Chapter 17, Chapter 16: Rainbow, Bento Box, Delayed Explosion...
A rainbow appeared!
We've got the rainbow covered!
Although he didn't know if rainbow candy existed in this world, Zhuge Tongzhi spent the whole night researching rainbow transparent cards, and didn't fall asleep until almost 3 a.m.
This brain-racking, idiotic college student squeezed out the last bit of high school math knowledge from his smooth brain, took seven cards and tried countless arrangements, from taking 2 out of C7 to taking 7 out of C7, and then to A77 within the group, trying them all under fluorescent lights, moonlight, and neon lights.
Even after searching every nook and cranny of each card, she couldn't find a single code or hidden pattern. The only thing she was certain of was that the rainbow cards were well-preserved; despite their fragile plastic surface, there wasn't a single scratch.
This left Zhuge Tongzhi completely helpless.
At three in the morning, the apartment witnessed a very human-like wail. The bedroom window dutifully blocked the sound out of the room, quietly watching the girl rolling around on the bed and making strange noises, along with the moonlight.
Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, Zhuge Tongzhi's mind was filled with a mix of speculation and disbelief. Even though her body was exhausted from adjusting her biological clock over the past two days, her restless and incessant thoughts kept her awake.
Finally, while haphazardly analyzing the events of the three cases and repeating like a broken record the various facts about ale beer she had found online, she plunged headfirst into a chaotic dream that she couldn't understand.
In her dream, she couldn't see the scene clearly at all. She only knew that she was falling, falling, falling, as if she were falling from the center of an infinitely tall building in the shape of a square. The scenes around her, whether bright or dark, flashed by and finally overlapped into rings of light that kept compressing towards the center of her vision.
Just moments before being woken by the alarm clock, she only saw a small patch of starry sky compressed into tiny squares before the dream abruptly plunging her into a hazy reality.
The girl, who had just sat up abruptly, turned off the alarm clock. Her eyes, which had lost their luster, took a while to see which hand was the hour hand and which was the second hand—it was 6:30. She could sleep for another ten minutes and then catch up with her morning reading, barely making it past the deadline.
The elementary school student, her hair all frizzy, flopped back onto her pillow, and this time, she had a quiet, dark dream.
But a ten-minute nap can't save you from staying up all night at 3 a.m.
In short, today Zhuge Tongzhi, with a faint bluish-black complexion and an aura of death from lack of sleep, stepped into the noisy Class 1B classroom as the bell suddenly rang.
She went straight to her ordinary-looking seat.
A loud crash echoed through the classroom amidst the ringing bell.
Conan, who was looking down at his phone to read the news, was startled. He hurriedly looked up to check the situation, but forgot that he was secretly looking at his phone and bumped his head on the edge of the table.
"Ouch...it hurts!" The black-haired, blue-eyed boy clutched the back of his head, his eyes quickly filling with tears, but he didn't forget to turn around to see what was happening.
Then I saw a half-dead figure in the empty seat next to me. The girl's forehead was pressed against the table, the messy hair on the back of her head was sticking up, and the slightly longer hair on the sides was drooping on the desk. It looked like she had slumped her head on the desk and stopped moving.
The loud noise just now was made by her.
Meanwhile, Ai Haibara took off her headphones, glanced speechlessly at Zhuge Tongzhi, who seemed to have knocked himself unconscious, and then looked at Conan, who was scratching the back of his head and grinning sheepishly. She made no comment on her two companions who were both beating themselves.
The class representative stepped onto the podium, and the elementary school students' morning reading began.
Seeing that nothing had happened, Ai Haibara looked away, put her small in-ear earphones back in her ears, and when she lowered her hand, the earphones were completely hidden by her short brown hair. The girl propped up her textbook on the table and continued browsing the pages on her phone behind the book.
It's simply impossible to do it without a cell phone or anything like that.
Zhuge Tongzhi kept his head down, but his hand miraculously came back to life as he pulled an English textbook from his schoolbag, held it upside down in front of his head, and fell asleep amidst the clear, unison reading of the elementary school students.
You may not believe in the knowledge level of college students, but you can believe in their ability to take naps anywhere.
The black-haired girl slowly shifted her head, found a more comfortable position, turned her head to the side, and then placed the book diagonally over her head, trying to cover up her innocence as she peacefully fell asleep.
Among the group of energetic elementary school students, her sunken figure stood out, along with her two deskmates on either side, who were buried in their textbooks, seemingly engrossed in something else, clearly slacking off.
The English class representative, who was leading the reading on the podium, paused for a moment, but ultimately, out of a simple desire not to cause trouble, gently brushed aside the sleeping Zhuge Tongzhi.
After all, everyone knows that she was a nobody who was invited by the Junior Detective Club as soon as she entered school.
The class representative recited the text aloud while turning a page, the child's heart filled with pure envy and longing.
