Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Koyo wanted to ask more questions, but Ai had to go to the lab and just tossed a book to Koyo.

Tell her that many things about Zheng Yi are recorded in this book, and let her find the answers herself.

Hongye looked at the book with an indescribable strangeness.

She had heard that Shoichi had written an autobiography, but she had never read it. However, Ai was asking her to find something in the book. Could there be something true in the contents? Wasn't this just a reference book praising Shoichi?
Hongye held the book "Sumitomo Shoichi's Autobiography: My First Half of Life" in her hand.

The previous title was too explicit; the current title is a revised version that looks much safer and won't frighten many people.

She didn't rush to open it, but stared at Zheng Yi, who was sitting on the opposite sofa grinning foolishly.

She casually flipped to a page, her gaze sweeping over the arrogant words on it.

This is a true reflection of Zhengyi's dominance over the past year, and it is well worth remembering.

However, it is, after all, a novel, and those realistic depictions have been artistically processed.

Hongye's gaze returned to the pages of the book in her hands.

She saw the chapter about "finding a girl on a rainy night".

"It was a night of torrential rain. I was driving through the old town of Beika when I saw a small, thin figure huddled under the eaves of a convenience store. She..."

In Zheng Yi's writing, it is a story full of warmth.

A wealthy tycoon's son stumbles upon a distressed little girl on a rainy night and takes pity on her, providing her with food and lodging and even giving her sister an easy, high-paying job. He's practically a philanthropist.

She turned her head to the side, but couldn't find Ai.

The little girl who was forced to change her name and sign a huge IOU and had to live under someone else's roof proves that Zheng Yi doesn't seem to be so charitable.

As for Ai's older sister, she works herself to the bone. Whether her job is high-paying or not is unknown, but it certainly isn't easy.

Just by reading this short passage, Hongye knew that everything in the book was utter nonsense.

Despite the lies and embellishments in these writings, the fact remains that Ai was adopted and that Miyano Akemi worked for him.

This shows that Zheng Yi did not completely fabricate events in this book, but rather repackaged real events in a way that was advantageous to him.

There are some true stories behind it.

"What a cunning bastard."

She flipped through several chapters, her gaze sweeping over the female names.

Zheng Yi mentions many women in the book, some of whom are family members of business partners, and some of whom are celebrities he has only met once, but he talks about them in general terms and mentions them briefly.

It looks reassuring.

Until she saw that familiar name. That big star.

Her fingertips paused on the name for a moment, but the description in the book disappointed her.

The description of this big star is rather brief; it only mentions meeting her at a memorial service, and that their first meeting was over.

Hongye frowned in thought.

Is it because it was their first meeting and there wasn't much to write about, or is Zheng Yi deliberately concealing details to prevent more people from knowing about this big star?

Hongye continued watching.

The following content lavishes praise on this big star.

As Hongye read on, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper. It was so fake, so disgustingly fake.

And then that was it.

that's it.

"Is he afraid of being discovered?" Hongye rubbed her temples. "Or is it that he doesn't want anyone to know the true nature of his relationship with this woman?"

She continued reading, and what followed confused her even more.

Zheng Yi mentions in the book that this big star later became an artist under his management.

However, his workload was very low, and he rarely accepted gigs. And since Yukiko Kudo joined his team, this big star has almost stopped working.

Is Ai Haibara hiding something too? Or is it that even Ai Haibara doesn't know the true relationship between Shoichi and this big star?
Or is she lying to me?
She continued flipping through the book and came across Zheng Yi's 'admirable' performance in business.

In this chapter, Shoichi uses an almost cold and rational style to provide a detailed review of several sensational business mergers and acquisitions in Tokyo.

He wrote without any hesitation about the fates of his competitors:

Someone's cinema chain was forced to sell at a low price due to a sudden "accident".

A stubborn real estate developer suffered an unfortunate accident while inspecting a construction site; and a member of parliament who attempted to obstruct the election was forced to withdraw from politics on the eve of the election due to a "sudden health problem".

Instead of using words like "murder," "assassination," or "elimination," he used "optimization," "elimination," and "force majeure."

