Chapter 105: Investigation into Shinichi's Death...

Shiho Miyano stood outside the somewhat desolate courtyard of the Kudo residence, dressed in a white lab coat, followed by several low-ranking operatives. They were there to obey her orders and provide her security.

"Open the door," she commanded in a cold voice.

The operatives deftly pried open the door and entered. The room was dimly lit, with curtains half-drawn and a stuffy atmosphere permeated by the lack of ventilation from a long period of vacancy. All the furniture was covered with a thin layer of dust, and the calendar dates were from a long time ago.

Shirley calmly surveyed her surroundings, her gaze sweeping over the living room, which showed no signs of recent activity. Her fingers brushed across the tabletop, immediately picking up a noticeable layer of dust. She got up and went upstairs. The study desk was covered with open books and notes, exuding an inexplicable loneliness, as if its owner had only temporarily left, never imagining they would never return.

She took out the testing equipment provided by the organization and symbolically tested the dust thickness and air quality in several key areas. The data all pointed to the area having been vacant for a long time.

The accompanying junior staff quickly and carefully inspected several rooms and reported: "Lady Sherry, all the rooms have been inspected. Preliminary survey indicates that no one has lived here for at least one to two months, and no other abnormalities have been found."

Shiho Miyano nodded in satisfaction, her lake-blue eyes indifferent, but she felt a slight sense of relief.

"Okay, let's go." She took out her phone and snapped photos of several key scenes before turning around and leading everyone away.

Back in the organization's lab, Sherry turned on her computer and changed Shinichi Kudo's status bar from "Unknown" to "Dead".

Shortly after, during a break in his Porsche 356A while doing other tasks, Vodka hesitated as he reviewed a report on his computer and began to speak.

"Big brother, Sherry has confirmed it. Shinichi Kudo is... definitely dead."

"Dead?" Gin snorted coldly, a cigarette dangling from his lips. His deep voice carried its usual chill. "There's no news or reports about the famous high school detective going missing or dying. He's no nobody."

Known as the 'savior of the Japanese police,' Shinichi Kudo was very active in the Japanese police and news media. Gin couldn't believe that such a person's death would be so quiet in society.

He immediately dialed Shirley's number.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The call was answered by Sherry after only three rings. Gin's cold voice came through the receiver, carrying an undeniable sense of pressure: "Sherry, you've drawn your conclusions too hastily."

In the lab, Shirley was reviewing the experimental records of the mice, correcting the information about the mice unexpectedly shrinking and erasing any traces of the alterations. She wasn't worried about being discovered by others, because at least before, only she had the authority to record and view these records.

—As for the BOSS? Let's not even talk about whether he would examine it in such detail. This phase of the experiment is not yet complete, and she has not yet archived or submitted any of the data.

Hearing this, her grip on the phone tightened slightly, but her tone remained calm: "Gin? I don't understand what you mean."

"Shinichi Kudo." Gin uttered the name as if reciting a verdict. "The cleaning crew didn't find his body, and there was no obituary in the newspapers. You've concluded he's dead based solely on the dust in the room and his 'disappearance' at school?"

Although he didn't believe that Shinichi Kudo could survive under the effects of APTX-4869, such an anomaly still stirred up Gin's suspicions.

Sherry sensed Gin's suspicion about Shinichi Kudo's condition, but instead of showing any guilt, her voice was filled with sarcasm and dissatisfaction: "So what? The drug I was researching wasn't meant for execution. You took it without permission and used it as poison, and you left without checking the condition of the person who gave it to you, which led to this unknown situation."

"Gin, this is your mistake! You took my semi-finished medicine without my permission, and now you've caused trouble by using it improperly, and I have to clean up the mess for you... Humph!"

Sherry's tone became impatient. Without her sister as a weakness left in the organization, and knowing her importance in the organization's eyes, she was not afraid of Gin.

"This is my conclusion, believe it or not. I'm not part of the action team or intelligence team, and I have no obligation to clean up this mess for you. If you don't believe my conclusion, you're free to use your intelligence channels to verify it. I'm very busy."

Before hanging up, she added, "By the way, there will be no next time you use my semi-finished medicine as poison without authorization!"

After saying that, she ignored Gin's reaction and hung up the phone decisively.

Gin stared at his phone, which was ringing with a busy tone, his face grim. Vodka, who had overheard Sherry's words on the other end of the line, huddled in the driver's seat like a quail, clutching his laptop and not daring to make a sound.

Vodka inwardly wiped away sweat. Damn it, he clearly remembered that Gin and Sherry used to have a pretty good relationship. After all, Gin had been Sherry's guardian for quite a long time. But since Sherry's sister died, Sherry had changed completely, and now her relationship with Gin had become strained.

His work environment has also deteriorated; Gin's gloomy face is truly terrifying. The FBI deserves to die.

After a while, Gin's expression softened again. "Hmph, naive," he suddenly remarked, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Sherry finally began to resemble a member of the organization after her sister's death, but Gin still saw her as somewhat naive.

Did she think he would go to the trouble of taking and using the lab's drugs without the organization's permission? There are other ways to cause someone's silent death without using a gun.

Vodka looked puzzled, but Gin offered no explanation.

He simply took out his cigarette and exhaled a code word: "Bourbon, have him investigate. Isn't that mystic the one who loves digging up these secrets the most?"

He had no liking for Bourbon's mystical approach, but he had to admit that Bourbon was indeed exceptional in intelligence gathering and truth-seeking.

