Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 553 Kidd's Goal

The Suzuki family's "Egg of Memories" is definitely real.

Not only did they have the authentication of Inui Shoichi and Urashi Seiran, but the Suzuki family also found corresponding historical materials—the “Egg of Memory” was already included in Fabergé’s design manuscripts. However, before that, everyone believed that this “Tsar’s Egg” should not exist.

After all, production of these Tsarist luxury goods ceased after the revolution, and Fabergé had long since fled...

The Suzuki family only recently discovered that this seemed to have some value.

They used to be toys for Sonoko and Ayako...

Opening this "Tsar Egg" reveals, as always, exquisite carvings inside. Inside this "Tsar Egg" is a pure gold sculpture depicting the whole family gathered around the grandfather looking at a photo album.

The name "Memory" was probably chosen to refer to "this scene on the statue".

The workmanship is very meticulous; it is not only lifelike but also has the dynamic movement of turning the pages of a book.

However, Shiraishi wasn't really interested in this at the moment, and even suggested going out for a while, facing Ayako's questioning...

“A friend,” Shiraishi said vaguely.

Ayako:? ? ?
Immediately, Shiraishi pulled Ayako aside and reminded her, "Tell Uncle Shiro to be careful of that Urashi Seiran. There's something wrong with her identity... and it's very strange!"

To convince Ayako more, Shiraishi emphasized, "It's the kind of thing that Attorney Ayasato told me about!" He even raised his arm as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, Ayako's attention was immediately drawn to it.

"What? Could it be... she is also..." Ayako said, somewhat frightened.

“She is human, but like Koizumi, she possesses supernatural powers, which are closer to abilities like ‘curses’,” Shiraishi explained.

After Aya reminded Shiraishi that Urashi Seiran possessed an aura of "dark magic," Shiraishi immediately began to recall things related to "dark magic"...

The legacy of the Crimson Demon...man contains a component of "dark magic," and this component is far more concrete than other supernatural powers.

Among supernatural powers, the inheritance of the four great magicians can be said to be the highest-grade and most practical among a small group.

In other words, the Red Mage, Blue Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage—the Red Witch—are actually one of the lineages of the Red Mage.

Of the four types of magic, the latter three were born first. "Blue magic" can control the forces of nature, making it most like a magician in a game, readily using water, fire, lightning, and other powerful spells; "white magic" consists of various blessings and healing spells, and can also remove curses; "black magic" is mainly based on sinister abilities such as curses and mind control...

As for "Red Magic," it is compatible with all three schools, but... in its deeper aspects, it is inferior to any of the three schools.

Like Koizumi Akako, she excels at both direct attacks and various curses and hypnosis...

This also means that the inheritors of "Red Magic" often have a deep understanding of the other three schools—after all, before reaching a high level of mastery, "Red Magic" can be said to have combined the strengths of the three schools.

When Ayako heard about "black magic," she immediately became nervous—even though she didn't understand it, the name alone could conjure up many stereotypes!
"Don't be too nervous. In reality, her abilities are definitely far inferior to Koizumi's. Just be careful... never meet her alone under any circumstances, and don't believe what she says... Um, also, I'll come and check on her after each meeting." Shiraishi said, half reassuring and half reminding.

If we expose her now, not only will she absolutely refuse to admit it, and we won't be able to gain anyone's trust, but more importantly... it will alert her!
The most troublesome thing about "dark magic" is when the caster hides and deliberately harms people in secret.

Keeping her under my nose actually reduces her threat.

In addition...

Abilities like "curses" and "hypnosis," though subtle and insidious, still have their consequences due to the nature of "magic." In such cases, having more people around would deter the opponent from using magic rashly.

Of course, if you do get caught in the trap, you should keep an eye on it and address it promptly!
Hearing Shiraishi say that, Ayako felt a little relieved, but as Shiraishi was about to leave, she still stopped him and asked, "Um... are we having dinner together tonight?"

"Hmm? Of course." Shiraishi didn't intend to invite Kid to dinner, and he guessed Kid wouldn't invite him either.

That's right, the "friend" that Shiraishi wants to meet is none other than Kid!
This guy came to provoke us for no reason, so Shiraishi naturally had to give him a good beating.

