[Four-piece set: After defeating an enemy, HP increases by 5%, ATK increases by 9%, and damage dealt by the character increases by 12%. This effect lasts 10 seconds and stacks up to 4 times.]
In truth, Yin Kong had always harbored a concern: artifacts.
With Zhongli's help, character ascension materials might be troublesome to obtain, but given enough time, they should be able to find suitable substitutes.
Artifacts, however, were an entirely different matter.
First of all, if Yin Kong remembered correctly, there were five artifact slots in the game:
[Flower of Life], [Feather of Death], [Sands of Time], [Cup of Eon], and [Circlet of Logos].
The five of them respectively corresponded to the four rulers of Life, Death, Time, Space, as well as Phanes, the Heavenly Principle.
At the same time, Ley Line Blossoms, all kinds of domains, and even Original Resin—the stamina players commonly referred to it as—were all, like Teleport Waypoints, offshoots of Teyvat's Ley Lines, or rather, the World Tree.
That was precisely why Yin Kong had once worried that merely investigating Investigation Points in this world might not yield artifacts at all, while artifact domains might simply not exist.
Fortunately, that concern had now been resolved.
Though the fact that Conan had turned into a mobile artifact domain still sounded rather bizarre, who cared?
As long as it worked, Yin Kong was perfectly satisfied.
He opened the entrance and, after a moment's thought, selected the lowest-level domain.
Immediately afterward, Yin Kong felt a portion of his consciousness leave his body and enter a familiar golden space—the very domain he had farmed until he was sick of it before transmigrating.
After opening the key, three fully armed oni samurai appeared out of thin air before him.
Yin Kong recognized at a glance that these oni samurai resembled Crow Feather Demon Blade Pill, though neither their size nor their presence could compare to his.
They were only level fifteen.
"Let me test my blade!" "Take this slash!" "Fall before me!"...
Even so, facing three alone still made them rather troublesome opponents for Yin Kong at his current strength.
Fortunately, he was not fighting alone.
"Jade Shield!" "Universal Dominion!" "Unbreakable as Bedrock!"
Once the shield was up, a battle that had required caution instantly became a one-sided slaughter.
However, just as Yin Kong planned to use up all his stamina in one go and gather two full artifact sets for Zhongli and himself, he noticed Conan's eyelids twitch slightly. He seemed to be regaining consciousness.
Am I... already dead?
As his consciousness emerged from the darkness, Kudo Shinichi felt as if someone had thrown him into a washing machine and spun him around dozens of times. Almost every inch of his body ached.
"Hey, kid, you're awake? Where are your parents? Why were you lying alone in the bushes?"
Hearing Yin Kong's voice, Kudo Shinichi looked over in confusion.
Could Gin have attacked someone else too—and a child at that?
And this guy should be Yin Kong, right? Why was he here?
Watching Conan stare blankly at him, looking utterly clueless about the situation, Yin Kong found it amusing and waved a hand before his eyes.
"Can you hear me, little guy?"
Little guy? Was he calling me?
Kudo Shinichi froze before finally realizing Yin Kong was talking to him. He blurted out instinctively,
"What do you mean, little guy? I'm Kudo Shinichi. Have you forgotten already?"
They had met just yesterday. Since Yin Kong was more or less a detective himself, his memory could not possibly be that bad, could it?
"You're Kudo Shinichi? Then I'm Kaito Kid! Still, if you've got the mood to play detective games, little guy, then you must be fine."
Yin Kong had not expected Conan to expose himself the moment he opened his mouth.
Still, he had no intention of revealing the other's identity here. Smiling, he rubbed Conan's oversized head.
"It's already late. You should head home early and not make your family worry."
"What was that?!"
Having his head aggressively ruffled by Yin Kong, Kudo Shinichi was naturally quite displeased.
With a slap, he knocked Yin Kong's hand away and sprang to his feet, ready to argue with him.
But the high school detective quickly realized something was wrong.
Why had Yin Kong become so tall?
Why was he still only up to the guy's waist even after standing up, forced to look up at him?
It did not seem like Yin Kong had grown taller. Rather, he himself had become shorter.
Finally recognizing the problem, Kudo Shinichi shuddered. He looked at his own hands in disbelief and discovered that they had become small and slender, like a child's.
Not only that, but his clothes had become abnormally oversized, making him look utterly ridiculous.
I... turned into a child?!
After standing there in a daze for several seconds, Kudo Shinichi gradually accepted this unbelievable reality.
Looking at Yin Kong in front of him, he wanted the other man to go to the police with him.
"Listen to me, I really am Kudo—"
But Kudo Shinichi stopped halfway through.
Because he suddenly realized a very important question: was Yin Kong truly trustworthy?
At this moment, the high school detective had naturally recalled everything that had happened to him.
If he was not mistaken, the abnormality affecting his body had to be related to the poison Gin had forced him to drink.
