Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

He didn't mention Toru Amuro.

[…I just can’t stand it.]

The rabbit ears drooped down: [When I read comics and animations, I liked Ai the most. I didn’t like Conan that much, and even felt a little disgusted. I thought he was annoying running around, breaking into other people’s homes, and asking questions.]

[…But I don’t want to see him being bullied. This shouldn’t happen to anyone.]

There was silence in the car.

Aoyagi Binguang adjusted the rearview mirror in the car and his eyes fell on the white figure that flashed by.

When the car passed the corner, he placed his right thumb on the system ring on his index finger and gently turned the ring. A figure wearing the same clothes as him soon appeared outside.

This is a quick way to use skills without opening the system.

——And the rabbit, as a teammate, knew nothing about what was happening outside the car.

"There is nothing wrong with saving people."

Aoyagi Hiromitsu spoke again, "But sometimes, when you save people, you put yourself in danger."

It may even involve people around you.

Aoyagi Binkou was in a very calm mood at this moment. It was true that his ID was furious, but he had always been good at controlling his emotions.

If he got angry over such a small matter, he would have been angry to death more than ten years ago.

The rabbit didn't say anything, and Aoyagi Binguang didn't say anything more.

One is [lust], and the other is [jealousy].

They are all unlucky people who went to the wrong camp and were surrounded by people with bad intentions.

The black Mazda quickly left Beika Town.

----

Inside Kudo's house.

Kudo Shinichi noticed something was wrong when he opened the door.

There was someone else in the room, but the door lock was not pried open, there was no sign that things in the house had been rummaged through, and there was a faint fragrance wafting in... He put down his schoolbag in the living room and walked quietly to the kitchen.

"Mrs. Watanabe?"

The kitchen door was open, and Kudo Shinichi saw the busy nanny at a glance.

The middle-aged woman who was called by him shuddered all over and almost knocked over the frying pan on the stove.

"Be careful!!"

Kudo Shinichi didn't expect her to have such a big reaction, so he rushed forward and pulled her aside.

The pot fell to the ground with a clang, and the hot contents spilled all over the floor. Mrs. Watanabe was pulled away in time and was fine, but the splashed soup fell on Kudo Shinichi's school pants, soaking the fabric and sticking to his skin, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Yeah, sorry!"

Mrs. Watanabe came to her senses and quickly bent down to check on him, but Kudo Shinichi frowned and avoided her: "It's okay, I'll just apply some medicine later."

He looked at the scattered food on the ground with a little regret, then looked at the silent woman: "I didn't expect you to come back so soon. Is your child okay?"

It was indeed a bit shabby to eat at a convenience store every day, but he wouldn't let anyone abandon their children to cook for him.

"……never mind."

Mrs. Watanabe rubbed her hands on her apron as if wiping off something dirty, and answered while avoiding his gaze.

"It's all right now..."

The story is developing too slowly, now speed up the pace.

Chapter 46 Dreams and the Unlucky Protagonist

8:40 am, Minato Middle School.

Before the bell rang, the head teacher of Grade 2 Class A walked towards the classroom with textbooks and roll call book.

He pushed up his glasses, and the dark circles under his eyes could not be concealed. He recalled the scene of meeting the Hojo couple yesterday, and thought of Mr. Hojo's severely injured jaw, and sighed helplessly.

He couldn't bear to say too many harsh words to Mr. Hojo, but...

The homeroom teacher, who was full of thoughts, opened the classroom door and subconsciously looked towards Kudo Shinichi's position.

At this sight, he was stunned.

That position is empty.

The chair was not pulled out, and there was no school bag hanging next to it.

"Where's Kudo?" He immediately turned to a girl sitting at the door and asked anxiously, "Hasn't he come today yet?"

"No, I haven't seen him today."

The girl curled her hair that was hanging by her ears and turned to look at the back row.

"Not only Kudo, Hojo doesn't seem to be here either."

----

Everything went dark before Kudo Shinichi's eyes.

The cold and damp air enveloped him, and after struggling for a moment, he opened his eyes.