That's an organization that strictly limits its members. Since its inception, it has only recruited two people: Haibara and Zhuge. They help the police solve cases and stuff, which is super cool!
…
Unaware that he had unwittingly gained favor from the young Detective Club's fans, Zhuge Tongzhi stumbled right into the first class. He then skillfully used various techniques to pretend to attend class while actually dozing off and slacking off to get through the morning's lessons, and finally drifted off to lunch break.
The moment the lunch break bell rang, Zhuge Tongzhi sprang up from his desk with renewed energy, Conan on his left rubbed his eyes and looked radiant, and Ai Haibara let out a soft breath and stretched lazily like a cat.
Among the elementary school students who looked tired after a morning of classes, only three fake children looked surprisingly energetic, their long-dormant brains finally starting to function.
My stomach gets hungry as soon as I start thinking.
Last time during lunch break, she arrived at school empty-handed and was taken out for a meal by Morofushi Hiromitsu, who suddenly appeared. Although she encountered a case due to Conan's halo, she still managed to finish her lunch.
Today, she, Zhuge, is no longer the hungry, wild Zhuge of yesterday!
A smile tugged at the corners of the black-haired girl's mouth. Under the bright classroom lights, her bangs cast ambiguous shadows on her face. Without turning around, she precisely reached into the second pocket of her backpack and swiftly pulled out a square box.
She placed the lunchbox wrapped in blue striped cloth in the center of her desk.
Yesterday, she was officially picked up by a blue-gray Persian cat who can play bass, shoot snipers, and do everything from cooking to brewing.
So today, she is Niu Gulu-Zhuge, who has a cat!
Teitan Elementary School naturally has its own cafeteria. However, if both parents are working professionals, they don't have the energy to prepare a carefully arranged bento for their child amidst the stress and excitement of commuting on a crowded train. Therefore, many children in the class still go to the cafeteria for lunch after class.
As usual, Ayumi Yoshida sat down at the table in front of Conan with her own lunchbox. Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya and Genta Kojima also came over. The three children looked curiously at Zhuge Tongzhi, who was lost in thought and grinning crookedly.
"Hey, Zhuge brought lunch today."
Ayumi Yoshida was the first to notice the difference. She opened her bento box, revealing a rather cute bibimbap platter inside, with carrot slices cut into hearts on top.
The girl smiled sweetly as she showed her lunchbox to her classmates, "Look, I prepared the ingredients with my mom and dad last night."
"Me too, but Dad cooked today. His cooking isn't as good as Mom's." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya also opened his lunchbox, which contained a dish that was presented rather hastily, with rows of water droplets rolling off the lid.
"I'm still the same as before, I bought the bento box last night." Genta Kojima's bento box was noticeably larger than others. His parents were busy with work, and Genta Kojima wanted to eat bento boxes with his friends, so he came up with a compromise.
"As for me, the doctor made sushi for me." Ai Haibara simply showed it off. The box was full of two rows of nori sushi wrapped with fish roe, but it looked like there was too much of it.
The three children nodded, holding their steaming hot lunchboxes, and looked at Conan, who had already started eating, with reproachful eyes.
"...Well, is it some kind of food festival today?" Conan was forced to put down his chopsticks, showed his lunchbox to his friends, and complained, "It's the same as before, I just made it myself, nothing different."
When Conan first arrived at the Mouri family home, Ran Mouri would quickly prepare his lunch for him in the morning. The girl, who had been cooking independently since childhood, was very skilled and always made Conan's lunch break very delicious.
But he soon took on the task himself.
Shinichi Kudo knew that Ran preferred to eat at the school cafeteria with him and Sonoko Suzuki.
Making bento boxes means getting up an hour early to prepare ingredients, plate and pack them, and since he lives alone in the Kudo residence, even though he has decent cooking skills, he is usually too lazy to get up early to do these things.
Since his parents moved to the United States, he ate most of his three meals a day in the school cafeteria from elementary school to junior high school.
At first, Ran would bring her own elaborate lunch to school, and Sonoko Suzuki naturally had a butler to prepare lunch for her. The two girls would eat together intimately, just like when they were little, chatting about all sorts of whimsical everyday things. Shinichi Kudo was originally one of them.
But after noticing that her childhood friend had been eating at the school cafeteria for several days in a row, Ran Mouri also came to school empty-handed the next day and offered to try the school cafeteria during lunch break.
Shinichi Kudo was a little confused, but he also offered to recommend the best food stall to her. Sonoko Suzuki's gossipy gaze swept over her two friends a few times, making Ran Mouri blush before she put the bento box she had taken out back in.
Sonoko Suzuki, who routinely styled her short hair with a headband, revealing a small widow's peak on her forehead, pushed back her chair, put her arms around her childhood friends, and announced energetically, "Yosh! From now on, we'll eat at the cafeteria!"
Shinichi Kudo looked down on his loud-voiced childhood friend, only to be met with a sharp retort from the girl. Ran Mouri laughed as the three of them walked together toward the middle school cafeteria.
