Chapter 82 The Phantom Thief and the Detective [VIP]

Cheng You didn't know how long he had been unconscious. When he regained consciousness, all around him was silent.

The crowds and noise that were there when I first entered meant the exhibition had probably already started.

Cheng opened his eyes and found himself tied up in a bathroom stall with tape over his mouth.

They didn't kill him.

That means it couldn't be a research institute or a black-clad organization.

Cheng skillfully slid a scalpel from his sleeve, cut the rope, and tore open the tape.

While he was flexing his wrists, he glanced around and found a card of Kaito Kid on the ground.

"I'll borrow the clothes."

Cheng then noticed that his clothes were not the hoodie he was wearing, but the sportswear he had seen the other person wearing before he lost consciousness.

Thankfully, the shirt underneath hadn't been taken off.

Cheng didn't care. Based on Yuichi, Morofushi Hiromitsu, and Conan's understanding of him, recognizing him would be easy.

The Black Organization is coming here too. This is a good opportunity to disguise myself as Li Hua and officially join the Black Organization.

Before that, Cheng You still needed to confirm whether Conan had become Kudo. So he took out his phone, intending to send a message to Yuichi to ask.

As a result, the phone disappeared.

Cheng Youxin sank down immediately. Surely Phantom Thief Kid wouldn't steal someone's phone? He could just take the phone case.

However, the phone was always logged into his real account, not an alternate account, and he would delete any private messages after sending them. So there wasn't any problem.

But Cheng You was still worried and looked around. Finding no clues, he picked up the Kidd card on the ground, turned it over, and saw a line of small print on the back.

"Sorry, your phone screen is cracked. I left it with me after I got it fixed. I left it with me to prevent you from reporting it to me; I won't look at other people's phones." There's also a mischievous Kid emoticon in the bottom right corner.

Cheng You finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, it is unclear how much time has passed since Kaito Kid knocked him unconscious.

He figured there wasn't anything important on the phone, so he switched to Li Hua's face and went to the phone store to buy another one.

I logged into my own account and found many unread messages.

Only then did he notice the time; nearly an hour had passed. He opened the messages and saw several from Yuichi and Conan, from fifty minutes ago, forty minutes ago, thirty minutes ago, and just now.

Cheng You looked through the list one by one, and Conan, Yuichi, and Morofushi Hiromitsu immediately noticed that something was wrong with Cheng You, figuring that it might be Kaito Kid.

They were very worried about Cheng You, so they bombarded him with messages. Cheng You replied that he was fine, and from their words, it was clear that the drug was a success.

Conan successfully transformed into Kudo.

Yuichi replied: [You woke up quite quickly. Looks like the medication is working.]

Cheng understood what this meant. Every day he was with Youyi, and he was getting used to the smell of medicine on Youyi's body. It was the smell of some kind of antidote.

Logically speaking, Phantom Thief Kid wouldn't have let Cheng You remain unconscious for so long. Fortunately, the medication helped him wake up much earlier.

Shinichi Kudo: [I guess Kaito Kid was planning to impersonate Shinichi Kudo to get in, but he overheard our conversation and changed his mind, disguising himself as you.]

Aside from the children, the only adults present who were on good terms with the Suzuki family were Professor Agasa, Cheng You, and Morofushi Kagemitsu.

I wonder if Kaito Kid realized that Morofushi Kagemitsu was in disguise, which is why he didn't choose him.

Cheng replied to Shinichi Kudo: "Find an opportunity to cooperate with Phantom Thief Kid and make the Black Organization believe that Shinichi Kudo is Phantom Thief Kid in disguise. I won't use that identity for now; I'm going to the Black Organization."

Shinichi Kudo: [Understood. Don't worry. Be careful too.]

After receiving a positive reply, Cheng You felt relieved and went to search for traces of the Black Organization.

On the other side, Gin was the main commander in charge of the operation, while Rei Furuya was gathering intelligence. However, midway through, the two saw Shinichi Kudo standing alive in the middle of the hall.

Accompanying him were Cheng You, Morofushi Kagemitsu, Yuichi, and several children.

Ran and Sonoko walked over: "Where's Conan?"

"Ah, he just tripped and fell, so Professor Agasa took him home, along with Ai Haibara," Shinichi Kudo explained.

Ran Mouri stared at Shinichi Kudo for a moment, seemingly finding no flaws, before taking Shinichi's arm and saying, "Shinichi."

