Chapter 7 Chapter 6 The Spider's Web Palace

On the third day after Kosuke Kindaichi and Sayoko sank to the bottom of the sea, a man came to visit the home of Marquis Amamuteri in Harajuku. This man was about forty years old, and he was very well dressed. The business card he handed to the servant was printed with the words "Private Detective Zhifeng Shasan". "Ah! You are Detective Zhifeng? The master is waiting for you! Please come in!" Led by the servant, Detective Zhifeng came to a Western-style bedroom. Marquis Yuchong was lying on the bed. On the small table beside his pillow, there was a dazzling golden candlestick.

Since the news came one after another, this golden candlestick has become the only consolation for Marquis Yuchong. Detective Zhifeng was taken aback when he saw this candlestick, but then he pretended to be nonchalant. "I'm Detective Hirch Peak. Nice to meet you. It seems that your letter mentioned asking me to help find your granddaughter's whereabouts..." "Yes, please read this letter." The letter that Marquis Yuchong handed over to Detective Zhifeng reads: Judging from the unspecified date in the letter, it should be five days before the shipwreck of the "Sun Moon Maru" at Cape Eagle's Nest.

"Mr. Zhifeng, do you know how happy I was when I saw this letter? I really can't wait to see Mr. Uno soon, so I sent my nephew to meet Mr. Uno in Hakata. But I don't know why What’s the matter, the fierce man’s visit made no news. Later, I learned from the newspaper that there was a shipwreck on the "Sun Moon Nine". I was very worried that Mr. Uno would also be in trouble, so I wrote a letter to you." After hearing this, Detective Zhifeng nodded expressionlessly and said: "So, my mission is to find out the whereabouts of your granddaughter and confirm whether Mr. Uno is safe?"

"No, there is one more thing, and that is to find a gold candlestick with fingerprints on it." "why?" "Ah! I haven't seen Xiao Yeko since she was three years old, and I probably don't recognize her now. Now only the candlestick with fingerprints can prove her identity." Detective Zhifeng laughed inexplicably when he heard this, but he immediately put away the smile on his face. "What does the candlestick you're talking about look like?" "Did you see that candlestick on the table? The candlestick I'm looking for is exactly the same shape; that is to say, you can tell whether it's real or not by comparing it with this candlestick."

"Is that so... by the way, have you ever met Unno-san?" "No, I've never met him. I only know that he is a friend Xiumo met after she went to Italy." Detective Zhifeng laughed again when he heard the words, but his smile gave people a very uncomfortable feeling. The Leech Peak detective suddenly became a famous private eye a few years ago, but no one knows what kind of work he was doing before.Therefore, in fact, he can also be regarded as a person of unknown origin. Detective Zhifeng stayed at Marquis Yuchong's house for about half an hour before coming out, but he didn't know that there was a man leaning against the wall waiting for him outside the fence of Yuchong's mansion.

The man's clothes were very ragged, and his shoes were also very worn out. Under the tattered hat, there was a clump of messy hair, and the beard on his face was even more messy. He looked like a vagabond wandering around. As soon as the homeless man saw Detective Zhifeng, his eyes immediately lit up; Detective Zhifeng didn't notice this, he put his purse under his arm and walked towards Harajuku Station in high spirits. Seeing this, the tramp hurriedly followed behind. Detective Hirumine took the tram from Harajuku to Shibuya, got off the tram and entered the department store connected to the station.

As soon as Detective Zhifeng came to the third floor, he immediately looked around, then rushed into the bathroom, and locked the door from the inside. Seeing this, the homeless man had no choice but to pretend to be very interested in the toy store next to the toilet, and wandered there to watch.Still, his eyes were fixed on the bathroom entrance from time to time. Five minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and a man came out. The homeless man's eyes widened when he saw this man. The man who came out of the bathroom looked very similar to Detective Zhifeng, but he was wearing a fur hat with no brim on his head, a leather jacket on his body, one eye was covered with a black blindfold, and his feet were even more Fitted a prosthetic.

After looking around, the man leaned on a cane and walked down the stairs slowly. Seeing the other party leave, the homeless man immediately rushed into the bathroom to find out, but there was no sign of Detective Zhifeng inside. It can be seen from this that Detective Zhifeng is the man who had the prosthetic before—Cang Tian, ​​and his prosthetic is only used to cover up people's eyes and ears. Kurata locked the bag in an automatic locker at Shibuya Station, and then took a train to Shinagawa Station, so the homeless man continued to follow. After Kurata got off the train at Shinagawa Station, he limped towards the beach, and soon came to a seaside road.

