Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

She couldn't say anything more. She didn't dare to ask, afraid of hearing an answer that would make her uneasy. She even secretly resented herself for bringing things up with Chu Ming.

Chu Ming noticed her gaze lingering on his pocket. He reached in and rummaged around, finding the prop he had just used. He handed the small tool to Ai Haibara: "You mean this? What's wrong with this? You want it? Here, take it and play with it."

Upon seeing the portable grappling hook offered to her, Ai Haibara quickly withdrew her hand as if burned, muttering, "I've seen this mark before when I was in the organization..."

"A mark?" Chu Ming looked at the prop in his hand. "Oh, you mean this mark used by the R&D department? I did get this prop from the organization's base."

Ai Haibara clutched a leaf from a tree trunk, its dark green sap staining her fingertips: "The weapons in the R&D department are only available to codenamed members... Brother Chu Ming, do you... have a codename now? That's why I sensed the organization's aura on you again yesterday..."

Chu Ming glanced down at Ai Haibara, who looked like a frightened little hamster, and sighed silently. It must be because she'd been spending too much time with Gin lately and caught the organization's scent from him! Ai Haibara truly lived up to her reputation as an alcohol detector; her nose was far more effective than Gin's. She grabbed the tree trunk and sat down, looking up at the sky.

“I told you before that I have a friend in the organization—I can barely call him a friend. We got along quite well when we were both peripheral members, so he took good care of me after I became a codename member. Recently, the organization was short of people, and he recommended me as one of the candidates for codename members. This equipment is what he gave me.”

“Competing for the codename member…” Ai Haibara’s breath hitched, and she nervously gripped Chu Ming’s clothes: “If you lose the competition, they will kill you.”

Chu Ming patted her head reassuringly: "I've been in the organization for so long and done so many missions, there won't be any problems. Okay, don't worry about the rest, we should go down now, otherwise Conan will get curious again."

That's enough. Saying any more would reveal my true intentions.

Ai Haibara wanted to ask something more, but Chu Ming didn't give her a chance to ask. Instead, he picked her up and jumped down from the tree. He then took Professor Agasa to the hospital first, while Ai Haibara stayed to take care of him. Chu Ming then took Conan to the Mouri Detective Agency.

Ai Haibara, lost in thought, stared at Chu Ming's departing figure, nervously clutching the blanket.

She had thought about it before. With Chu Ming's skills and intelligence, the organization would eventually notice this gem. The fact that Gin sent Chu Ming to take her to see her sister showed that. After all, it was impossible for someone who wasn't trusted to be sent by Gin to watch over her.

She could only watch helplessly as Chu Ming became increasingly entangled in the organization, unable to do anything, and felt somewhat bewildered. Moreover, once peripheral members were promoted, they were usually assigned to Gin's team, and Gin wasn't someone to be trifled with. He was like a cold, cautious, suspicious, petty, and extremely ruthless lone wolf; the slightest flaw would be enough to tear you apart and devour you. What if Chu Ming revealed anything amiss…

Ai Haibara's face remained unchanged, but her mind was in turmoil. She should have been afraid when Chu Ming wanted to compete for the code name, but she had gotten along so well with him before and had been saved by him so many times that she couldn't be wary of him at all.

*

Kogoro Mouri remained seated at the table, listening to the horse race. Ran mentioned that their school was on holiday for the next few days. Although she didn't know why Japanese schools had so many holidays, Chu Ming still enthusiastically encouraged Kogoro Mouri to go out with him for a stroll and relax.

Kogoro Mouri, who hadn't received any requests lately, readily accepted Chu Ming's invitation. Chu Ming immediately seized the opportunity and offered to hitch a ride with Kogoro Mouri the next morning.

After all, when he arrives at the location where he has a mission while traveling, he has to do things that cause Kogoro Mouri's car to break down, get a flat tire, stall, or stall, etc. He can't bring himself to do it with his own car.

After returning home, Chu Ming laid out a series of tasks, dividing them into three categories: one category consisted of relatively simple but slightly tedious tasks; another category consisted of tasks that did not involve the organization's core and were located in remote and troublesome areas; and the third category consisted of tasks that either involved the organization's core and could not be delegated, or tasks that could be completed easily.

