Chapter 79 and Chapter 78: Semi-finished Antidote
Shuichi Akai: (Breathing)
Rei Furuya: You've been provoking me all along (-well-)
But no matter how much he wanted to throw Shuichi Akai off the car immediately out of personal will, it was not feasible from a cooperative point of view.
Moreover, probably no one (except Gin) is more objective in acknowledging the opponent's formidable strength than Rei Furuya. Even if he throws the opponent off the car, one of his tires will most likely be blown out.
The two, evenly matched and mutually disliking each other, exchanged polite smiles. Furuya Rei looked away from those deep, dark green eyes and, following the children's instructions, parked the car in front of Professor Agasa's house.
Zhuge Tongzhi grabbed two large bags of souvenirs and, together with Conan who couldn't wait to get the antidote, quickly jumped off the car after enduring the ordeal the whole way.
Rei Furuya rolled down the car window and leaned against it, telling Kirito, "Midori will pick you up from the Mori office a little later. You can decide where to have dinner."
The blond man looked at the obediently nodding black-haired girl, then glanced at Shuichi Akai, who was leaning back in the passenger seat looking out the window, and emphasized, "Don't go with strange strangers, understand?"
Hearing this about the old lady sending her child to kindergarten with a 100% plagiarism rate, Shuichi Akai slightly curled the corners of his mouth, not caring much about Rei Furuya's words that were specifically aimed at him.
"I'm not really a child anymore." Zhuge Tongzhi gave a helpless smile. "Although I know who this strange stranger you're talking about is, this is really childish."
The black-haired girl sighed maturely, stood on tiptoe, raised her hand and patted Furuya Rei, who had been unilaterally venting her anger countless times along the way. Under the stunned gaze of the blond man, she rummaged through the large bag in her hand and pulled out two paper bags.
"This is for you, and that's for Mr. Okiya." Zhuge Tongzhi handed a paper bag sealed with a self-drawn sticker to Furuya Rei. On it was a simple line drawing of a human head with a row of big white teeth. From the full shadows and diagonal lines and the hairstyle, it was clear that it was himself.
The other image, featuring a knitted hat, was naturally Shuichi Akai, which was quite unpleasant to look at. However, Rei Furuya wouldn't arbitrarily ruin someone else's good intentions, and politely handed the paper bag to Shuichi Akai, who reached out his hand.
He handed it over instead of throwing it, because he knew it probably contained tea crisps and some fragile Chinese tea snacks.
After finishing the case and returning to the guesthouse in the early hours of last night, he saw Zhuge Tongzhi working hard among a pile of cardboard boxes. As a Polo employee who often packs sandwiches for takeout, Furuya Rei gave him some pointers on packing techniques.
However, there was still a share for him. As one of the "Eight Collapses" who had been targeted by Elju all the way, Furuya Rei could naturally sense that Zhuge Tongzhi's attitude towards him was not entirely close, and after being threatened by him, he probably still had some minor grievances.
In a way, her attitude towards Jingguang was the same. Although she clearly trusted him to the point of entrusting her life to him in the details, she could never be considered close to him.
He was as polite and distant as if he were in a foster home... His gaze toward the girl suddenly became complicated again.
However, because his insight was so profound, Zhuge Tongzhi only discerned the element of surprise and delight within it.
Actually, when she was packing last night, she did carefully give Furuya Rei a box of osmanthus and water chestnut cake, but after finishing everything and passing by the room where he was still working under the moonlight, she put the water chestnut cake back.
Japanese wolf warriors, just think of me as Zhuge Jing, you can't even get two hours of sleep a day.
Although you're not exactly a perfect person, and have absolutely nothing to do with being innocent, kind, sunny, or frank, you were already included in the souvenirs prepared by Al.
So Zhuge Tongzhi patted his arm again, and under Furuya Rei's somewhat bewildered gaze, he innocently advised him in reverse, "Toru-nii, you should get along well with your colleagues."
This statement is just as old-fashioned as "Don't talk to strangers."
It was clearly a small counterattack.
Rei Furuya was speechless for a moment, watching Zhuge Tongzhi, who had finished his prank and then scurried away, enter Professor Agasa's house. He then turned to look at Shuichi Akai, who was covering his mouth with his hand, which was clearly trying to hide something, and a murderous aura began to rise in his deep purple eyes.
"Well, you'd better get along with me, Bourbon."
"Shut up and get off the bus."
…
Dr. Agasa's house
Conan closed the door for Zhuge Tongzhi, who rushed in, and looked at the girl who was panting as she took off her shoes while leaning against the shoe cabinet. He said helplessly, "You, what do you really think of Mr. Furuya?"
“Hmm, good question.” Zhuge Tongzhi shrugged, picked out the souvenirs for Professor Agasa and Ai Haibara, and replied, “I rarely think about these kinds of questions that need to be labeled, after all, the answers are always changing.”
“We have different positions, and you know who I am, so I think it will be difficult for us to become close friends… but who knows, I might feel a little regretful if that happens.” The black-haired girl winked at him and walked past him. “Anyway, do as you please.”
Besides, in his eyes, Furuya Rei was still just a two-dimensional manga character, so talking about getting close or having a heart-to-heart talk would be a bit strange. Zhuge Tongzhi mentally made a helpless shrug, but then he noticed something was off.
Have I been too immersed in this world of shonen manga all along?
This isn't where she came from, is it...? As Zhuge Tongzhi was asking himself this question, he suddenly felt dizzy and his heart was pounding. But before he could ask himself any further questions, he was interrupted by Ai Haibara who was walking over.
