I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 455 Crying buckets (2 updates)
The lobby of the University of Tokyo Hospital was spacious and bright, the marble floor reflecting the cold light. Shiraishi E walked ahead, followed by Akemi and Ai, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings, clearly puzzled by the place.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Mingmei couldn't help but ask again, her voice low, but the confusion and unease in her tone were unmistakable.

Ai had her hands in her pockets, her brows furrowed, and her eyes scanning every corner warily.

She also didn't understand Shiraishi E's intentions, but her thinking was far more meticulous than Akemi's.

"Be patient," Shiraishi E said without turning her head, her tone light and almost cheerful. "The answer will be revealed soon."

He walked straight to the nurses' station, where the nurse on duty looked up and politely asked, "Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

Shiraishi E smiled slightly and said directly, "I would like to visit Ms. Nanjo Yumeko's hospital room."

The nurse paused, clearly surprised by the name: "Nanjo Yumeko? May I ask who you are...?"

“Her nephew,” Shiraishi replied without changing her expression.

The nurse hesitated for a moment, then picked up the walkie-talkie and called the head nurse in a low voice.

While waiting, Akemi quietly leaned closer to Ai and whispered, "Do you know this 'Nanjo Yumeko'?"

Ai shook her head, her voice calm: "I don't know her."

She paused, her gaze thoughtfully sweeping over Shiraishi E's retreating figure: "But judging from his impatient manner, I guess..."

"Guess what?" Mingmei asked curiously.

Ai pondered for a moment: "Most likely they are users of APTX-4869, and their bodies may have shrunk like mine."

Mingmei's eyes widened: "Isn't that similar to your situation?"

Ai shook her head: "No, if it were just like that, he couldn't have called it a 'surprise,' nor could he have made the two of us cry so much."

She pondered, continuing to speculate: "Perhaps... she not only shrank, but also returned to her original size, and was no longer affected by the drug?"

She looked up to observe Shiraishi E's reaction and found that he was still smiling, so her guess was obviously inaccurate.

Ai frowned, then changed her approach: "Or... did she achieve some kind of 'eternal youth' effect after taking the drug?"

Shiraishi E remained smiling and silent.

Ai's brows furrowed even more, and she finally offered a bold guess: "Or perhaps... she was originally dead, but after taking the drug, she came back to life?"

Shiraishi E finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Your imagination is really good. Are all scientists this good at guessing?"

Ai pursed her lips, knowing she had guessed wrong again, but she became even more curious—what exactly was this so-called "surprise"?
At this moment, the head nurse walked over quickly. She wore gold-rimmed glasses, looked the three of them over seriously, and then said, "Please come with me."

She led them through several corridors and around several corners, finally arriving at a VIP ward area.

The corridor was unusually quiet, with soft lights hanging on the walls and a faint smell of disinfectant in the air.

The head nurse stopped in front of a heavy metal door, took out an access card from her pocket, and swiped it. Then, she looked at Shiraishi E and said, "Please enter the password."

Shiraishi E nodded and entered a string of numbers on the electronic keypad next to the door—the password that Masuyama Kenzo had given him.

With a "beep", the door lock was released.

The head nurse nodded slightly: "You can go in now." After saying that, she turned and left, her footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

Shiraishi E grasped the doorknob, but didn't push it open immediately. Instead, she turned to look at Akemi and Ai, a faint smile playing on her lips: "I won't go in."

"Why?" Mingmei asked, puzzled.

Shiraishi E shrugged: "I'm not very good at comforting people."

Akemi and Ai exchanged a glance, even more confused—comfort? What does this have to do with comfort?
Filled with questions, the two sisters pushed open the door to the ward.

The ward was dimly lit, and the medical equipment was running quietly, emitting a soft hum.

Their gazes fell simultaneously on the hospital bed—where lay a person. Someone they knew intimately, yet thought they would never see again.

Akemi's breath caught in her throat, and Ai's pupils contracted sharply.

“Mom…Mom…?” Mingmei’s voice trembled, almost unable to believe her eyes.

Ai's lips trembled slightly; the usually composed Ai was now speechless.

On the hospital bed, Elena Miyano lay quietly, her face serene, her chest rising and falling gently with her breath.

Mingmei rushed over, but then stopped abruptly by the bedside, afraid that her movements might disturb something.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She gripped the sheets tightly with both hands, her voice choked with sobs: "Mom... is it really you?"

Ai stood rooted to the spot, as if nailed to the spot, her gaze fixed on that familiar face, her heart pounding wildly.

She pinched her arm hard to see if this was a dream.

pain!
it hurts!

Great, this isn't a dream!

Standing opposite her, she found her eyes were wet, and she burst into tears uncontrollably—just as that guy had predicted, she really was crying her eyes out.

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Outside the door, Shiraishi was sitting on a bench.

After waiting for a while, he saw that neither of the Miyano sisters came out, which proved that Kenzo Masuyama was not lying and that the person lying inside was indeed Elena Miyano, the mother of the two sisters.

"I never expected Pisco would do something like this in secret," Shiraishi E remarked.

In the anime, Kenzo Masuyama was just a minor character who didn't even survive more than a few episodes before being killed by Gin.

Looking back now, he can also sense that Masuyama Kenzo's death was too hasty.

Kenzo Masuyama was executed because he was photographed during the assassination of politician Shigehiko Toguchi, leaving behind crucial evidence of the murder.

He's a veteran member of the organization. He's worked for so many years. Even if he didn't achieve great things, he certainly put in a lot of hard work. Even if he didn't put in a lot of hard work, he was still exhausted.

Not only did they receive no special treatment, but the other party also had a father-son relationship with another member of the organization, Ireland.

It's simply unacceptable to kill him like that.

Moreover, the organization has already intercepted this message, and it is fully capable of protecting Kenzo Masuyama.

However, the boss still gave the order to kill, instructing Gin to take care of Pisco.

What's even more interesting is that Vermouth, the Thousand-Faced Witch, was present. The organization didn't let her carry out the assassination mission, but instead sent Kenzo Masuyama, an elderly man, to do it.

It makes one want to think of conspiracy theories.

Shiraishi E maliciously speculated: "That photographer might actually be one of the organization's members!"

It was all a setup from beginning to end, a setup to kill Pisco.

As for the reasons... it's either a rivalry between close friends, or the boss discovered that Kenzo Masuyama was colluding with other intelligence agencies.

In this way, Masuyama Kenzo's death becomes much more reasonable.

Shiraishi E lamented that if she hadn't messed things up and even arrested Masuyama Kenzo, it would have been a different story.

It seems that the matter of Elena Miyano will remain a secret, buried forever.

(End of this chapter)