There are many factories and warehouses in this area. He quickly approached the main entrance of a large factory, muttered to himself for a while, and then the small door next to him opened, and then he walked in the door in a flash. The homeless man stood in front of the door and walked back and forth two or three times, but the door was still locked. Just when he was having a lot of headaches, a truck suddenly approached rumblingly. Seeing this, the tramp jumped into the wood pile by the door and hid himself. The truck stopped in front of the door, and the man in the driver's seat jumped out of the truck and muttered something to the small door, which immediately opened again, and the man walked in.

Taking advantage of the gap, the homeless man hiding in the wood pile immediately got under the truck and stuck to the truck chassis like a leech. Soon, the gate opened slowly under the joint efforts of the driver and the goalkeeper. The driver skillfully climbed into the truck and drove the truck into the factory. Of course, no one noticed that the homeless man was climbing on the chassis of the car and entering the factory together with the truck. The driver probed and asked the goalkeeper. "Hello, what factory are you going to?" "Number seven." "OK."

It turned out that there was more than one large factory inside the gate, but there was no sound of machinery running at all, and there was no human figure in sight, it was as deserted as a ruin. It didn't take long for the truck to come to the front of Factory No. 7. "Hey! Be careful, this thing is very important!" "I know. But that thing looks like a coffin, I always think it's weird." "Stop talking so much nonsense, and quickly lift it down!" "Yes, I see." The driver and his assistant unloaded a large white wooden box from the truck and carried it into Factory No. 7. The homeless waited for the footsteps to go away before climbing out from under the truck and sneaking into the factory when no one was around. The lighting in this factory is very poor. There is neither machinery nor human figure inside. Even the truck driver and assistant who came in just now disappeared without a trace. Seeing the homeless man, he couldn't help standing at the door with a puzzled expression on his face.At this time, footsteps were faintly heard from the ground, and the sound was gradually climbing up. As soon as the tramp realized this, he tiptoed towards the nearest dark place. After a while, the truck driver and his assistant came out from the opposite corner. "Hey! Hurry up, the big boss will come to the underground cobweb palace tonight, if something goes wrong, I can't afford to offend the big boss." "Me too! Although I have never seen his true face in Lushan, when I heard his voice, I was so frightened that my legs went limp." "Shh, don't say so much. That man is omnipresent and omniscient. If he hears us gossiping behind his back, he will be angry." "That's right, but boss, what was in that box just now? I always feel like there's a person in it!" "I think so too. But don't think so much, we just have to obey orders." "That box seems to be given to the big boss by Otomaru boss from Kobe. The big boss is so weird, could there really be someone in the box?" "Shh, don't let the big boss be long and the big boss be short. If these words get into his ears, be careful that your head will move at any time!" "Alas! Amitabha, adults don't count the faults of villains, and adults don't count the faults of villains." After the assistant finished speaking, he followed the driver and ran out of the factory. After locking the door, he drove the truck away again. Soon, the homeless man came out from the dark corner, and at this moment, cold sweat kept rolling down his forehead. It seemed that the conversation between the two just now had shocked him quite a bit, and he couldn't help trembling all over his body. (Ah! The underground cobweb palace, the monster-like big boss, the sound pill boss, and the white wooden box that may contain people...all these are so weird and creepy.) After the homeless man trembled for a while, he took a deep breath and sneaked into the entrance of the underground palace that the driver and his assistant climbed up just now. The basement of this factory has two floors. When the homeless came to the first basement floor, he saw several corridors in each corner, which made people feel like they were in a maze.It's no wonder that those two people just now said that this place is a cobweb palace. What's more special is that these corridors are paved with special tracks for trolleys. However, since