Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Gin, who was enjoying a rare moment of leisure, was taking care of his Borretta when he saw Chu Ming's message. He glanced at the report in surprise and found that the reports were in completely different styles.

The first few were rather exaggerated, trying to exaggerate the difficulty of the task to highlight their own prowess. The later ones were noticeably more concise, with the entire report consisting of just the task details they sent and a "completed" mark at the end.

I wonder who Granbury pulled in Rum to conscript men; this report is infuriating!

Before Gin could reply, Chu Ming strolled leisurely nearby and happened to see Professor Agasa seeing Ai Haibara off.

"Doctor, where are you taking Ai?"

"It's Chu Ming. I told you a few days ago that I was going to send Ai to school. Today is the day she can register."

He's been away on missions for almost a month now? What, is the speed different in different parts of the Detective Conan world...?

Chu Ming glanced at Shirley, who seemed to shrink back inexplicably at the sight of him, and wondered what psychology would say about her.

The best way to eliminate fear is to confront it directly. It's not like every time he appears in front of Ai Haibara and Conan, Ai Haibara's radar will be constantly on, forcing Conan to become suspicious even if he doesn't want to. How can he then enjoy his magnetic field...?

"Doctor, my motorcycle is just ahead. I'll take Ai to school."

Before Ai Haibara could refuse, the Doctor had already happily agreed.

Chu Ming rode his bike, loudly conspiring with Ai Haibara behind him: "Ai, are you going to scare Conan? Take me with you!"

Back in school, wasn't the best way to get closer to someone by playing pranks together? Well, the best way to eliminate Ai Haibara's fear is to team up and scare Conan.

See, Ai Haibara, who was initially a little scared, is now enthusiastically discussing the details with Chu Ming!

In the evening, Chu Ming waited at the school gate early to pick up Xiao Ai from school.

But then I saw six children leaving the school together.

“! Brother Chu Ming…” Bu Mei stopped timidly.

Chu Ming was a little puzzled. Bu Mei used to be very enthusiastic when she saw him, so when did she become so distant? That wouldn't do. Even a mosquito is still meat, and these kids are like mini magnetic attraction machines.

He grinned and gave a warm smile, trying to bridge the gap between them.

As a result, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko all took a step back in unison. Seeing that Ai Haibara, Conan, and the new kid hadn't moved, they pulled them over as well.

"too horrible……"

"...!" Chu Ming looked incredulous. What are you doing?! Wasn't he kind? Wasn't he friendly?

He stopped smiling, and his resentful gaze swept over the children.

Conan felt a chill and looked up at Chu Ming, saying, "Nakata's brother has gone missing, and we're on our way to his house to investigate!"

"Missing?" Chu Ming felt that there was no way to get involved in a missing person case, so he was a little uninterested. However, for the sake of his plan with Xiao Ai, he still said that he would go along.

The children's faces fell instantly, and they followed Chu Ming with their heads down and dragged their feet.

When they arrived at the Nakata residence, a police car was parked in front of the door.

"We're here. That's my house, the one with the police car parked in front." Nakata pointed ahead.

The two policemen were saying goodbye to Nakata's mother. She looked haggard and wasn't very welcoming to the children and adults who had come to visit. She simply invited them in.

"I'm sorry, Mom is very sad after my brother went missing and doesn't care much about anything else..."

"It's alright, we'll just sit for a bit and then we'll be leaving." Chu Ming waved his hand. "Where's your brother's room?"

The room was very tidy. Chu Ming looked around and did a quick search.

"The wallet is still there, and the clothes haven't been touched, so we can rule out the possibility of him running away from home. What are your brother's hobbies?"

"My brother likes to draw. He has drawn a lot of pictures, which are all piled up under the bed."

Ayumi was the first to squeeze in, pushing out a bunch of picture frames: "These paintings are all so ugly..."

Ai Haibara, who had been standing to the side as a background figure, suddenly spoke up: "Picasso."

Conan nodded in affirmation: "It's Picasso's 'The Weeping Woman,' and many Van Gogh paintings, Utrillo paintings... all copies."

"I know! Someone must have kidnapped him to copy famous paintings in exchange for the originals!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed excitedly, slapping his thigh.

Chu Ming shook his head: "No, although I don't know much about painting, this is still somewhat different from the original. Look at this."

Chu Ming pulled a picture out from the bottom of the frame, and Conan recognized it immediately: "Natsume Soseki!!"

Chu Ming nodded: "I'm more inclined to believe he was forced to make counterfeit money than that he was a fake painting... Has your brother encountered any strange people lately?"

"If that's the case, there was indeed a woman wearing a wide black hat and all black clothes who praised my brother's painting as particularly wonderful. Does that count?"

Conan immediately became agitated, grabbing Nakata's shoulder: "Where? Where did you see it? Besides this woman, was there a man in black?!"

"I encountered them ten days ago, and there were indeed two men dressed in black... Conan, why are you so agitated?"

Chu Ming blinked. It couldn't be Gin and vodka, could it? Vermouth was still in America and hadn't returned yet.

Conan grabbed Nakata's hand: "Come on, let's go check around here. Your brother must have been arrested in this area!"

Several children followed closely behind, and Chu Ming and Ai Haibara exchanged a glance.

It was indeed frightening; he gets so excited just hearing about black clothes. If he actually dances in front of Gin one day, no one can save him.

