Conan, I'm an actor

Johnson breathed a sigh of relief and then began negotiating with the head of the transport team.

After resolving the issue here, Xincheng went directly to the third floor of the R&D center, where the loud wind noise made him very uncomfortable.

At this moment, a model was running on the large screen, densely packed with thousands of cells, seemingly cell models. After activating the medical module of the prosthetic eye, he discovered that the cell in front of him was degenerating; at least half of the cells were degenerating, and the other half were dying in the process of degeneration.

"What are you studying?" Shinjo's expression was a little strange.

This time, however, Karen did not respond to him. Shinjo went to the back office and took a look, only to find that the system usage rate had reached 100%.

This is really strange. After making a lot of money, he added servers for Karen several times. The computing power of this supercomputer is among the top ten in the world. What is Karen doing that she can use 100% of the resources?

Looking up to observe the model's subsequent changes, the medical module in the artificial eye began to analyze rapidly, and one professional term after another appeared in Xincheng's mind.

A few minutes later, he felt the medical module start to heat up rapidly, and then his vision turned blue – a high-temperature blue screen.

"What is this?" Xincheng took a can of iced cola from the refrigerator and pressed it against his eyelids to cool himself down.

"Didn't you already see it? The process of APTX-4869's onset." Karen's voice was a little hesitant, but it became more normal as the model's evolution slowed down.

"Where did you get this data?" Shinjo asked, somewhat puzzled. "As far as I know, there are only two people who have taken APTX-4869 and successfully shrunk. The organization doesn't know about this drug's side effects, so they shouldn't have any experimental data."

“This is Miyano Akemi’s body data, recorded by your prosthetic eye. I simply exported the data from your prosthetic eye and performed the calculations,” Kallen said with some doubt. “Didn’t you know that?”

"What do I know?" Shinjo's face turned green. "How did you get access to my prosthetic eye?"

“A database, huh? Just collect data from a database.” Karen asked, somewhat puzzled. “Isn’t this database website yours? I found that the domain name is yours, and the data inside was collected and uploaded by your prosthetic eye.”

Xincheng was speechless. This was probably another system-related feature. It was all because this broken system didn't come with an instruction manual when it was manufactured.

"So what's the result for you now?"

“The process of cell degeneration should be controllable,” Karen said. “I analyzed the components of both your drug and the drug for that tissue, and the result is that your drug is more effective. To be precise, your drug slows down the degeneration process, allowing more cells and tissues to survive.”

"speak English!"

"The process of degeneration is like putting pressure on the cells. The two drugs put pressure on the cells at different rates. The drug for tissues works faster, and the cells can't withstand it, so they rupture and die. Your drug puts pressure on the cells more slowly, like boiling a baby in lukewarm water, which allows more cells to survive."

"I think I understand." Shinjo nodded. "So, as long as the pressurization rate is slow enough, humans can rejuvenate?"

“That’s unrealistic.” Karen shook her head.

Why?!

“Brain cells are non-regenerative and irreversible, which is why their memories don’t change even after they shrink.” As Karen spoke, a human figure appeared on the screen. “Then there’s the lungs. During the reversal process, the lungs will develop some fibrosis. The older you get, the more fibrosis you will have, which may lead to sequelae such as coughs and colds.”

"I don't understand." Xincheng shook his head, somewhat bewildered.

If only the medical module of the prosthetic eye were still there, at least it could explain things to me, instead of me listening to gibberish like this.

Karen seemed to know about Shinjo's current condition, so she simply gave up on treating Shinjo and started running the cell model again.

"By the way, I just wanted to let you know that all the machine tools have arrived. When are you planning to start work?" Xincheng asked excitedly.

“We can start work once the installation is complete, but before we begin, shouldn’t you get some exercise first?” Karen said irritably, “With your physical condition…”

"Okay, okay," Shinjo said impatiently.

Chapter 119 Stealing Photos and Passing on Messages

Before they knew it, it was the weekend. Early in the morning, Kogoro Mouri drove up to the entrance of the Koshimizu Detective Agency and urged him and Koshimizu to get in the car.

