Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Sonoko forcefully pushed Conan away and sat next to Chu Ming, staring at Chu Ming's handsome and gentle face, blinking as she asked.

"I will."

Chu Ming casually pulled off Conan's watch, ignoring Conan's weak struggles.

"Look, it's just an ordinary watch, right?"

Conan was full of question marks. Who said that? This is not ordinary at all. This is a tranquilizer watch that Dr. Agasa specially made for me. Don't use this to perform!

Ran and Sonoko, unaware of the mystery, nodded.

"I can use this watch to make Uncle Mori fall asleep instantly!" Chu Ming said proudly.

Conan was shocked and snatched the watch away: "That old man is driving! That's dangerous!!"

Chu Ming couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, then I'll try a different magic trick."

He looked around, picked up a bottle of mineral water, and rolled up his sleeves.

"This is just a bottle of ordinary water, and I don't have any bag or any kind of secret device, right?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Okay, watch closely, now is the moment to witness a miracle."

Under the watchful eyes of three pairs of people, the mineral water suddenly disappeared from Chu Ming's palm.

"Ok?"

"Ah?"

"Wow!"

The three of them exclaimed in surprise at the same time. Conan and Sonoko came over and held Chu Ming's hand, but they couldn't figure it out even after a long time.

"How did you transform into Brother Chu Ming? I didn't recognize you at all!" Conan exclaimed, his face full of curiosity.

Chu Ming stretched out his palm again: "Watch carefully."

This time, Conan stared intently at Chu Ming, carefully observing whether he was making any small movements.

However, no.

He simply opened his palm, and mineral water suddenly appeared in his palm.

Seeing the surprised looks on the three people's faces, Chu Ming leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face. With the system space around, he could make the car disappear instantly with such a small trick.

"Brother Chu Ming, please teach me! Your magic trick completely dwarfs the one I wanted to perform for everyone tonight. I want to perform this for them tonight!"

Sonoko sidled up to her, her eyes sparkling.

"This magic trick requires a high level of hand speed. Even if you learn it, you probably won't be able to do it for now. So, let me teach you some magic tricks that are simple to do but look really impressive."

"Great! I'll definitely impress them at this gathering!"

Chu Ming then taught Sonoko and Ran some simple but seemingly magical magic tricks that he had seen online before.

"Now I can use this opportunity to get closer to my true love!" Sonoko clasped her hands together, her face full of longing.

"Your true love?" Xiaolan was a little surprised. She glanced at Chu Ming and whispered in Yuanzi's ear, "Didn't you say you were going to pursue Brother Chu Ming? How come another 'true love' has suddenly appeared?"

Sonoko whispered back, "It's different. Chu Ming is someone you can admire from afar but not... cough cough, it's just that Chu Ming is really handsome, but after getting to know him a few times, I feel he's a bit dangerous. He's more suitable as a romantic... oops, as a friend. But this is different!"

"What's different? Have you seen it before?"

"His name is Doi Takuki, he's 21 years old, and he's a regular in the Magic Enthusiasts' League. He's polite and gentle in his speech, and he's also very witty and humorous. Sometimes he even shows excellent literary skills. He must be a handsome man with both talent and looks, the kind that would be perfect for Miss Sonoko!"

"So you've never even seen him before!"

"This is our first meeting, and I plan to show him the magic trick that Brother Chu Ming just taught me!"

Conan, standing nearby, coolly poured cold water on the idea: "He won't be surprised at all, after all, you look— um!"

Chu Ming quickly covered Conan's mouth and said to the two of them with a smile, "You two continue."

Ran explained to the somewhat disgruntled Sonoko, "Don't take it to heart. Conan is just in a bad mood because he can't come with us this time."

Chu Ming released his hand from Conan's and muttered under his breath, "So jealous already?"

Conan turned his head away; he wasn't jealous at all that Chu Ming could go while he couldn't.

"Is this really okay? I'm not in your group, and neither is Brother Chu Ming. It's not very polite to bother you like this."

"It's okay, I told you I'd bring both of my girlfriends with me!"

"Huh? Girlfriends? Two?"

Chu Ming and Conan turned their heads to listen with great interest.

"Hehe, I went there as a guy, and it just so happens that Brother Chu Ming can temporarily take my place. We'll pretend to be his girlfriends and go in together to give them a surprise!"

"No!" Conan suddenly shouted, "How could Ran-neechan...!"

Sonoko glared at Conan, annoyed. "What's wrong with this kid? He's just as annoying as that great detective."

