Po and the other had rented the largest apartment in Granny Ori's building—a spacious four-bedroom unit with a living room, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. The warm, lived-in space provided just enough room for each of them to have their own privacy while still feeling like a proper home away from home.
The digital clock on the microwave read 11:47 PM when one of the bedroom doors cracked open with the faintest whisper of sound. Conan peered out into the dimly lit living room, his sharp eyes scanning every shadow and listening intently for any signs of movement from the other rooms. The apartment was filled with the peaceful sounds of sleep—Po's gentle breathing from the master bedroom, Yang Chan's soft sighs from the room next to his, and the barely audible hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen.
After confirming that everyone was fast asleep, Conan tiptoed into the living room with practiced stealth. His bare feet made no sound on the cool hardwood floor as he navigated around the furniture in the darkness.
Moving with the careful precision of someone who'd snuck out more times than he cared to count, Conan made his way to the front door and slowly, carefully turned the handle, preparing to slip out unnoticed.
"Going somewhere?"
A voice behind him nearly made him jump out of his skin. His heart hammered against his ribs as he spun around to see a familiar silhouette standing in the shadows.
"Haibara?" Conan whispered urgently, barely managing to keep his voice down despite his shock.
"You're going to investigate that missing persons case, aren't you?" Ai asked, stepping into a shaft of moonlight streaming through the window. Her expression was unreadable, but her tone carried that familiar mix of exasperation and knowing resignation.
"How did you—"
"When Granny Ori mentioned during the day that even this world's advanced police force couldn't solve the case, I knew you'd sneak out tonight." Ai crossed her arms, giving him that look she'd perfected over countless similar situations. She'd been around Conan long enough to predict his moves with startling accuracy. The moment a mystery appeared that stumped the authorities—especially in a world with technology far superior to their own—there was absolutely no way he'd let it slide. "As soon as you stick your neck out, I know exactly what you're planning."
"So what are you going to do about it? Wake up Po?" Conan challenged quietly, though he already suspected he knew the answer.
"Would waking Po actually stop you?" Ai stepped closer, and he noticed she was already dressed and had a small backpack slung over her shoulder. "Besides, I'm just as curious about this case as you are. A mystery that has the police completely baffled? That's too interesting to ignore."
Conan blinked in surprise. Despite her usual composed and logical demeanor, Ai shared his insatiable appetite for intellectual challenges. She might lecture him about taking unnecessary risks, but when it came to a genuine puzzle, her scientific mind was just as drawn to solving it as his detective instincts were.
"Then let's go," Conan said, opening the door wider and gesturing for her to follow. "But we'll need to be extra careful. This isn't our world—we don't know what we're dealing with."
And so, the two diminutive detectives deliberately ignored Granny Ori's earlier warnings about staying safe and slipped out of the apartment building into the surprisingly busy nighttime streets.
The city never truly slept, even at this late hour. Neon signs cast colorful reflections on the wet pavement from an earlier evening shower, and the occasional late-night worker or party-goer passed by, too absorbed in their own business to pay attention to two children who should have been home in bed.
"Do you have any leads?" Ai asked once they were safely away from the building and walking through a quieter residential area.
"Based on what I found on the detective forums today, all the disappearances happened in surveillance blind spots." Conan pulled out his phone, the screen's blue glow illuminating his determined expression as he showed her a detailed map with several locations marked in red. "The areas with the most blind spots are the various city parks scattered throughout the districts. Tonight, we're starting with A1 Regional Park—it has the highest concentration of recent disappearances."
"Logical approach," Ai nodded approvingly. "What are we waiting for then?"
The two made their way through the quiet streets toward their destination, their footsteps echoing softly in the empty spaces between streetlights. A1 Regional Park sat on the edge of the district, a sprawling green space filled with walking paths, playground equipment, and plenty of dense foliage that could hide someone with ill intentions.
However, after spending hours methodically combing through every shadowy corner, hidden grove, and secluded bench in the park until well past four in the morning, they came up completely empty-handed. Their careful surveillance of the most likely ambush spots yielded nothing but a few stray cats and the occasional late-night jogger.
Exhausted and frustrated, they had no choice but to return home as the first hints of dawn began to lighten the eastern sky.
The next morning, Po immediately noticed their sluggish behavior at the breakfast table. Yang Chan was already awake and helping him prepare a breakfast of congee, pickled vegetables, and steamed buns.
