Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Shoichi, Ai, and Vermouth were crammed together on the sofa in an extremely undignified manner.

On the coffee table in front of them was a sophisticated listening device.

"It's starting, it's starting."

Shoichi put down his wine glass, blinked, and listened to Conan's movements.

Ai and Vermouth also held their breath.

The sounds of the Mori Detective Agency came through the earphones.

"Sister Xiaolan, I want to go out and play."

This was followed by Xiaolan's gentle yet firm refusal, and the crisp sound of the wooden stick being snapped in two.

Ai calmly analyzed, "Judging from Conan's heart rate, he is currently very anxious. This anxiety will accelerate the onset of the drug's effects."

"Really?" Zheng Yi asked.

Ai nodded.

"Hehe, this is what they call 'when it rains, it pours'."

Vermouth pressed the record button with a wicked grin.

The noise from the headphones grew louder and louder.

Conan rushed towards the door, only to find it locked from the inside.

His desperate growl made Ai laugh out loud, but after glancing at Shoichi and Vermouth beside her, she pursed her lips, suppressed her smile, and returned to her calm demeanor.

“Listen, listen! He’s about to become Shinichi Kudo!” Masakazu said.

I heard Kogoro Mouri's angry roar and the sound of a magazine falling through my headphones.

"Zizi...Zizi..."

The electrical noise suddenly became more intense.

Zheng Yi excitedly said, "The medicine is taking effect! Listen to the sounds, the bones are reorganizing and the muscles are expanding!"

Ai and Vermouth looked at Shoichi suspiciously.

How did you recognize those sounds? Why didn't the other two hear them?

Ai rubbed her ears to make sure she hadn't heard the voice that Shoichi was talking about.

Conan's painful groans came through the earphones.

Shh! Here comes the important part!

Zheng Yi made a shushing gesture.

The sound of a window being pushed open came through the headphones, followed by a familiar voice, tinged with embarrassment and panic:

"Ahem, Xiaolan, what a coincidence."

"Shinichi!"

Xiaolan's voice carried a hint of surprise and doubt.

Zheng Yi and the other two sighed in disappointment.

Hey~
Ran didn't see Conan's transformation, so she still couldn't expose that Conan was actually Shinichi Kudo.

I'm disappointed I can't go collect Conan's body.

Then, the three of them heard someone say that Conan had climbed out of the window and run away from home.

Shoichi and Ai exchanged a glance and blinked.

Conan is definitely going to suffer a lot after he goes back.

The sound from the headphones started again.

The Mori family went out to look for Conan, who had run away from home.

Xiaolan's anxious shouts came through the earphones, along with the occasional conversations of passersby on the street.

"Sizzle...rustle..."

Suddenly, I heard the sound of cardboard boxes being trampled and two cats darting out of my headphones.

Then all that was left was Shinichi Kudo's voice.

After Conan transformed into Shinichi Kudo, he put on Kogoro Mouri's clothes.

To avoid arousing Ran's suspicion, he stuffed Conan's clothes into his own pants and carefully smoothed them out to make his lower body look less bulky.

Fortunately, Kogoro's clothes were already a size too big for him, so he could still hide them by stuffing them inside.

However, because there was a bug inside, the sound quality transmitted to Zheng Yi's side wasn't very good.

Moreover, the sound was very mixed; apart from footsteps, it was impossible to tell what the other noises were.

Zheng Yi yawned out of boredom.

He draped his arm over Ai's head. "It seems like Shinichi Kudo got away with it?"

Ai's head was pressed down so hard she couldn't move it, and she could only nod with her black eyes.

I'm a little disappointed that he got away so easily.

Ai's body shifted slightly.

If I had known it would end so soon, I wouldn't have waited here; I would have gone home to sleep earlier.

"Conan!? I've finally found you!"

The sound from the headphones changed again.

Immediately following was a violent shaking sound, and the little boy's terrified scream.

"I'm coming!"

Masakazu was so excited that he hugged Ai tightly, and Vermouth next to him also grabbed Ai's arm.

Ai twisted her body, trying to break free from Shoichi, and shook her arms, trying to get rid of Vermouth.

"Can you let me go?!" Ai said angrily.

Why do you two always torment me when you get excited?
The sound of fabric being torn came through the earphones, along with Shinichi Kudo's clearly flustered explanation:

"No! Sister Xiaolan! You misheard! I didn't run away from home! I was just... just playing 'wilderness survival'! Yes! Wilderness survival!"

