Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"..."

Ito Taka awkwardly touched his nose.

"Alright, stop overthinking it."

Sano threw the empty coffee bottle into the trash can and said, "I squinted, for no particular reason, just because I didn't want to make eye contact with anyone."

"Ok?"

The two best friends raised their eyebrows: "What does this mean... social anxiety?"

"No, it's because... I'll fall in love if we make eye contact for three seconds."

Sano's playful reply left the three people next to him with a row of question marks.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Just when all three thought that Sano would give an answer, "I'm too love-struck and fall in love too easily, so I get emotional if I look at someone for too long."

This is roughly the kind of answer that, while absurd, is... reasonable.

Sano, however, gave a completely opposite answer: "What I mean is that my charm is too strong. As long as they look into my eyes for three seconds, no matter their age or gender, they will be moved and eventually fall into an abyss, unable to extricate themselves. This will cause trouble for both the other person and myself... That's why it is like this."

"..."

The air fell silent for a moment.

The three men's eyes and expressions gradually became strange.

I've seen narcissists before, but I've never seen anyone this narcissistic.

"Ahem, Mr. Black Fox, I know, and I admit it, even though your eyes are small, you are indeed a very distinctive and undeniably handsome man."

Sonoko Suzuki said seriously, "But your confidence is a bit too much, isn't it? Most people of the opposite sex might have a very high first impression of you and feel good about you, but to fall in love with you directly, and even... well, to be attractive to everyone, young and old, is really a bit..."

"It's unbelievable, isn't it?"

Sano asked with a faint smile, "Would you like to give it a try?"

Sonoko Suzuki blinked, her curiosity and competitiveness also aroused by Sano's confidence. She raised her head and agreed.

"Okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sano opened his eyes.

This instantly stunned Sonoko Suzuki.

...Rather than saying Sano's eyes were purple, Sonoko Suzuki felt it was more accurate to say they shimmered with a faint purple light, making his eyeballs look like a pair of sparkling gems. The dazzling colors within them made her feel as if she were looking at a brilliant starry sky, captivating her soul.

Beautiful eyes.

The moment that thought arose.

Just like a seed that, after being buried in the soil, takes root and sprouts within seconds, and then grows taller and taller in an instant, even soaring into the sky.

...Sano wasn't lying. The moment he met Sano's gaze, he was inevitably moved, but that feeling should only have been directed at his eyes.

It cannot be considered as directed at Sano himself.

However, this did not prevent Sano's micro-management from creating a strange illusion for the target.

From a more scientific perspective...

Physiology influences psychology, and psychology influences physiology.

Sano can control people's emotions and make them release adrenaline or dopamine, so why can't he do the same with hormones?

Sonoko Suzuki's face flushed red in one second, turned deep red in two seconds, and became steamy in three seconds.

"Okay, that's three seconds already. If it goes too far, it'll be bad."

Sano closed his eyes appropriately.

This was just a casual game that Sano played to verify his conjectures and discoveries when he was bored. He had no interest in actually poaching Kyogoku Makoto's girlfriend... If he were to poach someone, he should be poaching Eri Kisaki or Midori Megure.

"...The garden??"

Ran Mouri, who witnessed Sonoko Suzuki's reaction, was initially stunned before finally coming to her senses and quickly went to support her best friend, who was swaying unsteadily.

"Are you OK?"

"me……"

Sonoko Suzuki's mind went almost blank. She could only glance at Sano with evasive eyes before leaving with the words "I'm leaving now" and running away as if fleeing.

"..."

Ran Mouri turned around in surprise, gave Sano a deep look, and chased after him.

...to reason with each other.

Sonoko Suzuki's infatuated nature is something Ran Mouri, her best friend of over ten years, is well aware of, but it is precisely because of this that...

Only then will Ran Mouri understand more clearly Sonoko Suzuki's infatuation and infatuation.

These are two completely different things.

Especially since Sonoko Suzuki already has Makoto Kyogoku, who is practically her boyfriend, Ran Mouri is even less likely to believe that he would change his mind.

But looking at Sonoko Suzuki's reaction just now... something was really off!

what is going on……

...After watching the two best friends leave the convenience store, Ito Taka, who was sitting next to Sano, turned his head thoughtfully and touched his chin.

