Jiangxia Tongzhi took out the wine bottle and looked at Haibara Ai, who was holding a glass of milk. "I'm here on business. In your case, drinking Paikaru when you've caught a cold can briefly return you to your original body. Since you were the one in charge of developing APTX4869, I figured I'd use a similar principle to make an antidote."
Haibara Ai's pupils shrank slightly, and she froze.
She'd long known that Xiaobai wasn't some average innocent yinbi, but she hadn't expected him to know the code name of the drug. Wait a second—speaking of that...
Her expression changed, suddenly alert. "Are you an adult who was shrunk by APTX4869?"
But even as she asked, Haibara secretly ruled that out. She was the lead researcher for APTX4869, after all. She had records of everyone who'd taken it. She'd seen most of their corpses in person, and the rest she'd seen in photos. The only one who hadn't been confirmed dead was Shinichi Kudo.
In other words, if Xiaobai (aka Jiangxia) had been shrunk by the drug, he must've taken it a while ago. Which would mean he's actually... really old.
She looked at the serious-faced kid holding a wine bottle and remembered how he once threatened her with a piece of candy. She tried hard, but no matter how she squinted, she just couldn't associate Xiaobai with a grandpa or even an uncle.
Jiangxia didn't answer her question, but Haibara was starting to lean toward one conclusion—he was probably a real child.
Her tense body relaxed a little. After a pause, she changed tack. "How do you know this wine can make me grow bigger?"
Jiangxia was currently wearing a vest—figuratively speaking. He didn't need to explain anything he didn't want to. He replied coolly, "You don't need to know."
Haibara frowned at him. Her fingers twitched... The contrast between his cold tone and childish face made her want to pinch Xiaobai's cheeks. But then she caught a sudden glint in his eye and quickly pulled back her hand. Never mind. She was an adult. She wasn't about to bully a bear child.
Besides, maybe the Anonymous group had deliberately sent Xiaobai to approach her, thinking his appearance would lower her guard. If she scared him off, who knew who they'd send next? Possibly some sketchy cadre-type child trafficker.
Thinking this, Haibara put away her chaotic thoughts and took the wine from Jiangxia with a solemn nod. "Thank you."
Jiangxia was satisfied with her serious tone and added, "This must stay strictly confidential—even from the old grandpa who lives here. And if you make progress, the antidote cannot be given to anyone outside our group."
Haibara Ai nodded, slightly distracted. Xiaobai calls the doctor "Grandpa," so maybe he really isn't an uncle. And the drug itself isn't faulty... so this Xiaobai kid is likely just a tool person swapped in to act mysterious.
Jiangxia relaxed when he saw her nod.
The short-term antidote had been made primarily for Haibara.
As for Conan... as far as Jiangxia remembered, Conan's "temporary" APTX4869 antidotes were just borderline overdoses. If needed, he'd find some excuse and pop another one.
Now that Anonymous held the antidote, there was no risk of Conan going rogue and trying to kill him in some shady back alley. If a case ever required "Shinichi Kudo" to reappear, they could just give Conan the antidote then. No delays, and no interruptions to ghost-collecting.
With that, Jiangxia slipped back out through the window.
Once he was gone, Haibara leaned over and peeked out the window. No one in sight. No vehicles leaving the road either.
She inspected the bushes in the yard, just in case a kid was hiding in them. Nothing.
She shut the window and looked down at the heavy wine bottle in her arms.
Xiaobai had said the condition for temporary enlargement was "drink Paikaru when you have a cold." So oddly specific. It didn't sound like guesswork—it sounded like firsthand experience.
One person came to mind: Shinichi Kudo.
Haibara hadn't shown herself to Conan yet due to obvious concerns. But she'd been secretly observing him. She remembered that not long after Conan arrived, he'd caught a cold...
Could it be that Conan drank this Paikaru... and temporarily turned back into Shinichi Kudo?
Come to think of it, it was right around that time that Jiangxia messaged her, telling her to stay out of sight.
Maybe Conan really had gotten bigger, and the Organization realized Kudo Shinichi—who was supposed to be dead—was actually alive. They'd started investigating his surroundings, dragging her and Jiangxia into it.
...That guy really does stir up trouble.
But at least he accidentally gave her useful data.
Haibara Ai's impression of Conan: -1, -1, -1... +0.01.
Then she took the Paikaru and headed to the basement.
…
Jiangxia didn't give it another thought after delivering the wine. If they managed to make an antidote, great. If not, no skin off his back.
What had his attention now was a newspaper quiz.
It was a trivia contest about Sherlock Holmes. Those who got all the answers right would be entered into a lottery for the "Sherlock Holmes Tour" hosted by the publisher. And if you passed the organizer's tests during the tour, you could win a first edition copy of A Study in Scarlet.
Jiangxia didn't care much for Sherlock Holmes. Or books, really.
But according to his "prophecies," this tour wasn't going to be peaceful. Murderous energy and ghost potential? He was in.
He got a full Sherlock Holmes collection, read it cover to cover, and memorized it. The perks of being a psychic: photographic memory.
Then he filled in the answers, sealed the envelope, and mailed it.
According to the rules, even if you aced the quiz, you still had to be lucky to get selected. But when it came to luck, Jiangxia figured he was fine.
And if not, well, Conan—Holmes fanboy supreme—was bound to have applied too. He'd definitely be selected. And if Jiangxia needed to, he could always "borrow" Conan's ticket.
And if both of them failed... then the murder-y Sherlock Holmes trip must be the next one. Or the one after that.
…
Not long after, Jiangxia received his invitation to the Sherlock Holmes Tour.
He took the letter and headed to the Mori Detective Agency—if Death was taking a day off, he could bring a few tool people with him to improve the odds.
When he got there, only Kogoro Mori was home. Conan was at school. According to Kogoro, Conan would be going to the doctor's house after school to get his skateboard repaired.
So Jiangxia went to the doctor's.
The only one there was the empty-nester grandpa. Haibara Ai wasn't home.
Jiangxia asked about her casually. The doctor, full of grandpa energy, beamed like he was sending his granddaughter off to her first day of school. "Xiao Ai started going to school. For the longest time, she refused to leave the basement—didn't even want to step into the yard. But lately, she seems to have opened up!"
Haibara going to school for the first time... Jiangxia thought about that. If he remembered right, there was a counterfeit money case today. Haibara would be working with the Junior Detective League for the first time.
No ghosts to collect in that case... but there might be some good murderous vibes.
The doctor went back to his lab, and Jiangxia sent a message to check on Haibara's situation. No reply. Maybe she muted her phone.
He tried calling Inspector Megure. Busy line.
After a moment's hesitation, Jiangxia decided to just go check it out in person. He had nothing better to do.
He left the doctor's house and headed for the station.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 7/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:1/10*