Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

After this, everyone went to do their own things.

Since there wouldn’t be any new guests at the hotel today, Kogoro suggested that the hotel chef Miss Shimomura Shinobu, who was scolded by Chizuru Bizen last night, go out for a walk. As for himself, he planned to stay at the hotel all day watching Yoko Okino’s concert and TV shows... a typical homebody behavior.

So in the end, Kogoro, the Shimokasa sisters, and Chizuru Bizen stayed at the hotel, while Fang Zheng went to the Plateau to relax with Ran, Conan, Little Ai, and the hotel’s Manager Arimori and the head chef Miss Shimomura Shinobu. Chizuru Bizen’s husband, Mr. Shiromoto, planned to go fishing with the president of the entertainment company.

Manager Arimori handed over the master key to Kogoro Mouri for safekeeping, as he was a reassuring choice as a detective.

Everyone decided to play outside for the day and return for a barbecue in the evening.

So Miss Shimomura Shinobu drove Fang Zheng, Ran, Conan, and Little Ai to the Plateau, while Mr. Arimori followed them in another car to start today’s journey.

One has to admit, if there are no murder cases, traveling is indeed a delightful thing. Fang Zheng saw the bright side now, no matter when or whenever there’s a death, what needs to be enjoyed should still be enjoyed. Look at Conan and Ran’s attitude; they basically experience a death every time they go out or have a meal, yet it hasn’t stopped them from going out...

Lying on the soft grass, looking at the azure sky, indeed feels like a spiritual release.

"Speaking of which, you seem uninterested in researching the antidote."

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng turned his head to look at Haibara Ai who was lying next to him. He remembered in the animation, Little Ai seemed to be constantly researching how to restore herself to her adult form. Although she never succeeded in creating the antidote, she managed to make some usable drugs.

But in fact, Fang Zheng found out that Little Ai didn’t seem to have much interest in creating an antidote and seemed quite enjoying her current life.

"Is there anything wrong with that? Turning into a child makes it less likely for the organization to find me, doesn’t it?"

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s question, Little Ai stretched lazily, her whole body exuding a strong laid-back air.

"Moreover, rejuvenation is every girl’s dream. Sister envies me so much; at least now I don’t have to count crow’s feet in the mirror every morning."

"........."

Uh wow, if you say this in front of Akemi, you might not be sisters anymore; it would turn into a fight on the spot.

"Besides, I’ve always hoped to live a normal sisterly life with my sister. Isn’t the current situation quite nice?"

"Oh-ho..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng somewhat understood Little Ai’s thoughts. In the animation, Little Ai wanted to restore her original form because her sister died, and she was wanted by the organization, rendering her quite powerless as a child. But now that Akemi Miyano is alive, and she has found support, it’s natural for her to take it easy.

He recalled Little Ai mentioning that their parents were members of the organization, and since the sisters essentially grew up under its care, it was impossible to live an ordinary sisterly life. Now she has a chance to make up for that regret; why would she want to revert?

At this moment, Ran also called the two from nearby.

"Little Ai, Mr. Fang Zheng, come and play together!"

"Well, since we’re free, let’s enjoy ourselves."

Fang Zheng stood up and walked over to Ran and Conan with Little Ai.

"Would you like me to tell you a story?"

"........."

Upon hearing this, Ran and Conan’s expressions changed slightly, and they shook their heads simultaneously. What a joke; telling a story now? They haven’t yet shaken off the psychological shadow from the Western Mansion incident—the particularly frightened Ran ever since has been terrified of caterpillars...

"No, no, no, Mr. Fang Zheng, let’s... how about playing badminton?"

"Well, sure."

After that, Fang Zheng played badminton with Ran while Little Ai and Conan watched the fun from the sidelines. Miss Shimomura Shinobu acted as the referee, and Manager Arimori prepared lunch nearby.

At first, both sides just casually played, but soon Ran got serious. As the captain of the karate club, she had good physical ability. After repeatedly seeing her spikes being effortlessly returned by Fang Zheng, Ran’s competitive spirit rose, and she quickly increased her speed. Following that, the two began an intense back-and-forth match.

"Go, Sister Little Lan!"

Conan was cheerfully cheering for Ran from the side, but at this moment Little Ai sneaked over to his side.

"Edogawa-kun."

Upon hearing Haibara call his name, Conan turned his head in confusion towards her. Although unlike in the animation, Conan did not know Haibara Ai’s true identity, he realized that the girl named Haibara Ai was very mysterious, calm, and extremely smart. He couldn’t deny that he quite clicked with her.

"Haibara? What’s up?"

"Don’t you think they make a good match?"

Little Ai smiled slyly at Conan and then looked at Ran and Fang Zheng playing tennis.

"I think Sister Little Lan seems to like Brother Fang Zheng."

"........."

Upon hearing this, Conan’s expression subtly changed.

"Ha ha ha, how could that be..."

"Who knows, maybe Sister Little Lan will become Brother Fang Zheng’s bride."

Fearlessly stirring the pot even more, Little Ai spoke again and looked ahead. Conan also chuckled dryly, turning his head back. But unlike before, this time he observed carefully and noticed that Ran indeed seemed quite happy... no, no, it must be because they’re all playing on the Plateau that Ran is so happy. It’s not because of Fang Zheng, after all, they...

