Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Seeing that Shuichi Akai was about to run away, Gin disregarded the lab's requirement to bring Jodie back intact when he brought her out, shot her in the head, and then kicked her away.

Judy's eyes dimmed like an extinguished candle. She was kicked away by Gin and slammed against the other side of the cabin wall by the gust of wind that came with the opening of the hatch. She fell like a shooting star into the deep sea, her hands hanging limply at her sides. Only her eyes, as if she had died with her eyes open, were fixed on the direction of the hatch, as if she was still thinking of her beloved in her last moments.

Seeing Judy die trying to save him, Shuichi Akai released his grip on the cabin wall. His green eyes, like those of a hungry wolf, stared intently at Gin and Chu Ming, as if trying to etch these two people into his mind. The moment Gin raised his gun, he let his body fall from the helicopter.

Chu Ming stepped forward, grabbed the cabin door, and peered ahead. He could vaguely see Shuichi Akai plummeting downwards with the wind: "He's really falling. From that height, he probably won't survive. Honestly, he'd rather jump out of the plane than come back with us?"

Gin peered forward as well, knowing that Shuichi Akai couldn't possibly be alive at this height, but until he saw his body, Gin always left himself some leeway: "What's down there?"

"It seems to be in the outskirts of Nishitama. We'll send people to look for it and see if we can find the body." Chu Ming looked at the area below and added, "There's a mountain below, so it'll be quite difficult to find. If there are wolves or something in the mountains, we might not be able to find the body."

Gin was still somewhat resentful for not being able to kill his nemesis with his own hands. He squinted at the already cold Jodie and clicked his tongue impatiently.

Chu Ming closed the hatch and laughed at him: "When Potter asked you to bring her out, he must have requested that she be sent back, right? I heard he injected Judy with several kinds of drugs to see the reaction. He'll probably use this opportunity to ask you for test subjects again when he gets back."

Gin was even more annoyed by this. He couldn't say that the mission was a complete success until he saw the body. But if he said it was a failure, who would believe that someone could jump from nearly 5,000 meters without a parachute and survive?

A height exceeding twenty meters is generally enough to be fatal.

After the helicopter landed, Chu Ming and Gin waited at the base for a while, and the people who had been waiting for them gradually returned. Everyone wanted to see if the legendary, arrogant Shuichi Akai could still maintain his calm and composed demeanor after being arrested.

Upon entering, however, he found Gin with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and Chu Ming, though present, unusually did not stop him, instead holding a laptop and constantly searching for something.

The people who came in looked at each other in surprise. Bourbon was the first to lose his composure. On the way, he had already planned how to use his identity to extract information from the FBI, then betray them and tell them that he had already pledged allegiance to the organization, and to have a good look at Shuichi Akai's expression.

But now it looks like this...

He was furious: "You didn't let Shuichi Akai escape, did you? He's already been strapped to a plane!"

The others' eyes also revealed condemnation, but they dared not condemn Gin, and it seemed impossible to condemn Chu Ming either, so they could only look at each other silently.

Chu Ming pushed the computer in front of him forward: "Well, this matter is a bit complicated."

Bourbon gave him a look that said, "Let's see how you make this up."

Chu Ming sighed: "He jumped from a height of 5000 meters without a parachute."

Bourbon's brow furrowed deeply: "Have they found the body? There have been cases of people surviving plane falls before, though rare. Decades ago, someone fell from 10,000 meters and survived, even though they were severely injured, half-dead, and almost paralyzed!"

Chu Ming looked at him with a deep gaze: "For us, wouldn't it be more satisfying to see someone like Shuichi Akai paralyzed than to see him die?"

Bourbon was speechless, feeling that what Chu Ming said seemed to make a lot of sense, but—

"What if he's not only alive, but actually doing just fine?"

