The cross-dressing master in the world of Detective Conan

"Oh, it's already 6:30. No wonder I forgot."

Having just been discharged from the hospital today, Kaoru Kazama decided to treat himself to a meal at a restaurant. Of course, if the Metropolitan Police Department weren't so busy right now, he would probably invite Sato as well, since eating alone is just too miserable.

"System, if I don't interfere with the plot of this world, will it change?"

Kaoru Kazama planned to go to the Beika Department Store early, just in case things changed, in case something happened to Ran.

"Well, actually, the butterfly effect alone can't fully describe your role in the plot. You could say that as long as this person exists, they will have a continuous impact on the plot. However, from a certain perspective, you could also call it creating history. It's just that due to the unique plot of the Conan world, it's divided into the main storyline and the side storylines."

"The side stories are the everyday cases, while the main storyline involves cases where the Black Organization interferes. The impact you cause will be constantly cleared in the side stories, just like the time and season factors here. Because they are constantly being refreshed, you can see a police officer who goes from winter to summer in just a few episodes."

"You just mentioned a side quest, so what kind of impact will my existence have on the main quest?"

Kaoru Kazama is very familiar with the plot of Detective Conan. The side plots are just used by Gosho Aoyama to fill out the story. The main plots that feature the Black Organization are the real substance. Every time someone from the Black Organization appears, it guarantees high viewership. Aoyama is clearly very good at the art of scarcity marketing.

"Host, your impact on the main storyline will be recorded in the world's progress. Just like when you shot Gin, he obviously won't forget about it just because of the next case. But there's no need to worry. Your abilities are enough to make you run rampant in this world. You don't need to worry about the people at the Black Organization. What you really need to worry about are the products of your plot changes, like the anomalies in the cases you've encountered recently. The secrets hidden behind them are something even this system can't detect. You still need to be more careful."

As Kaoru listened to the system's warning, his thoughts drifted to the case he had intervened in for the first time since arriving in the Conan world—the medieval art museum murder case. Clearly, the death of the museum director, Ochiai, had left a deep impression on him.

"Phew, there's always a way out. After all, I have some kind of cheat code. Even if something really happens, you won't just stand by and watch me die, right?"

It's truly unprecedented in the world that you have to negotiate with the Golden Finger to ensure your safety.

As Kaoru Kazama spoke, she put on her trench coat. After all, the temperature was still quite low, and if she continued cosplaying Misaka Mikoto, she would probably catch a bad cold the next day, since she had just been discharged from the hospital.

"Seriously, was it really a good idea not to include Misaka Mikoto's abilities in this explosion?"

Kaoru Kazama muttered to himself, only then realizing that he might actually feel a bit lonely. After all, being a cross-dresser was still somewhat inconvenient.

She wore a white sweater underneath a beige trench coat, showcasing the beauty of a modern woman. Her long, jet-black hair danced in the wind, making her look like a celestial being descended from heaven, guaranteeing she would turn heads.

Actually, he had originally planned to wear that black trench coat. Compared to this light and refreshing color, he felt that black suited him better. However, in order to accommodate Conan's fear of the dark and to avoid being mistaken for one of his own by the people from the Black Organization, he decided to restrain himself after careful consideration.

And so, he drove to the scene of the crime, the building that Teiji Moriya had blown up in the end—the Beika Department Store.

He suspected that his presence might change the outcome of the skyscraper explosion. He had been injured by the bomb before because the amount of gunpowder was much greater than expected, and this time, to detonate the skyscraper, there might be more than the original amount of gunpowder.

At this time, Ran was probably still changing clothes at the agency, since she had booked a midnight movie ticket and it was only a little before seven o'clock. As for Kogoro Mouri and Conan, it seems that because of the previous discovery, they called Inspector Megure and his group to Teiji Moriya's house.

This is also an opportunity, just as Kazama Kaoru suspects that Moriya Teiji may not be the only one involved in this bombing incident. After all, it's really strange that an architecture professor would be so skilled with bombs.

So, thanks to Kazama Kaoru's reminder, Inspector Megure and his team went to Moriya Teiji's house much earlier than in the original story. He was going to the department store to see if they could find a bomb or other people involved in the crime.

After all, according to the information Miwako had just told him, Moriya Teiji was indeed staying at home and looked quite relaxed, not like he had just gone out.

Chapter 99 The Vanishing Bomb

The department store was bustling with people at that time. When Kaoru Kazama arrived there, it was already past eight o'clock in the afternoon. At this time, most people had already finished get off work or had dinner. There were still quite a few people out shopping at night, and with such a large crowd, there were naturally quite a few beautiful women as well.

Unfortunately, Kaoru Kazama wasn't in the mood to appreciate it, knowing that behind this glitz and beauty lay an extremely dangerous bomb.

"In terms of layout, if Teiji Moriya wanted to blow up this kind of building, he would definitely place the explosives in the load-bearing parts, and the exposed parts of the load-bearing columns of this kind of shopping mall building are usually located in the underground parking lot."

Following this logic, Kaoru Kazama drove his car directly into the underground parking lot of Beika Department Store. In a sense, this was a gamble, because if he couldn't defuse all the bombs, not to mention his own safety, he would definitely lose his car.

