Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

There was a car, people, and a clear destination. They followed a certain route downwards, and at each stop, a "Wuhuan" quietly died.

Amuro Tooru's hand hovered in mid-air, his fingertips only an inch from the mouse, but he stopped.

Why Karasuma?

It wasn't just anyone. It wasn't some randomly selected anonymous person. It wasn't one of those marginalized individuals whose existence was deemed "unnoticed by anyone."

Why did the organization specifically target them?

If it's just about testing drugs, wouldn't it be safer and more discreet to look for homeless people or missing persons who wouldn't be investigated?

unless--

Amuro Tooru stared at the flashing coordinates on the screen, something slowly and laboriously taking shape in his mind.

But the shape was too blurry and illogical; he couldn't grasp the crucial thread no matter what he tried.

He thought of Shinichi Kudo.

The seventeen-year-old boy did not die after being given APTX4869; instead, he shrunk to the size of a child.

If an organization is currently "testing drugs," searching for the next "successful" sample...

So what kind of person are they looking for?

What kind of person could possibly survive like Shinichi Kudo?

This question was like a thorn, stuck in a corner of his mind, but he couldn't pull it out to see the whole picture.

He took a deep breath and temporarily suppressed the thorn.

Now is not the time to get bogged down in trivial details.

He scrolled the mouse, switching pages. He began searching for "family members going missing during a trip".

This is much more difficult to investigate.

too little time.

The recent missing persons deaths occurred between three and seven days ago, and many families were not even aware that their loved ones were missing, let alone report it to the police.

In addition, "going on a trip" is a perfect excuse to explain several days of being out of contact and to cover up the delay in the discovery of the body.

Currently, only two cases can be found.

Two disappearances that were noticed by the families, reported to the police, and entered into the system were still committed by Karasuma!

Amuro Tooru stared at the two lonely records, a chill creeping down his spine.

If two cases have already been found—

So the number of events that have already occurred in secret but have not yet been discovered is probably not small.

He took a deep breath to suppress his fear.

What he needs to do now is to take the knife that Koniak hands him and then cut through the mess quickly!

Chapter 561 You've really given me a tough challenge!

3:17 a.m.

The desk lamp in the study was still on, its dim yellow light casting a low glow that illuminated only a small area the size of a palm on the desk.

Qingze sank into the large leather seat, the white plastic stem of a lollipop sticking out from the corner of his mouth. The cold light from the computer screen reflected on his face, outlining a half-light and half-shadow contour.

My phone lit up, and a notification icon for a new email flashed.

Sender: None.

Subject: Task.

The main text consists of only a few lines, so concise as to be almost cold:

[Target: Sherry]

Current identity: Ai Haibara

Current address: No. 0, 0-chome, Beika-cho, Tokyo (Agasa's residence)

[Attached: Recent photos ×2]

[Requirement: Bring them back discreetly to avoid alerting unrelated individuals]

[Time Limit: Within 3 hour]

Qingze's gaze slowly swept over those lines of text, and he smiled.

It was a really lively night.

He had only reminded Sherry in the first half of the night and received a call from Amuro Tooru, and now, in the second half of the night, the mission had arrived.

"Within 3 hours. Tsk... so urgent, they're really afraid the person will run away..."

He could almost picture the morbidly excited look in the eyes of the person who sent the email when they discovered Shirley.

I'm not worried that he's sleeping right now and hasn't seen the message, so he might just sleep past the deadline...

Brandy closed his phone after confirming that the email had been read.

The moment the screen went dark, he shifted his gaze to another screen.

On the computer monitor, a group photo is quietly displayed.

Five elementary school children stood under a cherry blossom tree in a park. The boy on the far right wore a pair of distinctive black-rimmed glasses and had a speechless expression on his face that was completely out of character for his age.

Conan Edogawa.

No.

Shinichi Kudo.

Brandy's gaze lingered on that face for a long time.

Sherry will be taken back; that's a done deal—the email has been sent, with a three-hour deadline, and Koniak will handle it.

But what about this little nephew?