After dialing Kaito's number, Shiraishi hung up the phone as soon as Kaito answered, and then sent a text message to a remote address nearby.

Shiraishi believed he understood.

If Kaito's phone is currently in someone else's hands, Shiraishi's actions won't alert the enemy—although Shiraishi still believes to some extent that Kaito is just looking for trouble, there's also a one or two chance that someone is impersonating him!

If it was an impersonation, then Kaito shouldn't be in Osaka at all right now.

However, it turned out there was no impersonation—not long after, Shiraishi saw Kaito strolling over.

Just as Kaito walked into the dead end...

"Kid, you're pretty brave, huh?" Shiraishi's voice came from behind him.

Kaito couldn't help but shudder—even as a top magician, he hadn't noticed how Shiraishi had appeared behind him.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Kaito was quick as well, taking two steps back several meters, and immediately explained, "I came to help!"

"Help?" Shiraishi frowned upon hearing this, clearly not believing it.

“That’s right, you saw that Russian Easter egg too, right? There aren’t any gems on it at all… I wasn’t interested in it originally, but that mysterious organization’s ‘Scobbin’ has his eye on it.” Kaito said matter-of-factly.

“Scorpion? Scorpion?” Bai Shi’s expression changed upon hearing this. Although the pronunciation of “Scorpion” was heavily influenced by the island accent and Spanish, Bai Shi still recognized it as the word “scorpion.”

After all, the "mysterious organization" that Kaito is concerned about is probably the one that caused his father, Kuroba Toichi, to disappear. The characteristic of that organization is that the code names of its members are all "animals," just like the members of the Crow Legion all wear black clothes.

"Why would a zoo target a work of art that has no gemstones?" Shiraishi was still puzzled.

Logically, the "zoo's" goal, like "Kid's," is the legendary gem [Pandora]—or rather, the reason Kaito uses the alias "Kid" and steals gems everywhere is to compete with the "zoo" for [Pandora].

“No, as far as I know… this might not be an organization mission, but rather something Scrooge himself is interested in. And that ‘memory Easter egg’ might not actually be without a gem.” Kaito said meaningfully.

"Not necessarily without gems? What do you mean?" Bai Shi didn't even frown upon hearing this—he had already seen the inside of the exhibition hall before, and indeed there were only golden sculptures with mechanisms inside.

Considering the internal mechanisms and the fact that the golden sculpture can rise up, there shouldn't be any place to hide the gemstones.

“I investigated. When the Easter egg was first brought to Japan, it was only a semi-finished product. It was further processed by the Japanese mechanic, Kiichi Kosaka, before it was finally completed. The finished product has a double-layered structure similar to a Russian nesting doll, with an outer red 'eggshell,' which should have been inlaid with large gemstones,” Kaito explained. Shiraishi didn't question how he had investigated…

If you can't even do "scouting," what kind of phantom thief are you?

Investigating what you're going to steal is an essential skill for any phantom thief.

“The eggshell… but that shouldn’t be in the Suzuki family’s collection.” Shiraishi shook his head regretfully.

“I know, and I also know that Natsumi Kosaka, a descendant of Kiichi Kosaka, has come to Osaka after learning about the exhibition of the Egg of Memories. If the outer shell hasn’t been lost, it’s very likely that it’s being kept by Kiichi Kosaka’s descendant,” Kaito said confidently.

"So... where is that Scorpion now?" Shiraishi asked directly.

Shiraishi guessed that Kaito's target was the large gem on the outer shell, so he went straight to asking about something more important.

Compared to treasures and works of art, what Bai Shi cares about more are the members of the "mysterious organization"!

“They should have already infiltrated your ranks,” Kaito said in a deep voice.

"Us?" Bai Shi suddenly thought of the most suspicious one, Pu Siqinglan.

“Yes, the name ‘Scobing’ originally represents a top assassin and internationally wanted criminal from Mao Country. He should already be infiltrating among those who have easy access to the [Egg of Memories].” Kaito nodded.

Clearly, Kaito was unaware of Scorpion's true identity.

"Can you determine the gender? Do you know any disguise techniques?" Shiraishi immediately pressed.

