Chapter 228

After some time, Shinichi Kudo—no, he should now be called Conan Edogawa—has gradually gotten used to his current life.

He lived at his friend's house, attended elementary school, played detective games with elementary school students, and worked hard to solve cases, but all the credit went to Kogoro Mouri... right up to this day.

Today, Kogoro Mouri is going to Kyoto to attend someone's wedding, so he's taking Ran and him on the Shinkansen together.

To his surprise, the two men in black he had been searching for for so long without finding a clue actually appeared on this Shinkansen!

Upon seeing the two men in black standing at the carriage door, Conan Edogawa was so shocked that he froze on the spot.

He trembled slightly when glared at by the man with long silver hair and fierce eyes.

This is the person who tried to kill him... If we see him, we'll find out that he not only didn't die, but actually shrank!

Just as Conan Edogawa reflexively raised his arm to cover his face, another man in black wearing sunglasses waved at him menacingly: "You brat, get out of the way!"

Conan Edogawa paused for a moment, his tense nerves easing a little.

...It seems they haven't discovered his true identity...Ahaha, well, he's turned into a child now, even fooling Ran, who grew up with him, so it's normal that these two men in black don't recognize him...

Just as Conan Edogawa breathed a sigh of relief, a familiar but long-unheard voice suddenly rang out.

"You're the ones who should move aside! This passageway is so narrow, and you two are blocking it. Don't you have any sense of public decency?!"

Upon hearing this, Conan Edogawa involuntarily widened his eyes and tried to look behind the two men in black.

That voice...it's Brother Bo Ye's voice! What's he doing here?! And he even dares to talk to those two dangerous men in black like this!

Even though an assassin might not directly attack in public, what if they hold a grudge and someone secretly poisons them? Eating and drinking on the Shinkansen is perfectly normal! There are plenty of opportunities to take advantage!

He still remembers it! The drug that shrunk him—according to the man in black, no poison can be detected after death!

It's unclear whether the two men in black were also shocked by such impolite words. They could have simply walked forward and sat down in their seats, which would have been considered giving way. However, they exchanged a glance, and the one wearing sunglasses quietly stepped aside to let the person behind him go first.

Sure enough, the next person to enter the carriage was Usaku Saiki, dressed in a fashionable style that Edogawa Conan couldn't quite understand.

His golden haori almost blinded Conan Edogawa, and a single black feather-shaped earring swayed gently under his right ear, echoing the black cross hair clip on his left.

When he walked in, Usakabe Saiki was still like a man in black wearing sunglasses, waving his hand very rudely.

But the person was just making a gesture and didn't actually touch anyone. However, the long string of Buddhist prayer beads that Bo Yezhai was wearing was originally half wrapped around his hand and half held in his palm. When he waved his hand casually, his hand loosened, and the string of prayer beads almost hit the man in black.

As a result, not only did Usaku Saiki not apologize, he was also extremely arrogant.

"Dressed so suspiciously, and acting so arrogantly, even bullying children, he's obviously not a good person. I'm going to call the police!"

Conan Edogawa was almost suffocated by Saiki Usaba's behavior.

For a fleeting moment, Conan Edogawa almost wanted to rush over and cover his beloved Usui-san's mouth.

Although he knew that Usuoba Saiki might be driven by a strong sense of justice and couldn't stand seeing the two men in black bullying a child, Conan Edogawa still wanted to shout at them:

Who's being more arrogant here?! Bo Ye, watch yourself! Show some of that obedient, docile side you have in front of my mother!

Conan Edogawa, who had finally relaxed a little, tensed up again and cautiously looked at the two men in black.

Perhaps these two men in black had a mission and didn't want to get into a conflict at this time and attract attention, or perhaps they were simply bullies who preyed on the weak...

In short, these two fierce-looking guys completely ignored the arrogant Usaku Saiki's bad temper when facing him. They simply kept a distance from Usaku Saiki in silence and walked to their seats.

Conan Edogawa breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't want to go to the restroom anymore; he needed to hurry back and keep an eye on the two men in black!

So Conan Edogawa quietly returned to Ran Mouri's side.

As Conan Edogawa passed by the two men in black, he heard the man in sunglasses speak with resentment.

"Big brother! That kid..."

"Stop talking."

Conan Edogawa thought to himself, "Usui-san's reasoning skills are pretty good. Maybe when he said he was going to call the police, he was actually warning these two people because he had discovered something suspicious about them... But Usui-san doesn't know that these two men in black aren't just small-time thugs; they're the kind who actually kill people!"

If he were still Shinichi Kudo, he could openly discuss this with Usui-san right now, but he's not...

Conan Edogawa sat back down in his seat, looked at Saiki Usaba sitting not far away, and sighed softly.

Sigh, although Bo Ye had caused him a lot of trouble, such as giving his mother the wrong information, which led to him being bombarded with phone calls from his mother and almost revealing that he had shrunk that very day... he still didn't want to involve Bo Ye in this bunch of dangerous trouble.

