Meeting Professor Agasa

The next morning, after waking up and eating a little, Lin Maoxian took a taxi to the Kudo household.

When he arrived, Kudo Shinichi and Yukiko were already waiting. A chubby old man was sitting beside them, who was probably Professor Agasa. The last time Lin had gone to his house, Yukiko had called him and invited him out, so Lin hadn't met him at all.

As soon as Kudo Shinichi saw Lin Maoxian, he stepped forward and asked, "Um... how did your investigation go last night? Do they know I'm still alive?"

Lin Maoxian thought, Investigate my ass. After dinner with Eri yesterday, I went straight home and fell asleep. The only place I could've investigated was in my dreams. But he kept a serious expression and said, "I looked into it last night. There are some strangers around the Beika Center Building asking people about Kudo Shinichi. It seems they already know you're still alive. And really, this is your fault for making such a scene."

"What could I do? Whenever I hear there's a case, I can't help going to check it out. And then..."

Lin Maoxian cut him off. "And then you couldn't help solving it, right? Forget it. It's already happened, so there's no point discussing it. We should focus on how to deal with them. Since they already suspect you're still alive, they'll definitely send someone here to probe before long. We need to be prepared. We can't wait until they find this place, or we'll be at a serious disadvantage."

"Then what do you suggest, Lin?" Yukiko asked from beside them.

Lin Maoxian didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to the old man and said, "You're Professor Agasa, Kudo Shinichi's neighbor, right? It's nice to meet you."

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

"Professor, I wanted to ask: did you invent all those little gadgets Shinichi uses?"

"Of course! They're all my genius inventions. What do you think?" Professor Agasa grew excited at the mention of his inventions; even his mustache seemed to curl upward.

Lin Maoxian immediately agreed. "They really are genius inventions. I think they're all fantastic. Do you have any more? I'd like to buy a few from you. They'd be very useful to me." He wanted to see if he could get his hands on those gadgets and whether he could take them out afterward. Some of them were very useful.

"I'm afraid I don't have any finished ones left. If I have to make them from scratch, it'll take at least five days." Professor Agasa was happy to have his work praised, but he still told Lin the truth.

"That's too bad," Lin Maoxian said sadly. He'd already expected it wouldn't be easy to get those gadgets, perhaps because of some restriction imposed by this place. Still, hearing it confirmed was disappointing.

Kudo Shinichi, who had been watching everything, spoke up. "Professor, didn't you make a prototype when you made my Tracking Glasses last time? You could give him that."

Kudo Shinichi's reminder jogged Professor Agasa's memory. "Oh, that one! I'd almost forgotten about it. All right, I'll go get it."

Watching Professor Agasa leave, Lin Maoxian said gratefully, "Shinichi, thanks."

"It's nothing. Just a small thing. We should focus on what we're going to do about this," Kudo Shinichi said. He didn't think much of Lin's thanks and turned back to the problem at hand.

"All right. I think that instead of waiting for them to come to us, we should find a way to lure them somewhere. Then we can prepare the area, weaken them, and ultimately eliminate them. At the very least, if we choose the location, we won't fall into their trap." Lin Maoxian laid out the plan he'd already worked out.

Kudo Shinichi didn't say much about that plan, but he strongly objected to something else. "Kill them? Can't we capture them instead? I haven't found the antidote yet, and I still want to learn more about that organization. We can capture them, interrogate them, and then hand them over to the police. Why kill them?"

Lin Maoxian was speechless at Kudo Shinichi's naivety. "Do you think they're like the criminals you usually catch while solving cases? They were trained by an organization. Never mind whether they'd tell us anything after being captured—if you hand them over to the Japanese Metropolitan Police Department and their organization follows the trail back to you, it won't just be you who gets into trouble. The people around you will be in danger too. You need to think this through."

"Then what do we do? Is there no way to find out about the antidote? And do we really have to kill them?" Kudo Shinichi was caught off guard. He wanted to capture them and leave things to the police, but he didn't want that to put the people close to him in danger. He dropped the idea of handing them over to the police, but he still couldn't bring himself to kill anyone. No matter how you looked at it, that would be a crime.

"As for the antidote, I don't think you should worry about it this time. Focus on getting through this crisis first. You can investigate the organization later. Once you find out more about it, the question of the antidote will naturally come up. And as for killing them, leave that to me. This time, all you need to do is hide somewhere safe. Let me handle everything else." Lin Maoxian explained his plan. Kudo Shinichi might be useful, but it was better if he didn't get involved. From the look of him, he might not even be able to take a single bullet. If he got shot by accident, there'd be no bringing him back.

"Then I guess that's the only way. But I'm not going to hide. I'll go with you. I won't run away from this." Knowing he had no choice, Kudo Shinichi agreed—but he wouldn't accept being kept away from the situation.

Yukiko, who had been standing silently nearby, immediately spoke up after hearing Kudo Shinichi. "Shinichi, this is too dangerous. Listen to Lin; you shouldn't take part. If something happened to you, how could your mother go on living?" By the end, tears welled in her eyes, and she looked ready to cry.

"Mom, don't be like that. I can't avoid this. I promise I'll be fine." Seeing Yukiko like that gave Kudo Shinichi a headache. He didn't know what to say, so he could only keep promising that he'd be safe and come back unharmed.

Hearing that, Yukiko dabbed at the corner of her eye. "All right, but you have to promise me one thing. Otherwise, I won't let you go on this dangerous mission."

"Mom, tell me what it is. As long as you let me go, I'll agree to anything." Hearing that she'd let him join the mission, Kudo Shinichi promised before even finding out what she wanted.

Kudo Shinichi's words immediately made Yukiko stop crying and smile. "You have to keep your word. What I'm asking is simple: I'm going with you on this mission."

"No way! Absolutely not!" Kudo Shinichi immediately regretted it. He should've found out what she wanted first. He could never agree to something like that. If his mother joined the mission and something happened to her, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

Yukiko immediately protested. "What, are you going to take back what you just said? If I can't go, then you can't 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, and we don't know anything about them yet. What if something happens to you? What would I do? Please don't go. I promise I'll come back safe and sound." Kudo Shinichi tried desperately to talk her out of it. He absolutely couldn't let his mother come along.

"No, I'm definitely—"

Seeing that, Lin Maoxian quickly cut Yukiko off before she could continue. Otherwise, who knew how long they'd go back and forth? "Yukiko, you can come with us. But you have to follow my instructions. Can you agree to that?"

"Don't worry. I'll do whatever you say," Yukiko replied quickly. She was already thrilled to be part of the mission. Following someone else's instructions was no big deal—as long as she could join the adventure.

Kudo Shinichi, however, was unhappy. "How can you let my mom take part in something this dangerous? What if something happens to her?"

Seeing Kudo Shinichi's displeased expression, Lin Maoxian figured that since they still had to work together, it was best to clear the air. "Yesterday, you went with Ran. We don't know whether the organization noticed her. Your mother can disguise herself as a woman and stay beside 'Kudo Shinichi.' Then, even if they noticed Ran before, they'll probably stop going after her when they see this woman with you. We don't know how likely that is, but it's better to take precautions. What do you think?"

"But..."

Seeing that Kudo Shinichi was about to say more, Lin Maoxian cut him off. "No buts. I can tell you this: nothing will happen to Yukiko. If anyone gets hurt, it'll be me first. I'll intercept the danger before it reaches her, so she'll be safe. Don't worry."