Guns and Coffee in the World of Science

"Phantom Thief No. 1412?" Ran Maoli held Chen Shuo's arm amid the patter of rain, looking questioningly at the excited Suzuki Sonoko beside her. Today, Sonoko had dragged her and Chen Shuo to Shibuya for a stroll, and during their pleasant stroll, Sonoko had suddenly mentioned this inexplicable name to her.

"Yeah! Don't you know?" Suzuki Sonoko blinked, her voice rising several decibels with excitement like a child. "He's an internationally renowned jewel thief! The Beika Museum is holding a jewelry exhibition soon, and my dad just sent our heirloom—the black pearl called the Black Star—to the exhibition!"

"So... he's set his sights on your Black Pearl?" Mao Lilan asked, a hint of curiosity on her face. She thought to herself, this thief's target is really noble.

"Yeah! That's right!" Sonoko's face was filled with excitement, seemingly unfazed by the prospect of her family's heirloom being targeted by a jewel thief. "He's become quite popular among young women in recent years."

Suzuki Sonoko looked at Mao Li Ran expectantly, and said sincerely: "Ran, I hope that Uncle Mao Li can accept our family's commission and work with the police to protect our heirloom. Also, please, Uncle Mao Li must catch Phantom Thief No. 1412 before the police!"

"Why?" asked Mao Lilan curiously. She didn't know much about such complicated things.

Sonoko moved closer mysteriously, blinking her eyes, her eyes full of anticipation: "Because I want to see the true face of that thief with my own eyes, to see if he is a handsome guy!"

Mao Lilan was confused: "Handsome guy? You mean... the jewelry thief? Is he really a handsome guy?" Obviously, she was completely confused about this matter.

Suzuki Sonoko helplessly spread her hands and shrugged: "Ah, actually I don't know much about it. I only recently learned about this great thief, so I don't know much about him."

Seeing the two of them looking completely bewildered, Chen Shuo couldn't help but chuckle and explain, "Eighteen years ago, Phantom Thief No. 1412 first appeared in Paris, causing quite a stir. Since then, he's been active on stages around the world, stealing all sorts of top-tier jewelry and artwork."

He paused, then continued, "However, about ten years ago, he suddenly disappeared. Many people thought he had retired, or even died. But two years ago, he unexpectedly reappeared and has been choosing Japan as his main stage. This has made his legend popular again in Japan."

Sonoko's eyes lit up when she heard this: "Wow, he's really that powerful! So, he's a true super thief?!"

Chen Shuo nodded. "Yes, he has been given many nicknames, such as 'Lupin of the Heisei Era' and 'The Magician Under the Moon'. However, the most popular one is the one Kudo Yusaku gave him - Kaito Kid."

"Kaito Kidd..." Mao Lilan murmured again, feeling that the name seemed to carry a mysterious charm. "Is this person really that powerful?"

"Probably..." Chen Shuo was a little uncertain. "Based on his case style... he's really powerful. Neither the CIA nor the FBI can do anything to him. Although I've never met him, I have seen Lupin III, who is equally famous as him, so I imagine he must be no ordinary person."

"Lupin the Third?" Suzuki Sonoko's eyes lit up as she immediately became interested. "Wow! I've heard of him, too, Shuo. It's amazing that you've met him! Isn't he handsome?"

The last sentence was indeed what she was most concerned about. Chen Shuo rolled his eyes helplessly, thinking of Lupin's unsightly appearance, and shook his head: "When Monkey stands next to him, there is no difference except height."

"Ah~~~Is that so~~~" Sonoko lost interest instantly, her face full of disappointment, and turned her attention back to Kaito Kid. "So from what Brother Shuo said, Kaito Kid should be quite old, right? I heard that his crime routine is very gorgeous, like a large-scale magic show. Ah~~~~I'm so looking forward to it! Maybe he's a handsome middle-aged man!"

Mao Lilan couldn't help but frowned: "Sonoko! Aren't you worried about your family heirloom?"

Yuanzi waved her hand, seemingly unconcerned: "It's no problem, I have a lot of black pearls like this at home..."

