Ke Xue: Shinichi and I are childhood friends.

Chapter 1300: The client committed suicide long ago?

A faint smell of decay permeated the church. Dust swirled in the beams of light streaming through the windows, and the peeling paint on the walls and the chipped pews revealed signs of being forgotten.

Amuro Tooru observed the layout of the church and said calmly, "It looks like it has been abandoned for a long time."

Yuya casually chimed in, "It feels perfect for filming those kinds of horror movies, like when an evil spirit suddenly pops out from a corner or something..."

Conan crossed his arms, lowered his half-moon eyes, and silently rejoiced that Ran hadn't come along, otherwise she would definitely have been scared to tears.

Ran Mouri: I'm not that timid.

As he walked last, Kenjiro Wakita closed the door. Hearing Yuya's words, he shrank back and said, "Please don't say such things. I'm most afraid of ghosts and monsters."

After walking a while further, and passing through a door, a very spacious chapel came into view, which showed that many people used to worship here.

It was dark inside, and you could barely make out a statue.

Suddenly, a person stood up from the darkness: "Oh, are you here for Ah Ri's farewell ceremony too?"

"Ari? A farewell ceremony?"

Several people looked at each other.

Yuya pondered, "It can't be that much of a coincidence... Could this Ah-ri be the friend of the client who committed suicide?"

The client did not specify any names in the letter, and Yuya originally planned to find out more details after meeting in person.

Seeing that the group did not seem to be there for the farewell ceremony, Fujita Yorito looked somewhat puzzled.

"Hey, really?" At this moment, a man in his thirties walked out from behind. He said impatiently, "Is this Ah Ri, who committed suicide here two months ago? Otherwise, why would you come here in such a heavy snowstorm?"

A young woman wearing a hat walked up beside them and said casually, "I've heard that there's a pretty famous piece of land around here, well, that was back when we were in high school."

Then a man wearing glasses appeared, impatiently urging, "Stop talking nonsense and get to the point. I've gone to great lengths to find time to come here."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the church doors opened again, and a man with his fluffy curly hair walked in. As soon as he entered, he complained, "It seems there's no heating here? How about we finish our work quickly and then go out for hot pot together? It's been a long time since we've seen each other."

Yuya looked at the five people who had suddenly appeared, somewhat bewildered: "Do you all know each other?"

"That's right, we were high school classmates."

The person who was initially in the chapel was named Fujita Yorito, and he was a high school teacher.

A man and a woman appeared at the same time. The man was named Wada Kohei, a company employee, who had a mature and weathered look that suggested he had been worn down by society.

The woman is simple and elegant, an office lady, and gives off a very lively vibe;

The man wearing glasses was a bank employee named Yosuke Kawasaki. He was expressionless, wearing gloves, and would occasionally pick up the bottle to take a sip of water.

The last curly-haired man to appear is named Nishino Sumiya, a bartender.

They came here to attend the farewell ceremony for a classmate known as Ari who committed suicide here two months ago.

However, something strange happened: each of them received a message to come here for the farewell ceremony, but the person who sent the message was actually called here by another person's message.

"Hey, didn't you guys just go in circles?" Yuya frowned slightly.

Kenjiro Wakita analyzed, "I see. It seems someone lied to give you a surprise."

Gu Puyu asked, puzzled, "Then who called you all here?"

"It's like this..." Yuya briefly explained how he was handling the request on behalf of Kogoro Mouri, "The client's name is Yasuo Hihara. But he doesn't seem to be here?"

"Do you know him?"

Upon hearing this name, the expressions on the faces of the five people visibly turned ugly.

Fujita Yorito looked utterly terrified: "Are you kidding me?"

"Because... the person you mentioned named Yasuo Nichihara is the same Yasuo we just talked about..."

The five people, one after another, revealed a fact that shocked Yuya and the others—the client who called himself Yasuo Nichihara was the same person they called A-Ri who had committed suicide in this abandoned church two months ago.

And also the protagonist of today's farewell ceremony!

Yu narrowed his eyes slightly: It seems that someone led us here, and they have concealed their identity. That person... He glanced at the five people in front of him, and they were most likely hiding among them.

Just as the five-person group was terrified and the four-person group was deep in thought, a loud bang suddenly came from outside the church, accompanied by the shaking of the entire church. The roof creaked and a large amount of dust fell, making people wonder if it was about to collapse.

"What's going on? What's that sound?" Kenjiro Wakita was so startled that his voice cracked.

Yuya said in a deep voice, "It sounded like something collapsing... It lasted for a very short time, so it shouldn't be an avalanche."

At that moment, the curly-haired man, Nishino Sumi, exclaimed in horror, "That direction... could it be a parking lot?"

Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they all ran out of the church to the parking lot on the left—only to find that the supporting platform had collapsed, and all the cars had fallen into the valley and been buried by a small avalanche.

The five people immediately let out a wail, heartbroken over the loss of their buried car. One of them had just bought the car and had just taken out a loan.

"Seriously, how could they put the parking lot in such a dangerous place!"

The five groaned for a while, but were eventually forced to return to the church by the cold weather.

Yuya glanced around, his gaze quickly landing on the sign next to him that read "Parking Lot," and said thoughtfully, "Look, the church has been abandoned for a long time, but this sign is brand new."

Amuro Tooru pondered, "So, someone deliberately made us park our cars here so that we could all be trapped here."

This place is quite a distance from the nearest county or city. Walking here in this blizzard could be dangerous; who knows what might happen?

Yuya paused for a few seconds: "Luckily, my car was rented..."

Amuro Tooru chuckled dryly: "I'm afraid it will cost a considerable amount in compensation."

Yu sighed. It wasn't his own car, so he wouldn't be too upset. He could just pay for repairs. Just as he was about to say something, a gloomy voice came from behind him.

"If that's really the case, something bad is probably going to happen."

The three of them turned to look at Wakita Kanenori.

Kenjiro Wakita lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression in the shadows, making him look somewhat terrifying.

"Don't you guys think the current situation is a lot like something out of a mystery novel—a mountain lodge besieged by a blizzard, which is a perfect breeding ground for serial murders?"

Yuya secretly pursed his lips. Why did you have to say more? From the moment he learned that the client, Yasuo Nihara, had committed suicide two months ago, Yuya knew that this church was destined to be anything but peaceful today.