He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

Although it looked increasingly strange, it also inexplicably felt familiar.

It's confirmed, she really is Kiyoko.

Kiyoko, the one who helped me solve the case, the one who murdered the entire Aoyagi family—which one is the real you?

His body floated up, as if he were on a roller coaster, as Inspector Megure carried him away.

It's no use; how could someone with those injuries possibly survive?

Speaking of roller coasters, I think I made a promise with someone to go one at Dorobiga Park.

Who was it agreed to with again?

It's probably Kiyoko.

Consciousness slowly faded, and at the edge of my vision, endless nothingness was eroding me.

Eternal peace whispered a call, and Shinichi Kudo slowly closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

"Not now, Kudo-kun."

A soft voice came from beyond the world.

Shinichi Kudo's eyelids trembled, and he could no longer fully open his eyes. In the small corner of the world he could barely see, a slender, jade-like hand was holding a red and white capsule and approaching him, the fingernails shimmering with a faint pink luster.

"You won't die, Shinichi."

The next second, flames erupted from his abdomen.

Chapter 288 The childless Megure family adopts Conan

Shinichi Kudo had no recollection of what happened after that.

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. In any case, when he woke up, the first thing he saw was not Vermouth, but a fat face that Inspector Megure had brought very close.

He instinctively shrank back and realized he was in the back seat of the car, his bare feet resting on the brown seat.

Is it possible for someone of his height to sit like that?

A question flashed through Shinichi Kudo's mind, but he couldn't dwell on it at the moment. He quickly glanced out the windows on both sides and, realizing it was an unfamiliar place, hurriedly asked, "Inspector Megure, where are Kiyoko and Tooru Amuro?"

Upon hearing this, he immediately covered his throat.

Something is wrong!

Why does his voice sound so childish?!

But when he covered his hand, he found that his hand was also strange. Why had it become so small?

Holding the hand up to my eyes, sure enough, it was fair and tender, just like the hand of a six or seven-year-old child.

He shook and squeezed it in a daze, finally confirming that it was his own hand and not some kind of mannequin he was holding.

Looking down slightly further, the once-fitting white shirt now seemed ten sizes too big, like a sack wrapped around her body.

The same applies to pants, and also to underwear.

that……

It has shrunk into a small bean sprout.

For some unknown reason, Shinichi Kudo reached out his hand in that direction.

Megure grabbed his hand, his already strange expression now showing an added hint of bewilderment, as if he simply found it absurd.

"I've already confirmed it, you're still a boy."

"!!!"

Shinichi Kudo tried to slap Inspector Megure's hand away... well, he didn't manage to slap it away; a child's strength is really too weak. Inspector Megure let go of his hand on his own initiative.

"Inspector Megure! I never expected you to be this kind of person!" Shinichi Kudo exclaimed, his face filled with shame and indignation.

“…The situation was urgent at the time, and I carried you away, so they fell off by themselves.” Inspector Megure pointed to his abdomen. “Who cares about a child’s body? The most important thing is this. Your injuries have completely healed externally. Carefully check if there are any internal injuries.”

Shinichi Kudo then remembered that he had suffered a fatal injury before he fainted, and hurriedly lifted his clothes to look.

Her skin was snow-white and soft, as smooth as a baby's.

He reached out and pressed it hard; it was elastic and full of vitality.

Furthermore, there was not a trace of abnormal pain.

Shinichi Kudo looked up, his eyes growing increasingly bewildered: "My fatal wound disappeared in the blink of an eye, and I even turned into a child. What on earth happened?"

"Well, it's a long story."

Megure then straightened the rearview mirror, which had been flipped up, and Shinichi Kudo quickly looked over to see what he looked like.

However, it was blocked again.

Being with another version of yourself, being with a large mirror.

"I just bought this on purpose, Kudo, you look exactly the same as you did when you were a child, you're aging in reverse!"

As Inspector Megure spoke, he started the vehicle.

He could say that he watched Shinichi Kudo grow up. If he had only seen a shrunken Shinichi without knowing the truth, he might not have recognized him.

But now that Shinichi Kudo is gradually shrinking in front of him, he naturally immediately connects it with his past memories.

Shinichi Kudo took the mirror, stared at himself for a few seconds, and took a deep breath.

Inspector Megure thought he was going to make some kind of sentimental remark about the impermanence of life, and he was already planning how to comfort him, but what he heard instead was:

"It's a long story, so let's get started."

"…Kudo, you accept reality so quickly?"

"Anyway, things have already come to this, Inspector Megure, you're quite calm, aren't you?"

Shinichi Kudo put the mirror back in the armrest box: "Besides, I shrunk because of the capsule that Kiyoko fed me. Since there are drugs that shrink, there might also be drugs that make you grow bigger. In order to recover, I should definitely continue to investigate."

