Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

He's got a new stash of photos he promised to share with the boss: Gin's shocked reaction when he mistakes Sonoko for someone else, a vodka-themed Nezha, and even a snake-spirit version of Shuichi Akai, etc. He hasn't had a chance to show them to the boss yet!

Chapter 368 Gin is truly a man who has done all sorts of bad things.

In the end, Chu Ming failed to stand guard at the BOSS's door as he had hoped, and was instead dragged away by Gin.

With no other option, Chu Ming could only use the BOSS's access card to explore the entire underground base and get a general understanding of its structure and operation.

In addition, although he couldn't understand the technical terms at all, Chu Ming still managed to skim through the experimental records.

Underground bases are different from those on the surface. There are only three underground bases in all of Japan, and the rest are built in the United States.

The three underground bases in Japan focus on human experimentation, pharmaceuticals, and computer technology, which coincides with Chu Ming's conjecture.

Having a general understanding of the BOSS's plans, Chu Ming quietly flicked his sleeve to cover the access card the BOSS had given him, then gestured to Gin beside him that he wanted to go back.

As for the access card, the boss gave it to him without saying he had to return it, so he can just take it with him.

This will make it easier for him to visit the BOSS next time.

It's definitely not that he wanted to keep such a good thing to himself.

——(～￣▽￣)～——

Chu Ming had only taken a nap in the passenger seat when Gin drove him directly to the intersection of Beika Town. The Kudo residence was right next to him. Chu Ming was woken up by Gin and when he saw where the car was parked, all his drowsiness was jolted away.

What happened? Why was it delivered directly here?

What if Conan or Ai Haibara sees him?! How is he supposed to explain getting out of Gin's car?!

Chu Ming started rummaging around under the seat, but after a while he found nothing. He turned around with an indignant look on his face: "Qin, cough, big brother, how could you throw away the disguise materials I left in your car?!"

Gin paused on the steering wheel, turned to look at Chu Ming's angry expression, and scoffed, "Are you sure you left it in this car?"

Uh... I don't think so.

It was blown up on Gin's old car; the new car hadn't been put on it yet, nor had there been any chance to put it there.

What to do? He can't take it from the system inventory in front of Gin, nor can he directly use points to change his face. Going out directly would be too risky and expose him.

"Why aren't you leaving?" Gin asked, puzzled when he realized the person was still there after waiting for a while.

"Uh... Brother, are you going back to the safe house? Why don't you take me with you?" Chu Ming snapped his seatbelt back on, looking at Gin with hopeful eyes.

He can't exactly say he's afraid of being discovered, since Gin doesn't know that Conan and Ai Haibara have both met him before.

Gin ignored him, thinking he was acting crazy again. "I've already brought you to your doorstep, why are you coming back to the safe house with me?"

He leaned out to open the door, unbuckled Chu Ming's seatbelt, kicked him out, then closed the door, drove off, and left in one swift motion.

Fortunately, there was no one on the street at that moment. Chu Ming, whose face was covered in exhaust fumes, got up, turned up his collar to cover half of his face, and then quickened his pace to run home.

Damn it, he kicked him again! But he had just been promoted to the organization's heir and was in a good mood, so he decided not to bother with the menopausal drunkard for the time being!

Unfortunately, as he passed by Professor Agasa's house, Chu Ming saw Ai Haibara standing at the door, her face pale and her body trembling slightly, silently watching him.

?

isn't it?

Could Ai Haibara have actually seen this?

He didn't seem to have this bad luck before?

Chu Ming acted as if nothing had happened: "What's wrong, Xiao Ai? Why are you standing at the door?"

"Brother Chu Ming, what you said before about competing for the codename, has it been successful?" Ai Haibara's tone was ambiguous, and her hand on the door frame unconsciously tightened.

God knows how scared she was when she saw Gin's car parked at the intersection; her mind was racing with all sorts of wild thoughts.

Why is Gin here? Did he discover her whereabouts? Did he find out she shrunk? Or did he discover something suspicious about Shinichi Kudo's death?