"Master, you didn't use hypnosis on that young lady, did you?"

Sano glanced at him and asked, "Can your hypnosis do something like that?"

Ito Taka shook his head... Not to mention that apart from making eye contact, he didn't see Sano make any movement at all, or even if he did, he just didn't notice it.

What can you possibly do in those two or three seconds?

After a moment of hesitation, Ito Taka tentatively asked, "Master, you just said that men, women, young and old will all be attracted to you... Why don't you try it on me?"

"..."

Sano's eye twitched, and he smiled, "Please get as far away from me as possible."

"Come on, come on, give it a try, I'm really curious... Hey, don't go!"

……

It was dusk.

Inside an abandoned factory in Izu.

"Da da da da!!"

Gunshots rang out, interspersed with terrified cries and angry shouts.

In the factory's open space, Sano, wearing a black fox vest, and Ito Taka were standing together. Not far from them, several corpses lay scattered on the ground.

"Hiding in a place like this is a wise choice."

Ito Taka sighed, "We should have thought of this long ago. These guys were surrounded and chased, and only escaped death after several battles. They should have run out of weapons long ago, and there's no way to replenish them... Even if there were, Rum would probably have already arranged for people to lie in wait there, waiting for them to come to them."

"However, if it is inside a complex factory environment, then even if there is a huge disadvantage in terms of manpower and weapons, there is still a possibility of delaying or even counterattacking... It's just a pity that there are several warning bells placed in such an obvious place outside. Otherwise, it would be much easier to go in and investigate and catch them off guard."

Sano glanced at the crows on the top of the telephone pole not far away and replied casually.

"Let's skip the hindsight analysis; it's exhausting to listen to."

Ito Taka blinked, not continuing the topic, but instead asked, "Then those people you brought, Master... were they your puppets?"

...Currently, the ones sweeping through the factory are two or three puppets of Ito Taka and four or five followers of Sano. Although Rum had already stated in the mission details that the two of them only needed to find people.

But Sano still intends to solve all the problems at once.

It wasn't that Sano was after the potential extra bonus, or that he wanted to showcase his perfect professionalism; he simply...

It's just simple rebellion.

Well, to be precise, Sano wanted to show Rum his rebellious side—he brought people to Izu for his first task, not because he was so short-handed that he had to send in newcomers.

Sano didn't believe there weren't any missions available in the Tokyo area.

It felt like they were deliberately trying to intimidate me.

If they remain silent and don't even give a response, I'm afraid they'll have no idea where Sano will go or what he'll be asked to do next time.

Workplace "unspoken rules"—a must-know for seasoned veterans, just in case.

"That's it."

Sano gave another casual reply.

"Oh, I see. Then shouldn't we add them to the peripheral members' database later? Otherwise, Rum might have a problem with it and cause some unnecessary trouble... Speaking of which, what should we eat tonight? We've come all this way on a business trip, so all the expenses for fieldwork should be reimbursed, right? Shouldn't we eat something nice?"

Ito Taka is clearly a seasoned veteran.

After reminding Sano, he made the following statement.

However, Sano ignored him and focused his attention on the top of a workshop where three or four hidden figures were gathered.

Chapter 573, Chapter 576: You're Black Rye's girlfriend, right?

If it weren't for the warning from Big Black, who had the advantage of aerial reconnaissance.

Sano might not even notice.

...Although Ito Taka just said that, with the help of environmental factors, the traitorous cadre's side will passively increase their chances of winning.

However, the basic win rate is simply too low.

Sano's followers and Itō Taka's puppets are not particularly strong, but they are still at an advantage compared to the cannon fodder subordinates of the traitorous executives.

Add to that the disparity in weaponry between the two sides... and the outcome is already obvious.

That traitorous cadre probably realized this as well, and in despair, he decided to make one last desperate struggle, going all in and fighting to the death.

...And indeed, things turned out exactly as Sano had imagined.

Above the workshop, a traitorous cadre was discussing plans with several cannon fodder subordinates.

"Those guys inside are probably just cannon fodder, while the two outside are the leaders and officers in charge."