"Conan, Ai, are you two feeling alright?" Po asked with genuine concern, setting down his spatula to study their faces. His gentle voice carried the unmistakable tone of someone who'd raised children before. "You both look exhausted."
"We're fine," Conan yawned widely, nearly losing his balance on his chair. "Just didn't sleep well in the new environment, you know?"
Yang Chan looked up from where she was arranging vegetables on a plate, her observant eyes taking in their obvious fatigue. "Did you have nightmares? Sometimes new places can be scary."
"Something like that," Ai said diplomatically, shooting Conan a warning look to keep their story straight.
"Is that so? Perhaps we should cancel today's planned outing so you can rest properly," Po suggested thoughtfully. "There's no rush to see the sights—we have plenty of time."
"No need!" Conan said quickly, suddenly more alert. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck inside when there was a mystery to solve. "We're both fine, right, Haibara?"
"Yes, Po. We're just a little tired," Ai replied smoothly, understanding his urgency. "A short afternoon nap should do the trick."
"Well, if you're absolutely sure..." Po didn't seem entirely convinced, but he chose not to press the issue. His parenting style had always leaned toward gentle guidance rather than strict control. "Get some rest after lunch then. I'll wake you when it's time for dinner."
For two more consecutive nights, Conan and Ai continued their covert investigations, exploring different parks and surveillance blind spots throughout the city. Each night brought the same result—hours of careful observation followed by empty-handed returns home. But their efforts weren't completely fruitless. Through persistent questioning of late-night workers and careful examination of witness reports on various forums, they'd managed to gather one crucial piece of information: multiple eyewitnesses described the suspect as a man with a crow's head wearing a dark business suit.
Neither Conan nor Ai initially considered the possibility that the "crow head" was anything other than an elaborate mask or costume designed to conceal the perpetrator's identity while creating a memorable, frightening image.
"It's clearly psychological warfare," Ai had reasoned during their second night of investigation. "Create a distinctive, unsettling appearance that witnesses will focus on instead of other identifying features."
"Exactly," Conan had agreed. "Classic misdirection technique."
On the fourth night, they set out once again, this time targeting B2 Regional Park on the other side of the city. Learning from their previous experiences, they'd each purchased skateboards during the day to improve their mobility between locations.
B2 Regional Park was larger and more densely wooded than their previous targets, with winding paths that created numerous secluded areas perfect for ambushes. After arriving at the park's main entrance, they stowed their boards in the bushes and began systematically searching for the surveillance blind spots they'd identified during their daytime reconnaissance.
Using their small stature to their advantage, they crawled along the ground in the deepest shadows, moving with painstaking care to avoid detection. Their dark clothing helped them blend into the night, making them nearly invisible to casual observation.
"This is taking forever," Conan muttered under his breath as they army-crawled beneath a particularly low-hanging set of bushes.
"Patience," Ai whispered back. "If we're right about the pattern, this is the most likely—"
"Ow!"
Conan's head collided solidly with something in the darkness ahead of them. The impact sent stars dancing across his vision, and he had to bite back a louder exclamation of pain.
Even with their careful positioning and systematic approach, it seemed impossible to avoid running into someone else who was also crawling around at ground level—unless that someone else was small enough to be doing exactly what they were doing.
When Conan and Ai got a clear look at the person who'd bumped into them, they discovered it was indeed another child, though slightly older than their current apparent ages—perhaps eight or nine years old. He had tousled dark hair and wore a determined expression that reminded Conan uncomfortably of himself.
"Sorry! Are you okay?" the boy asked immediately, his voice filled with genuine concern as he scrambled to a sitting position. "I didn't see you there—you're really good at hiding!"
"I'm fine, really," Conan assured him, rubbing his forehead where a small bump was already forming. "What are you doing out here so late?"
Before the boy could answer, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the park, and all three children immediately fell silent. They pressed themselves even lower to the ground, barely daring to breathe as a figure came into view.
It was a middle-aged businessman in glasses, his tie loosened after what had clearly been a long day. He carried a worn leather briefcase and walked with the tired shuffle of someone getting off a late shift. His path would take him directly through one of the park's major surveillance blind spots.
The trio huddled together in their hiding spot, planning to wait until the man passed by before continuing their conversation. The businessman seemed completely oblivious to their presence, checking his phone as he walked along the dimly lit path.
But then something extraordinary happened.
