Guns and Coffee in the World of Science

Chapter 51 The Adventures of Conan

Conan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He suppressed the impulse in his heart, but the restless feeling was still lingering in his heart like a poisonous snake.

He waited until night fell, almost with gritted teeth. Finally, the two people outside the door began to snore softly, and Conan dared to take action.

He muttered quietly, "Okay, Kudo Shinichi, calm down, you can do this." But inside, regret was churning like a tide. He couldn't help but blame himself: "How could it turn out like this? If I hadn't been so impulsive, maybe I wouldn't have implicated everyone now."

The faces of his family and friends, their trust and smiles, flashed through his mind. The thought of their danger, caused by his recklessness, made Conan's chest feel like a huge rock was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe. He shook his head, trying to shake off these negative thoughts. Now was not the time to wallow in self-pity. Only by escaping could he remedy all this.

Conan dragged his tired body to the cupboard and found an empty bottle of wine. He stared at the bottle and said to himself: "God, please help me, even if it's just a little bit of luck." He sighed softly, picked up the bottle quickly, and then found a dirty old blanket.

"This damn blanket..." He carefully wrapped his foot around the bottle, silently praying not to make too much noise. He knew that every mistake now could cost him his entire mission, or even everyone's lives. The regret he felt just now surged back like a tide, making it difficult for him to breathe. Countless images flashed through his mind - if he failed, would his friends be treated cruelly? Would his parents die? Xiaolan...

"No, no, I can't fail." Conan clenched his teeth and forced himself to concentrate. The anxiety and fear in his heart were suppressed by a desperate determination. He stepped down hard, and the cracking sound was so faint that it was almost inaudible.

Conan stood frozen in place, his heart pounding like it was about to burst out of his throat. He could almost feel every breath he took, afraid to wake the guards outside. "Calm down, calm down, they're still asleep," he kept telling himself, but his hands never stopped. He grabbed a piece of broken glass and quickly cut the ropes that bound him.

When the rope finally broke, Conan felt a sharp pain in his wrist, but this pain made him feel surprisingly relieved. At least, he was free now.

Conan quietly moved to the door, bent down slightly, and listened to the movements outside. In the quiet of the night, even the sound of breathing seemed to become a little clearer. Conan breathed a sigh of relief and muttered softly, "Sleep, sleep well, when you wake up, you will only see an empty room."

He no longer hesitated, preparing to take the next step, his heart pounding but his expression calm. He knew he had to concentrate completely, because one wrong move would be disastrous.

---

The next morning, a woman's scream was heard from the cabin. The fat woman yelled, "He's gone! The little brat ran away!" She pointed to the open kitchen window and said angrily, "Look, he must have jumped out of here!"

The masked man accompanying her was remarkably calm. With his hands in his pockets, he slowly walked to the window, peered out, and then shook his head, saying calmly, "Don't get excited. He didn't run away." The fat woman was stunned for a moment: "What? What do you mean?"

"Forget about the fact that we're on the second floor. Even if he had the guts to jump down, there should have been some movement on the ground, right?" The masked man pointed to the empty space under the window and frowned slightly. "There aren't even any footprints here, which means he didn't escape through the window. And with you and me guarding the door, there's no way he could have left through that door."

The fat woman's face darkened and she muttered softly, "Where could he go? Could it be that this guy has become invisible?"

The masked man ignored her complaints, his hand already quietly reaching for the gun at his waist as he slowly walked towards every corner of the room. He finally stopped in front of the kitchen refrigerator, sneered, opened the door, and pointed the gun inside. However, it was empty, not even a single vegetable leaf.

He frowned, thinking, "This guy is really good at hiding." But then he shook his head and said to the fat woman, "We have limited time. We have a deal to make later, so let's not waste time. It will only take a few minutes to catch him. Let's go."

The fat woman glanced around the room with gritted teeth, and finally hurried away with the masked man, the door slamming shut.

After waiting for no more noise outside the door, two minutes later, a wooden board on the kitchen floor slowly lifted up, and Conan emerged from the small storage room below. He was sweating all over, and forced himself to calm down, taking a few deep breaths to calm his pounding heart.

"It seems that I am lucky," he smiled bitterly to himself, "but I can't run away like this, otherwise these people will find me sooner or later, and the people around me will be unsafe." He looked around and quickly thought about the next plan in his mind.

"We have to find a way to apprehend these two." He clenched his fists, a determined glint in his eyes. "Only in this way can we protect the people around me from being implicated."

Conan searched nervously in the hut, sweat streaming down his forehead and his heartbeat nearly pounding in his ears. He searched every corner of the room, and finally, among a pile of seemingly insignificant items, he pieced together a key clue - all pointing to one place: the Rice Flower Restaurant.

