Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

This performance is generating a lot of buzz. I heard this afternoon that many dignitaries will be attending Irene's concert tonight, including Moriarty. After all, the person the Ripper wants to kill is Holmes's favorite, and as his nemesis, Moriarty can't possibly be absent.

I spoke with the theater staff, and they said that the professor had booked a private box on the second floor of the opera house in advance, which faced the stage, presumably so that he could watch the humiliation of Eileen's assassination.

However, I personally believe that Jack the Ripper will make his move here—outside the opera house. Given his skill with knives, it's unlikely he'd rush onto the stage with a knife and stab Irene inside the opera house. I deduce that he'll create chaos inside the opera house and then, while Irene is escaping along this route, he'll ambush her at the door and deliver the fatal blow.

Chu Ming's fingertips slowly slid across the paper as he explained his speculations, trying to prove that he hadn't spent the entire day out playing.

Gin pointed at the blueprints, pondered for a moment, and said, "A bomb."

Xiaolan looked bewildered: "Huh? What bomb? Where's the bomb?"

Chu Ming instantly realized: "Yes, it's very likely a bomb! A homemade bomb is the best choice to instantly throw the entire opera house into chaos, because ordinary accidents can't throw those nobles who value their lives into a frenzy. Only something that could endanger their lives would do! Once an explosion occurs inside, the nobles will rush out, and he can wait at the door with his knife!"

Conan understood: "Then what do we do? What if he planted the bomb under the stage? We won't have time to save Irene. We can only do our best to prevent Irene from going on stage!"

"No, it can't be offstage. Eileen was a mission given to him by Moriarty. Jack the Ripper will definitely kill Eileen using the same methods he used before. After all, if Eileen dies from a bomb, it won't have anything to do with Jack the Ripper. He won't do that."

"It's almost time for the performance, what should we do now?" Hideki Morohoshi stood straight, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Let's sneak in first." Chu Ming stepped forward and pulled out the flower arrangement that Moran had placed on the side of the hall, simply wrapping the flowers in the newspaper that was delivered today. "Come on, now we are Holmes's love messengers sent to deliver flowers to Eileen."

"..."

Seeing that everyone was staring at him without saying a word, Chu Ming tilted his head and winked playfully, "What's wrong? Is something the problem?"

Faced with Chu Ming's stunning good looks, the children were speechless and could only shake their heads.

Gin couldn't bear to watch Chu Ming so skillfully act as if he were a woman. He lowered his head and placed the pistol he had taken from Moriarty on the table: "One for each of you, come and get it."

Perhaps not expecting Gin to prepare weapons for them, the children were stunned and stood frozen in place. Gin frowned when he received no response, and his cold gaze moved down to look at the little ones who were standing still and Ran who was standing at the door.

Chu Ming stepped forward, picked up a gun, and handed one to each person: "This is a Colt, a revolver. It doesn't need to be loaded; you just pull the trigger to fire a bullet. You've all played with toy guns, right? If you happen to run into Jack the Ripper, just point the gun at him and shoot him. It's just a game, but be careful not to aim it at your own people."

Yuan Tai stroked the silver gun barrel with obvious delight. Boys are naturally drawn to guns, and his eyes shone brightly, but he still seemed a little insecure: "Can I really do it?"

"Of course." After firing the gun, Chu Ming pocketed one for himself. "It's just a game, what are you afraid of? But be careful, the revolver has a lot of recoil. Remember to hold the gun with both hands, fire one shot and run. There are a lot of you, one shot from each of you should be enough to give him a hard time. Miss Mori has martial arts training, so she should be able to fire a few more shots."

Xiaolan nodded and carefully put the weapons away.

Chu Ming led the group through a side entrance into the opera house, familiar with the way. Along the way, the staff greeted him warmly: "Miss Bailey is here! Is this your friend? Why are you carrying flowers? Are they for Miss Irene?"

"Yes, we were asked to do this. We're here mainly to deliver flowers to Miss Eileen," Chu Ming said with a smile.

"Sister Baili, how come they all know you?" Hideki Moroboshi really didn't understand. Although he was an artificial intelligence, he had been focused on Conan all day and hadn't noticed Chu Ming's movements. Although he had created this scene, he hadn't completely controlled it. He had only given the NPCs enough intelligence and let them develop on their own, so he missed it and didn't know what had happened without monitoring.

“When I came this afternoon, I came under the name of Colonel Moran’s men,” Chu Ming raised an eyebrow. “Tsk, that’s a pretty good name.”

"..."

Conan's gaze towards Chu Ming was somewhat indescribable. "Do Moran and the professor know how well you're exaggerating?"

Why does this operation look so familiar to him?

I always feel like that cheeky look of Chu Ming is a bit like him...

Could this Miss Baili be Chu Ming's long-lost sister?

Their personalities are so similar...