"puff!"

Ai burst out laughing, not caring that Shoichi and Vermouth hadn't let go yet.

"Wilderness survival? Hiding in a cardboard box to play wilderness survival? Did he get his brain slammed in a door?"

"Not only that, he also tried to distract Xiaolan with reasoning."

Vermouth elegantly picked up her teacup, about to speak, when Zheng Yi gestured for her to be quiet.

"Shh! Listen to Xiaolan's reaction!"

The three of them had their ears almost touching the headphones.

Akemi Miyano, who had just come out of the kitchen, yawned and looked at the three of them curiously.

What are you doing so late at night instead of sleeping?
She carried a plate of fruit, walked behind the three of them, and gently patted Zheng Yi on the back.

Would you like some fruit?

"I won't eat, I won't eat." Zheng Yi shook his head.

Ai and Vermouth also shook their heads, showing no intention of turning around.

Mingmei put down her plate, blinked, and leaned forward, squeezing past Vermouth to make room for herself.

What are they listening to?

As soon as Akemi put her earphones in, she heard Ran's angry questioning voice and Conan's struggle as he tried to escape but was caught.

"Tell me! Why did you run away from home?" Xiaolan's voice trembled with anger.

Akemi reached out and covered her half-open mouth.

Is that Conan's voice?

And Xiaolan?

Akemi's eyes darted around. Wasn't the unstable Conan meeting Ran just like her sister meeting Gin?
With Shoichi present that time, Shiho prevented Gin from continuing to suspect anything.

But it seems like Conan has no one to help him.

"Conan's going to get a real beating," Masakazu said quietly.

Ai and Vermouth nodded in agreement.

After all, even Shinichi Kudo said that Ran should give Conan a good beating.

Will Ran let Conan off the hook so easily?
The streets were bathed in a dim yellow light late at night.

Ran Mouri grabbed Conan by the collar and dragged him out of the cardboard box.

At this moment, Conan, who had just been forced to revert to Shinichi Kudo due to the fluctuations in the effects of the drug, was extremely weak because he had shrunk in size during his escape.

"Still running?"

Xiaolan's voice was as cold as ice, and her eyes were full of anger.

Conan glanced at Ran, then timidly shrank back.

He was terrified that Ran would beat him to death. Ran put Conan down and looked at the disheveled Conan covered in mud.

The image of Conan that was usually well-behaved and sensible has completely collapsed at this moment, replaced by a bad kid.

"I...I didn't mean to..." Conan shrank his neck.

"Not on purpose?"

Xiaolan's patience finally ran out.

She took a deep breath, suddenly stepped forward, and flipped Conan, who was still trying to explain, over so that he was lying face down on her knees.

"Sister Xiaolan!? Wait! Calm down! I—"

"Shut up!"

Xiao Lan didn't give him a chance to speak at all.

She pressed down hard on the boy's shifting lower back with one hand, and with the other hand raised high, she slammed it down on his buttocks, which were wearing baggy trousers, with a sharp "smack".

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

The crisp sound of slaps echoed through the quiet street, each one solid and merciless.

Ran's move completely stunned Conan.

As a high school detective with the mental age of 17, he was being spanked on his childhood friend's lap like a three-year-old.

His face flushed red, partly from shame and partly from the extreme suffocation he felt in this position.

He could clearly feel the warmth of Xiaolan's palm seeping through the fabric onto his skin, causing a burning pain.

"I'll teach you to lie!"

"Snapped!"

"I told you not to run away from home!"

"Snapped!"

"Let's see you hide in that cardboard box and play tricks!"

"Clap clap clap!"

With each slap, Conan's heart roared.

I am Shinichi Kudo!

I am the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era!
I am the savior of the police!

I have solved countless shocking cases, faced sniper attacks from the Black Organization, and run wildly on the top of a bombed-out building.

And now, I'm getting a spanking from my childhood friend for 'running away from home'?!

Conan was so ashamed and angry that he wished there was a hole in the ground he could crawl into.

"Waaah... Sister Xiaolan, please stop hitting me..."

A sob, tinged with tears, escaped uncontrollably from her throat.

That voice was so embarrassing, so soft and weak, like a child's baby voice.

When Conan heard this voice, he was so ashamed that he wanted to bury his head in the ground.

"You feel pain now?"

