"I want to see the BOSS! I still have important information to report. Actually, Sherry…"
Pisco pointed at Haibara Ai on the ground, wanting to reveal the news of Sherry's de-aging.
But before he could finish—
Bang—!
Jane Doe pulled the trigger, the muzzle flash appearing and disappearing instantly. "In your next life, be a good person."
Pisco was shot in the chest and fell straight backward, his eyes wide open in death.
Haibara Ai, who was feigning unconsciousness, heard the gunshot and trembled, instinctively opening her eyes.
Her body instinctively wanted to curl up in fear, but her will to survive held her down, keeping her in an unconscious posture.
At this moment, Haibara Ai's back was facing Jane Doe, her small heart pounding like a drum.
She didn't dare to look back, only staring intently at the ground.
Under the dim yellow light of the cellar, she saw Jane Doe's shadow reflected on the ground.
Her pupils suddenly dilated.
That shadow was very wrong!
On the shadow of Jane Doe's elegant stance, she clearly saw the outline of her ears, which resembled a mouse's ears.
Not only that, behind her, a long, slender tail was wagging back and forth!
Haibara Ai's mind went blank, she was stunned.
She even wondered if she was too scared and hallucinating, or if the sedative hadn't worn off yet?
How could a Black Organization code-named member have animal features in her shadow?! It was too illogical.
Whoosh—
The sound of clothes rustling came from behind her.
Haibara Ai held her breath, not daring to even twitch an eyelash.
She could feel that Jane Doe had just turned around and was looking at her.
What should she do? Was she going to finish her off?
No, I haven't seen my sister again yet… Haibara Ai's mind was in a mess, hesitating between continuing to feign unconsciousness and getting up to run away.
But the anticipated finishing shot never came.
The crisp click-clack of high heels sounded again, unhurried, gradually fading away at the wine cellar entrance.
Only when the footsteps had completely receded did Haibara Ai finally breathe a sigh of relief, scrambling to her feet.
Ignoring the dust and bloodstains, she stumbled towards the entrance, with only one thought in her mind. to escape… Outside the Beika Hotel, on the street, Dr. Agasa's iconic yellow Beetle car was parked quietly.
The car door was yanked open, and Haibara Ai, her face pale, tumbled in, falling heavily onto the back seat, gasping for breath.
"Haibara!" Conan, who had been anxiously waiting after discovering Haibara Ai's disappearance, immediately leaned over, "Are you okay? You have blood on you, are you hurt?"
Haibara Ai didn't immediately answer Conan's question, urgently shouting to Dr. Agasa. "Doctor, drive quickly! Get out of here!"
Dr. Agasa immediately started the car, and the Beetle slowly merged into traffic.
After they were far away from the Beika Hotel.
Haibara Ai leaned back in her seat, and after calming her breathing, she recounted her thrilling experience to Conan.
"So Pisco drugged you and locked you in the hotel's basement wine cellar…"
Conan felt a lingering fear, saying with some trepidation.
"Luckily, Muscat shot him before Pisco could reveal your identity, otherwise we would have been in big trouble."
"Also, I've never heard you mention this code name, Muscat, before?" Conan pressed.
Haibara Ai shot Conan a glance. "The last time I exchanged information with you, I already told you all the code-named members I knew.
This Muscat might be a new member who joined after I left the Organization."
Conan nodded, then asked. "That Muscat… did you see what she looked like? Any distinguishing features?"
Haibara Ai shook her head. "No, I was facing away from her, pretending to be unconscious, I didn't dare to look back."
At this point, a puzzled expression appeared on her small face, "But, I saw her shadow."
"Shadow?" Conan was startled.
"Mm."
Haibara Ai nodded, organizing her thoughts as she spoke.
"Muscat's shadow… was strange. Her ears didn't look like normal human ears.
Instead, they looked a bit like the ears of a rodent, like a mouse. And, there was also a shadow of a tail behind Muscat, it was moving, wagging back and forth."
"What?!" Conan and Dr. Agasa exclaimed simultaneously.
"Ai-kun, did you see wrong?" Dr. Agasa couldn't help but look at her through the rearview mirror, "What you're describing sounds a bit like a scene from a horror movie. Or, is it possible it was the effect of the sedative? Making you hallucinate?"
"Impossible!"
Haibara Ai retorted emphatically,
"I saw it very clearly! Right after she shot Pisco, the shadow was cast on the ground in front of me! Her tail was very long, and it was wagging back and forth there…"
She unconsciously mimicked the wagging motion, reiterating, "That was definitely not a normal person's shadow!"
This bizarre information caused a silence in the car.
Conan frowned, finding Haibara Ai's statement a bit fantastical.
"Could it be…"
Conan tried to offer a relatively reasonable explanation, his tone uncertain,
"Some kind of special headwear or accessory? Like cosplay? Does Muscat have strange habits?"
He scratched his head, unable to think of a more plausible reason.
Haibara Ai immediately shook her head in denial. "It doesn't look like it. From the shadow, Muscat's ears and tail looked very natural, as if… they grew out."
She paused, then voiced her darkest speculation.
"Could it be those drug researches that the Black Organization conducts in secret, just like APTX4869 can make people de-age,
another drug caused a non-human mutation, making people grow animal features?"
Conan and Dr. Agasa both gasped.
"That shouldn't be possible…" Dr. Agasa found it hard to imagine, making people grow animal features, whether through drugs or human experimentation, was clearly against human ethics.
Conan shook his head, believing there must be a more scientific explanation:
"No, it's too early to draw conclusions. After all, Haibara, you only saw Muscat's shadow, maybe it was just an illusion caused by light refraction.
Or she used some kind of optical camouflage we don't understand… In any case, don't scare yourself yet."
"To celebrate your safe return this time, how about I sing you a song?" Conan tried to lighten the mood and dispel the fear in Haibara Ai's heart.
La la la ~ La la la ~ La la la ~
"No!"
Conan had only sung two lines when Haibara Ai immediately crossed her arms in front of her, stopping his crazy behavior.
However, this little commotion did indeed dissipate much of the fear in her heart.