Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

"Waaaaah, Ran, I'm so glad you're alright, waaaah..." Sonoko rushed forward, pulled Conan out of Ran's arms, and hugged Ran tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, "Do you know how scared and worried I was, waaaah..."

Conan stared speechlessly at Sonoko, who had pulled him aside, and plopped down on the air cushion next to her.

He was as confused as he had been about Granbury.

What exactly is Granbury trying to do with all this big stuff?

Was blowing up a building and completely fooling him just for his twisted sense of humor?

What kind of person is he exactly?

Conan looked at Ran, who was surrounded by people, and didn't go any closer. His gaze swept across the field, found Vermouth's location, and slowly walked over.

Vermouth leaned against the wall, exhausted, looking at the lingering firelight in the sky. She let out a long sigh. "That bastard Granbury, isn't he deliberately messing with people's mentality?"

If she had a heart condition, he would have made her seriously ill.

"Vermouth."

Hearing Conan call her, Vermouth shifted her head and gave him a disgruntled look: "What?"

She gets angry whenever she sees Conan now, because she made a deal with Granbury beforehand. What if she wasn't there?

Conan said he had a solution, but what happened?

His plan was for the two of them to hang in mid-air like salted fish and get blown up.

This family would fall apart without her!

Conan clearly saw the faint reproach and dissatisfaction in Vermouth's eyes, scratched his head, and felt a lingering fear in himself.

"Do you know why Granbury went to such lengths only to have it all turn into just fireworks?" Conan leaned against the wall, mimicking her. "Or did he have some backup plan?"

Vermouth rolled her eyes: "What backup plan? I made a deal with him. But it's also possible that he never intended to kill Ran in the first place, otherwise he wouldn't have only put a firework in her bracelet—ugh, so wasn't he setting me up? If I had known he wasn't planning to kill me, I wouldn't have gone to his doorstep like that..."

Conan pondered Vermouth's words carefully. Although her tone was dissatisfied, it also revealed a strange intimacy, as if it were not the simple superior-subordinate relationship they had previously shown.

"Stop overthinking it." Vermouth looked at Conan with a furrowed brow. "For the sake of me saving Ran, you'd better not say anything out of line when the police question you later. You can investigate on your own, and I can barely cover for you, but it's a different story once the police are involved. Granburg and Gin's attitude towards the police is probably the same. Once they find out that you leaked information, what happened today could very well become a fact."

Conan clenched his fists. He was in a very passive position. He had no intelligence whatsoever and had instead exposed himself to the organization's members...

He was beginning to understand what Ai Haibara had said earlier. He had initially thought she was exaggerating, but this incident had given him a taste of what would happen to those around him once their identities were exposed…

“I understand…” He looked up at Vermouth. “Thank you.”

Vermouth knew why Conan was thanking her—it was simply for saving Ran. Leaning against the wall, she said seriously, "Although I haven't had much contact with him, if Kogoro Mouri were here today, he would definitely prioritize saving his own daughter. Can you say he's not righteous because of that? Love and justice aren't contradictory. Sometimes I wish you could be a little selfish. I can't comment on you keeping your involvement with the organization a secret from her. But if she knew what happened today, she would be very heartbroken."

“But Kid just said that Ran made this choice herself, and I—” Conan stammered, “I love her more than I love myself, but—”

“This is different.” Vermouth sighed softly, looking at her godson who seemed to have half-grasped his senses, and gave him some private advice. “Xiao Lan is willing to sacrifice herself to save others, that’s her kindness, but you, as her boyfriend, can’t say that. What do you take her for? Your own possession? You let her live when she’s alive, let her die when she’s dead? You’ve been fair to everyone else, but you’ve wronged her!!”

Seeing Conan staring blankly at her, Vermouth's heart softened. She knew Conan loved Ran very much, and she also knew that if Conan had to choose between himself and Ran, he would only choose to die. However, Conan's sense of justice was too strong, so strong that he would sometimes unintentionally hurt the people closest to him.