A bizarre figure dropped from the trees directly in front of the startled businessman. The creature was tall and unnaturally thin, dressed in an impeccable dark suit that seemed to absorb the surrounding light. But most shocking of all was its head—not a mask or disguise, but an actual crow's head, complete with jet-black feathers that gleamed wetly in the streetlight and intelligent, predatory eyes that reflected the light like polished obsidian.
The businessman stumbled backward in terror, his briefcase falling to the ground with a loud thud. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound emerged—whether from shock or some other influence, none of the children could tell.
The crow-headed creature raised what looked like a sleek, metallic device that hummed with barely contained energy. A pale blue light erupted from its surface, bathing the businessman in an eerie glow. For a moment, the man's form seemed to waver and flicker, like a television with poor reception.
Then he simply... vanished.
Not disappeared behind something or run away—he was there one moment and completely gone the next, leaving only his fallen briefcase as proof he'd ever existed at all.
The three children pressed their hands over their mouths, hearts pounding so loudly they were certain the creature would hear them. They barely dared to breathe as the crow-headed figure calmly picked up the briefcase, examined it briefly, then tossed it aside like worthless trash. It surveyed the area with those unnerving eyes, its head swiveling with the unnatural precision of an actual bird, before seeming to melt back into the shadows and disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared.
They remained frozen in place for what felt like hours but was probably only five minutes, waiting to make absolutely certain the thing was really gone before they dared to move or speak.
"That... that was..." the older boy finally whispered, his voice shaking with a mixture of terror and excitement.
"The Crow Man (Karura) from the urban legends," Conan finished, his detective mind already racing despite the shock. "He's real, and he's the one behind all the disappearances."
"That wasn't a costume," Ai observed, her scientific training helping her process what they'd witnessed. "That was actually an alien creature. The technology, the way the victim just disappeared—none of that is possible with current human science."
The older boy nodded eagerly, some of his initial fear giving way to vindication. "Exactly! The Crow Man must be an alien, and he's here to invade Earth!"
Conan and Ai exchanged meaningful glances. This child clearly had the same investigative instincts as them, though his conclusions were a bit more dramatic.
"I'm Conan, and this is Ai," Conan introduced them quietly, extending his hand. "Were you looking for this Crow Man too?"
"Yes! I'm Shigeru," the boy replied, shaking Conan's hand with obvious excitement at finding kindred spirits. "I want to join the Defense Team when I grow up, so I came out tonight to investigate the Crow Man legends myself! I knew the adults wouldn't believe me if I just told them what I suspected, so I needed proof."
"Well, we certainly got proof," Ai said dryly, though she was still processing the implications of what they'd witnessed. "That crow head wasn't a mask like we first thought. And whatever that device was, it's definitely not human technology."
"Exactly! The Crow Man must be an alien scout, and he's here to study humans before a full invasion!" Shigeru declared with the absolute certainty that only children could muster. "That's why he's taking people—for experiments!"
"But if they're really aliens planning an invasion, what's their specific purpose in abducting those people?" Conan mused, his detective instincts automatically kicking in despite the extraordinary circumstances. He couldn't help but analyze even alien behavior through the lens of criminal investigation. "If they wanted to conquer Earth, why be so secretive about it? They clearly have superior technology—they could probably take over openly if they wanted to."
"Maybe they're gathering intelligence first," Ai suggested logically. "Learning about human society, our weaknesses, our technology. The missing people could be test subjects to understand how we think and behave."
"That's why we need to follow the Crow Man and find his base!" Shigeru said with determination that reminded Conan uncomfortably of himself. "All those missing people must be there, and we need to rescue them!"
True to form, Conan's curiosity had completely overcome any fear he might have initially felt about confronting an alien threat. "You're right. But tracking a creature with advanced technology and possible superhuman abilities won't be easy. We'll need help."
"We should contact the Defense Team first," Shigeru suggested, pulling out his phone. "They need to know about this before we do anything else."
Conan and Ai looked at him skeptically. In their experience, getting adults to believe extraordinary claims from children was nearly impossible, especially without solid evidence.
"How exactly would we contact them?" Ai asked practically. "Even if TPC has a public hotline, it would take time for our report to reach the right people. And they might not take us seriously."
Shigeru grinned widely, his excitement palpable as he held up his phone like a prize. "My uncle works for the Defense Team, so I have their internal phone number!" He showed the device off to Conan and Ai with obvious pride, the screen displaying a contact labeled 'Uncle Shinjo - GUTS.' "After all, having an uncle on the Defense Team is quite an honor."