Guns and Coffee in the World of Science

In front of the bar in a corner of the banquet hall, Kogoro Mouri was sitting alone, looking relaxed, holding a large glass of golden beer in his hand.

"Ton, ton, ton... Yeah! It feels so good! Big sister, give me another one!" He tilted his neck back, drank the wine in one gulp, let out a hearty sigh, put the empty glass heavily on the bar, his face full of drunken satisfaction.

The waiter smiled and filled his glass again. Maori Kogoro took a sip from the glass without waiting for the foam to completely dissipate, then leaned back in his chair comfortably.

He seemed completely unconcerned about the embarrassment that had just occurred in the exhibition room.

What's the big deal about being humiliated by Suzuki Jirogi's complicated mechanism?

Anyway, he is alive and can drink beer, that's the most important thing.

Not far from him, at another table, Nakamori Ginzo was sitting there with a frown on his face, his eyes fixed on the entrance to the exhibition room not far away.

There were a few small cakes on the plate next to him, and he ate them quickly.

His heart was no longer here, but on the safety of this airship. He had a hunch that Kaito Kidd must be watching somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

The three members of the Junior Detective Team were bent over a huge table, unfolding a detailed and complex airship design.

The three of them were whispering around the blueprint, discussing their "action plan" in low voices. The occasional laughter added a touch of childish energy to the originally elegant airship party.

Soon, the three of them folded the design and hid it in their schoolbags, then picked up the cake from the table and ate it hastily in a few bites.

Yuan Tai wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said to the other two with a serious face: "Okay, it's almost time to go back to the room and play cards!"

"Yes! Playing cards!" Ayumi tried hard to make her smile look more natural.

"Yeah! Playing cards is very important!" Mitsuhiko coughed lightly, his tone sounding unnaturally serious.

However, their acting skills were clearly not good enough. Everyone could see that these three little guys definitely had no intention of doing anything normal.

But Suzuki Jirokichi showed no intention of stopping him. Seeing that the master hadn't said anything, the others naturally didn't interfere.

The three little ones prepared to "retreat" contentedly, with Yuantai taking the lead.

Just then, a waitress came towards them with a tray. She seemed to have a cold and suddenly sneezed loudly.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to cover her sneeze, and the unsuspecting Yuan Tai was hit by her sneeze, and her saliva sprayed mercilessly on his face.

"Ahhh! What?" Yuantai was stunned for a second, then rubbed his face hard, his expression becoming extremely terrified.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" The waitress's face flushed instantly. She quickly put down the tray and kept bowing to apologize.

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko immediately surrounded them, and the three of them instantly became serious, as if they had taken over a "major case".

Putting his hands on his hips, he said seriously, "You have to cover your sneeze with your hands! Otherwise you'll infect others!"

Mitsuhiko nodded, looking like an expert. "This is basic courtesy! And hygiene!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Yuan Tai nodded in agreement, continuing to wipe his face. "If I weren't so strong, I would have caught a cold from you!"

The scene seemed a bit funny, especially the three children who looked so serious, and the waitress was so embarrassed that her face turned red, and she could only keep bowing and apologizing.

---

A sudden ring of a cell phone broke the moment of silence.

Suzuki Jirokichi looked down at his phone screen, frowning slightly.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number. He muttered to himself, "Who is this?" before answering the call and putting the phone to his ear.

A deep, indistinct voice came from the other end of the line, with a disturbing chill: "I have spread the killer bacteria in the smoking room of the airship."

"what?"

Suzuki Jirokichi's eyes suddenly widened, his voice instantly rising as he roared.

Some guests in the hall were attracted by his sudden reaction and cast puzzled glances at him.

"Are you kidding?" Suzuki Jirokichi asked angrily in a low voice, trying to suppress his emotions.

But the voice on the other end of the phone remained calm, even seeming a little nonchalant.

"Go look under the sofa on the left."

The person on the other end of the phone said something incomprehensible and then hung up decisively.

"Wait! Don't hang up..."

Suzuki Jirokichi called out quickly, but there was only a monotonous busy tone on the phone.

He put down his phone and stared at the number that had just disappeared from the screen, his eyes becoming more serious than ever.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his mood, and when he raised his head, he had regained his usual confidence and composure.

"What's wrong, uncle?" Yuanzi turned her head and looked, obviously attracted by his loud roar just now.

Suzuki Jirokichi smiled slightly and waved his hand: "Nothing, just a prank call."

