Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Just as Ran squatted down to pick up the bowl, Conan saw her stumble slightly. He went over and touched Ran's forehead, and sure enough, it was a little hot.

Seeing that the director was still trying to trick Ran into acting, Conan quickly squeezed in between them and said, "I want curry rice!"

After learning that the restaurant was a Chinese restaurant and didn't serve curry rice, Conan threw a tantrum, demanding that Ran take him back. In order to get Ran to leave as soon as possible to go to the hospital, Conan completely acted like a child, crying and making a scene.

However, Xiaolan simply took it as childish talk and didn't take it to heart. Instead, she picked up a small steamed bun from the table and gave it to him to eat.

Conan glared at the steamed bun in front of him, his cheeks puffed out in anger. This woman was really too much; she didn't understand his good intentions at all.

However, since Xiaolan personally picked it up for him, he decided to eat it.

So Conan turned the table to get the vinegar. Because he was too short, he could only support himself on the table with one hand and reach forward with the other to turn the turntable. However, just as he turned the table and before he could get the vinegar, the turntable spun back to its original position.

Conan paused for a moment, then resignedly continued spinning the wheel. However, just as it reached its position, before he could even reach out, the wheel was spun away again.

Conan's competitive spirit resurfaced, and he spun the wheel again. However, just as Isokai Kōzō was about to spin it again to carry out his murder method, Chu Ming slammed down on the table, took the vinegar, and handed it to Conan, his meaningful gaze sweeping over Isokai Kōzō.

So when Conan spun the turntable again to get the chili oil, Isokai Hizo didn't move and waited until Conan finished before spinning the table.

At this moment, Director Kawabata was talking to Ran about her favorite star. Remembering that Ran seemed to be expressing her liking for Sharon, he decisively turned on the system's camera function.

Sure enough, Xiaolan said with a look of longing that her two favorite celebrities were her mother's friend Yukiko Kudo and Sharon Binyard, whom she had met in the United States before, and praised them to the skies.

"I see. I didn't expect you to like—uh..." Kawabata Shiro said, but suddenly stood up with a cold sweat on his face, clutching his neck tightly, his face full of pain, and collapsed into the chair with a thud.

Kogoro Mouri immediately stood up, confirmed that Shiro Kawabata was no longer breathing, immediately called the police, and ordered the scene to be secured.

Soon, a police officer who looked very much like Officer Yokomizo arrived at the scene with a team. After examining the scene and confirming that the deceased had died from potassium cyanide, he couldn't help but complain: "What's going on lately? It's either potassium cyanide, arsenic, or caustic soda. These poisons are strictly controlled. Where are these murderers getting these poisons from? What did the victim eat before he died?"

"We ate roast duck." Chu Ming, standing to the side, looked up and told Yokomizo Shigeo.

"Then who is sitting next to him?" Yokomizo Shigego asked.

Chu Ming did not continue to answer his question, but instead looked at Isoue Kaizo on the other side of the table: "Mr. Isoue, do you want to turn yourself in?"

???

Yokomizo Shigego looked on in astonishment: "You know who the murderer is? Oh!! I know, aren't you Mr. Chu Ming?"

Chu Ming blinked. Had he become that famous already?

Kogoro Mouri stared at Shigeo Yokomizo for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You're Inspector Yokomizo??? Did you mess up at work and get your head shaved, and now you're embarrassed to face your old friends like us, so you're pretending not to know us? Hahaha, as friends, we certainly won't laugh at you, hahahahahaha—"

Yokomizo Shigego gritted his teeth: "You must be the sleeping Kogoro my brother mentioned. My brother is Yokomizo Sango, a police officer under Shizuoka Prefecture. My name is Yokomizo Shigego, and I belong to Kanagawa Prefecture."

Chu Ming asked curiously, "What did your brother tell you?"

"He said he used to greatly admire Detective Mori because Detective Mori helped him solve many cases. In particular, Detective Mori was accompanied by a baby-faced boy who was sharp-tongued, observant, and eloquent. Every word he uttered was insightful and penetrating. He could often make criminals realize their mistakes with just words, either revealing their true colors or kneeling down to repent. Moreover, he was almost always right on the first try and never wrongly convicted a murderer. Before many people had even figured out the clues, his strong intuition would allow him to choose the murderer and then use words to make the murderer confess..."

Yokomizo Shigego said a long string of things, except for the first sentence which mentioned Kogoro Mouri. The rest of the sentences were all praising Chu Ming, making Chu Ming seem unparalleled in the world, which successfully made Kogoro Mouri's face turn black.

That's too much! I'm never helping that coral-headed guy solve cases again!

Chapter 284 Sister, You Have a Little Fan

Feeling pleased with the praise, Chu Ming turned to Isoue Kaizo with a broad smile: "Well, Mr. Isoue, have you made up your mind now?"

Yokomizo Shigeo also stared intently, eager to witness the style of the "king of trash talk" his brother had described.

