Chapter 9 Midorikawa Hikaru's Disarray

My head has been really itchy lately, could it be that my brain is starting to grow?

After confirming that the visitor was indeed Zhuge Tongzhi's guardian, Wakasa Rumi very considerately gave the two some space and suggested that the 'young' guardian take the child out for lunch.

The lunch break in elementary school was quite long, but most students would bring their own lunch to school. However, Zhuge Tongzhi didn't cook at all after returning home last night, so he naturally came home empty-handed at lunchtime.

Turning around, the two found themselves sitting in a sushi restaurant not far from the school. After asking Zhuge Tongzhi about his preferences and receiving the universally accepted answer of "whatever," Midorikawa Hikaru ordered several dishes with different flavors.

Zhuge Tongzhi wasn't too concerned about what she would eat at the meal; in fact, she was seriously considering her identity.

Although the girl, who had been worried about her safety, breathed a sigh of relief after learning the other party's true identity as a member of the Red Team, her joy faded and a sense of doubt crept into her mind.

Think about it carefully, or rather, you don't even need to think about it carefully. Just the fact that he is now your guardian, even though he was an undercover agent in front of the brewery and a police officer from the Metropolitan Police Department, is enough to make you think about it.

However, when Zhuge Tongzhi carefully recalled the first half of his life, he realized that it was indeed a life in which he followed the most traditional path to further his education, without achieving anything significant, and most likely without any great success.

If I had to say something, my only strength might be my athletic ability; I can pick up various sports relatively quickly, but I haven't shown any particular talent.

Zhuge Tongzhi opened the book of his life that he had temporarily stopped updating in his previous life, and carefully read through the densely packed words, but after reading it over and over again, he could only make out one word.

mediocre.

Having ruled out his own problems, Zhuge Tongzhi suddenly realized that his current identity was definitely problematic.

Absolutely!

The girl with black hair and black eyes suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She clenched her fist and slammed it into her palm, making a crisp sound. This made Midorikawa Hikaru, who was looking down at his phone, look up.

Think about it, how could someone's residence be so clean, and there not a trace of the past among the belongings? Apart from the documents, there are also some records of past life milestones. Now her identity can be said to be completely clean.

The more Zhuge Tongzhi thought about it, the more sense it made, and he couldn't help but imagine the secrets behind this identity.

If Morofushi Kagemitsu is needed as a guardian, then we must exclude any non-existent blood relationship, and also consider the fact that he is currently pretending.

Zhuge Tongzhi frowned deeply, lost in his own thoughts.

Could this person be the child of a police informant, possessing important clues about the Black Organization, and therefore being under the police's half-protection and half-surveillance?

Or perhaps, this identity is that of a genius girl developed by the organization, or a deadly weapon, who has now been rescued by the Red Team and is living a life of hiding her identity?

It is also said that this identity is actually that of a victim of drug A who looks like a child but has an extraordinary mind, and has an inextricable and close relationship with the Black Organization.

Well, she does look like a child now but is incredibly intelligent, so I'd give the third point at least a 50% chance.

In an instant, Zhuge Tongzhi's mind raced through various guesses about identities ranging from ordinary humans to alien monsters. He realized that he had taken over an identity whose depth and details were unknown, but he was afraid that Zhu Fujingguang on the other side would discover that he was an imposter who had taken over someone else's identity, so he dared not ask any questions.

If I told someone that I was an upright college student who accidentally died from low blood sugar due to staying up late, and that I accidentally traveled to another world and became a six-year-old child, would I be taken to a laboratory for dissection and research?

I'm sure I will!

"It's also very likely that he'll be exposed and killed because it's not him," a voice shouted in her heart. After shouting, she whispered: "Yes, he is Morofushi Kagemitsu, but he is also from Scotland. We can't trust him completely just because he's on the red side."

But he's such a good person!

With so many drawbacks to not sharing information, another voice countered, advising her: "Maybe if you speak up, you'll know your place in the game, and at least you'll know what to do if you encounter danger in the future."

The former began to denounce the latter as naive and foolish, while the latter retorted by cursing the former for being presumptuous.

Should we follow the wisdom of our ancestors and remain unchanged in the face of all changes? Zhuge Tongzhi hesitated for a moment, then picked at the crack on the table. Just then, a plate of sushi sprinkled with orange-yellow fish roe was pushed into her field of vision.

Seeing the girl look up, the hand pushing the sushi gently withdrew, and the owner of the hand gave her a friendly smile when she looked up.

Sigh, even with disguise, she still looks really good when she smiles.

Zhuge Tongzhi slowly picked up a piece of sushi and put it in his mouth. After thinking it over, he decided to hold back.

Having been there for less than three days, she knew very little. Although she absolutely did not believe that Morofushi Hiromitsu would be completely unaware of her body's identity, since the other party had offered her a script for their first meeting.

So, besides accepting the script and just waiting it out, she had no other choice.

If you can survive until the day you go home, that's a great victory.

As the ancients said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Zhuge Tongzhi's gaze swept across the void, and she had her daily tasks.

"Waypoint: Any lunch location (already arrived)"

Daily route completion rate: 60%

"Unfinished route points: Booth 58 at the Oshima Jewelry Fair, any dinner location"

"Historical Path: Elevator Murder Cases (98%)"

There are even tasks left over from the previous day, such as a new path that appeared when a case was nearing its end, which means she hasn't yet recorded yesterday's progress points.

