Chapter 391

As soon as Kenji Hagiwara finished speaking, Jinpei Matsuda said speechlessly, "Although that kid is indeed very smart, isn't Shinichi Kudo a high school student? A high school student suddenly becoming an elementary school student... Our technology hasn't developed to that point yet, has it? If it had, wouldn't it be headline news all over the world for at least half a year?"

"But don't you think it's a coincidence? Shinichi Kudo mysteriously disappeared for a long time, and when he occasionally showed up, we had to keep it a secret. And then Conan, who looks exactly like Shinichi Kudo, just happened to appear at this time... and his name is Edogawa Conan." Kenji Hagiwara complained, "It sounds like a pseudonym!"

Matsuda Jinpei was speechless.

After all, the name Conan Edogawa... really does sound fake!!!

“…Perhaps his parents are detective enthusiasts and deliberately gave him this name.” After hesitating for a while, Matsuda Jinpei came up with a plausible reason.

Ken Hagiwara sighed: "Do you know what Conan's mother's name is?"

“How could I possibly know?” Matsuda Jinpei said irritably. “What kind of business is it for me to pry into other people’s mothers?”

Kenji Hagiwara's lips twitched: "I'm really sorry, I was just curious and asked why Conan-kun was living at the Mouri's house... Anyway, according to Ms. Ran, Conan-kun's mother is named Fumiyo Edogawa. She went to the Mouri Detective Agency to give them living expenses before, and hasn't been seen since."

Matsuda Jinpei: "…………"

If you're interested in solving cases, you'll naturally come across many detective stories, and as a Japanese person, Edogawa Ranpo's works are a must-read.

When talking about Edogawa Ranpo, one must mention the classic detective character he created, Kogoro Akechi, whose wife was named Fumiyo Akechi.

Edogawa should theoretically be her husband's surname, but given the above-mentioned background, the combination of Edogawa and Fumiyo sounds very much like a kana (a type of Chinese slang term for a name).

"It's not impossible that two detective fans might take a liking to each other's surnames and given names, and then deliberately name their son Conan Edogawa." Even with all his trust in his childhood friend, Matsuda Jinpei still held firm to his own beliefs. "Besides, since Miss Ran has already met Conan-kun's mother, it definitely isn't Mrs. Kudo..."

Kenji Hagiwara coughed: "Ms. Yukiko used to be an actress and seems to know how to disguise herself. Sharon Vineyard does too. A fan filmed a video of her tearing off her disguise mask in the street a year ago. They are fellow students."

Since he had suspicions, he naturally investigated. However, because he was already busy enough as a detective, the progress was slow, but he did investigate everything that needed to be investigated.

Matsuda Jinpei was speechless upon hearing this, but since he still had someone to refute his speculation, he turned to ask Kanekawa Shinryu, "Kanekawa, is that what happened?"

He had been holding back for a long time, but Hagiwara Kenji actually guessed it himself, which made him feel quite disappointed... However, Matsuda Jinpei's refusal to believe him earlier was worth it, so he nodded decisively.

"Yes, that's Shinichi Kudo."

Matsuda Jinpei indeed showed a greatly shocked expression.

"Huh? Huh??? That can't be right! Isn't the Kudo family just a combination of writers and big stars? I haven't seen any scientists... Wait, could it be Professor Agasa, who always appears with Conan-kun..."

In Matsuda Jinpei's view, being able to change size and move freely must mean that he voluntarily cooperated with the experiment. It's just that the experiment needed to be kept secret, so he created a false identity.

I estimate that we'll wait until the experiment is stable before applying for patents or awards.

So it's normal that there's no rumor about it at all, because it's still in the experimental stage!

Matsuda Jinpei has begun to justify his actions.

Although Kenji Hagiwara had already made a guess, he was still a little incredulous when it was confirmed to be true. However, he quickly regained his composure and began to think excitedly.

"I don't know about that." Kenji Hagiwara's brain was working quickly. "But I feel it's very likely. It must be for the sake of secrecy. Only people with good relationships would do this. Otherwise, why would Conan-kun... no, Kudo-kun, a perfectly normal high school detective, participate in this kind of experiment?"

None of them considered the possibility that Shinichi Kudo was forced into this situation.

But we can't blame them. After all, anyone who sees Conan Edogawa taking a break from high school without any sense of tension, going to elementary school, and living at his childhood friend's house wouldn't think he's in any danger.

Matsuda Jinpei was already marveling: "You really can't judge a book by its cover! So Dr. Agasa is actually researching anti-aging! In a couple of years, he'll be a big shot who drives world development and might even revolutionize medicine..."

Hanchuan Shenliu: "…………"

Unexpectedly, these two people also deduced the theory that Dr. Agasa was behind everything... Dr. Agasa's accusation is truly beyond our comprehension.

To avoid any negative impact, Hanchuan Shenliu emphasized, "Just keep this to yourself, don't tell him, and don't ask him anything..."

"I know, I know. If I ask, they might think someone in the lab is being loose-lipped and worry about leaking experimental data, so they might start cracking down on the lab, causing the progress to slow down. Then I'll become a sinner in history books." Matsuda Jinpei was shocked, but he didn't have any particular thoughts about shrinking and had no urge to delve into it, so he quickly calmed down.

But Kenji Hagiwara realized something was wrong: "Speaking of which, how did Fukaru know? Could the experimental data have really been leaked?"

“Hmm…” Hanchuan Shenliu pondered, “There’s no need to know anything about the experiments… The son of the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief, Hattori Heiji often accidentally calls him Kudo.”

Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji suddenly realized, "I see!"

Heiji Hattori also frequently visits Tokyo, and Kenji Hagiwara actually ran into him a few times. He also saw Heiji Hattori whispering with Conan Edogawa. Now it all makes sense!

