"Achoo—."
"You caught a cold?" Conan's voice carried a hint of surprise, as if the idea of Koji Shimizu getting sick was something unbelievable.
That made sense—after all, he had personally witnessed Koji Shimizu dodging bullets with the bearing of a battle-hardened warrior.
In response to Conan's question, Koji Shimizu shook his head. His nose just felt a little itchy.
After a short two-hour rest in the car, he felt somewhat better, but without a doubt, he still wanted to go home and sleep for a long time.
Nearby, the elementary schooler Ai Haibara stood quietly in the room, tiptoeing with her hands behind her back as if nothing had happened.
This was only natural. After all, she didn't need to investigate this murder case whose answer was already obvious, nor did she need to take responsibility for Koji Shimizu's "cold."
Long before Koji Shimizu regained consciousness, Haibara had already let go and gotten out of the car. Since Professor Agasa said nothing, no one else knew about it.
After entering the room, Koji Shimizu had a clear objective. He ignored the corpse on the floor and instead pretended to search through a cabinet. While doing so, he casually retrieved the disk he had hidden there in advance.
Conan originally wanted to remind him not to disturb the crime scene, but when he saw the disk Koji Shimizu handed over, he flexibly set aside his principles and kept quiet.
Then the police arrived—
"You're the ones who called the police?"
Conan nodded first.
Inspector Yokomizo took out a small notebook and wrote down everyone's names.
"Did you enter the crime scene?"
Conan nodded.
"Did you touch anything inside?"
Conan nodded instinctively, then hurriedly shook his head. Inspector Yokomizo raised his thick black eyebrows.
However, after taking a closer look at Conan, a flash of excitement crossed his eyes and he began looking around.
"Officer?"
"Oh, little boy—why isn't Mr. Mori here this time?"
"No, I came with Professor Agasa."
"Professor Agasa?"
Yokomizo glanced at the white-bearded Professor Agasa. At first he looked disappointed, then slightly hopeful.
His changing expression puzzled Koji Shimizu.
There was something strange about this officer.
"Professor Agasa, are you really a doctor? Then you must be very smart."
Professor Agasa's cheerful old face stiffened slightly. He coughed lightly.
"My name is Professor Agasa."
"Ahaha, I see. Still, you look like a very intelligent person. Have you discovered anything about this case?"
Yokomizo didn't seem bothered and scratched his head with a smile. If not for his identity as a detective, one might mistake him for a local officer conducting a neighborhood survey.
Fortunately, Mrs. Hirota was still immersed in grief. Otherwise, seeing the police behave like this would probably have made her even more distressed.
Koji Shimizu shook his head silently. The incident was actually already over, but Conan insisted on waiting for the police before continuing the investigation, and there was nothing he could do about that.
Haibara still had the disk in her pocket and was just as eager to go home.
Professor Agasa, being kind-hearted, naturally wanted to see the truth fully revealed.
Although there were four of them together, they were clearly divided into two camps.
But soon, Koji Shimizu and Haibara's attention was drawn back.
"Hello… This is Black Life Insurance. I'd like to tell you about our company's new insurance product. Could you spare a little time—"
At once, Koji Shimizu and Haibara turned toward the phone along with Conan, who had already been watching it closely. Their sudden movement startled Inspector Yokomizo, who was pressing the redial button.
"It's Vodka."
"He actually came here tonight as well."
Koji Shimizu hadn't expected that. These people really worked quickly.
They had even arrived before him?
It seemed his intuition hadn't just been triggered by the unexpected situation with Bai Cangyang.
Conan quietly walked over with a serious expression and looked at Koji Shimizu.
Koji Shimizu ignored him and turned directly to Haibara.
"Right here—try that disk."
At his words, Conan and Haibara were both briefly stunned before immediately understanding.
Even without saying it, everyone knew the disk might have been tampered with. Testing it here was indeed a foolproof plan.
Although the internet was not very developed in this era, computer viruses had already begun to appear. Conan and Haibara both realized this.
So Conan took Inspector Yokomizo along, and Yokomizo led the forensic team as they cheerfully investigated a case the police believed had no issues, but Conan believed had major problems.
Meanwhile, under Koji Shimizu's cover, Haibara sat at the computer in the room and began typing skillfully.
Before long, she stopped. Her expression turned serious, yet also helpless.
"I was still careless…"
"Hm?"
"They actually developed the Night Baron virus. It's probably only a prototype, but it's already enough. Before this, I had only heard the name."
Haibara spoke calmly while deleting the computer's usage history and ejecting the disk.
"This disk automatically activates the Night Baron virus if inserted into a computer outside the Organization. Now all the data inside has been completely erased."
After removing the disk, she casually placed it on the table. It was useless now, so there was no need to take it.
"I see."
Koji Shimizu yawned, unconcerned. He wasn't the one who had been turned into a child.
Hearing this, Haibara looked up. Watching him finish yawning, her eyes flickered. After hesitating, she turned away, covered her mouth with one small hand, and let out a small yawn as well.
Yawns really are contagious.
"Inspector Yokomizo, what are the test results?"
"Uh…" The inspector didn't understand why Conan insisted on questioning what already seemed obvious.
Still, he answered honestly:
"According to the preliminary forensic examination, Mr. Shirakura was indeed strangled and suffocated to death by Professor Hirota."
Conan fell into brief silence.
He walked back to the fallen bookshelf and the mechanism Shirakura had prepared.
An overturned chess piece propped up the books. A thick pool of blood stained the corner of the shelf. These strange clues made Conan instinctively resist the truth in front of him.
With his short legs, Conan ran back and forth around the room, trying to find new clues before the police finalized their conclusion.
"He's really busy," Koji Shimizu said, sipping hot tea.
"Young high school detectives are always eager to discover clues others can't see, just to prove themselves," Haibara said calmly as she stood beside him, also holding a cup.
Conan was neither blind nor deaf. Hearing their commentary as if they were watching a show, he turned around with a dark expression and clenched teeth.
"If you two aren't going to help, then stop making sarcastic remarks! Seriously!"
Koji Shimizu shook his head and walked out of the room.
Haibara remained where she stood. She looked at the busy Conan, then turned to Koji Shimizu, who had already sat down on the sofa outside with his eyes closed.
She slowly closed her eyes.
From the professor, she had learned that these two had once risked everything to save her sister.
After spending time with them, she believed the professor's words—though the final result had not changed.
After all… that was the Organization.
Haibara lowered her head slightly. For a moment, her small figure radiated deep loneliness and despair.
A glimmer of tears flashed at the corner of her eyes and vanished instantly.
No one noticed—
Except for someone quietly watching her.