Guchuan: I Have a Lead on Sherry

"It's finally over."

Guchuan stretched lazily and loosened up.

"What have you been secretly laughing about?" Guchuan vigorously rubbed Little Ai's head, turning her hair into a complete mess.

"I'm laughing at what a big idiot you are." Little Ai brushed his hand away.

"After hearing the things you said, I doubt you even graduated from high school." Little Ai mocked him bluntly, looking at Guchuan with the contempt of a top student.

"You don't even have an elementary school diploma. How dare you laugh at me?!"

"Guchuan!" Conan looked at Guchuan in delighted surprise and hurried over.

Guchuan cursed his bad luck under his breath. On his very first day out at work, he had run into the Grim Reaper. And not just one Grim Reaper, but the Grim Reaper Trio.

He did remember that someone would die at the TV station, but he did not know exactly which day it would happen.

After all, time in the Conan world... those who knew, knew.

"Conan." Guchuan perfunctorily greeted him.

Little Ai turned back into her withdrawn-girl mode and did not want to deal with Conan.

"Mr. Guchuan, I didn't expect to run into you at the TV station too. What a coincidence," Ran said with a smile.

"It is quite a coincidence. I'm working here for the time being," Guchuan said.

"Really? My dad was invited onto a program as a guest, so we came along with him."

Conan kept wanting to drag Guchuan into discussing The Winery, and Guchuan was getting impatient. But when he remembered that he was still on the clock and could not leave, his mood suddenly soured.

"Today is Kogoro Mouri's big break. Can't you focus on Kogoro Mouri for once? We can talk about the organization whenever," Guchuan said with a yawn.

"His big break?" Conan asked in confusion.

"With you Grim Reaper Trio gathered together, it'll be hard for the TV station to wrap things up without several people dying. And with television as a platform, once Kogoro Mouri solves a case, he'll definitely gain a lot of fans."

"What are you talking about? I'm not a Grim Reaper!" Conan said indignantly.

As a detective, it was perfectly normal for him to encounter slightly more murder cases than ordinary people. Besides, whenever he was with Guchuan, not that many people had died. So the real Grim Reaper had to be Uncle Mori, right?

Conan looked toward Kogoro Mouri onstage, while Kogoro was still cheerfully recounting his legendary method of solving cases in his sleep.

Thinking back on the upcoming case, Guchuan felt there was not much he could do to stir things up. He decided to find Choso Fuji, ask for leave, and go home.

"Guchuan, aren't you going to watch Uncle Mori's program to the end?"

"No. Today is the 7,135th-day anniversary of my birth, and seeing a dead person would be bad luck." Guchuan waved his hand.

"What? How could anyone die?" Conan curled his lips skeptically.

The previous cases had all just been accidents. Mysticism was not believable; he was a staunch materialist warrior.

"Little Ai, let's go."

"Why aren't you going to play with your little friends a while longer today?" Little Ai asked.

"You're my little friend." Guchuan casually tossed out a sweet line.

"Heh heh."

Little Ai's face was wrapped up tightly, so her expression could not be seen.

"Come on, let's get barbecue. I feel like I could eat an entire cow right now."

Guchuan took Little Ai away, while Choso Fuji also noticed the note left on his desk.

My little sister is sick. I'm taking leave and going home early. —Guchuan

"What? Mr. Suwa is covered in blood? Got it, I'm going right away."

What?

Conan, who had heard the news, felt conflicted. Could it be just as Guchuan had said? Was he some kind of weird Grim Reaper?

No, that could not be it. Before he had shrunk, there clearly had not been this many murder cases.

So this had to be Uncle Mori's fault, right?

The night was deep. Guchuan opened the door to Little Ai's bedroom and saw that she was already sound asleep, a strange smile appearing on his face.

Little Ai was asleep, so then...

She wouldn't know I was sneaking out tonight!

Guchuan changed into a black trench coat, applied some disguise to his face, and left the house.

When he arrived at the bar where he often had such a loving relationship with Gin, he found it locked up. Dust had already settled on the lock, making it clear that no one had come by for a long time.

"Hello, hello, hello." Guchuan dialed Gin's number.

"What is it?" A cold voice came from the phone.

"Why did our organization's bar close down? Did we change hideouts? Why didn't you tell me? Do you even consider me one of your own?" Guchuan angrily accused Gin.

As the organization's future true helmsman, not being able to find the organization's hideout was simply absurd.

To Guchuan's surprise, Gin on the other end of the line was even more furious than he was.

"The original hideout was reported by an idiotic member of the organization. To keep the organization from losing another hideout, we won't tell that idiot! And if that idiot keeps being stupid, I'll definitely put a bullet through him!"

The fact that Gin had said so much in one breath was enough to show how furious he was.

"I have a lead on Sherry."

Guchuan's words immediately extinguished Gin's anger.

"Where is she?"

"It's only a lead. I haven't found her yet," Guchuan said unhurriedly.

"What's the lead?"

"It's hard to explain over the phone. Let's talk face-to-face. Tell me where the organization's new hideout is. Don't worry, no one will report it this time."

After much persuasion, Guchuan finally learned the organization's new hideout.

Having nearly been excluded from the organization, Guchuan decided to behave himself for a while.

Guchuan rode his motorcycle to the new bar. It was located in a quiet area, with hardly any customers inside. The moment he entered, he saw Gin and Vodka sitting together and drinking.

"I'll have a cola. Ice, no sugar. Put it on Vodka's tab."

Guchuan was a little surprised that the bartender was the same one from before. He had not expected the man to continue working as a bartender after nearly murdering Vodka.

He did not know whether the organization was exceptionally humane, or whether Vodka simply was not important to the organization at all.

"What's the lead?" Gin asked.

"I know Sherry had an older sister who used to work at a bank." Guchuan took the cola and drank deeply.

Ever since Little Ai had entered his home, Guchuan had not had cola in a long time.

Gin stared at him coldly, murder in his eyes.

"Sherry's sister was an outer member of the organization. We already killed her," Vodka said to Guchuan.

And the pistol used to kill Akemi Miyano had also been taken away by this brat, Guchuan.

"Really?" Guchuan pretended to be surprised.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? You made me waste so much effort. So the responsibility is yours, not mine."

"Enough." Gin looked at Guchuan impatiently.

"What other leads do you have?"

"None." Guchuan spread his hands.

"I originally thought that since I knew Sherry had a sister, I could follow that trail. Who knew you had already killed her? Not that I'm saying anything, but you killed her sister. You can't blame her for wanting to run away."

Gin's expression turned cold, and the atmosphere visibly grew tense.