Detective Conan: The System Takes Me to Zero's World

Mary Akai had crumpled the edge of the sealed bag. When she looked up, the embarrassment from before was gone from her eyes, replaced only by a lingering worry.

"At first I thought it was because my body hadn't adjusted to shrinking, but when I coughed so much that I couldn't even get out of bed, I vaguely realized something was wrong. This cough wasn't like a common cold; it felt like something was tangling up my internal organs, and the more I coughed, the heavier it felt."

Kudo Yuki gently curled her hands on her knees, her mind flashing quickly through the APTX4869 experimental records that Haibara Ai had mentioned earlier—all the records only mentioned cell contraction and metabolic disorders, and there had never been a case of "persistent cough".

The stagnation in the air, like the deepening twilight outside the window, pressed down little by little.

"Persistent cough?" Kudo Yuki deliberately slowed down her speech, trying to dig out more details from her memory. "When Shiho was organizing the experimental records, she specifically marked the typical side effects of APTX4869. Apart from shrinking the body, at most it was a temporary organ stress response. She had never experienced this kind of persistent damage."

Mary Akai raised her hand to her chest, as if she felt that persistent stuffiness again: "I tried to measure my metabolism with the backup testing equipment, and the data was no different from that of a normal shrunken person, but this cough is becoming more and more frequent."

Kudo Yuki frowned even more: "Aunt Mary, please don't cough so much. Shiho reviewed the APTX4869 experiment with me before. She said that when she was organizing the experiment, she knew all the experimental data by heart. If this drug had a mutation that caused persistent coughing, she couldn't possibly be completely unaware of it. I'm sure of that."

She paused, her gaze falling on Akai Mary's pale face, as if she had suddenly grasped the key to breaking the deadlock. Her speech quickened slightly: "Do you remember? You told me that Vermouth provoked you by asking, 'What does it feel like to be poisoned to death by your own sister?' which is how you came into contact with that drug."

"But the medicine Conan and Ai took was a batch that Shiho accidentally discovered would shrink when she was developing it, a batch that she hadn't had time to report to the organization. It was the original medicine that she made herself. Obviously, the medicine you took is different from theirs, from its source to its possible ingredients!"

Mary Akai lowered her eyes to the crumpled piece of plastic, a tickling sensation rising in her throat, which she forcefully suppressed, leaving only a shallow, hoarse breath: "Different origins..."

She repeated those words, the hidden worry in her eyes spreading even deeper like ink soaked in water. "Since Vermouth deliberately used that sentence to provoke me, I'm afraid that from the very beginning, what she gave me was not the original medicine that Zhi had kept hidden away."

Kudo Yuki leaned forward: "That's right. Shiho said that the 'shrinkage' of the original drug was an accident. What the organization really wanted was a lethal effect. Later, when she escaped, she destroyed most of the data."

“It’s already difficult for an organization to replicate the original drug, let alone intentionally retain the ‘shrinking’ property and add extra side effects. Unless this new drug was designed from the very beginning to cause ‘shrinking and damage’.”

“Damage…” Mary Akai raised her hand and pressed it against her left chest. That dull feeling rose up again, even more clearly than before, as if tiny hooks were gently tugging at her internal organs.

“No wonder my metabolism test showed no abnormalities. It’s not targeting the surface metabolism, it’s damaging something deeper.” She looked up at Kudo Yuki, her gaze turning cold. “Does the organization want me to shrink into a child and then slowly be worn down by this cough? To both deceive others and eliminate me without leaving a trace?”

Kudo Yuki didn't reply immediately, her mind racing through every word Haibara Ai had said about APTX4869.

He pondered to himself: [The organization has an extremely strong desire to control the drugs; any mutation will be recorded. However, Aunt Mary's symptoms are not recorded at all. This can only mean that this is a "new version" deliberately developed by the organization.]

“Aunt Mary,” Kudo Yuki’s tone was even more somber than before, “think again, when Vermouth gave you the medicine, did she mention anything special? For example, the source of the medicine, or… did she say who the medicine was for?”

Mary Akai closed her eyes; her memories were like turbulent water, both blurry and clear.

She remembered the faint smile on Vermouth's lips, the mockery in her eyes when she said "poison for her own sister," and the chill of her fingertips brushing against the back of her hand as she handed her the medicine—at that moment, she only felt anger and didn't notice any other details.

“She didn’t say it directly,” she opened her eyes, her tone uncertain, “but when she mentioned ‘my younger sister,’ her eyes looked a little strange, not like it was just a simple provocation.”

Mary Akai felt a tickle in her throat again, and this time she couldn't help but cough twice, her voice becoming even hoarseer. "Now that I think about it, it seems like she deliberately made me notice the 'little sister' thing... Could this medicine be related to Shiho?"