As for when Shinryu Samakawa had any contact with Heiji Hattori, that goes without saying. Back when a retired senior officer from the Metropolitan Police Department asked Shinryu Samakawa to go on a cruise ship to find a criminal, Heiji Hattori and Conan Edogawa were both there, so they probably already knew about it then.

Having learned such explosive news, both of them felt like they were witnessing history, and their attitudes towards Conan Edogawa changed as well.

Matsuda Jinpei was alright; he was in the explosives disposal squad and didn't have much contact with Edogawa Conan. But Hagiwara Kenji would often see Edogawa Conan at the scene, and sometimes the way he looked at him was quite subtle.

Fortunately, Kenji Hagiwara remembered that this matter should not be alarmed, so he acted quite convincingly. At least when Conan Edogawa sensed something and turned around sharply, Kenji Hagiwara assured him that he had realized he was looking too blatantly and looked away.

Once again, Conan Edogawa felt a chill run down his spine, but when he turned around, he couldn't find the source: "…………"

He suddenly understood Ai Haibara's feelings a little better; sometimes she really is very sensitive!

Damn it! Who is lurking around here? They seem to be watching him. Could it be someone from the organization?

Speaking of which, before returning to the organization, Ms. Rena Mizunashi sent a message to the FBI saying that the organization had recently sent out Bourbon... Who exactly is this Bourbon? Will he appear in the vicinity?

Actually, because he thought Shuichi Akai was really dead, Bourbon didn't need to come out to investigate whether Shuichi Akai was really dead, as he did in the original work. However, he was assigned the new task of investigating where Hiromitsu Morofushi had escaped.

After being swayed by Usoppō Saiki's interference, who said he couldn't do the mission because he had connections in Scotland, Bourbon naturally dropped the mission, leaving Rum speechless.

So Rum thought about it and simply handed over the investigation of Kogoro Mouri to Bourbon. Once, Rena Mizunashi was fitted with listening devices and tracking devices, and the investigation led all the way to Kogoro Mouri. However, due to Shuichi Akai's sniping and Saiki Usuba's comment about "an FBI trap," the organization temporarily gave up its suspicions about Kogoro Mouri.

Rum was rather suspicious. After that incident, he would keep an eye on Kogoro Mouri whenever he had free time. He always felt that the man was strange. He originally planned to investigate himself, but Bourbon suddenly shifted the blame. Since he couldn't find anyone else suitable for the time being, he had to do it himself. So, he left his original plan to Bourbon.

So they sent Bourbon to investigate Kogoro Mouri.

Upon hearing this, Rena Mizunashi quickly informed the FBI—she didn't know the details of Bourbon's mission, only that he was going to Tokyo, and perhaps the FBI in Tokyo could investigate something.

Because of her recent escape from Scotland, she, who had just returned from the FBI, was being watched even more closely than in the original story. She was able to send out fewer messages than in the original story, only informing Bourbon that she was going to Tokyo, and nothing else.

She figured that Shuichi Akai knew Bourbon anyway, and the FBI probably knew more about him than she did!

...Unbeknownst to Rena Mizunashi, Shuichi Akai had been so cautious that he hadn't contacted his FBI associates yet, and the FBI thought he was already dead...

In short, despite the whirlwind of this butterfly's wings, the story actually progressed much like the original.

Conan Edogawa only learned in the last two days that the organization had sent Bourbon, but he didn't know the other party's purpose, what he looked like, or even if he could make contact with him. Naturally, he didn't know what else he could do.

All I can say is that I need to be extra careful lately.

At times like these, a creepy feeling always runs down your spine; it's probably a bad sign, like Bourbon might already be next to you...

Conan Edogawa is very worried.

Perhaps noticing that Conan Edogawa hadn't been in a good mood lately, Ran Mouri decided to take him and Sonoko Suzuki to a hotel restaurant for a dessert buffet over the weekend.

As it turned out, something happened on the way to the hotel that made Conan Edogawa even more upset.

Some pretty boy actually flirted with Xiaolan! ...Okay, she was helping Xiaolan catch a pervert and got misunderstood, but that pretty boy said something to Xiaolan like, "You're my type!"

If he didn't know that he wasn't Shinichi Kudo, Conan Edogawa would have rushed out.

As it turned out, both of them had the same destination: the same hotel.

Conan Edogawa was feeling down when he suddenly heard someone greeting him from behind.

"Miss Ran, Miss Suzuki, Conan-kun."

Conan Edogawa turned his head: "Huh? Inspector Hagiwara, Mr. Samikawa? And... uh."

Kenji Hagiwara introduced the woman next to him: "This is my older sister, Chisato Hagiwara."

After everyone politely greeted each other, Ran Mouri asked in confusion, "Why is Inspector Hagiwara here? Has a case occurred?"

"Haha, no, we're here to eat at the all-you-can-eat cake buffet."

The people opposite: "…………Huh?"

Conan Edogawa looked at Shinryu Samikawa in shock.

Was Mr. Hanchuan forced to come? He doesn't seem to fit the desserts at all!

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I was so busy during the Chinese New Year! Sorry for the late update.

I received New Year's greetings from the little angels in the new Jinjiang event via private message, although I can only see the top five... Anyway, thank you everyone! I also wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!

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The boss being Professor Agasa was a mainstream theory from very early on; if that were true, it would turn into a horror story.

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The pretty boy in this chapter is actually Sera Masumi, Shuichi Akai's younger sister. However, her androgynous style makes her look like a boy, which is hilarious. Even when Kaito Kid disguised himself as her, he thought she was a boy and was exposed.

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Sharon tearing off her disguise in the street happened when Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri went to America. Vermouth came out to pick up Yukiko Kudo's car, and she really tore off the disguise prop right there in the street... Ugh...