Chu Ming turned the laptop around and pointed the screen at them: "This is the landing point I calculated. It's roughly near Mount Urawa in the suburbs of Nishitama City. However, that area is surrounded by mountains and is undeveloped, so it will be quite difficult to find. Keep an eye on that area recently. We need to find the person alive or dead. Even if the body is incomplete, we need to bring back the remains so we can use DNA to trace the identity."

Seeing that the group had memorized the location, Chu Ming continued, "Bourbon and I will be mainly responsible for finding him. Even if Shuichi Akai isn't dead, he's probably seriously injured. We need to seize the opportunity to wipe out all the FBI agents who have infiltrated our ranks."

Chu Ming felt he had lost out this time. Although the points and magnetic field from Judy's death were substantial, and Shuichi Akai had provided a considerable number of points for witnessing Judy's death, it still didn't meet Chu Ming's expectations.

We need to find a way to make up for it from other sources.

Chapter 600! Hooray!

After assigning the task, Chu Ming sent the specific location range to Bourbon and thoughtfully included a navigation-like software.

Bourbon set off with the software in high spirits, as if he wouldn't leave the mountain until he found Shuichi Akai's corpse.

Potter saw his experimental subject, who was lively and energetic—or rather, alive and well, taken out by Vodka and brought back as a mangled corpse—and immediately bared his teeth and claws, ready to fight Vodka to the death.

Vodka reached out to block the fist that was coming at him, feeling helpless. He was just a driver; what did it have to do with him? It was clearly his boss who killed him, and his boss was right there. If he had the guts, he could go and punch him with his little fists!

What kind of behavior is it to bully a driver!

Chu Ming watched the chaotic scene unfold without any intention of helping out. Instead, he leisurely sat on the sofa and watched the show.

Although they didn't see the body, apart from the naturally wary Gin, Bourbon who wouldn't give up until he saw the body, and Chu Ming who thought that Shuichi Akai, who was so overpowered, might have some strange or miraculous encounter, everyone else who heard that he had fallen from a height of 5,000 meters into the mountains, without any buffer such as the sea or snowfields, but only hard rocks or towering trees, all thought that Shuichi Akai had absolutely no chance of survival.

Even the BOSS, after hearing the report, didn't think Shuichi Akai could still live.

Therefore, the number one bounty poster for Shuichi Akai on the dark web has been officially removed.

Chu Ming watched the show for a while before leaving, as he still needed to find an opportunity to get the robot back.

On the way back, Chu Ming looked through the records kept by the robot in real time and found that not a single person had spoken on the entire journey.

Everyone was in a heavy mood. Conan had no interest in asking anything else; he was deep in thought, as if the pill had left him with considerable psychological trauma.

Tsk, what a pity, the distance was too far, and a lot of points were lost in this round.

By this time, the robot had already been taken home by Kogoro Mouri. Chu Ming turned over, went through the window in his backyard, put away the robot, and lay back down on his bed.

I was originally planning to figure out how to accumulate points, but I haven't been this tired in a long time. As soon as my head hit the pillow, sleepiness overwhelmed me.

When he woke up again, it was already noon the next day.

Chu Ming clutched his rumbling stomach, then strolled off to find Professor Agasa for a free meal, and also to see if he could get some points from Ai Haibara.

When they arrived at the door, they found the professor's Beetle parked there. Was he about to leave?

Chu Ming knocked on the door, which was not closed. The knocking startled Ai Haibara, who looked up from the sofa in the living room. When she saw it was Chu Ming, she quickly got up and came over: "Brother Chu Ming."

Chu Ming walked in leisurely, smiling and looking down: "I came here to freeload a meal. Looks like I've come at the wrong time. Are you all heading out?"

"The Doctor said he was taking the kids camping, so they should be on their way by now." Ai Haibara took a sandwich out of the refrigerator, heated it in the microwave, and handed it to Chu Ming. "I had a vegetable salad with the Doctor today. I don't think Chu Ming would like this kind of thing. Have a sandwich to tide you over."

