The Bloodstained Panda Backpack
Two days have passed since the matter of the Egg of Memories came to an end.
The Suzuki family was very generous; they simply gave the Egg of Memories to Kousaka Natsumi.
Of course, there are conditions.
That is, the Kosaka family's castle needs to be lent to the Suzuki family free of charge when shooting commercials or other promotional materials.
After all, the Suzuki family isn't stupid.
Before dawn, dark clouds obscured the moon, which had not yet set.
As the snowflakes drifted down, one landed on Fujino's nose and quickly melted from her body heat.
"It's winter today."
Fujino stood in front of the balcony, wiping the water droplets from the tip of his nose.
He paused for a moment, then opened the system interface.
Current balance: 9.2 million yen
"Without realizing it, I've amassed a huge sum of money."
Fujino glanced at the system balance and sighed.
Nine million two hundred thousand yen was a considerable sum of money in this era.
Converted to Chinese Yuan, it would be close to eight or nine hundred thousand, almost a million.
You can perform one intermediate ten-pull.
However, he doesn't plan to spend all of that money on the lottery.
Now he's able to enhance his methods beyond just lotteries.
By fusing Enhancement Card and spending money to upgrade his class skills, he can also receive a significant boost.
Currently, most of the professions he has mastered are still at level one.
You can level up by spending one million yen.
With over nine million, he could achieve a significant boost in a short period of time.
After a pause, Fujino opened the job interface and began to check the jobs he had already mastered: [Swordsman Grandmaster: Level 1 (300|500; One Million Yen)]
[Bomb Master: Level 1 (0|500; One Million Yen)]
[Fighting Master: Level 1 (203|500; One Million Yen)]
[University Student: Level 1 (267 | 500; One Million Yen)]
Fujino looked at the several upgradable professions in front of him and began to ponder.
Two combat-oriented classes and two support classes.
The college student's discounts and learning abilities, as well as the Bomb Master's bomb disposal and bomb-making bonuses, were somewhat irrelevant to him.
In contrast, Swordsman Grandmaster and Fighting Master are much more practical.
After all, strength is always the ultimate truth, no matter what.
After a moment, Fujino made a decision to upgrade the two combat-related professions first.
[1.78 million yen has already been consumed for the host]
[Swordsman Grandmaster upgraded to Level 2 (300 | 750; 2 million yen), currently available points: 1]
[Fighting Master upgraded to Level 2 (203|750; 2 million yen), currently available points: 1]
"Does a Level 2 upgrade require two million yen?"
Fujino glanced at the upgrade points he needed, took a deep breath, and resisted the urge to spend more money on in-game purchases.
Don't fall for the dog system's tricks.
Then, he turned his attention to the two points to be allocated, and immediately allocated those two points.
[Fierce Iron Fist: Level 5 (Increases host's strength by 100%; increases host's all attributes by 100% when fighting bare-handed)]
[The Body is the Sword: Level 6 (The person is the sword, and the sword is the person; the host gains a 155% bonus to all attributes)]
"It increased my strength by 20% and all my attributes by 15%, so it's worth the price."
Fujino nodded, feeling that the two million was well spent.
After getting his fill, he changed into his workout clothes and went out for his morning exercise.
Meanwhile, in Ai Haibara's room.
"Huff... huff..."
Ai Haibara woke up with a start, cold sweat streaming down her temples, soaking her pajamas and staining the sheets beneath her.
She was panting heavily and glanced around.
The room, about the size of a bedroom, had pink wallpaper covering the walls and was fully furnished, clearly having been carefully arranged.
"Yes, a nightmare?"
Ai Haibara looked away and breathed a sigh of relief.
She immediately stood up, walked to the wardrobe, took out a change of shirt, pushed open the door, went to the bathroom on the third floor, and washed off the sweat.
After leaving the bathroom, she returned to her room, walked to the window, and looked at the falling snow outside, lost in thought.
After his morning exercise, Fujino returned home to find Ai Haibara and Akemi Miyano had already prepared breakfast.
After replenishing their energy, Fujino drove with Ai Haibara to Teitan Elementary School.
After sending Ai Haibara to Teitan Elementary School, Fujino then planned to go to Teitan High School.
But on the way, he saw a familiar red sports car in front of a Convenience Store.
"No way..."
Fujino looked around and soon spotted a familiar figure.
"Teacher Hiratsuka, why haven't you gone to school yet?"
Fujino opened the car door and called out to Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was squatting in front of Convenience Store not far away.
"Fujino?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka straightened up and turned around. When she saw Fujino, she exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"I was just about to go to school..."
Fujino stepped forward and noticed a short little girl behind Hiratsuka Shizuka.
The little girl had short hair, a cute face, and was wearing a light three-quarter sleeve and shorts.
His first thought was that the child was Hiratsuka Shizuka's daughter.
However, upon further reflection, he threw the idea into the trash can.
That's impossible.
