Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

"Yeah, we accidentally stayed out too late. The way down the mountain is too dangerous. What are you doing...?"

"Ah, I didn't bring tires specifically for mountain roads, and one of them got punctured by a stone." Amuro Tooru scratched his head sheepishly.

"Who are these two?"

"The one with a rather cold expression is my newly recruited assistant, Ai Haibara, and this is my older sister, Hikari Hoshihara."

"He's the chef at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants, and his cooking skills are top-notch!" Tohru introduced the group to each other, his gaze fixed on Shiho Miyano, but he noticed that she didn't seem scared at all.

Hmm? Could it be that Amuro Tooru, as a leader of the Red Team, doesn't have the "organization's aura"?

That's not right. In the original work, Ai Haibara was also afraid of Tooru Amuro.

Strange, it seems the organization radar really failed, is it because it didn't shrink?

Shiho Miyano gave a slight nod to Tooru Amuro as a greeting, and Maya Tachibana went up and shook hands with him.

"Hello, handsome!"

"Ah, Ms. Hoshihara, hello." Amuro Tooru smiled brightly. "Tono, how long has it been since you last visited that place? I haven't worked there for a long time."

"Is that so?" Tohru Tono really didn't know.

"Yes, I'm unemployed."

Even the highest-paid employee can lose their job? It's just a routine job change.

"I'm planning to work as a waiter at a coffee shop recently," Amuro Tooru said, revealing his career aspirations.

As a very busy man, Bourbon usually sleeps less than four hours a day, so he naturally wouldn't do anything meaningless.

I was passing by this temple because of an organization's mission, and I was working as a waiter at the coffee shop to investigate Kogoro Mouri.

Indeed, Amuro Tooru developed a strong interest in the suddenly famous detective Kogoro Mouri after investigating Tohno Tooru's information.

He was once an incompetent private detective and a former Metropolitan Police Department detective who retired due to controversy. However, after a primary school student whose background he had no idea about moved in, he suddenly seemed to have a breakthrough and solved a series of complicated cases. He even invented the gimmick of "The Sleeping Detective" that could be widely reported by the media, showing that he has a good business sense.

Such a clever character usually behaves like a completely decadent middle-aged man, gambling on horse races, drinking, and catching mistresses. He only becomes a famous detective during his "sleeping time" after encountering a case.

Was it acting that drove him to a mental breakdown? Or is there something else going on behind the scenes?

Amuro Tooru was very interested in this.

“That’s great! That means Beika Town will have another great coffee shop.” Tohno Toru agreed, and he probably guessed that the other person was going to the famous “Poirot Café”.

"Dear guests, dinner is ready!" A loud voice came from afar, probably from one of the abbot's young monks.

"Ah, I haven't eaten yet today, I'm starving. Shall we walk and talk?" Amuro Tooru said with a smile.

"it is good."

......

The monks in the temple were quite elaborate, but their vegetarian meals were incredibly bland.

It's all tofu, rice, seaweed rolls, perilla leaves, and the like, mainly offering plenty of carbohydrates.

The old monk's eldest disciple, Kuan Nian, was very talkative and even told them about daily life in the temple.

Unfortunately, only Tachibana Maya listened with great interest.

"Huh? I thought monks were all very serious and proper. I didn't expect them to have time to play." Tachibana Maya heard what Kuan Nian said, and it was not quite the monk she had imagined.

“Yes, sometimes during our holidays we go to the beach together.” Kuan Nian stopped eating the rice in his hand. “We also bring the temple’s kayak and beach balls.”

"Our abbot loves looking at girls in bikinis the most."

Japanese monks are amazing.

"Don't utter things you shouldn't say!" The abbot, his face half red from revealing his lewd nature, lectured Kuan Nian.

"Yes, yes." The other party clearly didn't take it to heart.

"By the way, what exactly does 'Mist Tengu' mean?" Amuro Tooru asked, clearly having been frightened by the old monk before.

"!"

Upon hearing this, Monk Tianyong didn't react, but his four disciples were startled.

"Where did you hear that from?" Kuan Nian asked loudly, as if it were a taboo subject.

"I'm sorry, I just let it slip." Tianyong's smell of alcohol had dissipated considerably by now. His hair and beard were completely white, and he sat there with his head bowed, looking quite like a virtuous monk.

"Master..."

"That's just a boring legend..." the old monk began in a storytelling tone. "Legend has it that the celestial dog would sneak into the village like mist on rainy nights, using its superhuman strength to break down the walls of houses and snatch people away. It would then use its legs to climb tall trees and hang the corpses there as provisions..."

The old monk's tone was terrifying, and his horrified expression was enough to frighten any child.

"You strongman, is he from England?" Toru Tono suddenly asked.

"?" Everyone else looked at him blankly.

