Shiho gave a disdainful laugh.

"No, not at all. He was just monitoring me; he had no authority to give me orders."

"If I had to put it in perspective, he would be considered a regional manager for a chain group. While he is part of the management team, the company ultimately doesn't belong to his family."

"He always acts like he's working himself to the bone for the organization; I really don't know what he's thinking."

"Perhaps it's a kind of 'realization of self-worth'," Gao Yuan commented amiably.

...If Yoruichi Toyama were here, she would definitely say, "You two have been gossiping about Koto-sama for too long."

After criticizing Gin, Shiho continued with a refreshed expression: "But for a long time after that, there was no news of Shinichi Kudo's death."

Logically speaking, a high school student shouldn't be at the level of blocking information from the media, even if he's a famous detective or the savior of the Japanese police.

The only possibility is that Shinichi Kudo is still alive.

The meticulous Gin then sent people to search Shinichi Kudo's residence.

Shiho, who was a drug researcher, also went along.

The Kudo house was empty; it looked like no one had lived there for a long time.

According to investigations, Shinichi Kudo's parents, novelist Yusaku Kudo and former actress Yukiko Kudo, have lived abroad for many years.

But if anything happens to my son, I have to come back and visit him.

The vacancy in the house first aroused Shiho's suspicion.

But the organization's investigators didn't seem to notice anything amiss, so Shiho didn't bother to point it out.

“I’m a researcher, not someone who does investigation and reasoning,” she said to Gao Yuan, who raised his eyebrows.

He looked very serious.

Gao Yuan could only nod, "Okay, okay, you're right."

“This kind of survey has been conducted more than once, but the results are all similar.”

The reason it's described as "almost the same," rather than exactly the same, is because Shiho noticed a detail.

The clothes that were placed at the bottom of the bedroom wardrobe were probably Shinichi Kudo's clothes from when he was a child, but they were all gone during the last search.

She still didn't mention it to anyone, but she already had a guess in her mind.

It is highly likely that, after taking the drug, Shinichi Kudo, like the only known case of a juvenile mouse, regressed to a juvenile state.

As a result, they were out of the organization's sight.

“However, the record of Shinichi Kudo taking the drug is still a loophole, isn’t it?” Gao Yuan suggested.

“There is no evidence that he is dead.”

Shiho then gave a cold laugh.

"As for those people in the organization... especially Gin, am I supposed to act like a policeman and find evidence against him?"

"After discussing with the team investigating the Kudo family, we unanimously confirmed that there was no possibility that Shinichi Kudo had survived, so I changed his status to 'dead' in the experiment record."

Gao Yuan helplessly reached up to rub his forehead, feeling that this organization was just as sloppy and incompetent as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

That's true. Both sides are novices, no wonder they've been fighting each other for so many years without any result.

Only respect and blessings remain...

"So, you want to meet this fellow sufferer, Shinichi Kudo?"

Finally, I had no choice but to muster my courage and ask this question.

Shiho looked somewhat hesitant.

"If...Mr. Gao Yuan..."

“It would be my pleasure to serve you, Miss,” Gao Yuan replied without hesitation, placing one hand on his chest in a gentlemanly gesture.

"Anyway, I've been a bit bored lately..."