"Do you know, if Ran knew that Shinichi Kudo sacrificed himself to save others, even though she wouldn't show it on her face, she'd probably be hiding somewhere crying... You're someone she can rely on too..."

Her little girl is always as kind as an angel, never wanting to cause trouble for others.

Vermouth straightened up, turned around and waved to Conan: "I'm leaving now. Go call Ran. Something so big has happened. She may not say anything, but she probably hopes you'll care. Ran didn't know about this, so I won't say much. But if you put Ran behind everyone else next time, I'll have to consider introducing her to some good resources."

Vermouth weaved through the crowd and quickly squeezed her way out. She felt like she had forgotten something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it and dismissed it as nothing important.

Conan watched Vermouth wave goodbye and leave, then stood there motionless for a long time.

This time he was indeed wrong. He was too arrogant and thought he could find a way to resolve everything, but reality gave him a resounding slap in the face and also woke him up.

He couldn't bear the pain of losing Xiaolan. At the moment the bomb exploded, his body felt as if it was being torn apart. He couldn't even imagine what life would be like without Xiaolan.

He placed his hand on his chest, feeling the subtle vibrations from his heart, and silently resolved that from now on, he would always put Xiaolan's safety first...

After figuring it out, he quietly slipped into the bathroom and, taking advantage of the chaos, made a phone call to Xiaolan.

Xiao Lan had just finished having her abrasions treated by the doctor and was sitting in the amusement park's medical room when she saw the phone call. She couldn't hold back her emotions any longer.

As soon as the call connected, Conan heard Ran's soft sobs on the other end: "Shinichi, do you know what I just went through... Why are you never here at times like this? I'm so scared. You're in Yokohama, and this is such a big thing, why didn't you come to see me... Are you still busy with the case? Can you come see me... I've been waiting for you to come, you know that..."

By the last sentence, Xiaolan was almost crying as she shouted it out. The grievances she had been holding back until now finally broke down in front of her beloved.

Hearing Ran's cries, Conan felt his heart breaking. He wished he could appear in front of Ran immediately, hold her in his arms, and comfort her so she wouldn't cry.

But he couldn't do it... He could only comfort Xiaolan through the phone, in this pale way...

It's all that damn Granbury's fault! If he hadn't impersonated me...!

Sigh, Vermouth left too early. I should have had her impersonate me and comfort Ran. Kid is here, but he's a man, and that bastard has a criminal record. Asking him for help is like inviting a wolf into the house...

Hiss—he wondered if Ai Haibara carried the antidote with her. She usually wouldn't give it to him. If all else failed, he'd just have to steal one…

Chapter 525 The Day I Wanted to Usurp the Throne

After calming Ran down, Conan decided to use Shinichi Kudo's identity to meet Ran.

He found Ai Haibara in the corridor outside the infirmary and subtly asked for an antidote.

"?" Ai Haibara glared at him. "Are you really that stubborn? The organization's people just left, and you already want to recover? Do you want to die even faster?"

“No, Ran needs me right now.” Conan sighed. “Anyway, Granburg had already disguised himself as me before, so if I show up again now, the organization won’t care. After all, even your face has appeared…”

Ai Haibara's face darkened at the thought of Vermouth, who had stolen her face. She silently pulled a small box from her side, took out a pill, and handed it to Conan: "There's only one. I improved the effect, but I don't know how long it will last. Leave immediately if you feel anything is wrong. I didn't want to give it to you, but if it weren't for her sake..."

Conan quickly took the pill and swallowed it whole.

"..." Ai Haibara rolled her eyes discreetly. "Did you forget to pack some clothes? Are you planning to go out and harass Ran like this?"

Conan, who was rushing towards the bathroom, froze. He stared wide-eyed at Ai Haibara: "Why didn't you say so earlier? What are we going to do now? What if I go shopping for clothes and suddenly turn into a living person on the street..."

"How was I supposed to know you'd be so quick?" Ai Haibara sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Wait here, I'll go see if I can find you something somewhere."