Chen Shuo and Mao Lilan were instantly filled with black lines. Is this some kind of super-rich crit? Damn, how enviable!

"Oh, I'm just telling the truth!" Sonoko made a face at them and said with a grin, "Besides, since Uncle Maori is responsible for protecting the heirloom, nothing will go wrong!"

"I hope so..." Mao Lilan sighed softly, still feeling a little worried. However, seeing Sonoko's face full of anticipation, she didn't want to dampen her enthusiasm.

---

At night, the atmosphere in the "Jingxin" cafe was warm and relaxed. Maori Kogoro, Conan, Maori Ran, and Chen Shuo sat together, enjoying dinner. This place had completely become a gathering place for the Maori family, but Chen Shuo didn't care. After all, they were all family.

"Kaito Kidd?" Maori Kogoro frowned slightly as he took the letter of notice handed to him by Maori Ran, as if he was pondering something. Maori Ran smiled and explained, "It is said that it predicts when Kaito Kidd will appear, but it is written in a coded code that no one can decipher now."

Conan was eating with his head down and was not interested in this kind of thief, but when he heard the word "code", he immediately became excited and moved closer to Kogoro Mouri, with curiosity flashing in his eyes, "Let me see!" He couldn't help but reach out to find out what was going on.

Kogoro Mouri handed the notice letter to Conan and complained in his heart: "I can't understand it at all..." Conan lowered his head and looked at the letter carefully, running his fingers lightly across it, muttering to himself, trying to decipher the contents.

April fool

When the moon separates the two,

In the name of the Dark Star,

Come with the waves,

——Kaitou Kidd

"What an interesting code..." Conan's lips curled up slightly. Although he was extremely smart, he still couldn't crack it for a while. He couldn't help but become interested in this thief and asked Chen Shuo curiously: "Who is this thief?"

Chen Shuo explained to Conan about the deeds of Kaito Kid, and Conan felt even more excited. Mao Lilan looked at Conan thinking seriously and couldn't help but smile: "It seems that you are becoming more and more interested in Kaito Kid!"

"Of course! It's really challenging to catch a thief who can make the police helpless!" Although Conan said this, his expression was full of confidence. He was confident that he could catch this jewelry thief.

Chen Shuo sat nearby, leisurely eating his meal, and quietly interjected, "Come on! Solving these mysteries will require your ingenuity, or else Kaito Kidd will be pleased."

"No problem!" Conan was full of confidence, his eyes determined, "I will definitely be able to crack this code and catch him!"

---

On the afternoon of March 3st, the Metropolitan Police Department mobilized nearly all of Tokyo's police force to capture Kaito Kid, surrounding the Beika Museum. The atmosphere was tense, like an arrow on a bowstring. The Maori family and Chen Shuo were also invited to the scene, ready to participate in the capture operation.

"Ah~" Conan yawned, looking at the cracked code in his hand, his face full of helplessness. "I have no clue at all. I haven't slept well these past few days..." He complained inwardly, his brow furrowed, and he was obviously a little tired.

Not far away, Suzuki Sonoko and her father Suzuki Shiro walked up and greeted Maori Kogoro. Suzuki Shiro was a chubby and kind man, and he didn't look like the man who controlled the huge Suzuki Group.

"Mr. Mori, I've long heard of you!" Shiro Suzuki greeted Kogoro Mori with a smile on his face, appearing very polite and friendly.

At this moment, his eyes accidentally swept over Chen Shuo, who was standing next to Mao Lilan and looking at the scenery with her. He was immediately surprised and blurted out: "Ah? This is not Wu..."

"Hello, hello, Chairman Suzuki, nice to meet you. My name is Chen Shuo, please give me your guidance!" Hearing Suzuki Shiro's voice, Chen Shuo hurriedly turned around, took a few steps forward and quickly shook Suzuki Shiro's hand. With an unnatural smile on his face, he greeted him very quickly, completely lacking his usual calmness and composure.

"Ah...really? Hello, Mr. Chen Shuo." Suzuki Shiro was clearly a sharp man, reacting instantly and returning to a genial smile. He had been so surprised that he couldn't control himself for a moment, but now, seeing Chen Shuo's reaction, he immediately cooperated.

