Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 285 Smells Like Bird Droppings (5k views, please subscribe)

The sound of footsteps approached from afar, quickly traversing the streets of Beikacho 2-chome.

A dog's head, wider than its shoulders, sits atop a blue suit jacket.

Conan ran wildly, not even having time to wipe away his sweat, his only thought was to see Tequila.

"PhD!"

Conan forcefully pushed open the door to Professor Agasa's house.

"Professor!" Conan called out Professor Agasa's name again.

The living room was quiet, with two slightly steaming disposable cups on the table.

Conan felt a chill run down his spine and was soaked in sweat.

Professor Agasa, could something have happened to you?

That guy, Tequila.
"Whoohoo-"

"How is it?" Ai Haibara arrived late and immediately inquired about Professor Agasa's safety.

Conan shook his head.

Conan meant he didn't know, but Haibara was too nervous and mistakenly thought that shaking her head meant there was no hope, so her pupils dilated and she collapsed to the ground.

"It's all my fault. I'm the one who killed Professor Agasa."

Ai Haibara supported herself on the ground with her hands, lowered her head, and tears dripped down her cheeks.

"It's getting emo again."

Just as Conan was about to speak, a voice came from the direction of the research room behind the living room.

"Ah, Conan, Ai, you're back!"

"Doctor!" ×2
The two men were startled and looked up in unison, their expressions changing as they gazed at Professor Agasa with surprise.

"Sorry, I was looking at something in the lab. Were you calling me just now?"

"What about the agave?" Conan asked directly.

"Oh, they just left not long ago."

"What is he doing here?"

Conan looked thoughtful. To be honest, when Professor Agasa told him that Tequila knew Ai Haibara was here, he was only slightly moved.

This was within his expectations, after all, Ai Haibara's escape was related to tequila.

Tequila will come looking for Ai Haibara sooner or later.

But why did the other party know his identity so clearly? That was what made him uneasy.

Dr. Agasa appeared somewhat relaxed as he described the entire process of the agave plant arriving at his door.

After listening.

"It seems that Agave must have known you were here with the Doctor for a long time, or even sneaked in here a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" Ai Haibara asked.

"The water dispenser in the doctor's house is right behind this pillar, so you can't see it when you come in, but he can go and pour himself some water as soon as he enters the house."

Furthermore, the doctor also mentioned that he carried the metal box into the research lab himself afterwards.

The layout of the professor's house is different from that of a typical villa; the fact that he could find the research lab so easily proves that he is very familiar with the area.

"Professor Agasa, what's inside the metal box?"

Conan was a little curious; anything that could be delivered by Tequila must be extraordinary.

"It's research data on APTX4869."

Dr. Agasa said seriously, "I just opened it and took a look. This information should be able to speed up the research process considerably."

Ai Haibara's eyes widened upon hearing this; the fact that Tequila had given her research materials was truly unexpected.

However, she cared more about something else than the research data.

"Did he tell you where he hid my sister?"

Professor Agasa was visibly taken aback, and his eyes unconsciously drifted towards Conan.

Tequila didn't say it, but he knew that Akemi Miyano was with the Japanese Public Security Bureau.

Conan gently shook his head.

"No," Professor Agasa replied, shrugging.

Conan doesn't plan to let Ai Haibara know for the time being that her sister is still alive and in Japan.

The research on APTX4869 has not yet yielded results. If Ai Haibara were to find out where her sister is now, she might stop the research, which is not the outcome she wants to see.

It's likely that Tequila shared the same thought, which is why it didn't tell the other party about Miyano Akemi.

On this point, Tequila had the same idea as him.

However, judging from the appearance, someone around Tequila may have been harmed by this drug.

I wasn't even the first person to shrink.

The more Conan thought about it, the more convinced he was that his deduction was correct. Only this reason could explain why Tequila secretly let Ai Haibara go without telling Gin, and even knew that he had shrunk.

In addition, given the information the other party just sent, Tequila must be eager for Haibara to develop an antidote to restore the people behind him to normal, which is exactly what he wants.

Since that's the case, he decided to play along.

It's tough on Ai Haibara, but there's nothing we can do about it. We don't know her very well yet, and we can't gamble with our future.

The last time I gambled my future, the price was becoming smaller. I dare not do it again this time.

Ai Haibara was unaware of Conan's thoughts.

Hearing Professor Agasa's answer, Ai Haibara felt somewhat dejected.

"Judging from his behavior, he probably wants you to continue researching APTX4869, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to bring out the data. As long as you continue the research, your sister can definitely be saved."

