Shinichi Kudo is Also Annoyed (Crying)

Teitan High School looked like any other standard Japanese high school.

Of course, Tang Ze didn't really know much about Japanese high schools. But as long as no big-nosed gym teacher jumped out at him and gave him a little P5 plot shock, he considered it a normal high school.

It was a rest day, and there were no students around the school, making it very quiet.

Tang Ze took out the black folder from his bag and handed the documents inside to Tooru Amuro one by one. Amuro then led him from office to office, filling out applications, bowing, filling out applications, getting stamps, bowing, and filling out applications.

Due to Tang Ze Zhao's special circumstances, he was more troublesome than a regular transfer student. After all, his previous academic records had been wiped out when he was expelled. The forms he had to fill out seemed endless, and it took him over an hour just to complete the paperwork.

The good news was that he now had a basic understanding of his original body's family situation, as some of the information on the application forms was pre-filled.

Tang Ze Zhao's father was named Tang Ze Yichuan, and his mother was Tang Ze Leona, who, as expected, was of mixed heritage.

They lived in Kyoto—he already knew that. Tang Ze found JR tickets from Kyoto to Tokyo in his bag. He was 18 years old and had originally attended Senshin High School in Kyoto.

...It sounded a bit familiar, but it didn't matter. He was already living downstairs from Conan, and his guardian was Tooru Amuro. What more outrageous buffs could there be? He was actually curious to see what else would happen.

It wasn't until he saw his parents' names that the images of the couple flashed through Tang Ze's mind.

Although he still had no memories of his original body interacting with his parents, he did recall that the Tang Ze couple were scholars who lived abroad. Tang Ze Zhao had been left in Japan to attend school, and they rarely saw each other, so he wasn't close to his parents.

Even when Tang Ze Zhao got involved in a criminal lawsuit, his parents didn't return to handle it. They simply hired a proxy lawyer to manage everything, and the original body was sentenced without any chance to resist amidst the machinations of a group of unfamiliar adults.

...This was truly absurd.

After signing the last document, Tang Ze held the thin paper, gazing at his parents' names on the form, his heart filled with emotion.

Looking back from his perspective, the entire process of the original body being framed wasn't a complex conspiracy or scheme. It was a simple, crude matter of collusion and falsification of evidence, and the case was closed.

There was indeed no need for elaborate methods. His only ally, his guardian, hadn't shown up at all. He was a minor, without a voice, without any means of seeking help. Even the privacy laws protecting minors had been twisted into the perfect shield to obscure the public's view, making it incredibly easy to crush a high school student.

Considering the potential involvement of the Organization, the truth became even more uncertain. It was hard to say where the Tang Ze couple were now, or if they were even still alive.

"What's wrong? Having trouble filling it out?" As soon as Tooru Amuro emerged from the principal's office, he saw Tang Ze staring blankly at the papers. He came over to look at the forms in his hand.

"It's nothing, it's all done," Tang Ze maintained his persona diligently, with a face full of "clearly something is wrong" worry, and answered with feigned calmness, "Thank you so much for going through all this trouble for me."

Tooru Amuro took the thick stack of documents from his hand and smiled nonchalantly, "Since I've already agreed to your request, this is what a guardian should do. Don't be so polite."

"'What a guardian should do'?" Tang Ze muttered softly.

Tooru Amuro naturally heard his self-talk. He quickly scanned the first form placed on top and immediately saw the section on family relationships written at the beginning.

Amuro, who had already accepted Tang Ze's persona of being "abandoned by family and society, withdrawn, and even a little dark," readily received the message Tang Ze wanted to convey.

Poor thing, Tang Ze Zhao. Knowing the cause and effect, Amuro sighed inwardly.

Poor thing, Tang Ze Zhao. Tang Ze, unaware of the cause and effect, was also sighing.

The two nested dolls, in the depths of fate, reached a consensus and left the school in good spirits.

"Here are the keys to the cafe, and this one is for the attic. The cafe will always be open, so remember to lock the attic when you go out normally and be careful," Amuro said as they returned to the cafe near closing time. After tidying up and preparing to close the cafe, Amuro handed two keys to Tang Ze, briefly explaining the cafe's situation.

Tang Ze was listening intently at first, but as he listened, he couldn't help but start to drift off.

