Conan, I'm an actor

"It's Professor Agasa's experiment, it exploded again." Conan said into the phone. "I'll go check if Professor Agasa is alright, I'll hang up now."

"Wait, Shinichi..."

Chapter 191 Kogoro's Desperate Situation (2)

Conan walked over to Professor Agasa, checked him over, and found that he had only been knocked unconscious by the explosion. He woke up after pinching his philtrum.

"Did the experiment fail?" Conan asked, somewhat disappointed.

"It's not exactly a failure, it's a success. I just added too much of one of the materials, but it's nothing serious." Dr. Agasa shook his head. "At most, we'll be able to make that soccer belt in three days."

"Yeah……"

"By the way, what did Yukiko call about just now?" Professor Agasa asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Ah, they came to me to vent after arguing with their husbands," Conan said with a hint of helplessness. "They said my dad keeps coming home drunk lately, so he must be having an affair."

"An affair!" Dr. Agasa exclaimed in surprise.

"It's just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" Conan said with a smile. "My dad is only thinking about deductions, he could never have that ability. Besides, the two of them always have to argue every now and then, there's no need to worry about them."

"Does arguing mean they have a good relationship?" Professor Agasa seemed a little confused, but then he suddenly realized something. "How about yours?"

"What about my situation?" Conan was taken aback.

"It's about you and Ran. Doesn't she already know your identity?" Professor Agasa asked, somewhat puzzled. "You two didn't have a falling out, did you? You've been coming to see me way too often lately."

Originally, Professor Agasa was supposed to be working on making new equipment for Conan much later in the story, but Conan was supervising the project in person every day, so he had no choice but to put his own work aside and make the equipment for him first.

“We don’t know how to face each other.” Conan poured the red medicine from one test tube into another. “I feel like Ran still treats me like a child. It’s really troublesome.”

"and many more!"

"Huh?" Conan looked at the professor with some confusion. The next second, the test tube in his hand exploded, emitting a lot of smoke.

"Ahem, Doctor, what is this?!"

"It's a liquid bomb that Shinjo asked me to develop, saying it's needed for some kind of project." Dr. Agasa sighed. "He already has the formula, but he can't make it, so he needs my help to make it."

"Huh?" Conan's eyes widened. "You made something as dangerous as explosives for him?"

Xincheng is no good person. He'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. If he had explosives, who knows what kind of trouble he'd cause. And why is everyone so reluctant to do things for him, but so efficient when doing things for him? Our years of neighborly affection have grown distant.

"Don't look at me like that. I did get paid to make things for Shinjo, and I really ripped him off," Professor Agasa said somewhat guiltily. "I felt bad about taking money for making things for you. Besides, can't you trust Mr. Shinjo a little more? If it weren't for his help during the bombing incident, it would have been questionable whether you and Ran could have come back safely."

Conan thought about it and realized that it seemed to be true. It seemed that he had a preconceived prejudice against Mr. Shinjo.

"The soccer belt should be finished in the next couple of days. You should go back now," Professor Agasa said with a smile. "The Kogoro Mouri brand has only just started to take off; we can't afford to ruin it like this. By the way, Valentine's Day is coming up soon. Even if I don't want to face it, I still have to do something."

Conan's lips twitched; he felt like he had shot himself in the foot.

Just as they entered the detective agency, they heard Kogoro Mouri roaring, seemingly arguing with someone on the phone. Listening closer, they realized it was Ran's mother, the lawyer Eri Kisaki.

"You bastard, it's none of your business!" Kogoro Mouri said angrily.

"They only introduced you to their clients out of kindness, hoping you could make more business," Eri Kisaki said arrogantly on the other end of the phone.

"Who wants a woman like you..."

"In that case, forget it. But don't blame me if you ever lose your job and have nowhere to live, Mr. Detective."

"Damn it!" Kogoro Mouri hung up the phone immediately.

