First Meeting with the Doctor

The next morning, after waking up and grabbing a bite to eat, Lin Maoxian hailed a taxi to the Kudo residence.

When he arrived, Kudo Shinichi and Yukiko were already waiting. Sitting beside them was a stout old man, who Lin Maoxian assumed must be Professor Agasa. The last time he had visited, Yukiko had simply made a phone call to lure the man out, so Lin Maoxian had never actually met him.

Seeing Lin Maoxian arrive, Kudo Shinichi stepped forward and asked, "So... how did your investigation go last night? Do they know I'm still alive?"

Investigate, my foot, Lin Maoxian thought. After dinner with Eri last night, he had gone straight to sleep; he might as well have investigated in his dreams. However, he put on a grave expression and said, "I did some digging last night. There were some strangers at the Beika Center Building asking around about Kudo Shinichi. It's safe to assume they've realized you're still alive. Honestly, you have yourself to blame for being so high-profile."

"What else could I do? Whenever I hear about a case, I just can't help but go check it out, and then..."

Lin Maoxian cut him off. "And then you can't help but solve it, right? Forget it. Since it's already happened, let's stop dwelling on it and figure out how to deal with them. Since they suspect you aren't dead, they'll definitely send people to scout this area soon. We need to be prepared; we can't wait for them to find us, or we'll be in a very passive position."

"What do you suggest we do, Lin?" Yukiko asked from the side.

Ignoring her, Lin Maoxian turned to the old man. "You must be Professor Agasa, who lives next door to Kudo Shinichi, right? It's a pleasure to meet you."

Professor Agasa smiled and returned the greeting. "Hello, yes, I am Professor Agasa, a genius inventor. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

"Professor, I'd like to ask, are those little gadgets of Shinichi's your inventions?"

"Of course they are! They're all my genius inventions. What do you think of them?" Speaking of his work, the Professor grew excited, his mustache twitching.

Lin Maoxian immediately chimed in, "They're truly genius inventions. I think they're absolutely brilliant. Do you happen to have any more of them? I was hoping to buy a few; they would be very helpful to me." He wanted to see if those items were obtainable and, if so, whether he could take them out of the space. Some of those gadgets were genuinely useful.

"I'm terribly sorry, I don't have any finished products on hand. If I were to make them from scratch, it would take at least five days." The Professor was pleased to have his work praised, but he told the truth.

"That is a real pity," Lin Maoxian said, feigning disappointment. Although he had been prepared for the possibility that these items wouldn't be easy to acquire—perhaps due to spatial restrictions—hearing the official answer was still a letdown.

Kudo Shinichi, who had been watching the exchange, spoke up. "Professor, didn't you make a prototype when you built those Tracking Glasses for me? You could bring that out."

At the mention, the Professor remembered. "Oh, that one! I'd almost forgotten about it since you didn't bring it up. Alright, let me go grab it."

Watching the Professor walk away, Lin Maoxian said gratefully, "Shinichi, thank you."

"It's nothing, just a small matter. Now, let's get back to how we're going to handle this." Kudo Shinichi brushed off the thanks and pressed for a solution.

"Fine. In my opinion, rather than waiting for them to come to us, we should find a way to lure them to a location of our choosing. We can set up traps there to weaken their strength and ultimately eliminate them. At the very least, if we choose the ground, we won't fall into their ambush." Lin Maoxian laid out the plan he had been considering.

Kudo Shinichi didn't object to the strategy, but he took issue with another point. "Kill them? Can't we just capture them? I haven't found the antidote yet, and I need to know more about that organization. We could capture them, interrogate them, and then hand them over to the police. Why do we have to kill them?"

Lin Maoxian was speechless at Kudo Shinichi's naivety. "Do you really think they're like the criminals you catch in your usual cases? They've been trained by that organization. Even if they don't spill secrets after being caught, once you hand them over to the Metropolitan Police Department, if their organization tracks you down, it won't just be you in danger—everyone around you will be, too. You need to think this through."

"Then what should we do? Is there no other way to find out about the antidote? And is killing really necessary?" Kudo Shinichi was caught off guard. While he wanted to hand them over to the police, he didn't want to put his loved ones at risk. He stopped arguing about the police, but he couldn't bring himself to kill. After all, it was a crime.

"Forget about the antidote for now. Focus on surviving this crisis; you can investigate the organization later. Once you uncover their secrets, the antidote will naturally surface. As for the killing, leave that to me. You just need to stay hidden, and I'll handle the rest." Lin Maoxian laid out his arrangement. Kudo Shinichi had some utility, but it was better if he stayed out of the fray. Given his physique, he probably couldn't take a single bullet; if he got hit, there would be no one to cry to.

"I suppose that's the only way. But I won't hide. I'll be acting with you; I won't shy away from this." Knowing he had no choice, Kudo Shinichi agreed to the plan, but he refused to stay sidelined.

Yukiko, who had been silent until now, spoke up after hearing Kudo Shinichi. "Shinichi, this is too dangerous. Listen to Lin—you shouldn't participate. If something happens to you, how could your mother go on?" She looked on the verge of tears.

"Mom, please don't be like this. I can't avoid this. I promise I'll be fine." Seeing Yukiko's distress, Kudo Shinichi felt a headache coming on. He didn't know what else to say, so he just kept insisting he would be safe and return unharmed.

Hearing this, Yukiko wiped the corners of her eyes and said, "Alright. But you have to promise me one thing, or I won't let you go on this adventure."

"Mom, just say it. As long as you let me go, I'll agree to anything." Kudo Shinichi promised before even hearing the condition.

Yukiko's tears turned into a smile. "You have to keep your word. It's simple: I'm coming with you on this mission."

"No, absolutely not!" Kudo Shinichi immediately regretted not asking first. This was non-negotiable. If his mother joined and something happened to her, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Yukiko wouldn't have it. "What? Are you going back on your word? If I can't go, you aren't going either. Besides, I'm your mother. If I want to go, I can go on my own; I don't need your permission."

"Mom, please don't do this. It's dangerous. We don't know their full strength yet. What if something happens to you? Please, just don't go. I'll come back safely, I promise." Kudo Shinichi tried desperately to dissuade her, but he couldn't let her come along.

"No, I must—"

Lin Maoxian stepped in to stop the argument before it dragged on. "Yukiko, you can come with us. But you must follow my instructions. Can you agree to that?"

"Don't worry, I'll follow your instructions!" Yukiko agreed immediately. She was just happy to be involved; following orders was a small price to pay for the thrill of the adventure.

Kudo Shinichi was unhappy. "How can you let my mother join something so dangerous? What if she gets hurt?"

Seeing Kudo Shinichi's frustration, and knowing they still needed to work together, Lin Maoxian decided to smooth things over. "You were with Ran yesterday, and we don't know if the organization noticed her. If your mother poses as a woman accompanying 'Kudo Shinichi,' then even if they had their eyes on Ran, seeing this woman should keep them from bothering her. We don't know how likely that is, but it's better to be safe than sorry, don't you think?"

"But..."

Seeing Kudo Shinichi about to protest, Lin Maoxian cut him off. "No 'buts.' I can tell you this: Yukiko won't be harmed. If anyone is going to get hurt, it'll be me first. I'll intercept the danger before it reaches her. You can rest easy."