Chapter 48 turned out to be a misunderstanding—

When the children had searched everywhere Nakata might have gone, but to no avail.

Ayumi suggested going to the convenience store to buy some water. While waiting in line to pay, Conan noticed a tall man.

He held a thousand-yuan note, but instead of buying it from the vending machine at the entrance, he went into the convenience store and bought it at the counter.

Chu Ming noticed Conan's pause and looked down to ask, "What's wrong?"

Before Conan could pay any attention, he jumped up and darted to the counter: "Can I see the money that person just paid?"

The sales clerk looked somewhat bewildered and glanced at Chu Ming behind her with a questioning look. Chu Ming quickly took two steps back, distancing himself from Conan, and waved his hand to indicate that he was not familiar with him.

Seeing that the clerk hadn't done anything for a while, Conan got a little anxious: "Give it to me quickly!" As he spoke, he reached into the cash drawer, grabbed the banknotes, and held them up to the light.

Chu Ming stared in shock at the famous detective who was openly robbing someone. What kind of operation was this?

Conan noticed that there was no watermark on the banknote and quickly reached out to pull Chu Ming, but grabbed nothing. He looked at Chu Ming, who was looking to the side, staring at the sky and the ground but not at him, with a puzzled expression.

Just as he was about to ask something, the sales clerk, who had been ignored for a long time, saw that the tall and imposing Chu Ming behind him was not this brat's 'accomplice', and snatched the money from Conan's hand: "You little brat, what are you trying to do?!"

Conan jumped off the counter: "You should call the police! This is counterfeit money!"

Then she came over and dragged Chu Ming away: "Brother Chu Ming, hurry, let's chase after them! That man might be related to Nakata's brother's disappearance!"

Chu Ming didn't want to move at first, but when he saw the worried and nervous looks in the eyes of the children next to him, he suddenly realized something.

Isn't this the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his courage and fearlessness? If he performs exceptionally well, won't the little magnetic field generators think of him whenever they need him in the future?

He put on a kind face and gently patted the children's heads: "Don't be afraid, huh? Why are you shaking? It's okay, big brother will catch that bad guy." After saying that, he pushed off with his feet and rushed out.

Conan watched Chu Ming rush out without any awareness, then looked at Ayumi, who was already crying from frightened by Chu Ming's wolfish smile. He couldn't understand why Chu Ming had to force such a gentle smile when he could just smile normally…

On the other side, Chu Ming chased after the man for a while and then saw him on the road. The man had his hands in his pockets, was wearing a hat, and was walking back leisurely.

Hearing the hurried footsteps behind him, he subconsciously turned around, but before he could react, Chu Ming kicked him to the ground.

By the time Conan and the others ran over, Chu Ming had already pinned the man to the ground, using the classic police officer's arrest gesture to demonstrate his prowess.

Watching the man's face rubbing wildly against the rough ground, Ayumi touched her own face with lingering fear and stood up straighter.

Only Conan was filled with excitement. He rushed up and asked the man pressed against the ground, "Quickly! Where is your organization's hideout?!"

"What nest? What are you talking about! Why did you suddenly rush up and grab me! Let go of me, or I'll call the police!" The man sounded rather threatening but actually weak when he mentioned calling the police.

Chu Ming pressed the person down even harder, feeling somewhat annoyed. The distillery would never do something as despicable as counterfeiting money.

Conan, head held high, declared: "Do you dare call the police?! I've discovered you used counterfeit money to buy cigarettes! Tell me, where's your hideout?!"

The man's eyes darted around, still trying to argue. Chu Ming grew impatient and tightened his grip on the man's hand. He needed to find out the truth quickly and clear the distillery's name; he still needed to earn points with Ai Haibara!

The man cried out in pain, shouting, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Go easy on me! I'll talk, I'll talk!! It's at the newspaper office next to the police station across from Otsuka Station!"

"Next to the police station?" Conan looked on in astonishment.

Chu Ming sighed, "The most dangerous place is the safest place. It's always the darkest place under the lamp. I've learned my lesson." Next time, he'll persuade the boss to set up a base opposite the Tokyo Police Department headquarters, or next to the Public Security Bureau building.

Looking at the child behind him, Chu Ming decisively reached out and held down Conan, who was about to rush out, and called Inspector Megure.

—Your brother delivered sales figures to you!

After a while, Inspector Megure got out of the police car, and Chu Ming was standing on the roadside waving at him.

"Brother Chu Ming, where is that suspected counterfeit money manufacturing den you mentioned?"

Chu Ming pointed to the newspaper office across the street: "That's it. These are the accomplices we caught. Inspector Megure, be careful, they might have guns."

Inspector Megure nodded and waved for the officers behind him to sneak in.

Conan stood at the top of the stairs, unable to contain his excitement. Soon after, the three people inside were brought out, and Junya rushed up and hugged his brother.

Conan strode forward, staring intently at the woman in the lead.

"Alright, you're under arrest now. Quick, tell me your code names, and your accomplices, what's with Rum, Vodka, and your organization..."

Inspector Megure looked completely bewildered: "Conan, what are you talking about? What code name? This guy is called Silver Fox, he's a habitual counterfeiter."

It turned out to be a misunderstanding—Conan looked dejected.

Chu Ming and Ai Haibara, who was standing to the side, exchanged a glance. "Detective, don't be discouraged. I'll give you a big surprise later."

Chapter 49 I, Vodka, Don't Need Friends