The first simple task was given to Shimabukuro Kimie. After Chu Ming brainwashed her, although she was highly loyal and intelligent, her lack of physical skills was a fatal flaw. So Chu Ming abused his power to put her in the organization's training camp and let the instructors there train her first. Now it was time to test the results. Although these tasks were somewhat tedious, they should not be a big problem for her.

The second one, without a doubt, was for Bourbon. Chu Ming realized he hadn't seen Bourbon in a long time. After such a long absence, he decided to give Bourbon a small gift first. He believed this "King of Hired Managers" would be very happy with so many tasks.

The third one was his. Chu Ming opened the map and planned out the tasks in various places, forming a death tour route around Tokyo to ensure that every target would be visited by death. Chu Ming could already imagine the wonderful scene of himself being surrounded by the magnetic field.

Besides the dozen or so targets marked on the Grim Reaper's map, there were also some secret missions involving the organization that Gin originally needed to complete. For example, Gin was supposed to go to Itakura Takumi's place in half a month to get some software... Chu Ming recalled how Conan, thanks to the favor of the world's will, managed to evade Gin's locker search in the original work, and couldn't help but smile. This time, he would be the one to retrieve the software, which would definitely give Conan an unforgettable memory.

Chapter 312 The First Day of Death's Trip

As the sun set and the car was already halfway there, before Chu Ming could even go to the mall to buy a mini robot to puncture the tires, Kogoro Mouri's car suddenly stalled and stopped after a slight tremor.

Kogoro Mouri got out of the car and fiddled with it for a while, then sighed helplessly: "No, the car is broken. It has to be taken to a repair shop. When I get back to Tokyo, I'm going to give that rental shop guy a bad review. How could they rent me such an obviously faulty car! How awful!!"

"But Dad didn't check the car properly before he left!"

Xiaolan stood by the railing of the mountain road, looking at the sea in the distance. The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire sea orange-yellow. She couldn't help but open her arms, feeling the wind blowing from the sea: "The scenery here is so beautiful! If the car hadn't broken down, we wouldn't have seen such a beautiful view!"

Chu Ming looked at the first target location he had marked on the system map, which was nearby, and nodded in satisfaction, echoing Xiao Lan's statement: "Yes, it seems that Uncle's car broke down at just the right time."

Not far away, his first target, Kensuke Tachibana, was walking towards them carrying fishing gear. He frowned slightly and said, "What are you doing here? This is the entrance to my villa, parking isn't allowed here. Or are you here to see me?"

Kensuke Tachibana, a notorious ruthless lawyer, can always defend his clients from all sorts of tricky angles as long as he has money. He will even create evidence if there is none. This time, he was targeted by the organization because he took advantage of their recruitment of him to get them to remove obstacles for him, but then he turned his back on them.

Because he wasn't a particularly important talent, the organization only sent intelligence agents to recruit him. However, Kensuke Tachibana thought the organization was just an ordinary yakuza organization. After using the organization's power to remove an obstacle for him, Tachibana changed his tune and acted as if using the organization's power was a sign of respect. Rum immediately put him on the kill list.

This mission is not complicated at all. Look at the current setup: the Grim Reaper family + a car breakdown + a beach + a villa + a lawyer + a lawyer's secretary and a whole host of other people.

If nothing unexpected happens, this lawyer is definitely going to have an accident.

Is there anything more enjoyable in the world than earning extra money while completing tasks?

At this time, Kensuke Tachibana was already inviting the Grim Reaper family to stay at his villa temporarily, and at the same time, he asked his secretary to call a repair shop to help them fix their car.

A true warrior dares to enthusiastically invite death home and even let him stay for one night.

During dinner, Chu Ming looked at Tachibana Kensuke's secretary, Sakuraba Yuichi, the villa's butler, Kameda Yaeko, Tachibana Kensuke's wife, Ayumi, and Sugimura Noriko, the law firm's accountant who came to deliver a threatening letter halfway through the meal, and began to make wild guesses about who the murderer might be.

