The Grammatical Investigator in Conan

Less than a kilometer away from Binge Town, a hill stands there.

The oval-shaped hill looks particularly regular. Although it is only more than 10 meters high, it is extremely rare in this endless plain and even a little weird.

Qin Zhibo sat in the car and used his telescope to observe there. He found that there were many bushes and tall grass on the hill, making it impossible to see clearly inside.

The rest of the plain is bare, but that area is filled with a large number of plants. It is difficult not to speculate whether it was artificially planted to cover up some existence.

Could it be that the locals secretly grow marijuana on the hill?

But Qin Zhibo didn't have time to study that now, and he didn't want to cause trouble, so he drove the car back to the town after a long circle.

Passing by a building that looked like a small bar, Qin Zhibo opened the door and got out of the car, and walked over to the aunt sitting at the door knitting a sweater.

"Hello, auntie, is there a place to stay here?"

The reason why Qin Zhibo asked about where to stay was because the navigation system showed that there was no hotel here.

The navigator will display public business places in non-private territory. If there is no hotel on it, it means there is no hotel open to the public.

But Qin Zhibo still didn't give up and planned to ask. It was 1996 and this place should not be so backward that there was no place to live.

If you really don't have one, you can only sleep in the car.

The aunt with an obvious Indian face sat on the chair and looked at Qin Zhibo, then glanced at Koizumi Hongzi, the passenger in the car, and two seconds later, she pointed the direction for him in silence.

Her old and discolored hand pointed to the most magnificent building in Binge Town, a three-story building.

"Thanks."

Qin Zhibo continued driving to the building without further interruption.

…

After driving a few hundred meters, Qin Zhibo drove to the building.

There is a faded plaque hanging on the building that reads "India's House" in English.

Judging from the sign, this place may only entertain Indians.

But for the sake of sleeping comfortably tonight, Qin Zhibo decided to go in and ask non-Indians if they would be accepted.

"Wait in the car, I'll go in and ask." Qin Zhibo warned Koizumi Hongzi.

Koizumi Hongzi looked at this "modern building" that was at least several decades old in the car with some disdain. Most of the white paint on the outer long floor had faded, and the remaining half was completely peeled off under the constant sunlight. .

"Sleep here tonight? It doesn't look good~"

"I'm not sure whether I can sleep here... It's time now, so don't ask so much."

Koizumi Hongzi, who was taught a lesson by Qin Zhibo, felt a little unhappy, but she didn't say anything.

Since they met and experienced some incidents together, the relationship between the two has evolved from the initial unfamiliarity with each other to a feeling similar to that of friends and comrades-in-arms.

Although Koizumi Hongzi is a little temperamental, she will now be more restrained in front of Qin Zhibo.

…

Qin Zhibo entered the building called "Indian House" alone.

There was no one in the front hall, and Qin Zhibo did not choose to ring the bell. Instead, he observed the environment first. This was an old habit of being an FBI+ detective.

It can be seen that this place was once a hotel, and the half-baked front desk of the old hotel is still retained.

But nowadays, perhaps because the number of tourists is sparse, most of the hotel has been transformed into a private residence, with many personal belongings placed there. Although it looks a bit messy, it is still clean.

Standing on the colorful stall with Indian aesthetic, Qin Zhibo pressed the copper bell on the front desk.

jingle--

A crisp voice sounded, and after a while, a burly figure walked out of the dark corridor next to him.

This was an Indian man with a round face and broad forehead. He was wiping his dark hands with a white towel while casting an appraising look.

"Hello, can I provide accommodation here?"

The Indian man wiped his hands silently until he finished wiping his hands, then walked to the front desk and responded to Qin Zhibo's question.

"Yes, but the room payment must be paid first. One room is US$60 per night."

“The price was fair and the deal was done.”

It is not easy to find a place to live in this "wilderness", and the price is indeed quite reasonable. Qin Zhibo immediately paid for two rooms.

Back in the car, Qin Zhibo quickly asked Koizumi Hongzi to move his luggage down, fearing that the Indian man would regret it later.

The two of them returned to the hotel lobby carrying large and small luggage. The Indian man stared at them several times like a human scanner before taking them upstairs.

