Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 698 Conan Almost Gets Tricked! (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Time flowed slowly in this suffocatingly tense atmosphere, each second seemingly stretched out infinitely.

Conan hid under the blanket, his ears pressed tightly to the ground, trying to discern even the slightest sound outside, praying incessantly that he wouldn't be discovered.

At the same time, he was anxiously thinking about how to escape as soon as possible, notify the police to stop the black organization's evil deal, and rescue Uncle Mori and his family from danger...

With each passing second, he felt his heart pounding faster and faster, as if he would be mercilessly discovered and plunged into an abyss of no return in the next second.

After a meticulous and almost harsh search, Fumiyo Edogawa and the man in sunglasses still found nothing.

The masked man keenly noticed their situation, turned his head slightly, and stared at Edogawa Fumiyo and the man in sunglasses with eyes like two sharp blades, asking in a deep voice, "Well, have you found anything?"

Fumiyo Edogawa shook her head helplessly, her tone revealing a deep sense of frustration: "No, there's nothing here."

The man in sunglasses straightened up, his brow furrowed: "We didn't find any trace of him in the living room. He probably hid in another room, right?"

The masked man frowned even more deeply, as if he could trap a fly, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he coldly said, "Then search the other rooms. Find him even if you have to dig three feet into the ground."

Having said that, he strode off towards the other rooms like a gust of wind...

Conan heard their footsteps fading into the distance and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

He carefully lifted the blanket, each movement as gentle as a breeze, trying not to make a sound.

He knew he had to seize this fleeting opportunity, or the consequences would be dire if he were discovered.

Immediately afterwards, he peeked out like a cautious little mouse, quickly turning left and right to make sure the kitchen was empty before slowly crawling out of his hiding place.

Conan crouched low, moving swiftly and lightly towards the refrigerator. With each step, he pricked up his ears, alert to even the slightest sound around him. He moved with extreme caution, each step as if testing thin ice, afraid that the slightest sound from the floor would give away his presence.

Finally, he arrived at the refrigerator. He slowly reached out and gently opened the refrigerator door. A blast of icy air rushed out, making him shiver involuntarily.

Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly slipped into the refrigerator and then gently closed the door behind him...

The refrigerator was extremely cramped and bitterly cold, but Conan didn't care. He huddled tightly inside, trying to regulate his breathing and calm his wildly beating heart, quietly waiting for the next opportunity to escape…

"Puff... puff..."

Hiding inside the refrigerator, Conan listened to his slightly rapid breathing in the cramped space, feeling his heart still pounding like a drum. He knew that although he had temporarily found a seemingly safe hiding place, the danger was not truly gone.

He must remain calm and wait for the next opportunity to escape.

As time ticked by, the low temperature inside the refrigerator gradually chilled Conan to the bone. The cold felt like countless tiny ice needles piercing his skin through the gaps in his clothes. However, he gritted his teeth, enduring the discomfort, and listened intently to the sounds outside the refrigerator.

After an unknown amount of time, he heard the masked man and his group approaching again, as if they had returned to the kitchen.

"We've searched all the other rooms, but we still haven't found any trace of that brat." Fumiyo Edogawa's voice, tinged with weariness and anxiety, sounded particularly clear in the quiet room.

"Strange, where did that kid hide?"

"Could this kid really have some kind of invisibility ability?"

The man in sunglasses said with a hint of confusion and bewilderment in his voice.

The masked man snorted coldly, his voice icy and chilling: "Hmph, that brat is definitely still here, just hiding too well. Let's search carefully again, this time we can't let any possible place slip by."

Suddenly, the masked man's gaze, sharp as a hawk's, fell on the carpet on the ground. With his keen intuition, he instantly noticed that the carpet was in an abnormal state, clearly messy, as if it had been deliberately moved.

"What's going on?" The masked man's expression hardened. He slowly squatted down and carefully examined the blanket, a strong sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

He then abruptly threw back the blanket, instantly revealing the hidden space beneath. The masked man's face darkened further, like the sky before a storm: "So he discovered this place beforehand. No wonder we couldn't find him anywhere else!"

"What do we do now?" Fumiyo Edogawa asked anxiously, her face filled with worry and unease, and her eyes revealing a hint of panic.

"Hmph, since he was hiding here, it means he hasn't escaped the house yet. Maybe he's hiding somewhere right now. Let's split up and search for him! Catch him!"

The masked man stood up, his eyes revealing determination and ruthlessness, preparing to launch an even more thorough and comprehensive search.

"Yes!" The man in sunglasses and Fumiyo Edogawa responded in unison. The three of them quickly sprang into action, conducting another thorough search of the kitchen, even turning the trash cans upside down.

But they never imagined that Conan was currently huddled inside the refrigerator, which had already been searched, nervously listening to every sound outside.

After another fruitless search, the masked man looked suspicious and kept muttering to himself, "This shouldn't be! We've searched every possible place, so why can't we find any trace of that brat?"

Fumiyo Edogawa, equally puzzled, couldn't help but speculate, "Could it be that the brat has already secretly escaped while we weren't paying attention?"

“I think another possibility is more likely,” the man in sunglasses said thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “That is… he didn’t actually leave here, but cleverly used blind spots to evade our search…”

He paused deliberately at this point, building up the anticipation, "For example, hiding in places we searched earlier!"

Upon hearing this, the masked man narrowed his eyes slightly. After a moment of contemplation, his gaze involuntarily swept towards the refrigerator again, a deep suspicion flashing in his eyes. "Could it be..."