Then he found himself standing in a fire.

The raging fire set everything on fire, and the wooden furniture emitted an unpleasant musty smell as it burned mercilessly.

The flames were clearly shooting up into the sky, but they were not dazzling at all; the flames seemed to be about to hit my body in the next second, but there was no burning pain at all.

There was not even the suffocating feeling caused by the smoke that is common in fires. On the contrary, there was a bone-chilling feeling.

Kudo Shinichi didn't understand why he was here. He subconsciously turned around and looked behind him, and found a figure standing in front of a huge oil painting.

The oil painting turned into a colorful black under the high temperature. The man standing there was wearing a light-colored jacket, with slightly curly black hair draped over his shoulders, a touch of emerald flashing in his hair, and light brown eyes that looked like gray under the bright light.

Teacher Aoyagi?

Kudo Shinichi recognized the other person at a glance and was about to call out to him, but no sound came out of his mouth.

"I told you, Shinichi, don't feel sorry for me..."

He didn't say anything, but Aoyagi Binguang still turned around and looked at him, with no expression on his usually calm and gentle face.

Kudo Shinichi had an inexplicable feeling, as if this kind of teacher Aoyagi was the real one, but that sentence left him confused.

No sympathy?

What not to sympathize with?

"Remember, never sympathize—"

Kudo Shinichi still didn't hear the rest of the words.

——He woke up with a start.

……

Kudo Shinichi looked up at the strange and dilapidated ceiling above. Light was faintly shining through the gaps, and his back and legs were wet.

He was stunned for a second, then reacted instantly, sat up abruptly and looked around.

The scene before him left Kudo Shinichi completely stunned.

This was not his bedroom, nor was it Kudo's residence, but a place that was completely unfamiliar to him and one he had never been to before.

As he stood up, the cell phone that had been on his chest slid down and fell into the water below with a splash.

The room was leaking a lot, and Kudo Shinichi could see water flowing down from the gap above. The water level was about ankle-high, and if it was higher, he might have drowned.

He picked up the phone from the water. Although it was early September, the water was freezing cold. After he fished it out, he pressed the switch and the screen lit up again. The device was not broken.

After getting his phone back, Kudo Shinichi looked around the room again, his mind filled with questions. He felt weak and dizzy, not sure if it was because he didn't sleep well or for some other reason.

This is where?

How did he get here?

Kudo Shinichi shook his head, trying hard to recall what happened yesterday.

Yesterday, he was locked in a cold storage by Hojo. It was Aoyagi-sensei and Amuro-sensei who rescued him. It was Aoyagi-sensei who sent him home. Then...

Kudo Shinichi's eyes widened and suddenly realized.

He remembered it all.

Yesterday, his family's hired nanny, Mrs. Watanabe, came back. Because the food she had just cooked accidentally spilled, he asked her to make a new batch and went to take a shower first.

Just as he changed his clothes and came down to eat, he felt dizzy after taking only a few bites of food and soon lost consciousness.

"..."

After finding out the reason for his coma, Kudo Shinichi became even more confused.

Did Mrs. Watanabe put something in the food?

...Why did she do that?

Kudo Shinichi took a deep breath and tried to stand up. His weak hands and feet almost made him fall back, but fortunately there was a chair next to him, and he held on to it in time and finally stood up.

The chair was made of low-quality wood, the back of the chair was covered with black spots and gave off a faint musty smell.

No wonder he didn't feel hot even when being burned by fire in his dream, and he could smell something moldy. It turned out that he was in this kind of environment...

Kudo Shinichi muttered to himself and opened his phone again.

It is now 9:15, there is a cross on the signal bar, he tried to dial 110, but couldn't get through.

It was already time for the first class, and if he didn't go to school, the head teacher would find out immediately.

But there is absolutely no signal here... Is this some remote place?

Kudo Shinichi was skillfully recalling the remote area near Beika Town where it was convenient to destroy bodies. At this moment, he suddenly heard two thudding sounds coming from next door.