Alcohol Company? Zoo? Let's Fight!

Two days later, on Saturday.

Teitan Elementary School Festival.

On the stage of the stadium, Ayumi knelt on the ground in sorrow, crying out to Genta had a knife stuck in his chest, "Daddy!"

"It's really sad."

Ai Haibara stood to the side, wearing a white t-shirt, a black suit jacket, and a pencil skirt, her face cold as she spoke indifferently.

"This tragedy was caused by... a misunderstanding between father and daughter!"

Mitsuhiko pointed at Genta and spoke haltingly, clearly a little nervous.

"..."

Conan had a long face, looking utterly dejected.

They actually let a seventeen-year-old high school student act in such a childish play...

But seriously, how did Haibara manage to act so naturally?!

After the performance, Ran came backstage carrying a bag of drinks.

"The performance just now was really wonderful."

As she praised them, she took out drinks from the bag and distributed them to the people who had just finished performing.

"Really, Sister Ran?"

Ayumi took a bottle of peach drink, looked up at Ran, and had an innocent, childlike look on her face.

"Uh-huh."

Ran nodded like a friendly older sister, then turned to Fujino, who had come over with her, and asked, "Fujino- Senior, what did you think of their performance?"

Fujino, who was slacking off nearby, was taken aback when he heard this.

Why are you asking him now?

This time, the Junior Detective League will be performing a play called "New Police Story," a police-themed drama.

Ai Haibara plays a policewoman, and her character is believed to be based on Sato Miwako.

Conan and Mitsuhiko play the roles of a police officer and his assistant, and their characters are likely based on Takagi and Juzo Megure.

Ayumi plays the victim, the company president, while Genta plays the murderer, who is the president's daughter.

The daughter murdered her own father, the company president, for some outrageous reason.

The popular and entertaining Rice Flower Mini-Theater.

Fujino mentally organized his thoughts before giving an objective answer that avoided the main point, "The performance was not bad. For an elementary school student, it was a decent argument and reasoning."

"Hey-hey!"

Ayumi happily opened her drink and took a sip. "Actually, Conan wrote this script."

"Well?"

Ran looked at Conan in surprise. "I didn't expect Conan to have such a talent for screenwriting."

"It's nothing."

Conan awkwardly accepted a bottle of oolong tea from Ran, saying, "It's all thanks to everyone's acting skills."

"Everyone's acting was quite good."

Ran nodded in agreement, then turned to Ai Haibara: "Especially Ai, she acted so convincingly, so cute."

"That's right, Haibara's acting is really amazing."

Beside her, Ayumi, holding a peach drink, chimed in with a sigh, "It seems Ai will definitely become a popular actress in the future."

"A popular actress?!"

Mitsuhiko glanced at Ai Haibara and immediately blushed.

A scene of her becoming a popular actress flashed through my mind.

'You could say she's been acting all along...'

Conan, however, gave a deadpan look and silently complained to himself.

"Isn't it cute?"

Ai Haibara tilted her head and subconsciously turned her gaze to Fujino.

"Um."

Fujino nodded and pondered for a moment, then looked at Ai Haibara's suit and commented, "This suits you quite well; it gives you a mature yet cute look."

"..."

A barely perceptible Ai Haibara's fair face.

She glanced discreetly at the black suit Fujino was wearing.

Then she looked down at the small black business suit she was wearing.

Does it give off a mature yet cute vibe?

At noon, the school festival at Teitan Elementary School ended.

The group walked out of Teitan Elementary School.

"Speaking of which, Ran."

Fujino asked Ran in confusion, "When I went to pick you up this morning, why didn't I see Uncle Mori?"

"My dad originally planned to come along."

Ran Lan replied, "But his doctor's appointment was for today, and he went to the hospital early this morning for the checkup."

Fujino asked in surprise, "Is Uncle Mori not feeling well?"

"Yes."

Ran sighed, "Dad has been feeling very tired lately."

