From the moment he entered the café, he had noticed that this popular idol and her manager both had exclamation marks floating over their heads.
Yamagishi Ei in particular had a blue exclamation mark, just like Kudo Shinichi.
What had this guy done to qualify for triggering a World Quest?
With that in mind, Yin Kong decided to ignore the manager's abnormality for the time being.
As he had said before, who knew what kind of terrifying thing a Genshin World Quest might bring out?
Ono Yoko sat somewhat stiffly across from Yin Kong and slowly recalled:
"Recently, whenever I return home, I often find that my furniture has been moved around. Then I keep receiving secretly taken photos and threatening letters. Oh, and there are also silent phone calls..."
As she said this, the popular idol's voice began to tremble slightly.
Clearly, this matter had left her with no small psychological scar.
"Threatening letters... That doesn't sound like an overly fanatical fan." Yin Kong put on a thoughtful expression and asked, "Then, Miss Yoko, do you remember offending anyone recently?"
Yamagishi Ei almost instinctively replied:
"No! Yoko has always been kind, cheerful, and gentle. How could she possibly make enemies?"
Yin Kong gave a soft chuckle and neither confirmed nor denied it.
Even in the Detective Conan World, he did not believe that a woman who had made it in the entertainment industry could truly be some innocent, scheming-free saint.
And claiming she had never offended anyone was even more far-fetched.
Ono Yoko naturally realized this as well. After hesitating slightly, she said uncertainly:
"If I had to mention something, I did recently get a fairly important role. But that should have just been normal, fair competition. It shouldn't be enough for someone to hate me to this extent..."
Yin Kong nodded slightly.
"Let's keep that in mind for now. By the way, may I look at the photos and threatening letters you received?"
"Of course."
At Ono Yoko's signal, Yamagishi Ei immediately reached into his bag and took out several photographs and letters.
However, seeing how casually the manager handled them, Yin Kong unconsciously raised an eyebrow.
"It seems the two of you have already checked them. There were no clues like fingerprints on these photos and letters?"
Yamagishi Ei's movements immediately froze.
Yin Kong, noticing his reaction, was somewhat surprised as well. He asked in astonishment:
"Don't tell me there weren't?"
"Uh... well... that..."
Yamagishi Ei realized that he seemed to have done something incredibly stupid. He stammered, not daring to answer.
In the end, Ono Yoko said with a remorseful expression:
"It's all my fault. It was the first time I'd encountered something like this, and I never thought to preserve the evidence. I'm terribly sorry!"
"You don't need to apologize."
Seeing the idol like this, Yin Kong shook his head. He put on gloves and began examining the photos and letters as he comforted her.
"Besides, these threatening letters were made with cutout newspaper characters. The other party was fairly cautious, so they probably wouldn't have left clues like fingerprints anyway."
"Is that so? That's a relief."
Hearing Yin Kong say this, Yamagishi Ei also let out a sigh of relief.
"Is this all?"
"Yes, all the photos and threatening letters are here." Hearing Yin Kong's question, Ono Yoko first nodded, then asked hopefully, "Have you found some clue?"
Yin Kong nodded.
"How should I put this... These photos are all too ordinary. Was there nothing more explosive?"
Ono Yoko froze. Though she had always been skilled at dealing with all kinds of people, she could not find an appropriate response for a moment. Even the smile on her face became somewhat forced.
Yamagishi Ei coughed and said seriously:
"Mr. Yin Kong, please be more serious. Don't make jokes like that."
"No, I think you two have misunderstood. I'm not joking." Yin Kong shook his head and asked with a serious expression, "What I mean is, do you really think these photos are that aggressive, especially compared with these threatening letters?"
Yin Kong lightly tapped the photographs spread across the table. Most of them only showed Ono Yoko's blurry back.
Unless someone knew her very well, they probably would not recognize her as the currently popular idol at all.
As for the remaining photos, in his eyes they were entirely harmless, the kind that even gossip tabloids would not bother buying.
By comparison, the wording in the threatening letters was extremely intense. They were filled with vicious curses, openly venting the sender's malice.
"If I remember correctly, Miss Yoko just said that the furniture in your home often changed positions. That is enough to show that the other party has already found a way to secretly enter your home.
Please think carefully. If the stalker truly hated you as much as these threatening letters suggest, would they choose to take only such harmless photos?"
Ono Yoko and Yamagishi Ei both went blank. They already understood what Yin Kong meant.
Ono Yoko in particular unconsciously clenched her hands tightly together and instantly realized the seriousness of the issue.
The World Changed
There were simply too many ways to ruin a popular idol.
Ono Yoko naturally understood that better than anyone.