Bourbon would probably not refuse.

Meanwhile, in the laboratory, Sherry, whom Gin considered naive, did not show any dissatisfaction or smugness on her face after mocking Gin.

Her gaze was somewhat grave.

She knew, of course, that given Gin's personality, without orders from the organization, he preferred to kill with bullets or his bare hands rather than with poison.

So, was the organization dissatisfied with her experimental progress and her style of only using mice for experiments, and secretly began collecting information on the effects of the drugs on humans?

Or did they really just mistake her medicine for poison?

APTX-4869 was the result of her own research on some of the research materials left by her parents. When she discovered that it could cause the death of mice for reasons that were difficult to detect with instruments, Shiho Miyano was very depressed. It was only at this time that she learned that the first-generation drug developed by her parents had also been used as poison by the organization.

As she took over her parents' research data and gained the organization's trust to learn more secrets within the research group, she was shocked to discover that her parents' research had yielded a near-successful result: Vermouth, who had previously been subtly targeting her and her sister, was ageless! All because of her parents' research!

Shiho Miyano trembled slightly, and news came from the person who helped her sister that someone had taken the drug she was researching and experienced changes in their body. Connecting this with the juvenile transformation of mice in the experimental records, her parents' research could make people live forever, while her own research touched on the taboo of reversing aging.

She had only intended to stall for time, subtly delaying the research progress all along, so how... how did she still manage to produce results? The genius Shirley was utterly baffled.

The organization's apparent leniency towards Shirley after her death led them to adopt a more conciliatory approach towards her on the surface, but their surveillance of her never eased. Recently, for some reason, fewer people have been secretly following her.

It seems the organization is busy receiving a new batch of 'investment' by drawing trusted personnel? Shiho Miyano recalled the recent appearance of advanced experimental equipment from the United States in the research lab, and it was said that Gin's action team had also received supplies such as Apache helicopters...

She and the people who helped her sister were waiting for the right opportunity, waiting for the organization to loosen its control over her before arranging a rescue. This opportunity has recently arrived, and she must leave the organization as soon as possible.

Shiho Miyano regained her composure and continued conducting her experiments as usual. Her lake-blue eyes were as calm as a frozen sea, but beneath the surface, the countdown to escape had already begun in her mind.

Bourbon was genuinely interested in a research assignment that sounded somewhat interesting, in exchange for a favor from Gin.

Some time later, intelligence expert Bourbon brought his findings.

His voice carried a hint of amusement, and the smile on his face was enigmatic: "On the surface, it seems that the high school detective has only temporarily faded from public view. Those around him, such as his childhood friend, teachers, and classmates, did initially experience a stir and worry because of his disappearance, but they quickly returned to normal, and even occasionally mentioned that he was handling some tricky case in some unknown place. The police and the media have also remained calm. It does seem somewhat unusual."

Vodka said in surprise, "You mean that kid isn't dead?"

"Big brother!" He quickly turned to look at Gin. If Shinichi Kudo hadn't died, he and his older brother Gin would be in big trouble.

Because it was their mistake.

Unlike Vodka, Gin was not impatient. He glanced at his loud and boisterous underling, then looked at Bourbon, who had a very unpredictable and annoying smile.

Hmph, mysticism.

He irritably bit his cigarette and said, "Stop beating around the bush, get to the point."

"Hey~ I didn't say that." Bourbon didn't care about Gin's attitude and instead smiled and denied Vodka's statement.

Just before Gin's patience ran out, Bourbon dropped a crucial bombshell: "But I also found out something else. His parents, the world-renowned mystery novelist Yusaku Kudo and former actress Yukiko Kudo, have secretly returned to Japan for quite some time now, and they look very haggard. If their only son really isn't dead, with their abilities, would they leave such a huge loophole?"

Gin's agitation subsided, and he affirmed, "A trap."

“Yes.” Bourbon crossed his arms listlessly. “Anyway, my investigation shows that this was a trap deliberately set by the Kudo couple, waiting for someone to take the bait, to see who can't resist checking on their son's life or death. If you want to confirm further, I suggest asking Vermouth for help. I remember she has a pretty good relationship with the Kudo couple?”

Rei Furuya's deep, purplish-gray eyes were actually hoping that Gin would ask Vermouth for help in further investigating. It would be a good opportunity for him to probe Vermouth's background; her reaction when he approached Ran Mouri pretending to gather information had really bothered him.

Unfortunately, Gin had clearly lost interest in what he considered a settled matter, and his request to Bourbon to confirm it again was merely due to his paranoid nature.

So he said coldly, "No need, let's leave it at that. Vodka, let's go."

Bourbon shrugged regretfully: "Fine, you decide what your task is."

Then he pulled his hat down and left. Honestly, he didn't even say thank you.

He showed no remorse for giving false information.

Regardless of whether the Kudo couple actually acted that way, this wasn't an official mission for the organization; he was simply helping Gin. Even if the organization discovered that Shinichi Kudo wasn't dead, the only one who would suffer would be Gin!

Meanwhile, Conan Edogawa was talking to Yusaku Kudo and Yukiko Kudo.

Yukiko Kudo: "Shin-chan, are you really not coming with us?"

Conan Edogawa firmly stated, "No, I'm staying here."

Stay where Xiaolan is!

So what's with that blond-haired, dark-skinned guy? The little detective gritted his teeth.