Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Yuan Tai rushed over anxiously: "I want to see too! I want to see too! Uncle, hug me! I want to see too!"

Looking at Genta's chubby appearance, Iihei Takuto hesitated for a moment. Just as he was about to put Ayumi down and use all his might to lift the little fat boy, he heard Ayumi say with some disappointment, "The fireworks are blocked by the mountain, we can't see them..."

Takuto Iihei quietly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly put Ayumi down: "Alright, we'll be there soon. We'll be able to see clearly once we get to the top of the mountain."

Just as they were talking, Fukuura Reiji, who was driving, seemed to see something and slammed on the brakes in a panic. The wheels left long tire tracks on the ground before the car came to a stop.

Just as Iihe Takuya, who had been leaning out of the sunroof from his seat, pulled back down, he almost lost his balance and fell off. He turned to the driver's seat and complained, "Ryoji, what are you doing? Drive carefully, this is dangerous."

Fukuura Reiji ignored him, his expression bewildered, staring intently at the area in front of the car that was faintly illuminated by the headlights, where a long, narrow shadow lay on the road.

"I think I just ran over something long and narrow that was blocking the road... and it flew all the way to the front..."

Everyone rushed forward and peered through the front window. There did indeed appear to be something lying in the middle of the road. Thinking of Shirafuji Yasumi, who had been missing for some time, everyone had a bad feeling and quickly opened the car door to check.

After getting off the bus and getting closer, I realized I had made a mistake. What had fallen on the ground was just a piece of wooden fence, which had probably fallen from the top of the mountain.

Iiji Takuto shone his flashlight toward the mountaintop, where he could vaguely see that a section of the fence was broken and had a gap. He turned back to comfort Fukuura Reiji, "It's okay, it's just a piece of wood, don't worry."

"That scared me to death! I thought I had run over Taimi..." Fukuura Reiji breathed a sigh of relief and called everyone to get in the car. "Let's keep going, or we'll miss the fireworks."

When most people run over something, their first thought is usually that it's the corpse of their companion, right? This is some kind of intuition from a Mikado person—it's incredibly accurate…

Once they reached the mountaintop, Chu Ming took a few selfies while watching the fireworks. Such a beautiful view deserves a beautiful woman by his side—and with no one around, including Qinzi, his mood was even more wonderful.

Conan seemed to have noticed something, and his footsteps led him to the spot where the fence had broken, where there was a deep bicycle track.

"Big brother, there are bicycle tire tracks where the fence broke!" Conan squatted down, carefully examining the tracks on the ground, and called out to Fukuura Reiji and the others.

"No way, could it be that Taemi fell off her bicycle?"

???

So cursing your companions is all the rage lately?

Why do you always think of your companions first when something bad happens...?

What title should we give Chapter 443? We're not going to choose one.

No one paid much attention to this unexpected incident, except for Conan, who stared thoughtfully at the gap in the wooden fence.

On the way back, because Chu Ming had already collected the body, everyone returned to the camp without any problems.

Throughout the journey, Chu Ming observed Tiantang Qinghua's demeanor change from feigned composure to a look of surprise and uncertainty in her eyes.

Conan, who had been observing everyone's expressions on the way back, also noticed that something was wrong with her.

Fukuura Reiji and Iiji Takuto were somewhat worried about the missing Ms. Taimi and suggested that everyone go look for her after dinner to see if she had encountered any trouble after riding her bicycle out.

Chu Ming ate his curry rice with an elegant posture. The doctor made a standard Japanese curry, with carrots, onions, potatoes, apples, and tomatoes. The sweet and sour taste neutralized the spiciness of the curry, and it tasted pretty good.

However, he was the only one sitting around the table who still had the mind to carefully comment on the taste; the others were somewhat losing their appetite.

"Sister Qinghua, you seemed restless ever since the car came back. Why is that?" Conan asked while eating.

Haruka was startled. She forced a smile and said, "I'm worried about Taimi. I don't know where she is."

"Huh? Really?" Conan drawled, "But Haruka-neechan kept looking out the window, and she seemed disappointed when we got back to camp. Was she hoping to see something out the window? Like—Taimi-neechan?"

Haruka's composure was clearly lacking; she forced herself to calm down: "Y-Of course! We just thought Taemi went to the mountaintop alone. Maybe she missed us because it was too dark. I'll see if I can run into her on my way back..."