Just then, Xiaolan walked in from outside. "Is that Mom? Dad, how can you talk to Mom like that?"

"After that, I had an investigation meeting with the Metropolitan Police Department, and that woman introduced the client without even asking me," Kogoro Mouri said angrily. "Just as self-righteous as ever!"

Ran could only manage a helpless, bitter smile when she heard Kogoro Mouri's complaints.

She didn't want to meddle in her parents' affairs.

"Oh, right, Ran, I have a meeting at the Metropolitan Police Department tomorrow. Why don't you and Conan come with me? Just wait at the entrance. I remember you guys have a day off tomorrow, right?" Kogoro Mouri said.

"Well, I think we should forget about it." Ran smiled somewhat reluctantly. "I made plans with Conan to go on a picnic tomorrow, and Sonoko will be coming along too."

"A spring outing?" Conan looked at Ran with some confusion. He didn't remember making plans to go on a spring outing.

However, Xiaolan clearly had something on her mind, and he wouldn't be foolish enough to expose her at this moment, otherwise he would definitely suffer Xiaolan's anger later, both mentally and physically, meaning he would get beaten up.

“Alright, but be careful lately, things are pretty chaotic outside.” Kogoro Mouri nodded. “If Sonoko wants to go to any strange places, try to refuse. Like last time, deep in the mountains…”

"Dad~" Ran stared at Kogoro Mouri and called out with some dissatisfaction.

He expressed strong resentment towards Kogoro Mouri for interfering with his trip with his friends.

"There was a gunfight in Gunma yesterday. You should already know about it from the news, right?" Kogoro Mouri coughed. "The news is lying."

"A lie?" Conan was taken aback.

"Hmm, the news is being tightly controlled from the outside, and the police sealing off the scene are not from the Gunma Prefectural Police, but from the SWAT team." Kogoro Mouri frowned. "I suspect that some special department is fighting with a criminal organization. Of course, this is just my speculation."

"A criminal organization?" Conan immediately thought of the Black Organization, but then felt that it was unlikely.

Shinjo had told him about the Black Organization's code of conduct, so those guys shouldn't be having a direct confrontation with the police. Fortunately, their area of ​​operation is in Gunma, not far from Tokyo, so they shouldn't be affected.

“Yes, these are all characters that ordinary detectives can’t handle.” Kogoro Mouri sighed. “And there’s also a serial murder case at the Metropolitan Police Department, they say it’s some kind of mahjong killer.”

Chapter 192 Kogoro's Desperate Situation (3)

Conan's eyes lit up instantly; he sensed a case, and not just any case, but a major one. However, before he could ask any questions, Ran interrupted him.

"Dad, really, how can you talk about work-related things like that?" Ran said angrily. "Inspector Megure invited you because he trusts you."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Kogoro nodded seriously. "It's all that brat's fault for asking random questions."

"Sister Ran, put me down." Conan struggled and was being lifted up like a child, which was really too embarrassing.

"You're punished to help out in the kitchen today!" Ran dragged Conan straight to the kitchen.

Kogoro Mouri watched his daughter's retreating figure and then lay down on the table to wait for his meal. As for the client that Eri Kisaki had introduced, he didn't care about him at all.

Kitchen

"Why did you refuse your father?" Conan asked, leaning against the back of the chair.

"Because I need to take you to Mr. Shinjo to ask about the situation," Xiaolan said while chopping vegetables. "Haven't you been wanting to use that medicine for a long time? I want to ask Mr. Shinjo if the medicine has any side effects, and if there are any precautions to take when using it."

"No need to ask, I've already taken this medicine," Conan said somewhat helplessly. "Just give it to me."

"No way!" Xiaolan turned her head and said, "If I gave it to you, you would definitely eat it all."

"When are you going to give it to me?"

“You haven’t been to school for a long time during the midterm exams. You have to come for the exams, otherwise you’ll have to repeat the year,” Xiaolan said matter-of-factly.

