Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Chu Ming straightened up and pointed to Takeshita Hironobu, who was standing to the side: "Don't think too much about it now. Tell Inspector Megure about these deductions and have him check what's in Takeshita Hironobu's box. You can ask Mr. Takeshita about your questions later."

He was probably just as confused as anyone else about why it had become 748. Chu Ming smiled slightly as he watched Conan's retreating figure; this was a number he had specifically chosen.

Conan ran over to Inspector Megure and said something, then pointed at Chu Ming. Faced with Inspector Megure's questioning gaze, Chu Ming gave a confident smile and accepted the pot that Conan handed him.

Ah, right, right, I figured all of this out myself. I'm the college student detective Fujino Chumei. One day, while I was playing video games at home, I accidentally discovered a black hole, which led me to the world of anime...

Hmm, it's time to make a documentary called "Granbury Wine".

Chapter 59 I'm the middleman, I make my money from the price difference.

After receiving Chu Ming's affirmative signal, Inspector Megure went directly to Takeshita Hironobu: "Mr. Takeshita, you clearly retrieved box number 90-something before, so why did you pick up box number 700-something instead?"

Takeshita Hironobu hugged the box tightly: "That's because I took it out halfway through and then stored it again, which is why the serial number is so late!"

Chu Ming added fuel to the fire: "So what's in your box? Would you like to check with the officer?"

Inspector Megure reached for the box in his arms, but Takeshita Hironobu held it tightly.

"Please cooperate with the investigation, Mr. Takeshita. Or is it that this box is indeed not yours?" Inspector Megure asked with a serious expression.

Takeshita Hironobu slid to his knees and released his grip on the box.

He kept his head down, making it impossible to see the expression on his face: "I deliberately staged a terrorist attack to kill him, but I didn't expect you to find out... Yes, I killed him. He deserved to die. If it weren't for him, Yoshimi wouldn't have died!"

"Yangmei?"

"She was our manager in high school. She committed suicide after being dumped by Nakajima."

Inspector Megure had Takeshita handcuffed, then opened the box on the ground, revealing a whole box full of...

--newspaper.

Chu Ming blinked, but his heart was bursting with joy.

The organization gave him a fund of ten million yen for activities. Knowing that Hideaki Nakajima was going to be bombed anyway, he simply swallowed the money and stuffed it full of newspapers. Another day for the middleman to make a profit.

Conan tiptoed over for a peek, then froze: "Whose box is this? Why is he stuffing so many newspapers in there?"

"This is Nakajima's box?" Inspector Megure was also somewhat surprised.

"No, Inspector Megure. Mr. Nakajima was also in line between Ran and Uncle, so he should have been number ninety-something."

Inspector Megure frowned: "Mr. Takeshita, please explain whose suitcase you took?"

Takeshita Hironobu also looked bewildered: "I just took the key from Nakajima's pocket. I didn't look at it before I put it next to me."

"What did Mr. Nakajima originally put in his box?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Conan tugged at Inspector Megure: "I just asked the receptionist, and she said a guy named Yusuke Matsutake took box number 97."

Chu Ming's smile froze slightly. He didn't know if his identity could be verified, but thankfully, no one could find out about him.

"It's possible they took the wrong one. Let's check and exchange it later." Inspector Megure didn't take it to heart.

Conan felt something was off, so he ran to the front desk and asked, "Miss, what does Mr. Matsuchi, who took box number 97, look like?"

The receptionist thought for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly: "He was a very refined and handsome gentleman~ His manners and speech were very gentle, especially his eyes, which were so gentle that they seemed to drown you..." She cupped her face in her hands, her eyes practically sparkling.

Conan paused abruptly. Gentle? Refined? He recalled the fleeting glimpse he'd caught through Professor Hirota's window that day—this description...it sounded just like that man! Could it be—

His face hardened, and he demanded an answer loudly, shattering the little girl's reverie: "Where did he go? When did he leave? Did he say anything when he left?"

The little girl pointed to the door, looking a bit confused: "They've been gone for a long time, heading towards the parking lot. They didn't say anything when they left, just smiled at me and left..."

