white powder… if this were in our homeland, they'd probably already be facing a firing squad."

Kurumi, speaking like a seasoned propagandist, lamented Japan's weak laws compared to the strong ones in their homeland, as she began her usual brainwashing of Aso Narumi.

Speaking of which, Kurumi couldn't help but praise how her home country, the great Celestial Empire, dealt with crimes like trafficking white powder with such a strong hand.

"Yes, they deserve it!"

Aso Narumi, his mind completely consumed by Kurumi's influence, readily agreed with her viewpoint.

Setting aside Kawashima's issues, the more Narumi looked at Kurumi, the more mysterious she seemed.

"By the way, Kurumi, how did you bring the box to the community center without anyone noticing?" Narumi asked, her curiosity piqued by Kurumi's various mysterious actions. "Even though most of the villagers have gone into the mountains to search for Kawashima now, there would still be people passing by on the road from here to the community center, right?"

"About that~" Kurumi teased, drawing out the suspense. "We're all professionals. How could we get by in society without any special skills!"

Seeing that Kurumi didn't seem inclined to answer her question directly, Narumi pouted slightly in a way that made Kurumi's heart flutter.

However, out of professional ethics, Kurumi suppressed the urge to leverage this secret for personal gain from Narumi.

"Alright, Sister Seijitsu, I'll tell you once all this is over!" Kurumi winked playfully, her cheerful tone betraying no hint that she was the mastermind behind Kawashima's disappearance and dismemberment.

"Next, I need to prepare the remaining package. If I'm not mistaken, the Tokyo police will arrive by this afternoon at the latest." Pointing to another box on the table, identical in packaging to the previous gift box, Kurumi said, "I'll leave the remaining one in the piano room. As for that scumbag…" Kurumi paused in thought. "I'll spare his life for now."

Although Kurumi's plan seemed highly feasible, Narumi couldn't help but worry for her when she heard that the Tokyo police were coming.

"Is this really okay? The Tokyo police aren't that easy to fool."

"Besides, Kurumi, you're on this island. If the police start a full investigation, won't they suspect you?" Narumi asked.

"The Tokyo police…" When it came to the police in the Conan world, Kurumi genuinely felt they were incompetent.

Perhaps due to the world's setting, Kurumi knew that these police officers, without the help of detectives, were truly useless. With so many resources at their disposal, they were repeatedly outmaneuvered by criminals, which was truly embarrassing.

However, even though the Japanese police in this world were so inept, Kurumi wouldn't be arrogant enough to underestimate them and end up being slapped in the face by an unexpected turn of events.

Moreover, Kurumi intended to operate in this area for some time to come. If she were to land herself on the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's radar too early, it would undoubtedly have an irreversible impact on her future plans.

Therefore, to ensure everything went smoothly, Kurumi said with full confidence, "Don't worry. I already checked out of my hotel room early this morning and arranged for it to look like I'd already left by boat."

The task was completed by the same organization member who had brought Kurumi here.

Upon hearing that Kurumi had checked out of her hotel, Narumi sighed, "Oh! But if you don't have a hotel, where will you sleep tonight, Kurumi?"

After waiting for a while, Kurumi finally got the question she'd been waiting for from Narumi.

"Well~" Kurumi said, looking at Narumi with a mischievous grin. "I'll be sleeping with you, of course, Sister Seijitsu! I've already moved all my luggage over!"

The thought of finally sleeping with a beautiful girl made Kurumi's gaze towards Narumi change.

Being stared at by Kurumi, Narumi felt that Kurumi's gaze was like that of men with ulterior motives, which was frightening.

42 Provocation

That afternoon, police officers from Tokyo arrived on Moon Shadow Island in a group.

The team was led, as usual, by the Metropolitan Police Department's workhorse – Inspector Megure.

"Seriously, why are you here again, Kogoro?"

After meeting Mouri Kogoro, Inspector Megure rolled his eyes and looked speechlessly at the Great Detective who was greeting him. "I see you at every murder scene. Is it coincidence, or do you have a Shinigami following you?"

In a way, Inspector Megure had touched upon the truth.

"No way! Inspector Megure." Mouri Kogoro, completely unaware, didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he said with considerable pride, "Because I am the Great Detective Mouri Kogoro!"

"But speaking of which, why are you here, Inspector Megure?"