Moreover, compared to the former's precise location down to the booth number, the dinner task in the latter seemed very perfunctory, like three meals a day added just to complete the task, or rather, two meals a day.

Why is there no breakfast?

Did you know she couldn't get up in the morning?

Well, you're smart to be sensible.

With his mind racing, Zhuge Tongzhi slowly finished the last piece of sushi on his plate. Across from him, Midorikawa Hikaru pushed a cup of tea over. The puppy-dog-eyed young man smiled as he watched his younger sister at the table sip her tea, and began to find a topic to talk about.

"Xiaotong, I heard that the buckwheat noodles, eel rice, and the special tea in your hand at this restaurant are all famous specialties."

Midorikawa Hikaru adopted the posture of coaxing a child, his tone rising slightly at the end of his sentence. The elementary school student opposite him put down his teacup and looked up attentively, while passing customers couldn't help but smile at this heartwarming scene.

"I went abroad for a course project a while ago and didn't get to pick up Xiaotong." Midorikawa Hikaru blinked, a hint of apology in his eyes. He then inquired about the girl's daily life, "How has Xiaotong been lately?"

Is this a test for her?

Zhuge Tongzhi quickly reviewed the historical path he had seen before in his mind, intending to fabricate some ordinary daily events, but then he thought that his experiences over the past few days were rich enough to write an 800-word diary.

So she gently put down her water glass, looked at Midorikawa Hikaru with a smile on his face, and earnestly reported: "I was kidnapped as a hostage the day before yesterday, I gave my statement yesterday, encountered a murder case at the Central Supermarket, and today is my first day of school."

"Ah!" The girl recounted her experiences over the past few days, then suddenly realized something and looked distressed. "I almost forgot that I have to give a statement this afternoon. Oh no, but I still have to go buy groceries."

The refrigerator in the house hasn't been replaced since she arrived.

Upon hearing this, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had indeed gone abroad on a mission a few days ago and had just returned to Tokyo today, froze with a smile.

Huh? When did Tokyo become so unsafe?

Hikaru Midorikawa felt a little confused.

After faking his death to escape the organization and severing contact with the Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau, which had an undercover agent, Morofushi Hiromitsu, now under a false identity, is waiting for a suitable opportunity to contact a trustworthy contact person.

Zero is still on the organization's review list. He hasn't found a loophole to evade the organization's surveillance and contact them yet. For the past two weeks, he has been acting alone, tracking down the organization's trail.

When alone, Morofushi Kagemitsu inevitably finds himself unable to be in two places at once.

A few days ago, the target of the mission suddenly went abroad. In order to prevent the case from falling apart, he had to leave the girl, whose situation was unclear but who was capable of living independently, alone in Tokyo, while he followed the target of the mission abroad alone.

Before leaving Tokyo, everything seemed peaceful. But after gathering intelligence and returning home, he was told that robberies and murders would be occurring one after another in the life of a Tokyoite.

However, the mission abroad has made great progress, and Zhuge Tongzhi's situation has shown new changes. The man with the disguise is calmly scrutinizing the seemingly natural elementary school student. Overall, the situation is developing in a positive direction.

We still need to find a way to contact Zero as soon as possible.

Morofushi Kagemitsu quickly composed himself, fixing his worried expression, and said, "So many things have actually happened?"

"I don't have classes tonight, I'll pick you up after school this afternoon," suggested Midorikawa Hikaru, now a university student. He then reassured Zhuge Tongzhi, "Don't worry, those were just accidents. Tokyo is still quite safe..."

"Ahhhhh! There's a bomb!"

A sharp female voice suddenly rang in his ears. Midorikawa Hikaru turned his head and saw the customers who were sitting around the round table next door pulling out their chairs in terror. Under the tablecloth that the employee who had fallen over had accidentally lifted, a bomb flashing red light was installed on the table leg.

In an instant, all the customers in the store jumped up and avoided that direction.

Zhu Fujingguang: ...

Are bombs now everywhere?

Unlike him, Zhuge Tongzhi immediately looked towards the store entrance upon hearing the scream. After a moment of searching, he saw the four members of the Junior Detective League rushing towards them, along with Ai Haibara, who was slowly following behind them while making a phone call.

"Ah, I just ordered eel rice!"

"Alright, Genta, you can't possibly eat like this!"

"Exactly, don't just think about food all the time."

"Hello, is this the bomb disposal team? Um, a bomb has been found here… the address is…"

"Hey, Uncle," a bespectacled, chibi-style elementary school student grabbed the shop manager who had come running at the sound, looked up at the man whose face had suddenly turned ashen, and asked, "Don't you clean under the tables before opening the shop?"

Was the bomb planted after the business opened today?

Conan, quickly getting into the zone, was thinking when he suddenly felt an undeniable gaze upon him. He turned his head and saw the girl who had disappeared after class at the table next to the bomb-themed dining table.

Zhuge Tongzhi stared intently at him, his gaze materializing into several large characters that appeared on his dark eyes.

It's you again, Edogawa.

A note from the author:

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Just popping in to say hi, hehe