He raised his hand, his knuckles touching his lower lip.

Ireland, Binga, Vermouth, Bourbon, Koniak... these people are all more or less related to him, and he has been using these relationships to carefully test the boundaries of the organization.

The deaths of Ireland and Binga were also inextricably linked to him.

This shrunken famous detective goes to school with Sherry, goes home with her, and pretends to be an ordinary elementary school student with her.

If left unattended, too many variables will arise.

Once the organization discovers his existence, once someone connects him with Shinichi Kudo, once those relationships that have not yet surfaced are unearthed one by one, the consequences will be uncontrollable.

But what if we clean it up?

He lowered his eyes, went over the option in his mind, and then put it down.

Such a waste.

To date, only two "successful samples" of APTX4869 are known: Sherry and Shinichi Kudo.

A living example that can reverse the flow of time, a real case of someone going back to seven years old from seventeen – this is not some “evidence” that can be destroyed at will; it is unique research material paved with the lives of countless people.

They were used directly as experimental subjects...

Brandy's fingers paused slightly.

He recalled the data from those "drug trials," the cold numbers and curves, and the breaths that began to disintegrate at the cellular level and eventually flattened out.

Then he glanced at the speechless boy on the screen.

After all, he's his nephew.

And it is not the only successful example.

He sighed softly, a sigh tinged with helplessness, weariness, and something indescribable and complex.

"Yusaku, oh Yusaku..."

He leaned back in his chair, facing the boy on the screen who knew nothing, and spoke in a low voice, as if chatting with an old friend.

"You've really given me a tough problem..."

......

In the dead of night after the rain, the air still carried a damp scent.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, falling in streaks onto the windowsill.

Ai Haibara stood by the window, watching the lights in the villa outside gradually go out.

Kudo Yusaku's room went dark. Akai Shuichi's room also went dark.

Only the moonlight outside the window shone brightly, cold and cold, illuminating her face.

It was already past midnight.

She didn't tell Shinichi Kudo.

Tell him it makes no sense.

Given his personality, once he finds out, he'll either stop them from leaving or impulsively do something unpredictable—either way, it will ruin things.

As for Ayumi and the others...

She lowered her eyes, her eyelashes casting faint shadows in the moonlight.

There's no need to say goodbye.

She didn't know when the organization would reach out, so she had to make all the arrangements in the shortest possible time.

The only person I'm worried about is Professor Agasa.

That chubby old man, who always had a squinty-eyed smile, took her in from the very first day she ran away. He gave her a room, pocket money, and made her those awful but never-ending curries...

He never asked about her past, never inquired about the nightmares that woke her up in the middle of the night, but simply treated her quietly, clumsily, as if she were his real granddaughter.

He has now gone to Shuichi Akai's place.

But not enough.

She needed to make sure that no matter what happened, no one in the house would be harmed because of her.

She picked up her phone and dialed the number that had been called earlier without a contact name.

Before the third whistle had even finished, the other end answered.

"Oh, dear Sherry, did you miss me?"

Koniak's voice came from the other end, with his usual mocking tone.

Ai Haibara didn't respond to his comment.

When are you free?

"Asking me if I'm free in the middle of the night," he said with a hint of exaggerated surprise, "you're not planning to elope with me, are you?"

Ai Haibara: "..."

She tried to ignore the meaningless chatter and kept her tone even:

"Take me back. Back to the organization."

On the other end of the phone, Qingze crossed his legs, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.

These clever people really do have a tacit understanding.

They stood on opposite sides of an invisible chessboard, playing a game of chess, both knowing that the most urgent moment had arrived.

Whoever makes the first decision gains the upper hand.

"You're ready so quickly?" His tone held a cryptic smile. "I thought you'd take a few days to properly say goodbye to your friends. After all—"

“Once you go back, you won’t be able to get out again.”

"It's better to do it sooner rather than later," Ai Haibara said calmly. "The later we wait, the more passive we'll become."

"Alright, alright."

Qingze stretched, and the chair creaked slightly as he stood up, the sound particularly clear in the quiet night.