Data Collection Glasses

Chapter 23: Data Collection Glasses

Hearing Lin Maoxian put it this way, Kudo Shinichi stopped insisting.

Yukiko, standing to the side, also offered comfort: "Shinichi, don't you worry. Although I'm participating in the operation, I won't be the one arresting people. I'm just helping out with some tasks and getting involved; there won't be any danger. Besides, don't you underestimate your mother—I'm quite capable, you know."

"Alright, but you must be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you." Kudo Shinichi had no choice but to compromise; he feared that if he continued to object, he wouldn't be allowed to go at all. Furthermore, if she ended up going alone, it would be even more dangerous. If they were all together, he could at least look after her.

Seeing that Kudo Shinichi was no longer pushing the issue, Lin Maoxian laid out his plan: "This time, although we are going to engage that organization, they aren't aware of my existence yet, nor do they know that we are onto them. They currently have no defenses, which gives us an advantage. My idea is to lure them to a place we've pre-arranged, such as a wharf or the suburbs—somewhere with fewer people. This is to avoid collateral damage on one hand, and to prevent outside interference from ruining our operation on the other. What do you think of this approach?" This was the plan he had conceived from the start; by controlling the timing and the terrain, their chances of victory would increase significantly.

Kudo Shinichi thought for a moment and said, "Your plan is sound, but how do we lure them to the place we want? They shouldn't be that easy to fool, and we don't even know how many people they have."

Yukiko chimed in, "Exactly. Not only do we not know their numbers, but we also don't know what kind of weaponry they have. After all, they are members of a large organization; if nothing else, they surely won't be short on guns, while we have absolutely nothing."

"Who says we have nothing? Shinichi's Power-Enhancing Shoes are quite good, and isn't he excellent at soccer? We can stockpile a bunch of soccer balls at the ambush site; we won't have to worry about running out. That alone is a top-tier weapon. As for you, Yukiko, you don't need to participate in the combat, so it doesn't matter if you have a weapon or not. As for me, don't you worry—I have my own." Lin Maoxian analyzed the situation for them; whether or not they had guns didn't matter, as long as they could hit their targets.

Hearing Lin Maoxian's words, Kudo Shinichi said with a troubled expression, "But... but in my current state, I can't fit into those shoes."

Lin Maoxian rolled his eyes at Kudo Shinichi, feeling speechless: "Shinichi, I think you're overthinking this. The effect of your medicine won't last long; you'll turn back into Conan soon enough. We'll schedule the battle for the evening, and we can use the afternoon to set things up."

"Oh!" Kudo Shinichi had clearly forgotten that he would revert to being Conan. He hadn't felt any signs of the medicine wearing off yet and had assumed he could stay this way indefinitely.

"Then, do you have a way to determine how many people they have?" Yukiko asked from the side. If there were too many of them, they wouldn't stand a chance—after all, two fists are no match for four hands. Not to mention that their fists might not even be stronger than the others'.

"I don't know how many there are. However, our goal is to lure them to our prepared location. I know two of their handlers, so we just need to lure them over. No matter how many people they have, we only need to deal with those two." Lin Maoxian had been prepared for Yukiko's question and answered directly.

Lin Maoxian's words stirred something in Kudo Shinichi, who couldn't help but ask, "Since you know who their handlers are, why don't we just go straight to them? Why go through all this trouble?"

Lin Maoxian looked Kudo Shinichi up and down, truly unable to understand where the organized, brilliant Kudo Shinichi had gone. Why did he keep asking such foolish questions? "Don't you realize? Wherever they are, they'll be heavily guarded. If we go there, we'll be walking straight into the lion's den. We wouldn't even have a chance to escape, let alone arrest or kill anyone. We'd be lucky to keep our lives. Besides, I should clarify: I don't know where they are right now. Finding their hideout is impossible."

Before Kudo Shinichi could say anything, Yukiko asked, "If you don't know where they are, how are we going to lure them to our location?"