According to the rule that whenever a handsome man appears, he is either the murderer or the victim, the murderer this time is very likely to be the secretary; however, when they came in, they saw a dog, and Ran even interacted with it for a while. It is said that the dog was rescued by the butler. Dogs are usually key clues in Conan, which means that the murderer is very likely to be the villa's butler.

Hmm, it seems the culprit this time is probably one of these two.

To find out exactly who isn't the murderer, we'll have to see who Kogoro Mouri eliminates when he performs the process of elimination.

The next day, even though he was staying at a guesthouse, Chu Ming still slept in until noon to have lunch.

Looking at Chu Ming, whose hair was sticking up from sleeping, Conan ate his lunch while looking at Chu Ming with a sly expression: "Brother Chu Ming, don't you usually get up to exercise at five or six o'clock every morning? Why are you up so late today?"

Seeing Conan's enthusiasm for digging up his past, Chu Ming remained unfazed: "Conan, you're still young. Don't you know that too much of a good thing can be bad?"

"Tch, it's clearly Chu Ming who's sleeping in."

Chu Ming smiled and threatened Conan, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Yeah, Conan, didn't you say you wanted to sleep in? I heard you stayed in your Ran-neechan's bed this morning and didn't want to get up?"

Speechless at Chu Ming's attempt to use his identity to block him again, Conan chose to obediently lower his head, angrily taking a big bite of cake, getting cream all over his nose.

Ran watched the two bickering, resting her chin on her hand. Seeing Conan get the short end of the stick, she suppressed a laugh, took out a handkerchief, pinched Conan's chin to make him turn his head, and carefully wiped the cream off his nose. She said with a smile, "Conan, slow down. Brother Chuming won't take it from you. I used to think you were like a little adult, but only occasionally in front of Brother Chuming do you really act like a child."

Conan's face instantly turned bright red as Ran suddenly approached, like a red-hot teapot, practically steaming. He said softly, "Ran-neechan, I... I can do it myself..."

"You're still young, you don't need to do it yourself, I'll do it!" Chu Ming retaliated maliciously, taking the handkerchief from Ran's hand, lifting Conan's chin, and rubbing his face vigorously back and forth: "Ran, you're too gentle, Conan is a little uncomfortable. You don't need to be so meticulous with little boys, just rub them a little harder."

Kogoro Mouri nodded in deep agreement: "Yes! Ran, you don't need to be so gentle with the boy!"

"What do you mean, 'right'?!" Conan declared that he had a million swear words he absolutely had to say.

He struggled to break free from Chu Ming's clutches, his face already slightly red from Chu Ming's rubbing: "Brother Chu Ming, are you trying to murder me?! I only got a little cream on my face, it's not like you put makeup on me!!!"

That's too much. All I did was tease him for getting up late. Is it really necessary to treat him like this?

Because Xiaolan volunteered to take the dog for a walk during dinner, the four of them took John out after dinner.

Standing on the shore, Chu Ming saw the villa's butler wearing a red hat driving a speedboat to the other side. He took out his camera and carefully took several pictures of the beautiful scenery, and even called Conan and the others to take a group photo together.

Although the butler is just an insignificant dot in the photo, by placing it on a computer and using special techniques, the photo can be continuously magnified. This way, when he touches the magnetic field, he can directly identify the culprit, saving Conan the time of searching for clues and evidence to find the murderer.

Although it might dampen Conan's desire to explore, they still had more than a dozen film sets to rush to afterward. Having witnessed various crime methods over the past few days, and finally being able to meet the organization he had been longing for, Chu Ming felt that he was being incredibly kind to Conan.

—Emmm, at least it's better than bourbon.

Chapter 313 The Second Day of Death's Trip

When Kensuke Tachibana's body was discovered, Chu Ming was sitting on the balcony of his villa having afternoon tea.

I must say, the butler's skills are superb. The cakes he makes are not too sweet or greasy, and they are soft, fluffy, and delicious. Paired with warm milk tea and enjoying the beautiful afternoon scenery by the sea, it's simply a heavenly experience.