the factory has been abandoned, most of the tracks are covered with rust, and only two tracks are still shining. (This means that trolleys have recently been used by people walking on these two tracks; that is to say, these two tracks are the routes that the criminals took.) Thinking of this, the tramp nodded and continued walking along the track. Although this is a basement, the lighting is good, so it is not very dark.However, because there were neither people nor noises in the corridor, it was like a dead city, so the homeless still didn't dare to make a sound, so as not to disturb others. The homeless man walked about 300 meters, the corridor gradually narrowed, the ceiling was slightly lower, and the lighting became worse and worse.Although the homeless man was walking cautiously down the corridor, he accidentally tripped over something and made a "dang" sound. In normal times, a fall would not make a loud noise, but in the silent basement, it was as loud as a bomb breaking. The homeless man was taken aback, and quickly leaned against the dark wall, watching Si Cai's movements. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Because he heard faint sobbing sounds from somewhere, mixed with chattering voices. (I didn't expect that in this cobweb palace, there would be the sound of children crying!) The homeless man's eyes flashed, and he immediately followed the sound, and it didn't take long to come to a T-shaped corridor. This corridor is quite narrow, and there are three rooms on the left and right at the end of the corridor, and each room has a tall small peep window. The tramp checked each of the small viewing windows, and finally found the source of the sobbing in the last room on the right. There was a crude bed in that room, and a teenager was seen weeping against the bed.Seeing this, the tramp wanted to open the door when no one was around. Although the door was locked, it was no trouble to the homeless man. He took out a bent metal needle from his pocket and opened the door easily. Knowing that someone opened the door and came in, the boy didn't turn his head, he just kept grabbing the edge of the bed and crying loudly, and kept muttering something in his mouth. The tramp approached him quietly. "Who are you? Why are you crying here?" Although the homeless man's voice was very gentle and sincere, the boy still couldn't listen to it at all, and just said to himself: "Uncle, please spare me! I don't know anything. I haven't seen or heard of gold candlesticks!" When the homeless man heard the words "golden candlestick", he couldn't help being startled, and quickly hugged the young man's shoulder and asked: "Who are you? Why do you know about the golden candlestick? Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. I'm just here to investigate the candlestick. My name is Kosuke Kindaichi." "Kindaichi Kosuke?" The boy immediately raised his head when he heard the name. It turns out that he is Nomura Kunio who was kidnapped by the man with prosthetic limbs - Kurata and the squint-eyed man - Onda. "Uncle, are you really Kosuke Kindaichi?" When Kunio asked, Kindaichi Kosuke looked at him suspiciously. "Yes! I am Kosuke Kindaichi, have you heard my name?" "Yes, because someone told me to give the golden candlestick to a man named Kosuke Kindaichi..." When Bangxiong said this, his expression suddenly changed, and he said immediately: "Oops! Someone is coming! Uncle, hide under the bed." When Kosuke Kindaichi heard it, he hurriedly got under the bed, while Kunio continued to kneel beside the bed and muttered to himself: "Uncle, please spare me! I don't know anything, I don't know anything about the golden candlestick..." Bangxiong sobbed again while muttering. At this time, a man's face appeared out of the peeking window, it was the squint-eyed man - On Tian. "It turned out that you, a crybaby, were talking again. I was shocked. I thought someone broke in to save you!" After Onda finished speaking, he laughed. "Please, please forgive me!" Bangxiong seemed deaf to his laughter, still muttering to himself. "Okay! You can cry as much as you want! It's just that you have to tell the whereabouts of the golden candlestick tonight, because our big boss will come here to investigate this matter tonight." After Ontian finished speaking, he whistled and left. After the footsteps went away, Kosuke Kindaichi, who was hiding under the bed, crawled out with lingering fear, and quickly locked the door. "Oh! It's really frightening. Just now, I was in a panic. I was afraid that that guy would open the door. If that guy finds that the door is