Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

With his immediate supervisor absent and the boss neglecting his duties, Chu Ming truly experienced a period of decadence.

"Arrive at Base 03 this afternoon. Mission ahead. — Gin"

Looking at the message on his phone, Chu Ming sighed deeply. His leisurely days were over; after all, the model worker was back.

After dawdling in bed, Chu Ming decided to go out for a hearty meal to reward himself for his recent hard work staying at home.

As Chu Ming walked along the road in Beika Town, he turned a corner and suddenly his vision blurred. Before he could react, he saw the coffee shop downstairs from the Mouri Detective Agency, and a familiar figure flashed by.

—It's Bourbon.

Why is Bourbon working here? Is it because he kept running into Conan and found out something?

Chu Ming retreated into the alley, looked around to make sure no one was there and there were no surveillance cameras, then used some points to switch to Matsutake Yusuke's face. He also changed into a black trench coat. No matter how much Bourbon found out, he couldn't use his own face to make a living.

"welcome."

Chu Ming pushed open the door and saw Amuro Tooru smiling broadly at him in the doorway, his face full of sunshine. Apart from Chu Ming's keen observation, who noticed Amuro Tooru's slightly constricted pupils, no one else could tell from Amuro Tooru's reaction that he recognized him. Tsk tsk, this guy's acting skills have improved quite a bit.

Chu Ming waved, signaling Amuro Tooru to bring the menu over.

When Amuro Tooru reached his side, Chu Ming used Amuro Tooru's body as cover and maliciously released his killing intent at him from a corner where no one else could see: "What's wrong, Bourbon? You look like you don't recognize me. Are you trying to distance yourself from the organization?"

After asking the question, Chu Ming failed to see the hint of surprise that flashed across Amuro Tooru's eyes and the subsequent surge of vigilance. Instead, he was startled by the constantly refreshed emotional value points in the system. What's wrong? Has Bourbon not seen him for too long? Why is his emotion fluctuating so much after just one sentence?

"Of course I haven't forgotten you, sir. Is there a mission you have for me this time?" Amuro Tooru lowered his voice.

It was almost ten o'clock, and there weren't many customers in the coffee shop. Amuro Tooru, who was full of doubts because the man had immediately called out his code name but he had never met this person before, chose to go along with the man's lead and answer.

"Are you asking me for a task? That explains why you suddenly chose to work here. Have you already finished all your previous tasks?" Chu Ming was quite envious of Amuro Tooru's efficiency. With so many tasks, he still managed to find time to work. He was too efficient.

Bourbon was stunned. Looking at this obviously unfamiliar face and the man's familiarity with him, he concluded that the person in front of him must have been disguised. Speaking of disguise, there was only one person in the organization who was proficient in it. Could it be—Vermouth?

Indeed, Vermouth seems to have always been very interested in Conan. Seeing him working downstairs at the Mouri Detective Agency, was she testing him? But logically, Vermouth, being a mystic, wouldn't just expose him right away. Is it because she cares too much?

What was the previous mission? Was it to find Sherry? But almost everyone in the organization took on that mission, so what does it matter if this one isn't completed? Gin himself hasn't found her yet.

Amuro Tooru started brainstorming on his own, analyzing Chu Ming's words from earlier.

Seeing Bourbon suddenly start spacing out, Chu Ming looked at Bourbon, who had been acting strangely all day, and tapped the table with his finger: "Why have you been spacing out all day?"

Amuro Tooru snapped out of his reverie, revealing the expression Bourbon often wore within the organization, and tentatively asked, "I was thinking about my previous mission. Was that mission a little too—"

Chu Ming was afraid that Amuro Tooru would complain about having too many tasks and want to return some to him, so he quickly interrupted him: "I'm here to eat, give me a dish from the restaurant's signature dishes."

Amuro Tooru subconsciously flashed a professional eight-tooth smile: "Okay, please wait a moment."

While eating Amuro Tooru's signature sandwich, Chu Ming marveled at Bourbon's culinary skills, his heart growing more and more eager to brainwash Amuro Tooru and keep him by his side.

