stonecrandall Page 229
Page 229
"Finally, with no other choice, I had to fire at close range,"
Matsuda shrugged and explained,
"A headshot! The bloodstains on these clothes must have been splattered there."
"This...this is impossible, Xiaolan..."
Conan stared blankly at Matsuda's coat, his face completely dazed.
"Not just Xiaolan, but also according to my new boss's orders,"
Matsuda bent down, leaned close to Conan's ear, and whispered...
"And Kogoro Mouri, Eri Kisaki, Professor Agasa, and your parents, I've already killed them all."
"Unfortunately, that dark-skinned kid isn't in Tokyo, so he's escaped for now. But I'll go find him in Osaka later."
"Matsuda Jinpei!"
Standing so close to Matsuda, smelling the blood on his suit...
Conan confirmed once again that it was indeed human blood!
This means that everything Matsuda said might be true!
Then wouldn't Mom and Dad, Ran, Professor Agasa, and Uncle Mori really be...?
The thought of these loved ones and friends passing away...
Conan felt a pang of heartache and could no longer care about anything else.
He roared angrily and was about to get out of bed to fight Matsuda to the death!
But how could he, still just an elementary school student, possibly be a match for Matsuda?
The man had barely gotten up when Matsuda pressed him back onto the hospital bed!
"I say, shouldn't you make your move too?"
Matsuda looked at Ai with a cold smile.
"Can't bring yourself to do it? Don't forget, if you don't dare kill him, then I'll have no choice but to kill you!"
Ai was startled by the coldness on Matsuda's face.
After instinctively taking a step back, I finally realized what was happening.
This bastard...
Ai cursed inwardly, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.
Fortunately, the ward was dimly lit, so Conan didn't notice anything unusual about her.
"I...I understand,"
Ai Haibara responded with a feigned fear, then stepped forward again and pointed the gun at Conan's head.
"I'm sorry, but only one of us can leave alive today, and that person is..."
As Ai spoke, the pistol in her hand fired a "bang."
Immediately afterwards, a bouquet of flowers jumped out from the muzzle of the gun and appeared in front of Conan!
what......
Conan was instantly stunned. What was going on?
Before he could react, Matsuda, standing to the side, burst into triumphant laughter.
"See, Ai? I told you our act would scare this kid!"
"childish!"
Ai snorted coldly, but the corners of her mouth curled up.
"You, both of you!"
With Conan's intelligence, he naturally realized what was going on.
"I'm a patient! You two are up so late at night, playing such a disgusting joke on me, just to scare me?"
"This wasn't my idea, blame him if you must!"
Ai immediately shifted the blame!
"Haha, okay, it was just a joke,"
Matsuda chuckled smugly, "You have no idea how much preparation I made to scare you. The blood on this suit was specially applied from a blood bag at the hospital..."
"Hehe, we do all this to make you feel like you're there, specifically so that you can put yourself in their shoes and think things through clearly."
Matsuda completely ignored Conan's murderous glare.
Ai Haibara, standing to the side, watched the show with a blank expression.
"Thinking of me? Well, I really should thank you."
Conan gritted his teeth.
"This was all Ai's idea,"
Matsuda said smugly,
"She's amazing, you know. She's already developed an antidote to restore your health. That way, you can go see your little lover as Kudo."
"What? Is it true, Haibara?!"
Conan's hatred for Matsuda was immediately aroused.
"It is an untested drug, and its efficacy cannot be guaranteed."
Ai said calmly,
"That way, you can use Kudo's identity to dispel Mori's suspicions about you."
Chapter 277 The Choice Is Yours
"Haha, now that there's an antidote, who would want to use a child's body?" Conan said excitedly.
"Idiot, that kind of medicine doesn't work for long. It's just a portion of the ingredients extracted from the liquor. Once the effects wear off, you'll be back to what you are now."
Ai rolled her eyes.
Since I know no one would use a child's body like this, do you think I don't know how to change back?
Conan frowned as he looked at the capsule pills in front of him.
It's time to make a choice: should I confess my love to Xiaolan directly, or continue down the path of hiding away?
It's truly shrunk; it's shrunken like a primary school student, at least a meter shorter.
"Officer Matsuda, what do you think I should do?" Conan asked seriously.
What should I do? How should I answer this question?
Matsuda's smile faded, and he began to seriously consider the answer to the question.
"It's entirely up to you. Of course, I'll tell you about the current situation."
"What Ai said makes some sense, but it's a bit of an exaggeration. That organization isn't as scary as she imagines. For now, I'm still handling things with ease."
Matsuda, unusually serious, said...
"It's just a dark organization, destined to remain in the shadows and disappear into the sunlight."
"Is it really?"
Conan kept an eye on Matsuda, still somewhat uneasy.
"Of course that's the case. You have to trust my professional competence."
Matsuda reached out and pulled up a chair to sit down.
"One of you is a high school student, and the other is a researcher who has been under the control of the organization for a long time. Overall, you are just two children, non-combat professionals."
"So your understanding of the organization is not comprehensive. Conan is better than Ai in this respect because you understand that the organization is not invincible."
That's right, compared to Ai Haibara, who often tries to escape through death,
Conan's ultimate goal has always been to find the organization, defeat them, and restore Shinichi Kudo's identity.
Conan's determination to defeat the organization has never wavered.
"Whether Ran thinks you are Shinichi Kudo or Conan Edogawa or not, it doesn't affect the overall situation."
"More importantly, does that organization know that Conan Edogawa is Shinichi Kudo?"
"It doesn't matter if we win or lose. Even if you don't tell Ran, the organization will still target the Mori father and daughter to eliminate any future trouble. If they don't have such means, they won't have a chance to defeat us."
After Matsuda finished speaking, he stood up and walked outside.
I'm saying all this so as not to put any psychological burden on you. This choice is entirely up to you.
After saying that, Matsuda walked out of the ward and closed the door behind him.
How should I choose?
Conan gripped the capsule tightly in his hand.
A moment later, Ai came out of the ward and looked at Matsuda, who was squatting next to her, her eyes showing no emotion.
"He ate it?"
Matsuda stubbed out his cigarette and asked casually.
Ai nodded without saying anything.
"Looks like tomorrow will be busy again."
After Matsuda finished speaking, he saw that Ai looked puzzled.
"When he was Conan, he was already the Grim Reaper. If he turns back into Shinichi Kudo tomorrow, there will definitely be another case."
"superstitious......"
Ai rolled her eyes at Matsuda.