Suzuki Jirokichi turned his head calmly and looked at Nakamori Ginzo who was sitting next to him.

No words were exchanged between the two, but the look was enough for the experienced police officer to understand - something was wrong!

"I'll go see if there's any problem with that mechanism."

Suzuki Jirokichi made up an excuse casually and said it in a somewhat casual tone, but he quickly walked out. Nakamori Ginzo immediately followed with a group of police officers.

As the owner and oldest person of the airship, he didn't want to bring panic to the children. But he forgot one thing: except for the three children, the others on the airship were not ordinary people.

---

"Inspector! I found the culture bottle!"

In the smoking room, a police officer wearing a gas mask half-knelt beside the sofa, pointing at a small glass culture bottle hidden under the sofa, with a hint of fear in his voice.

However, just as he stretched out his hand to grab it, he heard the angry roar of Officer Nakamori behind him.

"Stop it, idiot! What if you get infected?!"

Nakamori strode forward and blocked his movement with his hand, his expression even darker than the shadow beside the culture bottle.

He pointed at the culture bottle and ordered in a low voice, "Take a picture and send it back to the police station. Let them analyze and compare it to see if this thing is real or a prank!"

"Hi!"

The police officer immediately withdrew his hand, carefully took out his mobile phone, zoomed in to take a picture of the culture bottle, and then quickly sent it back to the police station.

Less than five minutes later, Officer Megure's deep voice came over the police intercom: "That's right, Officer Nakamori. I just compared it and it's exactly the same as the culture bottle we found near the research institute."

Nakamori's expression instantly grew more serious: "Completely consistent?"

He gripped the intercom tightly, his voice low and rapid, "This isn't a prank, is it? Are you sure?"

Megure was silent for a second before continuing, "Officer Nakamori, this culture bottle has never been made public by our police force, so the outside world cannot possibly know its appearance details. Therefore, the possibility of it being copied for mischief is almost zero."

Hearing this, Nakamori clenched his fists even tighter. He gritted his teeth, his tone filled with resignation: "So... did that guy on the phone really spread the killer bacteria in the smoking room?"

"Yes."

Megure's voice revealed an unconcealable worry.

"And I suspect they deliberately left the empty culture bottles in the parking lot just to get us police to confirm that their threats were real."

Nakamori cursed under his breath, then took a deep breath. "Officer Megure, I'll take action now. You must report this to your superiors as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, I will report it immediately." Megure's voice was firm and low, and then he hung up the phone.

Nakamori put down the intercom, looked up at the empty culture bottle under the sofa, and his eyes revealed an unconcealable anger.

He slammed his fist on the table beside him and said in a deep voice: "Damn it! That man...what he said seemed to be true..."

His voice was not loud, but it was enough to make several police officers in the smoking room feel a heavy pressure.

The air seemed to freeze, and everyone's breathing became cautious.

At the same time, Suzuki Jirokichi walked in quickly, his face still maintaining his usual calmness, but his clenched fists and slightly white knuckles clearly revealed his inner turmoil.

He stood beside Nakamori, his eyes falling on the culture bottle, and his expression became extremely complicated.

"Damn it..." He gritted his teeth, "If this happens, we won't be able to catch Kidd again!"

"Old man, it's not a question of catching Kidd now."

Chen Shuo appeared at the door of the smoking room at some point, his tone revealing a hint of solemnity.

"The most important thing right now is to control the situation and prevent the crisis from escalating."

Suzuki Jirokichi didn't respond immediately, but took a deep breath, his expression becoming even more serious. He knew Chen Shuo was right, but it was still hard for him to accept giving up on capturing Kidd.

"Ah~"

Nakamori sighed, pinched his forehead, and tried to calm himself down.

He looked up at the police officers and quickly gave orders: "You guys, seal off the smoking room immediately! Also, just in case, seal off this bar next to the smoking room as well! Don't let anyone get close to this place!"

"Hi!"

Nakamori turned to look at Suzuki Jirokichi and said in a low but firm voice, "Mr. Suzuki, I hope you can help us calm the guests in the banquet hall. No matter what, we can't let this incident cause panic."

Suzuki Jirokichi nodded and forced a smile. "Don't worry, Officer Nakamori. I'll make sure everyone feels like everything is under control."

Having said that, he knew in his heart that the situation this time was far beyond his control.

The light from the smoking room shone on the culture bottle, casting a faint glow, as if silently mocking everyone present.

Danger is lurking in every corner of the airship, and time seems to be passing by mercilessly.