She's both scholarly and martial, a woman who can cook and grace the living room—truly remarkable!

Chu Ming finished his meal and didn't linger. After paying the bill, he gave Amuro Tooru a meaningful look and left. The look itself didn't mean anything, but Amuro Tooru was prone to overthinking things. What he imagined was up to him.

As Chu Ming opened the door to go out, he ran into Conan coming downstairs. In that instant, Conan's eyes were fixed on Chu Ming.

Chu Ming originally wanted to tease Conan by using the pseudonym, but when he thought about having to do a mission with Gin in the afternoon, he gave up the idea. After all, Amuro Tooru was still watching from behind, and what if Conan threw some kind of tracking device or eavesdropping device? Wouldn't he be directly exposed to Gin in the afternoon?

Thinking of this, Chu Ming didn't stop and turned into the alley. Looking at the mini-map, he saw that Conan hadn't caught up, so he guessed that Amuro Tooru had stopped him.

Finding a secluded corner with no surveillance cameras or people around, Chu Ming removed his disguise, changed out of his clothes, and prepared to take a detour home first.

Just as Chu Ming reached the intersection of Shichōme, he saw a Porsche 356A parked on the side of the road. He turned his head to look at the license plate and, sure enough, it was Gin's usual license plate.

Tsk tsk, it's rare to see Gin have a change of heart and even know to come and pick him up for a mission.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Chu Ming opened the car door and jumped into the car.

Gin, who was talking to Vodka in the car, suddenly saw someone next to him and quickly pulled out a pistol, pointing it at Chu Ming. Vodka in the front seat also solemnly reached out from under the seat to get a gun.

Chu Ming stared blankly at the gun stuck in his forehead for a long time, thinking that Gin was still trying to settle scores with him because of what happened before.

He frowned, his face full of bitterness and resentment, and didn't even try to push Gin's gun: "Seriously, bro, are you that vengeful? I've already helped you complete your mission perfectly, why are you still arguing with me about such a small thing?! The BOSS is clearly watching the show too!!"

Gin's eyes sharpened. He had originally intended to fire directly, but seeing Chu Ming's obviously unguarded actions and the familiarity with the mention of the BOSS, he frowned slightly: "Who are you? Who sent you?"

? ? ? ? ?

Chu Ming looked back at Gin with a face full of surprise: "No way, brother, you only went to America for a week, but it feels like a century? Have you lost your memory? I—"

Chu Ming wasn't stupid either. By now, he had come to his senses. Amuro Tooru's unreasonable behavior, Gin's obvious lack of recognition, and even Vodka pointing a gun at him from the front row—if this were in his previous world, would Vodka dare to point a gun at him?

"Uh, bro, would you believe me if I said I'm actually a codename member of the organization... except I'm, uh—a member of Schrödinger (?ω?)."

Chapter 317 The Fifth Day of Death's Trip

Kogoro Mouri stood by the roadside, watching the trains that had once again declared a strike. He lit a cigarette and pondered whether he really was the plague that Inspector Megure had described.

What happened?! The car broke down again?! Wasn't this the car the rental company just delivered?!

So this must be the rental company's problem, right? Why send over a car with such defects? Does that rental company only have these kinds of substandard vehicles? I'm never going to this place again!! Unscrupulous business!!

Chu Ming, Conan, and Ran looked at Kogoro Mouri, who was radiating a low-pressure aura, and exchanged bewildered glances.

Chu Ming also found it unbelievable. He sweared to God that he had nothing to do with this. He neither took action nor prayed for the car to break down. After all, the next target was still some distance away...

But—with accidents happening so frequently, could Kogoro Mouri be thinking of going back?

Ran looked at Kogoro Mouri standing solemnly in front of the car and couldn't help but suggest, "How about... we go back? Dad, these past few days, every time your car breaks down, you encounter a murder case. Are you really not going to go to the temple to pray before coming out?"

Kogoro Mouri felt like he'd been branded a plague god again, but his fighting spirit only rose. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray in the car: "No, this is definitely a problem with the car, not me. Besides, isn't it normal for a detective to encounter murder cases? We encounter a few murder cases every day."

