Detective Conan: Developing a younger version of Ran Eri, and the stunning Yukiko.

Kogoro Mouri looked helpless.

Not only am I useless, but I've also become a tool.

Shinichi Kudo was on the verge of a breakdown. In the Idol Locked Room Murder Case, the culprit's confession was a huge slap in the face for him. Now, in the Diplomat Locked Room Murder Case, he was slapped in the face by Shiraishihara. His self-esteem had been severely damaged.

Just when Shinichi Kudo felt like he was hitting rock bottom, his beloved childhood friend Ran Mouri not only didn't comfort him, but instead questioned him about where he had been all this time and why he hadn't even given her his contact information.

"Shinichi, you've been gone for so long, you have to give me an explanation."

Stop treating me like a fool and trying to fob me off with this excuse of handling a case!

Ran Mouri questioned Shinichi Kudo with a serious expression.

Since Shinichi Kudo has suddenly reappeared after disappearing for so long, she must seize this opportunity to get to the bottom of things.

However... at this moment, Shinichi Kudo had no interest in paying attention to Ran Mouri; he was in a terrible mood.

Moreover, he had a strong premonition that he was about to turn back into Conan Edogawa, and he had to find a place to hide as soon as possible.

No. .

048 There's really no way.

Chapter 48

"Xiaolan, I'm sorry, I really can't do anything right now..."

Shinichi Kudo sensed something was wrong; if he didn't run away quickly, he would be turned into a child in front of everyone.

"Shinichi, what's wrong with you? Don't even think about leaving until you explain yourself!" But Ran Mouri didn't give him a chance to bluff, and even blocked his escape route.

"Ran, give me a little more time, I'll explain everything to you." With no other option, Shinichi Kudo forcefully pushed Ran Mouri away and ran away.

"You idiot, Shinichi!" Ran exclaimed as she saw this, immediately chasing after him. "Shinichi, you're not getting away from me this time!"

Ran had finally seen Shinichi again, so how could she let him go so easily? She had a whole bunch of questions waiting for Shinichi to answer!

The two of them were running ahead and chasing behind, but no one knew where they had gone, leaving everyone present speechless and completely baffled as to what was going on.

Kogoro Mouri, in particular, looked extremely displeased: "What's so great about Shinichi Kudo that makes Ran debase herself like this? It's truly incomprehensible!"

Inspector Megure didn't pay much attention to the two young men's business. Instead, he walked up to Shiraishihara and patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother Shiraishihara, you're really amazing! I knew I wasn't wrong about you. From now on, you're a high school detective certified by the Metropolitan Police Department!"

"what?"

Shiraishi was completely bewildered. His system was a phantom thief system, not a detective system. Had something gone wrong?

“Brother Shiraishihara, please don’t refuse. You have already proven that your reasoning ability is no less than that of Brother Kudo, so the Metropolitan Police Department recognizes you as the new high school detective.”

Feeling Inspector Megure's trusting gaze, Shiraishihara was truly at a loss for words.

But think about it carefully...

If I became a high school detective, I could skip classes at will like Shinichi Kudo without getting expelled, which seems pretty good.

"Uh... okay... Inspector Megure."

Inspector Megure nodded with satisfaction, then left with his subordinates and Sachiko Katsuragi, who was handcuffed.

The matter was resolved, and Shiraishihara planned to return home.

Hattori Heiji acted as if he was very familiar with Shiraishihara, and walked up to put his arm around Shiraishihara's shoulder.

Shiraishi reflexively pushed Hattori Heiji away: "Hattori Heiji, what do you want to do?"

"what?"

Hattori Heiji didn't understand why Shiraishihara was reacting so strongly.

"Shiraishihara, I just want to be friends with you. I love being friends with high school detectives like you who have top-notch reasoning skills."

"Just making friends?" Shiraishihara looked at Hattori Heiji warily.

"Haha. Of course, we might even develop into a rival-friend relationship."

Besides, you defeated both me and Shinichi Kudo with your deduction today. You're now considered my nemesis, Heiji Hattori. Don't run away like Shinichi Kudo did!

Heiji Hattori was talking to himself, just like Shinichi Kudo, leaving Shiraishihara looking helpless.

"I advise you to give up; you can't beat me."

Shiraishi Hara thought to himself that with his system as a cheat code and prior knowledge of the plot, Hattori Heiji had no chance of winning against him, and the so-called reasoning competition was completely meaningless.

"You bastard!" Seeing Shiraishihara's disdainful expression only fueled Hattori Heiji's competitive spirit.

"Shiraishihara, if you don't agree, I'll keep bothering you and won't leave."

Hattori Heiji was like a persistent leech, not only insisting on befriending Shiraishihara but also driving Shiraishihara to the point of exhaustion, until finally he had no choice but to agree.

No. .

049 Self-Cultivation

Chapter 49

"Shiraishi-kun, from now on we're best buddies." Hattori Heiji held up his phone and exchanged phone numbers with Shiraishi Hara.

the other side……

Shinichi Kudo, relentlessly pursued by Ran Mouri, ran back to his home—the Kudo House.