"Uh, I mean, what a terrifying legend (reading in a flat tone)."

"Ah, it's just an old legend after all, no need to take it to heart."

“I think it’s more than just a legend. Something similar happened here two years ago…” The apprentice, Mu Nian, lowered his head and said in a deep voice.

“Ah, you can tell me the details of what happened. After all, Mr. Tono is a famous detective in Tokyo.” Amuro Tooru suddenly interjected.

"Detective?"

Upon hearing the detective's name, the four disciples immediately dropped their chopsticks and excitedly gathered around.

"So you're sure you can deduce that tricky case?"

"Listen to me, two years ago there was a young monk..."

"Shut up, all of you!" Despite having started the conversation himself, he flew into a rage just as his apprentice was about to recount the details. "Have you all forgotten the agreement not to bring up that incident again?"

"But, Abbot..."

"Listen up, dinner is over now. All of you, go back to your rooms and get ready for bed!"

"You should all get some rest too." The old monk vented his anger, which stemmed from his guilty conscience, then opened the wooden door and walked out of the room.

Amuro Tooru watched his departing figure, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Chapter 113 No More Crying

An unpleasant incident occurred at dinner, and because the vegetarian food was too bland, everyone returned to their rooms after only a few bites.

There's not much entertainment at night, especially in this deep mountain forest.

With nowhere to shower, Tachibana Maya laid out three blankets on the floor, wrapped herself in her clothes, and prepared to sleep.

"Oh my gosh!" After a day of playing, given her healthy lifestyle, it was time for her to go to bed.

"Ah," Tohno Toru responded to her tentatively.

Maya Tachibana pouted, turned off the light, wrapped herself in the blanket, and remained silent.

"..." Tohru Tohru, who was not sleepy at all, was speechless.

"Want to go outside for a walk?" With the lights off and no travel magazines to pass the time, he had no choice but to invite Shiho Miyano, who was also wide awake.

“Okay.” Shiho Miyano clearly didn’t intend to force herself to sleep either; night owls always share a certain camaraderie.

The two quietly opened the sliding wooden door and stepped out of the room.

The mountain temple was quiet at night, with only the sound of rushing water washing over the rocks.

The two followed the corridor to the top floor of the temple built against the mountain. There was an outdoor balcony-like design where they could feel the spray from the waterfall up close.

The scenery is beautiful; you can even see cherry blossoms blooming at the foot of the mountain.

Looking out from the railing, the cool mist feels like a face mask on your face, a refreshing feeling that you can't experience in the city.

Shiho Miyano braced herself against the railing with one hand, maintaining a posture that would prevent her from immediately losing her balance and falling off the cliff even if it broke now.

"Speaking of which, you seem to have never asked me about the progress of the drug research?" she suddenly asked curiously.

"I trust you." Tohno Toru wouldn't tell her that he could actually monitor her progress in real time and was very satisfied with her efficiency. "So, has there been a breakthrough?"

APTX-4869 is not important to him; the key is to study the system points he obtains.

Even if he succeeds in the research and gains the ability to live forever or even be resurrected, what use would it be to him now?

If Shinichi Kudo were to remain in Conan mode, he'd be tired of living and want to commit suicide.

Shiho Miyano reacted strongly to the word "trust," her delicate face showing a look of disdain: "Not yet. Although the information you gave me is very complete, allowing me to completely catch up with the progress in the organization... I am still all alone. The research on APTX-4869 has now entered a stage where inspiration is needed, and there won't be any breakthroughs so soon."

"Oh." Tohru Tono nodded casually.

"You...you don't actually care about these things, right?"

"Huh? How do you know?" Tohno was taken aback. Was his behavior that obvious?

“You don’t seem to have any curiosity about that medicine—you haven’t even asked me for a finished product yet.”

"Ah, I'm certainly not interested in the so-called immortality. But there are always people who are interested, and I plan to use this medicine to rule the world."

In the darkness, Shiho Miyano seemed to smile slightly. "I don't think you're the kind of person who would want to rule the world."

"Then you're wrong."

"Really......"

The spray from the waterfall wafted onto her face, making it wet and itchy, and giving her an urge to remove the mask from her face.

Why did you save your sister?

"Miyano Akemi? Didn't I say it was so that you could do my research without worry?"

"But even if you don't risk rescuing her from Gin, you can still use deception to get me to work for you."

"And since you handed her over to the FBI, she's no longer under your control. Aren't you afraid I'll sneak off to America in the middle of the night?"

"...You seem to think a lot. Is it because you have too much free time outside of work?"

“Answer my question.” Shiho Miyano’s upper body had turned away at some point, her azure eyes fixed on Toru Tono.

"Well, why are you suddenly asking so seriously..." Tohru Tohno couldn't explain why either.

Sympathy for the original character? A desire to prevent someone he knows from dying tragically in front of him?