Isokai's full beard perfectly concealed his expression: "What have you decided? I'm so far away from Mr. Kawabata, how exactly am I going to poison him?"

Chu Ming picked up the towel on his table and gently unfolded it: "Of course, I'll use this. Why are there traces of Mr. Kawabata wiping his pants on your towel? Did you—swap his towel with your own?"

Isokai was surprised that Chu Ming had pinpointed the problem so directly. Indeed, as Officer Yokomizo said, this boy was indeed observant and had sharp eyes.

"But what if someone is trying to frame me? It was so chaotic just now, what if someone took advantage of the chaos to put this towel here with me?" Isokai Hizo said calmly, as if he had already thought of his explanation.

Seeing that he wouldn't budge, Chu Ming chuckled softly: "Actually, what I like most are people like you who won't admit defeat until they see the coffin. After so many cases, I've learned that many criminals like to dispose of murder weapons or evidence when no one is paying attention at the scene, I don't know if it's for the thrill. Because I've experienced so much, every time a murder occurs and the scene starts to get chaotic, I take pictures of everything, just for you murderers who like to ask me for evidence."

Chu Ming opened his phone and played a video. When Mr. Kawabata collapsed, many people stood up and walked in his direction. They didn't leave until Kogoro Mouri signaled them to disperse. Among these people, Chu Ming pointed to the person in the video who was exchanging a towel with the one in front of Kawabata Shiro. It turned out to be Iso Haizo.

"Mr. Isoue, it was so chaotic just now, was someone controlling your limbs to exchange towels?" Chu Ming teased him.

Isokai remained silent, knowing he had lost. He extended his hands, allowing Inspector Yokomizo to handcuff him. As they walked out, he stopped, his gaze softening with guilt as he looked at Conan: "The person I wanted to kill was Kawabata Shiro. If it weren't for—"

Chu Ming interrupted him directly: "Get to the point, I don't have time to listen to your rambling."

"..." Interrupted by Chu Ming, Isokai Shizou could only obediently continue, "I smeared the poison on the bottom of the turntable. As long as you turn the turntable, your fingers will get poisoned. Remember to wash your little brother's hands later, don't let him put things directly into his mouth..."

Chu Ming nodded, signaling Conan to quickly wash his hands. At this moment, Ran was already somewhat dazed and was swaying unsteadily.

When Xiaolan was taken to the hospital, she had already lost consciousness, and her usually bright eyes were tightly closed.

Conan stayed by Ran's side with concern, occasionally checking Ran's forehead temperature to see if her fever had subsided.

Xiaolan had her eyes closed, but she kept muttering something.

Chu Ming strained his ears to listen carefully, and could barely make out what she was saying: Killing someone may require a motive, but saving someone does not require a reason.

This must be what Shinichi Kudo said to the highway killer played by Vermouth when he rescued him in America.

It was because of that incident that Vermouth, who always felt that the angels had never smiled at her, was deeply moved. She regarded Ran as the angel who would save her and also cherished and protected Shinichi Kudo, the son of her old friend.

The doctor put Ran on an IV drip and muttered to Kogoro Mouri, "Your daughter caught a cold because she was too tired and caught a chill. Don't let her get so tired next time."

Kogoro Mouri nodded repeatedly. Chu Ming also felt that Ran was too tired. Recently, she had to be busy with her studies and exams, as well as club activities, taking care of the family's food and drink, and occasionally picking up her drunk father from school. Now there was also a little kid to take care of, so of course she would be very tired.

Looking at it this way, Xiaolan is so pitiful...

After the IV drip finished, Ran slowly woke up. When she opened her eyes, Conan was pressing his forehead against hers to take her temperature.

"Ran's fever has gone down." Conan stood up straight, his eyes full of excitement.

"Ah, you're finally awake, Ran. The doctor said you were just too tired. Next time, don't let your studies and club activities keep you so busy." Then, Kogoro Mouri casually asked, "By the way, when you were unconscious, you kept muttering something about saving people without thinking too much..."

Xiaolan sat up abruptly, her face flushed: "No, Dad, please stop talking. That's what I've always wanted to say—"

Before she could finish speaking, she stopped abruptly, her face turning bright red, just like Conan, who had suddenly shrunk to the edge of the bed with only half his face showing. He was practically steaming.

She stiffly lay back down on the bed, pulling the covers up: "This is my motto, Dad, please don't say it again!"

Seeing the two clearly blushing, Chu Ming smiled and said goodbye, then went home first.

He sent Vermouth a video he had taken of Xiaolan that day: "Look, sister, you have a little fan~"

Vermouth clicked on the video in surprise and saw the girl she had regarded as a ray of light and an angel smiling brightly, her eyes sparkling with longing: "...My favorite actress is Sharon Vineyard. She is truly amazing. Not only is her acting superb, but she is also very kind. I was fortunate enough to meet her once, and she..."