Fujino frowned upon hearing this.

It reminds me of how Uncle Mori often goes to izakayas.

This symptom seems somewhat familiar.

Could it be a false alarm?

The group arrived at the school gate.

Fujino got into the driver's seat of the Ford Taurus and asked Ai Haibara, who was following him out the window, "Ai, aren't you coming back with me?"

"You should go home first."

Ai Haibara changed back into her usual clothes. "Today I'm going to Professor Agasa's house with these guys."

"I see..."

Fujino then added to Ai Haibara's instructions, "Be careful on the road, remember to come back early, and call me if anything happens."

"Um."

Ai Haibara nodded calmly and said softly, "You too, be careful on the road."

Fujino narrowed his eyes as he watched Ai Haibara and the Junior Detective League walk away.

If he wasn't mistaken, Ai Haibara must have gone to Professor Agasa's house to research an antidote for APTX4869, right?

He hasn't provided Ai Haibara with a computer yet. Although he has a laptop that's far ahead of its time, it contains too many secrets, so he can't let Ai Haibara use it.

So normally, Professor Agasa to research the Ai Haibara.

Looks like I'll have to get two computers that are up to date...

Noon.

In front of a computer mall on a shopping street near Beika Town.

"Computers were really expensive back then."

Fujino sat in the car, glanced at the three computers in the back seat, and sighed softly.

These three large-screen computers cost him about 300,000 yen.

Even after the discount, it still costs over 200,000 yen.

That's equivalent to the salary of an excellent office worker in this era.

However, for Fujino, it wasn't much.

He went out and robbed the wicked to help the poor, and he made his money back.

"The Metropolitan Police Department announced earlier that Kaito Kid had personally cancelled the teaser he had previously released. Is this cancellation another sign that Kaito Kid is about to retire?"

Suddenly, a hollow sound came from outside the car window.

Fujino turned his gaze out of the car; the sound was coming from the large screen on the roof of a building not far away.

The screen was showing a report about a beautiful blonde woman:

"Jodie Hopper, the owner of the ruby and also the head of the Miracle Magic Troupe, commented on the matter, saying: 'It is a great pity that we cannot witness the magic of Kaito Kid.'"

"Jodie Hopper?"

Fujino recognized the woman on the big screen at a glance.

Just a few days ago, he had seen the Crimson Tear's owner, Jodie Hopper, in the newspaper.

However, Fujino had some doubts.

Normally, once Kuroba Kaito sets his sights on a target, he should be relentless in pursuing it until he achieves it. But now he's actually canceling his own announcement...

"So, that announcement letter from a few days ago was sent by a fake?"

Putting his thoughts aside, Fujino decided not to meddle and planned to drive home.

But just as he started the engine, a system notification suddenly sounded in his ear:

"A new Detective Profession Mission has been detected. Please check it!"

"Detective Profession Mission?"

Fujino exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this, then looked around.

Seeing that no murders had occurred in the vicinity.

He then curiously brought up the System Task interface with a flick of his finger:

Detective Profession Mission: The Everyday Thief

Mission objective: Catch the thief

Mission Rewards: 300,000 yen, 50 Detective Reputation points

"A regular thief-catching mission?"

Fujino was speechless upon seeing this.

A regular thief mission has a reward of 300,000 yen.

For him now, 300,000 is not a lot.

After all, he already has ten million in his hands...

After thinking for a moment, Fujino finally accepted the System Task.

No matter what, 300,000 yuan is still money.

This will just make up for what he just spent at the computer mall.

"You bastard, stop right there!"

Just as I accepted the System Task, a commotion arose not far away.

Fujino looked in the direction of the sound and saw that not far away on the street, Kuroba Kaito was chasing a greasy middle-aged man wearing a gray hat.

"Damn it, how were we discovered?"

The middle-aged man glanced back at Kuroba Kaito following behind him and gritted his teeth.