Through the dark and narrow stairs, the two were taken upstairs.

"You can choose any room on the second floor. The room may be a little dirty. If you need to clean it, come to the utility room on the first floor to get cleaning tools."

"I'll bring the bedding to you later, but there's no water heater on this floor. If you want to take a shower, you can come to my room on the first floor..."

After saying that, the Indian man went downstairs.

The remaining two people looked at the two rooms in the corridor. Qin Zhibo decisively chose the room that faced the exit of the town and could see the hill.

But when they opened the door and entered the room, they realized that they had been deceived.

The room may not be a little dirty, but very dirty!

The corners of the walls are filled with dusty spider webs, and the simple furniture in the room is also covered with a thick layer of dust. It can be said that there is no comfort at all when living there.

"be cheated!"

Qin Zhibo shouted that he had been deceived, no wonder he had to charge the room fee first, it turned out that he was waiting here!

Crafty locals!

…

It took an hour to tidy up the room, and the Indian man also sent the bedding over.

After making the bed, it was already evening and it was time to eat.

Although the housing conditions are a bit rough, this "hotel" provides three meals a day. The main course is Indian traditional charcoal-grilled animal meat, paired with savory bread and raisins.

While eating, Qin Zhibo asked the Indian man his name because he could not understand the Indian characters.

"My name is Benniu, just call me Benniu."

This is a name named after an animal, which is very Indian.

Benniu grabbed the roasted and slightly burnt meat with his hands and put it into his mouth, without caring about the appearance of eating it in front of the lady Koizumi Hongzi.

Qin Zhibo also ate a lot of this kind of charcoal-grilled animal meat, because the taste was really decent, similar to the original flavor of barbecue.

But Koizumi Anko just sniffed in front of the plate and never touched them again. She only ate a few raisins.

She appreciates the instant noodles brought more than this rude game.

After finishing the meal, Benniu took out some tea, brewed it and brought it to Qin Zhibo, while Koizumi Hongzi went back to the room to eat the fast food he had brought.

Drinking the fragrant tea and sitting leisurely and comfortably on the wrapped fabric sofa, Qin Zhibo felt that the 60 US dollars was not a waste of money.

However, he did not forget the business and asked Benniu who came to pack the tea sets.

"Have there been any other outsiders in town lately?"

Ben Niu thought about it and shook his head, "No."

Upon hearing this answer, Qin Zhibo's eyes looked thoughtful.

The "outsider" he asked about was naturally Mr. Clock.

I had discussed the meeting place with Mr. Clock before, and I stayed in New York for two days for business. Logically speaking, Mr. Clock should already be in Binger Town.

Or is he lurking somewhere nearby?

If there is any place to hide in the plains around Binger Town, it is the hill not far away.

But at this moment, Benniu, who had always been taciturn, took the initiative and asked: "Are you planning to go to the 'hill' side?"

"Hill?" Qin Zhibo asked in confusion.

"It's that haunted hill outside of town."

"Ghost?" This topic aroused Qin Zhibo's interest, "Excuse me, what is going on?"

Benniu put the tea set aside first and said with an unwavering expression: "It was a very popular exploration place decades ago. It is said that there are often souls of red ancestors holding blue torches on the hills. Wandering around, it attracted many white explorers.”

"But almost all the explorers mysteriously disappeared on the hills, and no one knew where they went."

"There was once a colonel who came here to explore and returned successfully, but he became crazy and kept talking about 'people lurking underground', 'blue light', 'golden city' and other words..."

Hearing "people lurking underground", Qin Zhibo smelled the smell of the main mission.

If the legendary underground world "Kunyang" is nearby, that hill is likely to be the passage to Kunyang.

"Do you know anything else? Can you tell me everything?"

Qin Zhibo asked again, but Benniu shook his head, "I don't know the specifics. By the time I was born, the adventure fever had faded a lot."

"The old man in the town who knew what happened at that time has also passed away. My father should be the last person to know the secret."

"But he also disappeared forever when he was leading the way for a lady more than ten years ago..."

Under Benniu's description, Qin Zhibo roughly understood the experience of this small town.