The ordinary, unremarkable daily routines of the past were all awakened by a steaming hot bento box on Conan Edogawa's first day back in elementary school.
He stared blankly as Ran Mouri hurriedly stuffed the lunchbox she used as a child into his arms, then rubbed his sleepy eyes and walked out of the house, embarking on the road they took to school every day.
However, he can only accompany her for a short while before he has to take another fork in the road at some intersection, just like his life, which suddenly turns from the main road that is proceeding normally to another direction. He can only passively drift further and further away from the people he is close to, and gradually fade out of their life trajectory.
However, he remained convinced that he would find the truth, leave the darkness nowhere to hide, and get everything back on track.
In short, I felt bad making Lan get up early every day, so I started making my own bento boxes.
Conan's thoughts were wandering when he was suddenly pulled back by the loud, disappointed shouts of the two boys.
"What?! They're just two ordinary rice balls!"
"Zhuge is really something, making things so mysterious."
"You two are really something! Ignore them, did you make this yourself, Zhuge?"
It turned out that Zhuge Tongzhi opened his lunchbox amidst everyone's attention, but inside the simple box were two equally simple rice balls, with only a handful of sesame seeds sprinkled on the surface, emitting a pleasant aroma.
However, compared to other people's delicious and visually appealing bento boxes, it falls completely short.
So I just don't understand why this person is still so confident!
The faint sadness that had been lingering in Conan's heart was now replaced by speechlessness and amusement after the children's noisy chatter.
However, Zhuge said: Human, you simply don't understand the goodness of cats.
"No, no, no!" Zhuge Tongzhi wasn't angry or embarrassed at all. He just seriously rejected the proposals from these humans who weren't even qualified to be adopted by the cat, explaining, "Xiao Guang made this for me, and I secretly ate one yesterday. It tasted super-good!"
"It's even better than Mr. Amuro's at Poirot Cafe!" The black-haired, black-eyed girl's tone was full of pride, sweeping away the lifelessness she had shown in class that morning, and she was now full of energy, bickering with her skeptical classmates.
Judging from his ability to argue, he's really a child. Conan watched Zhuge Tongzhi, who was debating with the scholars, and then picked up a piece of rice and stuffed it into his mouth.
Chew, chew, chew. But if it can be even better than Amuro Tooru's, chew, chew, chew. Then Zhuge's guardian is indeed skilled, chew, chew, chew. Excellent cooking skills.
Fortunately, the rice balls made by Morofushi Hiromitsu were big enough and plentiful, so Morofushi Kirishi didn't hesitate to cut one of the rice balls into several pieces, and each of the stubborn elementary school students got a piece, including Conan, who wasn't involved in the war, and Ai Haibara.
Every child who ate the rice ball widened their eyes slightly.
It was absolutely delicious!
Conan felt a subtle yet perfectly balanced aroma lingering on his lips and teeth, so delicious that he wanted to take a second bite after just one. The saltiness, sourness, and sweetness were all perfectly balanced.
The rice balls were incredibly delicious, and it was difficult to directly compare them to Poirot's sandwich. Conan took a sip of water and pondered for a moment. Rather than trying to determine which was better, it was more accurate to say that these two dishes, made from very different ingredients, shared a similar flavor.
It seems that the guardian also has the potential to become a Poirot icon.
Conan's bowl was filled with various dishes from the other children. Ai Haibara's extra sushi was originally meant for everyone, but in the end, it all ended up in Genta Kojima's stomach.
As usual, the Junior Detective League chatted and ate lunch. Conan, propping his head up with his hand, listened to the children excitedly recounting the case they had solved at the restaurant last time, feeling a slight drowsiness after the meal.
Zhuge Tongzhi put away his lunchbox, glanced at the seven-colored cards inside his backpack, zipped up his backpack, and looked at the newly refreshed daily path in the void.
"Waypoint: Any lunch location (already arrived)"
Daily route completion rate: 50%
"Unfinished route points: The apartment building that explodes five days later, any dinner location."
The girl with black hair and black eyes fumbled with her fingers, touching the tips of her fingers together and gently placing them under her nose. Her breath hit her arm, leaving a damp and cool aftertaste.
Three-year term, accidental death of a prisoner, wiretapping and the countdown to activation
The connected phone call, the removed bomb suit, fireworks, and unanswered text messages.
Zhuge Tongzhi turned on his phone screen and looked at the date on it, thinking to himself.
The deceased, Kenji Hagiwara.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Bingo, the seven-color cards are a Curaçao mnemonic technique.
Obtaining all seven color cards is easy enough, but unlocking the key to memories won't be that simple.
…
The process by which Zhuge obtained the clues seemed to be a complete giveaway.
It's really being given away for free now.
But as Zweig said...
Every gift bestowed by fate has already had a price tag attached in secret.
…
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