Chu Ming chimed in, "Yes, Xiao Lan, we need to be scientific. This is clearly an event that calls upon the detective."

Conan nodded repeatedly, "That's right, Brother Chu Ming is absolutely right."

Kogoro Mouri took out his phone, tapped a few buttons, and made several calls. After a while, he returned and said, "I had the rental company tow the car away. They agreed to refund the rental fee and compensate me for lost wages. But it looks like it's going to rain, so we can't just wait here. I just received a call from a client on the way here, inviting me to his house to ask him some questions. I just called him and told him that he would welcome us to visit. He's a very famous architect!"

The poor car rental company didn't make a penny, broke several cars, and has to pay a lot of money in compensation. Goodness, next time they'll probably blacklist Kogoro Mouri, that vehicle killer. It'll probably be impossible for Kogoro Mouri to borrow a car again.

"But Dad, is it really okay for us to go visit like this? And with so much luggage... won't it be too much—" Xiaolan said, a little embarrassed.

"Hey, it's okay. He's invited me several times before. I'll just say that I originally came here for sightseeing, but we changed our route to get here after accepting his request, and then the rental car broke down." Kogoro Mouri straightened his clothes, looking like he was the only one who was embarrassed as long as he wasn't.

"Which architect?" Chu Ming asked curiously. There was no village or shop in sight; what architect would live here?

Kogoro Mouri checked the direction and pointed to the forest on the left: "If we go through this forest, we'll reach the highway on the other side. He'll send someone to pick us up; it's the recently famous genius architect, Ryuichiro Kanazawa."

"Kanazawa Ryuichiro?" Chu Ming's eyes widened in surprise, and he couldn't control his emotions for once. Wasn't this the person on Gin's list?

Originally, because Kanazawa Ryuichiro's place was too remote, it would be too obvious if the customized route deviated from that direction, so Chu Ming simply avoided his place and planned to deal with him separately after the Death God Tour was over... This really is a case of "after the darkest hour comes the dawn," and his reputation as the "Lucky One" is truly well-deserved.

"Yes, there have been a lot of reports about him in the newspapers lately. The newspaper the day before yesterday said that he won an award in the Shanghai Museum of Modern Art International Design Competition. Did you see that report?"

Conan, on the other hand, wasn't particularly interested in these things, and Chu Ming didn't usually seem like the type to pay attention to such matters. Hearing this, he curiously tugged at Chu Ming's sleeve: "Brother Chu Ming, have you heard of this?"

Chu Ming nodded: "It is said that he is the most popular architect now and is very popular among the upper class because the buildings he designs are very gorgeous and not monotonous. For example, his Sunflower Mansion has an oval roof that rotates once every twelve hours. Although it is not very practical, this kind of fancy function is especially loved by the upper class."

A rotating roof... Conan wasn't interested at all, but he now understood why Chu Ming would pay so much attention to an architect... After all, Chu Ming seemed to have a particular fondness for those fancy things.

Xiaolan's eyes lit up too: "Wow, that's amazing! It really does turn like a sunflower chasing the sun, that sounds so interesting!"

Seeing that Xiaolan was interested, Chu Ming recalled the information he had seen from Gin and smiled as he explained to Xiaolan, "Xiaolan, do you remember the Water Crystal near Tokyo Bay? It's the unique building that puts the restaurant underwater. It was designed by this architect, Kanazawa. In Kanazawa's resume, there are probably a few other famous buildings, like the colorful underwater Dragon Palace and the Flowing Stone Garden in Izu."

The Five-Colored Water Palace was designed by Mr. Kanazawa for the famous tea master, Master Aono. From site selection to architectural design, Mr. Kanazawa completed the entire project himself, placing the master's tea room in the center of the water. Every autumn, depending on the sunlight, five different colors appear on the water, hence the name Five-Colored Water Palace.

