Ke Xue exorcists demons and starts with immobilization

"The third question..."

Vermouth leaned closer, her warm breath tickling Chu Zhong's ear. "What will the final version of APTX be used for first?"

This is a tricky problem.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Zhong tentatively asked, "Help that gentleman regain his youth?"

This is the answer he deduced based on his understanding of the original work.

The next second, she was gently pushed.

"Wrong answer~"

A hint of melancholy flashed in Vermouth's eyes. She sighed and made a gesture towards the helicopter high in the sky.

The next second, everything in the instance froze, including Vermouth herself.

Number of correct answers: 2, Rating: S

[Overall Dungeon Rating: SS]

[Experience gained: 5000, Spiritual Energy: 5500]

We were just a hair's breadth away from getting the highest rating!

Chu Zhong couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

Overall, however, the experience and spiritual energy rewards from this dungeon are quite generous.

The first two stages plus the dungeon settlement yielded a total of 9000 experience points and 9900 spirit essence.

Chu Zhong glanced at his accumulated experience points and realized he would be able to level up again soon.

However, this dungeon is quite difficult in some ways, if it weren't for the immobilization spell...

[Reward conditions met, item obtained: Elixir of Immortality]

The name itself sounded impressive, so Chu Zhong immediately checked its effects:

"Baccano! Elixir of Immortality": Grants a chance to revive with full health upon death in any instance.

The moment Chu Zhong saw the effect, he immediately thought of certain items in games: resurrection coins!

I never expected that such a good item would drop from a mere boss-level dungeon!

This dungeon run was such a great deal!

While the Immobilization skill is practically invincible in one-on-one combat, there's still a chance of failure when encountering dungeons with certain mechanics or numerically challenging monsters.

However, for dungeons that can be repeatedly opened, there's no need to waste resurrection opportunities.

It's only worth using a hidden dungeon that can only be opened once...

[The instance is currently closed...]

As the notification sound rang, Chu Zhong returned to reality, standing at the corner of the stairs, looking down at Vermouth standing in front of the shoe cabinet.

Vermouth continued searching his shoe cabinet, but found nothing.

Chu Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Vermouth had helped Ran before and seemed to have ideas about overthrowing the organization, making her a half-teammate, she was ultimately a member of the Raven Organization.

At this stage, Chu Zhong only wants 'Shinichi Kudo' to attract all the attention; he himself doesn't want to be the center of attention.

That's why I planned to eliminate Vermouth, who was full of hostility in the instance, and forcibly erase her memories... but unfortunately I didn't succeed.

Fortunately, Chu Zhong had previously studied the mechanism of memory retention in ordinary copies.

Even the main boss of the dungeon will only leave a few memorable impressions.

Once back in reality, I won't think of it unless there's a trigger that leads to a related association.

'But her last look...'

Chu Zhong also noticed that after he answered two questions correctly in a row, Vermouth's hostility towards him seemed to dissipate considerably.

Thanks to the unexpected resolution of the hostility, it seems that allowing the clone Vermouth to retain her memories might not be a bad thing after all...

Jingle Bell--!

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the school bell rang.

Ran Mouri is going to train in the karate club, while Sonoko is going to train in the tennis club.

Chu Zhong had other plans and left the school after class.

He went to a secluded spot, took out a disguise mask, and disguised himself as Shinichi Kudo.

This time, there's no need to change clothes; it's a direct recreation of Shinichi Kudo's classic look in his blue Teitan school uniform.

"Um...is he the high school detective, Shinichi Kudo?"

“It’s him. I’ve seen his picture in the newspaper.”

"He's known as the savior of the Japanese police!"

It has to be said that Shinichi Kudo's face is quite familiar in the Kanto region. When Chu Zhong walks down the street, he is approached by passersby every few minutes.

It just so happens that it's time for school to let out, and some junior high and high school girls will come up to ask for autographs, and even flirt with you...

Chapter 129 Read Random Reply, Police Undercover

Physically, Chu Zhong and Shinichi Kudo look almost identical when they are clothed.

In terms of height, Chu Zhong could instantly appear five centimeters shorter if he didn't stand up straight.

People who aren't close to Shinichi Kudo generally can't tell the difference.

When someone strikes up a conversation, Chu Zhong will patiently stop and chat briefly with these fans.

However, I'd rather not sign my name, as it would reveal my handwriting, but taking a group photo is fine.

Chu Zhong strolled towards the city center as if taking a leisurely walk.

squeak--!

A screeching sound rang out as the police car pulled up to the side of the road. A short, stout figure wearing a hat and a brown trench coat stepped out of the passenger seat.

"Shinichi! Long time no see, you're finally back from your trip?"

"We just received a report of a murder. Would you be interested in going to take a look?"

The short, stout figure walked up to Chu Zhong, speaking in a very familiar tone. It was Inspector Megure, or rather, Inspector Megure.

"Okay."

Chu Zhong nodded in agreement and quickly got into the police car.