Chu Ming really didn't like eating grass, so he could only sit on the sofa and gnaw on his sandwich: "I accompanied Conan to the Shitara family's old house a couple of days ago. He wanted to investigate the BOSS's email, but several murders happened yesterday. The musician with perfect pitch died. It was said to be suicide, but the cause of death cannot be found."

Ai Haibara's eyes widened. The fact that Chu Ming specifically pointed it out in front of her and mentioned that the cause of death could not be found immediately made her think of the drug she had developed.

"You mean—he was killed by someone from the organization?" Ai Haibara seemed shocked, and Chu Ming's points skyrocketed. "Because of his perfect pitch? But how would the organization know that someone was searching for emails based on keystrokes?"

"So you're in a very dangerous situation right now..." Chu Ming looked worried. "I haven't seen any related missions on the dark web recently. This might be the personal action of some members, most likely Vermouth. I don't know what her intentions are towards Conan, but she's saved him time and time again. Maybe this is also to warn Conan..."

Chu Ming's blame-shifting theory immediately convinced Ai Haibara, who frowned with some worry: "No wonder Conan has seemed preoccupied these past few days. The professor even said he'd take him camping to clear his head."

No, Edogawa can't keep investigating that email address. That woman Vermouth is ruthless; this time she's using lives to force Edogawa to give up the investigation..."

“That’s what I thought too, but my advice isn’t as effective as yours. It’s best to make it sound serious so he’ll back down and completely shut down that email account.” Chu Ming leaned back on the sofa, his eyes downcast, looking particularly forlorn. “I didn’t think things through at first. Conan absolutely cannot check that email account at this stage. If he does find it, whether he stubbornly sends an email or hands the email account over to the police, it won’t be good for his safety.”

"Don't worry too much, Brother Chu Ming. I'll stop him." Seeing Chu Ming's low spirits, Ai Haibara quickly comforted him. "When it comes to the safety of those around him, he's very obedient."

“There’s one more thing. Gin and Vodka have been investigating your whereabouts again recently. Apparently, they obtained a phone frequency a long time ago and are conducting a thorough search. They’ll probably be heading this way in the next few days.” Chu Ming pointed to the car the doctor was parked outside. “Since we’re going camping anyway, why don’t we stay out a few more days? Do you have any places you’d like to go? There’s a mountain called Urawa in the suburbs of Nishitama City. I’ve heard the scenery is nice. How about we go there?”

Chu Ming made up a random excuse, intending to trick Conan and the others into going to Urawa Mountain as well. After all, with the protagonist's halo around, if Shuichi Akai hadn't died, they might have run into him.

[600 chapters! Two chapters today too! It's a bit late, but I still managed to finish them!]

What's a good title for Chapter 601?

Urawa Mountain

Chu Ming watched the three mischievous kids gathering firewood not far away, stretched, and leaned against the edge of the tent. He glanced at Conan inside the tent, who was being surrounded by Ai Haibara and Professor Agasa, who were taking turns trying to dissuade him from checking that email address.

Conan had actually already wanted to give up, since Chu Ming had already talked to him before, but he was still a little unconvinced by the repeated rebuttals: "If I can't investigate, what about the police? Even if they won't accept the case without evidence, Officer Takagi will definitely help me."

"Of course Officer Takagi, that good-natured guy, will help you, but do you think the Metropolitan Police Department organization didn't leave any backup plans? If Officer Takagi gets killed because of this investigation, with your personality, you'll live with guilt for the rest of your life." Ai Haibara's voice wasn't loud, and it was even a little cold, but those words directly hit Conan's heart, leaving him speechless.

Ai Haibara then exaggerated the seriousness of the situation, even comparing the BOSS's mailbox to Pandora's box, in an attempt to make Conan back down.

Conan sighed, closed his phone, feeling somewhat frustrated. He realized that this email address was indeed something he should now archive and stop investigating.