When someone becomes a stumbling block to the optimal allocation of social resources, it seems that God will always take offense.

Zheng Yi wrote this in the book.

"What I did was simply follow the will of Heaven and acquire those high-quality assets that had lost their owners at extremely low prices. This is not only a respect for the deceased, but also an ultimate pursuit of market efficiency."

"Is this something that can be written openly and honestly?" Hongye asked, puzzled.

No wonder many people regard this book as a textbook on crime, and many read it word for word, hoping to glean the secrets to success.

But Hongye wasn't very interested in these things.

She had already witnessed Zheng Yi's methods in real life, and no matter how wonderfully they were described in the book, she felt they were still lacking.

Moreover, in the historical account, even the prince suffered, but in the book, he didn't dare to embellish the story or punish the emperor or prime minister.

There was no excitement at all.

What bothered Hongye was whether there was too much content about Ai in this book.
Hongye just began to suspect that Ai had lied to her about that woman.

That woman didn't seem to be close to Shoichi, but she was incredibly close to Ai.

……

In Ai's laboratory, the air was filled with a faint smell of sulfur and the pungent odor of chemical reagents.

The researchers in the lab each performed their duties, and no one underestimated the young director.

After spending so much time together, everyone realized the capabilities of this junior manager.

However, many of the researchers here were recruited from the organization, and they looked at Ai with strange eyes, feeling that this little girl resembled someone they had known before.

Not only are their personalities and appearances similar, but their behavior and abilities in the laboratory are also alike.

He was only about ten years younger than that acquaintance.

Considering the age of that acquaintance, they were certain that the current junior director was the daughter of former director Miyano.

That's it.

The Miyano family truly has a long and distinguished tradition; their descendants are all pillars of the organization's laboratory.

Unaware that people were speculating about her background, Ai held a dropper in her hand, preparing to add the last catalyst to the test tube.

"Ai! We found her!"

The heavy iron door of the laboratory was suddenly pushed open.

Ai's hand trembled slightly, and a drop of blue liquid fell onto the lab table.

She sighed helplessly, put down the dropper, and turned to look at the uninvited young lady.

"Why didn't the guards outside stop you?" Ai asked.

Hongye walked up to Xiao Ai and asked, "Why are they stopping me?"

Xiao Ai sighed. Having witnessed her own transformation, Hongye was also very interested in this laboratory and had visited several times, some of which she did with Zhengyi.

The guards knew that this person was no ordinary person, so they did not dare to stop her.

"Red Leaf, what are you doing?" Ai's voice was a little tired. "I'm very busy right now."

"Busy? Busy with what? Busy turning back into that..."

Seeing that there were other people in the laboratory, Hongye stopped talking.

She leaned close to Ai's ear and whispered, "After you turn back into Shiho Miyano, you'll definitely be exploited to death by Shoichi. Do you want to end up like your sister?"

Ai shook her head.

Of course not.

She had already planned that once she turned back, she and her sister would elope, free from Zheng Yi's exploitation and ignoring their debts.

But these words cannot be told to Hongye, lest she betray her.

"We can't keep going like this, can we?" Ai said.

The size of her clothes changes frequently, which makes her life quite inconvenient.

"This is so nice." Hongye hugged Xiao Ai and said, "You're so cute like this."

"What are you doing? Let go." Ai tried to break free.

Doing this will make my subordinates in the lab look down on me!
"I'll take you out for some fresh air." Without waiting for a reply, Hongye pulled Xiao Ai out of the lab.

"Are you trying to turn into a mushroom by staying cooped up in this dark basement all day?"

"Red Leaf!" Ai was pulled so hard she stumbled, almost losing one of her shoes.

"Aren't you good to be like this?" Hongye said. "You don't have to go to school, you don't have to work, there's no danger or trouble, and I'm here to play with you. Why would you want to turn back?"

Ai pouted. What do you mean, "I still have you to play with"?
You're trying to mess with me, aren't you?

"Why don't you take a pill too, and become like me?" Ai said.

Hongye said without changing her expression, "It's just that the medicine is too unstable. If its effects were stable, I would definitely give it a try."