Xiao Lan's hand stopped in mid-air. Although her palm was numb from hitting, the anger on her face had not subsided.

Looking at the boy lying on her lap, his buttocks sticking up high and trembling slightly, her anger subsided a little.

"If you hadn't run around, would I have hit you? If you hadn't lied to me, would I be so angry?"

Ran awkwardly lifted Conan off her knees, making him face her.

At this moment, Conan's eyes were brimming with tears, his cheeks were flushed, and two drops of physiological tears were still hanging on the tip of his nose.

It looks both ridiculous and pathetic.

Conan kept blinking and shaking his head, not wanting to see Ran's face.

"Sister... Sister Xiaolan..."

"Hmph, I will never forgive you this time."

Ran pulled him up from the ground, tucked him under her arm like a chick, and turned to walk towards the Mouri Detective Agency.

When we get back, I'll continue to deal with you.

They are a family.

After listening to the whole story of Ran spanking Conan, the four members of the group...
All four of them were insiders and knew Conan's true identity.

What does it feel like for a high school student to get spanked by their childhood friend?
Zheng Yi leaned back slightly, glanced sideways, and noticed that Mingmei and Vermouth did the same thing as him.

All three of them looked at Ai's buttocks.

Ai put her hands on her buttocks, palms facing outwards, and shouted in embarrassment and anger, "What are you doing?"

Zheng Yi whistled, pretending to be nonchalant.

Vermouth nonchalantly looked away, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Akemi smiled apologetically, but her eyes were full of mischievousness.

They didn't have any bad intentions; they were simply looking at the same spot at the same time.

"Hmph! I'm going back to sleep!"

Ai pushed Masakazu aside and ran back to her bedroom.

If she listened any longer, she worried that Zheng Yi might really do something bad to her.

As Zheng Yi watched Ai's retreating figure and then looked at the noise coming from the speakers, he couldn't help but shake his head.

He thought Ai was being too sensitive.

He didn't think about anything, but Ai overthought things and left immediately.

Zhengyi looked at Vermouth and Mingmei again.

hmm~
Those two must have been thinking about something rude just now, which is why they scared Ai away.

"What a pity, I didn't hear Shinichi Kudo begging for mercy," Masakazu said regretfully.

Mingmei looked at Zhengyi, about to speak, but then she thought for a moment and shut her mouth.

Indeed, all we heard was Conan begging for mercy; we didn't hear Shinichi Kudo's voice.

Vermouth gracefully picked up the teacup on the table.

“He probably won’t forget what happened that night for a long time,” Vermouth said.

Or perhaps you'll never forget it for the rest of your life.

Akemi nodded. "I hope Conan will behave himself for a while after he goes back."

Vermouth paused, her hand holding the teacup still.

What does this have to do with whether Conan is honest or not?
It was clearly Shoichi who was secretly causing trouble, leading Conan to places where Ran often appeared.

He even sneaked away, giving Ran and Conan a chance to spend time together, and in the end, he let Ran slip away with Conan, which led to tonight's events.

Through the earphones, I could hear Ran carrying Conan home, along with the sound of another spanking.

Zheng Yi turned off the listening device, and the room returned to silence.

But he couldn't stop the wicked smile on his lips.

"Conan is so pitiful, I'll go see him tomorrow," Zheng Yi said insincerely.

Vermouth bit her teacup and rolled her eyes at Zheng Yi.

Going to see a joke is fine, but don't disguise it as concern for Conan.

Pooh!
hypocritical.

Vermouth slammed the teacup onto the table, the empty cup spinning on it.

"I'm leaving now."

She yawned, and without letting Zheng Yi try to stop her, she walked straight to the outer door, grabbed her coat, and left.

Mouri Detective Agency.

This time, it wasn't Ran who spanked Conan, but Kogoro Mouri.

Conan kept him up so late, and Kogoro gets angry whenever he sees Conan.

But simply knocking Conan on the head isn't enough to vent my anger; I have to spank him on the butt.

Conan, however, has become numb to it all.

Getting spanked by Kogoro is better than getting spanked by Ran.

After Conan was hit by Kogoro, Ran lectured him for a few more minutes before patting his head and comforting him.

Conan nodded from time to time, but he didn't want any comfort; he just wanted to be alone.

"Ah~"

Conan looked up at the blinding light from the rooftop, his eyes brimming with tears. (End of Chapter)