Kudo Yuki's heart sank: [If this drug is really related to Ai, then the organization's purpose... is not only to deal with Aunt Mary, but perhaps they also want to use this drug to pull Ai back into the vortex.]

"The most important thing now is to find the ingredients of this drug. Xiao Ai still remembers some of the original drug samples. Perhaps we can compare the samples with your symptoms and find out some of the ingredients of this new drug."

Mary Akai tightened her grip, looking at Yuki Kudo with a cold yet urgent expression in her eyes: "Sample? Shiho still has a sample of the original drug?"

“It’s something she secretly memorized when she escaped the organization,” Kudo Yuki nodded. “It should be enough to compare symptoms and reverse-engineer the differences in the ingredients of new drugs.”

Mary Akai suddenly turned her head away, covered her mouth, and coughed violently. This cough was more severe than before; her shoulders were trembling, and each breath was a thin, hoarse sound.

“Aunt Mary!” Kudo Yuki immediately stood up and tried to help her, but Akai Mary raised her hand to stop her.

“It’s nothing.” Akai Mary’s voice was low and hoarse, but she deliberately straightened her back, the stubbornness in her eyes overpowering her discomfort. “Don’t make a fuss. Now is not the time to distract Shiho. You contact her first and say… say that I have a new reaction to APTX4869 and need samples for comparison.”

Kudo Yuki felt a tightness in her chest, but she also knew Akai Mary's temper.

The more critical the situation, the less she wanted to burden others. She clenched her fist and nodded in agreement: "I'll go find Xiao Ai tonight. The doctor's family has a simple component analysis instrument. We'll do a preliminary comparison first, and I'll let you know the results as soon as possible."

Mary Akai finally breathed a sigh of relief: "If this drug is really related to Shiho, the organization is trying to use my symptoms to force her to show herself. Tell Shiho that no matter what the results are, she shouldn't act alone, but wait for me..."

Before she could finish speaking, a tickling sensation rose in her throat, but this time she forced it back, leaving only a muffled cough.

Looking at her pale face, Kudo Yuki suddenly remembered what Conan had said before: "The Akai family always puts more importance on responsibility than on their own safety."

"I understand." Kudo Yuki softened her tone. "You should rest well and don't push yourself any further. I'll have Ai keep an eye out, and we'll contact each other immediately if there's any movement."

The mouse, however, bought a blood-drawing syringe from the system store.

Kudo Yuki then heard the system notification: "Ding, congratulations Yuki for spending 3,300 points to exchange for a blood storage device. This item has an indefinite shelf life."

Immediately following this was a system voice announcement: "Congratulations, Xiaoxue, for triggering the hidden quest. The reward has been upgraded to 89%. Keep up the good work!"

The sudden notification sound made Kudo Yuki pause slightly. She subconsciously glanced in Akai Mary's direction and saw that the other was still catching her breath after coughing. She then used the action of adjusting her cuffs to suppress the surprise in her eyes.

Kudo Yuki used telepathy to complain: "Mouse, you bought props without permission again, and you spent so much money."

Holding the syringe-like blood storage device in its chubby little paws, the mouse pouted pitifully, "I saw that Akai Mary was coughing badly. The ingredients of the new drug might be hidden in the blood. Ordinary storage devices can't store it at all. This is a professional model that can preserve it indefinitely!"

It then added, somewhat boastfully, "Moreover, triggering hidden missions is much more worthwhile. After the backend upgrade, checking the organization's information might be twice as fast in the future!"

Kudo Yuki couldn't help but roll her eyes inwardly as she listened to the mouse's self-righteous defense: "You can't just buy a professional-grade product without asking. If you do this again, I'll deduct your snack allowance."

Upon hearing "deduct snack allowance," the hamster almost slipped the syringe-like blood storage device from its hand with its chubby little paws, shaking its head pitifully.

"No, Xiaoxue! I'll definitely tell you first next time! Look how useful this storage device is, I bought two."

Kudo Yuki stopped arguing with the mouse and reached out to take the syringe-type blood storage device: "Aunt Mary, I need to draw your blood now so that Ai can do a comparison. 25 milliliters will be enough."

Without hesitation, Mary Akai rolled up the cuff of her left sleeve, revealing her well-defined forearm. Even with her body shrunk, the faint outline of muscles was still visible beneath her skin, a testament to her constant vigilance.

She gently pressed her fingertips against the vein in her elbow crease. "Just draw it directly. I have a pretty good pain tolerance."

Kudo Yuki tightened her grip on the storage device slightly, avoiding the bluish veins in Akai Mary's elbow, and chose a thinner needle. She pierced the skin with the needle tip, and sure enough, the other party didn't even flinch.

