Genshin Player in the World of Detective Conan

"Traveler, do you know this child?"

As if sensing Yin Kong's complex emotions at the moment, Zhongli's voice echoed in his mind.

"I met him once before, but he was just a boy then. From what I understand, he was forced to ingest a very special poison, which is why he's become like this." Yin Kong nodded gently and asked, "Mr. Zhongli, have you discovered anything unusual?"

He knew very well that given the Geo Archon's personality, if he said something like that, he must have found something extraordinary.

Indeed, after hearing Yin Kong's description, Zhongli said with sudden realization:

"No wonder. I sensed his soul was somewhat unstable; so he went through such a transformation."

He didn't press Yin Kong on why, despite them only just arriving, he seemed to know everything that had happened there before.

Hearing the surprise in Zhongli's tone, Yin Kong curiously asked:

"But if it's just reversing aging, it shouldn't be difficult for you and the Adepti of Liyue, right?"

If he remembered correctly, as elemental beings, the Adepti could change their appearances at will.

Their true forms were merely a matter of personal preference.

As for Zhongli, he himself had admitted that the Geo Archon had countless avatars.

Perhaps one of them was even a mature older sister.

"Indeed, changing our appearance is effortless for us. However, that young man just now seems to have regressed both his mind and soul to his childhood. This is something even the Adepti can barely achieve... Hmm, is it truly the influence of that crow feather?"

[Yatagarasu] ultimately wielded the power of time. It wasn't so hard to understand that a crow feather left behind by it could cause someone to revert to their youth.

However, Yin Kong also knew that the Conan in front of him wasn't the only one who had de-aged.

In the future, at least Miyano Shiho, also known as Haibara Ai, would also take that poison and become smaller.

As for whether there were more cases, he wasn't too sure.

Although he had watched the Conan anime, he had long since given up on it as the later cases became increasingly boring and formulaic.

Occasionally, he would see videos online showing the Black Organization pulling off new stunts like shooting down Tokyo Tower with helicopters, or Conan pulling off incredible feats like exploding satellites with soccer balls.

Could it be that those individuals also possessed relics similar to crow feathers, or perhaps dungeons that produced Artifacts and materials?

If that were the case, he might actually have something to look forward to.

It was worth mentioning that after this encounter, Yin Kong had successfully activated a World Quest on Conan--

[Detective's Tale], and the first act [First Encounter with the Black Organization] had been completed.

Coupled with the rewards for opening a dungeon and completing it for the first time, he had easily earned seventy Primogems, which was an unexpected delight.

When Yin Kong returned to the apartment, he found Paimon sitting at the computer with Ono Yoko, chatting harmoniously.

"Yin Kong, you're back?" Paimon flew over immediately upon seeing him. "Judging by your expression, you must have had quite a harvest."

Yin Kong nodded:

"Indeed. You can rest easy now; that Abyss creature has definitely been eliminated."

Paimon patted her chest in relief upon hearing this. "That's good. I didn't want to have to fight those dangerous and annoying guys here."

Yin Kong chuckled and reminded her:

"Abyss creatures are indeed annoying, but aren't I always the one fighting them, Paimon?"

"Aren't you me? What's the difference?"

Paimon, clearly accustomed to Yin Kong's harmless jokes, waved her hand dismissively and said mysteriously:

"By the way, Yin Kong, you'll never guess what I did while you were at the amusement park?"

Seeing Paimon's secretive demeanor, Yin Kong couldn't help but ask curiously:

"What did you do?"

Paimon put her hands on her hips and proudly lifted her little head. "Of course, I secured a large sum of investment for you!"

Yin Kong was taken aback for a moment, then his mind cleared, and his gaze fell upon Ono Yoko:

"Miss Yoko?"

Meeting Yin Kong's gaze, the idol's face immediately flushed slightly. She lowered her head shyly and whispered:

"Yes, Paimon told me you were short on funds, so I thought I could help."

Paimon nodded vigorously. "That's right! Miss Yoko is also a wealthy person. With her funding, we might even be able to buy this entire apartment building and turn it into our base of operations! Oh, if only the Serenitea Pot were still here. That place was so spacious, I could fly around however I wanted."

"You, don't treat Miss Yoko like a patron, alright?"

Yin Kong flicked Paimon's forehead with his finger, looking helpless.

Although Ono Yoko was a popular idol, she was far from being rich enough to fund their extravagant plans.

Hearing him say that, Ms. Yoko also looked ashamed.

"I apologize for disappointing you both. With my financial means, I truly can't afford to buy an entire apartment building. However, if we consider taking out a loan..."

Seeing the idol seriously start calculating how many years she'd need to take out a loan to buy the building, Paimon was taken aback and immediately waved her hands.

"Ms. Yoko, there's no need to apologize. I was just saying it casually, I didn't actually expect you to buy the building."

Yin Kong nodded as well.

"Paimon often has wild ideas, you don't need to take them all to heart."

"That's right, that's right." Paimon nodded in agreement at first, but then quickly crossed her arms and looked at Yin Kong suspiciously. "Wait, Yin Kong, aren't you subtly insulting me again?"

Yin Kong naturally smiled and didn't answer.

Watching the two playfully bicker, Ono Yoko's eyes held a hint of envy.

After thinking for a moment, she asked, "In that case, how much funding do you need, Yin Kong?"