"I know!"

Ai Haibara nodded vigorously, her expression returning to calm.

She's already used to it.

From the moment we are born, we have no choice in this life.

Ai Haibara walked dejectedly into the research room to look at the data.

"Conan, isn't this a bit unfair to Ai Haibara?"

Dr. Agasa felt a pang of sympathy.

Conan remained silent, then turned and left. He felt powerless in this situation, but this was the only option he could have.

However, Conan's reasoning about Tequila's behavior was all speculation; the instigator didn't have such a deep thought.

Natsukawa's intentions were good; he didn't make any demands and simply wanted to reduce Haibara's workload.

Unexpectedly, his good intentions backfired, and Conan, based on the situation, concluded that he had deviated from Natsukawa's original intentions.

Xia Chuan was unaware of this.

Around dinner time, Professor Agasa called to tell Natsukawa that he had eaten at his house that night and Natsukawa hadn't felt anything.

After all, the documents were just submitted, and given Haibara's style, she'll definitely have to work overtime for a day to sort them out.

It wasn't until nearly midnight, when Ai Haibara returned, that he sensed something was amiss.

Ai Haibara's expression didn't seem like she had received research data; rather, she looked somewhat dejected.

Is there something wrong with the information?
"Ai, you..."

Before Natsukawa could finish speaking, Ai Haibara raised her eyes and calmly interrupted, "That's right, I skipped school!"

Ai Haibara assumed the school security guard had told Natsukawa about her truancy, so she answered directly.

Having done her research to this point, she didn't want to waste any more words with Xia Chuan, so she simply admitted to being scolded and went back to her room to sleep.

"???"

A question mark appeared above Xia Chuan's head.

Frank didn't tell him about this. He thought Haibara was simply being kept out of school by Frank, but he never expected that she would actually skip school.

interesting.

"Whose idea was this?"

Xia Chuan pretended to be furious.

"It's Conan!" Anya appeared out of nowhere.

With her crescent-shaped eyes, she pointed gleefully at the Mori Detective Agency outside the window.

Just then, a sound came from inside.

That was Conan's scream.

The fact that you could hear it clearly even across the street is enough to prove that Kogoro Mouri was fighting very hard.

"What's wrong with Conan?" Natsukawa asked.

Anya picked her nose and shook her head, saying, "I don't know, I was just visiting someone and everything was fine."

Anya put the camera behind her and her eyes darted around.

"Next time you need to ask for leave, tell me in advance. Don't do such dangerous things. You're a transfer student, be careful not to get expelled from school."

"understood."

Watching Ai Haibara go upstairs, Natsukawa went up and took Anya's camera.

"Father."

"I'll take a look and then give it back to you. Go back to sleep. It's so late, why are you still wandering around?"

After casually sending Anya back to her room, Xia Chuan happily took his camera and returned to his room to start looking around.

Needless to say, Anya must have photographed something good, otherwise Conan wouldn't have gotten beaten up.

Xia Chuan easily cracked Anya's code—peanut.

The memory card is new, and there's only one video in the camera—the one showing Conan and Ai Haibara climbing over the wall.

As expected, Anya must have shown this video to Ran and Kogoro Mouri just now.

"Serves you right. It's one thing to climb over the wall, but to bring my Ai Haibara along too."

Xia Chuan chuckled, copied the video to his computer, and put it together with the video he had taken at Tsujimura's house last time.

This is a collector's edition; I'll show it to Conan when he grows up again. It'll drive him crazy!

Sakuradamon Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters.

The Metropolitan Police Department was unusually lively today.

Just as the Suzuki Museum of Modern Art in Osaka is about to open, the Suzuki Foundation receives a notice from Kaito Kid.

This case should have been handled by the Osaka Prefectural Police, since the exhibition hall was in Osaka. However, the Suzuki Foundation is affiliated with Tokyo, and the case was reported to the Metropolitan Police Department, so the case fell to the Metropolitan Police Department.

As one of the sponsors of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Suzuki family's case naturally received high attention from the department.

This meeting brought together a considerable number of veteran criminal police officers, with the aim of protecting the Memory Egg, valued at 10 billion.

Of course, the Osaka Prefectural Police will also provide some police support.

Only a small number of experienced officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department went to Osaka on business.

This includes Ginzo Nakamori, who is speaking eloquently on the podium in the conference room.

He is recognized by the Japanese police force as the first person to capture the Phantom Thief Kid, a manhunt that lasted for more than a decade.