"Rice Flower Hotel?" Conan narrowed his eyes in thought. This place was no ordinary place. It was the largest hotel in Beika Town, with countless people coming and going. If the mastermind was hiding here, finding him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But Conan had no time to hesitate. The enemy was in the dark, and time was running out. He had to act immediately.

Without delay, he packed his things and quickly rushed to the Rice Flower Hotel. As expected, the hotel lobby was packed with people, bustling like a small market. Conan looked around, momentarily bewildered by what he saw. He knew he couldn't just ask the front desk; after all, a child asking about such matters would be too conspicuous and easily arouse suspicion.

"What should I do? How can I find a clue?" Conan wandered the hall, his mind racing. Although he was already at the target location, he had no real clues. He felt like a headless chicken running around. If Uncle Maori was here, he could at least pretend to be following an adult and ask around...

"Oh, this is so annoying!" Conan muttered to himself. Just as he was about to think of another solution, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

He was stunned for a moment, his eyes suddenly fixed on the figure.

"Chen Shuo?" Conan's eyes lit up, and he instantly perked up. How could it be him? This man was no ordinary character. Meeting him here couldn't be a coincidence.

Conan subconsciously took a step back and hid behind a pillar, his eyes filled with questions and vigilance. He knew Chen Shuo was not someone who liked to wander around. He had his own cafe, which was very busy and doing good business. If he showed up at the Rice Flower Hotel, it was definitely not for afternoon tea.

"What on earth is this guy doing?" Conan pondered in his mind while quietly observing Chen Shuo's actions.

Chen Shuo's face was stern, his usual gentle demeanor gone, replaced by a cold, mechanical air, as if he were a robot without emotions. Conan couldn't help but think of Gin, the man who had changed his life and made him experience true fear for the first time. The resemblance between Chen Shuo and Gin made Conan's heart tighten. Something was wrong. There must be something wrong with Chen Shuo!

He held his breath and followed Chen Shuo carefully, wanting to see what he was doing. Just as he was concentrating on observing, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

"Conan? Why are you here?" He froze in an instant, his heart almost stopping.

He turned around suddenly and met Mao Lilan's puzzled eyes. She frowned and looked at him worriedly: "You didn't go home all night last night, and now you're here at the Rice Flower Hotel. What's going on?"

As soon as Conan saw Ran Maoli, all the tension and doubts in his heart instantly dissipated. Ran's appearance here really saved his life! He quickly lowered his voice and said, "Ran! This time it's really a coincidence. I have something to do here, can you help me?"

Mao Lilan was still confused, but seeing Conan's serious look, she didn't ask any more questions and just nodded slightly: "Okay. But you have to tell me what happened quickly?"

Conan improvised an excuse to get by, then pulled Ran toward the front desk. Using her as a shield, he quietly surveyed his surroundings, his mind racing. Chen Shuo's cold demeanor lingered in his mind, but right now, his most important priority was bringing those two men to justice. Ran's presence was a godsend.

With Ran's cooperation, Conan finally deduced the room number of the two masked men. He led Ran to the 30th floor of the Rice Flower Hotel, his heart racing and his palms sweating. He knew this step might determine everything.

Just as they reached the door of Room 301, Conan was stunned—it was Chen Shuo standing there! He knocked on the door with an expressionless and indifferent look on his face, not noticing Conan and Xiaolan following behind him.

The moment the door opened, Conan felt his heart sink—standing behind the door was none other than the masked man! Conan's eyes widened, his mind blank. "How could this be? Is Chen Shuo actually in cahoots with the masked man?" This shocking revelation left him momentarily at a loss for what to do. Chen Shuo's usual smile and gentle demeanor kept resurfacing in his mind, but the cold face before him felt so unfamiliar.

Conan was thinking about how to respond when a familiar scream suddenly came from behind him.

"Xiaolan!" He turned around immediately, and the scene before him made his heart tighten - Xiaolan was strangled by the fat woman from behind, with the muzzle of the gun pointed coldly at her temple. Xiaolan struggled desperately, her face full of fear and pain.

"Conan, be careful!" she shouted with difficulty, her voice trembling slightly.

Conan's mind was in a state of confusion, as if something had struck him hard in the chest, choking him. His brain seemed to have lost its ability to think, leaving only anger and self-blame. He knew that the situation before him was more complicated than he had imagined, and the danger was approaching step by step.

"Damn it... What should I do? What should I do?" Conan clenched his fists and glanced coldly at the masked man and Chen Shuo, trying to find any hesitation in their eyes, but their expressions were so calm and composed, as if they had already figured everything out.