As an old man who has been working in the city of sin for over ten years and is still alive, he is quite famous in the thief circle. Even when the police come, they have to respectfully call him a master thief.

He believed that his theft techniques were so sophisticated that no one would notice if he stole in the street.

But today, his theft scheme was exposed by a young lad...

This inevitably plunged him into deep self-doubt.

—Have my theft techniques deteriorated?

While pondering this, I didn't notice that the middle-aged man in front of me bumped into a blonde woman's shoulder.

"Get out of my way right now!"

In his panic, he shoved the woman's shoulder aside and continued speeding forward, completely unaware that the very moment he pushed her away, the spoils he had just snatched had already been stolen by her in the same way.

"You didn't even notice that all the loot was stolen. I have to say, you're a really bad thief."

The middle-aged man looked up at the sound and saw a young man blocking his way.

The young man was wearing a black suit and a black trench coat, had short hair, and was holding a Wooden Sword in his hand.

It was none other than Fujino.

Fujino raised his Wooden Sword and swung it down at the thief's face.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The middle-aged man was knocked to the ground with a stick.

Fujino didn't give this guy much time to react.

He didn't know if this guy had any weapons or anything like that.

After all, most of the criminals he dealt with wouldn't surrender obediently.

Before surrendering, they usually pull out a knife, a pistol, or some other weapon.

"That's a skillful operation..."

Kuroba Kaito, who was following behind, twitched at the corner of his mouth.

They immediately recognized who had subdued the thief.

It was his nemesis, Fujino, who frequently cheated and swindled him.

"Miss, could you please hand over your wallet?"

After taking down the thief, Fujino didn't immediately greet Kuroba Kaito. Instead, he slowly walked towards the woman who had just bumped into the thief.

"You figured it out?"

The woman turned around, looking somewhat surprised.

The woman was wearing a black suit with a red tie, a brown trench coat, a small hat, and sunglasses.

Judging from the facial details, she should be a mixed-race blonde beauty.

"You must be a magician, right?"

Fujino sized up the woman for a moment before speaking, "Just now, when that thief bumped into you, you snatched his wallet from his pocket in less than a second. I've only ever seen that kind of speed from one magician friend of mine, a troublesome opponent who wore a white cloak and loved to perform magic tricks."

"Friend?"

Kuroba Kaito, who was nearby, heard their conversation and stopped in his tracks.

She wears a white cloak and enjoys performing magic tricks.

Damn, isn't that describing me?

But I never expected that this detective, who often cheated and swindled him, would actually consider him a friend...

Suddenly, Kuroba Kaito felt a small surge of emotion.

"Kaito! What on earth is going on?"

Nakamori Aoko walked over from a short distance away. When she saw Fujino, her eyes lit up, and she stepped forward to greet him, "Detective Fujino, what a coincidence, you're here too."

"Nakamori-kun, Kuroba-kun."

Fujino then acknowledged Kuroba Kaito, chuckling, "Are you two out on a date?"

No!

Nakamori Aoko blushed and quickly explained, "We just came out to watch a movie."

"Let's go see a movie."

Fujino nodded. "I understand, yes, I understand."

"Fujino... Detective?"

The blonde woman murmured, "No wonder she was able to figure out my method; it was that detective named Fujino."

"You know me?"

Fujino looked at the blonde woman with some surprise.

"Yes, I've heard of you from the news before. You're known as the Black Detective, the bane of phantom thieves. Is that the title you're referring to?"

The blonde woman took off her sunglasses, revealing her face... She was indeed a beauty.

"Are you Jodie Hopper?"

Fujino recognized the woman in front of him at a glance. "I've seen you on the news before."

"Jodie Hopper?"

Aoko, who was standing to the side, was stunned when she heard this, and then excitedly asked, "You wouldn't happen to be the leader of that Miracle Magic Troupe, Jodie Hopper, would you?"

"Yes."