Dark red blood slowly rose along the tube wall, accumulating into a small clump in the transparent reservoir, like solidified night.

"Alright." Kudo Yuki quickly pulled out the needle, pressed the needle hole with a cotton swab she had prepared in advance, but her gaze fell on the storage device.

The blood seemed to contain extremely fine, almost transparent flocculent matter, which was almost invisible unless you looked closely.

Kudo Yuki stuffed the storage device into her canvas bag and zipped it up.

Mary Akai lowered her sleeve, her fingertips still pressing the cotton swab in her elbow, but her gaze was fixed on Yuki Kudo's bag: "That fluffy stuff... you saw it too?"

“Hmm.” Kudo Yuki responded softly, “Ordinary blood wouldn’t have this kind of stuff; it’s most likely a residue from the new drug. Ai’s equipment may be simple, but it might be able to analyze some clues.”

The mouse muttered smugly, "I told you to buy the professional model! If it were a regular storage container, this fibrous stuff would have dissolved long ago!"

Kudo Yuki ignored its boasting and simply helped Akai Mary change the cotton swab: "Press it for ten minutes first, don't rub it, to avoid bruising."

Mary Akai hummed in agreement.

Kudo Yuki looked up and saw Sera Masumi walking back from the corridor, so she changed the subject lightly, "This powder has no side effects, so you can use it without worry. I'll bring some fresh pears in a couple of days, and we can make pear soup to soothe our throats."

As soon as Sera Masumi approached, she heard the words "pear soup" and smiled as she came closer: "Sister Yuki, would you like some pear soup? I can make it too! I learned how from the hotel kitchen staff last time, I'll make it next time!"

Seeing her daughter's joyful expression, Mary Akai's seriousness quietly faded. She picked up a piece of Sichuan fritillary and tangerine peel pastry and handed it to her: "Try this first. It's a snack that Miss Kudo brought. It's lighter than the sweets you bought last time."

The mouse started muttering again: "Pear soup! I want some too!"

Looking into Sera Makoto's bright, sparkling eyes, Kudo Yuki smiled slightly and said, "That's perfect. Next time, we'll divide the work. You'll be in charge of stewing the pears, and I'll bring the fritillaria and rock sugar. Aunt Mary just needs to wait to drink it."

Mary Akai lifted the corner of the pillow, gently hooked it along the soft pillowcase, and pulled out a neatly folded off-white envelope. She ran her fingertips over the creases left by repeated folding before handing the letter to Yuki Kudo: "This is a letter for Shiho."

The envelope had no stamp, but a light brown cross-shaped sealing wax stamp was pressed onto the seal.

That was a mark she and Elena Miyano had made when they were children. There was a tiny, almost transparent fiber stuck to the edge of the sealing wax, as if it had been pulled off some kind of fabric.

"This sealing wax seal..." Kudo Yuki took the letter, her words carrying a hint of confirmation.

“Elena taught me how to use sealing wax.” Mary Akai’s voice was softer than before, and the hoarseness from her cough had lessened. “She always liked to mix something into the melted wax, not the perfume sold in florists, but the lavender she grew in her yard in the English countryside.”

"You have to wait until the flowers are completely dry, then crush them and sift out the coarse stems, leaving only the finest powder to mix into the wax. So when this sealing wax is fired, you can smell a slightly bitter fragrance if you smell it carefully, not the sweet and cloying smell of the market. Ordinary people can't imitate it. Shiho saw it several times with Elena when she was a child, so she would definitely recognize it."

Kudo Yuki leaned closer to the sealing wax seal and sniffed it. Sure enough, she smelled a very faint scent of grass and wood, mixed with the aroma of wax, as clean as a meadow after the rain.

She tucked the envelope into a hidden pocket inside her canvas bag, the warmth of the sealing wax still lingering on her fingertips: "I will personally deliver this letter to Ai; I won't let anyone else touch it."

As Akai Mary watched Kudo Yuki carefully put the letter away, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly: "When Elena left home, she only said she was going to do research that would 'protect everyone.' Only now do I realize what kind of cage she's entered."

The regret hidden in her words, like ink spots on paper, spread out in a shallow, lingering hue.

Sera Masumi was chewing on a Sichuan fritillary and tangerine peel pastry, but her ears were secretly perked up. Only when her mother's tone softened did she dare to whisper, "Mom, Xue-jie and Shiho-jie will definitely find clues. Then we will be able to figure out about this medicine."

A faint glimmer of light finally appeared in Mary Akai's eyes, which had been shrouded in an unyielding melancholy, but she did not respond.

To be continued...