Yukiko Kudo, who was idly watching TV at home, was startled when she saw her son run back and, surprisingly, revert to his original appearance.

"Shin-chan, how did you turn back to normal? That's amazing!"

"Mom, you'd better figure out a way to keep this from Ran Mouri in a bit, I can't hold on much longer..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Shinichi Kudo appeared in front of Yukiko Kudo and transformed rapidly, as if by magic.

The sudden transformation from Shinichi Kudo back into Conan Edogawa gave Yukiko Kudo a real fright.

"This...this...Shin-chan, you've really opened my eyes to something new."

Yukiko Kudo was so surprised that her mouth opened wide, almost forming an "O" shape.

Conan Edogawa emerged from the ill-fitting clothes, his little bottom bare, dragging the ill-fitting clothes along, and hurriedly ran upstairs.

Just then, Xiaolan's voice came from outside the door.

"Shinichi, open the door! I know you're home, stop hiding!"

With a click, the door opened.

"Hey, Shinichi...wait, what's that? It's Aunt Kiko!"

"Oh, Xiaolan, it's been a long time. Your uncle and I recently returned to Tokyo from New York."

Yukiko remained remarkably calm, demonstrating the professionalism expected of an actress.

"Um... is Shinichi home?"

"Shinichi... he's been busy investigating cases lately and hasn't been home at all."

"But...I clearly saw it just now..."

"If you don't believe me, Xiaolan, you can come in and take a look."

Yukiko invited Ran directly into her home.

Ran looked around but didn't see Shinichi Kudo.

"Aunt Yukiko, did Shinichi really not come home?"

"Xiaolan, do you think your aunt would lie to you on purpose?"

"no……"

"It seems Ran doesn't quite trust Auntie. Well then, Auntie will help you look for Shinichi."

Yukiko tried her best to show closeness to Ran, after all, Ran was the daughter-in-law she had chosen, and she had a responsibility to help her son maintain his relationship with Ran.

"No, no... I didn't disbelieve you..." Xiaolan quickly declined.

"it does not matter."

Yukiko took Ran for a walk around her mansion, but instead of finding Shinichi Kudo, they found Conan Edogawa.

"Conan, what are you doing here?" Ran was extremely puzzled, wondering if something was amiss.

"Haha... I also came to play with Shinichi-nii, but Shinichi-nii isn't home..." Conan scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Yukiko chimed in, "Even though Shinichi isn't home, I've invited Conan over to play."

"..."

Ran was speechless. She simply couldn't believe that Shinichi and Conan were the same person; it was just too illogical.

"Since Shinichi isn't here, I'll be going now," Ran Mouri said to Yukiko Kudo.

"It's alright, you can stay a little longer..." Yukiko Kudo politely asked her to stay.

"Thank you, Auntie, but I'll head back now. I won't bother you any longer," Ran Mouri politely declined. She really didn't want to stay any longer, and Yukiko Kudo was clearly keeping it from her, which made her feel a little sad.

"Conan, aren't you coming back with me?" Ran Mouri turned to Conan and asked.

"Sister Xiaolan, you should go back first. I want to stay here a little longer."

"Okay, I'll head back now."

After saying that, Ran Mouri walked towards home.

Conan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while Yukiko Kudo was vaguely worried about the relationship between her son and her childhood friend.

"Conan, are you planning to keep this from Ran forever?"

"Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to keep it from her."

Since he has already deceived Ran, Conan has no choice but to go down this dark path.

"Okay. Then tell me, what exactly happened?"

Yukiko Kudo was filled with curiosity about her son's strange behavior. One moment he was turning back into Shinichi Kudo, and the next he was turning back into Conan Edogawa. It was simply unbelievable; even science fiction wouldn't dare to write something like that.

So Conan told Yukiko Kudo everything that had happened that day.

No. .

050 Worried about leaving me

Chapter 50

"So, after you drank the strong liquor 'Bai Gan,' you temporarily turned back into Shinichi Kudo?"

"I think that's how it should be..."

"This shows that you are not simply experiencing a rejuvenation."

If Shinichi Kudo simply experienced a reversion to childhood, then the scenario of him reverting back to his youth after drinking strong liquor doesn't make sense.

"So... if there's no antidote, I might have to stay a child forever," Conan said, his face full of worry.

"This is troublesome." Yukiko Kudo was also a little worried. She couldn't imagine what would happen to her son if he continued to look like a child.

"Sigh..." Conan sighed helplessly, feeling very lost about his future.

"Shin-chan, don't be so pessimistic. Since you can turn back into normal by drinking strong liquor, it means that the antidote must exist." Yukiko Kudo encouraged her son to cheer up.

"Hmm..." Conan nodded, but his brows remained furrowed. "Besides that, there's something else I'm worried about."

"Conan, what are you worried about?"

"I'm worried... that Xiaolan will leave me one day!"

"How could that be? I know Xiaolan very well, she will always wait for you!"

Conan originally thought so too, but then a transfer student named Shiraishihara suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making him feel a strong sense of crisis.

"Recently, a new student transferred to our class, and he and Xiaolan have become very close..."

"You mean...Shiraishihara?"