Although he didn't understand the connection between Mouri Kogoro's "Great Detective" title and murder scenes, Inspector Megure didn't doubt that Mouri Kogoro had incredibly bad luck.

However, jokes aside, with a murder case at hand, he, as a police officer from Tokyo, naturally had to prioritize solving the case and catching the culprit.

"Because Moon Shadow Island is also part of Tokyo!" Inspector Megure answered Mouri Kogoro's question before turning serious. "Alright, enough joking. I want to know what happened on Moon Shadow Island."

Seeing Inspector Megure get into character, Mouri Kogoro also dropped the playful demeanor and seriously recounted everything that had happened recently.

"So, you suspect that hand belongs to that person named Kawashima?" Hearing Mouri Kogoro say that someone had packaged a severed hand as a gift for the village chief, Inspector Megure was surprised and began to think that this case might be quite troublesome.

Mouri Kogoro nodded. The case was truly gruesome. What he couldn't understand was, if the hand really was Kawashima's, did this mean the killer targeted Kawashima because of some deep-seated hatred between them?

He shared his thoughts with Inspector Megure, who, after careful consideration, decided to split his subordinates into two teams. One team would gather everyone who had attended the memorial service last night for questioning, while the other would investigate among the villagers to see if Kawashima had offended anyone for any reason.

As for the so-called curse of Aso Keiji, as a police officer, Inspector Megure naturally didn't believe in such mystical matters.

About half an hour later, all the attendees of last night's memorial service had been gathered at the community center.

Among them was Aso Narumi.

Meanwhile, not long after Aso Narumi had left with the police officers who had come looking for her, Kurumi, following her plan, stealthily moved towards the vicinity of the community center, carrying the gift box with the other hand and activating King Crimson's Time Erasure ability, managing to reach her destination without being detected by anyone.

Seeing the community center, which was cordoned off by the police not far away, Kurumi quietly approached the back door.

As expected, the back door, whose lock Kurumi had previously broken, now had two police officers standing guard.

Hiding around the corner, Kurumi calculated the distance between herself and the two officers.

King Crimson's Time Erasure ability could erase about ten seconds of time for everyone in this world except herself. This meant that if Kurumi activated King Crimson at this moment and walked behind the two police officers, once she deactivated the ability, the two officers affected by King Crimson wouldn't notice anything unusual. They wouldn't even perceive that Kurumi had "openly" arrived behind them.

As for what happened next...

Watching the two police officers collapse after being struck in the back of the neck by King Crimson, Kurumi turned, pushed open the door, and swaggered inside.

Arriving next to the piano gifted by Aso Keiji, Kurumi placed the gift box in her hand onto the instrument.

As a Stand user, Kurumi knew clearly that with the Moon Shadow Island incident, which she was orchestrating, and under the influence of King Crimson's practically "bug-level" ability, the success rate of solving this case would be infinitesimally close to zero if it were left solely to the detectives Conan and Mouri Kogoro, along with the police.

However, if things were to proceed like this, Kurumi could naturally eliminate the other two accomplices without any effort, leaving everyone unaware of herself and Aso Narumi. But as a thrill-seeker, Kurumi felt that letting things unfold this way would be far too boring.

To bring herself a little amusement, Kurumi, after discussing it with Aso Narumi, decided to place two other items in this gift box.

One was a tape recording the truth of what happened that year, which she had recorded from Kawashima during his interrogation.

The other was a cipher created by Aso Narumi, using musical scores as the puzzle.

To ensure that what happened next would cause enough shock, Kurumi decided to activate another "bug-level" ability of King Crimson—Epitaph.

Epitaph, as a derivative ability of King Crimson's Time Erasure, could see the future (up to tens of seconds ahead), and the future observed by Epitaph was bound to happen unless it was erased using Time Erasure.

Time Erasure combined with Epitaph made King Crimson, which already possessed formidable stats, a Stand that embodied both destructive power and absolute evasion, making it practically invincible.

Kurumi had King Crimson sit at the piano and replicate the rhythm and technique for playing Moonlight that Aso Narumi had taught her that morning. As the pleasant piano melody began, Kurumi keenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the hallway.

[King Crimson!!!]

Having calculated the absolute limit of distance before she would be discovered, Kurumi activated King Crimson and instantly vanished from the spot.

"Bang!"