Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Xiao Lan... she can actually hit a shot with such power?

Moreover, the speed of that return shot really didn't seem like that of a "beginner".

Thinking of this, Minaba's expression gradually became serious, and she prepared to carefully observe Xiaolan's level.

Half an hour later, Xiaolan put down her racket: "I lost~ As expected of Miss Minaba, you are really amazing!"

Looking at Xiao Lan's smiling face, Minaba couldn't help but sigh: "Xiao Lan, have you ever played tennis before?"

"Hmm? No, but a friend of mine has always loved tennis, and Ryūno and I have played tennis with her a few times~"

At this point, Xiaolan pictured Sonoko's smiling face.

If Sonoko knew that she and Tatsuno had become friends with the "Queen of Grass," and even played tennis together, she would probably be very surprised.

"Really... Do you want to be a professional tennis player?" Minaba stared at Xiaolan for a few seconds, then asked seriously.

"Ah! A professional tennis player? Miss Minaba, I..."

"Although your tennis skills are still somewhat lacking, your physical attributes, especially your strength and reaction speed, far exceed my expectations!"

"With a little training, you might become the best tennis player!"

Before Minaba could finish speaking, a blush appeared on Xiaolan's face.

Even Xiaolan was somewhat taken aback when the "Queen of the Grassland" said that to her face.

"Minaba! Come quick, come quick!!!"

Just then, Ares's astonished shout from next door reached their ears.

Unaware of what was happening, Xiaolan and Minaba ran towards Field 1 at the same time.

"What's wrong, Ares?"

“Look here…” Ares didn’t say it outright, but pointed to the plastic floor.

Xiao Lan and Minaba looked in the direction he was pointing.

The plastic floor, which should have been flat, now had a small round pit.

"Ares, what's wrong with this little pit? You called us here just to see this little pit?" Minaba looked at Ares with a puzzled expression.

"No, no! There wasn't this pit here originally!" Ares's tone was somewhat hurried.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Of course I know there wasn't a pit here originally. What's wrong, Ares? Are you feeling unwell?" Minaba asked worriedly.

Realizing he hadn't explained himself clearly, Ares sighed and ruffled his hair.

At this moment, Long Ye coughed lightly and whispered, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."

Upon hearing this, Minaba and Ran turned to look at Ryuno.

Seeing the embarrassed look on Longye's face, Xiaolan seemed to realize something and covered her mouth with her small hand.

"Longye, this pit wouldn't be..."

Upon hearing this, Longye nodded to Xiaolan.

After watching Ran and Ryūno's conversation, Minaba became even more confused.

What... happened here? Why do they all have that expression?

……

"What?! You made this crater with a tennis ball?!"

"Minebara, you didn't see that shot he just hit! That shot was absolutely amazing!" Ares exclaimed excitedly, recovering from his shock.

"Sorry, I got a little excited while fighting and didn't control my strength..." Longye replied apologetically, clasping his hands together.

"Couldn't control his power? But this..."

Minaba glanced at the crater in the ground, then at Longye and Ares, and suddenly didn't know what to say.

Although she didn't witness the fight between Longye and Ares firsthand, she seemed to understand something just from the crater on the ground and Ares' excited expression.

After a moment of silence, Minaba suddenly looked at Ares beside her and asked, "What do you think of Takeda's tennis playing?"

Upon hearing this, Ares waved his hand: "Although he hasn't practiced tennis much, his physical attributes are terrifying! If his tennis skills improve a bit, he might become the world's best professional player!!!"

Minaba: ? ? ?

I feel like I've heard these words somewhere before.

After a short while, having learned the details of what had happened, Minaba looked at Ryuno and Ran with shining eyes.

"So you've been practicing martial arts since you were little, no wonder you have such amazing physical abilities!"

"What Ares and I just said was the truth. If you train hard, you'll definitely make a name for yourselves in the tennis world!"

"Don't worry about the basics. With your physical fitness and reaction speed, even if you only start training now, you'll definitely be fine."

Ares, standing to the side, nodded with his hands clasped together, seemingly agreeing with Minaba's statement.