Conan felt his whole body burning up, as if his bones were melting. He staggered into the bathroom inside the infirmary, locked the door, and curled up on the floor, trying to suppress the roars and howls that were about to escape his lips.

No, Xiaolan is nearby, she'll hear us. We can't make a sound...

He curled up like a boiled shrimp, and with a cracking sound of bones, he raised his head high, veins bulging on his neck, gradually reverting to the appearance of Shinichi Kudo.

Struggling to his feet, he realized that all his clothes had torn when his body grew larger. He sat on the floor, somewhat embarrassed, staring at the bathroom door, hoping that Ai Haibara would return soon. He felt a chill on his back.

Suddenly, a piece of clothing fell from the sky and covered his head.

He grabbed his clothes and stood up in shock. When he turned around, his eyes widened in disbelief.

——Σ(っ°Д°;)っ——

Chu Ming squatted on the windowsill, unsure whether to go in or back.

He's going to report this! Shinichi Kudo is being a pervert in the toilet.

Does that mean you can go around naked in the toilet?

He had already left the amusement park, but as he got further away, he noticed that his control over the robot was gradually weakening. If Kidd discovered this, how could they continue to have fun?

So he changed his appearance and turned back.

—They're still using Shinichi Kudo's face...

His original plan was to steal Shinichi Kudo's account, sneak in through the bathroom window, and then open the door open and tell everyone that he had come to comfort Ran.

Isn't this a perfect move?

Even Conan would be grateful to himself for helping them get together!

He had clearly finished his check-up, and luckily there was no one in the restroom. The medical room's restroom was located near the sea, with a high and somewhat secluded window, making it impossible for anyone to come up from there.

His plan was perfect, but things didn't go as planned.

He had just scrambled to the window when the door opened, and Conan slipped in like a mouse, then lay down.

Wriggling and twisting... the person suddenly grew larger, and was only wearing a few strips of cloth...

Stay calm. As long as you don't feel embarrassed, it's Shinichi Kudo who will feel awkward!

Unable to bear seeing Shinichi Kudo walking around naked in front of him, Chu Ming finally gave in and threw a piece of clothing at him from his system inventory. He had prepared several sets of clothes to disguise himself as Shinichi Kudo, so he got off easy.

Startled by the clothes falling from the sky, Shinichi Kudo turned around and met Chu Ming's gaze.

Chu Ming couldn't bear to look at him and turned his face away: "Clothes."

Shinichi Kudo's face flushed bright red instantly, and he hurriedly grabbed his clothes and put them on.

Shinichi Kudo, who had just been fooled by his girlfriend, witnessed his most embarrassing moment, making him want to disappear into the ground: "When did you get here?"

"Before you transform," Chu Ming said, still squatting on the windowsill, "next time before you go into the bathroom, can you at least check if anyone's inside? Is this how even a famous detective lacks manners?"

Shinichi Kudo, thoroughly embarrassed, retorted: "You dare come back? The police are out there investigating the bomb. Are you walking right into their trap?"

"Then go ahead and shout~" Chu Ming stopped squatting and lazily sat down on the windowsill, his long legs dangling over the edge. "You can call the police to arrest me. I'll definitely confess to all the crimes with this face on my hands~"

Conan ground his teeth: "So what if you're disguised? Do you think the police won't find out?!"

Chu Ming scoffed, "Famous detective, you know nothing about my abilities. If you don't believe me, you can try and see if the police can discover that I'm in disguise after they take me away. If I don't even have that much skill, how can I stay in the organization?"

Conan gripped his clothes tightly, suppressing the urge to pry information out of him, reminding himself not to let his guard down just because Granburg seemed easy to talk to.

After all, he had just caused such a big incident because of his perverse sense of humor.

I almost, I was so close to losing Xiaolan...

Chu Ming watched Conan standing there with an uncertain look in his eyes, and suddenly stroked his chin. What would Conan be like if he were to be corrupted and brought into the organization?

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