Gin's blow to the head had undoubtedly shown him just how ruthless and cruel the Black Organization was.
Could Yin Kong before him also be a member of that mysterious organization?
After all, his appearance had been far too well-timed. Could he be one of their accomplices, deliberately returning to confirm what had happened to him?
As Kudo Shinichi thought this, the more he looked at Yin Kong, the more he felt that beneath that friendly expression might lurk a terrifying face no one knew about.
Seeing Conan suddenly fall silent, Yin Kong appropriately pressed further.
"Why did you stop talking, little guy? Are you really Kudo something?"
"I mean, I... really am a fan of Kudo Shinichi."
Kudo Shinichi gave a dry laugh and casually made up a lie.
Before figuring out the situation, he decided it would be best not to have too much contact with the mysterious Yin Kong.
Unfortunately, Yin Kong clearly had no intention of letting him have his way.
He shook his head with an expression of heartfelt regret.
"A fan of Kudo Shinichi? Have children's tastes really fallen this far nowadays?"
Even though Kudo Shinichi knew he had more important matters to deal with, he could not help arguing indignantly at that remark.
"What is wrong with Kudo Shinichi? There are... ahem... I mean, there are plenty of fans who like Kudo Shinichi."
Seeing Conan get worked up, Yin Kong immediately smiled.
"Ah, yes, yes. Whoever you like is your freedom, little guy..."
Damn it, how had I not noticed this guy was such an asshole before?
Kudo Shinichi knew Yin Kong was clearly treating him like a real child and humoring him, but for the moment, he could not find any reason to continue arguing.
As the high school detective silently simmered with frustration, Yin Kong launched another attack and suddenly said,
"Still, now that you mention it, little friend, you do look rather similar to Kudo Shinichi. Could it be that you're—"
Kudo Shinichi jolted, and his excited expression instantly froze.
As expected of a detective. His eye for detail really was extraordinary.
"—Kudo Shinichi's illegitimate son?"
"No, I'm not, don't just—huh?"
Coming back to his senses, Kudo Shinichi stared at Yin Kong in shock, utterly unable to understand how he had reached such a conclusion.
Listen to yourself, man!
Seeing Conan's utterly dumbfounded expression, Yin Kong grew even more interested.
No wonder Kaito Kid and the others always liked teasing Conan in the anime whenever they had the chance. His reactions really were quite entertaining.
Naturally, his expression remained perfectly normal on the surface.
"True, the age does not quite add up."
Kudo Shinichi said speechlessly, "Isn't that obvious?"
Yin Kong thought for a moment and asked again,
"Then you're his younger brother?"
Before Conan could answer, he frowned and muttered to himself,
"But I heard that the great writer Kudo Yusaku only had one son, Kudo Shinichi. Could you be an illegitimate child?"
No, were you seriously obsessed with illegitimate children now?
Conan squeezed his eyes into a pair of dead-fish eyes and began making things up.
"I'm not some illegitimate child. I'm Shinichi's relative, okay? It's normal for us to look alike."
"So you're relatives. That explains it."
Yin Kong nodded lightly, seeming to believe him.
But before Conan could sigh in relief, he saw Yin Kong pull out his phone.
"Still, it's already late, and it doesn't seem very safe to let you go home alone... Do you know Ran? How about I call her and have her come pick you up?"
Why do you have Ran's number, and why are you calling her so intimately?
Could this guy be plotting something against Ran?
Kudo Shinichi's expression changed instantly, and the way he looked at Yin Kong became incomparably vigilant.
Though in a different sense.
No, this isn't the time to worry about that!
Though he dearly wanted to grab Yin Kong by the clothes and demand answers, Kudo Shinichi knew perfectly well that if Yin Kong really contacted Ran, his lie would be easily exposed.
After a rapid round of thought, the high school detective decided to endure the humiliation for now.
He reached out and tugged Yin Kong's sleeve, gently swaying it as he said innocently,
"No need, big brother. I can go by myself, so you don't have to trouble yourself or Ran."
Why did this young man deliberately act like a child?
Perhaps because it was his first time doing this, Conan's acting was obviously still quite crude, nowhere near the polished perfection it would reach in the future.
Naturally, Yin Kong had no intention of exposing his terrible acting. After all, he did not actually know Ran's number, so he merely showed a hesitant expression.
"Really? Can you really make it home by yourself?"
"Don't worry, I can! I'm going home now. Bye, big brother!"
As if afraid Yin Kong would offer another suggestion capable of ending him on the spot, Conan did not wait for an answer this time. He simply gathered up his clothes and stumbled toward the nearest amusement ride.
Watching the famous detective's bedraggled retreating figure vanish into the darkness, Yin Kong put away his teasing thoughts and looked up at the sky.
The wheel of fate had begun to turn, but with him, a visitor from beyond this world, added to the equation, where would it lead?
Rich Lady, I'm Hungry, Feed Me
Before you continue