BONUS CHAPTER#6
"I haven't sold any…"
Professor Agasa trailed off as he adjusted his glasses. When he'd first given Conan the bowtie voice changer, it was for a very specific purpose—using Kogoro Mouri's voice to perform deductions and inflate his reputation as a great detective. That way, they'd gain easier access to cases linked to the Organization.
In a setup that precarious, if the voice changer went public, their whole detective-ventriloquist act would crumble. That's why Agasa had never mass-produced or sold the device.
"That tool's vital for the creation of 'Detective Kogoro.' I've always been extremely cautious with it," he said. "Even though you didn't get many chances to use it before, remember the case at Dr. Araide's house? My 'ventriloquist plan' worked like a charm."
He couldn't help puffing himself up a little, stroking his broad chin like a true inventor-cadre. Then he frowned, trying to recall something.
"I did give one to Jiangxia," he admitted. "But he said it didn't work well. I tweaked it a few times, but the results were still disappointing, so I just kept it here… You really need some vocal mimicry talent to make these things sing."
He mumbled the last part, clearly a little bummed that his masterpiece didn't dazzle across the board.
Just then, a small hand snatched the phone from his grasp.
"There's someone in the Organization codenamed Vermouth," Haibara Ai said through the receiver. Her voice was unusually grave, a tiny tremor laced beneath it. "She's a master of disguise—some even call her the 'Chameleon.' She can perfectly imitate voices."
A pause. Then, very softly: "She's ruthless. Blood on her hands. Is she after you?"
"Not yet…" Conan blinked. "And I don't think it's who you're talking about."
That didn't match what he'd been thinking.
If it really were an Organization member who knew his identity as Shinichi Kudo, then by now, Agasa and Haibara would be… well, not alive and chatting.
Professor Agasa rubbed his head thoughtfully. "Maybe Ran figured something out and suspects you're Shinichi Kudo. So she and Jiangxia staged this to confirm it? After all, it was Ran and Sonoko who told you that 'Shinichi Kudo called her using Jiangxia's phone,' right? What if that story wasn't true? And the 'Ran' you heard on the phone… might've actually been Ran."
Conan shivered. A chill raced up his back.
But he forced himself to steady his thoughts. "Impossible. Jiangxia wouldn't mess with me like that—he's really righteous. Besides, Sonoko's call had background noise from a concert. Jiangxia's call didn't. And I remember now—he said he had a commission this afternoon, so he didn't even go to the concert…"
…A commission?
Conan's eyes lit up. That could be the clue.
He quickly hung up and scrolled through his contacts, eyes scanning for one name—
—The boss of Jiangxia's detective agency.
If he could just find out who the client was and what Jiangxia was hired to do today, he might finally understand what the hell was going on.
But before he could reach the number—
A light tap on his shoulder.
And a voice said gently, "Looking for me?"
"?!"
Conan froze. Then turned his head sharply.
It was Amuro Toru.
…
Amuro Toru was perched on a delivery bicycle, waiting at the same red light.
He'd spotted a familiar bear child ahead—one who tended to show up in very non-elementary situations. Naturally, Amuro kept an eye out.
He'd only been half-listening to Conan's phone call, but when Jiangxia's name popped up, his interest spiked.
After all, Jiangxia was his employee.
And so, part-time job or not, Amuro hit the brakes on the baguette delivery and decided to intervene.
Looking at the stunned child before him, he asked calmly, "What's wrong?"
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*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 20/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:3/10*