Just as her thoughts were wandering off somewhere, she saw the passenger door open and a very familiar figure tumble out of the car.

It's Brother Chu Ming!

Ai Haibara watched him fall without saying a word. After Gin's car drove away, she got up, casually dusted herself off, and left.

At that moment, Ai Haibara didn't even know what emotions were welling up inside her.

Chu Ming saved her many, many times. If it weren't for him, there might never have been a person named Ai Haibara. She would have died long ago as Shiho Miyano.

Even after she became Ai Haibara, Chu Ming continued to protect her and exposed her to a life she had never experienced before.

However, when she heard that the organization wanted Chu Ming to compete for the code name member, she was always worried. She kept this to herself and didn't tell anyone.

Ultimately, only she and Chu Ming were people who had been struggling in the mud; the others were innocent and couldn't understand this feeling of being powerless.

Ever since Chu Ming saved her, in her heart, Chu Ming had always been an image of someone who was capable and protective, like an older brother. But today, seeing him being kicked off the car in such a disheveled state, she realized that she finally understood the specific meaning of what Chu Ming had said before, that he was barely getting by in the organization.

She was the organization's genius researcher. Although Gin usually spoke coldly to her and monitored her constantly, leaving her with no freedom, she had never experienced such dismissive treatment.

As she grew fearful, her hatred for Gin deepened.

Gin wouldn't possibly be carrying an outsider; it's only possible that Chu Ming has already successfully won the codename.

But what she didn't expect was that Gin, whom she had initially thought was just vengeful, cautious, suspicious, and cold, would treat a codename member so maliciously...

However, she wouldn't be surprised if a man as wicked as Gin did something so bad.

Watching Gin's car drive away, Chu Ming covered his face and tried to leave. She mustered her courage and walked with her slightly weak legs to the door to block Chu Ming.

Fortunately, the PhD student went out to see friends today, otherwise I don't know how I would have been able to hide my current state from him.

Chu Ming was unaware of Ai Haibara's inner thoughts. Seeing her pale face, he assumed she was scared because the radar had activated and she had seen Gin's car. So he went up and patted her head gently, smiling as usual.

"Yes, you saw Gin's car? That's right. I've become a codename member now, so I'll have access to more intelligence in the future. As I get more powerful, I might be able to find a way to cancel the mission to chase you. That way, you won't have to live in fear every day like you do now."

Seeing Chu Ming laughing and joking with her as before, Ai Haibara felt her eyes getting hot, but she held them back.

Since Brother Chu Ming was putting on a brave face and only reporting good news, she would play along and pretend she hadn't seen what happened before.

She clenched her fists, her smile more like a grimace: "Really, Brother Chu Ming? If that day ever comes, I don't know how I can ever thank you enough..."

Chu Ming stared blankly for half a second at Ai Haibara, who suddenly burst into tears of joy. What's wrong? This is just my usual way of making promises. Your excitement makes it hard for me to continue, little sister.

Chapter 369 Walking Sideways

Startled by Ai Haibara's sudden outburst, Chu Ming could only crouch down to calm her down, but it turned out the two were completely on different wavelengths.

Chu Ming looked at Ai Haibara, who was getting more and more excited the more he coaxed her, and scratched his head. It seemed that Ai Haibara was really scared of the organization. She had a psychological attachment to such obviously illusory things and was moved to this extent.

All they could do was bring her into Agasa's house, pour her a glass of water, and give it to her to calm down.

Without Chu Ming offering words of comfort, Ai Haibara quickly composed herself.

The more gently Chu Ming comforted her, the more Ai Haibara imagined how he had endured humiliation and struggled to survive in the organization, and the more uncontrollable her emotions became.

After Ai Haibara calmed down, she chatted with Chu Ming for a while before seeing Conan and Professor Agasa come in.

"Hey, Brother Chu Ming, what are you doing here? Have you finished your work at the company?" Conan asked casually when he came in and saw Chu Ming sitting on the sofa.