“Seriously, you don’t have to be so stingy. If you can’t afford a Crown, don’t rent a minivan. It’s a bit bigger and more spacious, but… wait!” Xincheng got into the driver’s seat. “It even has paddle shifters. This minivan is pretty high-end.”

"This is an MPV, you know what an MPV is?" Maori protested, dissatisfied. "Renting this car is no cheaper than renting a Crown."

"Whatever you say goes. Lead the way." Shinjo tossed a map to Mori.

A few hours later, the car arrived safely at the hot spring hotel, and Ran and Conan both breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, Mori, did Inspector Megure mention those guns to you before?" Shinjo asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

“They didn’t say that. This is very strange.” Kogoro Mouri frowned and said, “The First Investigation Division has also stopped investigating the smuggling channels. I asked Megure, and he said the case was transferred to the Public Security Bureau and that I shouldn’t worry about it. Why are you asking about this?”

"Nothing, just a little curious." Shinjo took his luggage out of the trunk and then went into the hotel with Koshimizu, Ran, and Conan.

Mori looked at the two huge suitcases in the trunk and reluctantly picked them up.

"Benkei?" Shinjo frowned as he looked at the hotel in front of him.

"Is there something wrong with this name?" Yue Shui asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Aren't you a liberal arts student? Benkei, you don't know?" Shinjo asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Uncle Shinjo is probably talking about Musashibo Benkei," Conan said from the side. "He was a figure from the Sengoku period. Legend has it that Benkei died standing up after being hit by a thousand arrows, a famous feat known as 'Standing Death.'"

"Conan, how do you know so much?" Ran asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Shinichi told me." Conan immediately shifted the blame to his future self, and he's getting more and more adept at it now.

Yue Shui kept her head down very low. She didn't know things that even elementary school students know, despite being a liberal arts college student.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know. It's just a fight between a few villages. There's nothing worth remembering," Xincheng said reassuringly before walking into the hotel.

After getting the key, he parted ways with Yue Shui and the others, and they quickly arrived at their room.

"Is there something you need to do that brought you with Kogoro Mouri this time?" Nanatsuki Koshimizu suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Shinjo was taken aback. "Why do you ask that?"

“You’re too nervous, so nervous that you don’t seem like you’re on vacation at all,” Yue Shui said, staring at Xin Cheng. “I initially thought you were just tense because you were going to drive, but after walking upstairs, I realized I was wrong.”

You're overthinking it.

"Then why are you carrying a gun?"

“Sometimes being too observant isn’t a good thing.” This time, Shinjo didn’t deny it. Instead, he changed into a yukata, hid the two guns inside, and went downstairs.

In the reception room

At that moment, Kogoro Mouri was already bragging to his old classmates, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Shinjo just glanced at them and then went downstairs.

The old woman who guarded the gate seemed to have left. He went straight to the register and quickly found Horikoshi Yumi's name and her room number.

Upon arriving at her room, he skillfully unlocked the door with two wires and found the photos directly.

"This woman keeps her word; she brought not only the photos but also the negatives." Xincheng put these items directly into a plastic bag and then put everything back in its original state.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw Conan walking over from the other side carrying a glass of milk.

“Uncle Shinjo, this isn’t your room, is it?” Conan said, staring at Shinjo.

"If you don't want anyone to die on this trip, don't say anything more." Shinjo handed the photos in his arms to Conan. "Go to Kogoro Mouri's place and give these things to that man named Kazushi Nakamichi."

"This is……"

“Tell him that this class reunion should be a wonderful occasion, not stained with blood.” Xincheng sighed. “Hopefully, he can turn back in time.”

"He'll become a murderer, won't he?" Conan asked, clutching the photo in his hand.

“Sometimes it’s better to play dumb,” Shinjo said, looking at Conan. “Sometimes the difference between victim and perpetrator is just a step. By the way, if he wants to find me, I don’t mind. I’ll be at the restaurant next door until 5:30.”