unlocked, neither of us can get out alive." Kindaichi Kosuke said while looking at Kunio curiously and asked: "Hey! Why don't you cry?" I saw Bangxiong replied nonchalantly: "Hmph, I didn't cry!" "But didn't you just cry sobbing..." "Uncle, that's acting!" "acting?" "Yes! As soon as those bad guys come here, I will immediately pretend to cry very sadly, so that they will think that I am timid and a good cryer, so that they will not kill me. Like you just now When I came here, I thought you were one of those bad guys, so I pretended to be crying on purpose. In fact, I'm not a good cryer!" Kazuko Kinda became a hearing aid, and he couldn't help admiring the young Bangxiong for being so calm and calm. "Wonderful, you are not only courageous, but also very clever. What's your name? How do you know my name?" Bangxiong immediately said his name, and about the golden candlestick that a young man had given him. Kindaichi Kosuke was very surprised when he heard the words, and he asked immediately after Kunio finished speaking: "The young man you mentioned is called Unano Kiyohiko, by the way, where is the golden candlestick he gave you now?" "I can't say anything about it." "why?" "Because I don't know if you are the real Kosuke Kindaichi!" Upon hearing this answer, Kindaichi Kosuke secretly applauded again in his heart. "Very well, Kunio, I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask more questions. It seems that Unino did hand over the golden candlestick to the right person! But, can you please tell me, is the golden candlestick kept in a safe place?" "Uncle, don't worry! The golden candlestick is hidden in a very secret place, no one will find it." Bangxiong replied confidently. While the two were whispering, a deafening bell sounded suddenly from somewhere in the basement. When Bangxiong heard it, his expression changed immediately. "Ah! The big boss is finally here!" "Bang Xiong, who is the big boss?" "I don't know either. At first I thought that the man with the prosthetic limb was the boss, but later I realized that there was a big boss above him! That big boss seems very scary. When people here mention the big boss, it's like meeting someone. His whole body trembled like a devil. Uncle, let's go see what the big boss looks like!" Bangxiong took out a bent wire from under the bed as he spoke, and opened the door skillfully. Seeing this, Kindaichi Kosuke couldn't help being shocked. "Bangxiong, do you know how to open this door?" "Yes! I often go out to investigate the geographical environment of this spider web palace!" "In that case, why don't you escape?" "Because I plan to investigate the gangster's secrets carefully, I don't want to leave yet." (Alas! This boy is so bold! No, not only bold, but also very resourceful.) Kosuke Kindaichi admired again in his heart. Soon, the two came to the dim corridor. Kunio was very familiar with the environment here. He took Kosuke Kindaichi's hand and walked along the wall. "Uncle, the gangsters' rooms are on the second basement floor, but the conference room is on the first basement floor. When the big boss comes, they will definitely gather in the conference room. Let's go and have a look!" Soon, they saw a faint light at the end of this winding corridor. "Uncle, that's the meeting room." When Bangxiong spoke softly, a figure suddenly passed through the dark corridor, passed by the two of them like a gust of wind, and then disappeared into the shadow of the corridor. Kosuke Kindaichi and Bangxiong watched the figure leave in shock. After a long while, Kunixiong gasped and said: "Uncle, didn't that person notice that we are here?" "No, that's impossible. He bumped into my shoulder just now!" "In that case, why didn't he send someone to arrest us?" "Yeah! I also find it very strange. Bangxiong, this is not a place to stay for a long time, let's find a place to hide!" "Yes, uncle." The two walked as lightly as possible, and tiptoed into the meeting room at the end of the corridor. It was a room about fifty tatami mats in size, with a stage-like high platform in front, a red velvet curtain behind the stage, and a chair like a king's throne. Also, in front of the throne was the white wooden box that had just been unloaded from the truck, and thirty chairs were lined up under the stage. "Uncle, come here..." Kunio jumped onto the stage through these chairs, then ducked under the throne, and Kosuke Kindaichi had to do the same. At this time, the sound of pattering footsteps and someone talking suddenly came from the other end of the corridor. "Stop joking, how could such a dense cobweb palace be