The Water Flow Stone Garden was custom-designed by the president of Musugi Furniture. A waterfall was specially designed into the garden, and it's said that the garden is covered in white sand. At 8 AM and 4 PM, the waterfall's flow completely covers the garden, creating a soft white sand and gentle flowing water effect – a masterpiece by Mr. Kanazawa. Our planned tour route will pass by both places, so I can use the uncle's name to get a look inside!

Xiaolan's face lit up with anticipation: "Just hearing about them makes me think how beautiful these buildings are!"

Kogoro Mouri, who had been quietly leading the way, turned around upon hearing this, his face darkening: "What do you mean, 'using my name to go on a tour'?! Don't even think about it!"

Chu Ming sighed upon hearing this: "Alright, that's true. The title of 'Uncle Detective' isn't a magic bullet. I guess his reputation hasn't spread far in Izu yet. Let's just forget about it—"

"What do you mean 'forget it'?! I, Kogoro Mouri, will personally take you to visit him!! I'll show you whether the title of 'famous detective' is effective or not!!!" Kogoro Mouri, who could never resist being provoked, turned his head angrily and made a harsh statement.

Upon hearing this, Chu Ming revealed a smug smile, raised his eyebrows at Ran and Conan, and secretly gave himself a thumbs up.

That's so cool of me; I even came up with this way of doing tasks in any spare moment.

Chapter 318 Still the Fifth Day

Riding in the car sent by Kanazawa Ryuichiro, the group arrived smoothly at the entrance of the Sunflower Mansion, where they ran into two disciples who had come to celebrate with him.

Kanazawa Ryuichiro pointed proudly at Mouri Kogoro and said to his two disciples, "Don't be scared when you hear this, this is Mr. Mouri Kogoro!"

Seeing the surprised looks on their faces, Kogoro Mouri's vanity surged. He straightened his tie and cleared his throat: "Indeed, I am the famous detective Kogoro Mouri. Please take care of me."

Conan muttered under his breath, "Who would call themselves a famous detective? That's so embarrassing..."

The almost whispered voice went unheard by anyone else—except Chu Ming.

What do you mean it's gone? You yourself shouted in almost every episode—the only one who sees through the truth is the famous detective Conan, who looks like a child but has extraordinary wisdom... Tsk tsk, when it comes to boasting, you're the best at it.

After instructing the two students to properly entertain Conan and Ran and show them around the mansion, Kanazawa Ryuichiro took Chu Ming, who had been constantly by Mouri's side, as Mouri's apprentice and invited him and Mouri Kogoro into the study.

Kanazawa Ryuichiro placed a stack of photos that were clearly taken secretly on the table: "Mr. Mori, look at these photos. They were sent to the mansion anonymously before. I've been receiving these every week for the past three months. Someone must be secretly following me and trying to harm me. So I would like to ask Mr. Mori to help me find out who sent these photos to me."

Kogoro Mouri picked up the photos and examined them carefully. Indeed, Ryuichiro Kanazawa appeared in every single one of them: "Does Mr. Kanazawa have any suspects? Or any clues?"

After thinking for a while, Kanazawa Ryuichiro shook his head: "I have absolutely no clue."

Kogoro Mouri, his face now serious, stood up and walked to the window, staring at the group downstairs who were preparing barbecue ingredients with Conan and Ran that evening. He spoke meaningfully: "Think carefully. Based on my years of experience solving cases, there's a high probability that this stalker is one of your close friends or family members, for example—"

Chu Ming noticed that Jinze Liuyilang's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had thought of something. He then smiled and changed the subject: "I see that Lin Tian and Yusen have already set up the barbecue grill. Why don't we go down and have some barbecue first, and Mr. Mori can also have a couple of drinks, and then we can talk about this matter in detail?"

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri nodded, thinking that since his car had broken down, he could stay there for the night, and readily agreed.

Kanazawa Ryuichiro got up and led the two out, with Chu Ming following at the very back. Thinking of Kanazawa Ryuichiro's resume in the file, unlike those who had actively provoked the winery before, the reason why Kanazawa Ryuichiro was targeted by the organization was purely due to bad luck. Who told him to be so popular recently and block the path of the architect that the organization was training?