Conan looked at the photos and negatives in his hand and finally decided to do as Shinjo said.

Indoor billiards

"Uncle Nakamichi, an uncle just asked me to give you something." Conan said, looking at Nakamichi Kazushi in front of him. "He also has something to tell you."

"What is this?" Nakamichi Kazushi chuckled as he took the package from Conan's hand, but his expression gradually stiffened after seeing its contents.

Conan's expression turned serious. Sure enough, Uncle Shinjo had sensed something, which was why he tried to retrieve those photos from that room and hand them over to Nakamichi Kazushi.

He had already seen them; those photos were all couple photos of Nakamichi Kazushi and Horikoshi Yumi, and they didn't seem particularly special.

"Conan, what did that person want you to tell me?" Nakamichi Kazushi asked with a smile, concealing his true feelings.

"He said this trip should be wonderful and shouldn't be stained with blood," Conan said somewhat uncertainly. "I think that's what he said."

"Where is he?" Kogoro suddenly asked.

He had noticed the unusual situation long ago, but hadn't said anything. However, upon hearing Conan's words, he became restless. Kazushi's identity was that of a police officer, a profession that could easily offend people. Could it be that this was a criminal Kazushi had arrested before, seeking revenge?

"Kogoro, you don't need to worry about this." Nakamichi Kazushi stood up and straightened his clothes. "That guy came looking for me. In that case, I'll go and meet him and see who he is."

"But……"

"No buts, you're not a policeman anymore." Nakamichi Kazushi slapped Kogoro Mouri on the back of the head. "Don't forget, you brought Ran with you this time. Do I need to remind you why you retired?"

"Dad..." Ran looked at Kogoro Mouri with some worry.

Kogoro Mouri took out his phone and said, "Wait a minute, I need to find someone. There are more than just the two of us police academy students here this time. I need him to protect Ran and Conan, and then..."

“Uncle Shinjo went out with Sister Koshimizu earlier. They said there’s a really good snack shop nearby, so we’re going to try it,” Conan said immediately.

Nakamichi Kazushige was looking for Shinjo, and if Kogoro Mouri brought Shinjo over, everything would be ruined. To prevent a tragedy from happening again, Conan lied against his will.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Kogoro Mouri's sharp eyes, eyes that seemed to see right through him.

Conan's expression stiffened. Only then did he realize that Kogoro Mouri and Shinjo were old classmates, and he was definitely more familiar with Shinjo than with him. Perhaps Kogoro Mouri had already figured something out.

Chapter 120 Surrender and Arrest Horikoshi

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Just stay here and play your pool." Nakamichi Kazushi said, patting Mori on the shoulder. Then he pointed to Jun next to him and said, "If we leave, Yukio and Noriko won't take care of him. He'll be all alone and pitiful."

“I’m not pitiful at all,” Ah Chun retorted immediately.

"What happened?" Ayashiro Yukio walked over with a pool paddle.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Kogoro Mouri waved his hand. "It's probably because Kazushi ran into someone he knows, and that person might have something to say to him."

"That's it. I'll be right back after a short while," He Zhi said with a smile.

At this moment, at the counter, Horikoshi Yumi is arguing with the hotel's elderly woman about something. It seems that something is missing, and she is saying that she will call the police. The atmosphere seems very tense.

"Yumi, what happened?" Kazushi asked with a smile, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

"It's nothing, just lost a few things." Horikoshi Yumi frowned as she looked at Nakamichi Kazushi and Conan. "Where are you two headed?"

“We heard that the restaurant next door has two signature dishes, so we wanted to go and try them out.” Nakamichi Kazushi patted Conan’s head and said, “This kid said he found some hidden menu items, and I was also a little hungry, so we went out to get something to eat together.”

Conan, who was being patted on the head by a large hand, was in a particularly bad mood. Were all these guys taught by the same teacher? They like to pat people on the head so much.

Horikoshi Yumi nodded, then resumed arguing with the hotel owner.

Not long after the two left the hotel, Conan asked, "Uncle Nakamichi, what's the deal with those photos?"