But he's a high school student, so what's wrong with him not being home by 8 PM?! His mother even asked Professor Agasa to tell him he needs to take responsibility for Ran… What strange things are these adults thinking?! He and Ran aren't in that kind of relationship! It's all Bo Ye's fault for saying those things!

But constantly taking leave from school isn't a good idea; my parents will eventually realize something's wrong. No matter how much I beg Professor Agasa, I can't keep fooling them...

Thinking about this gave Conan Edogawa a headache.

Suddenly, the two men in black stood up at the same time and left the carriage. Conan Edogawa quickly followed them.

Pretending to be reading a book, Usuha Saiki glanced out of the corner of his eye at Edogawa Conan leaving the carriage and slowly turned a page.

System: [You didn't get much suspicion points, feels like a wasted trip.]

【You don't understand.】 Usakabe Saiki's little lesson is in session again. 【This is the investment phase. Once the groundwork is laid, when Conan starts to suspect me and recalls that I appeared alongside Gin and Vodka today… then it won't just be a matter of 1+1=2! The return on investment will be higher than you can imagine!】

The system thought about it and agreed: 【As expected of you!】

A while later, Conan Edogawa was dragged back by Ran Mouri. On the way, he hurriedly placed a listening device on the seats of the two men in black, hoping to get some information.

A little while later, Gin and Vodka returned.

After Vodka sat down, he glanced cautiously at Usui Saiki: "...Brother Gin, will there be any problems with our mission this time?"

Why is there a Usoppō Saiki here?!

He gets a little scared when he encounters Usakabe Saiki! He feels like the mission is going to be ruined!

The most terrifying thing is that Usoppō Saiki actually pretended not to know them...

That's true. With so many people here, and so many ordinary people around, Usoppei would trigger that "we ordinary people are all like this" state.

The problem is, what ordinary person would encounter someone like him and his older brother and instead of remaining silent and avoiding them, would they verbally provoke them?

Gin didn't want to talk.

Over the years, he has developed a habit: whenever Usaku Saiki is within a 20-meter radius and the conversation involves Usaku Saiki, he loses the desire to speak.

But Vodka was still suspicious: "Brother, what do you think of Botte..."

"Shut up, Vodka." Gin finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke. He didn't want to hear someone's code name. "How could such a simple mission fail?"

Vodka thought for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief: "That's true. It was just delivering that black briefcase. Now that we have the money, we can consider it a success."

Speaking of the mission's success, Gin's mood improved somewhat: "Hmph, just one last step. Everything will be truly over when the bomb in that briefcase explodes. That bomb will detonate with any strong tremor. At 3:10, that guy will automatically press the switch, turning himself and the Shinkansen into fireworks... Hmph..."

Conan Edogawa, who was eavesdropping, was utterly shocked.

Good news: he learned three codenames: Gin, Vodka, and Port... These are all names of alcoholic beverages, possibly a codename naming tradition of that organization.

Bad news: they actually brought a bomb onto the Shinkansen!

Someone will die at 3:10?! That's less than 40 minutes!

We have to find a way to stop it!

As they arrived at Nagoya Station, the two men in black were about to get off the train. Conan Edogawa wanted to chase after them, but Ran Mouri stopped him.

"Honestly, you've been running off again as soon as I couldn't see you!"

Conan Edogawa was extremely anxious.

He avoided Ran Mouri and went to find the Shinkansen crew, but was dismissed as a child talking nonsense, meaning he had to find a solution on his own.

With so little time left and hundreds of people on the Shinkansen, how is he supposed to find the bomb?!

Even when he was so busy, someone suddenly grabbed him from behind.

"Found you, Conan-kun, right? Miss Mori has been looking for you, don't make her worry."

Conan Edogawa was extremely annoyed, but he quickly realized that it was Saiki Usaba's voice.

He turned around, looked up at Bo Yezhaiji, and asked with some confusion, "You know Xiaolan... cough, Sister Xiaolan?"

“I know her boyfriend. She seemed really anxious, so I helped her find you.” Bo Yezai sighed, head down. “Kid, could you please not run around like that?”

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

Damn boyfriend! How dare you spread rumors like this?! Do you know how much my mom imagines when you just spout nonsense like that?!

In an instant, old and new grudges surged into Conan Edogawa's mind.

Just then, Usoppei suddenly frowned, changed from bending over to squatting down, and looked at his face with a strange expression.

"Hmm...? Little friend, you look kind of familiar."

Conan Edogawa: "...!!!"

—Oh no! Not only did Xiaolan see him as a child, but Bo Ye also saw him in middle school before he had fully developed! Could it be that we've been discovered?!

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Landmines can be charged to 74/100

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This case starts in chapter 33 of the original manga. Gin and Vodka talk a lot of nonsense, as if they're afraid Conan won't know the information.

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Bo Yezhaiji spreads rumors everywhere.

From Conan's perspective, Usopp's attitude toward Gin and Vodka is really... well...

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Conan: Okay, gin, vodka, and port!

Potts: (smiling)