Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

"..."

Mo Lan, who had remained silent while Chu Ming trampled on her, suddenly became agitated: "Put down that bottle of wine! That's not something you're worthy of touching! You—"

Chu Ming kicked him over in a fit of anger, taking it out on himself to vent his frustration at not being able to get a drink.

"Then who's worthy to touch you? You?" Chu Ming quietly tried to get information out of him.

"How could that be? Of course it's Mo—" Moran stopped abruptly, but it was too late.

"Oh, so it's wine for Professor Moriarty." Chu Ming drawled, "That means the professor will be here today, right?"

Moran couldn't care less about anything else at this point. The fine wine he had carefully prepared for the professor had been stolen by two villains who had appeared out of nowhere, and they had even opened and drunk it right in front of him!

Damn it, this is too much!

Chu Ming was surprised to find that NPCs could also provide him with points, and Moran had already contributed quite a few points to him in just a short time because his red wine had been tainted. He couldn't help but look at Moran with a completely new kind of eye, as if he were looking at a fat sheep.

Everyone stood silently to the side, watching Gin take the initiative, sitting in the main seat and drinking by himself, completely ignoring Colonel Moran, who was lying on the ground with eyes full of anger.

"Conan, why is that older brother drinking instead of going to see the professor?" Genta nudged Conan beside him in a low voice, trying to get the academic genius to explain the problem to them.

Conan had already understood Gin and Chu Ming's plan, and explained, "That bottle of wine was obviously prepared by Moran for the professor, which means the professor will definitely come tonight. So those two must have decided to wait here for Professor Moriarty to appear on his own."

A short while later, the door was pushed open as the wind chimes rang.

An elderly man wearing a hat and with his hands folded in front of his abdomen stood at the door: "Excuse me, Lord Moriarty said he would like to see you all. He is waiting for you in the carriage."

As the door opened, a light, slightly sweet fragrance wafted in with the breeze.

Chu Ming sniffed lightly and asked in confusion, "Is Britain this flashy at this time of year? Even a servant is wearing such expensive perfume?"

Gin looked up at the person standing at the door and said coldly, "Stop pretending, Moriarty."

The servant at the door, who had been slightly bowing, straightened up upon hearing his identity revealed, removed his hat, and showed his piercing eyes: "Oh? How did you see through my identity?"

Gin didn't answer, but Chu Ming felt he had seen through the truth.

Ha, isn't that a joke? How could any fan not recognize their own idol?

After all, Gin used to like watching Sherlock Holmes, but as a member of the organization, he probably doesn't like Sherlock Holmes. He probably idolizes Moriarty.

"Perhaps it's because a noble soul is not bound by physical form. Even in that attire just now, one can still sense your extraordinary nature." Chu Ming immediately began to flatter, and flattery never fails.

Moriari burst into laughter upon hearing this: "You little girl, you're so funny to talk to. Alright, what brings you here to see me?"

“Jack the Ripper,” Gin said succinctly.

Chu Ming quickly added, "I heard from Sherlock Holmes that Jack the Ripper was someone you sent to the streets to plunge London into terror, is that right?"

Moriarty looked at the two working together seamlessly and smiled: "To be precise, this wasn't sent by me. Jack was a homeless child I found on the street. He was abandoned by his mother and left on the street. I saw his talent at a glance—the talent to become a criminal. I trained him to be a top-notch assassin, but unfortunately, he lost control. However, there's no need to control a weapon that's out of control. If you want to get rid of him, I can provide you with assistance."

Chu Ming showed no politeness, his smile remaining sweet: "That would be wonderful! Mr. Moriarty, as the emperor of London's underworld, I wonder if you could provide us with some weapons?"

Moriarty paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Are you really working for Sherlock Holmes? I really like you guys. Compared to Jack, I think—"

Chu Ming interrupted his dangerous statement: "Regardless of whose side we're on, we share a common goal, so can we get down to business? Do you have any weapons?"

Moriarty raised the corners of his mouth: "Of course, I'll have a batch of Colts sent over, all the latest models."

Chu Ming was satisfied. He had been eyeing Gin's gun for a long time. Gin could hide on the side and fire, while he would have to tear off his skirt and fight, losing all face.