easily broken into?" "But I did hear footsteps walking in the corridor! By the way, it seems to be walking this way from the conference room!" "Don't say such stupid words! If these words get into the ears of the big boss, we will definitely be severely punished by him." As soon as the big boss uttered these three words, the person who spoke just now shut his mouth and dared not say any more.It seems that these three words alone are enough to scare the gangsters. Soon, a mess of footsteps walked into the conference room, one of them turned on the switch, and the conference room suddenly became very bright. Kosuke Kindaichi and Kunio, who were hiding under the throne, immediately shrank subconsciously, but they quickly relaxed their vigilance, because the lights only shone on the bottom of the stage, and the top of the stage was still dim. It must be that the big boss only wants to see his subordinates clearly, but he doesn't want them to see clearly! Soon, more than 20 strong men took their seats, but no one dared to speak, and everyone looked very nervous. Bangxiong secretly looked down the stage from under the throne, and found that the man with prosthetic limbs - Kurata and the squint-eyed man - Ontian was sitting at the front. Suddenly, the door on the left side of the stage snapped open, and a person slowly walked into the conference room. When more than 20 strong men in the audience saw this person, they all stood up and saluted. (It seems that this person must be the big boss.) Kindaichi Kosuke and Kunio peeked at the big boss from under the chair curiously. It turned out that the boss had a fedora hat on his head, a beautiful cloak, and a frock coat under the cloak, and he was holding a cane in his hand. However, what scares people the most is that his body shape is very strange, with curved waist and feet, and the proportion of the whole body is that the hands are the longest, just like a gorilla. What's even weirder is that he wears a mask on his face. The mask is as bright as porcelain. It has neither nose nor mouth, only two holes have been dug where the eyes are. As soon as the big boss sat down, he said to everyone: "Everyone sit down!" The big boss just gave an order randomly, but Kosuke Kindaichi and Kunioichi couldn't help getting goose bumps all over their bodies when they heard this voice. After everyone sat down, the big boss pointed to the white wooden box in front of him and said: "Is this the box that Otonaru sent from Kobe?" "yes." Kurata immediately replied with trepidation. "Very good, let's open it! I can't wait to see what's going on!" The big boss gave the order with a smile. When Kurata and Onda heard this, they immediately stood up and ran to the side of the white wooden box, removed the iron nails one after another, and then worked together to remove the lid of the box. However, when the two saw what was in the box, they couldn't help crying. "what!" "What's the matter? It's slow to ask you to do something. Why don't you hurry up and take the things out for me to see!" The big boss roared so loudly that it sounded like the roar of a lion. "yes!" Kurata and Onda rushed to pick up the things in the box together. At this moment, even Kosuke Kindaichi, who was hiding under the chair, couldn't help but want to scream when he saw such a thing. It turned out that what was contained in the box was Sayoko who was thrown into the bottom of the sea together with Kosuke Kindaichi!It's just that this time she was wearing a western dress, which was no longer the dirty look she had at the time. Since Sayoko is still wearing a mask, no one can tell whether she is alive or dead. "What? This girl is what Otomaru gave me?" The eccentric in the china mask sits on a chair and roars like a broken gong. "Ah! Yes, yes." Kurata stammered in reply. "Is this girl alive or dead?" "This……" "Tell me! Is she alive or dead?" Seeing that the big boss is getting impatient. "She seems to be still alive, because when the subordinates touched her just now, they found that she still had body temperature." Kosuke Kindaichi, who was hiding under the chair, heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. (Since she's still alive, I have to get her out by whatever means.) "That's it! I think she must have fainted! It's no wonder that she was packed in a box and sent here from the god's corpse all the way. It's pitiful enough. But, Kurata! Entian!" "Yes, what is the boss' order?" Kurata hastily responded. "Why did Otomaru give this girl to me? And why did she wear an iron mask?" "Ah! We don't know about this, but I heard that Otomaru will report