She remained pale and silent for a long time. Only after taking a deep breath did she barely pull herself free from her fear and nod.
"The photos I received really are all here. I haven't hidden anything."
Yin Kong pondered.
"Is that so? Then this is rather strange."
Yamagishi Ei could not help asking:
"Mr. Yin Kong, what do you think the reason could be?"
Yin Kong shook his head.
"There are too few clues. I can't guess either. Perhaps the other party has some concern that we don't know about?"
However, before Yamagishi Ei could finish sighing in relief, Yin Kong added:
"Of course, we also can't rule out the possibility that they already possess sufficiently fatal photos and simply want to enjoy playing with their prey a little longer."
The manager's expression immediately darkened again.
Yin Kong gestured for him to put the evidence away and said:
"However, I'll need to investigate the scene before I can make any further judgments about the exact situation."
"Of course, of course. This way, please."
Yamagishi Ei's attitude had undergone a complete transformation. He hurried off at a jog to fetch the car.
So he really did know something?
Watching the manager's hurriedly departing back, Yin Kong nodded thoughtfully.
"Mr. Yin Kong, didn't you drive here?"
Seeing that Yin Kong was waiting for the car with her, Ono Yoko showed a surprised expression.
After all, whether it was a detective or a Cunning Rabbit House agent, they obviously had to run around outside every day. Without a car, there would surely be many inconveniences.
Yin Kong shook his head helplessly.
"Unfortunately, I suffer from severe [Intermittent Carsickness Syndrome]. To avoid harming myself or others, I can only give up driving."
This was naturally another lie.
The real reason Yin Kong did not drive was, of course, that in his eyes, the streets were full of inhuman monsters.
Under such circumstances, how could he possibly distinguish monsters from passersby accurately?
"So that's how it is. What a pity."
If Yin Kong had said that from the beginning, Ono Yoko and Yamagishi Ei would certainly have thought Cunning Rabbit House was extremely unreliable.
But now, they had already recognized Yin Kong's ability and only wished he could immediately fly to Yoko's residence to begin investigating. Naturally, they would not care about such a minor flaw.
As they spoke, Yamagishi Ei had already driven the car over.
However, just as the idol politely invited Yin Kong into the car, she found that his expression had suddenly stiffened.
"Mr. Yin Kong, what's wrong?"
"Did you see it?"
"You can see it?"
"You saw it, right?"
Of course, it was because the car was already "full."
Lv.28 [Ogre Flower].
A giant monster resembling a man-eating plant occupied nearly the entire seat. It opened its enormous bloody maw, revealing layers of slowly rotating, saw-like teeth and a disgusting tongue covered in slime.
Yin Kong shook his head expressionlessly and gritted his teeth.
"I'm sorry, but it seems my carsickness is acting up."
Ono Yoko froze for a moment and realized that Yin Kong's face had indeed become extremely unpleasant.
"Is there anything I can do? Oh, there should be motion sickness medicine in the car. I'll have Yamagishi—"
"There's no need. Medicine is useless for my condition. Just let me rest for a while."
Under Ono Yoko's puzzled gaze, Yin Kong took a deep breath as though he had made some kind of decision.
He entered the car expressionlessly, trying not to imagine himself as a little snack voluntarily jumping into a monster's mouth. After sitting down, he closed his eyes and said nothing more.
Yet even so, a chattering voice still lingered in his ears.
"You definitely saw it!"
"You can see it!"
Is it really that serious?
Looking at Yin Kong, who was utterly motionless as though he had turned into a corpse, Ono Yoko could not help showing sympathy.
She wanted to do something, but found that there seemed to be nothing she could do. She could only quickly get into the car and tell her manager:
"Yamagishi, drive as fast as you can."
"Yes, Miss Yoko."
In truth, he needed no reminder. The manager wished he could return to the apartment in an instant.
Fortunately, the popular idol's apartment was not too far from here.
About twenty minutes later, Yin Kong felt someone gently patting his shoulder.
"Mr. Yin Kong, we're here."
He opened his eyes and saw the popular idol's worried face.
Seeing that Yin Kong had finally reacted, Ono Yoko seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
"That's wonderful. I called to you so many times just now, but you didn't respond..."
"I'm sorry for making you worry. Don't worry, I'm fine."
Yin Kong practically leaped out of the car. Just now, his ears had been filled with the monster's incessant questions, so naturally he had not noticed Ono Yoko's voice.
Only after escaping the giant man-eating flower's bloody maw did Yin Kong's complexion gradually return to normal.
Ono Yoko, however, looked full of guilt and bowed.
"No, it was my fault for not thinking things through. I'll compensate you for your losses."
"That really is good news."
Before you continue