Just then, the car stopped, and Sonoko, holding Ran's hand, led the way while chatting, with Kogoro Mouri and Chu Ming following behind carrying their luggage.

Suddenly, Kogoro Mouri sniffed: "I smell something strange."

Chu Ming also took a sniff; it smelled of gasoline.

Looks like we've made some money.

Conan also tried to smell it, but because he had a cold, he only smelled a chill and sneezed loudly.

Chapter 100 A Girl's Heart Broken

When they arrived at the villa, Yuanzi nudged Chuming, signaling him to knock on the door, while reminding him, "Remember, my online name is 'The Magician's Disciple,' don't let it slip."

Chu Ming reluctantly stepped forward and rang the doorbell: "Hello, I'm here for a gathering."

The door opened, and an older man came in to answer it: "Wow, what an aura you exude? Are you a Shadow Mage?"

Chu Ming was taken aback: "No, I'm the magician's apprentice."

"Huh?" The uncle looked surprised.

"These two are the friends I promised to bring along... um, friends."

Chu Ming ultimately couldn't bring himself to say, "These are my two girlfriends," after all, Conan's death ray was sending chills down his spine.

"Judging from your posts in the group, we all thought you were a cute girl pretending to be a man while communicating online. We never expected you to actually be like that..."

"Eh? You all know?" Sonoko suddenly jumped out. "I even asked Chu Ming to help me play a trick on you guys."

"Haha, you're the magician's apprentice, aren't you? I knew I couldn't be wrong!"

He turned around and laughed with the two people behind him.

"Yeah, if you're really going to pretend, you should at least pretend to be as convincing as Tanaka."

Kikue Tanaka smiled and said, "I didn't deliberately try to sound like a man. I actually thought the missing Barney was a girl."

Hamaori, standing behind, grinned mischievously when he was suddenly mentioned: "Is that so? I deliberately blurred that out."

"What?! I also thought he was a girl, and I even chatted with him online about girls' private topics. Seriously!" Naoko Kuroda blushed.

"Hahaha, yeah, I was really shocked back then, hehe." Hama Riya's laugh was a bit greasy.

Huang Yize interrupted their conversation: "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm the owner of this cottage—Huang Yize. This is the person I invited..."

Araki introduced each of them one by one, but did not mention the person Sonoko most wanted to see at that moment.

After everyone had finished their introductions, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Um, hasn't Keshu arrived yet? Oh, I was talking about the red herring."

Kikue Tanaka pointed to the stairs: "He's been here for a while now, upstairs. He's coming down now."

Sonoko looked up the stairs with a face full of anticipation, her eyes instantly turning into beady pupils.

"Ah?"

Looking at the somewhat chubby, honest-looking Takuki Doi coming down from upstairs, and comparing him to the idealized handsome man in her memory, Sonoko felt her girlish heart shatter.

Conan stood at the door, watching the online dating fiasco unfold before him. Taking advantage of the mask covering his face, he grinned unabashedly and laughed silently.

Doi Takaki looked at Sonoko with delight: "You must be the magician's apprentice! I knew you were a girl, that's amazing!"

Sonoko's lips twitched: "Heh, heh heh, really? Is it that good...?"

While the group was chatting inside the door, the uncle pulled Chu Ming, who was standing to the side, aside.

"I don't know anyone here. That guy inside doesn't seem like a good person. I wonder if anyone has ill intentions. Xiaolan is innocent and naive, and Yuanzi is a bit of a tomboy. As a man, you have to make sure these two girls are safe!"

Chu Ming looked at Kogoro Mouri, who had become unusually serious as he walked across the suspension bridge, and a new suspicion arose in his mind. However, he did not show it on his face and nodded honestly: "Don't worry, Uncle Mouri."

When Araki came over to help carry his bag, Kogoro Mouri grabbed his collar and said, "Get this straight, you better not get any funny ideas about these two girls!"

Xiaolan was a little embarrassed: "Dad, what are you doing!"

Huang Yize understood somewhat, knowing that the father was worried: "Please rest assured."

At this moment, Conan, as if nothing had happened, followed Ran and Chu Ming up the stairs to enter the room while Kogoro Mouri was threatening Yoshizawa Ara.

Kogoro Mori swiftly grabbed him: "You brat, where are you going!"

Conan wriggled his body, pulled down his mask, and writhed like a giant caterpillar in Kogoro Mouri's hand: "I want to live here too!"

Kogoro Mouri didn't indulge him at all, and pulled his mask up for him: "What are you doing here if you have a cold? Chu Ming is here, he'll take care of them."