Having already spent a day here, Chu Ming had already planned to overturn the table tonight. Fortunately, the car was now repaired, and after a good night's sleep, he could head to the next location tomorrow.

By the time Kensuke Tachibana's body was recovered and the police completed their investigation, it was already evening.

It was getting late, and with a lack of clues, and considering that Attorney Tachibana had been pulled from the sea, Conan had no way to obtain information under these circumstances and could only return home.

Chu Ming sat in his chair looking at the photos taken today, laying the groundwork for his next move. He planned to start his performance as soon as the police arrived that evening.

Outside the door, John suddenly shouted loudly. Conan went to open the door and there stood Inoki, the police officer from earlier that day, with his colleagues. They said they had come to enjoy Kogoro Mouri's brilliant deduction show.

According to their rumors, Kogoro Mouri would listen to Yoko Okino's singing, dance while deducing the truth, and people called him "Dancing Kogoro"...

Chu Ming suppressed his urge to complain. The rumors were getting more and more outrageous. After the unconscious Kogoro, the uncle had a new nickname - Dancing Kogoro.

Watching Officer Baba speak of the most outrageous rumors with the most serious face, Xiaolan didn't know how to react, so she could only let them go in first.

"The police have determined that sleeping pills were found in Attorney Tachibana's system, and she likely drowned after taking sleeping pills. We wonder how Attorney Tachibana's mental health has been recently? Has she ever had suicidal thoughts?"

Xiaolan quickly added, "No way! We chatted for a while at the door this morning when Attorney Ju went fishing. He said he was going to catch a big fish and told us to wait for a big meal! So Attorney Ju would never commit suicide!"

Listening to Xiao Lan's decisive deduction, Chu Ming switched hands and rested his chin on his hand. Why not? What if he didn't catch any fish, felt embarrassed, and then committed suicide out of grief, leaving everyone else to eat the best fish instead of the best fish... Tsk, thinking about it this way, he really is a selfless good man who cuts his own flesh to feed the eagle.

At this point, Conan was already using the police's presence to his advantage, pointing out that Attorney Tachibana had received several threatening letters.

At the request of the police, Attorney Tachibana's secretary went to the study and handed over the threatening letter to the police.

"If you don't want to be disqualified from practicing law, have 300 million ready. —TK"

Chu Ming looked at the signature, TK...top killer? Got it, it's Gin ←_←.

***

As night deepened, the group's discussion yielded no conclusion. Just as Chu Ming took out the photos, ready to make his point, a police officer came to the door and handed a hat to Officer Inoki, indicating that it was the latest piece of evidence they had found.

After discussion among several employees of the law firm, it was discovered that the hat belonged to one of Attorney Tachibana's defense lawyers, named Tatsuya Kumada, whose initials were KT.

Chu Ming silently put away the photo in his hand. As a scapegoat, this Kumada Tatsuya was 100% eliminated. Wasn't this a magnet delivered right to his doorstep? No rush to overturn the table, let's finish our supper first.

That evening, the police planned to arrest Tatsuya Kumada as the main suspect. Chu Ming and Conan squeezed into the police car under Kogoro Mouri's speechless gaze.

Seeing that Chu Ming and Conan were about to go over, Ran quickly followed them into the car.

"This is the job of the police and detectives. What are you kids doing following us?"

Chu Ming looked completely innocent: "Maybe there's something we can help with. Don't worry about us, Uncle. We're not afraid of hardship. Staying up all night is nothing for us young people!"

"I'm not afraid either, I can stay up all night!" Kogoro Mouri, whose focus had been diverted by Chu Ming, inexplicably developed a strange competitive spirit.

But by the time they arrived, Tatsuya Kumada had already hanged himself, and the trail went cold.

The police were preparing to close the case with the conclusion that Kumada committed murder and then committed suicide out of guilt, but Conan felt something was off and went straight out to knock on his neighbor's door to look for clues.

Inside the room, Chu Ming took out his phone, opened the photo album, and turned to the police, saying, "I think this gentleman might not be the murderer. When Detective Maoli and I were taking pictures at the beach, there were a few photos that showed the murderer."