"System, could you help me look around too? This place is really big; I might not be able to find it all by myself."

In the original storyline, it was only mentioned that Teiji Moriya buried the remaining explosives inside the Beika Department Store, but it was not specified how many bombs there were. However, the design was quite deliberate, as if it was intentionally avoiding the movie theater where Ran was. The main entrance and passageway below were almost completely destroyed, but the Beika Movie Theater was only blocked at one entrance.

This is either a miracle from God or a precise, targeted blast.

"How is that possible? Logically speaking, the bomb should have been planted by now. Moriya Teiji wouldn't have the time to come out and plant a bomb right now. It's absolutely impossible."

The system's response was extremely simple. After scanning the surrounding environment for ten seconds, it confirmed that there were no explosives nearby, let alone such obvious military explosives.

"What, what exactly is going on? Could it be that the plot has been changed, and Moriya Teiji didn't intend to blow up the Beika Building?"

Unable to find the bomb, Kaoru Kazama's first thought was this, so he quickly took out his phone and called Ran to ask where she was.

Because Teiji Moriya's purpose this time was to target Ran, or more accurately, Shinichi Kudo. He deliberately wanted to make Shinichi Kudo taste the bitterness of pain, so he specifically inquired about Ran's schedule this Saturday and even set a trap in his mind. It can be said that if Ran hadn't had a flash of inspiration at the end, the entire audience in the movie theater would probably have been killed along with them.

"System, are you sure it's not a problem with your scan? How could there not be a single bomb in such a large underground parking lot?"

Kazama Kaoru was very puzzled. Judging from the range of the explosion and the extent of the damage to the building, it would have been absolutely impossible for such a building to collapse in such a short period of time if the load-bearing structure had not been destroyed. Don't forget, Japan is an island nation prone to earthquakes, and every building is designed to withstand earthquakes of at least magnitude 7.

"Although it's puzzling, that's the truth. And not only that, I also scanned the interior of the building and found nothing suspicious about explosives."

"That's strange. Moriya Teiji wouldn't bring a bag of flour here and cause a dust explosion, would he?"

Kaoru Kazama slowly walked up from the underground parking garage with countless questions in her mind, and unknowingly arrived at the first floor of the Beika Building, which happened to be the location of the Beika Cinema, the place where Ran was supposed to have a date. Unsurprisingly, she ran into Ran sitting outside waiting for her.

"Hey, Sister Xiaoxun, what are you doing here?"

Ran's eyesight is quite good; she immediately spotted Kaoru Kazama walking absentmindedly in the middle of the crowd.

"Xiao Lan, it's you. Are you watching a movie here tonight?"

Kaoru Kazama then realized what was happening and looked up to see the theme of the movie—the legendary red thread. Sure enough, just as he had imagined, there were couples everywhere, and even the air was filled with the stench of love.

However, Xiaolan is actually the same way. Although they agreed to watch a movie together, she has been sitting alone ever since she arrived here, and three groups of people have already tried to chat her up.

"Is Kudo still not here? That kid is really something, daring to be late for a date with a girl. When you see him later, don't be soft-hearted, you must teach him a good lesson."

Anyway, it's impossible for Shinichi Kudo to appear. It would be fine if Ai Haibara were here, but the problem is that Ai Haibara hasn't appeared at all. If Conan wants to grow bigger, he can only hope that Dr. Agasa will have a wild idea and create a robot that looks exactly like him.

"Xiao Xun, this isn't a date. I just haven't seen Shinichi in a long time, and he seems to be busy investigating cases, so I asked him out to see a movie to relax. It's really nothing. Don't believe Sonoko's nonsense."

Kaoru glanced at the electronic screen above with a half-smile, but ultimately decided not to tease Ran any further.

"The bomber hasn't been caught yet, so be extra careful. There's still some time, so I'll wait with you."

"Is this alright? Maybe we shouldn't trouble you, Sister Xiaoxun!"

Ran's face had already turned bright red when Kaoru glanced at the electronic screen, and it was even redder now. Kaoru had a feeling that if he continued to tease her, he might end up making Ran feel familiar.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of being a third wheel. I'm just temporarily acting as a protector of the flower before our great detective arrives."

"But to be honest, Ran, if the conditions allow, I will definitely pursue you. That Kudo kid really doesn't know how to cherish you. He's letting such a model wife and mother like you go out and have fun. Tsk tsk."

Kazama Kaoru was telling the truth. If he weren't a ShinRan fan at heart, and if his current circumstances didn't allow it, he might actually have considered pursuing Ran. After all, from any perspective, Ran is an excellent romantic partner, except for being a little stronger in combat.

While Kaoru Kazama was jokingly teasing Ran, Inspector Megure was also on the move. After discovering the connection between the bombing sites at the Apollo Restaurant, Kogoro Mouri, along with Inspector Megure, Shiratori, and Sato, headed to Teiji Moriya's residence.

