Conan, I'm an actor

Shinjo frowned upon hearing Ai's words. "So that means he'll turn back into a child if he's not cleaned properly?"

"I've also prepared targeted therapy. If there's any residue after this, I'll prepare for chemotherapy directly." Haibara said, operating the control panel. "But it seems the treatment is working well so far, there shouldn't be any risk of recurrence."

"That's good. I was worried that this kid would bother me again," Shinjo said, yawning. "I'm going to take a nap."

"Oh, right, there's something I need to ask you for a favor," Ai suddenly said.

"what?"

"When that big ship sets sail, please take me with you. I also want to go to space and see it."

“No, the first test voyage can only carry four people.” Xincheng paused for a moment. “The Atlas can only carry two No. 1 aircraft, which can only seat four people.”

"All four have already been decided?" Haibara asked, frowning.

“Me, Vermouth, Curaçao, and Daigo.” Shinjo stretched. “If you want to go, wait for the second flight. Let’s at least make sure the Atdis’s mechanical performance is fine before we go.”

"Alright, remember to call me for the second flight."

Why are you so fixated on this?

"Because I saw some things in Karen's database, I wanted to see for myself whether those experiments were real."

Shinichi went straight to his dorm and slept. When he woke up, Conan had completely disappeared, and only Shinichi Kudo remained. However, Shinichi seemed quite uncomfortable at that moment, and had an urge to turn back.

"This is a gift Mr. Shinjo prepared for you," Haibara said, patting a backpack next to her.

"What is this? New equipment?" Kudo immediately became interested.

To be honest, he had been eyeing the things in this base for a long time, but Xincheng wouldn't let him have too much contact with them because he was just a child. Could it be that today he was going to let him see the secrets of this base, or perhaps he would be given some new equipment?

He eagerly opened his schoolbag, but the smile on his face vanished, because inside were not the new gear he had been dreaming of, but stacks of exercise books and summer homework from Mihana High School.

"Isn't this gift a bit too expensive?" Kudo asked Haibara with a forced smile.

“It is indeed very valuable. He prepared this gift for more than a month.” Haibara nodded and said, “Ever since he received his summer homework, he wanted to give it to you and see the expression on your face.”

While they were talking, Haibara took out her phone, snapped a picture of Kudo, and then posted it to a group chat.

"what are you doing?"

"Share happiness."

"Can I delete it?"

"Oh dear, it's too late. Sister Xiaolan said you probably wouldn't do your homework properly, so she volunteered to supervise you while you catch up."

"What did you say!" Kudo immediately thought of his parents and wanted to ask for help.

He looked around, but unfortunately, his parents were nowhere to be found. Knowing his parents as he did, he assumed they had left after confirming he was out of danger.

Looking at the homework in front of him, he let out a painful wail, and finally resignedly took out his stationery to start doing his homework.

"Your aunt and uncle have gone back to handle some overseas affairs. They plan to settle in Japan for a year after you start school," Haibara said slowly.

"Settle down for a year? Why?" Kudo looked up, somewhat bewildered.

"I just received news that two experimental subjects in North America have died." Haibara took out her tablet, swiped a couple of times, found a news report, and handed it directly to Kudo.

Kudo took the report and glanced at it. It was about a plane crash that occurred when two billionaires were traveling in their private jet, which suffered a mechanical failure.

He looked at Haibara blankly, not understanding what this news had to do with him. He didn't know either of these billionaires, and had never even heard of them.

“This plane crash was caused by Gin,” Haibara said, staring at Kudo. “He used a Stinger missile to shoot them down during takeoff.”

"What did you say! Why would he do that? Wasn't that organization supposed to be destroyed? Why is he still active?!"

“You shouldn’t be asking me this question; you should be asking Gin.” Haibara swiveled in her chair. “Besides, there are many inaccuracies in the reports. Those two billionaires weren’t friends, and they weren’t traveling on a private jet. They just happened to participate in an experiment when they were about to die, and then just happened to survive, and were killed during a secret medical check-up.”

Kudo immediately thought of the batch of drugs. Before the FBI and the Public Security Bureau obtained the drug information, they had raided a pharmaceutical company in Japan belonging to the organization and obtained some samples from there.

"You mean, these two wealthy people are survivors who took the sample?" Kudo's expression turned grim.

“Yes, and then Gin killed them. Now they have two ways to get experimental data. One is to manufacture the pills and find more clinical trial participants to artificially create successful cases, which is to gamble on luck.” Haibara’s face showed a gloating smile. “The other way is to find surviving test subjects. They are readily available, less costly, and faster, like Shinichi Kudo.”