"Ran, did you go to see the ruby ​​just now?" Shinichi Kudo was trying to find an opportunity to talk to Kaito Kid as soon as possible, so he was trying to get Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki away.

Upon hearing this, Ran Mouri's eyes narrowed, and she couldn't help but pinch Shinichi Kudo's cheek: "What are you talking about? You're concerned about the ruby ​​necklace the moment we meet? Are you Kaito Kid?"

She wasn't very strong, and the tugging didn't hurt Shinichi Kudo. He just laughed and said, "No, no, I really am Shinichi Kudo."

Rei Furuya and Gin are both capable of lip reading. Rei Furuya sensed something was wrong, realizing that Gin was beside him; what if…

However, Gin sneered and said, "It's that thief again." After saying that, he turned and left. "Bourbon, you handle this matter and investigate."

Rei Furuya responded. In fact, he knew that Gin didn't actually suspect Shinichi Kudo of being Kid. He said that partly to get him out of the way, so that the mission assigned to Gin and the mission to the research institute were indeed a secret.

On the other hand, it might be necessary to report this matter to the boss and wait for the boss's reply. Therefore, the matter of Furuya Rei investigating Kudo Shinichi cannot be taken lightly.

The Black Organization's boss is also a cold-blooded and ruthless person. He would definitely investigate this matter carefully. If he finds out about Conan, the people around him... including Morofushi Hiromitsu, will be followed and suspected again. This may also involve the fact that Morofushi Hiromitsu is not dead.

That's terrible.

Rei Furuya cursed under his breath. He could only hope that Shinichi Kudo really was Kaito Kid in disguise.

Rei Furuya thought that since Gin's mission was still a few hours away, he might as well take this opportunity to test Cheng You and secretly tell Kudo about it so that he could make plans in advance.

He wouldn't risk exposing his undercover identity by taking the risk.

Thinking this, Furuya Rei glanced at Cheng You in the hall, then turned to change his clothes.

Kaito Kuroba had investigated Cheng You's identity beforehand. As a Chinese exchange student, he originally did not intend to disguise himself as this person, but he originally wanted to impersonate Shinichi Kyoudou. However, the original person took the role, so Kaito Kuroba had no choice but to choose this identity.

But language issues are really difficult to deal with.

If someone asks him to speak a single word of Chinese, and he speaks with a strong Japanese accent, it will completely expose his true identity.

Fortunately, Shinichi Kudo didn't pay much attention to him. However, Yuichi and Morofushi Kagemitsu, who were standing to the side, would glance at him from time to time with meaningful looks, but they wouldn't say anything.

Kaito Kuroba was also a little guilty. He had been told that one of the two was his distant younger brother and the other was a friend he met while studying abroad. He shouldn't be able to tell anything from them.

Thinking this, he saw Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki go inside, and Shinichi Kudo, Yuichi, and Hiromitsu Morofushi surrounded them.

When Kaito Kuroba came to his senses, he was already surrounded.

Kaito Kuroba: ...Help...help me...

Shinichi Kudo led him to the underground parking garage. There were too many people in the lobby, and it was impossible to distinguish between black and red. Kaito Kuroba did not struggle and followed them to a less crowded area.

Once they reached the corner, Shinichi Kudo spoke up: "There's something..."

As Kaito Kuroba listened to him speak, he looked around and figured that Yuichi, being a child, probably didn't have much strength and was trying to escape through this opening.

After taking only two steps, before even touching Yuichi, Kuroba Kaito felt a sudden weakness in his body and could no longer stand steadily.

Morofushi Kagemitsu stepped forward to help him up, then took out handcuffs from his pocket and handcuffed himself and Kuroba Kaito.

Kaito Kuroba: "..." He looked at Yuichi, "You're still a poison child."

Yuichi shrugged and handed the antidote to Kaito Kuroba, who was fine after just one sniff: "You're a thief."

Shinichi Kudo walked over and said, "I need your help."

Kaito Kuroba: "Oh, I know, I knew you'd need me when you turned back." Breaking free of these handcuffs wouldn't be difficult; it's just a small trick.

However, he was a good person, and helping Shinichi Kudo didn't cause him any trouble.

Kaito Kuroba sat down on the ground, fiddling with playing cards in his hand: "What's up?"

"My current identity isn't very convenient, so I'll pretend to be Kaito Kid," Shinichi Kudo said.

"Huh?" Kaito Kuroba was speechless. "Then just leave and let me be your agent."