Because from the direction opposite them, two figures, one tall and one short, were walking towards them, their shadows stretching long in the twilight.

The taller one was a slender girl with a gentle face and waist-length black hair. The shorter one was... a little boy wearing a small blue suit, a bow tie, and large glasses.

The two walked towards them hand in hand, brushed past him and Amuro, turned, and headed for the stairs next to the Polo Cafe.

...That's right.

So, Tang Ze corrected his previous thought.

It wasn't that Shinichi Kudo hadn't been hit yet and the Organization surfaced for Tang Ze Zhao; it was that Shinichi Kudo was being hit while the Organization surfaced for Tang Ze Zhao.

All day, today was the starting point of the Conan storyline. When Tang Ze woke up on the train, Shinichi Kudo was probably just walking into Tropical Land.

Catching a glimpse of the two going upstairs out of the corner of his eye, Tang Ze refocused his attention and took the keys Amuro handed him.

"You go upstairs and sort out your things first, get some good rest." Seeing Tang Ze fiddling with the two keys, trying to figure out where to string them together, Amuro reached out as if to tousle his soft hair.

Tang Ze dodged nimbly.

What's going on, Bourbon? If you want to act, then act, but stop touching people's heads!

Amuro, dodged by Tang Ze, paused and looked at him with interest, "You're quite quick."

Tang Ze really wanted to say some classic lines about how touching heads stunts growth, but he thought it didn't fit the persona he had just created, so he held back and turned into the cafe, "I'll go rest now."

"Rest well, see you tomorrow, Classmate Tang Ze." Watching Tang Ze slowly walk upstairs, Amuro's smile faded.

He turned and walked towards his car, taking out his phone to compose an email.

[Have made contact with the target as planned. Did not find the documents mentioned in the intelligence within the target's personal belongings and luggage. Proceed as planned?]

After clicking send, he opened another hidden encrypted email interface and composed a second message.

[Any feedback from Kyoto? How much has been investigated regarding the details of Tang Ze Zhao's case?]

After checking the vehicle and ensuring there were no listening or transmitting devices, Amuro, having completed the preliminary procedures, opened the door of the Mazda RX7 and got into the driver's seat.

Starting the car, he waited for replies to both emails while staring at the Polo Cafe, which was now dark.

Only a faint warm yellow light seeped from the stairs behind the counter in the pitch-black cafe. Tang Ze Zhao had probably closed the door upstairs, making it difficult to see what he was doing.

Tang Ze Zhao, a special high school student offender.

A juvenile offender for severe assault is rare in itself. Such a sentence for a minor basically signifies a malicious violent crime case, and one with particularly bad nature and serious circumstances.

But despite the severe assault, he received a protective supervision disposition, and was transferred from Kansai to Tokyo to serve his protective supervision period. Is the entire case's judgment and handling truly compliant?

What's more, he is a target the Organization has its eyes on. How much of this judgment is a result of the Organization's interference?

Damn it, have the Metropolitan Police Department and the Prosecution Department been infiltrated this severely?

As he was in a bad mood, silently organizing the current information, replies came from both sides.

[The plan remains unchanged. Maintain contact and observation, and gain the target's trust as soon as possible. He is the only one who might know the whereabouts of the information. Pay attention to his interpersonal relationships. The target is under the observation of multiple parties. Unless you are confident you can avoid alerting the police, do not resort to interrogation methods easily.]

[The Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department has no new information. The supervising police officer and prosecutor are registered in the records as Ishiki Ichiro and Sato Ken from the Kyoto First Investigation Division, but both individuals deny any involvement in the case. Mr. Furuya, the biggest breakthrough remains Tang Ze Zhao himself.]

After finishing both emails, Tooru Amuro shook his head and deleted them one by one.

"What a troublesome guy. How did a student get into so much trouble?" Tooru Amuro mentally processed the information he had, becoming more and more perplexed. "Why is the Organization targeting him?"

However, this was also an opportunity not to be missed.

What does the Organization want from him, and what is that information? This is a good chance to find a weakness and clarify the Organization's true intentions and plans.

"Good luck to both of us, classmate Tang Ze," Tooru Amuro sighed and sped off.

The undercover agent, who was currently working three jobs, had to go back to his place and continue working overtime.