Guchuan: I'm Scarily Strong Now

"Guchuan, breakfast is ready."

Little Ai held Guchuan's doorknob, surprised to find that it wouldn't open.

Usually, Little Ai would just enter Guchuan's room and wake him up directly. Why had he locked the door today?

Little Ai pressed her ear against the door. That guy had to be up to no good.

Guchuan lay sprawled on his bed and opened his system panel.

Name: Guchuan Ning

Age: 19

Collection Points: 237

Skills: Martial Arts, 'Clean Little Hands,' 'Driving Mastery,' 'Shooting Mastery'...

Items: Mysterious Key

The "evenly matched" beating he'd received from Gin had made Guchuan far too full of himself, leading to this oversight that had nearly gotten him ambushed by that brat Conan.

Having learned his lesson, Guchuan decided to go into seclusion and improve himself.

"The Voice-Changing Bowtie and watch together were worth twenty-five Collection Points. That's nearly a quarter of a Little Ai." Guchuan smiled at his balance.

Next time, he would stock up from Conan again.

When Guchuan turned his attention to the purchase list, he nearly drooled.

'World Shuttle Talisman' cost ten thousand and required picking up Little Ai a hundred times.

'Intelligence Boost MAX' cost eight thousand and required picking up Little Ai eighty times.

Guchuan began to wonder whether he could earn Collection Points by letting Little Ai out and then picking her up again. If he could, he'd be rich.

After fantasizing for a while, Guchuan gave up on the impractical idea.

There was no way the system would leave such a huge loophole for him.

Guchuan spent thirty Collection Points to buy 'Combat Mastery,' twenty-five Collection Points to buy 'Sound Localization,' and another fifty Collection Points to buy 'Danger Perception.'

Remembering that aside from clothes, he had never bought Little Ai a gift before, he spent another twenty Collection Points on one for her.

Collection Points: 112

His seclusion complete, Guchuan sprang off the bed.

He threw a few punches but didn't feel anything unusual about his body. He only felt as though he had gained some muscle memory. His hearing had also become much sharper; he could hear the little girl outside the door pressing her ear against it to eavesdrop on him.

Guchuan loosened his joints and slammed his fists together.

Right now, he felt scarily strong.

Hearing Guchuan's footsteps, Little Ai hurried away.

"Creak~"

Guchuan emerged from the bedroom and saw Little Ai sitting elegantly in her chair, eating porridge in small bites. Her breathing was steady, and she occasionally stirred the bowl with her spoon.

"Is it good?" Guchuan naturally sat down beside Little Ai.

Little Ai said nothing, afraid that if she opened her mouth, her breathing would grow heavier and Guchuan would notice something was off.

"What are you doing?!"

Her bowl was snatched from her hands, and Little Ai glared at Guchuan in displeasure.

"It's completely cold. Don't eat it."

Guchuan scooped up a spoonful.

"I deliberately waited until it cooled down before eating it," Little Ai said, feigning nonchalance.

"Kids shouldn't eat cold food."

Guchuan picked Little Ai up. She struggled desperately, but a grade schooler's body couldn't possibly resist the strong Guchuan.

Bang!

Guchuan carried Little Ai out of the house.

Wearing slippers, Little Ai blankly stared at the front door before her and at Guchuan, who had shut the door and gone back inside. She hadn't processed what had just happened.

Before she could overthink it, Guchuan came back out and carried Little Ai inside again.

"What are you doing?" Little Ai asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Guchuan smiled.

Little Ai's face darkened. Was this guy having another episode? Living with a lunatic every day, she would be driven insane sooner or later.

Little Ai stormed back into the kitchen to reheat the food, while Guchuan muttered to himself.

Sure enough, the system hadn't given him a chance to exploit a loophole.

"Ring ring ring ring ring~"

The landline rang, and Guchuan picked it up.

"This is Guchuan Ning."

"Dr. Fukuyama already told me."

"Uh."

Guchuan Ning froze. That voice sounded like his biological dad. Dr. Fukuyama? That doctor with mental problems?

"I've been far too neglectful of you. I actually let you develop a mental illness."

The voice on the other end was calm.

"I'm not sick!"

Guchuan Yuan ignored Guchuan Ning's explanation and continued speaking to himself.

"Your behavior after returning to Japan has been extremely strange. I never expected you to have developed a mental illness. Be more careful from now on. I don't have the time to look after you."

"Yeah, yeah." Guchuan responded helplessly.

He had merely found his true self. He definitely wasn't mentally ill.

"I transferred some money into your account. And regarding that 'younger sister' of yours, I only hope your strange hobby doesn't reach the media."

Before Guchuan could say, "She really is my sister," Guchuan Yuan had already hung up.

Pah!

With no manners whatsoever, Guchuan spat on his own floor.

What a filthy old man. He, Guchuan Ning, was an upright, kind, exemplary young man. How could he possibly be as depraved as that old man imagined?

Little Ai's face darkened again when she saw the phlegm Guchuan had spat out.

"Clean the floor, or you won't get any food I make for the rest of the day."

"Got it, got it." Guchuan went to get the mop.

"Wait, this is for you." Little Ai handed Guchuan a bag.

"What is this?"

Guchuan opened the bag and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"A disability certificate?"

Then Guchuan looked at the name "Guchuan Ning" written on it and went blank.

"Since when was I disabled?"

"Don't you know you're brain-dead?"

"Kids aren't allowed to insult people!" Guchuan angrily gave Little Ai a smack on the head.

Little Ai held her head and looked at Guchuan awkwardly.

"It's because you have a mental illness. Someone just delivered this certificate to the house."

Guchuan flew into a rage.

He had just been mistaken for mentally ill by that old man Guchuan Yuan, and the very next second, a "mental illness certificate" was delivered to his home.

"What right do they have to give me a disability certificate? What right do they have to say I'm mentally ill? Did they go through the proper legal procedures?" Guchuan protested.

"Young Master Guchuan is the descendant of a high-ranking official, after all. Of course the certificate had to be processed a little faster," Little Ai said sarcastically.

"And if Young Master Guchuan breaks the law again, there'll be a reason for it too."

"Call me big brother." Guchuan tugged at Little Ai's mouth, earning himself a round of eye-rolls.

"Professor Agasa, my identity may have been exposed."

"What?!" The coffee in Professor Agasa's hand spilled onto the floor.

"Shinichi, how could you be so careless? Let's hurry up, pack our things, and run!"

Conan slapped his forehead.

"It hasn't reached that point yet. Besides, that person only noticed that I don't seem like an elementary school student. He can't be sure that I'm Shinichi Kudo," Conan said without much confidence.

Though he said Guchuan might not know his identity.

When he thought of Guchuan's terrifying deductive ability, all it would take was comparing the time Shinichi Kudo disappeared with the time "Sleeping Kogoro" appeared to deduce his identity.

He just didn't know whether Guchuan would believe something so absurd.

A high school student turning into an elementary school student—this simply wasn't scientific!