Transmigrated into Conan, his ability is Rhodes Island

Shiho Miyano's expression shifted, as if she were struggling with something internally. Ultimately, she had to rely on herself, unlike these unreliable adults. Finally, she bravely raised her head and stated her opinion: "I think it's inappropriate."

Just like when she occasionally gave lessons to the junior operators on the island, Akihara gave Shiho Miyano an encouraging look.

Ignoring Akihara's winking and gesturing, Shiho Miyano took a deep breath and continued, "First of all, tonight is the Mermaid Festival, and the Longevity Granny will announce the lottery winner's number at the festival. If she goes missing, it will attract more attention than for ordinary people. Secondly, there was a murder this morning, which is the time when the police are most on edge. Taking any rash action would cause unnecessary trouble."

As soon as Shiho Miyano finished speaking, Akihara clapped her hands. "That's really well said, as expected of Ai... cough cough cough, I meant Shiho."

Gin didn't interrupt, but gestured for Shiho Miyano to continue.

Shiho Miyano seemed to have gained some confidence, and her voice rose slightly as she spoke. "In my opinion, we should wait until after the festival. At that time, whether we visit the old woman to inquire about the truth of her longevity, or... draw her blood for further testing, it will definitely be much better than a high-profile kidnapping now."

"Great! I agree!" Akihara raised his hand to vote, ignoring Vodka's "who asked you?" look on his face. Akihara continued, "Then shall we meet tonight? We'll be sending out the Dugong's Arrow to this year's lucky winner at Mermaid Falls tonight, so let's meet there. I'm going to have some free time before then?"

After saying that, he casually handed the number plate that Shimabukuro Kimie had given him to Miyano Shiho. "Do me a favor. If I win the lottery but I can't get there in time, could you help me claim the prize?"

Shiho Miyano did not refuse. Before putting the number tag into her pocket, she glanced at Akihara's number tag, which read 42.

Vodka asked curiously, "What else are you going to do?"

Akihara smiled and replied, "Didn't I tell you on the way here? I'm here for vacation."

He looked at Gin and blinked what he thought were sincere eyes. "Well then, brother, I'll be going now?"

Gin lit a cigarette, not looking at him. "Suit yourself."

Akihara: Hmm?

He narrowed his eyes in confusion, leaving the room while glancing back every few steps, and asked in his mind, "System, come out quickly, do you think Gin has been possessed?"

The system was drinking tea at the time, so it didn't rush to reply to Qiuyuan. Instead, it slowly put down its teacup before speaking: "Good tea."

"Good tea, my foot! Answer my question!" Qiu Yuan walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. The three people inside were still sitting face to face as before he had pushed the door open. Except for Vodka, who glanced up at him, the other two were expressionless, either drinking water or smoking.

He slammed the door shut and walked down the stairs. Only then did the system's voice come through. "Don't worry, the main characters won't be possessed; it's guaranteed to be the original."

When he left the hotel, the landlady was still standing behind the poorly lit bar on the first floor, motionless. Akihara could feel her gaze fixed on him until he left the hotel and disappeared from her sight.

……

He arrived at the beach that Saori Kadowaki had mentioned, which is the estuary of the island's freshwater river. The river flows through the deep forest, rushes down the cliffs, and finally merges into the sea here through a channel that is only two or three meters wide.

Along the beaches on both sides of the river, groups of tourists strolled together. A child who had lost a front tooth grinned as he built a sandcastle with a small shovel and bucket. Adults in swimsuits and trunks either set up brightly colored beach umbrellas and enjoyed the leisurely afternoon on beach chairs, or surfed and swam in the sea, braving the rising and falling waves.

Akihara clicked his tongue, realizing he should have dressed more casually; his shirt and trousers still clashed with the atmosphere. He wandered around for a bit, but didn't see any large rocks in the vicinity, so he followed the coastline towards a less crowded area.

Without the noise of the crowd, the surroundings grew increasingly quiet as we walked, broken only by the sounds of waves crashing on the shore and seabirds calling. However, the seabirds' cries were sharper and more piercing than usual, instilling an indescribable irritation in those who heard them. They circled and danced in the sea breeze, while above them, the newly risen sun seemed dimmer than usual, and the gathering clouds churned and rolled, dark clouds looming overhead.

Akihara noticed an overturned boat on the beach not far ahead, its bright red hull standing out conspicuously. The waves were even larger than before, churning and raging on the shore as if enraged, crashing against the boat wave after wave until it finally burst into the sand, leaving behind a trail of fine white foam.

Akihara took two steps forward, wanting to get closer to the stranded ship to check the situation. However, before he could get close, he suddenly felt his heart beating faster and his breathing becoming rapid. Conversely, his body felt heavy, his vision became unfocused, and his thoughts became chaotic.

It was... neurodegeneration. Akihara made the judgment in time, biting his tongue hard. The sharp pain and the taste of blood brought him back to his senses. He quickly asked the system to bring out a few sanity-restoring candies, and he eagerly tore open the transparent packaging and put them in his mouth.

The pungent, spicy aroma spread through his mouth, and although the wound on his tongue hurt even more, it brought a moment of clarity to his mind. Qiu Yuan steadied himself and, taking advantage of the receding tide, quickly stepped forward.

A huge sandbag bulged on the beach next to the red-bottomed boat, with several soft tentacles sticking out of it.

This sea creature... its sand-lying technique isn't very good.

Akihara picked up a branch washed ashore and poked the pupa. The pupa flinched and quickly retracted its exposed tentacles.

Akihara was amused. Seeing the other person make such a humane gesture, he disregarded the nerve damage and intermittently scratched the other person with a branch.

"Hey, brother, wake up! Stop lying in the sand! I heard there's a mass hunt for you guys, is that true?"

The bag fell silent and then buried itself even deeper.

“I’m here to help you. I’ve already killed Yamamoto Kazuo, one of the people who hunted and sold you. I still have his body with me. If you don’t believe me, I can show you.”

The creature seemed to hesitate, but finally extended its tentacles, brushed aside the sand on its head, and carefully revealed a head resembling a sea anemone. Its tentacles opened and closed as if breathing, revealing a "stamen" in the center that looked like a shimmering blue gemstone. Akihara judged that it might be its light-sensitive organ.

It really can understand human speech... I was just trying it out, but I didn't expect it to actually be able to communicate. Akihara then felt the continuous mental damage disappear, and the seemingly still juvenile Hai Si finally pulled itself out of the beach.

Akihara discovered that the sea creature was covered in wounds, with one of its tentacles broken off and its wrists covered in fine cuts, as if someone had used a knife to cut flesh off its body piece by piece.

The sea creature somewhat clumsily manipulated its tentacles, slowly moving in front of Akihara, and then extended a relatively intact tentacle—slowly but firmly hooking onto Akihara's hand.