While the group was arguing and testing each other in the living room with the obsessive Moriya, Conan had already sneaked away to the exhibition hall deep inside the villa when the adults weren't looking. There, models and photos of all the buildings that Teiji Moriya had designed from his debut to the present were displayed, including the Nishitama City New Town Project, which was suspended due to Shinichi Kudo's intervention.

Chapter 100 On How to Explode Without a Bomb

"The culprit must be Officer Shiratori."

Kogoro Mouri uttered a shocking statement that stunned everyone present, including Teiji Moriya.

At this moment, Teiji Moriya's inner thoughts are as follows:

"What's going on? Weren't these people here to confront me? Why are they suddenly fighting amongst themselves?"

"Uncle, he's starting his wild reasoning again."

Conan couldn't bear to watch Kogoro Mouri's ability to make things up anymore. At this moment, he even wanted to ignore everyone present and just give the old man a tranquilizer dart to shut him up.

"Brother Mori, how is that possible? How could Shiratori be the murderer? He's been with us on the case the whole time."

The first to raise suspicion was Inspector Megure. As a superior, it was naturally embarrassing for him to have his subordinate treated as a criminal suspect.

"You said you used to have great respect for Professor Moriya's father and were skeptical about his death. After Professor Moriya became famous, you shifted your suspicions to him. You even suspected that he might have started the fire at the villa."

"Once you were so sure of it, you made up your mind to blow up all the buildings designed by Professor Sen Gu. And more importantly, you were never on the scene every time the bomber called."

This is quite a coincidence. If you think about it carefully, is that really the case? Although Uncle Mori's reasoning is a bit weak, his observation skills are still quite sharp, after all, this is his profession.

Kogoro Mouri's twisted reasoning was so unexpected that even Teiji Moriya hadn't anticipated it. The real culprit in this case is now completely baffled, which shows just how devastating Kogoro's chaotic reasoning can be.

"Inspector Megure, it's me, Shinichi Kudo."

Finally, Conan couldn't stand Kogoro Mouri talking nonsense anymore, so he made a call to Inspector Megure's cell phone.

"Shinichi, you think so too, right?"

Uncle Mori also noticed Shinichi Kudo's call immediately; or rather, he was born to be the protagonist, with an incredibly strong presence.

"Completely different."

Conan didn't give his future father-in-law any face at all, which made Kogoro Mouri so angry that he fell hard.

"Inspector Megure, this is what happened..."

Conan, hiding behind the exhibition hall, used a voice changer to recount the whole story, including how he tricked Teiji Moriya into confessing his crimes using a prop he made himself. So, these detectives are pretty wicked; they're quite adept at using entrapment tactics.

"Hmph, if you think that's all there is to it, you're sorely mistaken, because there's another building I plan to destroy."

Despite his wrists being firmly handcuffed, Moriya Teiji remained calm, as if he were not the one about to become a prisoner. Then, he calmly dropped a bombshell.

"Could it be the Mihara City Hall? Or is it not perfectly symmetrical there either?"

Conan instantly realized what was happening and followed Teiji Moriya's gaze to see the last building picture on the wall—the Beika Municipal Building.

"Hmph, saying that there wasn't enough funding for construction because of the collapse of the bubble economy is utterly ridiculous. This is the worst work of my life. You people don't understand my aesthetics at all."

Moriya Teiji is no longer just a paranoid; he's practically suffering from a mental illness. His later success and the praise he received from others made him unable to tolerate the compromises he had to make when he wasn't famous enough in his early years. Ultimately, it's all about being spoiled.

"There is one minute left until 10 o'clock."

Seeing the shocked and grim faces of those present, Moriya Teiji was clearly extremely pleased. He slowly raised his wrist, glanced at the time, and then, as if issuing a death notice, announced the time until the bomb would explode.

"Xiao Lan!"

At this moment, Ran and Kaoru Kazama were outside the movie theater on the first floor of Beika City Hall. It was time to check tickets for the movie. Ran looked at the entrance of the movie theater with a disappointed expression. Obviously, Shinichi Kudo had not shown up.

"Ran, it looks like Kudo is entangled in some case again. Let's ignore him and come with me to see a movie."

Although Kaoru Kazama has become a cross-dressing master, he is still the same chivalrous otaku at heart, especially when he is facing Ran, the girl he has always felt sorry for.

"But wouldn't that seem strange?"

With a peculiar feeling in her heart, Xiaolan deliberately chose a movie full of suggestive meaning, and all the other guests were couples. It was obviously a bit strange for the two girls to go to see it together.

"It's okay. If anyone asks, just say you're my girlfriend. Anyway, same-sex marriage is legal in Shibuya now, so you might as well dump Kudo."

Kaoru Kazama has absolutely no qualms about tricking Conan. Not only has he tried to steal Conan's girlfriend, but he's also flirted with Ran in front of Conan more than once or twice. Sometimes, his identity as a cross-dresser is really quite convenient.

"Sister Xiaoxun, please don't make such jokes. It's quite embarrassing."

Ran is an innocent high school girl. She has never been exposed to this kind of thing. She only heard about it from her best friend Sonoko. After all, girls are always gossipy.

"Alright, alright, let's treat today as a date between you and me, Ran. Don't think about that Kudo guy anymore, or I'll get jealous."