"Conan! Conan, something terrible has happened! Conan, we found a dead body in the pond over there!!" Several children ran over shouting, chattering as they called out to Conan.

They found someone so quickly?

Could this be—

Chu Ming's eyes lit up, and he stood up, asking the children curiously, "Where?"

Conan saw Chu Ming's mood instantly shift from boredom to excitement, which eased his frustration slightly. Chu Ming wasn't particularly fond of camping, as it wasn't very fun with a few kids. Conan had practically dragged Chu Ming out, originally intending to discuss the follow-up to the email address issue. However, the email could no longer be accessed, and Chu Ming was indeed so bored outside that he was almost asleep.

Conan was a little embarrassed, but Chu Ming had no time to care about his feelings. He was focused on seeing if the body in the pond belonged to Shuichi Akai, so he quickly called the children to lead the way.

After walking along the winding path through the woods for a long time, we finally arrived at a dilapidated old house. In front of the house was a large lake. Yuan Tai stood on the hillside and pointed to the lake in the distance: "It's in that lake. We found it when we were playing here before. There are also many stone boxes on that person."

"How did you manage to gather firewood all the way to this place?" Conan looked around, somewhat speechless. "This place is at least a kilometer away from our camp, isn't it? You guys are quite adept at wandering around."

The old house that Yuan Tai pointed to was located deep in the woods. The exterior of the house was rotten and covered with moss. Because it was late, it was already close to dusk. The sunlight was weak, and the branches and leaves made the house look particularly gloomy.

When they reached the water's edge, Chu Ming could see that the body they had found was being held down by some rocks in the water, with only one arm vaguely visible. But after just one glance, Chu Ming was somewhat disappointed; it was not Shuichi Akai.

Since they were already there, even though the magnetic field was small, it was still extra income. He lifted the stones off the corpse one by one, and Conan and the others also pulled the corpse out and placed it on the grass.

The deceased was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and a stubble-covered face. He was somewhat thin. Chu Ming glanced at him briefly and stood up: "He hasn't been dead for long. He was probably strangled."

He glanced back at the dilapidated old house behind him, then examined the stones pressing down on the dead body. These stones were shaped like boxes, with writing inside. Conan was already leaning over the boxes and reading aloud: "The Nioh's Cave is between the Sun Wheel and the Heart of the Ninja, a place where all the elders gather in a place of extreme prosperity and splendor. The Nioh's Stone is inside..."

"The Stone of the Benevolent King?" Chu Ming's interest was piqued. "A diamond? Could it be some kind of treasure?"

"Treasure?!" The children exclaimed excitedly, urging Conan on, "It must be in this house! Let's go treasure hunting!"

Conan scratched his head, pointed to the signature at the end of the text, and said somewhat helplessly, "Brother Chu Ming, why are you even more excited than them? This was left by the gatekeeper of Sanshui Jiyou, which means there must be many traps in the house..."

He suddenly remembered something and quickly said to Professor Agasa, "Oh right, Professor, call the police!"

The doctor shook his phone helplessly: "It won't work. There's no signal here. Many areas in Urawa Mountain are undeveloped, so there are many places with weak signals. I'll go to the tent first and see if I can get through."

After saying that, he ran towards the tent, leaving the children behind. He probably thought that with Chu Ming there, and Conan and Ai Haibara being adults, there was no need to worry about them.

Chu Ming squatted on the ground, studying the coded messages in the stone box. Conan, however, was being extra cautious because he had been repeatedly advised against it before, and refused to agree to the children's request to stay and explore.

He tried various methods to scare the children: "The murderer who killed this person might also be hiding in the house. What if he attacks us?"

Mitsuhiko glanced furtively at Chu Ming: "With Brother Chu Ming here, who would be so foolish as to attack us..."

Conan was speechless for a moment, then changed his approach: "We don't know this person's identity either, so we might as well wait for the police to arrive—"