The town of Binger was bustling for a while due to the fever of exploration and gold rush. There were even rumors that there was a city made of gold under the hills.

But as the adventurous craze faded, people gradually gave up coming here, and the town fell into decline.

Originally, Binger Town was supposed to expand its area along with modernization, but the locals were afraid of offending the souls of the Indian ancestors on the hills, so they did not dare to carry out large-scale construction, let alone go near the hills.

Therefore, this place basically maintains its appearance in the 1920s and 1930s.

However, Benniu's father, an Indian named "Grey Eagle", was very business-minded. He took advantage of the adventurous period to open this hotel and received many explorers who came here.

But even so, the last time it received an explorer was fifteen years ago. A lady and servant dressed in red came here and hired Old Gray Eagle as a guide.

But to this day, the lady in red, her servants, and the old Gray Eagle have never come back. Like most explorers, they disappeared on the vast red soil.

Qin Zhibo felt a little wary and asked: "What does the lady in red look like? Did she leave her name?"

Benniu shook his head calmly, "I don't have a name...but I remember that the lady in red often communicated with the servants in a language I couldn't understand, and was also very interested in my father's amulet."

"Amulet? What kind of amulet?"

"That's a metal disk passed down from our family, with weird patterns carved on it."

After listening to Benniu's words, Qin Zhibo turned his eyes, took out his wallet from his pocket, and was about to take off the UM badge.

But when he turned to the back of the badge, he saw a small yellow sticker.

"Um?"

When you peel off the sticker, you will find a thin layer of electronic components inside, which looks familiar.

Isn’t this Conan’s signal tracker?

Why do I have this thing on me?

Qin Zhibo didn't know that Conan had posted it in Shui Wu Lina's home.

But now this signal tracker has long run out of power and has lost its function.

Conan thought his tracker had been discovered by Qin Zhibo, so he didn't think of a way to recover it and just kept it.

Even I am investigating this Conan...

Qin Zhibo, who had thought everything through, silently made a note in his mind and showed the back of the badge to Benniu after removing the sticker.

"Is it this pattern?"

Benniu looked at it carefully, shook his head and said: "No, it is a much more complicated pattern than this one. I remember that there is a snake and an octopus engraved on it..."

"Snakes and octopuses?"

"Yes, maybe there are toads? But it's been so long ago that I can't remember them clearly."

"Where is that amulet now?"

"On my dad, the last time he was a guide, he wore it."

Apparently the amulet didn't do much good.

But what Qin Zhibo is more curious about is the guide to where to go. If you are going to a hill, you don’t need a guide at all. The mountain is there, you just need to climb up.

Facing Qin Zhibo's doubts, Benniu explained.

"My father has known a long time ago about a secret passage in the valley that leads to the bottom of that hill."

"He actually saw that place, but he didn't go crazy and came back alive."

"But there is no second chance of the same luck..."

Benniu's words once again reminded Qin Zhibo that there is more than one way to enter Kunyang.

He decided to start his investigation from the hills outside the town.

…

Back in the room, Qin Zhibo told Koizumi Hongzi the news he had learned from Benniu.

However, he deliberately concealed the part about the "lady in red" to prevent Koizumi Anko from making any impulsive moves.

The two of them agreed to go to the hill to investigate before Mr. Clock showed up.

Late at night, Qin Zhibo and Koizumi Hongzi walked to the hills a few hundred meters away.

The hills more than ten meters high have slopes with the same slope angle, so the difficulty of climbing up is the same no matter where you start.

However, Koizumi Anko brought her magic broom and easily carried the two of them to the top of the hill.

The length of this hill is a hundred meters and the width is less than 20 meters. From a bird's eye view, it looks like a long and narrow oval.

At night, the top of the hill is dark and quiet, with a cool breeze. The lush bushes and tall thatch somewhat obscure the view, but it looks no different from the daytime.

"I'll go over there and have a look."

"Okay, but don't go too far..."

Koizumi Anko walked alone in another direction, while Qin Zhibo summoned Minase Harumu.

Now that it's time, it's natural to make good use of her "wall-penetrating ability."