"What did you say?!" Conan's face turned pale with shock.

He'd been slacking off all this time, and had long forgotten most of his high school coursework. Taking the exam now would only result in one outcome—being ranked last.

Although he wasn't a genius, he was still a top student; otherwise, the teacher wouldn't have approved his leave. If he had gotten a bad grade, not only would he have lost his leave, but given his current state, he might even have been expelled.

"Do you still want to skip the exam?" Ran looked at Conan with some hostility.

"What I mean is, you see, I've been in elementary school for so long, so when it comes to exams, I should just take the Teitan Elementary School test papers instead," Conan said somewhat awkwardly.

"So, starting tomorrow, I'll be giving you extra lessons. I've already gotten rid of Sonoko from collecting your notes, so you'll have to study on your own from now on."

Conan felt dizzy, and the thought of those exam papers made him feel that his bleak life was over.

In a daze, Conan ate dinner but didn't even watch TV; he just sat on the sofa, lost in thought.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and a pretty middle-aged woman opened the door and asked, "Excuse me, is this the Mouri Detective Agency?"

“Yes.” Kogoro Mouri frowned. It was already past business hours, and he didn’t want to take this job.

However, judging from the client's appearance, he seemed very anxious, which was definitely not because he was a client introduced by that woman.

"By the way, is there something you need from me?" Kogoro Mouri looked at the woman in front of him and quickly got into work mode.

"Actually, it's about my husband dying a week ago," said Shichie Tsukumo with a hint of sadness on her face.

"Dead? Could it be murder?" Kogoro Mouri asked, frowning.

Things get complicated once it gets involved in a murder case, and he doesn't have much time to investigate it lately.

"No, they said it was suicide."

"What do you mean?" Uncle Mori asked with a serious expression.

Because he had been a policeman, he was well aware of the bad habits of the Japanese police. Some cases without clear doubts would be classified as suicides to avoid further investigation, which led to frequent wrongful convictions.

“Because a week ago, I left my husband alone at home and went out. When I returned home, I couldn’t find him in any room,” said Shichiko Kuju. “I was thinking of checking my husband’s private basement, but I found him lying on the floor, his body cold. He had committed suicide by poisoning himself.”

"What kind of poison is it? Did the police say?"

"According to police testing, the poison is called aconitine."

"Aconitine?" Xiaolan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Aconitine is actually a nerve-numbing poison. It's extracted from the leaves and roots of a plant called Aconitum caryophyllum. Just 2 milligrams can kill an adult. Once dissolved in the body, a person will die within minutes. It's an extremely potent poison." Conan glanced at Kogoro Mouri, who was racking his brains, and began explaining.

"But where did you get it from?" Kogoro Mouri was taken aback. "Such a potent poison must be a controlled substance."

“There are many of them in the mountains. In fact, after the toxins are removed, the mountain bird herb is often used in traditional Chinese medicine.”

Kogoro Mouri nodded, then looked at Nanami Tsukumo, "So, when his body was discovered, were you alone, Madam?"

“My husband’s three students are also here.”

"Three students?"

“Because my husband was a magician when he was alive, and my husband, Motoyasu Tsukumo, was quite famous in the world.” Shichie Tsukumo’s face showed a hint of remembrance.

"Tsukumo Motoyasu?" Kogoro Mori's face showed a hint of surprise. This name sounded familiar.

“I know this person. The news reported that this genius magician passed away.” Xiaolan immediately recalled the news from a few days ago.

"Uncle, you usually only watch live broadcasts of horse races, right?" Conan immediately switched to sarcasm mode.

Kogoro Mouri was furious. What was wrong with this brat today? Why was he being so energetic?

"Oh, right, Dad, didn't we go to see Mr. Motoyasu Tsukumo's magic show? I remember we even took a picture with him back then." Ran turned and walked towards a cabinet. "Let me see where the photo is."

"So, it was that opportunity that allowed me to meet your wife, Eri Kisaki."