Hiratsuka Shizuka, Iron Fist Saintess, probably has never even had a boyfriend.
How could I possibly have a daughter?
Fujino looked the little girl over and asked Hiratsuka Shizuka, "Who is that child...?"
"I met this child when I came out after buying cigarettes."
Hiratsuka Shizuka glanced down at the little girl, "It looks like she's lost from her mother..."
Suddenly, as if she had remembered something, she said to Fujino, "By the way, since you're a detective, you should be able to find her mother, right?"
"This kind of work should be left to the police..."
"Never mind, it doesn't make much difference anyway."
Fujino made a sarcastic remark, then stepped forward and asked the little girl, "Can you tell me your name?"
The little girl looked up at Fujino, her face pale and rosy, her expression full of bewilderment.
After a moment, she finally spoke, smiling as she replied, "Xiao Yi!"
"Xiao Yi? That's a good name."
Fujino then asked, "Do you know where your family went?"
"Mommy, and tiny little feet!"
A girl named Xiao Yi raised both hands, left hand slightly higher and right hand slightly lower, and said vividly, "The Convenience Store with the red roof, a special outing, Xiao Yi jumped out!"
"I just asked her those questions too."
Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over and said helplessly, "She's still too young, she can't even speak properly. I asked her where her mother went, but she didn't know..."
"She should be only about three years old."
Fujino patted Xiao Yi's head, slowly stood up, and looked at her with a hint of confusion. "It's true that the child got lost from her mother, but it shouldn't have happened just now, but last night."
"Last night?"
"That's right, she definitely didn't get lost this morning."
Fujino nodded and looked at Xiao Yi, "The redness on her face is probably frostbite. Judging from the severity, she must have been outdoors since last night."
Actually, it's not easy to make a judgment based on frostbite alone.
What supports his reasoning is the clothing that Xiao Yi is wearing.
Today's Conan World is winter, it started last night.
Normally, you wouldn't dress your child so lightly when taking them out.
Therefore, he deduced that the child must have been frozen since last night.
Hiratsuka Shizuka was taken aback upon hearing this, and said with a hint of resentment, "What were these child's parents thinking, letting such a big child go out alone at night..."
"This is just my guess. We shouldn't be so sure. Let's find her parents first."
Fujino noticed the backpack behind Xiao Yi, then squatted down and smiled at her, "Xiao Yi, can I see your backpack?"
"No!"
Xiao Yi raised her left hand, moved her right hand slightly, but then put it down again to protect the strap of her backpack in front of her.
"You really don't know how to deal with kids."
Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over from behind, took out a sandwich from the bag she was carrying, handed it to Xiao Yi, and gave her a gentle smile, "How about we exchange this?"
"Good!"
Xiao Yi readily agreed and extended her left hand to take the sandwich.
Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled smugly.
Fujino quietly stepped aside, leaving the task of dealing with little girls to the Iron Fist Saintess.
And so, Hiratsuka Shizuka successfully tricked the little girl into giving her the backpack.
It was so familiar that one might wonder if she did this kind of thing often.
Xiao Yi's backpack is a Panda Backpack, which is not very new and is even a bit worn.
Its fur, which should have been pure white, has turned yellowish.
Inside the backpack was a somewhat dirty penguin plush toy, a pink mirror, a pink comb, some plastic flowers of various colors, and several crayons of various colors.
"There's nothing that can prove the child's identity... Are the child's parents so lacking in common sense?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka examined the items in the backpack and sighed softly, "Fujino, do you have any clues?"
Fujino didn't reply, but just stared silently at the underside of the Panda Backpack.
At the same time, a new System Task appeared before him: [Detective Profession Mission: The Lost Girl]
Mission objective: Find the little girl's house and solve the case hidden behind it.
Mission Reward: One million yen, three hundred Detective Reputation points
Turning his gaze away, Fujino said to Hiratsuka Shizuka voice, "Teacher Hiratsuka, this matter doesn't seem to be so simple."
Hiratsuka Shizuka was taken aback by what she heard. Following Fujino's gaze, she turned the Panda Backpack around, her pupils widening slightly.
Beneath the Panda Backpack's belly, there was a bloody handprint, half of it...
"This is... blood?!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka unconsciously tightened her grip on the Panda Backpack.
"That's right, it's blood, and judging from the degree of coagulation, it must have been sitting for more than an hour."
As he spoke, Fujino took his phone out of his pocket.
He glanced at Xiao Yi, paused, walked to the side, and then dialed Juzo Megure's number.
At this moment, Juzo Megure is dealing with another murder case and doesn't have time to investigate yet. He will ask Takagi to come and help with the investigation later.
Fujino hung up the phone, looked up at Hiratsuka Shizuka and said, "Teacher Hiratsuka, could you go and coax her into my car? I have a first-aid kit in the trunk. If the frostbite on this child's face isn't treated for a long time, it might leave scars."