Well, although the opponent always managed to escape, at least I managed to get most of the gems back. I wouldn't have achieved such good results if they were in someone else's hands.

"Phantom Thief Kid has stolen 152 jewels since his debut, with a total value of over 380 billion. Such a ruthless thief is unprecedented!"

Nakamori Ginzo spoke eloquently, becoming increasingly agitated as he spoke, his voice growing louder and louder.

It's been almost twenty years since they debuted, hasn't it?
Over the years, he has been thinking about how to deal with the other party every moment.

"Kid has committed countless crimes; this time, we must stop him!!"

Hearing this stirred up unpleasant memories for Chaki Shintaro. Recalling the pledge he had made to Suzuki Shiro a few days ago, he felt compelled to reiterate: "The Egg of Memories, we absolutely cannot fail this time. Even if we can't catch Phantom Thief Kid, we must protect the Egg of Memories!"

"Yes"

The police officers in the audience were all seasoned detectives with extensive experience, and their responses were unified and powerful.

"What! Absolutely not!"

Enraged, Nakamori Ginzo grabbed the microphone in front of Chaki Shintaro and roared, "The Egg of Memories must be protected, but capturing Kid is the top priority. Listen to me clearly, this time we will make sure he doesn't leave alive!"

"Yes!"

Kogoro Mouri felt the same sense of camaraderie and shared hatred from the Metropolitan Police Department again after a long time, and he was momentarily excited.

"Uncle Mori, calm down. We are consultants, not police officers. There's no need to get so agitated. Our goal this time is simply to protect the Egg of Memories. We can leave the task of dealing with Phantom Thief Kid to Inspector Nakamori."

Natsukawa patted Kogoro Mouri on the shoulder.

Kogoro Mouri is a famous detective; he needs to maintain a certain level of sophistication. It would be terrible if his mindset were easily affected.

"Ahem, I understand."

Kogoro Mouri nodded and sat back down, having just lifted his buttocks.

Natsukawa asked, "So, Officer Chaki Shintaro, how far has the Metropolitan Police Department progressed in cracking the Kid's pre-announcement letter?"

Chaki Shintaro turned his gaze to the top general, Nakamori Ginzo nodded and began to explain:
"First of all, the first sentence of the notice is: From the lion of dusk to the maiden of dawn."

"The lion represents the Leo constellation, and the girl represents the Virgo constellation. This sentence should mean that it indicates when Kaito Kid will take action."

That is, from the dusk of the last day of Leo on August 22nd to the dawn of Virgo on August 23rd.

"Then: the clock without a second hand reaches the twelfth mark."

"This should represent a specific point in time, but I haven't figured out that specific point in time yet."

"Finally: Descending from the luminous Sky Pavilion. The Sky Pavilion here refers to Osaka Castle!"

"As expected of Inspector Nakamori, he deduced the time and location of the crime so quickly."

One of the officers cheered, and then a whole group of officers applauded.

"What's the use of knowing the location and date if you're so self-righteous and haven't confirmed the specific time?"

Kogoro Mouri curled his lip in disdain. If he hadn't just received the notice yesterday, he would have been the one to solve the riddle by now.

"Uncle Mori, the clock without a second hand has reached the twelfth mark, and this is the only puzzle left. Why don't you give it your all?"

Xia Chuan chuckled and continued, "The exact timing is crucial; solving it might be the key to catching Phantom Thief Kid."

"That's the truth!"

Kogoro Mouri seemed to have found his purpose in life and slammed his fist on the table.

"I will definitely solve it!"

"Ok?"

Everyone in the conference room was startled by this scene and cast curious glances at it.

"Mr. Mori, is there a problem?"

Inspector Nakamori stared blankly at Kogoro Mouri.

That damned guy! If it weren't for Suzuki Shiro's insistence, he wouldn't have let this guy participate in the case.

As Kogoro Mouri and Ginzo Nakamori began their battle, Joel, standing behind Natsukawa, patted Natsukawa on the shoulder with some concern.

"Xia Chuan, you'd better not take this case. I don't think it's very safe."

As a tactical combat instructor for the Metropolitan Police Department, she was temporarily seconded to protect Shiro Suzuki.

The reason she said that was because she inadvertently discovered that the assassin Scrooge was frantically collecting information about the Suzuki Foundation and the Egg of Memories.

Scroobing was an internationally renowned assassin who specialized in targeting artifacts left behind by the Romanov dynasty. He had killed no fewer than thirty collectors, each of whom was extremely wealthy.