Chapter 466 Coachman

Chu Ming, with a string of tails trailing behind him, gently knocked on the door and heard a familiar voice from inside say, "Please come in."

The door was pushed open, and Eileen, who had just finished putting on makeup, stood up and turned around. When Ran saw her face clearly, she covered her mouth in surprise: "Shinichi's mother?"

“After all, the story of this game seems to have been written by Mr. Kudo Yusaku. Didn’t we see the photo in the frame on the table at Holmes’s place? Since Mr. Holmes’s photo is based on Mr. Kudo’s photo, then the legendary woman who loved Holmes the most must look like Mr. Kudo’s wife.” Chu Ming held the flowers, not surprised at all.

Eileen didn't hear Ming's words clearly, but she did hear Xiaolan's exclamation. Hearing this, she put her hands on her hips angrily and said, "What? Where did I get a son? This is so rude! Who are you people?"

Chu Ming stepped forward and handed the flowers to Eileen: "We were sent by Mr. Holmes to deliver these flowers to you."

Eileen took the rather rustic-looking bouquet of flowers, which was wrapped very roughly, and held it in her arms. "These flowers are quite fresh, but the way they were wrapped is a bit...unusual. Thank you. Where is Holmes?"

"He was really looking forward to today's performance, but a case came up at the last minute and he couldn't make it in time, so he could only carefully arrange this bouquet himself, and just told us to make sure to send the flowers to you." Chu Ming lied without batting an eye, claiming that the bouquet he had hastily wrapped in two seconds was carefully prepared by Sherlock Holmes. This made Eileen beam with joy, and she held the flowers even more cherished in her arms.

When Conan saw that she had accepted the flowers, he hurriedly expressed his hope that Irene would postpone her performance that night, because Moriarty had sent Jack the Ripper to assassinate her because she was Holmes's favorite woman.

Chu Ming stroked his chin, his brain uncontrollably conjuring up cheesy scenarios. Tsk, this plot is so much like the villainous male supporting character Moriarty, who, unable to win the heart of the male lead Sherlock Holmes, sends an assassin to kill the female lead whom the male lead loves most...

Cough cough, stop thinking, I can't think about it anymore...

Conan couldn't persuade Irene. After hearing why Moriarty ordered her to be killed, Irene stubbornly stated that she would not quit the show because of it. She wanted to see what Holmes would do if she died.

"..." Chu Ming couldn't quite understand Eileen's thought process, but he didn't try to dissuade her any further. On the contrary, if Eileen was really persuaded not to go on stage, Chu Ming would have an even bigger headache.

Does it matter whether Eileen will be killed by Jack the Ripper or lose her life because of it? She's just a game NPC. She's just a sweet bait dangling in front of Jack the Ripper, waiting for him to take the bait because of her.

Soon it was Irene's turn to perform on stage. Conan and the others hid behind the curtain. Chu Ming and Gin didn't stand with them. Conan and Ran were trying their best to protect Irene's life in the game, but Chu Ming and Gin only cared about the result. As for the life or death of Irene or other NPCs along the way? What did that have to do with them?

Chu Ming did not openly express his unwillingness to protect Eileen. Instead, he split the team up, with Xiao Lan leading a group of children to keep an eye on Eileen, while Chu Ming and Gin went outside to capture Jack the Ripper.

Chu Ming originally intended to give up, since Conan would eventually finish the game anyway. Instead of going through all the trouble, he figured he might as well wait for Conan to revive him.

But Gin would definitely not agree. For someone as suspicious as Gin, entrusting his life to someone else is harder than climbing to heaven.

There's no other way but to put in the extra effort myself.

Several empty rooms in the opera house, as well as the storeroom, were bombed by Jack the Ripper. The back door was also opened at some point. The bombs were probably just Jack the Ripper's way of causing a commotion, not his method of killing Irene.

Most of the nobles' cars were parked at the front door. To escape danger, the nobles would undoubtedly rush towards the front door so they could quickly escape the dangerous area once in their cars. The side doors were more for staff to evacuate. Compared to the nobles and staff, Eileen, wearing her cumbersome performance costume, would definitely leave through a less crowded exit, such as—

The back door that Jack the Ripper had already laid in ambush.

Chu Ming and Gin had already left the opera house when they heard the explosion and had come to a side alley to wait for the enemy to come to them.

Soon, Ran and Conan appeared at the back door, hurrying along as they escorted Irene. Kikukawa Seiichiro, who had been following behind Moroboshi Hideki, was nowhere to be seen, nor were the members of the Detective Boys behind Conan.

Chu Ming subconsciously turned to look at the clock tower's hands, which pointed towards 05, leaving only five lone survivors.

Apart from Hideki Moroboshi, the other children must have been injured and eliminated.

As Eileen was escorted out by Xiaolan and the others, Jack the Ripper's trail appeared. He suddenly emerged from the crowd, grabbed a dagger, and charged towards Eileen, but his attack was blocked by Xiaolan.