“Then Haruka-neechan should have looked out the window when she came down from the mountain, but she started turning her head to look out the window frequently after the third turn, which is the intersection where Ayumi and the others peeked out to watch the fireworks. Is there something that should have been there but didn’t appear?” Conan stared at Haruka-neechan, his eyes seemingly able to see through her heart.

"Little brother, what exactly do you want to say?" Haruka was already uneasy because she hadn't seen the body, and now her brows furrowed when Conan pressed her for an answer.

"What he meant was that you probably killed your companion a long time ago and planned to use some method to make everyone see her body on the way back, but now, unexpectedly, the body that should have appeared is missing, or rather, there was a problem with your plan and the body hasn't appeared yet."

Chu Ming wiped his mouth and translated for Conan.

Conan's expression stiffened upon hearing Chu Ming's voice. He had forgotten that there was someone who might be a member of that organization beside him when he was engrossed in the case...

Tiantang Jinghua suddenly stood up, furious and embarrassed: "What nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly kill Tai Mei? I—"

"Miss Qinghua, please calm down." Chu Ming sat upright, his expression calm. It was already night, and the moonlight was cool and clear. His long silver hair shone brightly in the moonlight, making him look like Kaguya, who sat serenely on a cloud platform. "Actually, even if I didn't say it, you all know that since you haven't shown up this late and no one answers your phone, there's a high probability that something unexpected has happened. And this unexpected event is unlikely to have been caused by us outsiders; it's more likely to have originated from within your own ranks."

Chu Ming spoke softly, his delicate features appearing exceptionally sacred under the moonlight, which captivated the people around him, who all sat quietly to listen to him finish speaking.

"Or, judging solely from alibis, this little boy and I were down the mountain all afternoon, and according to Mr. Agasa, the children were with him the whole time. Only the three of you don't have a clear alibi. Furthermore—"

"Then why me?" Haruka Tendo interrupted Chu Ming, pointing at Reiji Fukuura and Takuto Iihei. "It can't be either of them, right?"

"Perhaps it's because—" Chu Ming glanced at her casually, "that you're the most suspicious, and your motive for murder is more compelling, right?"

Conan nodded subconsciously, then stopped halfway through. He looked at Chu Ming's stunning profile and thought, "No wonder she's Gin's sister; her analytical skills are just as good as Gin's."

Conan had already witnessed Gin's deductive abilities when they faced off against each other on a hard drive last time.

Are all the people in this organization this amazing...?

Conan has made the organization even more difficult to deal with.

"Then tell me, what exactly is wrong with me? We've been going out and having fun for years during college, what kind of conflict could there be! Even we ourselves don't know, but you know this the first time you meet us?" Tiantang Qinghua's face was ashen, her eyes filled with anger, as if this would make her more confident.

"Miss Qinghua, are you really a rich heiress?"

Chu Ming's casual remark caused all three of them to change their expressions drastically.

"You—" Tiantang Qinghua's eyes flickered, her breathing slightly rapid, unsure of what to say.

Chu Ming dropped another bombshell: "Do your companions really not know where your money comes from?"

Fukuura Reiji and Iihei Takuto glanced at Tendo Haruka without saying a word.

"So, you two thought Miss Qinghua didn't know you already knew the truth?" The slightly awkward words struck them like a bolt from the blue.

The children were completely bewildered, crowding around Professor Agasa and quietly tugging at Conan's sleeve: "What does Kotoko-neechan mean? We don't understand!"

Conan took a step back. Since Ms. Kurosawa already knew the truth, there was no need for him to step forward and deduce anything, especially since he hadn't found any evidence.

However, it would be too sad to deduce the truth but have no one to share it with. Fortunately, he could tell the children. He squatted down and quietly told the children the truth he had deduced, just like a story.

“Haruka…” On the other side, Fukuura Reiji was the first to react. He asked in shock, “You knew everything?”

Haruka's hands trembled slightly. She looked at her boyfriend and suddenly sneered, "What do you know? Do you know that you've already discovered I'm not really a rich girl, but someone who works hard to earn money, yet you still comfortably leech off me?"

"Haruka, let me explain, I—" Fukuura Reiji stepped forward, wanting to comfort his girlfriend.

"Stop talking. I heard your conversation last time. In your eyes, am I just a clown for you to laugh at? I work odd jobs and take on odd jobs everywhere just to maintain our friendship, but what about you?" Tiantang Qinghua clenched her clothes, tears falling drop by drop.