Shinichi Kudo: "Of course, as a detective, I also have to protect the jewels."

Kaito Kuroba: "That makes sense, but you're Kaito Kid now, you know? You should be thinking of a way to get the gems, okay?"

Shinichi Kudo found it hard to accept, and after thinking for a moment, he still couldn't make a decision. He had always longed for justice, so helping others with this kind of thing was still a bit difficult for him.

"How about we switch faces? You be Cheng You, and I'll be Kudo." Seeing his hesitation, Kuroba Kaito kindly came up with another idea.

But... what about Ran? Shinichi Kudo still couldn't bear to part with this identity; it had been a long time since he had been with Ran in this capacity.

Although Ran didn't show it, it was clear she was happy to see him. If he were to leave again without saying goodbye and suddenly become Kaito Kid, Ran would also feel lost.

After much internal struggle, Shinichi Kudo decided to agree with Kaito Kid's idea, as it was indeed the most effective solution.

"Okay, but don't touch me," Shinichi Kudo warned Kaito Kuroba with half-closed eyes.

Kaito Kuroba shrugged innocently.

He tore off his disguise, revealing a face exactly like Shinichi Kudo's, which Kudo was already used to.

Kaito Kuroba conjured up his toolbox from somewhere and helped Shinichi Kudo disguise himself.

About ten minutes later, Morofushi Hiromitsu and Yuichi saw Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kid disguised.

“To be honest, I really can’t tell the difference,” said Morofushi Hiromitsu. “There’s no trace of disguise on Kaito Kid’s face.”

"Hehehe, my face is perfect, and my disguise skills are top-notch, how could I possibly leave any trace?" Kaito Kuroba said, tilting his nose.

"However, since you already know that I am a fake Cheng You, why don't you ask where the real Cheng You is?" After asking, Kuroba Kaito suddenly grinned mischievously, "If you beg me, I will mercifully tell you, hehehe."

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent, and the three of them looked at Kaito Kuroba with strange expressions.

Kaito Kuroba: "...Wha...what's wrong?"

Yuichi spoke slowly, giving Kaito Kuroba a look as if he were an idiot: "You don't know?"

Kaito Kuroba: "What do you know?"

Yuichi: "Oh, right, give me Cheng You's phone and I'll tell you."

Kaito Kuroba: ...I feel like I've been tricked.

He hadn't intended to take Cheng You's phone; he handed it to Youyi.

Yuichi took it and glanced at it. The screen did indeed show signs of being replaced, indicating that it had really been smashed.

Kaito Kuroba: "Alright, alright, hurry up and tell me."

You shrugged and said lightly, "Brother Cheng You is already awake and might be coming to beat you up soon."

"Huh?" Kaito Kuroba was surprised. "Wasn't he drugged by me? How did he wake up so quickly?" After saying that, he looked at Yuichi. This kid in front of him was someone who knew poisons. Making an antidote for the drug wouldn't be difficult for him.

Beika Town is terrifying, I want to go back to Ekoda.

Kaito Kuroba shouted in his heart.

The people of Beika Town are all a bunch of abnormal monsters. Could Cheng You be some kind of Super Saiyan?

He wanted to run away; he suddenly didn't want to help Kudo anymore.

After noticing this, Morofushi Kagemitsu patted Kuroba Kaito on the shoulder and said gently, "It's alright, Mr. Phantom Thief. Cheng You had other things to do, so he left. To be honest, I'm very grateful to you for this, as it gave Cheng You the opportunity to act alone."

"Ah... I see, that's good then." Kaito Kuroba breathed a sigh of relief.

The four went upstairs. Shinichi Kudo, disguised as Cheng You, followed Kaito Kid, who was also disguised as himself, for fear that Kaito Kid might do something outrageous. This way, they could keep an eye on him and prevent him from breaking the gem necklace.

Thinking this, Shinichi Kudo saw a familiar figure pass by.

Unsure, I took another look.

It's confirmed, it's someone dressed as a waiter, disguised, but Shinichi Kudo's observational skills still allow him to see that this person is Rei Furuya from the Public Security Bureau.

Although he didn't know why Furuya Rei was disguised as a waiter, Shinichi Kudo thought it might be related to the Black Organization, but it had nothing to do with him.

Thinking this, Shinichi Kudo saw Rei Furuya walking straight toward him with a small yellow cake on his tray.

Shinichi Kudo: ? ? ?