Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

The two played a few more games, and before they knew it, it was noon.

The number of people in the arcade didn't decrease; in fact, it increased, and the noise was deafening.

Kogoro Mouri was engrossed in the game, almost leaping onto the screen, his fingers rapidly tapping the buttons.

Lin Xiuyi, however, was already somewhat tired of it. Having seen the exquisitely crafted AAA games of later generations, he found these pixel games to be nothing more than boring after the initial novelty wore off.

“It’s already past one o’clock,” Lin Xiuyi patted his friend’s sweaty back. “Let’s go eat first.”

As he spoke, he gave his seat to a bespectacled boy who was behind him in line.

"I wish I could play a little longer," Kogoro Mori said, gazing longingly at the screen, but his stomach let out a loud protest at the most inopportune moment.

"Then you can play by yourself," Lin Xiuyi took out a few coins from her wallet and handed them over. "I'm going to eat first."

Just as Kogoro Mouri was about to nod and take the coin, he suddenly remembered the purpose of bringing Shuichi Hayashi out today.

If Lin Xiuyi went back to the izakaya while he was playing arcade games, the others would probably curse him to death!

"never mind!"

Kogoro Mouri quickly shook his head, the movement so forceful he almost twisted his neck.

"I'm hungry too, let's go eat together! I heard there's a good ramen shop on the eighth floor!"

"Ramen..." Lin Xiuyi pretended to think. "I remember you said you wanted to eat hamburgers last week, right? How about we go to the first floor and get some hamburgers?"

Women are notoriously slow at shopping, and Kogoro Mouri wasn't even sure if Eri and the others had already left, so he dared not let Hideaki Lin go downstairs.

"Um... I suddenly have a craving for ramen again! Plus, there are fewer people on the eighth floor, so there's no need to queue!"

“Okay, whatever you say,” Lin Xiuyi pretended not to notice his friend’s embarrassment and was about to take back the coin when someone bumped into him.

Lin Xiuyi was fine, but the coins in his hand fell to the ground.

Amidst the clanging and banging sounds, a rude voice exploded in their ears: "Where did this idiot come from, blocking the way..."

Lin Xiuyi turned his head and saw several teenagers dressed in strange clothes with their hair dyed in various colors.

The group was dressed extravagantly; some wore leather jackets studded with rivets, some cut their school trousers into ripped styles, and some had their hair dyed in rainbow colors, gleaming with the glaring shine of cheap hair dye in the sunset.

The one in the lead had a head of red hair styled into sharp spikes with hairspray, making him look like a bristling hedgehog.

Even though it was the spiky-haired guy who bumped into someone, he turned around and started blaming Lin Xiuyi and the other person.

However, as Lin Xiu turned his head and saw his face clearly, the spiky-haired man suddenly seemed to freeze, swallowing the rest of his curses back down his throat.

"Come on!"

As if he had seen a ghost, the hedgehog-headed man beckoned his underlings to avoid Lin Xiuyi and stumbled as he fled deeper into the arcade.

One of his underlings was so flustered that he tripped over his own shoelace and almost fell flat on his face.

"Where did this bunch of delinquents come from?" Kogoro Mouri bent down to pick up a coin from the ground. "Judging from their reaction, they seem to know you."

“Those people should be Xiao Lü’s classmates,” Lin Xiuyi also remembered the hedgehog’s identity, and a cold smile appeared on his lips. “I saw them before when I went to Sakuragaoka Junior High School.”

“You must have beaten them up, otherwise they wouldn’t be so afraid of you,” Kogoro Mouri patted his rumbling stomach. “Let’s go, I’m hungry too. Don’t look at them anymore, it’s normal for bad guys to appear in places like this.”

……

After Lin Xiuyi and Mouri Kogoro left the arcade, Igawa, who had been hiding in a corner, finally breathed a sigh of relief. His back was soaked with cold sweat. "Damn it, how unlucky could I be to run into that jinx here!"

He pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, his fingers trembling so much he almost couldn't light it.

"Big Brother," a younger brother with long hair and narrow eyes approached, "the Muddy Society asked us to do something this time, so how about..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Ask them to teach that kid a lesson? The Muddy Gang is a real gang, they can definitely handle him."

The bespectacled, seemingly more rational younger brother immediately objected: "Didn't Orikasa clarify things at school? They're just ordinary friends. Besides, that kid supposedly has connections to the Metropolitan Police Department, we'd better not mess with him..."

"Bullshit!" The long-haired thug pushed up his glasses. "Even if he has nothing to do with Orikasa, last time at the school gate, he beat up Brother Igawa so badly..."

He stopped abruptly, because Igawa's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Shut up!"

Igawa slammed the cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it to pieces with his shoe heel, as if that were the face of Lin Xiuyi.

"It's none of your business what I do!"

His voice became shrill with shame and anger.
"Let's go see the people from the Muddy Sand Society first and see what they want us to do. We'll talk about other things later!"

Igawa roughly shoved aside the henchman blocking his way and strode toward the back door of the arcade.

The henchmen behind him exchanged glances, but in the end, they quickly followed.

……

Unlike the bustling downstairs, the dining area on the eighth floor was not crowded.

The ramen shop that Lin Xiuyi and Mouri Kogoro chose had a simple decor, with spotless wooden tables and chairs.

Kogoro Mouri chose a seat at the very back, facing the door, and occasionally looked up at the doorway.

"What's wrong with you today?" Lin Xiuyi asked casually. "You've been restless since this morning."

"Really? No!"

Kogoro Mouri's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, attracting the attention of the guests at the next table. He quickly lowered his voice, "I'm just... I'm a little worried about what to do if I don't choose the right gift for Ruri."

At this moment, the waiter came over to take their order, temporarily interrupting their conversation.

Lin Xiuyi ordered the signature tonkotsu ramen and specifically asked for an extra serving of char siu.

Kogoro Mouri absentmindedly chose the same thing, his eyes constantly glancing towards the door, and he didn't even hear the waiter asking him if he wanted an egg.

While waiting for the food, Lin Xiuyi noticed that his friend's fingers were constantly tapping on the table in a chaotic rhythm, completely revealing his inner anxiety.

Lin Xiuyi took a sip of ice water: "Why didn't you go on a date with Liuli this week? Did you two have a fight?"

“No,” Kogoro Mouri’s attention was clearly elsewhere, his gaze constantly drifting towards the door. “We always have dates on weekends, but we need to change the time sometimes…”

At this point, he suddenly stopped speaking, his eyes fixed on what was behind Lin Xiuyi.

Although Kogoro Mouri tried his best to control himself, Shuichi Hayashi could tell from his friend's sudden stiffness and slightly agape mouth that someone had definitely appeared at the shop entrance. (End of Chapter)