Conan rushed straight outside. Chu Ming was in a daze when he heard Conan's sharp question. He was a little confused. Just as he got nearby, Conan rushed out the door like a cannonball.

What's wrong? Why are you so excited to see Gin?

A short while later, Conan returned from outside looking dejected. Chu Ming asked curiously, "What's wrong? Did you find any clues?"

Conan carefully surveyed the surroundings, then pulled Chu Ming to squat down and whispered, "Mr. Nakajima's suitcase was taken by someone from the organization. I just asked the front desk, and it was the man in black I met with Professor Hirota the other day!"

"Did you manage to catch up with him after you?"

Conan shook his head in frustration: "No, I asked the security guards in the parking lot, and they said the parking lot cameras were broken and didn't capture any footage, and no one saw when he left."

Chu Ming's eyes flickered, but of course no one noticed, because he changed his appearance and came back.

"Alright, since you've missed it, don't dwell on it anymore. As long as you encounter more cases, you'll definitely run into that organization again!" Chu Ming offered a half-hearted consolation.

Conan, unwilling but helpless, nodded.

The case thus came to a close. In his report, Chu Ming truthfully recounted this bizarre transaction. When Gin reviewed Chu Ming's report, he was shocked. Fortunately, it was Granburg who was sent out. If it had been Tequila, the organization would have lost another key member.

Chapter 60 Holmes's reputation is ruined

"Brother Chu Ming! Come on, come on, just come with me! Professor Agasa needs to take Ai Haibara to buy some equipment, and his spot is now open. It's the legendary first edition of Sherlock Holmes' Scarlet Letter research, the first book Conan Doyle ever interviewed!!!!!!!!!" Conan hugged Chu Ming's leg and rattled off a long string of words.

Chu Ming glanced at the leg pendant hanging on his leg, ignoring its weight, and went straight to the table to pour himself a glass of water.

While I was taking a nice nap, I heard Conan ringing the doorbell. The urgent ringing made me think something serious had happened.

It turned out that Conan had won a prize in the Sherlock Holmes tour, and when he heard that the prize included a rare book, he was afraid that the test would involve deduction, and that he would be outmatched by four people on his own, especially since his teammate Kogoro Mouri was just a clueless sixth brother who only knew how to eliminate possibilities. So he quickly came to find Chu Ming to go with him.

"You went with Uncle Mori, so what are you afraid of in terms of reasoning?"

Conan was about to retort when he suddenly remembered that Chu Ming only knew him as Shinichi Kudo, but didn't know that Kogoro Mouri's so-called mystery show was actually starred by him.

"But as soon as the organizers heard that I was temporarily staying at Uncle Mori's house, they immediately invited Uncle Mori as well. What if Uncle Mori was invited to be a judge? Then I'd still be without teammates!"

How could that be? You still have Osaka Black Chicken—Chu Ming glanced at Conan, who was completely treating him like a child.

"Alright, alright, I'll go, okay? Stop tugging at me." Chu Ming tore the piece of Conan gum off his head and threw it aside, then got up to go upstairs to pack his things.

Everything from the organization has been put away, so there's no need to worry about Conan finding anything... right?

Wait a minute! The novel I updated last night is still on my laptop desktop on my desk! I don't think I turned the computer off last night!

When Chu Ming came downstairs, he saw Conan struggling to push a chair in front of the desk, standing on it and clicking the mouse rapidly.

Chu Ming rushed over in three strides and pulled the person down: "What are you doing? Are you trying to peek at what I'm writing? That won't do, Detective! Even though you've shrunk, you can't take advantage of your age to do bad things!"

Conan grinned slyly: "Brother Chu Ming, are you writing a love letter? I think I saw a few girls' names, Amuro Namiko? Kurojin Kotoko?" Before he could get a good look, Chu Ming grabbed him, but Conan still managed to spot the names that were clearly girls'.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could it be a love letter?!" Chu Ming felt a chill run down his spine. Thinking about the times he wrote love letters to Gin or Bourbon, he couldn't help but shake Conan, who was still in his hand. "Get the crap out of your head!"