Jodie Hopper nodded, took a wallet out of her pocket, and handed it to Nakamori Aoko, who was standing next to her. "Here you go, this is your wallet."

"Wallet... why does it look so familiar?"

Nakamori Aoko was taken aback, then quickly began to fumble for her wallet.

A moment later, she realized that her wallet had been stolen... and then she understood what had happened.

He then thanked Fujino and Jodie, saying, "Thank you both so much!"

"Oh right, Kaito, she is..."

After expressing her gratitude, Nakamori Aoko was about to introduce him to Kuroba Kaito, but before she could finish, Kuroba Kaito interrupted her, "I know, her grandfather was James, once the greatest magician in England."

"You know that..."

Nakamori Aoko smiled, then introduced Kuroba Kaito to Jodie, saying, "His father is named Kuroba Toichi, and he was once the number one magician in Japan!"

"I know, the number one magician in the Orient is known as the supreme magician in the world..."

Jodie paused, then continued, "However, he and my grandfather were just the same kind of people, using deception to gain money and fame. To put it bluntly, they were just cunning swindlers."

"Well?"

Nakamori Aoko and Kuroba Kaito were clearly taken aback.

Then, Aoko asked in confusion, "But aren't you performing magic tricks too?"

"My grandfather passed away two years ago, and I only took over this magic troupe out of necessity."

Jodie shrugged helplessly. "Tonight, the Hober Magic Troupe is closing down."

"By the way, if you three have time, you can come and take a look... if you want to be fooled by scammers like us."

As she spoke, she took out three tickets from her pocket, handed them to the three people in front of her, and then slowly walked away.

Kuroba Kaito seemed to have sensed something, glancing at a black car parked on the side of the street behind him, and froze in place.

"Kaito, what are you thinking about?!"

Nakamori Aoko took Kuroba Kaito's hand and said, "Anyway, thank you, Detective Fujino. Our movie is about to start, bye-bye!"

After saying that, she grabbed Kuroba Kaito and turned to leave.

"The Miracle Magic Troupe?"

Fujino glanced at the ticket Jodie had given him, then silently put it in his pocket and stored it in his Pocket Dimension.

He then turned his head, activated his Eagle Eye Vision, and gazed at a black car driving away in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It seems that this time, the zoo has its eye on the Crimson Tear... It seems that the previous warning letter was also their attempt to steal the Crimson Tear through Kaito Kid?"

In Fujino's memory, Kuroba Kaito, also known as Kaito Kid, was actually being pursued by a mysterious organization.

This mysterious organization's goal is to steal the legendary gem that can grant immortality: Pandora.

Eight years ago, the former Kaito Kid, who was also Kuroba Kaito's father, was killed by this organization.

This organization is still active to this day.

The last Spider was an assassin from this organization. Besides Spider, Fujino remembers another organization executive codenamed Snake.

As for why it's called a zoo, it's now obvious.

Just like Alcohol Company is full of water... wine, a zoo is full of animals (livestock).

In fact, the two organizations have very similar goals; they both want something like immortality.

Aside from having the same goal, they even share similar principles of action.

The Alcohol Company makes a fortune quietly, developing its business discreetly, avoiding any exposure.

The zoo, on the other hand, focuses on animal husbandry and is solely dedicated to chasing after the Kaito Kid in search of the legendary gem Pandora.

Strictly speaking, these two organizations have no connection whatsoever, and may not even know each other.

This gave Fujino, as the sixth son, a lot of room to maneuver...

As he pondered, Fujino suddenly recalled a scheme from a Senior transmigrator: [Drive away the wolves and tigers].

Given that these two organizations have similar goals, both operate covertly, and might not even know each other...

Then it would be very simple to get the zoo and the Alcohol Company to fight.

Even if Fujino doesn't get any clues from their fight, it will still create a grudge between the two organizations, making them enemies and wasting their strength trying to defeat each other.

Fujino has to do now is let both sides know of each other's existence and create a little bit of conflict.