it to you directly when he comes back. It's just..." "Just what? Just say what comes to mind!" "Yes, I think because Otomaru handles this matter personally, there shouldn't be any mistakes. He will send this girl directly to you, which means that this girl must be very valuable." "Really? Is that so?" The big boss rubbed his orangutan-like hands while making a grunting sound. "You're right. Although Otomaru is small, he is quite clever. It seems that he must have some great secret. Oh! I really want to see him sooner and hear his opinion. By the way, Cang field!" "yes!" "Take off her mask, I want to see what this girl looks like first." "Yes. Hey! Entian, come and help!" Although Kurata and Onda frantically tried to take off the mask on Sayoko's face, the iron mask had been locked and could not be opened without a key. At this time, the big boss became very anxious again, and he growled impatiently: "Do something slowly, and quickly take off the mask!" Kosuke Kindaichi and Kunio who were hiding under the chairs, as well as the people sitting under the stage, couldn't help trembling with fright every time they heard the scary voice of the big boss. "But if you don't have the key, you can't take off the iron mask at all. If you take it off forcefully, the girl will be hurt." "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if you peel off her face. In short, quickly take off her mask!" What a terrible word!When Kindaichi Kosuke and Kunioichi heard such a cruel order, they felt a chill run down their backs, and their blood boiled with anger. Even Kurata turned pale with fright. "Boss, maybe Otomaru has the key to unlock it! Maybe he didn't want anyone to see the girl's true face before he came back, so he put on a mask for her." "What? Otonmaru..." The big boss calmed down after hearing what Kurata said. (It seems that no matter how angry this monster is, as long as it hears Otonmaru's name, it will somehow calm down.) "Well, it does make sense. Well, then I'll wait for Otomaru to come back! Let this girl sleep for a while first." "yes." Kurata and Onda hurriedly moved the white wooden box away, allowing the girl wearing the iron mask to sleep soundly. At this time, the big boss said to Kurata again: "By the way, Kurata, did you get the golden candlestick?" When Kurata heard this question, he couldn't help trembling with fright. "This, I have reported this matter to you in writing a few days ago, I'm sorry..." "You mean you haven't got it yet? Do you think it's all right?" "This... big boss, we caught two people who may know where the candlesticks are. These two people are now in the spider web palace." "Who are those two people you mentioned?" "One is a young man named Kiyohiko Unano, and the other is a boy named Kunio Nonomura." After hearing this, the big boss finally calmed down a little. "Very well, quickly bring these two people to me." "yes!" Under Kurata's instruction, four or five burly men rushed out of the meeting room immediately, ready to arrest people.Seeing this scene, Kindaichi Kosuke and Kunio who were hiding under the chair couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat. (If they find that Bangxiong is missing, there will be a commotion, what will they do then?) After a while, two men walked into the meeting room with a young man on the left and right. The young man had his hands tied and his face was pale.It was Kiyohiko Unano who handed the golden candlestick to Kunio on the shore of Shimotsuda, and was then taken away by Kurata on a motor boat. Kurata ordered his subordinates to bring Kiyohiko Unano to the big boss and said: "This is Kiyohiko Unno who brought the golden candlestick back from Italy, but he later gave the candlestick to a boy on the shore of Shimotsuda." "No, no! You talk nonsense!" Uno Kiyohiko roared with all his strength: "I never gave the candlestick to anyone. It sank in the shipwreck." After hearing this, Kurata laughed and said: "Haha! It's useless for you to pretend. Because that boy has already been captured here, and now I'm asking someone to bring him in front of you." "Ah! What? That kid also..." Unino Kiyohiko's face became even paler. "Yes, that child suffered a lot for keeping the candlesticks for you. If you can't bear it, just confess!" "what!" Hearing this, Kiyohiko Unano couldn't help groaning in pain, as if he regretted that he had given the candlestick to Bangxiong, so that Bangxiong would suffer with him! Seeing this situation, Bangxiong, who was hiding aside, could hardly help shouting: "I'm fine and safe. I didn't suffer at all. Don't worry." But Bangxiong didn't dare