Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

The night before departure.

As night deepened, the town of Beika outside the window lit up with twinkling lights.

In Lin Xiuyi's bedroom, the light was warm, and a small suitcase lay open on the floor. The brother and sister were preparing together for their trip to Osaka the next day.

Lingzi skillfully placed the neatly folded clothes into the box one by one, mostly Lin Xiuyi's T-shirts and pants, while her own little skirt was placed in a separate small bag.

The little girl's gaze kept glancing towards the bedroom door, where Wangcai was happily running around in the hallway with its favorite rubber bone toy in its mouth, sometimes flapping its wings and sometimes making threatening "woof woof" sounds at the toy.

"Onii-chan,"

Lingzi finally couldn't hold back any longer and stopped what she was doing, her little face filled with worry.
"Can't we... really not bring Wangcai along?"

The girl looked at her brother, her voice tinged with a pleading tone.
"Last time we went to the beach, we only stayed one night, but this time we're going to stay for several days... If we leave Wangcai alone at home, won't it think we don't want it anymore? Will it go hungry? Will it be lonely...?"

Looking at her younger sister's almost tearful, aggrieved eyes, Lin Xiuyi glanced amusedly at the carefree, furry figure at the door.

"You're worrying unnecessarily." Lin Xiuyi pointed at Wangcai with her chin. "Look at this silly dog, it's so energetic it could destroy the house. Even if you leave it alone at home for a few days, it won't starve thanks to its dog food and the 'storage' it's hoarded all over the house. It might even gain a couple of pounds."

As if to prove the nickname "stupid dog," Wangcai immediately abandoned its toys upon hearing its owner's voice and rushed in excitedly. With a push of its two front paws, it tried to pounce on Lin Xiuyi, making "hmph hmph" sounds from its wet nose, its face clearly saying, "Come and play with me."

"See, I told you so." Lin Xiuyi shook her head helplessly while dodging Wangcai's enthusiastic barrage of saliva.

“Wangcai isn’t stupid!” Reiko immediately squatted down protectively and hugged Wangcai’s fluffy neck. “It just… just loves Onii-chan too much!”

"Wang Wang!"

Wangcai seemed to understand its little master's protection, and it comfortably squinted its eyes, wagged its tail even more happily, and even licked Lingzi's palm in a flattering manner.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Seeing this, Lin Xiu stopped joking. "I've already talked to Xiao Lü. These next few days, Wangcai will go to her family's flower shop. With Mrs. Zhe Li taking care of it, it definitely won't go hungry."

He paused, then, remembering the female dog named Pudding at the flower shop, couldn't help but tease her.

"Besides, Pudding is there to keep it company at the flower shop. I'm more worried about it going hungry than about it dying from exhaustion and coming back as a listless, lazy dog."

"what?"

Lingzi blinked her big eyes, somewhat not understanding what "exhausted essence leads to dog's death" meant.

On the contrary, Wangcai, who was being held in Lingzi's arms, became excited instantly upon hearing the name "Pudding." He struggled to jump down from Lingzi's arms, ran to the door, barked twice at the outside, and wagged his tail rapidly, clearly still thinking about Pudding.

Lin Xiuyi looked at the starkly different reactions of the man and the dog, shook her head with a smile, and continued packing.

Forget it, let's not pollute my sister's pure mind with such inappropriate topics.

……

Early the next morning, it was just dawn.

Lin Xiuyi, Reiko, and Kogoro Mouri set off first with their packed luggage. They took a detour to deliver the excited Wangcai to the Orikasa family's flower shop.

Sure enough, as soon as Wangcai saw the little female dog Pudding, he immediately forgot about his owner and trotted over to her, making Lin Xiu roll her eyes.

After meeting up with Midori Orikasa at the flower shop, the four of them arrived at the bustling Beika Station.

The station was bustling with activity in the early morning as passengers dragged their luggage and searched for their platforms.

From afar, they spotted Eri and Ruri standing at the agreed-upon location.

Eri Kisaki wore a simple and elegant dress today, which made her look tall and graceful with a cool and aloof demeanor.

The girl was tilting her head slightly, whispering something to her best friend Liuli beside her, her expression showing a hint of girlish shyness and focus.

Liuli wore a sly smile that said "I understand," and nodded from time to time.

Upon seeing Lin Xiuyi and his group approach, Fei Yingli immediately stopped talking. Two barely perceptible blushes quickly rose on her fair cheeks, and she turned her head away somewhat awkwardly, pretending to look at the electronic timetable at the station.

Ruri covered her mouth and let out a knowing chuckle, then walked briskly to Kogoro Mouri's side.

Just moments ago, Kogoro Mouri looked like he hadn't woken up yet, but now he seemed to have been injected with energy. His face lit up with a fawning smile, and he hurriedly reached out to take the small backpack from Ruri's shoulder and put it on his own.

Soon after, Tomizawa Chikage arrived in a flurry.

She was dressed as usual, in a simple white T-shirt paired with blue shorts and sneakers, looking full of energy.

She was pulling a huge black leather suitcase, which looked very heavy, and she seemed to be struggling to pull it.

Everyone assumed the suitcase contained Chikage Tomizawa's luggage.

Orikasa Midori looked at her small backpack, then at the large suitcase.
"Sister Qianying, we're only going to stay for two or three days, do we need to bring so much stuff? A few changes of clothes and toiletries, and a small backpack will be enough."

Upon hearing this, Tomizawa Chikage smiled mysteriously and did not answer directly. Instead, she subconsciously turned her head and her gaze briefly met Lin Xiuyi's in the air. The latter immediately understood.

What's in this suitcase is probably not a change of clothes at all, but rather all of Tomizawa Chikage's belongings as the "Phantom Thief Lady".

Night-clothes, gliding grappling hook, various lock-picking tools, disguise props, and maybe even the Tuxedo Mask outfit that Lin Xiuyi wore when he was a phantom thief.

Lin Xiuyi neither stopped him nor pointed it out.

During yesterday's discussion, he suggested to Chikage Tomizawa that they could first collect evidence and then use public opinion and legal means to force the behind-the-scenes boss to comply.

But even Lin Xiuyi himself wasn't sure if the plan would succeed.

Since the other party is able to collude with the local court, their power and methods must not be underestimated. It shouldn't be difficult for them to bribe a few media outlets and suppress some negative news.

In the end, it might really come down to relying on Tomizawa Chikage's methods, which operate on the fringes of the law, to secure even a sliver of hope and some real compensation for those desperate victims. (End of Chapter)