"I don't know if it's a man or a woman, and as for disguise... I might know some practical makeup skills, but I can't disguise myself as anyone. So just be careful of the people around the [Egg of Memories] who have recently appeared," Kaito explained.

Although the other party's identity cannot be determined, fortunately, the other party is only "unknown" and not like Kidd who can change his identity at any time.

There's no need to doubt those we know...

In other words, the target is only the five people he has met before: Yaro Polk, the secretary of the Maoist embassy; Pu Siqinglan, an expert on the Romanov dynasty; Inui Shoichi, an antique dealer; Kankawa Ryu, a photographer and writer; and Shiro's recently recruited secretary, Nishino Masato.

The most suspicious of them all is undoubtedly Pu Siqinglan...

This person's identity is undoubtedly fake, and now that Shiraishi thinks about it, she does seem to have Russian blood, not to mention... she also has the aura of black magic on her!

Next is Yarrow Polk...

Firstly, he was from Mao's country, and secondly... Bai Shi could tell that he was in excellent physical condition, and with his robust physique, this man was clearly not a "civil servant".

As for the official identity on Mao's side, it might be an imposter, and even if it is real, it's not impossible that he is an "undercover agent from the zoo."

After that, Hanchuan Long and Nishino Masato were less suspicious. Shiraishi didn't see anything suspicious about these two. If I had to say something, it would be that they seemed to know each other, but pretended not to know each other.

Finally, there's Qian Jiangyi...

This old man's physique really doesn't look like that of a top-tier assassin!
Although top assassins often do not rely on force to kill, it is still impossible for them to have no physical requirements at all.

Shiraishi could tell that although Inui was "still vigorous despite his age" and didn't appear as weak as his hunched figure suggested, he was definitely not in good physical condition either...

Nishino and Kankawa are among the most physically fit young people; if they were to be considered "technical" assassins, they would be good enough to be "top killers."

As for the most suspicious Pu Siqinglan...

Because of the aura of "dark magic," Shiraishi couldn't accurately assess her physical abilities!

But even if she were truly a weak woman, with her dark magic, killing would be a piece of cake for her...

"Looks like you have a suspect?" Kaito wanted to share some information.

Shiraishi had no intention of sharing with him, but...

"Although I don't know if it's 'Shi Kaobing,' but... be careful of that Pu Siqinglan," Bai Shi specifically warned.

Against other people...

Even if that Yaro is truly a top-tier assassin, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, Kaito wouldn't suffer too much of a loss. However, if he encounters mysterious black magic, the phantom thief might not be able to escape unscathed.

“Ura-no-Seiran…” Kaito nodded slightly—he had already encountered “Spider” before, and even though he still had some doubts about “magic” and thought the other party was probably performing magic tricks… at least Kaito had realized that there were many “experts” in the “zoo”.

Then Shiraishi asked dangerously, "By the way, what did you mean by your pre-announcement? You're not really planning to steal the 'yolk' of the [Egg of Memories], are you?"

"Uh, well... I was just worried about being targeted by Scorpion, that would be dangerous!" Kaito explained awkwardly after sensing Shiraishi's "malice."

"Is that really it?" Shiraishi asked again, his tone carrying a hint of warning.

Kaito nodded without hesitation.

“It can be kept with you nominally for now…” Shiraishi suddenly said.

Originally, Shiraishi wasn't too concerned about "theft prevention," since he didn't see "Kid" as a threat.

But now that he knows that top assassins may also be eyeing the [Egg of Memories], Shiraishi has to be careful—even if he's not afraid of losing it, he's afraid of people being in danger, isn't he?
“Nominally…” Kaito grumbled upon hearing this.

Clearly, Shiraishi wasn't planning to leave the genuine item to him for safekeeping!
After returning home, Shiraishi also told Ayako about his plans...

Shiro Suzuki, of course, completely agreed!
Ever since Ayako told him about "black magic," Suzuki Shiro has been worried about his safety.

Meanwhile, Hattori and Conan were still studying the cryptic message on the notice, and Shiraishi did not stop them—in fact, apart from Ayako and her father and Shiraishi himself, no one else knew about the switch...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dongdong: Today is October 3rd. 662 years ago today, Chen Youliang died from an arrow wound at Jiujiangkou. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)