"That's Shinichi's house, we're here." Ran looked at the familiar building in front of her, feeling a little excited.
"Beika Town 2-Chome 21... Kudo's house is very close to mine," Hanyu Nan murmured, deliberately feigning surprise.
Ran turned back in surprise to look at him.
"Oh, is it?"
"Yes, my house is at Beika Town 2-Chome 26. But I usually read at home when I go to school, come back, or rest, so I never noticed that Kudo was so close to me," Hanyu Nan said calmly.
In fact, Hanyu Nan already knew that Shinichi Kudo's house and Professor Agasa's house were near his, but at this moment, Hanyu Nan deliberately didn't mention it.
"Ahaha, I see." Ran gave a dry laugh, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward.
She realized that because she waited for Shinichi to wake up every day, Hanyu Nan was already quietly reading in the classroom when she arrived at school in the morning; and after school, she was always pulled away by Sonoko and Shinichi, which led to them never having a chance to meet on the way.
"Shinichi, Shinichi, are you home?" Ran stood at the door, calling out anxiously and loudly, while knocking hard on the door.
Meanwhile, inside the Kudo house, Shinichi Kudo was rummaging through his closet, pulling out clothes he wore as a child. He struggled to put them on, then said with a helpless expression, "Good thing Mom didn't throw away these old clothes back then, otherwise I wouldn't even have anything to change into now."
Professor Agasa scrutinized Shinichi Kudo from head to toe with a curious gaze, muttering, "So that's how it is, Shinichi, that's how you turned back into a child. This is truly unbelievable..."
Seeing Professor Agasa's envious expression, Shinichi Kudo couldn't help but roll his eyes and said grumpily, "Please, Professor Agasa, can you stop looking at me with those weird eyes? Don't tell me you want to try that shrinking drug? And, you're not planning to cut me into pieces for research, are you? This isn't the time for that! You always claim to be a super amazing scientist, hurry up and help me figure out how to get back to normal!"
"Shinichi, what are you talking about! I'm not some crazy biologist, why would I slice you up? Besides, I'm an applied physics doctor, I usually invent things, okay!"
Professor Agasa said, a curious expression appearing on his face, "Speaking of which, Shinichi, weren't you on a date with Ran yesterday? How did you get involved with those two men in black?"
When this topic came up, Shinichi Kudo himself felt a little embarrassed. After all, he had abandoned Ran and chased after them directly, and Ran was probably still worried about him at this moment.
"This matter was indeed my impulsiveness, but what's done is done, and it's meaningless to dwell on why it happened. The top priority is to figure out how to return to normal."
"Hmm... Shinichi, since those two men in black gave you the poison, does that mean they might have the antidote..."
"You're absolutely right, Professor! Yes, if we can find those two men in black, we can definitely find the antidote!"
Hearing Professor Agasa's words, Conan's eyes instantly lit up, and his previously somewhat low spirits became excited.
"So what should we do? In my opinion, it's best if we call the Police. That way, we can quickly find the whereabouts of those two men in black."
Professor Agasa rubbed his head as he offered his suggestion.
"Absolutely not! If we call the Police, it will definitely alert those men in black, and given their arrogant demeanor at the time, even the people around me might be in danger."
Hearing the Professor's words, Conan quickly spoke to stop him.
"If that's the case, then what should we do? You can't just investigate it yourself, can you?"
Professor Agasa was instantly at a loss, not knowing what to do.
Conan slowly shook his head and said, "First, we can't call the Police. Regardless of those men in black, if the Police simply knew that I, a high school student, had turned into an elementary school student, those people in the scientific community would surely go into a frenzy. By then, the men in black wouldn't even be caught, and I'd be taken away as a research subject first."
For a moment, Professor Agasa and Conan looked at each other, both without a good solution... "Shinichi, Shinichi, are you home?"
"Oh no, Ran is here looking for you."
"Professor, let's hide quickly!"
Hanyu Nan looked up into the house, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips. In fact, as soon as Ran knocked on the door, he noticed two fleeting figures inside. Undoubtedly, if his guess was correct, Professor Agasa was likely with Shinichi Kudo inside at this moment.
"Is Kudo not home? Or is he too tired from investigating the case last night and is sound asleep now?" Hanyu Nan also cleverly conveyed a hint to Ran.
"No way? If he were home, he shouldn't be ignoring his phone, right...?"
Ran said with a suspicious look, taking out a key from her shoulder bag.
"Let's go in and see if Shinichi is home. I have a key to Shinichi's house. Sometimes I come over to help Shinichi clean up his room; he always makes a mess."
Damn it, you deserve to die, Shinichi Kudo! Such a kind and thoughtful Ran, and you don't know how to cherish her. If that's the case, then I'll just have to take care of her for you!
"I say, Ran, I think you're less of Kudo's childhood friend and more like his housekeeper, or even his mom." Hanyu Nan said with a playful smile, mercilessly twisting the knife for Ran.
"Oh, no, we just grew up together..." Ran's face immediately flushed crimson as she hastily defended herself.
"Haha, I'm just kidding with you! Don't be so shy~" Seeing Ran's nervous expression, Hanyu Nan couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing this, Ran also smiled, but a hint of imperceptible sadness flashed in her eyes.
The two walked through the main door together. As soon as Ran entered the house, she began to look around anxiously, searching for Shinichi Kudo. Seeing this, Hanyu Nan also curiously followed her, looking around.
They first checked the living room and bedroom, but found no sign of Shinichi Kudo. So, the two decided to head to the study.
Just as Ran and Hanyu Nan were about to reach the study, a portly, pot-bellied, balding elderly man with thinning hair appeared at the study door. His face was full of embarrassment, and he seemed about to say something.