Chapter 464 Pushing the envelope

Having resolved the weapon issue, Moriarty finally brought up Jack's whereabouts.

“Actually, I haven’t seen that child since he lost control. But even though he’s out of control, he’ll still do it if I give the order to kill. You just need to get there first and wait for him,” Moriarty said casually.

Conan couldn't help but interject, "Who do you want to order him to kill?"

Moriarty shook his finger: "If we tell you, this game will lose its fun. You should check tomorrow's newspaper instead. But now that we've reached an agreement, I wonder if my poor subordinate will be released?"

Chu Ming readily agreed: "Of course! To celebrate our collaboration, Professor, would you like to come in for a drink? Moran has prepared some fine wine for you."

Moriarty glanced at the half-empty bottle of red wine on the table, already drunk by Gin, and his lips twitched slightly. He elegantly declined Chu Ming's invitation: "No, I'll be leaving now. Consider this bottle of wine a gift to celebrate your success in advance. Good luck to you."

After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

Conan quickly stepped forward and shouted out of the blue, "Be careful of Reichenbach Falls three years from now!"

"..." Chu Ming paused for a moment because of his sudden shout. To be honest, for a certain great detective to say such a thing to an NPC in a game, he was really playing the game with genuine feelings.

Moriarty paused for a moment, turned and gave Conan a deep look before continuing on his way, seemingly unconcerned about the advice.

"What happened to that waterfall three years later? Did Moriarty die there?" Despite his sarcasm, Chu Ming was still eager to hear the story, so he asked Gin in a low voice with curiosity.

"Yes, that's where Holmes and Moriarty dueled. They fell off a cliff during their fight. Holmes survived, but Moriarty died." Gin explained succinctly in just a few words.

Chu Ming was speechless at Gin's brief story. He squatted down and untied the ropes binding Moran—no, the skirt—and then asked in a consultative manner, "Colonel Moran, it's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. I'll untie the ropes binding you, and then we can shake hands and make peace, how about that?"

After Moran got up, he glared at Gin, who was drinking as if he hadn't heard anything. This was a bottle of wine that Moran had spent a lot of money to bring back, and he had specially asked someone to bring it back. He had originally planned to give the professor a surprise, but the wine was not delivered and someone else drank it instead.

I even need the professor to condescend to come and rescue me personally...

This was a heavy blow to Moran, who considered himself the professor's right-hand man and confidant.

Seeing Moran's murderous glare, Chu Ming couldn't help but laugh, teasing him: "Colonel Moran, the professor instructed you to treat us well. Are you going to disobey the professor's orders?"

"..." Moran remained silent, her anger momentarily subsiding.

Seeing Moran back down, Chu Ming nodded in satisfaction, looking pleased: "That's right. It's so late now, do you see if there's anywhere we can stay?"

"..." Moran hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice, "Arrange for them to stay in the guest rooms."

Chu Ming pressed his advantage: "By the way, the professor just said he'll be publishing the news in the newspaper tomorrow. Could you please bring the newspaper over tomorrow morning? Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if it delayed the professor's work, wouldn't you say?"

"..." Moran looked at her with an expression that said, "You'd better sleep with your eyes open at night," and angrily turned and left.

Chu Ming, acting as if nothing had happened, told the children to go and rest first, and then walked towards Gin.

By this time, Gin had almost finished the bottle of red wine by himself. When Chu Ming went over, there was only a tiny bit left. He watched as Gin tilted his head back and drank, showing no intention of sharing with him, and couldn't help but mutter, "Is it really that good? Can you taste it in the game? Or is it just like drinking water?"

Gin ignored his sour grapes mentality and, as he got up to leave, shoved the revolver into Chu Ming's hand.

?

Chu Ming looked at Gin with a puzzled expression: "Why did you suddenly give me the gun?"

"Just in case. Moriarty is no good person, and we also injured Moran before. To prevent him from retaliating, keep the gun with you."

"I don't think my skills are that bad..." Chu Ming complained, but actually quite pleased as he tucked the gun into his waistband.

*

A good night's sleep.

In the middle of the night, Moran did not disobey Moriarty's orders to attack everyone. Early in the morning, Chu Ming took the gun out from under his pillow and put it away. When he went downstairs, everyone had already gotten up and gathered downstairs to read the newspaper that Moran had sent over. He was the only one who arrived late.