to really scream at all. There are so many tall and big men around at the moment, and the three of them alone are by no means opponents of the gangsters. At this time, the big boss sitting on the chair suddenly let out a terrible roar: "What's the matter with those people? Why don't you bring the boy you mentioned here quickly?" "I gonna go see!" Just when Kurata was about to turn around and go out to search, there was another sound of panicked footsteps outside the meeting room, and a big man with a blue face ran in. "Oops! There is no one in the room!" "What? The hostage is gone?" The big boss stood up from the throne, with two terrifying lights in his eyes, glaring at Kurata. "Kurata! What's going on? How dare you want me?" Kurata was so frightened by the roar that his whole body trembled and his feet went limp. "Boss, how many brains do I have to lie to you? Hey! Everyone hurry up and find that child!" "Enough is enough, I don't want to hear this kind of excuse!" The big boss stomped his anger on the stage. "You hate me very much, don't you? This cobweb palace was originally yours. Because of my appearance, you became my subordinate, so you must really want to take the opportunity to take back the boss' throne from me!" "No, no, boss, you have misunderstood, I have always been your loyal subordinate! Hey, why don't you hurry up and find the child!" Kurata hurriedly defended himself, sweat dripping from his forehead. Seeing this, the big men on the side all rushed out of the conference room, ready to find Bangxiong's whereabouts. At this moment, the scene was very busy, and no one saw that the door next to the stage was opened with a small crack, and there was an extra pistol on the crack. Not to mention that Kurata and Unino Kiyohiko didn't see this scene, even the boss who is high above and in control of everything didn't notice the muzzle on the door crack, not to mention Kindaichi Kosuke and Kunio who were hiding under the chair, even in a dream. I didn't expect that there would be a pistol quietly aiming at the prey at this time. The pistol was not aimed at Kurata or the big boss, but at Sayoko lying on the ground wearing an iron mask. Suddenly, there was a terrifying loud noise in the conference room, and Sayoko immediately screamed in response: "what!" Kosuke Kanedaichi and Kunio didn't hesitate to get out from under the chair as soon as they heard Sayoko's mournful cry. Their appearance certainly surprised the big boss, and even Kurata and Unino Kiyohiko were dumbfounded and speechless. Kosuke Kindaichi and Kunio didn't have time to pay attention to their reactions, and the two quickly crawled towards the door. Fortunately, the man hiding behind the door didn't notice the two of them. He just reached into the muzzle of the gun through the crack of the door again, ready to fire a second shot. Seeing this, Kindaichi Kosuke quickly took out the pistol in his pocket, and struck the man's pistol from top to bottom. "what!" The man behind the door let out a scream, and then his pistol fell to the ground. Bangxiong took the opportunity to open the door, wanting to see the murderer's face clearly. It turned out that the man was the bearded man who put Kosuke Kindaichi and Sayoko in a bag in a western-style building in Kobe last time, and then ordered his men to sink them to the bottom of the sea. "Ah You……" Kosuke Kindaichi was taken aback, but the bearded man was even more surprised than Kosuke Kindaichi, because Kosuke Kindaichi, who had been thrown into the bottom of the sea by him, appeared alive before his eyes. However, the bearded man soon came back to his senses, turned around and ran away. "Stop! Otherwise, don't blame the bullet for not having eyes!" Kosuke Kindaichi shouted loudly, but at this moment there was another shrill cry from behind him. "Ah! The chair is sinking! The chair is sinking!" Kosuke Kindaichi turned his head when he heard Kiyohiko Unano's cry, and he couldn't help being dumbfounded when he saw the situation in front of him clearly. I saw that the chair where Kosuke Kindaichi and Kunio were hiding just now was gradually sinking into the floor, and the big boss sitting on the chair was still holding Sayoko wearing an iron mask in his arms. "Oops!" When Kosuke Kindaichi was about to rush forward, the chair was completely submerged under the stage, and soon another floor rose up again. All this happened in an instant, so that no one had time to take action. By the time Kosuke Kindaichi and Kunio recovered their senses, the bearded man and Kurata had long since disappeared. "Oh! I didn't realize that there was a