Even so, after all these years, Scrooge is still not caught and remains on the wanted lists of various countries. To this day, all that is known is that he specifically targets the right eye, and it is not even known whether he is male or female.

The level of danger is evident.

"Don't worry, Phantom Thief Kid has never killed anyone in all these years."

Xia Chuan waved his hand, thinking that the other person's words were just a girlfriend's concern for her boyfriend, and he couldn't connect them to Shi Kaobing at all.

The meeting ended amidst much noise and commotion.

Inspector Nakamori has a strong ability to mobilize his officers; all the officers were fired up and looked determined to win.

"Mr. Joel, Mr. Maori, please wait for me in the car. I'm going to the restroom."

“Okay.” Joel nodded.

"Really, hurry up, we'll wait for you downstairs." Kogoro Mouri waved and entered the elevator with Joel.

After the meeting, he began to think about the code that Nakamori Ginzo had not yet deciphered, but he had no clue yet. He thought that perhaps watching Okino Yoko's TV program at home would give him some inspiration.

The Metropolitan Police Department's restroom was very quiet. All the officers were indignant and returned to their workstations to think about how to deal with Kid. Apart from Natsukawa, there was only one other officer in the restroom who had just finished using the toilet and was washing his hands.

"Why were you just flattering Inspector Nakamori? Aren't you afraid you'll actually get arrested?"

Xia Chuan faced the mirror, turned on the tap, and began to wash her hands.

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm determined to get the Egg of Memories."

The police officer was all smiles, but his voice had changed from that of a middle-aged man to that of a young man.

That voice belonged to Kaito Kuroba.

"By the way, how did Brother Xia Chuan discover me? Did something go wrong with my disguise?"

"Your disguise is perfect, except you smell like bird droppings. My sense of smell is quite acute, and it's especially noticeable when you're sitting right next to me."

After saying that, Xia Chuan gave him a disgusted look.

"."

Kaito Kuroba's lips twitched. This is allowed?
"When a clock without a second hand reaches the twelfth character, it refers to the twelfth character of the first sentence, '黄昏の獅子から暁の乙女へ,' which is 'へ,' right? If you put 'へ' as the hour and minute hands in the clock, it means 7:20."

The brightly lit Sky Pavilion wasn't a castle tower, but rather the Tsutenkaku, a weather station. It's said that every night, the observation station at the top of the Tsutenkaku emits a white light.

"You're planning to appear at Tongtian Pavilion at 7:20?"

Kaito Kuroba exclaimed in surprise, "Natsukawa-nii, you've already solved it? Why didn't you tell Inspector Nakamori?"

“I already told you, I am a good friend of your father’s. We used to sell diamonds together in the Middle East in our early years.”

"Bullshit! I've already asked my mom, and she said there's no such person as you!"

Kaito actually asked about this, and Chikage Kuroba gave a negative answer.

"Why are you interested in the Egg of Memories? There's no Pandora on it, not even any gems. It's just inlaid with glass."

"Because I'm a phantom thief, and phantom thieves don't need so many reasons to do things," Kaito replied with a smile.

"The magician of the end of the century, you're really meddling in other people's business—" Xia Chuan smiled meaningfully, everything was understood without saying a word.

"Tch, you should say that to that little brat. He's the one who meddles the most."

Upon hearing this, Xia Chuan's expression became somewhat strange.

Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kuroba do have very obvious similarities in personality.

No wonder they share the same genes.

He still remembered the message Frank had sent him a few days earlier.

The news was about the relationship between Yusaku Kudo and Toichi Kuroba.

This is really big news.

When he asked Frank to investigate whether the two had clashed, he unexpectedly discovered a shocking revelation.

While I was surprised by Aoyama's wild imagination, this does explain why Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kuroba look so alike.

Extending this line of thought, Natsukawa even suspected that Nakamori Ginzo and Mori Kogoro were in the same situation.

So melodramatic, so incredibly melodramatic!

"Oh, by the way, this is for you."

Xia Chuan reached into his pocket and pulled out a lens. "This is Professor Agasa's new invention. It not only improves vision but also has bulletproof properties."

Kaito took the lens and played with it for a while, then joked, "You didn't install a listening or tracking device in there, did you?"

Xia Chuan offered no explanation, dried his hands, and left. As he left, he turned back and said, "If I wanted to do something to you, was it really necessary to go through all this trouble?"

Kaito's expression froze.

Indeed, Xia Chuan had thoroughly investigated his past, while he only knew that Xia Chuan was a special investigator for the State Taxation Administration.

After Natsukawa left, Kaito muttered to himself, "He's even better at pretending than me."

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)