After watching the video, Vermouth smiled gently. She immediately saved the video, her fingers unconsciously touching the girl's cheek in the video. She watched the video again and again, listening to the girl's praise over and over.

This is what her angels said about her.

After a long while, Vermouth finally calmed down from her excitement and suddenly started to have wild thoughts. Why did Granbury send her this video? Did he discover something that would provoke her into giving herself away?

After much deliberation, she sent a message: "Isn't this the detective's daughter? What, you want to hurt her?"

What if Granbury really wants to do something? How can I protect my godson and my angel's lives?

Chapter 285 Substitute Literature

Seeing that Vermouth had misunderstood him, Chu Ming immediately called Vermouth and began to cry and complain.

"Sister, what kind of person do you think I am? I'm just happy that you have gained a new little fan, that's why I'm sharing my joy with you."

"..." Vermouth was speechless. What kind of person did he think of? What kind of person could she possibly think of Granbury? Wasn't Granbury always trying to kill this person or that person, and did he have some strange "good guy" filter over her?

"Stop beating around the bush, just tell me straight, have you figured something out?" Vermouth rubbed her temples, her head aching. She suspected that Chu Ming already knew about her special feelings for Xiao Lan, which was why he had been intentionally or unintentionally mentioning Xiao Lan in front of her lately, trying to find a flaw in her.

Hearing Vermouth's tone, Chu Ming knew she had misunderstood, but he didn't try to clarify. Instead, he brought up the matter.

"I heard Ran say that back in the day, she and Shinichi Kudo saved a highway killer from falling off an unfinished building in America. Sister, I remember Vodka telling me that you pretended to be the highway killer as bait to ambush and capture Shuichi Akai, right? So the person they saved back then was you? And it's because of this life-saving grace that you've always been intentionally or unintentionally protecting Ran, right?"

Vermouth remained silent, and Chu Ming continued, "But I don't quite understand. I can understand you protecting Xiaolan, but I feel like you also like that little kid next to her... Why?"

Vermouth unconsciously crumpled the cigarette on the table: "What are you trying to say? Just say it."

Chu Ming's voice suddenly turned serious: "So, sister actually likes children? Is it because you're too lonely? Should I have someone find a child for you to raise? How old do you want? How about a first grader?"

Vermouth was stunned by Chu Ming's thought process, then laughed and cried at the same time: "What would I need a child for?"

"So—my sister doesn't actually like children, she just simply likes Conan? Why? It was Ran and Shinichi who saved you back then, could it be—"

Vermouth's heart skipped a beat. Was Granburg trying to trick her into revealing information?

She quickly interrupted Chu Ming: "Sweetheart, that girl saved my life back then. Without harming the organization's interests, could you help me protect her a little? Consider it a favor I owe you, okay?"

Chu Ming chuckled softly on the other end of the phone: "Since you've said so, of course you can. But you also have to tell me honestly, what are your reasons for treating that boy differently?"

Vermouth hesitated for a moment, then finally smiled and said, "Sweetheart, I'd like to invite you for a late-night snack. Would you do me the honor?"

Chu Ming readily agreed. Since it was getting late, he didn't bother with his disguise and drove directly to the coffee shop Vermouth had mentioned.

As soon as he entered, he saw Vermouth sitting inside, seemingly waiting for him. Vermouth leaned against the table and waved to him with a charming smile.

"Sister, you come out like this without even putting on makeup or disguising yourself. What if the paparazzi take pictures of famous actress Chris Vineyard meeting a young man late at night? That doesn't seem very appropriate," Chu Ming said, stepping forward and teasing her.

Vermouth rested her chin on the table, her smile undiminished, and winked at Chu Ming: "What, sweetheart, don't you want to be in the newspaper with me?"

"I'd rather hear gossip than be in the newspaper. Besides, I don't even have a girlfriend yet. What if my future girlfriend misunderstands?" Chu Ming remained unmoved.

"Honestly, they've all been corrupted by that cold-hearted Gin. Even Sweetheart isn't as cute anymore~" Vermouth sighed softly, feigning sadness.

Chu Ming took a small sip of the coffee the waiter brought him, pondered for a moment, and then asked a soul-searching question: "Sister, are you resenting Gin for killing your savior?"

Vermouth paused for a moment, then smiled sweetly: "Sweetheart, you're overthinking it, I—"

Chu Ming lowered his head and stroked the rim of the cup, secretly preparing himself. His entire demeanor suddenly darkened and somber, and he interrupted her directly: "Sister, if you betray the organization, I will kill you with my own hands."

Her voice was soft, yet it struck Vermouth's heart with a heavy blow. She curled her lips into a smile: "Don't worry, sweetheart. I've been in the organization for decades longer than you; I don't need you reminding me. I'm not afraid you'll know that I do have some special feelings for Ran, and besides, she's a simple girl who won't bother the organization at all. If you're willing to help me protect Ran a little, then in a few days on your birthday, I'll give you an unforgettable gift, how about that?"