Ai pouted. "You're just saying that in a nice way."

She said with dissatisfaction, "That's why I want to change back to my original form—because I don't want you to play with me."

Hongye ruffled Xiao Ai's hair with a hint of annoyance: "If you say that, then I'll take it to heart. I even bought you so many clothes."

Ai kept a straight face and didn't say anything.

You don't need to buy me so many clothes.

Buying me clothes makes you and Zhengyi happy, not me.

Hongye continued, "Didn't Zhengyi say that your identity is in big trouble? There's a very powerful terrorist organization that wants to kill you."

Xiao Ai rubbed her temples.

However, there will definitely be a lot of trouble after she turns back into Shiho, at least there's Gin, who's hard to deal with.

She briefly transformed back to her original form and ran into Gin, almost getting caught.

Seeing Ai's troubled expression, Hongye said gently, "It's good to be my Ai like this."

Ai looked up and gazed into Momiji's sincere eyes, sensing a hint of maternal warmth emanating from her.

She quickly shook her head, dismissing that unreliable idea.

"Forget about researching an antidote." Hongye took her hand again. "Today's schedule is already full. We're going to Ginza to buy the new limited-edition cake, to see that animated movie you've been wanting to see, and to feed the pigeons in the park. As for this lousy lab..."

Without turning her head, she said, "Let it calm down on its own. Maybe by the time we get back, it will have figured out the antidote itself."

Ai sighed helplessly.

"But……"

Hongye smiled and said, "No buts, let's go. The sun is shining brightly today, let's not waste it."

Seeing that Ai was no longer resisting her, Kouye nodded in satisfaction.

Ai Haibara is the one who's good to everyone. The three of us living our lives well is better than anything else.

To hell with the antidote.

More than ten years later, when Ai grows up, Zheng Yi will be old.

……

"Brother Zheng, is there any progress on the antidote?"

Conan stood in front of Shoichi, looking worried and extremely haggard. Despite his young age, he looked as if he had suffered greatly from life's hardships.

"There are some."

Zheng Yi nodded repeatedly, feeling a little uneasy.

He just learned that Hongye had taken Xiao Ai away again, bringing the research to a standstill once more.

But since Conan's family had worked hard to raise money for the lab, Shoichi could only tell him lies.

"The research is progressing smoothly so far," Zheng Yi said.

Apart from the fact that the director in charge of the research was abducted, everything else went smoothly.

Shoichi kept berating Ai in his mind, saying that he had brought the funds from Conan and the organization, not for her to use the funds to play around!
She's really gone astray.

Conan nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

He said helplessly, "These days have really been tough."

He returned to Tokyo, and soon after, Sonoko caught him and took him to the Mouri Detective Agency.

Ran saw him smile happily and didn't hold a grudge about what happened before. She just gave Conan a good beating.

Conan's excuse for running around was that he had argued with his parents and wanted to take a spontaneous trip. He didn't want to see Ran because he was afraid she would send him back.

Ran was furious and beat Conan up again, leaving him bedridden for two days before he could get out of bed.

But Ran still suspects that he is Shinichi Kudo.

In order to deal with Ran, he specially asked Shoichi to help him send Kaito Kuroba out to impersonate Shinichi Kudo and meet Ran with Conan.

Upon seeing the two, Xiaolan rubbed their cheeks repeatedly to make sure they weren't pretending before she was willing to talk to them.

Conan also told Kaito about many of his habits, and Kaito, being a master of disguise, imitated them very well, temporarily dispelling some of Ran's doubts.

To convince Ran, Kaito disguised himself for several days before flying abroad to solve the case.

Conan also teased Ran, saying she watches too much anime and actually believes that people can turn back the clock.

Ran's doubts lessened a bit, and she reflected on whether she had been too paranoid. Then she beat up Conan again.

Conan endured the humiliation and dared not speak out.

Zheng Yi patted Conan on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, everything will be alright once the antidote is developed."

Conan nodded as well.

everything will get better.

He desperately hoped an antidote would be developed. (End of Chapter)