He walked slowly toward the refrigerator, each step seemingly carrying a heavy sense of oppression.

Conan overheard their conversation clearly from inside the refrigerator, inwardly groaning. He could feel the danger closing in like a receding tide, his heart pounding uncontrollably, as if about to burst from his chest. He curled up tightly, trying to minimize his presence, barely daring to breathe, his mind racing in a state of extreme tension, attempting to devise a solution to the impending crisis.

The masked man approached the refrigerator, a hint of hesitation in his eyes, and slowly reached out to grasp the refrigerator door handle.

At that moment, Conan felt as if time had frozen, the air had been frozen, and the whole world was so quiet that he could only hear his own heart pounding.

"Jingle Bell……"

Just as he was about to open the refrigerator door, a sharp telephone ring suddenly shattered the suffocating tension.

The masked man paused slightly, instinctively withdrew his hand, and took out his phone from his pocket.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end of the phone instantly made his expression turn serious. "What? The deal has been moved up?"

Upon hearing this, Conan was overjoyed. He keenly realized that this might be another chance for him to escape.

If the masked man and his group are eager to complete the transaction, they may abandon the current search of him, since the importance of the transaction to them is self-evident.

This gave him a chance to escape and quickly notify the police to stop the Black Organization's plot.

But if the masked man believes that capturing him and preventing the organization's secrets from being leaked is far more important than the deal, then he will be in serious trouble.

Perhaps, while the masked man is distracted on the phone, he could risk making some noise to divert their attention, then seize the opportunity to escape from the refrigerator and figure out a way to leave this dangerous place.
However, this method is fraught with uncertainty, and if it fails, the consequences could be disastrous...

Conan was caught in a dilemma: should he continue to wait or take the risk?

Fortunately, it seemed that heaven heard his inner struggle, or perhaps it couldn't bear to let him continue to live in fear. After a few more brief words on the phone, the masked man's face grew increasingly gloomy, but he had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​continuing the search. "Okay, we'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, the masked man's face was terribly gloomy. He turned to Edogawa Fumiyo and the man in sunglasses and said, "The plan has changed. There's an urgent mission from above. The transaction has to be moved up, and we have to get there immediately. Let's put this brat aside for now. We'll deal with him properly when we're done."

Fumiyo Edogawa and the man in sunglasses exchanged a glance. Although they were unwilling, they understood the importance of the deal and could only nod and reply, "Yes, boss."

The three of them hurriedly packed their things and headed out the door.

Conan waited patiently in the refrigerator for a while longer, listening intently to make sure there was no more noise outside and that the masked man and the others had really gone far away. Only then did he gently open the refrigerator door again and carefully crawl out of the refrigerator.

At this moment, he knew very well that although he had once again escaped death by sheer luck, the danger posed by the Black Organization was like a persistent ghost, always following him. His immediate priority was to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible, contact the police, and do everything in his power to stop the Black Organization's sinister plot.

Conan tiptoed towards the window, each step so light it made almost no sound. He reached the window and cautiously observed the outside. Only when the masked man and his entourage's vehicle had disappeared from sight did he slowly let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, I really thought I was doomed just now! If I hadn't discovered the small box hidden under the blanket at that critical moment and moved it to the refrigerator in time, I'd probably be..."

Conan muttered to himself in a low voice, still shaken, with a hint of nervousness lingering in his eyes.

Wiping the cold sweat from his face, Conan stared intently at the afterimage left by the departing car. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, his eyes lit up instantly: "Great! While they're away, I need to find that mysterious drug as soon as possible!"

If we could know the specific ingredients of that drug, we might actually be able to find a way to restore our true identity.

At least that's what Dr. Agasa once speculated.

Although he didn't know how likely such a thing was, at least there was hope, wasn't there?

Conan immediately sprang into action, beginning a meticulous search of the room.

However, when he turned the entire room upside down, leaving no corner or item unchecked, hoping to find something, he was met only with deep disappointment.

"Damn it... I've searched everywhere, but I haven't found a trace of the medicine!" Conan couldn't help but curse under his breath, his heart filled with anxiety and helplessness.

His gaze inadvertently fell on the trash can beside him, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "Or perhaps, when they went out just now, they took all the medicine with them, intending to trade it with someone else?"

Thinking of this, and with a sliver of hope, Conan quickly walked to the trash can and dumped everything inside.

He squatted on the ground, carefully searching through the pile of messy trash, not letting go of any possible clue. However, after all his efforts, he still couldn't find what he was longing for.

"Damn it! I still can't find it!"

Just as Conan was filled with disappointment and about to give up, a tattered, crumpled newspaper caught his attention among the pile of messy trash.

"Hey, what's wrong with this newspaper? Why is it full of holes?"

Conan frowned slightly, a sense of doubt rising in his heart.

In his understanding, newspapers wouldn't normally be in this situation unless the person reading it had nothing better to do, or there was a special reason for doing so.

The masked man and his accomplices clearly weren't the kind of people who were bored out of their minds, so there must be a special meaning behind the newspaper being cut into such a strange shape.

For example...

A brilliant idea flashed through Conan's mind.

He quickly picked up the newspaper from the pile of trash on the ground, slowly unfolded it, then squinted slightly, carefully examining the strange holes in the newspaper, his focused gaze as if he wanted to see right through it...

(End of this chapter)