"Come here, I'll explain the experimental data to you." A girl with brown hair sat down at the bar with her laptop, letting out a long yawn, clearly having not rested properly because of her research on the antidote.
"Oh... Ai." Zhuge Tongzhi, who was in a daze, was patted on the shoulder by Conan who was passing by, and was completely pulled out of that strange feeling. "I brought you a souvenir, and I just gave it to the professor."
"Speaking of which, haven't I mentioned my identity yet?" The girl, who had asked Conan to keep her identity a secret, scratched her head, looking somewhat embarrassed at Ai Haibara, who had very naturally invited her to see the antidote, and tried to apologize.
But Ai Haibara spoke first: "There's no need to feel sorry, it's all for self-preservation."
Her expression remained as cold and aloof as ever, but her words carried a maturity beyond her years: "'For 100% profit, capital dares to trample on all human laws.' Our identities and the information about our shrinking size can be sold to any faction in exchange for a very considerable amount of resources."
“So, if betraying you can get the Black Organization to stop hunting me down, then…” Ai Haibara pressed the last key, turned to look at Zhuge Tongzhi, and gave him a very Sherry-like smile: “…I think I’ll think about it carefully.”
"He's spouting threats to scare the kids again." Conan revealed his half-moon eyes, while Professor Agasa beside him chuckled and stroked his beard, which resembled two hot dogs, looking as kind as an eighty-year-old.
However, Ai Haibara seems to have changed somewhat after talking to Mr. Akai. Conan stroked his chin, seemingly becoming...less insecure?
"Ai Haibara." Ai Haibara spoke first, adding a few words to the self-introduction she had given since the beginning of the semester, and said frankly, "I am also Shiho Miyano, codename Sherry."
"Hmm!" Zhuge Tongzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Faced with this self-introduction, which was tantamount to an agreement to entrust trust, he raised his hand and scratched his cheek embarrassedly, saying, "I don't have a pseudonym, my code name is El."
The black-haired girl quickly overcame her shyness, climbed onto the bar, and asked, "But it's great that you can explain it clearly. Did you find out yourself, or did Conan tell you?"
The brown-haired girl, who was typing on the keyboard and bringing up the experimental data page, pushed the laptop aside and placed it in front of Conan and Zhuge Tongzhi, saying calmly, "The timing of your disappearance and Amuro Tooru's disappearance is too consistent, and your precognitive behavior is also very strange."
The man now living in the Kudo residence had also hinted at it to her. When Ai Haibara thought of the man who had used the alias Dai Moroboshi, she couldn't help but feel more complicated and unresolved emotions, but more than anything, she felt an irresistible, enveloping sense of security.
Perhaps because... she was the only person in the world besides herself who would still miss Miyano Akemi.
"Even if it costs me my life, I will protect you, my princess." The pink-haired man, his face now transformed, said lightly, as if joking, "After all, this is something your sister asked me to do."
She closed her eyes and began explaining to the two fake children who were about to become drug test subjects the precautions for taking the drug, including what it would feel like when it was working properly.
Zhuge Tongzhi's face turned green upon hearing the calm description of the experience.
The black-haired girl silently took a sip of cold water to calm her nerves, took a small medicine box from Ai Haibara's hand, and planned to cover it with super glue.
Haha, just kidding (actually, it's not).
"...In short, unless it's an emergency, it's best to let me know in advance when you take the medicine for the first time. I need to record your feedback to improve the antidote." After finishing her explanation, Ai Haibara closed her notebook, took a sip of water to moisten her throat, and looked at the door where the doorbell had been rung. "Someone's here to pick you up."
"That's all for now, take care." The tea-haired girl jumped off the bar with a nimble yawn, and walked unsteadily toward her room.
Conan and Zhuge Tongzhi didn't disturb Ai Haibara, who looked like she was about to fall asleep on the way. After signaling to Professor Agasa to take care of her, they changed their shoes and left.
Two people were standing at the door of the doctor's house. One was Ran Mouri, who was covering her mouth and laughing. Judging from her happy expression and the uncontrollable blush on her cheeks, she was obviously having a very pleasant conversation with the person who came. The person standing opposite her was obviously a tall man, whose shoulders and above were blocked by the solid part of the door so that he could not be seen.
Zhuge Tongzhi felt Conan beside him suddenly quicken his pace.
However, when they pushed open the door and saw the other person, both of them were immediately relieved.
It's Kenji Hagiwara not wearing a police uniform.
"I only suddenly remembered it a while ago. I actually saw you when you were a child." The man with medium-length hair chuckled lightly. "I had already driven off when I realized you were still in the passenger seat."
“Inspector Hagiwara was still in police academy back then, right? He was so cool!” Ran Mouri chimed in naturally, clearly the two were on the same page.
Conan, who overheard the conversation, was completely bewildered, while Zhuge Tongzhi, who knew the inside story, remained entirely detached.
Was this Shinichi and Ran's first encounter with the police academy five when they were kids? Conan, you're about to be exposed.
The relaxed girl looked at the bewildered Conan with a pitying gaze, when she heard Kenji Hagiwara change the subject, bend down, scratch his head, and laugh, "There was also a little girl back then, whom I remember very well."
Zhuge Tongzhi: ?
Kenji Hagiwara stopped talking, took the somewhat heavy bag from the girl's hand, and gave her a wink that seemed to sparkle.
"Let's go, Midorikawa-kun has something come up and can't get away, so I'll take you out to eat today!"
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Author's note: Order received!
…
Mwah!
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