Chapter 39

The so-called professional was, naturally, Professor Agasa.

With his status, having him tell Ran that there was nothing wrong with the glasses was certainly authoritative enough.

Of course, there was no need to mention that afterward, he had been made to do homework for over an hour.

Yin Kong seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's good."

However, just as he was about to continue teasing Conan, Paimon eagerly handed the treasure map to him—

The instant the treasure map landed in his hands, Yin Kong felt the system interface tremble slightly. Then, an exquisite illustrated scroll slowly unfurled before him.

On the scroll stood Shikanoin Heizou and Kaedehara Kazuha, back to back.

Naturally, what truly shocked Yin Kong was the text that followed—

Dear Traveler, the limited-time event [Maple Meets Deer] has begun:

[Complete challenge: Without seeking help from others, be the first to decipher the secret of the treasure map and recover the stolen Maple Leaf Gold Coins to invite a four-star character to join your party];

[Complete challenge: Expose the truth that was deliberately concealed, find the twelve cursed Maple Leaf Gold Coins, and pass twelve trials using only them to invite a five-star character to join your party].

WTF? A limited-time event?!

Yin Kong had thought that, with even the mailbox rewards having gone offline, he would probably never see those four words again for the rest of his life.

Yet now, the system had clearly given him one enormous surprise.

So he had completely misunderstood. The exclamation mark floating over Conan's head earlier had not been a World Quest at all, but a marker for a limited-time event!

And the rewards—

The four-star character [Shikanoin Heizou]!

The five-star character [Kaedehara Kazuha]!

There were no rewards like Primogems or Mora, but it was directly giving him a Kaedehara Kazuha!

Yin Kong felt that if he missed out on a reward like this, then even by this time next year, he would probably still be climbing out of bed in the middle of the night to slap himself twice.

"Y-Yin Kong... why did your gaze suddenly become so scary?"

Seeing Yin Kong's expression drastically change upon seeing the "treasure map," then finding himself under a dangerously unsettling gaze that inexplicably filled him with dread, Conan, who vaguely sensed impending disaster, cautiously asked.

"No, it's nothing. I just suddenly felt that Conan, you should be pretty smart, right?"

Conan's instincts were indeed correct, because Yin Kong was seriously considering something at that very moment:

Should he have Kuki Shinobu make a move in secret and simply knock Conan unconscious before dragging him away?

After all, the event required him to be the first to decipher the treasure map's secret and recover the Maple Leaf Gold Coins.

If nothing unexpected happened, this high school student before him would be his greatest competitor.

Shenhe had once said that as long as you took out everyone ranked ahead of you, you would naturally become number one.

By the same logic, as long as he physically BANNED this greatest-threat detective, he would naturally have plenty of time to solve the puzzle.

"Haha... I'm not as impressive as you, Yin Kong."

"That's true."

In the end, Yin Kong still abandoned that idea.

It was not because Conan's awkward laugh had fooled him, but because after thinking for a while, he had vaguely recalled part of the plot.

This little piece of paper was indeed a treasure map belonging to a gang of robbers, marking the locations of the Maple Leaf Gold Coins they had stolen.

As for the messy drawings on it, they were clues for finding the treasure.

Yin Kong truly could not remember many more details, but he had a deep impression of the final fish. It should have been formed by combining neon lights at night with their reflection beneath the water's surface, eventually creating a complete fish.

Chapter 61: Conan: I Swear on the Name of Kudo Shinichi, I Won't Lose!

On an ordinary day, or even for an ordinary World Quest, Yin Kong might have been interested in chatting with Conan and the Junior Detective Agency.

After all, in his memory, every one of these little kids was a remarkable talent. Their ability to court death was almost unmatched even across the entire Teyvat Continent.

Keeping a pleasant mood was also an important prerequisite for improving quest efficiency.

But at this moment, the limited-time quest naturally took priority.

So, after photographing the drawings on the note with his camera, Yin Kong had Paimon return the "treasure map" to Kojima Genta.

Paimon did not yet know about the limited-time quest. Wiggling her fingers, she said, "So, do you need the great adventurer Paimon to lend you a hand?"

"No way!" Before Genta or Mitsuhiko could answer, Ayumi angrily pulled Conan away. "Conan, let's look for it ourselves! We definitely won't lose to them!"

Once they had left Yin Kong's sight, the smile Conan had been putting on immediately vanished without a trace. He said to Genta, "Genta, let me see the treasure map again."

He was absolutely certain that Yin Kong had discovered some important clue on the treasure map that he himself had failed to notice.

He might have even already guessed what the so-called treasure was.

Otherwise, his attitude would never have changed so drastically.

"Could it be these three letters?"

In the end, Conan's gaze fell on "ORO," the only three letters on the note.

The current Conan probably had yet to master the miraculous passive skill of "I learned it in Hawaii," so he did not immediately recognize the meaning of [ORO].

This time, however, he did not leisurely run off to a bookstore to look it up in a dictionary. Instead, he directly called Professor Agasa.

Reliable as ever, Professor Agasa quickly gave him the answer.

In Italian, [ORO] meant gold.

So the so-called "treasure" was actually gold?

Since it was written in Italian, the person who had drawn this "treasure map" was most likely Italian.