"I'm done with work. The software company had an upgrade project for a chat room a long time ago. The person in charge told me a few days ago that the project is basically complete. All that's left is bug analysis. I went and checked it out. The software will be available for release in a while." Chu Ming moved aside to make room for Conan.

Professor Agasa was the first to respond: "Great! I'll be the first to download it and support you."

Conan leaned back on the sofa, about to say something, when he suddenly leaned closer to examine the area carefully: "Brother Chu Ming, did someone kick you? Why is there a faint footprint here?"

Ai Haibara's expression changed slightly. Why did this great detective have to bring up such a sore subject? She had been trying to change the subject until now, and now she had to bring it up again as soon as she got back!

Chu Ming didn't seem to care and casually patted the ground: "It's the same combat coach as before. I trained with him before coming back."

Conan recalled the coach Chu Ming had mentioned when he asked him about the bruises on Chu Ming's hands, and teased, "The coach who fought you for eight hundred rounds, got completely dominated by you, and cried and begged you to stop?"

"Pfft—cough cough cough" Ai Haibara accidentally spat out a mouthful of water and kept choking and coughing.

Ai Haibara subconsciously thought of Gin, and then couldn't hold it in...

"Look, even Ai Haibara thinks it's ridiculous. She was clearly beaten up and her hands were covered in bruises, yet she still talked big..." Although Conan is observant, he is not as thoughtful as Ai Haibara, so he just casually made a sarcastic remark.

However, when Ai Haibara heard this, it further confirmed the difficult situation Chu Ming was facing in the organization, and she felt even more sorry for him.

That damned violent maniac, Gin is definitely no good!!!

Chu Ming didn't let Conan say too much and directly changed the subject: "Didn't you say that Professor Agasa went to see a friend? Why did you come with him?"

Conan thought Chu Ming was just being stubborn, but he still went along with it and said, "I came to find you. I happened to run into Dr. Agasa's car on the way, but your house was closed, so I came over with Dr. Agasa first."

Chu Ming took out his phone, but the screen was blank: "You didn't call me?"

"I called before, but I couldn't get through. Didn't you receive it?" Conan asked, looking puzzled. "I called several times, but you didn't answer."

"No, you must have typed it wrong. I don't have a record of it here."

"Brother Chu Ming, where is your company? Did you go to some remote mountain forest with no signal?" Conan couldn't help but complain, "Only when you go to a place with no signal will my calls not show up."

Chu Ming's eyes flickered slightly. No signal... It must be when we were in the underground base. He turned off the screen and said with a look of realization, "That's probably it. The company has been using signal jammers lately. After all, you know, the biggest fear for software releases is that competitors will find out."

Conan didn't take it to heart and got straight to the point: "Well, Hattori invited us to watch his kendo match, and I've been wanting to eat at his house for a while now. Heiji wants me to get there early to cheer him on, but my uncle and the others have already booked tickets, and by the time we get there, the match will probably be halfway through. They're worried about me leaving alone, so we can go together!"

"A kendo competition? Oh right, he called me. I've been so busy at the company lately that I forgot." Chu Ming recalled the phone call Hattori made to him two months ago. It had been so long, and so much had happened in that time, that he genuinely didn't remember.

"Then I'll come find you tomorrow morning. Or should we have Dr. Agasa take us to the platform?" Conan's gaze turned to Dr. Agasa.

"No need to trouble you, Doctor, I can drive." Chu Ming stood up to say goodbye. "It's been a long time since I've been back. I'll go back and pack my things."

After saying goodbye to the group, Chu Ming took out his phone as he walked back and told his boss that he was going to Osaka for a short trip, so as not to miss the person sent by his boss to discuss matters related to the succession. He also sent his treasured collection of emojis to his boss.

Shortly after, the BOSS replied, saying that Chu Ming could go to Osaka to contact the organization's relevant forces, so that he could have both work and play. At the same time, the BOSS highly praised the quality of Chu Ming's meme-worthy expressions.