Seeing Ms. Ono Yoko ask seriously, Yin Kong stopped teasing Paimon and confirmed, "Ms. Yoko, are you truly planning to fund the Cunning Rabbit House? To be upfront, Paimon and I don't have any grand ambitions to make the Cunning Rabbit House a global empire. This investment is highly unlikely to be as profitable as you might imagine; the returns will be very low, and you might not even recoup the initial cost in the short term."

Ono Yoko, however, gently nodded and gave a bright smile.

"Please rest assured, I'm prepared for the possibility of losing my entire investment."

To be more precise, when she made this decision, she hadn't even considered how much financial return she would gain.

Chapter 34: A Fluttering Heart

"Then, Ms. Yoko, please help us rent the office space on the first floor of the building."

Ono Yoko waited for a few seconds, and finding that Yin Kong had no further requests, she couldn't help but be surprised. "Huh? That's all?"

The location of this apartment building could hardly be considered a bustling commercial district. Let alone just an office on the first floor, even renting out an entire floor wouldn't be much for her.

What Yin Kong didn't know was that when she agreed to Paimon's request, the idol had already resolved to pour her entire fortune into it.

"Of course, it's not just that. In the future, I will likely need to purchase materials like Jasper, rare flowers, and exotic plants..."

The precious materials Yin Kong mentioned were naturally the ascension materials for characters like Zhongli. According to Zhongli's introduction, [Amber] was a rare crystal formed from extremely pure Geo element, even earning the moniker [Heart of Geo] among Liyue jewelers. Even if they could find substitutes for [Amber] in this world, they would most likely be extremely pure Jasper, or even gemstones. To continuously collect these precious jades, as well as ascension materials for other characters in the future, would clearly require a large and continuous influx of funds. Ono Yoko's investment truly solved Yin Kong's immediate problem. Of course, one step at a time. Given Yin Kong's current efficiency in acquiring resources, it would be a long and arduous process to raise Zhongli to max level.

"So, for now, renting the office space on the first floor is enough."

Paimon also nodded vigorously, clapping her hands excitedly. "With Ms. Yoko's sponsorship, our Cunning Rabbit House can finally meet the registration requirements— Uh, maybe I shouldn't have said that."

Realizing she might have accidentally revealed something, Paimon immediately stuck out her tongue guiltily, trying to play it off.

Yin Kong shook his head helplessly, chuckling. "Never mind, Ms. Yoko isn't exactly an outsider anymore." He was already accustomed to this, the biggest blabbermouth in Teyvat. Fortunately, this little one was only prone to lowering her guard around those she was close to; she was quite reliable when it came to important matters.

As expected, when Ms. Yoko heard that the Cunning Rabbit House wasn't officially registered and was an illegal operation without a license, she didn't show any surprise. Instead, she seemed somewhat unfazed. Of course, what the idol cared about most was Yin Kong's words. He had already considered her "one of us," which made her heart flutter with joy.

According to the local laws in Beika Town, to legally engage in detective work or similar professions, one needed to complete certain procedures. Especially for an all-purpose agency like the Cunning Rabbit House, not only did it require a stable office space and a certain deposit, but usually also a guarantor with a clean record. However, in reality, most private detectives on the market wouldn't waste their valuable funds on these troublesome and seemingly useless procedures. After all, being a detective was ultimately a profession that relied on ability. High school detectives like Kudo Shinichi and Hattori Heiji clearly didn't have these miscellaneous certificates, yet Inspector Megure hadn't driven them away from crime scenes because of it.

Unfortunately, for Yin Kong's Cunning Rabbit House to meet the system's requirements, it had to obtain official local permits. Speaking of which, Yin Kong remembered that he was still undocumented himself. Should he be even more direct and have Ono Yoko become the legal representative of the Cunning Rabbit House, registering the agency directly under her name?

Yin Kong thought for a moment, but ultimately decided not to voice his idea.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Ono Yoko's character. Their interactions throughout the day had been enough for him to see that the idol was indeed a trustworthy person.

But no matter what, since it involved Primogems, it was better to be careful.

Being lazy now could lead to a loss that outweighed any gain if trouble arose in the future.

Of course, while he couldn't act as a guarantor, he figured there was no problem with being a co-signer, which would save a small amount of money.

After a brief discussion about the investment, little Paimon cheered:

"Hooray! This way, Miss Yoko can live with us!"

Miss Yoko was naturally taken aback, only then realizing that she seemed to be in a state of being "homeless."

If she rented the office, she could indeed choose to move in directly.

Yin Kong lightly tapped Paimon's little head and said with a chuckle:

"What are you thinking? Miss Yoko didn't say she wanted to live with us. She's a popular idol; it would be bad if rumors spread."

Today was a special situation, and the other party was willing to make do for one night here, but that was clearly a completely different matter from moving in long-term.

"Hmm, is it really not possible?"

Paimon was clearly very disappointed, looking at Ono Yoko with hopeful eyes.

After all, although Yin Kong had bought her a computer so she could go online, staying alone in the apartment was very boring.

If she could have someone as kind and gentle as Ono Yoko to play with, she would obviously be very happy.

"W-well, it's not entirely impossible." Ono Yoko lowered her head, not daring to look at Yin Kong's expression, and murmured, "Since Paimon is pleading so sincerely, and renting a new place would be very troublesome, and this place is also very close to the company..."

One way or another, she had convinced herself.

Seeing Ono Yoko, who seemed to have agreed, Yin Kong fell into silence for a moment.