Combined with the television news report about Italian robbers stealing fifteen thousand Maple Leaf Gold Coins, which still had not been recovered, wasn't the answer obvious?

Conan suddenly understood, feeling that he finally knew why Yin Kong had been so excited.

But had that man already pieced together all these clues the instant he saw that little note?

As expected, Yin Kong was an opponent not to be underestimated.

Conan carefully recalled his several encounters with Yin Kong and realized that he had not gained the upper hand even once.

The first time, at the ramen shop, Yin Kong had deduced the culprit before him. Conan could at least find the excuse that Yin Kong had gotten involved in the case before he did.

But during their next two chance encounters, not only had he failed to uncover even the slightest detail about Yin Kong's background, he had instead exposed many suspicious things about himself.

That sense of defeat was truly difficult for the proud High School Detective Kudo Shinichi to accept.

But it didn't matter!

This time, he would definitely turn things around and find the treasure first.

Betting the name of High School Detective Kudo Shinichi on it, he would not lose!

Conan felt as though his great detective soul was already blazing fiercely.

"Treasure! Treasure! Our treasure!"

Meanwhile, Paimon quickly put Conan and the others out of her mind and began obsessing over their treasure instead.

"Yin Kong, what exactly does this treasure map mean? Why can't I seem to understand any of it?"

Still, little Paimon studied the note for ages without making heads or tails of it.

"I think this time, it isn't your fault, Paimon."

That robber leader's thought process was simply too bizarre. It was one thing for him to suddenly decide to double-cross his own people, but after hiding the stolen Maple Leaf Gold Coins, he had actually gone out of his way to leave behind a "treasure map."

Not only that, but he even seemed afraid that others might misunderstand, thoughtfully labeling it with a huge Italian word for [gold].

If that guy had at least abbreviated [ORO] to [O], Yin Kong could have reluctantly considered it an effort.

However, Yin Kong's gaze soon fell upon the description of the second limited-time event in the system interface.

One line read, [Find the truth that was deliberately concealed]. Could there really be another hidden truth behind this case?

"I knew it. How could it possibly have been my problem?" Paimon first breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly caught on. "Wait, Traveler, are you saying that it was my problem every other time? Are you calling me dumb again in a roundabout way?"

Yin Kong gently patted Paimon on the head.

"It's okay. Even a silly Paimon is cute."

"Hehe." While giggling foolishly, Paimon suddenly looked around in confusion. "Huh? How did we end up in an empty little alley like this? Yin Kong, do you think the treasure is here?"

"Of course not." Yin Kong lightly shook his head, then turned to look behind him. "The three of you, do I need to invite you out?"

Paimon froze, then exclaimed in utter shock.

"What? Someone's been following us?!"

"Kid, you're more alert than those little brats. You actually noticed us."

Soon, three tall figures wearing sunglasses appeared at the entrance to the alley.

The speaker was a thin-faced, black-haired man among them. His two blond companions appeared to be Italians who did not understand Japanese.

Clearly, compared with the Junior Detective Agency, they considered Yin Kong far more reliable and believed he had a better chance of finding the treasure.

Yin Kong said helplessly, "It's not that I'm alert. Your tailing skills are just terrible."

After being backstabbed by Kuki Shinobu who knew how many times, Yin Kong had finally developed the good habit of always watching his back.

Even if he had not remembered that there was another group of robber accomplices in the story, there was no way he would fail to notice these three clumsily following him.

"With skills like yours, you dare call yourselves the Italian Mafia?"

"You arrogant brat! Looks like I need to make you properly understand your situation!"

Yin Kong's casual attitude naturally enraged the three at once. They soon approached Yin Kong and Paimon with hostile expressions, surrounding them.

"The ones who haven't realized their situation are you three, Shinobu."

The instant Yin Kong finished speaking, a purple rope shot out from behind the three of them.

In moments, the rope wound around the three burly men several times before suddenly tightening, binding them firmly together like a rolled-up mat.

Only then did Kuki Shinobu emerge from the shadows. With a tug of the rope, she dragged the three bandits—who had yet to react—to the ground. Then, with a casual kick, the three of them rolled along like logs until they came to a stop before Yin Kong and Paimon.

Yin Kong crouched down and removed the sunglasses from the dizzy, gaunt-faced man with black hair.

"Now, I ask, and you answer. Any problems?"

"First, how much do you know about this treasure map?"

Though the three bandits had been badly frightened, they all fell silent in unspoken agreement upon hearing Yin Kong's question.

"Still hoping to get lucky?" Yin Kong sneered. "Shinobu, use the Reverse Flame Hand."

Reverse Flame Hand?

Shinobu froze for a moment before understanding.

She immediately pulled out a stun gun and held it in her hand.

While she could not openly use Electro Elemental Power, as the Arataki Gang's external brain, Kuki Shinobu had never lacked flexible thinking.

Just as wearing a pair of Kick-Enhancing Shoes meant that even kicking a satellite to pieces with a soccer ball could be explained as "Conan logic."

With a stun gun to serve as a cover, as long as she restrained herself a little and did not make it look too outrageous, she could naturally use Electro Elemental Power openly.

Bzzzt...

"You still have time to confess honestly. Otherwise, you're going to suffer."

At the sight of the stun gun Kuki Shinobu had pulled out, blue sparks crackling at its tip, the three bandits immediately went stiff with fear.