"I was questioning my existence for a long time before, don't you think? What happened to you is just too magical." Inspector Megure sighed, "As for what happened in Tsuburaya Town afterwards, well, I'll keep it short."

Aoyagi Chisato caught up with me, knocked me down in the blink of an eye, and fed you that capsule.

But instead of shrinking immediately, you screamed in agony like a wild beast. Aoyagi Chisato looked at you, muttering something like 'I've been tricked.' Amuro Tooru chased after you, and then he ran away.

At that moment, two helicopters from outside the Metropolitan Police Department appeared in the sky, and Inspector Matsumoto told me to evacuate immediately.

You were still screaming when I picked you up and put you in the car. But halfway there, I realized your body was shrinking.

I thought I was hallucinating at the time, so I didn't think much of it, threw you into the car, and left.

I didn't witness anything after that. In short, Inspector Matsumoto told me that the police had returned empty-handed again. To avoid causing public panic, the incident in Tsuburaya Town would be attributed to the Okuma Shinrikyo cult.

That's it, nothing more.

After Inspector Megure finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the car. Shinichi Kudo asked thoughtfully, "Have you found the source of the villa that Tooru Amuro went to?"

"It's registered under the name of an American living in Japan, but he doesn't actually live in Tokyo. The police speculate that, just like the teddy bear said, Amuro Tooru might really be connected to the United States, and his overseas affairs are probably with the CIA."

Police have contacted the US embassy for inquiries, but are unlikely to receive a helpful response.

When Megure mentions "police" here, he's only referring to the First Investigation Division; they were unexpectedly dragged into something beyond their jurisdiction.

"What about the other two helicopters? Can't they be tracked either?" Shinichi Kudo asked again.

“One of them was abandoned by them, presumably belonging to the brewery, while the other…” Inspector Megure sighed, “You should know that this airspace above Tokyo does not belong to Japan. Inspector Matsumoto told me that due to some special reasons, they could not continue to track it.”

Actually, that plane belonged to the Metropolitan Police Department, but it was under the Zero Division and had an unconventional paint scheme, so the First Investigation Division couldn't recognize it.

The Metropolitan Police Department certainly couldn't expose itself, but it also didn't want to reveal the existence of the Zero Group, so it had no choice but to let the Americans take the blame.

The effect of this was obvious. After hearing this, Shinichi Kudo was eighty or ninety percent convinced that Tooru Amuro was a CIA undercover agent.

But he knew what use such a thing was, so he quickly asked the question that concerned him most.

"Where are Kiyoko and the teddy bear?"

"Sorry, I couldn't find any of them."

Inspector Megure paused for a moment, seemingly trying to defend the police, and added, "The police used Interpol's experimental project again, but Kiyoko Yukimatsu knows how to disguise herself, and we've never even seen what she looks like, so we couldn't search for her at all."

"That experimental project is based on facial recognition?"

"It should be. It's said to be connected to all police surveillance systems in Japan and can pinpoint the location of every single person."

"That sounds pretty impressive."

Shinichi Kudo's tone was rather dismissive.

Megure chuckled awkwardly and didn't reply. Even though he was a policeman himself, he had to admit that the police's recent performance had been truly terrible.

A moment later, the vehicle slowly came to a stop. Shinichi Kudo glanced out the window and saw that it was a children's clothing store.

"Let's go, Kudo, let's go buy you some clothes," Inspector Megure said, turning around.

"I have clothes from when I was a child, so I don't need to buy new ones."

Although Shinichi Kudo accepted reality quickly, he still felt somewhat awkward.

Megure shook his head: "You shrunk because of the drug, and it might not be an isolated case. Go home and get your clothes from when you were a child. What if someone investigates later and you're exposed? Brother Kudo, I'm telling you seriously, after this lesson, you have to be more careful in your actions."

Shinichi Kudo, dejected, said, "I'm sorry, Inspector Megure, I shouldn't have chased after him. I... I just guessed that Tooru Amuro might pull a little trick, and to avoid the police losing track of him, and in fact..."

In fact, by the time Shinichi Kudo gave chase, the police had already lost track of him.

To give Inspector Megure some face, Shinichi Kudo didn't say it directly, but Megure certainly knew this too, and awkwardly adjusted his hat brim.

Sigh, the police.

Sigh, tax thieves.

"correct."

Shinichi Kudo suddenly noticed a blind spot and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Inspector Megure, you didn't report my situation?"

Logically speaking, shouldn't he be lying in the laboratory being studied by others right now? How could he be leisurely buying children's clothes like this?

Rejuvenation! Even a fool should know how tempting the secret is.

“I’ll report your situation, Brother Kudo. I’m afraid you won’t be free from now on, and I know that, of course.” Inspector Megure paused for a moment. “I’ll take you to the hospital for a check-up when I have time. If there’s anything wrong, I’ll report it.”