"They're a world power, after all. They shouldn't do things that have no bottom line, right?" Kudo swallowed hard, but he knew that the other party was very likely to do such a thing.

"Don't use your own moral bottom line to judge other people's bottom line." Haibara sat back down in front of the computer. "I will stay in this base from now on. Your blood data will be checked every day until the end of summer vacation. After school starts, it will be changed to once every three days."

"Isn't this too frequent? Drawing blood every day, this can't be..."

"The cafeteria has food to replenish your blood. Besides, this is for your own good. If you want to suddenly turn into a child one day, I have no objection." After Haibara finished speaking, she stopped paying attention to Kudo.

Kudo looked at Haibara, feeling a headache coming on. He really didn't want to have his blood drawn every day. Finally, he scratched his head, somewhat annoyed, and buried himself in his homework. He'd deal with the immediate problem first. He had a feeling that if he didn't finish his summer homework before the end of summer vacation, he'd be in deep trouble.

Chapter 344 Conflict

Back to school season

"What's wrong? Are you thinking about Shinichi?" Sonoko looked at Ran and asked with a smile, "Didn't you say Shinichi would come back for the new semester? Why are you so worried?"

"I went to Shinichi's house this morning, but no one was home," Ran said, sounding a little anxious.

"Huh? How did you know he'd be coming to school for the new semester?"

"Did I ask Shinichi's mom? Shinichi's mom told me that he's starting a new semester..." Before Ran could finish speaking, she saw Kudo get out of a silver car, apologize to Sonoko, and then run over to him.

"What? You've forgotten your best friend now that you have a boyfriend? I'm so miserable." Sonoko complained, but she had a happy smile on her face.

Before, when Kudo didn't show up, Ran's anxious and uncertain expression really startled her. Now, it feels so good that everything is back on track.

"Shinichi, what's that thing you're wearing on your ear?" Ran quickly noticed her childhood friend's unusual behavior.

"You mean this? I encountered a bombing while handling a case abroad. The bomb was very close to me, and I lost hearing in one ear and need to wear a hearing aid," Kudo said, blinking.

Ran was taken aback. Shinichi had been with her ever since he shrunk, and after they separated in Osaka, he had been with Shinjo-san. How could his ears have been injured by the explosion? However, seeing Kudo's eyes almost blinking Morse code, she realized that this might be equipment for long-distance communication, and that it might be some kind of special equipment.

Meanwhile, on a high-rise building not far from Beika High School, Kudo Yusaku, disguised, was watching his son through binoculars.

The couple turned down jobs abroad to come back and protect their son. Just now, he had discovered two guys who were following his wife's car, and based on the tips from Ms. Karen in the earpiece, he found the remaining four.

Thinking of this, he took out his phone and dialed Inspector Megure's number.

At this moment, Inspector Megure was drinking tea in the office of the First Investigation Division. The level of public security has improved a lot recently. Perhaps the criminals also felt that they needed to take a break. Therefore, the cases in the First Investigation Division are now mostly old cases, which are not in a hurry.

"It's Yusaku." When Megure saw Yusaku Kudo calling, he answered almost instantly. Cases involving the Kudo surname are definitely not small cases.

“It’s me. You should know something about Shinichi, right?” Yusaku Kudo said bluntly. “Someone has their eye on Shinichi. They might need Shinichi’s physical data.”

"Should I send someone to protect Shinichi?" Inspector Megure asked, frowning.

He knew a little about the inside story regarding "Shinichi Kudo turning into Conan Edogawa," including the mysterious drug and the two organizations that were researching it. He would have hung up on anyone else, but Yusaku Kudo was a close friend, and Shinichi was his nephew who had helped him a lot; he couldn't ignore it.

"Could you send two policemen to protect Shinichi?" Yusaku Kudo said in a low voice. "Just make it look like Shinichi is being protected."

"How can that be!" Inspector Megure immediately rejected Yusaku Kudo's request. "Those people aren't ordinary people. What if they turn on Shinichi? I heard..."

Halfway through his sentence, Inspector Megure paused, as if he had guessed what Yusaku Kudo meant.

“Those guys are very capable. If things go wrong, it could lead to foreign conflicts or even injuries to our friends in the First Investigation Division, which is something I don’t want to see,” Yusaku Kudo said. “All I need is a signal to confirm which group of people are targeting my son.”

Megure instantly understood Kudo Yusaku's meaning. If the person targeting Shinichi was from the Public Security Bureau, they would directly issue instructions to the First Investigation Division, or at least do it discreetly by temporarily reassigning their protection personnel. If the perpetrator was someone from abroad, then the Metropolitan Police Department would receive no information whatsoever.