After all, investigating and deducing at murder scenes, showing off his deduction skills, and becoming a hot commodity were things that Shinichi Kudo was most interested in before... even before Ran Mouri.

What reason could he possibly have to refuse?

Furthermore, Chu Zhong's purpose in disguising himself as Shinichi Kudo was to ensure that as many people as possible remembered that 'he is still alive and well'.

He glanced at the person sitting in the driver's seat; it was one of Inspector Megure's assistants: [Elite Rank - Wataru Takagi]

Chu Zhong had met Takagi Wataru once before, during the movie theater murder case.

I also remember that Takagi Wataru was one of the supporting characters in Conan's films.

"Shinichi, your throat..."

On the way to the murder scene, Inspector Megure, unsurprisingly, noticed the unusual tone in Chu Zhong's voice.

"I caught a bad cold a while ago and had a sore throat that hasn't fully healed yet," Chu Zhong said in a low voice, making up a flimsy excuse to brush it off.

Then he asked about the details of the murder case.

When the topic turned to work, Inspector Megure quickly revealed the general information he heard when he received the phone call.

The deceased was an antique collector...

Five p.m.

Chu Zhong arrived at the crime scene first in a police car, along with Inspector Megure and Wataru Takagi.

Quite by chance, they bumped into two acquaintances: Kogoro Mouri and Conan.

"Inspector Megure, what's that kid doing here too?"

Kogoro frowned immediately upon seeing 'Shinichi Kudo'.

Conan froze, then frantically rubbed his eyes, as if afraid he was seeing things.

"We just happened to run into him on the way..." Inspector Megure knew that Kogoro and Shinichi Kudo didn't get along, "Having more people help out will make solving the case faster."

Kogoro patted his chest and said, "Inspector Megure, the murder cases here are enough for me, the great detective Kogoro Mouri!"

"You brat over there, we don't need you here anymore!"

Chu Zhong naturally wouldn't pay any attention to this level of provocation.

"Brother Mori, tell me about the case. What are you doing here?" Inspector Megure also tried to smooth things over and change the subject.

After some investigation, it was learned that the deceased was named Maru Denjiro, a client of Kogoro. He had previously suspected his wife of having an affair, and Kogoro came today to report on the progress of the investigation.

Maru Denjiro was furious upon learning that he had been cuckolded.

Unexpectedly, halfway through the meeting, a guest arrived at Maru's house, so Kogoro and Conan had to wait in the main house. When they finally saw the client again, the guest had already died.

The body was covered in wounds, the fatal one being a katana piercing its heart.

"Name, age, relationship to the deceased, whereabouts this afternoon..."

Inspector Megure quickly gathered the rest of the Maru family and began the investigation, with Kogoro following closely behind, listening intently.

The forensic team arrived later and began investigating, collecting, and identifying evidence at the crime scene.

As for Chu Zhong, he was leisurely taking a stroll in Wan Chuan's house.

Unfortunately, they arrived too late and didn't see any white light on the corpse, so they couldn't replenish the gourd.

The deceased was a 51-year-old antique collector and the president of the Maruden Group, a true tycoon.

Maru's family estate occupies a considerable area, surrounded by high walls, and consists of several traditional single-story wooden Japanese-style buildings.

While strolling in Chu, a little tail followed behind me.

"Shinichi-nii... is that the legendary high school detective?"

Conan asked the question cautiously.

"That's right, I am the savior of the Japanese police, the nation's strongest detective, Shinichi Kudo!"

Chu Zhong enthusiastically revealed Shinichi Kudo's delusions.

Conan's lips twitched at the arrogant tone, but he had no choice but to smile obsequiously and ask, "Does Shinichi-nii still remember me?"

"do not remember."

As Chu Zhong spoke, he suddenly stopped, bent down, and pinched Conan's cheek. "But you little brat, you look a lot like me when I was a kid... Could you be my son?"

Seeing that Conan wasn't concerned about the case but instead was taking a walk with him, probably trying to gather information, I decided to just read his random reply.

"Shinichi-nii really likes to joke around."

Conan's face, red from the pinch, rubbed it to ease the pain as he said with a forced smile, "You're eighteen, I'm seven, how could our ages possibly match..."

"Oh, right~" Chu Zhong nodded, then said, "So you're my younger brother?"

This left Conan somewhat speechless, so he simply revealed the answer: "I'm the child of a distant relative of the Kudo family, my name is Edogawa Conan... Shinichi-nii used to teach me deduction, don't you remember?"

"I don't remember," Chu Zhong replied dismissively, and continued his walk.

He secretly sighed to himself, thinking that Conan really never learns his lesson and always likes to court death.

Upon seeing someone who looks exactly like 'themselves', the first reaction is not to observe discreetly, but to approach directly and inquire about information.

If Vermouth were to disguise herself as Shinichi Kudo, she could probably see right through Conan's clothes.

Later, when Conan questioned Chu Zhong about his voice, he again brushed it off by saying he had a sore throat.