“I don’t think they see you as a clown.” Chu Ming looked at her, his tone devoid of emotion. “They probably see you as an ATM that automatically dispenses money.”

She was pitiful, but Chu Ming couldn't feel any sympathy for her at all.

Why can't you do anything with money? Why do you have to hang out with a bunch of ungrateful wretches?

Chapter 444 Wuwuwu

After being verbally attacked by Chu Ming, Tiantang Qinghua wiped away her tears, but still stubbornly refused to admit it: "Yes, I was indeed very angry with them because of this, but can you say that I killed Tai Mei just because of this? Do you have any evidence?"

Chu Ming shook his head: "No."

"Huh?" The people around who had been listening were stunned. Even Tiantang Qinghua paused in wiping away her tears, but she reacted quickly. When she heard Chu Ming say that there was no evidence, she felt relieved and her face was full of grievances for being wronged: "I was also very worried about Tai Mei going missing, but that doesn't mean you can wrong me!"

"If that's what you say, I can't refute you. Just pretend I was talking nonsense." Chu Ming didn't dwell on it at all. He just couldn't hold back his urge to talk. As for whether he could get the murderer to confess?

What's it to him? He's not a detective.

Haruka was taken aback; she felt like her rebuttal was like punching cotton.

Conan was just about to hear what evidence Chu Ming had found, but after he finished explaining his reasoning, he actually said that he had no evidence when faced with Haruka's question, and even gave up on pursuing the truth!

He strongly disagreed, but he couldn't find any evidence, since they hadn't even found the body yet and were missing too many clues.

"My suggestion is—call the police. At least try to find the body first. As for the rest of you who don't have alibis, just go back with the police for investigation." Chu Ming yawned lazily, his posture languid, and the drowsy moisture in his eyes made them look watery, adding a touch of charm.

-

Police arrived at the scene quickly. It was already late. The police searched everywhere with flashlights for the missing Tae-mi, and even deployed a helicopter. The carpet search only found a stone stained with Tae-mi's blood, which should be the murder weapon used by the killer.

The stone was left not far from the campsite. According to forensic examination, the blood had clotted approximately 4-5 hours earlier, around 2 or 3 pm.

At that time, Chu Ming was at the supermarket at the foot of the mountain where Conan was, and Professor Agasa was leading the children to collect firewood, so the police decided to take the three people who did not have alibis back to the Metropolitan Police Department for investigation.

Conan was also unwilling to accept this, but without evidence and even without finding the body, it was difficult for him to deduce the truth. Although he had some guesses about who the murderer was, guessing alone was not enough.

After giving his statement, Chu Ming left without disturbing the children who were giving statements in the next room. So when Conan came out of the Metropolitan Police Department's interrogation room, he found that Ms. Kotoko had already left.

Chu Ming made a phone call to the BOSS, saying that he had brought back some local specialties from his trip and wanted to give them to him. The BOSS smiled and said that he was still waiting for him at the underground base from last time. When he learned that Chu Ming was going to put the gift in his car and take it there, he even told him about a secret passage that a vehicle could drive down.

Chu Ming, who had only intended to find an excuse to ask the BOSS for help, looked somewhat guilty at the blood-soaked corpse in his system inventory. Actually, he wasn't wrong... corpses were Mihua's specialty, so there wasn't anything wrong with that—

Yes, there shouldn't be any problem.

Driving to the outskirts, almost at their destination, Chu Ming casually stuffed the corpse from his backpack into the trunk. Following the directions given by the BOSS, he opened the door using the bracelet he had previously acquired.

"BOSS~~~"

Before I saw the person, I heard his voice first.

The BOSS still looked like the elegant, refined gentleman he had first met, a calm and composed smile playing on his lips. However, upon seeing Chu Ming's attire as he rushed in, his smile froze. He wanted to laugh, but felt he shouldn't; he wanted to maintain some decorum in front of a junior. But—

"What kind of look is this?" After a long pause, the BOSS finally found his voice.

Chu Ming glanced at his black trench coat and realized that he hadn't changed his disguise before coming to find the BOSS.

However, since the clothes are already worn, there's an old Chinese saying, "dressing up to entertain one's parents." Today, Chu Ming is dressed up as a musician to entertain the BOSS. Sigh, Qin Jiu, you owe me a huge favor.

Chu Ming winked at the BOSS, wiggled his waist, and even crossed his arms in a shy manner: "Oh, BOSS, do I look good like this?"