"Don't be impatient, I haven't finished yet." Lin Maoxian waved his hand, signaling them not to rush; he still had more to say. "I don't know where they are, but I know they drive a Porsche, and they all wear black clothes. If we ask the police for a little help, we can find their location. Once we do, as long as 'Kudo Shinichi' drives past them, I'm certain they will give chase. Then we can lead them to the prepared site. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Yukiko immediately objected: "No, that's too dangerous for Shinichi. What if they catch up or start shooting? I won't agree to this."

Seeing Yukiko's opposition, Lin Maoxian didn't mind much. He knew it was a stretch, which was why he was prepared. "Yukiko, you forgot what I just said. By evening, Shinichi will have turned back into Conan. How could he possibly do something so dangerous?"

"Bu... but didn't you just say you wanted Shinichi to drive and lure them?" Yukiko asked, confused.

Lin Maoxian patiently explained, "I said I wanted 'Kudo Shinichi' to go because they are the ones hunting Kudo Shinichi himself; anyone else going would be useless. But I never said it had to be Kudo Shinichi in person. We just need someone to disguise themselves as him. That's where you come in, Yukiko."

"No, no, we can't let Mom do something so dangerous." This time, it was Kudo Shinichi who objected. Hearing that Yukiko would have to take such a risk, he immediately protested.

Watching the mother and son with their identical temperaments, Lin Maoxian felt a headache coming on. He had just finished explaining one thing, only to have to explain it all over again—it was truly exhausting.

Ignoring Kudo Shinichi's expression, Lin Maoxian said directly, "I don't want either of you to interrupt me for the rest of this. If you have questions, wait until I'm finished. Is that clear?"

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Lin Maoxian continued: "Good. Listen closely. My plan is for Shinichi to wait in ambush at our prepared site. Yukiko will disguise me as Kudo Shinichi, and then you will disguise yourself as well—don't appear as yourself. Dress as a girl and drive for me while I sit in the passenger seat. We'll drive past them to lure them in. As for them shooting, I don't think they are that reckless; they should be wary of the Metropolitan Police Department's reaction and wouldn't dare open fire in the city. Now that I've laid it all out, ask whatever you want."

Hearing this, Yukiko said with a troubled look, "I don't have other questions, but to disguise you as Shinichi... your age gap is too large. I can only make you look about 40 or 50 percent like him; there's no way to make you look exactly like him. My makeup skills aren't that miraculous."

Lin Maoxian didn't mind: "40 or 50 percent is enough. We'll be driving past them, so they won't be able to identify us that easily. Besides, they aren't that familiar with Shinichi's appearance; they're likely just searching based on photos."

"I do have one question: how are we going to find them if we don't know where they are?" Kudo Shinichi asked.

"I've already thought about that. Aren't you familiar with the Metropolitan Police Department? Just ask them to keep an eye out for a black Porsche with people in black clothes inside. That should be easy enough to spot, and then we'll know where they are," Lin Maoxian explained.

"Shinichi! I finally found it. It was hidden away for so long I almost forgot where I put it!" Professor Agasa's voice came from outside the door.

Hearing the Professor, Lin Maoxian said to the two, "Alright, let's leave it at that for now. We can discuss the details later. For now, let's see what the Professor has and if it will be of any help."

"Oh my, it was tucked away for so long I nearly forgot where it was, which delayed me a bit," Professor Agasa said as he walked in.

He looked at the group, shook the object in his hand, and said proudly, "Although this is just a prototype, it's an incredible invention. It can scan and collect information on a target—a truly great invention." With that, he handed it over.

Lin Maoxian took it. It was an old-fashioned pair of glasses, plain and unremarkable. However, he received a prompt from the space.

Data Collection Glasses

[Quality]: Common

[Level]: Level 1

[Category]: Special

[Description]: Professor Agasa is a genius inventor. Whenever he has an idea, he immediately starts developing it. However, he never focuses on a single project, which is why he hasn't produced anything that has shocked the world yet. These glasses were a random idea he had, hoping to become a great scientist through them. Since he just started experimenting, the invention isn't perfected; these glasses are merely a prototype.

[Attribute]: Scan—Consumes 5 energy points to roughly collect information on a target and feed it back to the user.