Chapter 18 Secret Base
School is closed today, and as usual, Shinichi stayed up late yesterday and woke up very late this morning.
Just as he was eating breakfast, he suddenly saw a car outside the doctor's house through the window.
Looking closer. Hey! Aren't those Officer Matsuda and his colleagues?
Shinichi wolfed down the last bite of bread, quickly dressed, and ran out, shouting, "Officer Matsuda, what brings you here?"
The man wearing sunglasses, sitting in the passenger seat, poked his curly-haired head out of the car window and replied, "Oh, it's Kudo! I left in such a hurry last time. I wanted to take advantage of this free time today to visit the professor's inventions again, but it seems he's not home..."
“The professor went to a friend’s house and won’t be back until tonight,” Shinichi replied.
Matsuda said with a hint of regret, "This is really unfortunate. We'll have to do it another time."
"I never imagined that Inspector Matsuda and the professor would be so compatible!"
Shinichi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Why didn't you go to school today, Kudo-kun? Did you skip class?" the driver asked with a smile. "Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kenji Hagiwara, Jinpei-chan's childhood friend—"
“Officer Hagiwara, school is closed today, I didn’t skip class!” Shinichi replied.
"But these childhood friends are quite bizarre; their personalities are so different!"
Shinichi glanced at Matsuda's indifferent expression, then at Hagiwara's beaming smile, and began to imagine how the two usually interacted.
"Since the professor isn't here, we'll take our leave now," Matsuda said, turning to close the car window.
"Hey, Officer Matsuda, where are you going?" Shinichi asked hurriedly.
He still couldn't forget the arson method used in that fire and held a sliver of hope that Matsuda could help.
"Let's go for a drive, Kudo-kun, wanna come? Let's go have some fun!" Hagiwara enthusiastically extended the invitation.
Shinichi glanced at Matsuda, whose face showed little emotion, neither joy nor displeasure.
"I guess it means 'to tacitly agree'?"
Shinichi readily agreed and got into the car.
"Officer Hagiwara, where are you guys going for a drive?"
After passing several traffic lights, Shinichi couldn't help but ask.
"Guess what? It will definitely surprise you!"
Hagiwara kept everyone in suspense, but Shinichi guessed several answers, all of which were rejected.
The detective's curiosity was piqued, and he kept a close eye on the road.
There were fewer and fewer cars and pedestrians, and the shops along the street gradually became sparse and scattered until finally none of them could be seen!
Seeing that the car had already left the city, Shinichi finally couldn't help but ask, "Officer Hagiwara, where are we going?"
"Don't worry, don't worry, we'll be there soon!"
Hagiwara kept his word, and they arrived at their destination in no time.
It was a dilapidated bungalow that looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.
"Ah! The air in the suburbs is so fresh!" Hagiwara stretched lazily, looking extremely relaxed.
Matsuda seemed to be in a good mood as well.
Shinichi, however, looked rather unhappy.
"Kudo-kun, what's wrong?" Hagiwara asked.
Shinichi asked somewhat awkwardly, "Officer Hagiwara, why did you bring me here?"
Hagiwara guessed what the other was thinking, patted Shinichi on the shoulder and said, "Don't be fooled by the old and unassuming exterior of this place, there's something special inside. Come on! I'll take you inside to have a look."
Shinichi followed behind Hagiwara, curiously examining the small house and secretly estimating its age, concluding that it must be older than himself.
The door opened, but instead of the stale, decaying smell that Shinichi had expected, it was a mixture of engine oil and metal.
"It looks like some kind of machine shop."
This was Shinichi's first reaction.
The room was extremely dark.
The moment the lights came on, Shinichi was completely stunned!
The first thing that catches the eye is a huge machine that looks like a locomotive.
The color is old and looks rusty, but upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the signs of aging were intentionally created.
The gears meshed perfectly, and the engine spun at high speed, providing the small house with the necessary energy.
Light, electricity, and heat all originate from this.
Suddenly, Shinichi felt as if he were in a scene from a science fiction movie.
Behind him lies a densely populated, bustling metropolis of the 21st century. Before him, however, lies a mechanical kingdom of the 19th-century steampunk world.
"This is...so cool!"
Shinichi, flustered and incoherent, asked, "You guys made this?"
"Yes, it took many years to complete! Originally, this was a small workshop for repairing parts. The owner got too old to work and sold it to me at a low price. But it's still a bit shabby compared to the doctor's house."
Matsuda, who was standing behind him, suddenly spoke up. He looked proud and quite pleased with Shinichi's reaction.
"No, no! Officer Matsuda, what are you saying? This place is much better!"
Shinichi argued.
"Come, come, don't stand outside, come in and have a look!" Hagiwara hurriedly called out.
Shinichi rushed inside, only to discover that the device, which looked like a train engine, was not a standalone component, but rather coupled with the entire building, becoming the heart of the mechanical giant, beating incessantly.
Shinichi glanced at Matsuda and suddenly understood him a little:
Perhaps beneath that cold and aloof exterior lies a passionate heart! It's just that most people can't see it.
"Hey, does Officer Matsuda never take off his sunglasses?" Shinichi suddenly asked, wanting to see the other man's eyes.
"Well, Jinpei-chan injured his eyes during a mission. Even indoor lighting is too bright for him, so he has to wear sunglasses. These are specially made optical glasses—"
Hagiwara answered for his childhood friend with such seriousness that Shinichi believed him without a second thought.
Thus, Matsuda's image in Shinichi's mind became even more majestic.
Matsuda glanced at Hagi but didn't expose the lie.
“Kudo-kun, feel free to look around, you can even go outside for a stroll. We need to make something today,” Hagiwara said.
"What is it? I want to see too." Shinichi was mesmerized by everything here and was curious about everything.
