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

Chapter 730 Conan: Nothing's wrong, someone just dreamed that the plane exploded.
The California sunshine and sea breeze still seem to linger on my skin, but the enjoyable vacation has finally come to an end.

Sonoko habitually took out her phone, swiping the screen as she casually said, "Okay, I'll contact home right now and have our plane get ready so we can leave for Tokyo anytime!"

For her, private jets are as natural as an ordinary person calling a ride-hailing service.

Upon hearing this, Xiaolan quickly waved her hand, her face showing genuine gratitude and a hint of insistence: "Yuanzi, no need! You've already gone to so much trouble for your family this time, traveling by private jet both ways. How can we keep doing this? Besides..."

She patted her wallet and gave a "we can afford it too" smile. "It's not like we can't afford commercial airline tickets. Let's just treat it as experiencing a normal journey!"

Eri pushed up her glasses and added rationally, "Ran is right, Sonoko. We appreciate your kindness. We feel bad about always relying on you."

Sonoko glanced at her friends and, seeing their resolute attitude, laughed heartily and deftly put away her phone: "Alright, alright! Since you all say so, then we'll take a commercial flight back! Private planes are convenient, but they're too small; it's hard to stretch your legs!"

Yukiko, standing nearby, muttered in a tone that was a mixture of worry and joke, "Oh dear, flying commercial airliner... I hope this flight will be safe and smooth, and please, please, no more mishaps!"

Upon hearing this, Eri Kisaki couldn't help but chuckle. In her lawyer-like calm tone, she analyzed, "Yukiko, you're worrying too much. According to statistics, the probability of an airplane crash is far lower than that of a car, making it one of the safest modes of transportation in the world."

She paused, glanced around at everyone present, and said with a hint of absurdity that even she found laughable, "We can't possibly be that unlucky, can we? Two plane crashes in a row? The odds of that are lower than winning the lottery!"

Just then, Shiraishi E, who hadn't said much, suddenly curled her lips into a meaningful smile and let out two low "hehe" laughs.

He didn't say anything, but slowly, with a knowing look in his eyes, he turned his gaze to Conan beside him.

That gaze sent a chill down Conan's spine.

He suddenly looked up and met Shiraishi E's teasing gaze. He immediately bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouting, "Hey! Shiraishi-nii! Why are you looking at me?!"

He said in a very annoyed tone, "I'm not the Grim Reaper! Those cases were just... just bad luck that I happened to be in them!! It has nothing to do with me!"

Shiraishi E's smile grew even more "kind." He stepped forward, ignoring Conan's weak resistance, and vigorously ruffled his head, turning his once-smooth hair into a tangled mess.

"Alright, alright, you're not the Grim Reaper, you're just a walking case magnet." He bent down, lowered his voice, and said in a coaxing tone, "So, famous detective, how about we make a bet?"

Conan slapped away his messy hand, and while fixing his hair, asked warily, "What are you betting on?"

“Let’s bet on our flight back this time,” Shiraishi said slowly. “If everything goes smoothly from check-in to landing, without any incidents, accidents, or emergency landings… then I’ll accept your request, even if it’s not unreasonable.”

This condition is quite tempting.

Conan's mind raced slightly, and he pressed on, "Then... what if something happens?"

Although he firmly believed that his "Grim Reaper" constitution was a slander, it was never a bad thing to ask for clarification.

Shiraishi E revealed a smile that could be described as "devilish," and said clearly and slowly, "What if something goes wrong... It's simple, you just wear your signature shorts, bare-bottomed, and run two laps around Beika Central Park. How about it, dare to bet?"

"Run two laps around the park naked...naked?!" Conan's face instantly turned red. This bet was just too embarrassing!
He was torn by an internal struggle: on the one hand, he firmly believed that the plane was safe and that he was by no means a jinx;
On the other hand, the ridiculously high case encounter rate in the past made him a little uneasy.

But in the end, the boy's competitive spirit and his belief in his own luck prevailed—how could he possibly have problems on a plane twice in a row? The probability was too low!
"Alright! Let's bet!" Conan took a deep breath, as if to bolster his courage, and nodded vigorously, readily agreeing to the bet: "I refuse to believe my luck is really that bad!"