Conan felt a little dizzy and quickly grabbed Chu Ming's hand: "Stop shaking me, stop shaking me. I didn't say anything, Brother Chu Ming, we should leave now. Uncle should be arriving soon. I'll have him come here to pick us up."

Ugh, Chu Ming is actually shy! What's there to be embarrassed about writing love letters? Is it because he likes two girls? /(/ /o/ω/o/ /)/

After setting a password, shutting down the computer, and putting it away safely, Chu Ming took Conan out the door. He couldn't let this home-destroying expert into the house next time.

A minivan arrived to pick them up, and there were already several people inside. Upon seeing Chu Ming and his group get in, the people greeted them warmly.

It was already quite late when we set off, and by the time we got on the mountain expressway, it was getting dark. Everyone was excitedly discussing Conan Doyle's novels in the car.

When asked about his favorite novel, Conan, who was sitting in the front, turned around excitedly: "My favorite is 'The Sign of Four'! I've read it so many times!"

"Wow, little brother, you're amazing! You know so many words at such a young age!"

"My favorite story is 'The Red-Headed League,' it's a classic!"

Conan simply turned around and leaned against the back of the chair, chatting with Chu Ming sitting behind him: "Brother Chu Ming, what about you? Which book do you like the most?"

"If I had to pick a favorite, I would say I prefer 'The Hound of the Baskervilles,' which I would consider a classic."

“Oh, I think ‘A Study in Scarlet’ is the most classic. That’s Holmes’ first appearance!” A middle-aged man in the back row chimed in.

"And what about this gentleman?" someone suddenly asked Kogoro Mouri, who had been silent to the side, posing a probing question.

"Um... well..." Kogoro Mouri scratched his head. He had never been interested in these kinds of novels. "My favorite is probably the Western Car Murder Case..."

"..."

"..."

"You're probably talking about 'Murder on the Orient Express,' right? That wasn't written by Conan Doyle. What's going on? Has an outsider joined this group?"

Everyone chimed in with their own comments, and Kogoro Mouri slid down into his seat, embarrassed.

The group stopped talking about that and started chatting. A group of Conan Doyle fans had endless things to talk about.

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

"Ah, distinguished guests, I sincerely welcome you all. I am Hiroyuki Kanaya, the innkeeper who planned this trip for you." A man dressed as Sherlock Holmes and resembling Inspector Megure stood in the inn with a smile, welcoming everyone. "The people gathered here today are all true Sherlock Holmes fans, whom I have carefully selected."

"Really? But it seems like there's someone on our bus who doesn't even know what Sherlock Holmes' cases are," Fujichi Toshiaki added sarcastically from the side.

Hiroyuki Kanaya looked at the person he was pointing to and immediately went to greet him: "Oh—Mr. Mori!"

He turned to the crowd and said, "Let me introduce you to this famous detective who is comparable to Sherlock Holmes and has recently gained widespread fame—Mr. Kogoro Mouri."

Chu Ming and Conan both twitched their lips, feeling that Holmes had been offended. This was definitely the worst Holmes had ever been portrayed, bar none.

Chapter 61 Laughter in the Middle of the Night

Upon hearing what Boss Kanaya said, the group of people who had overheard Kogoro Mouri talking about Western cars in the car became dissatisfied.

"What? This guy dares to be compared to Sherlock Holmes?"

“Exactly, I’ve seen reports about him on TV too. His reasoning is alright, but in a real contest, he might not even be as good as Watson, who works alongside Sherlock Holmes.” A couple said with a mocking expression.

Seeing Kogoro Mouri clench his fists in anger, and then looking at Conan who seemed to agree with him, Chu Ming was speechless. Conan had solved all these cases, so mocking Kogoro Mouri was tantamount to mocking Conan, who was actually quite amused and even had the audacity to comfort Kogoro.

"Oh well, he's Sherlock Holmes after all, there's nothing we can do about it~"