"But speaking of which, Yusaku, how are you going to deal with those guys?" Inspector Megure asked somewhat nervously. "This time, your connections within Interpol aren't working out, are they?"

He knew the inside story, and the Public Security Bureau had already obtained the drug information, which is why he was willing to risk helping Kudo Yusaku. But for others, risking offending two intelligence organizations would be enough to filter out a group of people, and that drug information was something that various countries desperately needed; they might betray him immediately.

“Besides them, I have some other connections,” Yusaku Kudo said after a moment of contemplation. “Don’t worry about who to contact specifically; I’m afraid of dragging you into this.”

Megure opened his mouth, somewhat amused and exasperated. "You're only now realizing you might be dragging me into this? What about when you asked me to send people to protect your son?"

"By the way, Yusaku, if you really get into trouble, it's not a bad idea to hide at the Metropolitan Police Department for a while," Megure said seriously. "Shinichi helped solve a lot of cases before, and some of them were quite complicated. Even if they're closed, you can still ask about the details."

"I understand, thank you." Kudo Yusaku did not refuse Megure's kindness.

Even if the other party is incredibly bold, they probably wouldn't dare to make a move in the Metropolitan Police Department. In a truly critical situation, the Metropolitan Police Department would be a good refuge.

Meanwhile, across the ocean

At the entrance of a church, a group of men in black were engaged in a fierce conflict with the military and police. The men in black were clearly at a disadvantage and were fighting and retreating until they finally retreated into the church.

However, the military and police outside dared not push too far, mainly because these people had too much firepower; if they charged forward, they would be driven back by the fierce fire. Apart from leaving behind a few corpses and a dozen wounded, they could do nothing else.

On the top of a building overlooking the church, a young man was aiming a sniper rifle at the church.

“Show, are you confident?” Judy asked, picking up the walkie-talkie.

“Unfortunately, I’m not confident.” Shuichi Akai’s answer was straightforward. “They seem to know I’m around, and they’re basically hiding in blind spots unless you can blow the roof off.”

Just then, an order came through the channel.

Two tanks appeared on the street in the distance, heading this way. As they drew closer, they became clear that they were two M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. Upon arrival, the two vehicles did not immediately launch an attack. The commanders immediately dismounted and began speaking with the on-site commander to obtain specific operational plans and necessary intelligence.

Inside the church

"Boss, they seem to be serious. They've even brought over infantry fighting vehicles." A man in black looked at Gin in front of him. "Should we teach them a lesson?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted to the RPG rocket launcher beside him. This was equipment that had been delivered last time, but the boss had never allowed them to use it. This time, it should be time.

"Let's use this for now. It's a lot of work to assemble, and we can't take it with us." Gin patted the metal frame next to him.

It was an extremely simple iron frame, but the thing on it was anything but ordinary—it was the barrel of an anti-aircraft gun. Gin was quite taken aback when he saw it; he hadn't expected Vodka to bring it along.

"Alright, but what if they send even stronger tanks, or call in air support?" the subordinate asked worriedly. "If they call in air support..."

"We'll run after this round. Have all the explosives been installed?" Gin asked, looking at the two people busy laying wires in the corner.

"It's all set up," the person laying the cables said with a smile. "If they dare to come in, I can send them flying! Our escape routes will be buried by gravel, and they won't be able to find us for a while."

"What if they call in air support for a bombing raid?" Gin stared at his subordinate and asked, enunciating each word clearly.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that. Plastic explosives are the most stable explosives I could find," the man said helplessly. "If air support detonates these explosives, then it just proves they're lucky to be alive."

A dozen minutes later

"Haven't decided what to do yet?" Akai, who was lying on the top of the building, popped a candy into his mouth. Sniping is very energy-consuming.

"The commander seems reluctant to attack now. He thinks we should wait for air support before launching an attack," Judy said with some frustration. "These guys clearly have armored vehicles..."

"Don't be so harsh on others." Akai stretched his body. "Those guys used RPGs before, and they should also have anti-tank weapons... Get out of the vehicle!"

As soon as Akai finished speaking, before the people on the other side could react, they saw something fall from the sky onto the roof of an infantry fighting vehicle. The violent explosion ripped the top off the Bradley vehicle, and the crew inside were naturally doomed. Soon after, the vehicle exploded.

"Suicide drones." Akai's face was grim. "When will air support arrive? We need to take the church quickly and end this farce."

“Shouldn’t we be catching the criminal? That guy has such a dangerous weapon. If we let him go, it will only cause a bigger disaster sooner or later,” Judy said seriously. “We should have caught him last time.”