"Because I can only live at his house."
Ai Haibara narrowed her eyes, looking at Conan's strange expression with disdain.
"After all, I wonder which great detective kicked me out in the middle of the night when I had nowhere else to go. If it weren't for him, I might have fainted on some unknown path and been taken away by bad people."
Conan: "..."
Alright, he did indeed kick her out.
He admitted he was a bit worked up that night.
But he hadn't expected her to end up living at Fujino's house...
And even transfer to Teitan Elementary.
Taking a deep breath, Conan asked again, "Since you're the developer of the drug that shrunk me, you must have the antidote to turn me back into an adult, right?"
"You want me to help you turn back into Kudo Shinichi?"
"That's right!"
Conan wore a serious expression.
"Are you an idiot?"
Ai Haibara looked at him as if he were a fool.
"Huh?"
Conan frowned.
"I wasn't the only one researching that drug."
Saying this, Ai Haibara waved her hand helplessly.
"All the research data for APTX4869 was in the lab I was in. With such a vast amount of data, how could I, a mere human, possibly memorize it all?"
Conan pressed, "Then where is that research lab?!"
"Gone."
Ai Haibara spread her hands, explaining,
"The night I escaped, those people already destroyed that pharmaceutical company. And surely, everything related to me is being vigorously destroyed by them now... Don't waste your effort."
"How could this be..."
Conan clenched his jaw, a look of disappointment on his face.
"But it's not entirely hopeless. Two years ago, I borrowed photos from my sister when she went traveling. Back then, I seemed to have mixed in the APTX4869 drug research data. Most likely, that floppy disk was returned to Professor Hirota Masami at Nanyo University. If you can find that disk, maybe you can find the drug research data..."
Just then, Ai Haibara sighed and continued, "But that's probably not urgent. Even rushing over now wouldn't help. You should focus on the current case first. Maybe that woman really is from the organization."
Actually, she wasn't.
If her guess was correct, that woman probably wasn't from the organization.
After all, if the organization operated, they likely wouldn't leave any traces.
Let alone allow the family of the person they took to report it to the police.
She just wanted to see how this Kudo Shinichi's reasoning skills compared to Fujino's.
As for that floppy disk, it was probably discovered by the organization long ago.
Night approached.
Fujino stood on the rooftop of the newspaper company building.
The rooftop breeze fluttered the hem of his black windbreaker.
"Like I said! We already told you! On the roof next door, someone is printing counterfeit money!"
Just then, a child's shout came from below. Fujino heard it and peered down, seeing a group of children gathered outside the police box next to the newspaper company, talking about something.
With his keen senses, he could hear clearly.
Under Fujino's watch, Genta pushed the child in front of him, pointing towards the adjacent Daitokan Newspaper building:
"And, those people kidnapped his older brother!"
"Hahaha!"
The two police officers stationed at the patrol box looked at the children before them and burst out laughing.
"Little buddies, have you been watching too many cop movies?"
One of the taller, thinner officers said with a smile. "How could someone possibly print counterfeit money right next to a police station?"
"Alright, alright, you kids hurry home now. Your parents will worry if you don't go back soon."
The other patrol officer reminded them kindly.
Conan, however, had a grim expression.
It wasn't surprising these two didn't take it seriously.
After all, they were just elementary school students...
"You guys wait right here! Don't act on your own!"
Conan first instructed the elementary students, then ran towards a nearby phone booth.
Although it was risky, he planned to use his Kudo Shinichi identity again to make a righteous report.
If elementary students weren't believed, then a high school detective would surely be trusted, right?
"Hey, let's hurry inside and take a look!"
After Conan left, Genta impatiently suggested.
"But, Conan told us to wait here."
"I bet Conan just wants to take all the credit for himself!"
Genta scoffed at Ayumi's hesitation. "Every time, that guy Conan hogs all the spotlight."
Hearing this, Mitsuhiko glanced at Ai Haibara, hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and said, "That's right! As long as we find evidence against those people, the police will definitely believe us!"
"Then let's not delay, let's move quickly!"
Genta puffed out his chest, acting like the king of the kids.
Ai Haibara watched all this calmly, feeling somewhat speechless at these children's actions.
These kids, weren't they a bit too bold?
Investigating a counterfeiting gang without police assistance?
Weren't they just asking for trouble?
Ai Haibara sighed softly.
As if remembering something, she took out her phone, opened it to the contact list, stared silently at Fujino's name for a moment, then sent a text message: Daitokan Newspaper. My friends and I found a gang printing counterfeit money.
Shortly after sending the text, she received a reply.
Fujino: Are you guys inside already?