Hmm? Come to think of it, Ran and Fang Zheng are quite familiar with each other, and Fang Zheng is always enthusiastic when he sees her. Plus, he’s quite handsome; Ran even mentioned once that Fang Zheng is quite popular...

Upon realizing this, Conan suddenly felt a weight on his head.

"Sister Little Lan, I want to play too!!"

The next moment, he raised his hands and shouted as he ran towards Ran.

While Little Ai crossed her hands behind her back, looking at Conan’s back with the corners of her mouth slightly raised into a smile.

To her, observing the transformed high school detective Shinichi Kudou almost became a hobby.

This is much more interesting than lab rabbits.

After that, everyone enjoyed lunch on the Plateau, took a nap, and didn’t leave until the sun set. However, due to an engine problem with the car, Mr. Arimori needed to wait a while before returning.

When the group returned to the hotel, it was already evening, and Kogoro Mouri was still sitting in the lobby, excitedly shouting at Yoko Okino’s concert.

"Dad, we’re back."

Ran also greeted Kogoro Mouri.

"The plateau is really interesting, and we even discovered a strange butterfly..."

However, before Ran could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Kogoro Mouri who didn’t want to be disturbed during the concert — Hmm, watching Kogoro just then reminded Fang Zheng of children from his past life who were called by their parents during cartoons...

All the same.

Right after this, Mr. Shiromoto and the president returned to the inn from their fishing trip, and they were quite successful. Then Mr. Shiromoto went upstairs to call his wife, while Fang Zheng intended to return to the room on the second floor with Little Ai to rest. However, just as they reached the door of their guest room, they saw Mr. Shiromoto anxiously knocking at the door.

"Hey, Chizuru, Chizuru, can you hear me? Answer me!"

"What’s wrong, Mr. Shiromoto?"

Seeing this scene, Fang Zheng walked over with Little Ai, while Mr. Shiromoto looked towards them.

"Ah, Mr. Fang Zheng... something seems off, no matter how I call there’s no response..."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow.

"I’m going to find Mr. Mouri for the master key."

After saying this, Mr. Shiromoto hurried downstairs, and watching his departing figure, Fang Zheng and Little Ai exchanged a glance.

"Could it be..."

"It’s likely what you’re thinking."

Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and yawned.

"I guessed something would happen, let’s wait and see."

"..........."

This time Little Ai didn’t speak further, just quietly stood to the side. Soon they saw Mr. Shiromoto return dripping with sweat and opened the door with the master key, but... the door was actually locked from the inside with the safety lock!

"Chizuru? Chizuru, are you there? Answer me!"

Mr. Shiromoto forcefully knocked on the door again, calling loudly, but again there was no response from inside.

"Let me do it."

At this moment, Fang Zheng stepped forward, signaling Mr. Shiromoto to move aside. He then faced the door and kicked it hard.

"Bam!!"

With a loud crash, the door was kicked open. Fang Zheng then walked into the room, facing Zhang Wan ——— and he saw Chizuru Bizen’s body hanging from the ceiling.

Hmm... it’s indeed the usual setup.

"Chizuru!"

This time Mr. Shiromoto also rushed into the room, and upon seeing Chizuru Bizen hanging from the ceiling, he was shocked. Fang Zheng stepped forward, reached out, and checked Chizuru Bizen’s pulse and neck.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Shiromoto, she is dead."

"How could this be..."

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Mr. Shiromoto stepped back two steps and then sat down heavily on the floor.

"Hey, what happened?"

At this moment, Kogoro Mouri, Conan, and the president ran up upon hearing the noise. When they saw Chizuru Bizen’s body in the room, they were similarly speechless.

"In any case, let’s report it to the police first."

While saying this, Fang Zheng pulled out his phone.

Although it deviated somewhat from his expectations, the pattern is ultimately the pattern.

After Fang Zheng reported it to the police, they quickly arrived, starting to survey the scene and perform the autopsy. The autopsy results showed death due to neck compression, so from this point, it appeared to be suicide.

Fang Zheng also identified himself and told the detective in charge about the incident.

"Do you think it’s suicide or homicide?"

After Fang Zheng finished explaining the situation, Little Ai also approached and asked with curiosity, but Fang Zheng shrugged.

"It’s definitely a homicide staged as suicide. Why don’t we guess who the murderer is?"

"Is there any need to guess? You probably already know who the murderer is."

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Little Ai knew of Fang Zheng’s proficiency in micro-expression analysis, which is why she said that. However, Fang Zheng just shrugged.

"If the murderer were here, I certainly would have seen through it, but unfortunately, the murderer isn’t."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Little Ai was taken aback.

"Isn’t it Mr. Shiromoto? I thought he couldn’t endure his wife’s abuse and thus resorted to killing."

"Indeed, he has that motive, but unfortunately, you’re wrong."

Fang Zheng shook his head. When the body was first discovered, he had observed Mr. Shiromoto’s expressions; his shock and sadness were genuine, without any falseness. Moreover, if it were truly the perpetrator, upon discovering the body, there would be subconscious expressions of joy, tension, or worry, but he displayed none of these reactions.

Not only him, but the president who arrived later also showed no such reactions.

Thus, Fang Zheng confidently stated ——— the perpetrator is not among us!