Seeing the little guy's "I'm going all out" expression, Shiraishi E's smile deepened. He patted Conan's shoulder meaningfully again: "Very good, very courageous. Then we'll... find out when we land."

........................

The fruits of the holiday shopping spree have now turned into a mountain of spoils, ranging from limited-edition handbags to unique souvenirs.

For ordinary travelers, facing all these bags and suitcases of various sizes, they would probably have a headache about how to pack them before even heading to the airport.

However, Xiaolan and her group stayed at a high-end hotel, where the meticulous service was on full display.

The hotel offers a thoughtful luggage handling service. Professional staff expertly packed and labeled all their shopping purchases, then smoothly loaded them into a dedicated vehicle and transported them directly to the airport, handling all check-in procedures on their behalf.

The whole process was smooth and effortless; they only needed to carry their small bags, as if they were going out for a leisurely stroll.

Watching her luggage being respectfully carried onto the car, while she herself arrived empty-handed, Xiaolan's eyes widened in surprise. She exclaimed sincerely, "My goodness, this is so convenient! We don't have to do anything ourselves! Now I finally understand why this hotel is so expensive; it really is expensive for a reason!"

This experience of being meticulously cared for gave her a more intuitive understanding of "luxury service".

Upon arriving at Los Angeles International Airport, the group, with their first-class tickets, were directly admitted to the elegant and tranquil VIP lounge.

The plush sofas, delicate snacks, complimentary champagne, and professional staff provided a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the waiting area outside.

They sat leisurely for a while, sipping their coffee, and then boarded the plane through a dedicated VIP channel, saving them the hassle of long queues and making the process much faster.

Once on the plane and settled into their spacious and comfortable first-class seats, Yukiko and Eri, both mature ladies, unanimously displayed a highly consistent philosophy of "wellness".

Almost simultaneously, they pulled out high-end moisturizing face masks from their carry-on luggage, neatly applied them to their faces, then adjusted their seats, put on silk eye masks, and prepared to meet the Duke of Zhou (a figure associated with sleep) during the rest of the flight.

In stark contrast to them are Ran and Sonoko, who remain full of energy.

The two huddled together, took out their phones, and excitedly scrolled through the massive amount of photos they had taken on this trip, heads close together.

When they saw someone taking a funny picture, they both burst into laughter in hushed tones; when they saw someone taking a picture with beautiful scenery, they started exchanging sincere compliments.

"Xiaolan, look at this picture! You look so elegant in this dress!"

"No way, Sonoko, you look better! This angle makes you look so slim!" Conan, sitting next to Shiraishi E, had his brows furrowed, his face clearly saying, "I have something on my mind."

He launched into another analysis of Shiraishi E: "Shiraishi, I still feel something's not right."

"Do you think we might have been deceived by her?"

"It's been almost 24 hours, and there's still no follow-up news or movement about that organization? This isn't like her!"

Hearing his repeated doubts, Shiraishi E rolled her eyes in annoyance.

He said helplessly, "My great detective, this isn't as simple and straightforward as going to an ATM to withdraw money, inserting your card, entering your PIN, and leaving."

"Just wait! Don't even mention 24 hours, it's perfectly normal to wait ten days or half a month without any news. You kid, how can you be so impatient? You don't have the composure that a famous detective should have."

After Shiraishi E said that, Conan chuckled a little embarrassedly and scratched his head: "Hehe, I was just... bored anyway."

He tried to justify his overly eager attitude.

He then sighed softly, his gaze drifting towards the receding California coastline outside the porthole, a hint of regret in his voice: "Speaking of which, this trip was great everywhere, except... I couldn't go to Hawaii. I really wanted to revisit it."

That place holds his memories and... certain special skills training experiences.

As Shiraishi E and Conan were chatting idly, a sudden commotion came faintly from the direction of economy class, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, breaking the tranquility of first class.

What began as a vague argument quickly escalated into clear shouts and attempts to dissuade the other party, interspersed with a few startled gasps from female passengers.

Conan immediately perked up his ears, his large eyes, hidden behind his glasses, gleaming with the light of his detective instincts being ignited.

