I'm in Detective Conan, and the system has appointed Batman.

Chapter 459 What do you mean by killing me to protect Shinichi Kudo?

Its daybreak.

Ai Haibara opened her eyes.

It's that familiar ceiling again, just like always.

She turned her head to look at the computer and noticed that it was already turned off. She realized that Chen En must have finished his investigation and returned in the early hours of the morning, put the computer on her bed, and then turned it off.

Ai Haibara still felt somewhat unable to adapt to this unhealthy sleep schedule.

She felt noticeably fatigued and somewhat paranoid, wondering how Chen En could maintain this routine for so long, even appearing energetic every day.

Thinking about it carefully, is it possible that Batman in the comics is constantly devising countermeasures for his teammates because he's not getting enough sleep?

Because of sleep deprivation, one becomes paranoid and can't help but prepare countermeasures. As a result, because thinking about countermeasures is mentally and physically exhausting, one becomes even more sleep-deprived and paranoid, creating a vicious cycle.

Ai Haibara shook her head.
Correct your divergent thinking.

She got out of bed, pushed open the bedroom door, and looked at Chen En, who was staring at the Mouri Detective Agency as always, as if death would come out and destroy the world if she didn't keep an eye on it for a day.

The Night Knight of Beika Town took a sip of his coffee and said without turning his head,
"I've investigated."

"Shinichi is the real deal, the genuine article. He is neither a code name member of the Black Organization nor a code name member that Vermouth is impersonating. You can rest assured about that."

However, at this point, Chen En added,

"However, you need to be more careful in other areas from now on."

"The bourbon whiskey incident has most likely brought Vermouth into the picture. It's foreseeable that if Vermouth has indeed arrived in Tokyo, she's very likely to notice the current Shinichi Kudo and discover your true identity."

"To protect Shinichi Kudo, Vermouth will spare no effort to try and kill you."

—What do you mean by killing me to protect Shinichi Kudo?

A hint of doubt appeared in Ai Haibara's eyes.

You said Vermouth wanted to kill me, and I know that because I am a defector from the Black Organization.

But how does it make sense that she killed me to protect Shinichi Kudo? And how could Vermouth be so quick to identify Shinichi Kudo and thus determine my true identity?

So Chen En brought up the past between the silver-haired serial killer and Shinichi Kudo.

Haibara Ai:?
Such a thing actually happened?
If you hadn't told me, I would never have imagined that Vermouth wanted to kill me because she wanted to protect Shinichi Kudo.

"I reckon Conan will be coming over to peek through the door again soon, just like he always does."

"He'll be here in about five to ten minutes. You can ask him any questions you have. I'm just a comic book reader; you'll have to ask him for his detailed thoughts."

Chen En glanced at his watch and then spoke.

Ai Haibara gave up the idea of ​​asking further questions.

Indeed, asking Chen En is less effective than going directly to torture Shinichi Kudo later.

The main feature is eliminating middlemen from making a profit.

Ai Haibara turned and went into the bathroom to prepare for the torture of Conan that was about to begin.

Chen En then touched his chin.

He planned to ask Dr. Agasa for help with the research today, as matters of business development should always be done sooner rather than later.

Anyway, Fusa seems to be busy with the release of new products lately and can't spare the time for now.

I believe that Professor Agasa should have already developed a smartphone before the new product launch, right?
Chen En felt that Professor Agasa should have such scientific abilities. However, just as Chen En was focusing his attention on smartphones...

His phone beeped with a notification sound, which surprised him.

Who would message him at this time?
Chen En took his phone out of his pocket.
He quickly pressed the unlock button, and the sender's name appeared in the message notification; it was Yusaku Kudo.

Inspector Zenigata spoke with me yesterday; he suspects I have some kind of relationship with you.

[In addition, he stated that Lupin III already knows about your account theft and is very angry about it. He said he will come back to Tokyo to steal your most important possession as revenge, so please be careful.]

[Sender: Yusaku Kudo]

Lupin III knew about his account theft.

Chen En was not surprised, after all, Lupin III himself was also an expert in the field of computers.

Even if Lupin III himself didn't realize it, Inspector Zenigata would communicate with Lupin III after being tricked by him once. Therefore, as long as he activated Lupin III's communication system, it was only a matter of time before Lupin III found out.

As for what Lupin III said in retaliation, it was stealing what was most important to him.

He didn't think Lupin III could do it.

Moreover, the members of the Bat Family are always good at dealing with thieves. At worst, he can team up with Inspector Zenigata to launch a pincer attack on Lupin III. What big deal could it be?

Let's make a plan and contingency plan. Anyway, Lupin III is a man of principle, and he'll be coming later, so we can put it off for now.

Put the phone back in your pocket.

Chen En picked up his coffee cup and took another sip.
Just as I was about to remark that the weather was pretty good today.

He noticed a very familiar-looking person downstairs—

To be precise, it was Sonoko Suzuki, with whom he was in a romantic relationship.

The second young lady of the Suzuki Group was wearing her school uniform as always, except that she had added a very warm-looking coat over it, and she was waving at him from downstairs.

Chen En: ?
Why are you all wearing coats?

The timeline changes in the world of Detective Conan are a bit hard to get used to after watching it a few times.

However, since Sonoko Suzuki was waiting downstairs, he naturally couldn't continue drinking coffee there.

Chen En leaned out and gestured to Suzuki Sonoko, indicating that he would come down right away.

Then she turned around, put on the blue coat on the coat rack as always, greeted Ai Haibara, and then pushed open the door and went down the stairs.

Seeing this, Ai Haibara, like a hamster, puffed out her cheeks while eating her breakfast, all the while staring at the main entrance.

She sensed that Chen En had a strange sense of relaxation during the day.

I don’t know if it’s her imagination.

Perhaps the completely different temperament and appearance of Chen En during the day and Batman at night is one of the ways Chen En hides his identity?

Ai Haibara quickly finished her breakfast and then sat down on the sofa.

She turned on the TV and waited for Conan to come on.

—Next comes the daily routine of torturing the famous detective.

Kindness is indeed a virtue.

However, it is unreasonable for someone else to bear the consequences of saving someone indiscriminately. Moreover, she became Vermouth's target because of this, so she was just an innocent bystander.
(End of this chapter)