Ai Haibara glanced at the enthusiastic death squad: They're already inside.
Fujino: I'm nearby, be right there. Stay safe.
After receiving the reply, Ai Haibara put her phone away.
"He's nearby?"
Ai Haibara looked around puzzledly, indeed feeling like Fujino was close by.
But after pausing, she shook her head again.
Probably just her imagination...
She then glanced at the elementary students who had already entered the newspaper company and followed them.
Actually, it wasn't her imagination.
Because right at that moment, a gaze was observing her from the rooftop of the newspaper company.
Still on the rooftop, Fujino retracted his gaze, silently put away his phone, opened the system interface, looked down at the flashing red dot beneath his feet, and a faint smile played on his lips.
[Pay attention, this man is called Fujino. At this moment, he unhurriedly puts away his phone, a scheming smile appearing on his face...]
On a certain road segment, inside a black Porsche.
Gin, driving the car, held a phone clamped between his head and shoulder, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and asked Vodka on the other end, "Have you found the leaked research data?"
"Sorry, Boss. That research data has already been stolen."
Vodka, smoking a cigarette in Fukuoka, replied.
"Stolen?"
Gin's face instantly darkened. "Any leads on who specifically?"
"Not yet."
Vodka, on the other end, frowned slightly.
"That disk contains the organization's virus. Even if it's stolen, it's not a major issue..."
Gin took another deep drag of his cigarette, paused, then continued,
"Has Sherry been found?"
"Our people have spread out searching, but there's still no sign of her."
Vodka's brow furrowed on the other end.
"And it seems she might have been rescued... On the day she escaped, the dozen or so men I sent out were all taken down."
"Any leads on the person who rescued her?"
"According to our men's description, it should be the same person who attacked our organization members before."
"That guy again?"
Gin held the cigarette between his fingers, his expression gradually turning icy.
"Although we still can't be sure who it is,"
Vodka thought for a moment, then replied, "but judging by the means of silently infiltrating the pharmaceutical plant and taking that woman away, it should be that guy..."
Hearing this, Gin snorted coldly, put the cigarette back in his mouth, and bit down hard.
The guy who escaped last time was also caught by this person.
Clearly, the opponent already knew about their organization's existence.
And was obstructing them through various means.
"The opponent likely knew about our organization long ago... Otherwise, they wouldn't have directly stormed the pharmaceutical plant to rescue her, nor stolen the drug research data so long ago."
Gin looked up at the road.
"I'm afraid much about our organization has already been leaked from that woman's mouth..."
"Should we still look for her?"
Vodka asked.
"Find her. We need to see her alive or dead."
Pausing, Gin added, "But we can reduce the manpower deployed. It's not worth it for a woman who was imprisoned. The top priority now is to deploy more manpower and, before that person finds out, destroy everything that woman knows about the organization as quickly as possible."
Ten minutes later.
After a series of death-defying maneuvers, the Detective Boys were discovered by Silver Fox and captured.
Fujino heard the children's cries from the room below him and took out his mirror.
Downstairs in the newspaper office, two men restrained Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko, while Ai Haibara hid nearby, remarkably calm.
A woman dressed in black pulled out a gun from her pocket – clearly, that woman was Silver Fox.
Also Fujino's target for this mission.
"Is it time?"
Fujino observed the situation below, murmuring.
He then took out several enhancement cards from his pocket and crushed them.
[Detective Enhancement activated: Host's physical abilities increased by 225%]
[Advanced Strength Enhancement Card used: Host's strength increased by 200%]
[Advanced Perception Enhancement Card used: Host's perception increased by 200%]
As the system prompts echoed in his ears, Fujino checked that the red rope around his waist was secure, then leaped down.
Another smooth and skilled descent of the heroic man.Fujino held his bokken horizontally, directly smashing through the window of the third-floor newspaper office.
"Crash!"
With the sound of shattering glass, Fujino successfully entered the room.
"Who's there?!"
Silver Fox, startled by the sound, turned her head and saw Fujino who had just burst into the room.
Fujino wasted no words. Using the momentum from his jump, he rolled forward. Before the people in the room could react, he rushed forward with lightning speed, raised the bokken in his hand, and struck directly at Silver Fox's wrist.
The bokken whistled through the air.
Before she could react, Silver Fox, struck on the wrist, let out a pitiful cry, and the handgun fell to the floor.
Seeing the gun disarmed, Fujino executed a reverse roundhouse kick straight into Silver Fox's abdomen.
Boosted by the enhancement cards and the Comfort-Step Seniors' Shoes, the force of this kick was astonishing.
Silver Fox's body flew sideways nearly two meters before crashing heavily against the nearby door and falling to the floor.