He instinctively sat up straight, trying to peek through the gap in the seat, while muttering to himself, "What's going on? It sounds pretty noisy."

Shiraishi E was leisurely flipping through the movie catalog, not even looking up, and casually replied, "It's too far away, I can't hear you clearly. Aren't you curious? Go scout it out and come back to give me a briefing."

He spoke casually, as if assigning a trivial task.

"Okay!" Conan nodded without hesitation, quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, and slipped off his seat like a nimble cat. Full of curiosity, he trotted towards the economy class.

Watching his rapidly disappearing figure, Shiraishi E shook her head with a helpless smile, thinking to herself: This kid's curiosity is as strong as a perpetual motion machine; any slight movement can attract his full attention.

Perhaps it is this insatiable thirst for exploring the unknown that is the true driving force that enabled him to become an excellent detective.

He put that thought aside and continued to focus on the screen in front of him, swiping his finger to select a video to pass the long flight.

Time passed by, and after about ten minutes, Conan returned to his seat with a mixture of confusion and amusement on his face.

"So, what's going on up there?" Shiraishi E paused her film selection and asked with great interest.

Conan scratched his signature bangs, organized his thoughts, and said, "Things... I don't quite know how to put it, it feels pretty strange."

He paused, seemingly searching for the right words, "It was a young man who looked like a college student. I don't know what triggered it, but he suddenly lost control of his emotions in his seat and shouted, 'The plane is going to explode! Everyone get off the plane!'"

"Oh?" Shiraishi E raised an eyebrow. "Didn't the flight attendant comfort him? Or ask him for a reason?"

“I asked him.” Conan spread his hands helplessly. “But guess what he said? He insisted that he had just had an incredibly vivid nightmare in which the plane exploded and disintegrated during flight! He firmly believes that dreams are prophecies, which is why he was so agitated.”

"The flight attendants and chief purser patiently calmed him down for a long time, explaining the difference between dreams and reality and assuring him that the plane was absolutely safe. But the boy wouldn't listen at all, and his emotions became more and more agitated. He even tried to pull other passengers, almost causing a panic."

Conan continued, "In the end, the flight attendant had no choice but to contact ground security, who waited at the boarding bridge and kindly persuaded him to get off the plane. The surrounding passengers all thought he was having a fit or... well, he had taken something he shouldn't have and his mind wasn't clear."

When Shiraishi E heard the excuse "dreamed about it," she couldn't help but chuckle and shook her head, commenting, "Dreaming? I bet he got carried away at some party in California, smoked too much marijuana, and was hallucinating. These days, you can't even come up with a plausible excuse."

Conan nodded in deep agreement: "Yes, it is indeed quite bizarre to use a vague dream as a basis to disrupt public order."

Shiraishi E was smiling and about to make a few more jokes when, at a certain moment, the smile on his face suddenly froze.

He suddenly remembered a classic horror movie he had seen many years ago—Final Destination.

The opening scene of that movie is about a student who foresees that a plane will explode, which triggers a series of bizarre events.
The suffocating feeling of being controlled by an invisible fate, as depicted in the film, now clearly resurfaces with the memories.

The relaxed expression on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by an unusual solemnity.

He abruptly turned his head to look at Conan, who was still finding it amusing, and said in an unprecedentedly serious tone, "Conan, perhaps we shouldn't laugh too soon. Sometimes, it's better to believe it's true than not!"

Conan was bewildered by his exaggerated reaction, and after a moment of surprise, he chuckled and said, "Huh? Really? Shiraishi, you really believe that college student's sleep-talking? He's clearly out of his mind!"

“I wouldn’t say I believe it,” Shiraishi E said sharply, lowering her voice, “but coincidences often foreshadow the unusual. Anyway, we’re just sitting around doing nothing now, so let’s investigate further and confirm it. It won’t hurt us, and it’ll give us peace of mind.”

"Alright, alright," Conan thought for a moment and finally nodded in agreement, "Then let's go investigate. However, I think it's most likely a false alarm."

"I hope so." Shiraishi E took a deep breath and unbuckled her seatbelt.

(End of this chapter)