“We want to modify a snowmobile,” Hagiwara explained. “It doesn’t have enough horsepower right now, so we need to work on it.”
"Is Officer Hagiwara going to the snowy mountains? There isn't much snow yet this season, is there? We'll have to wait another two months."
"Since I have some free time now, I might as well start doing it!"
Hagiwara and Matsuda changed into their work clothes and got to work.
Shinichi watched silently from the side, finding it very interesting even though he didn't quite understand it.
"Those two officers are so skillful!" Shinichi exclaimed softly.
"I've always been good at tinkering since I was little!" Hagiwara replied with a laugh. "How about I take you skiing once it's finished?"
"Okay!" Shinichi nodded excitedly.
After a while, while Matsuda and Hagiwara were still testing the engine, Shinichi started fiddling with other things.
Although the house doesn't look big from the outside, the interior space is actually quite large.
Shinichi looked left and right, and suddenly noticed a trapdoor on the ground.
"Huh? There's even a basement here?"
Driven by curiosity, Shinichi moved the board away without saying a word and climbed down a short ladder.
It was very dark underground, and Shinichi fumbled around for a long time but couldn't find the light switch.
The place reeked of dust, and the ground was littered with debris. Shinichi thought there was nothing interesting to see here, so he decided to climb up.
Just then, Shinichi tripped over something and fell to the ground, followed by a loud crash, like the sound of glass shattering.
Shinichi was startled, thinking he had knocked over something. After listening carefully, he realized the sound was coming from above.
"Officer Hagiwara, are you alright? I think I heard something break!"
Shinichi shouted from the basement.
Suddenly a beam of light shone down; it was Hagiwara, who had come looking for them with a flashlight: "Kudo-kun, what happened down there? Are you alright?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing!" Shinichi quickly got up from the ground, only to realize that what had tripped him was a bunch of electrical wires. "Officer Hagiwara, why are there so many electrical wires here?"
"Oh, that was replaced because of the power outage during last week's heavy rain. Just leave it there!" Hagiwara called out, "Kudo-kun, come on up!"
Shinichi responded and climbed up, asking, "Officer Hagiwara, what broke just now?"
"Ugh! A bunch of kids playing soccer smashed the attic window." Hagiwara shrugged helplessly.
"Is there an attic here?!"
"Well, it's not really an attic, more like a storage room half a floor higher!" Hagiwara said, then noticed Matsuda frowning and went over to ask, "Jinpei-chan, what's wrong?"
"The lock on the attic seems to be rusted, the key won't open it, and the kid's ball is still inside!" Matsuda replied.
"Is it because it rained last week?" Shinichi interjected.
"Maybe, but the attic hasn't been opened for a while, so it might have been rusty before. The lock itself is an old one..."
"Then let's pry it open!" Hagiwara said nonchalantly.
Matsuda nodded and took two wires to start fiddling with them.
Shinichi, standing to the side, was repeatedly stunned by the childhood friends:
They just pried it open like that? That's terrifying hands-on skill.
Matsuda quickly fixed the lock, tossed the ball to the group of kids, and shouted, "Catch! Don't kick it over here!"
"Thank you, big brother!"
The children came running over happily.
"What? You want to learn?" Matsuda turned to look at Shinichi's admiring face and couldn't help but find it amusing.
"Is it okay?" Shinichi pleaded.
Matsuda readily agreed, took a few locks, and began to teach them step by step.
Shinichi was very clever and learned quickly, mastering the skill of unlocking locks in no time.
"Kid, don't use it for anything bad."
"Of course not!" Shinichi assured him confidently.
Matsuda nodded in satisfaction.
At noon, Matsuda and Hagiwara cooked lunch together.
The kitchen stove is also handmade; it's not large, but it's very stylish.
Shinichi looked at the gas cylinder next to him with concern and asked, "Is this really safe?"
The two bomb disposal experts gave him a look that said, "Figure it out yourself," and Shinichi didn't dare to say a word.
Lunch was simple, but surprisingly delicious!
The freshly roasted chestnuts are especially fragrant and sweet, but they're a bit hot.
"Here, I've peeled it for you! Open your mouth, ah..." Hagiwara fed Shinichi a chestnut.
"Thank you, Officer Hagiwara!" Shinichi mumbled between bites of food.
Matsuda saw this and a faint smile appeared on his lips, but Shinichi, who was focused on peeling chestnuts, didn't see it.
"I never imagined that you two were such amazing cooks!" Shinichi praised sincerely.
"No, not really! We learned it all from food bloggers online. Neither of us knew how to cook before," Hagiwara said with a grin. "That food blogger often shares delicious and simple recipes, which are a godsend for lazy office workers looking to improve their meals!"
"Which food blogger?" Shinichi asked casually.
"Inuya Nyan, his fans call him Uncle Nyan."
Shinichi did a quick search and found an image of a cat wearing glasses and with a beard, which was both cute and funny.
He casually clicked the follow button and discovered that he was exactly the one millionth follower, which made him smile knowingly at this wonderful coincidence.
In the afternoon, Hagiwara and Matsuda finished their snowmobile ride and even took Shinichi for a few laps on the deserted suburban roads.
Before dinner, they took Shinichi home.
"I had so much fun today! Thank you, officers!"
Shinichi was genuinely happy, and he was even carrying a large bag of roasted chestnuts that Hagiwara had given him, saying they were for the professor.
"You're welcome. I'll take you out to play again when I have time!"
After saying that, Matsuda and Hagiwara drove away.
Shinichi took the roasted chestnuts home, then belatedly realized, "Oh no! I was so busy playing that I completely forgot about asking about the case!"
"Sigh! Never mind, let's talk about it next time."
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