Shiro Suzuki looked at the "acquaintance" in front of him and thought to himself: I didn't expect that Wu Chen and Maori Kogoro have such a close relationship. It seems that Maori Kogoro's position in the eyes of the Suzuki family is also higher.

Suzuki Sonoko looked at the scene with a bewildered look on her face, totally confused as to what was going on. She turned around and asked Mao Lilan: "Xiaolan, what happened between Shuo and my dad? It feels so weird."

Mao Lilan forced a smile: "It's nothing, Sonoko, it's normal... It's normal..." What could she say? She knew nothing!

Conan, who was standing by, silently watched the interaction between Chen Shuo and Suzuki Shiro, with a hint of helplessness and understanding in his eyes: "It seems that this Suzuki boss is also a former client of Shuo... These two people are really good at acting."

Aside from the clueless Sonoko, everyone else exchanged knowing glances, as if they'd already known what was going on. Chen Shuo continued to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with Suzuki Shiro, while Maori Kogoro stood aside with a dry laugh, a strained smile plastered on his face. "These two are terrible actors..." he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly as he continued to watch the awkward interaction.

---

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Suzuki Shiro led the group to the treasure coveted by Kaito Kid: the world's largest black pearl, a Suzuki family heirloom, the "Dark Star." The black pearl lay quietly in the center of the display stand, surrounded by thick bulletproof glass. The exquisite and luxurious lighting shone upon it, making it appear particularly dazzling and captivating.

Mao Lilan, Sonoko and others came forward and looked at the black pearl that was sparkling with mysterious light with great interest. They had to admit that just looking at its appearance made it seem priceless.

"It's so beautiful." Mao Lilan couldn't help but sigh, "Kaito Kidd really picked out top-notch treasures."

"This is my family heirloom." Suzuki Sonoko showed off proudly, her eyes full of pride.

At that moment, a team of police officers hurried into the hall, catching everyone's attention. Leading them was Shintaro Chaki, a management officer from the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division's Second Investigation Section. He was urgently dispatching police, rapidly commanding, "Move them to the riverbank immediately! Kaito Kid will definitely invade from the riverbank; this is the easiest place to connect to the river!"

Chaki's analysis seemed logical, but Maori Kogoro disagreed. He laughed heartily, stroking his chin as he offered his "profound insights" into Kidd's invasion route. His interpretation was completely fanciful, even containing some unfounded speculation, but his delivery was precise and precise, evoking the air of a master detective.

"Oh! What Mr. Mori said makes a lot of sense!" After hearing this, Chaki Shintaro's eyes lit up, and he actually agreed with Mori Kogoro's interpretation without any doubt.

Shiro Suzuki also echoed: "He is worthy of being the famous detective Mouri Kogoro!" Obviously, the head of the consortium also chose to believe Mouri Kogoro's reasoning.

Chen Shuo listened silently nearby, unable to help but roll his eyes at Maori Kogoro's reasoning. "That's pure nonsense," he thought, feeling helpless. But he didn't intend to intervene. After all, the Kaito Kid incident wasn't part of his plan. He simply shrugged and continued admiring the jewelry on the display stand with Maori Ran.

At this moment, Suzuki Shiro looked at Chen Shuo's seemingly complete lack of interest and became curious. He walked over and asked softly, "Mr. Chen Shuo, are you really not planning on participating in the operation to capture Kidd? With your abilities, I think you'll definitely be able to help."

Chen Shuo smiled, looked at Suzuki Shiro meaningfully, and whispered, "If I take action, won't it mean that your Suzuki Group will lose an excellent advertising opportunity?"

Suzuki Shiro was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Chen Shuo meant. A mysterious smile appeared on his face and he nodded: "I see... Indeed, the more gorgeous the show is, the better it is for us."

Chen Shuo simply smiled and said nothing more. He knew that capturing Kaito Kid was certainly the police's responsibility, but for the Suzuki family, it was more of a publicity opportunity—a way to draw public attention. Taking action himself would only taint the spectacle with blood. Rather than that, it would be better to quietly observe the performance as it unfolded.