Having failed in his first attack, Jack the Ripper decisively retreated, neither lingering nor making a fuss. Xiaolan followed closely behind, ready to give chase.

"boom--"

A gunshot rang out, and the swift-footed Ripper stumbled, blood splattering from his leg. He rolled forward, then quickly got up and ran.

???

Chu Ming, gun in hand, stared in the direction Jack the Ripper had fled, a question mark on his face. Was Jack the Ripper a monster? How could he move so fast after being shot in the leg?

"Didn't stop him?" Gin's tone was also a little incredulous. He didn't expect that Chu Ming would fail to stop him. He gave Chu Ming a deep look and felt that Chu Ming's training sheet needed to be thickened. Gin gripped his gun tightly, knocked out a passing coachman with the butt of the gun, flipped himself onto the carriage frame, gestured for Chu Ming to get in, and then drove the carriage after chasing after the place where Jack had disappeared.

Chu Ming gave him a thumbs up. He never expected that Gin would also have the skill of driving a carriage. Tsk tsk.

This coachman is quite good, very good.

Chapter 467 You can do this too?

Chu Ming squatted on the carriage frame, watching Gin drive, his eyes showing surprise: "You can do this too?"

Gin ignored his fuss and drove off in pursuit of Jack the Ripper.

Four legs are faster than two. The carriage sped along the road, quickly overtaking Conan and Ran, and crashing into the runaway Ripper.

Jack the Ripper's black cloak was almost parallel to the ground in the wind. He didn't expect to hear the clattering of hooves next to him. He glanced to the side while running and saw a bright and beautiful woman standing on a speeding carriage. She was holding onto the carriage handle with one hand, leaning out of the carriage, and her other hand was about to touch his cloak!

Jack the Ripper's eyes narrowed, and he immediately rolled to the side, dodging Chu Ming's swinging hand. The violent movement aggravated the gunshot wound on his thigh. He knew he couldn't run anymore. He glanced at the train that was about to depart, quickly turned, and jumped on the train the moment it started moving.

Gin saw him run up and a crazy smile appeared on his lips: "Heh, the rat's in the cage."

Chu Ming raised an eyebrow. Gin was right. He didn't know where the Ripper got the confidence to get on the train. Once he got on, he wouldn't be able to run anywhere else until the train stopped.

At that point, it will be like catching a turtle in a jar; there will be no way for them to escape.

Gin drove the carriage smoothly, and Chu Ming climbed onto the top of the carriage. He said to Gin below, "Brother, don't get on the train, I'll go up. Let's split up. The train is like a secret room. If something goes wrong, like the train can't stop, and I'm stuck inside, you'll still be alive, and we can be resurrected."

Gin frowned: "Then I'll go up, you come down."

"No way, I'll climb up first." Chu Ming wasn't about to give way. He quickly darted to the top of the carriage, leaped onto the train roof, rolled over to dissipate the impact, waved cheerfully to Gin, and entered the carriage through the connecting passage.

Conan and Ran, who were in hot pursuit, also jumped in, leaving only Gin on the road, his eyes fixed on the moving train, but he ultimately did not board it.

On the train, Conan had already told the conductor about Jack the Ripper's intrusion and asked the conductor to gather everyone into one carriage.

There weren't many people on the train, just a handful, but Jack the Ripper was mixed in among them, well hidden, and hard to spot.

Chu Ming's gaze swept over the women in the car. He remembered that Jack the Ripper had disguised himself as a cross-dresser, but in the end, his fingers were too thin because he had been wearing rings for so long, which led to Conan exposing him.

Chu Ming pretended not to know and moved closer to the man next to Jack the Ripper: "Your figure looks familiar. Are you Jack the Ripper?"

Upon hearing this, the man panicked and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No, it wasn't me! I was in the car the whole time! Really!"

He looked around, trying to find someone to vouch for him.

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn, Chu Ming suddenly grabbed Jack the Ripper's hand, flung him behind him, and fired three shots at him.

"Ah—" The passengers in the carriage were startled by this sudden development, huddled together in fear, and stared at the scene before them in terror.

Blood slowly seeped from Jack the Ripper's chest and ankles. He clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with undisguised ferocity. He had already been shot in the leg, and now both of his foot bones were shattered, rendering him completely unable to walk. His first words were a hoarse male voice: "How did you recognize me?"

"Tch—" Chu Ming scoffed, "You smell so strongly of blood, do I even need to recognize you? I could smell it as soon as I got close. But even though you're not the brightest, your cross-dressing skills are pretty good."

Chu, the cross-dressing master, gave him high praise.

Unfortunately, Jack the Ripper did not feel honored. Instead, he grinned, revealing his shark-like teeth, as if he wanted to devour someone, but he was powerless to move.