Conan’s Unscientific Detective Chapter 116

Chapter 116: The Contemporary Master of Deception

After a simple warm-up with the Soul Lotus, Fujino had adapted to operating this Soul Lotus avatar.

He examined his slender hands, stroked his chin, and murmured, “This body’s coordination and flexibility are excellent… it’s just a bit lacking in strength.”

After all, it was a newly formed Soul Lotus, and its physical capabilities were certainly far from his main body, which had been enhanced by the system.

But these weren’t major issues.

According to the Soul Lotus Cultivation Guide, Soul Lotuses could actually be upgraded.

The resources needed for upgrading were soul power…

Soul power could be obtained from the dead through the Lotus Medal.

Upgrading could enhance the Soul Lotus’s physical abilities, and with a small probability, it could also allow the Soul Lotus to learn some common knowledge skills mastered by the deceased.

And those skills could be inherited by Fujino.

After all, the Soul Lotus was also another one of his avatars.

In the world of Conan, where people died daily, obtaining soul power was obviously much simpler.

“How is this getting more and more metaphysical…”

Fujino pondered, letting out a long sigh.

This talk of souls and such couldn’t help but remind him of a certain psychic transmigrator senior.

But this was actually quite good.

Having a substitute made dangerous missions much more convenient.

And because the Soul Lotus was strictly speaking a part of Fujino, the system’s items and some functions could still be used.

Moreover, due to the characteristic of [Soul Lotus Indestructible], he didn’t have to worry about his own safety when using the avatar.

After all, it was just a Soul Lotus; if it died, it died.

At most, he’d just throw it back into the bathtub and cultivate it for a few days.

…

Miyano Akemi gradually opened her eyes, looking at the unfamiliar ceiling with a somewhat dazed expression.

“Are you awake?”

Fujino stood by the bed, looking down at the dazed Miyano Akemi.

After his careful manipulation using the Puppetry skill.

Miyano Akemi no longer looked so much like Miyano Akemi.

Aside from slight adjustments to her height, her face and pupils had also been subtly altered.

Her pupil color had changed to the same ink-black as Fujino’s.

And her face had transformed into the appearance of a young girl somewhat similar to Fujino.

If one looked closely, they wouldn’t be able to tell that this person was Miyano Akemi at all.

“Where am I… Who am I, and who are you?”

The confused Miyano Akemi frowned.

She looked at the unfamiliar man in front of her, covered her head, and asked the three philosophical questions.

“Hmm… looks like amnesia?”

Fujino stroked his chin.

The Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual did mention this.

After a Soul Lotus completed its growth, it would lose all memories except for basic consciousness.

These memories could be recovered through upgrading…

But Fujino had no intention of releasing Miyano Akemi’s memories.

After all, a Miyano Akemi without memories was much easier to deceive than one with memories.

After pondering for a moment, he began to deceive her, “You are at my house right now. My name is Fujino Touji, and your name is Fujino Akemi.”

“My name is Fujino Akemi?”

Miyano Akemi frowned upon hearing this.

Although the name felt somewhat familiar.

Why did she feel like her name wasn’t that…

“That’s right.”

Fujino nodded, continuing his deception, “Your name is Fujino Akemi… you are my cousin, my father’s brother’s daughter.”

“Cousin?”

Miyano Akemi was stunned, a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

But despite her confusion, she suddenly felt a sense of blood connection to this stranger in front of her.

That familiar feeling of blood connection shouldn’t be wrong.

Could it be that she really was this guy’s cousin?

“But why can’t I remember anything?”

Miyano Akemi gently stroked her forehead, looking dejected, “Not just you, I feel like my past is a blank slate.”

“That’s normal.”

Everything seemed to be within Fujino’s expectations.

Saying this, he picked up a medical record from the bedside and handed it to Miyano Akemi, “You were in a car accident a while ago, and you fell into a coma after that accident… I only received the news a few days ago and brought you back from the hospital.”

“The doctor said there was a possibility of amnesia, but I didn’t expect you to actually lose your memory.”

This medical record was forged by Fujino using a Virtual Identity Card.

The Virtual Identity Card, as its description stated, had the abnormal ability to alter reality.

Not only the medical record, but even household registration information, and even driver’s licenses and bank cards, were all conjured up.

“I, was in a car accident?”

Miyano Akemi took the medical record and examined it.

Pondering, she looked up at Fujino’s sincere expression, and couldn’t help but be stunned again.

A moment later, she sighed and asked, “Do I have any other relatives besides you?”

“Well, aside from my father who passed away a year ago, you don’t have any other relatives for now. I only found out I had a cousin like you a few days ago, otherwise, it shouldn’t have been me who went to the hospital to pick you up…”

And so, under the deception of Bruce Fujino, a contemporary master of deception who had worked as a lecturer in a pyramid scheme in his previous life, Miyano Akemi accepted her new identity.

Although she still had many doubts in her heart, after taking out her driver’s license from her pocket and seeing the name Fujino Akemi on it, she chose to believe Fujino.

As for her previous house…

She heard it had been completely destroyed in an explosion.

There were no survivors in the entire building…

Now homeless and penniless, she could only stay with her cousin Fujino, whom she had no impression of, who owned a four-story building.

…

Meanwhile, at the Mouri Detective Agency.

“Ran-neechan, are you going to invite Brother Fujino over for dinner again?”

“That’s right.”

At the doorway, Conan looked at Ran with a speechless expression.

It seemed that in his memory, Fujino coming to the Mouri residence for free meals had become a regular occurrence.

He would come to eat here every few days…

He was already numb to it.

As for why Fujino frequently came to the Mouri residence for free meals.

One could only say that if there was a place to get free food, why bother spending money and effort to cook!

Moreover, he could use Ran as a shield for his own rapidly improving cooking skills.

What’s more, Ran’s cooking was indeed good.

Although Fujino had knowledge of cooking and could even make food emit golden light and BGM when he cooked.

But in practice, it still wasn’t as delicious as Ran’s cooking.

Perhaps it was due to something like the “spirit of cooking”?

Upon arriving at Fujino’s house, and taking the elevator to the fourth floor, Ran and Conan knocked on the door of Fujino’s fourth-floor bedroom.

“Coming!”

A moment later, a mature-looking unfamiliar woman wearing a red shirt and a white short skirt opened the door.

“Excuse me, are you…?”

Ran looked at the unfamiliar girl in front of her, momentarily dazed.

Miyano Akemi looked at the girl outside the door, also appearing somewhat curious.

After seeing the school uniform Ran was wearing, she asked doubtfully, “Are you Fujino-kun’s classmate?”

(End of this chapter)