"Eh? Detective Senichi?"
When Ran saw Senichi standing at the door, she exclaimed, "Why are you here?"
"Conan contacted me. He said there's a haunting ghost here, and it would be more convenient with me around."
Senichi waved to Kogoro Mouri, then, following Conan's introduction, got to know the elderly man named Houichi Otonashi.
"More convenient?" Ran looked surprised at Senichi. "Do you mean Detective Senichi can also catch ghosts?"
"No, not at all, Sister Ran!"
Conan facepalmed at Ran's fear of ghosts. "Haven't you forgotten? Detective Senichi has a keen sense of smell. When ghosts appear, it can come in handy!"
"Come in handy?" Ran asked, puzzled.
"Yes, I don't believe in ghosts or spirits. Someone must be using something to create an illusion in the apartment."
Conan explained, "The reason I called Detective Senichi is to use his sense of smell to determine what substance was used to create these ghostly apparitions when they appear."
"Oh... so that's it." Although Ran nodded, her nervous expression showed she still feared ghosts and didn't fully believe Conan's explanation.
Conan could only helplessly sigh. It seemed they would have to wait for Detective Senichi to unveil the true face of the "ghost" first before Ran would believe there were no ghosts here.
"Hmph! Meddling kid!"
Regarding Conan's initiative to call Senichi, Kogoro Mouri directly delivered a punch to his head, then looked apologetically at Senichi, "Sorry for the trouble, Detective Senichi. There's really no need to pay attention to this little brat. I shouldn't have let you make this trip..."
"No problem at all." Senichi waved his hand, explaining, "I'm quite interested in this haunted apartment. Although I don't believe in ghosts, I am curious about the person creating these 'ghosts' and their motives."
After all, with the "case-triggering iron trio" all in place, how could Senichi resist coming, especially when he hoped to get some rewards.
"I never expected that a detective would be interested in this apartment."
The old man looked at Senichi and slowly said, "When there was haunting before, the residents of the apartment reported it to the police many times. However, the detectives who arrived were somewhat dismissive, and after a brief inspection of the apartment, they left hastily."
"After all, ghosts and detectives are the most incompatible existences."
Senichi shrugged and laughed, "Detective is one of the professions that is most likely to encounter ghosts. With so many crime scenes, if resentment or unwillingness could turn someone into a ghost, then none of the victims would be willing, I suppose."
"That's not wrong," the old man nodded. "So, I'll wait for Detective Senichi and Detective Mouri to unravel the mystery of these 'ghosts.'"
"Then, what should we do next?" Kogoro Mouri asked the old man, "Just wait here?"
"The situation now is that we can only wait."
Otonashi chuckled and stood up, saying, "Usually, 'ghosts' appear at night. If you haven't eaten, and if you don't mind, you can have a simple meal here. It's dinner time now."
Seeing Otonashi heading towards the kitchen, Ran quickly stood up and said, "If it's about cooking, I'll take care of it."
Seeing Ran guiding Otonashi back to his seat, Senichi also stood up and walked towards the kitchen to help.
Although the old man lived alone, the groceries were quite abundant. After a discussion between Senichi and Ran, each of them prepared three dishes, and they also made miso soup. Dinner was ready.
"It looks really good... I expected the young girl to be skilled in cooking, but I didn't think Detective Senichi's cooking skills would be so impressive."
Otonashi praised, looking at the sumptuous dishes in front of him. "Looks like we're in for a treat today!"
The dinner was enjoyable, with everyone enjoying themselves.
After washing the dishes following dinner, the group fell into a dull wait. After some discussion, they decided to play cards to pass the time.
Coincidentally, Otonashi had mahjong in his home, so they happily decided to play a round of mahjong.
However, with Ran, the luck goddess, present, the mahjong experience for the others was extremely poor. To be more precise, it was poor for Kogoro Mouri and Otonashi, as Senichi, relying on his mental calculations and excellent memory, still had a chance to win. Although he didn't win as frequently as the luck goddess, he firmly held the second place.
Before long, Otonashi, who had never experienced such a scene, decided that he was too old for this and chose to "sleep" first, refusing to continue playing.
In the three-player situation, Ran had no choice but to reluctantly agree to Conan's enthusiastic offer to join the game.
And then... there was no "and then."
To give a rough description, it was like "whether human or ghost, everyone was showcasing, and only Kogoro Mouri was getting beaten up." There's no need to elaborate on Ran's lucky streak, and the calculating prowess competition between Conan and Senichi made the game even more confusing, even affecting Ran's luck.
As a result, the three players' winning rates reached an almost average level, basically evenly splitting the victories. Kogoro Mouri had not won a single game from the beginning.
As the time approached past ten o'clock and Kogoro Mouri, battered and bruised, was about to call it quits, suddenly, the TV behind them autonomously turned on without warning. A terrifying long-haired female ghost with a scarred and grotesque face appeared on the TV screen.
"Get out...!"
"Get out...!"
"Wow!!"
Kogoro Mouri, the closest to the TV, turned around at the sound and was met with a "face-to-face attack," screaming in terror. Meanwhile, Ran, beside him, instantly hugged Conan with an expression that seemed on the verge of tears.
On the other side, Senichi calmly glanced at the TV screen, watching as the TV turned into static again.
"Don't be afraid; it's just a little trick." Senichi looked bored.
"But... there was a ghost just now!" Ran panicked.
"It's okay, Sister Ran. This is probably just a trick played by the mastermind behind the scenes. As long as they use the apartment's shared antenna, they can achieve it."
Conan comforted Ran while explaining the principle, "Just connect the antenna to the output of the VCR, then transmit the effects of the played horror tape to Otonashi's room's TV. Naturally, it can create a sudden display of spooky images."
"But the TV hadn't been turned on before..." Ran trembled.
"You can solve that issue with a multi-functional remote control."
Senichi smiled, "Use a remote control that's set up for a specific brand, one that can be used for any model of the machine. It's a simple trick."
With the calm explanation from the two, Ran gradually calmed down, replaced by an angry expression.
That look was Super fierce!
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