Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

On a weekend afternoon, the doorbell of the Mori Detective Agency suddenly rang.

Conan shuffled to the door in his slippers, initially thinking it was someone coming to see Kogoro Mouri for a client. But when the door opened, Ai Haibara's calm face appeared outside.

"Good afternoon, Edogawa-kun," Ai greeted him casually.

"Haibara? What brings you here?"

Conan looked at Ai with a strange expression.

Soon, Conan's gaze was fixed on the thick, hardcover book she was holding.

The cover prominently displays the words: "A Complete Illustrated Guide to Taxonomy and Specimen Preparation of Large Mammals".

Conan gasped, the chilling scene from the restaurant last night instantly replaying in his mind.

He stood across the doorway, arms outstretched in a standard gesture of refusing entry.

"What are you doing here?! I don't welcome you!" Conan said through gritted teeth, his voice low. "You...you even brought this kind of book...what exactly do you want to do to Ran?!"

Ai raised an eyebrow slightly, held up the book in her hand and waved it, her tone still calm: "Ran said she's very interested in biological anatomy, so I promised to bring it over today to discuss it with her."

"Discuss what?!"

Conan stood blocking the doorway, sweating profusely with anxiety: "No! You can't teach her that nonsense! Preservation, joint separation, absolutely not! What if she really learns it and one day takes a liking to me and turns me into a specimen, soaking me in formaldehyde?!"

Seeing Conan's comical, alarmed expression, Ai couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, revealing an extremely wicked smile.

"Oh dear, that's certainly possible. Shinichi Kudo is too big; it would be troublesome to make him into a specimen, but Conan's size is just right." Ai's tone was terrifying to Conan.

"Hey! Are you serious?!" Conan was so frightened that his hair stood on end, and cold sweat slid down his forehead.

Just as Conan was about to slam the door shut, Ran's voice came from upstairs: "Conan, who's here?"

With light footsteps, Xiaolan quickly approached.

When she saw the book in Ai's hand, her eyes lit up, and she greeted her warmly: "Ai, you finally brought that book! Please come in, please come in. I was just worried about not being able to find the diagrams for the section on ligation of internal organs!"

As she was speaking, Ran even smiled at Conan.

But that smile was terrifying no matter how you looked at it.

Conan stood frozen in place, looking at Ran's eager face and then at Ai's composed expression, feeling a sudden dizziness.

He watched in despair as Xiaolan led Xiaoai into the living room, as if he could already hear the sound of a chainsaw starting up and his own agonizing screams as his internal organs were about to be ripped out.

"It's over..."

Conan has only one thought in his mind right now.

Should he listen to Zheng Yi and act like a little puppy?
Otherwise, Xiaolan would turn him into a taxidermied dog.

Conan practically tumbled and crawled to Masakazu's residence, pounding on the door with both hands.

"Shoichi! Help! You have to do something about that Ai Haibara guy!" Conan shouted hoarsely through the crack in the door.
"She actually brought the 'Complete Illustrated Guide to Specimen Preparation' to the office! And she's even researching organ ligation with Sister Xiaolan! If you don't stop her, I'm going to have my insides emptied out and turned into a decorative piece sooner or later!"

With a series of hurried footsteps, the door was finally opened.

However, it wasn't Zheng Yi, who was full of sympathy, who appeared at the door, but rather Hong Ye's face, which was full of disdain and impatience.

Hongye, still holding a game controller, frowned as she looked at Conan, who was covered in sweat, and rolled her eyes without any politeness: "What, it's you again, you troublesome brat? Who gave you permission to disturb my enjoyment?"

Conan paused for a moment, then peeked into the room.

In the spacious and bright living room, a man sat cross-legged on the carpet, a racing game playing on the large television screen in front of him. The coffee table was piled high with snacks and cans of cola.

"Hey kid, you've come at the worst possible time." Momiji crossed her arms and looked down at Conan with a tone full of disdain.

Ai had just left, and Momiji always ignored Curaçao.

There was only her and Masakazu at home. Why did that annoying brat Conan come over to cause trouble?

Conan looked at Momiji's possessive expression, then at Shoichi inside the room, who was intently staring at the screen.

He shook his head.

"I'm facing a life-or-death crisis!" Conan stamped his feet anxiously, trying to squeeze back through the door.

"I've come to ask Masakazu for help! All I need is for him to talk to Ai Haibara and tell her to stop teaching Ran-neechan those horrible anatomy lessons!"

"Stop! Stop!" Hongye immediately stretched out her hand, blocking the doorway like shooing away a fly, and said with a resistant expression:

"I have absolutely no interest in your affairs. What Shinichi Kudo, what Ran Mouri, and what specimens or not specimens."

I'm so tired of your sour and horrifying family dramas!

And bring Ai back?

Are you kidding me?

Ai will get bored staying at home all the time; she should go out and play with her classmates like Ran and Sonoko more often.

Teaching Xiaolan to dissect and prepare specimens would be a waste of time, taking even longer, and she would be away from home for even longer, which is a good thing.

As for Conan's fate?
who cares.

"This isn't a family story! This is a murder threat!" Conan clung desperately to the door frame, refusing to let go.

Hongye had clearly lost her patience. She sneered and suddenly pushed the door open.

Caught off guard, Conan was thrown back two steps by the force.

"Hurry up and go! Don't keep us from playing games."

Momiji ruthlessly gave Conan the order to leave, and then slammed the door shut, leaving him completely outside.

Conan frantically tried to call Shoichi through the closed door, but the phone was switched off and he couldn't get through.

It must be that wicked woman who isolated him from the outside world, preventing Zheng Yi from knowing about his affairs.

Otherwise, Brother Zhengyi would definitely not stand idly by and watch my life or death be in danger!

Conan stood alone outside the door, looking utterly helpless.

"Go find Sonoko, find Sonoko to save me!" Conan whispered.

A spark of hope rekindled in Conan's eyes.

Let Sonoko, that good-for-nothing friend, take Ran out to play. Shopping, karaoke, buying clothes, etc., are a million times safer than learning how to make specimens.

I'd do anything to help Xiaolan temporarily forget about those terrifying anatomical facts.

Of course, we can't let Sonoko take Ran to find handsome guys. (End of Chapter)