Xiaolan tugged at Longye's hand shyly, her face slightly flushed.

"I don't have that idea for now. As for Xiaolan, she does seem very interested in tennis. If she does, I will definitely support her wholeheartedly!"

After speaking, Longye looked at Xiaolan with affection, and Xiaolan also looked at Longye gently. The two smiled at each other.

Seeing how good their relationship was, Minaba was happy but couldn't help feeling a little envious.

……

In the evening, Longye and Xiaolan declined the invitation from Minaba's family to stay for dinner and prepared to take a taxi back to the hotel.

After all, school is about to start, and they can't stay in London forever; they have to go back to the hotel to make some preparations.

Seeing this, Minaba had no choice but to say, "It's not easy to get a taxi here, so how about I drive you back? Don't refuse, I really want to stay with you a little longer~"

Longye and Xiaolan could only nod and get into the car with smiles.

On the road

"Anyway, I've already exchanged contact information. If you ever have the idea of ​​becoming professional players, be sure to contact us! I'd also like to be your coach!"

"Okay~" x2

“By the way, Miss Minaba, I remember you always seem to have a certain phrase on your lips.” Xiaolan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Huh? You mean LOVE IS 0?"

"Yes, what does this mean?"

"Ah, someone once told me that for tennis players, love is zero; no matter how many zeros you accumulate, it's useless."

Upon hearing this, Xiaolan frowned. Just as she had thought, Miss Minaba and that Mr. Ares seemed to be...

Noticing Ran's condition, Ryuno placed his hand on Ran's head and chuckled, "Miss Minaba, your LOVE might be 0."

However, 0 is an important dividing point between positive and negative numbers; it's a magical number that can represent both infinitesimal and infinitely large quantities.

"In other words, 0 is the beginning of everything. Just like tennis, how can you become a professional player, or even win championships continuously like you, if you don't start learning from scratch?"

After a moment of silence, Minaba murmured, "Is 0 the beginning of everything...? I understand! Thank you!"

Chapter 257 Her code name is...

waiting hall

"Ding!" X2

Both Ryūno and Rin's phones simultaneously emitted text message notification sounds.

Curious, the two picked up their phones and opened the text messages.

—From: Sera Masumi

Looking forward to seeing you again O(∩_∩)O.

-

After seeing this extremely brief message, Xiaolan couldn't help but wonder, "What does Ryūno and Sera mean?"

Longye's lips curled slightly: "Perhaps, she means we will meet again."

"Really! If we ever meet again, I'll definitely introduce her to Sonoko. I feel like they'd get along perfectly!"

Seeing Xiaolan's happy face, Longye smiled and looked up at the ceiling.

Now that they have discovered Conan's "secret," it is almost inevitable that Sera Masumi and her "sister" will choose to come to Beika.

Come to think of it, they seem to be Ai's relatives.

Sera Masumi's "sister from outside the domain"—that is, her mother Akai Mary—is actually Miyano Elena's older sister.

Shiho Miyano and Akemi Miyano are Mary Akai's nieces.

In other words, Shuichi Akai and Akemi Miyano are actually cousins...

Wow, this is so messy!

Thinking of this, Longye shook his head and banished the complex family network from his mind.

……

same moment

5-chome, Beikacho, Beika City, Tokyo, Polo Cafe.

A blond man with slightly dark skin pushed open the shop door, looked around, and then smiled as he walked toward the woman at the counter wearing a light pink apron.

“槺拘〕隳茫，沂侵傲�倒陌彩彝浮！”

"Ah, Mr. Amuro? It's a pleasure to meet you. The manager has already instructed me to conduct your interview. Please follow me."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Amuro Tooru followed the woman into the kitchen counter, his expression serious.

Due to the deaths of Chianti and Cohen, the organization's fighting strength in Japan is clearly insufficient.

Before capturing the murderer, Gin decided to "keep a low profile" for the time being, and many "planned events" were thus put on hold.

Therefore, he had plenty of "free time".

Because Gin had blocked the intelligence, he had no idea how the organization's two snipers were killed.