Chu Ming, completely oblivious, went downstairs and joined them to read Moriarty's message to Jack the Ripper in the newspaper.

Finally, they found M's message to J in the newspaper's comment section, asking him to clean the opera house stage.

It probably means he should kill the woman performing on the opera stage tonight.

Conan hurriedly flipped through a few pages of the newspaper and discovered that the person performing at the opera house that night was none other than Irene Adler, the legendary woman who was Holmes's greatest love.

"Damn it! Moriarty is really too much!" Conan clenched his fists, fuming.

Chu Ming didn't feel anything special; on the contrary, he found people like Conan who played games with such genuine emotion quite endearing.

Jack the Ripper would only assassinate Eileen at night, and it was still morning. Chu Ming felt it would be a shame not to take a stroll around London during the day, given the beautiful weather.

This is a replica of the real London in 1888! Beautiful British scenery, British food—well, never mind the food, British cuisine seems to be famous for its culinary disasters.

But he was the only one who still had the mind to go shopping. Ran and the others were worried about what would happen that night. Gin was also thinking about how to successfully capture Jack the Ripper that night and end this absurd game. He took the initiative to go and receive the weapon according to the contact given by Moriarty.

After Gin left, Conan and the others also went out to inquire about the situation. They had just seen the clock hands on the tower from afar, indicating that only the nine people in their scenario remained in the game, while the people in the other scenarios had all been wiped out.

The heavy pressure made Conan and the others look serious, and Mitsuhiko said with some sadness, "Haibara-san, she too..."

"It's okay, as long as we beat the game, Ai will be saved too!" Conan encouraged him. "We're almost there to catch the Ripper, aren't we?"

Mitsuhiko nodded vigorously, and then the group began to huddle together to discuss their strategy for the evening.

Chu Ming followed them out the door, but they parted ways afterward. Conan assumed he was going to gather information, but in reality, Chu Ming planned to go shopping and stroll around by himself.

However, there wasn't much to do in London at that time. He wandered aimlessly through the streets like a lost soul, and even tried some of London's more famous delicacies. He seemed completely unfazed, as if he had no worries about the fierce battle that was about to take place that night.

Chapter 465 Long-lost sisters?

Chu Ming wandered around until dusk before returning home. In the game, there were no cell phones, so there was no way to contact each other. Chu Ming hadn't gone back, and if the clock tower's hands hadn't remained unchanged, they would have thought something had happened to him.

"Sister Baili, you're finally back!" Genta ran over excitedly. "You've been gone for so long, Sister Xiaolan was about to go look for you."

"I went to check out the general situation of the opera house. We're out of money. The little bit I got from Moran this morning was spent on lunch. If so many of us want to get into the opera house, we'll have to sneak in." Chu Ming glanced at the back of the group. "Where's Erzhen? Hasn't he come back yet?"

"Mr. Kurosawa came back this afternoon, and he brought back a lot of weapons." Ran pointed to the hall behind, her smile somewhat ambiguous. "Then he sat there waiting for you to come back. I think Mr. Kurosawa was very worried about you, because although his expression was very cold, I saw him looking outside several times!"

Worried? Chu Ming suspected that Gin was getting impatient and was hoping he would come back and beat him up.

Chu Ming ran into the living room, darting to Gin's side like a gust of wind, followed by Xiao Lan and the others. Under Gin's murderous glare, he slowly handed him a map from his pocket.

He didn't just spend the afternoon eating and shopping; he also did some work, such as scouting out the opera house.

Otherwise, if he really came back at this hour, Gin would kill him.

"A topographical map of the opera house?" Gin looked at the abstract topographical map, which was entirely hand-drawn by Chu Ming, and frowned for a long time. He still couldn't figure out what Chu Ming was trying to express from the bunch of distorted lines, so he simply threw it back at Chu Ming. "You drew it, you explain it."

Chu Ming spread the topographic map on the table and pointed to the hand-drawn diagrams he had made, explaining one by one: "I've been to the opera house, and the buildings there are quite compact. This is the opera house, and it has three doors on the front, back, and side. The front door is for ticket checking, the side door is for staff to enter and exit, and the back door is generally not open."