mechanism on the chair. How stupid! I should have hid under the chair for a longer time if I knew it." Kosuke Kindaichi felt very annoyed. If they had been hiding under the chairs, they could have sunk into the floor together with Boss and Sayoko, and caught them again. At this time, Kunio jumped off the stage with a stride and untied the rope on Kiyohiko Unano. "Uncle, it's me. When you were shipwrecked on the shore of Shimotsuda, you once gave me the golden candlestick, do you remember?" "Ah...it's you! So, you're safe and well!" Kiyohiko Unano said, showing a gratified expression, and Kosuke Kindaichi also jumped off the stage at this time. "Are you Unno Kiyohiko?" "Yes, may I ask if you are..." "I am Kosuke Kindaichi who has never met you but received your letter." "What? You are Mr. Kindaichi!" Unano Kiyohiko said overjoyed. At this time, there was a sudden cry from the distance of the underground palace, followed by a fierce gun battle. All three looked at each other in surprise. "What's that sound?" "Unino, Kunio, be careful!" So the three of them walked out of the meeting room together. The gunfire became more and more intense, and it was mixed with cursing, moaning, shouting and panicked footsteps from time to time. The three of them walked forward cautiously, still clinging to the wall of the corridor, and soon came to the corner of the corridor. They listened intently and confirmed that the location of the gun battle was on the opposite side, and there seemed to be no other movement nearby. Kosuke Kindaichi heaved a sigh of relief and quietly turned the corner of the corridor. Looking into his eyes, he also stopped walking. "Haha! I heard footsteps just now, and I didn't expect there to be people. Well, it seems to be just a group of people!" "It's okay, just ask them about the whereabouts of the monster baron!" 金田一耕助听到来自黑暗中的对话，不由得屏住气息。 “你们在找怪兽男爵？那么你们又是什么人？难道你们是警察？我必须先声明，我们并不是歹徒，而是……” “别啰嗦了，现在再说什么也无济于事。喂，怪兽男爵究竟在哪里？” 拿着手电筒的男人用拳头捶着金田一耕助的肩膀，这个时候—— “咦？等一等。” 一个男子从后面制止那个男人的举动，并认真地望着金田一耕助的脸。 “啊！是金田一先生！” 男子大叫一声之后，随即又说： “我是警政署的等等力警官啊！” 男子一边说，一边用手电筒照向自己的脸。 原来这个人就是金田一耕助熟识的警政署等等力警官。 “今天有人到警政署密报，说怪兽男爵藏身在这里，所以警方才会来到这里突击。对了，金田一先生，你看见怪兽男爵了吗？” “哦，这么说来，那个大老板就是怪兽男爵喽？” 金田一耕助若有所悟地说完后，随即脸色发白。 另一方面，大老板——怪兽男爵座位的地板下面有四根直立的铁柱，他就是藉由这四根铁柱向下滑。 等到达地下室的地面之后，怪兽男爵便从容地离开椅子，在黑暗中摸索到一根柱子，啪的一声扭开电灯开关。 这是一间直径十五公尺左右的圆形房间，从地板到天花板的高度大约三十公尺，房间中央立着刚才帮助怪兽男爵滑下来的四根铁柱，四周的墙壁围绕着从地面通向天花板的螺旋状阶梯。 换句话说，如果想从上面的房间来到下面这间房间，除了可以像怪兽男爵一样坐着升降椅下来，也可以走螺旋状阶梯，绕着墙壁下来。 此时怪兽男爵正藉着灯光，仔细检查抱在膝上的小夜子。神奇的是，小夜子身上并没有任何伤痕，只是脸上的铁面具有一个小凹痕。 看来大胡子男人的那发子弹，居然不偏不倚地打在铁面具上呢！ 小夜子被迫戴上面具固然恨可怜，可是这个面具却又适时地救了她一命。如果她没有戴面具的话，现在早就一命呜呼了。 怪兽男爵确认小夜子还活着之后，忍不住发出满足的叫声，并且摘掉自己脸上的面具。 面具下的那张脸简直就跟黑猩猩一样，虽然不像黑猩猩那样毛茸茸，也不致于眼窝凹陷，可是看上去就会让人不由自主地联想到黑猩猩。 不久，怪兽男爵摇摇晃晃地走到门边，他连走路的方式都像黑猩猩。 这时，上面忽然传来阵阵枪声和人们的叫喊声。 怪兽男爵一听到这些声响，便竖起耳朵倾听；不久，枪声和嘶喊声越来越大。 （上面究竟发生了什么事？） 这回连怪兽男爵也觉得不安了，他急忙从口袋里取出钥匙，想打开通往外面的门。可是，开了锁之后，那扇门却怎么推也推不开。 怪兽男爵只好从距离门边约四、五公尺处冲撞向那扇门，可是那扇门依然纹丝不动。 "Woo--" 怪兽男爵忍不住发出怒吼声，并使出全身气力再度撞门。这时，从上面传来的骚动声越来越大，转眼间，大批警察出现在螺旋状楼梯的入口。 “啊！警官，怪兽男爵就在这里！” 金田一耕助大声叫道。 一行人当中有海野清彦和邦雄，更令人惊讶的是，连恩田也赫然在列。 "Woo--" 怪兽男爵再度发出怒吼声，目光凶狠地瞪了恩田一眼。 看来一定是仓田和恩田向警政署赛报怪兽男爵的下落，出卖了怪兽男爵。 怪兽男爵发出怒吼声之后，再度冲撞那扇门，可是门依然不为所动。警察们则顺着螺旋状楼梯跑向怪兽男爵。 怪兽男爵只得一把抱起小夜子，回到原来的椅子上，猛按附在椅子上的按钮。 这时，椅子再度藉着四根铁柱往上升，但就在椅子上升到十公尺左右的地方，怪兽男爵却突然停住椅子。 因为天花板上的窗子突然被人打开，接着五、六位警察一起握着手抢指向他。 现在他已然成了笼中鸟、袋中鼠了。 "Woo———" 停在半空的怪兽男爵又怒吼了两、三次。 “怪兽男爵！” 警政署等等力警官站在螺旋状楼梯中央对着怪兽男爵喊： “这座蜘蛛网官殿现在已经被警方包围住了，谅你插翅也难飞。我劝你最好把那个女孩交给警方，乖乖地投降！” 怪兽男爵听了一面气得磨牙怒吼，一面目光凶狠地看着四周。 “再挣扎也没用了，快点从升降椅上下来吧！乖乖举起双手！” "Woo!" 怪兽男爵再度绝望地看看四周。 （如果那扇门能打开就好了。） 他在半空中猛盯着那扇门，心中频频叹息。 忽然间，刚才怎么推也推不开的门，这时却微微地打开了。很快的，那扇门再度无声无息地关了起来。 怪兽男爵一颗心不停跳着，随后又慌张地看向四周。 （还好没有任何人注意到这件事。） 于是他发出凄厉的叫声，抱着小夜子站起来。 “警官，今天晚上算我栽在你手上，我会乖乖照着你的话去做。” 说完，他必恭必敬地一鞠躬。但是，就在那一瞬间，怪兽男爵突然抱着小夜子从十公尺高的半空中往下跳。 “啊！他快逃走了！” 警察们见状，无不准备开枪射击。 “千万别开枪，要是射伤小夜子就不妙了！” 金田一耕助高声喝阻警方。 警方被他这么一喊，无法再开枪，只能急忙冲下楼梯。然而，这座楼梯是绕着房间一圈一圈建造的，所以他们一群人要全部下楼，必须耗费不少时间。 当然，其中最心急的莫过于背叛者恩田，因为怪兽男爵要是成功逃离这里，不知道会怎么报复他哩！ 当恩田跑到距离地面约五公尺高时，他毫不迟疑地纵身一跳。 就在这个时候，抱着小夜子的怪兽男爵已经落地，并一跛一跛地朝门边跑去。 （他从十公尺高的半空中往下跳，想必扭伤脚踝了。） 恩田见状，连忙叫道： “怪兽男爵别跑！快吃我一记子弹！” 说着，他便从怪兽男爵后面开了一枪，但是并没有打中对方。 这时怪兽男爵丢下小夜子，回头向后伸手一抓，嘴里还发出可怕的叫声。 "Woo--" “哇！救命！” 恩田慌忙求救，但是来不及了，怪兽男爵已经打掉他手中的手枪，并且一把抓住他拖向门边。 “啊！救命哪！救命哪！” 警察们看到这个情景，不禁大吃一惊，他们一边快速冲下楼梯，一边开枪朝怪兽男爵射击。但是为了顾及小夜子和恩田的生命，他们开枪的时候仍然有所顾虑。 怪兽男爵趁机拿恩田当挡箭牌，一跛一跛地来到门边。这时，大门那头传来开门的声音，不一会儿，小个子男人——音丸便从门缝里采出头来。 “男爵，快点、快点！” 音丸一边叫，一边抱起倒在地上的小夜子，怪兽男爵则拖着已经吓得全身虚脱的恩田离开房间，还顺手将这扇门上了门钩。 “糟了！让他逃了！畜牲！” 等等力警官和金田一耕助一行人好不容易从螺旋状楼梯跑下来，又是拍、又是踢的，但门根本毫无动静。这也难怪，连怪兽男爵使出浑身蛮力都撞不开的门，又哪是警方三、两下便能打得开的。 等他们从上面带下各种工具，把门撬开的时候，已经是十分钟之后的事了。 只见门的那头出现一条如隧道般的长廊，沿着长廊走约三百公尺左右，居然是一处海边。 想必音丸刚刚就是乘着马达船，在千钧一发之际救出怪兽男爵。 而金田一耕助一等行人来到海边时，当然见不着马达船的踪影了。 大伙儿十分懊恼地望着海面，这时，邦雄突然发出骇人的叫声： “啊！有人浮在海面上！” 警察们立即把手电筒的灯光照向海面，原来那个人正是恩田，他的颈部被扭断，死状相当凄惨。