How to Survive With a Death-Flag Character Setting in Detective Conan - Chapter 27

After the disinfectant spray was finished, a long corridor appeared before Higashino Hiromu.

It looked a bit like the labs in sci-fi movies, the kind where you always feel something terrifying might rush out from the end of the hallway.

He walked in cautiously. When he passed the first room and saw someone inside through the small window on the door, he knocked, then pushed the door open and said, “Hello, I’m Higashino Hiromu. I’m here to retrieve the clinical report for the new anesthetic on behalf of Yasuda-sensei.”

The staff member in a white lab coat didn’t even turn around. “Go inside, third room on the left.”

Higashino Hiromu said, “Thank you,” and hurriedly closed the door.

It felt as if saying even one extra sentence would be wasting their time.

He found the target room and knocked again.

“Come in.” A bespectacled middle-aged man holding a test tube turned toward him and asked in confusion, “What is it?”

Higashino Hiromu quickly said, “Hello, I’m here to pick up the clinical trial report for Yasuda-sensei.”

The middle-aged man froze, then slapped his forehead. “Ah! I almost forgot!” He put down what he was holding, gestured for Higashino Hiromu to sit, and said, “Wait here for me a moment.” Then he rushed out.

Higashino Hiromu: …Is this research institute reliable?

He pulled out his phone, planning to update Yasuda-sensei on the progress, only to realize there was no signal.

Was the security level of this institute so high that he couldn’t contact the outside world?

Higashino Hiromu could only switch off his phone and wait obediently.

He didn’t know how long he had waited. He even started to feel drowsy, yet the middle-aged man still hadn’t returned.

Higashino Hiromu thought, Did that person forget about me? He did look like someone with a pretty bad memory.

He opened the door, intending to find someone to ask, but after waiting a while, no one passed through the corridor.

Higashino Hiromu decided to look around himself, but after circling the floor, he found that aside from the first office where he saw someone at the start, all the other rooms were empty.

Higashino Hiromu couldn’t help frowning.

Where did that man go to get the report?

Unable to find anyone, he returned to the office and continued waiting.

As he waited and waited, he finally couldn’t resist his sleepiness and dozed off on the desk.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when the institute’s alarm suddenly sounded. Higashino Hiromu jolted violently, instantly awakened.

Still shaken, he touched his chest and let out a long breath.

This alarm was way too loud. It nearly scared his soul out of him!

Urgent footsteps echoed from the hallway outside. Curious, Higashino Hiromu pushed the door open, wanting to see what was going on.

He walked toward the crowd, and before he could see what they were gathered around, someone pointed at him and shouted, “He’s today’s visitor. Nakajima-san’s death is definitely connected to him!”

Higashino Hiromu: ???

* * *

That day, Amuro Tooru was working as usual at Café Poirot when his organization-issued phone suddenly received a message.

He slipped into a corner and checked it. It was a new mission: “Proceed to Ogawa Research Institute, find researcher Nakajima, and retrieve the experiment report.”

Amuro Tooru frowned.

He had never heard of this research institute before and had no idea when it had become one of their subordinate operations. And since this task was issued directly by Rum and required him to retrieve the report in person, it was evidently important.

Amuro Tooru replied with a “Received”. When he turned around, he found Edogawa Conan standing behind him, smiling.

Amuro Tooru: ……

“Amuro-san, have you received a new mission?” Edogawa Conan asked curiously.

Amuro Tooru shot him a glance and said, “Children shouldn’t pry.”

Edogawa Conan pouted. “I get it. Then, after you finish the mission, can you tell me about it?”

Amuro Tooru: …How is that supposed to count as ‘getting it’?

He picked up the sandwich and headed out, saying as he walked, “Did Mouri-sensei skip lunch again today?”

“Yeah, Ran-neechan had something to do, so today and tomorrow it’s just me and Uncle at home.” Edogawa Conan knew he was changing the subject, but he couldn’t force Amuro Tooru to share intel, so he could only play along and drop the question.

Amuro Tooru brought the sandwich to the detective agency, and the moment he stepped inside, he heard Mouri Kogoro answering a call.

“Ogawa Research Institute? I have to go there today? Fine, I understand.” Mouri Kogoro hung up the phone with a displeased expression.

Hearing the address, Amuro Tooru raised an eyebrow. “Mouri-sensei, is that a commission?”

Mouri Kogoro stood up and got dressed. “Yeah. A research institute on a small island seems to have lost something important and wants me to investigate. Honestly, if they weren’t paying so much, I wouldn’t even bother going!”

Edogawa Conan immediately raised his hand. “I’m going too!”

Mouri Kogoro said, “What’s so great about a remote island? Stay home like a good boy!”

Edogawa Conan counted on his fingers. “But Ran-neechan hasn’t been home these past two days. I will be scared if I stay home alone!”

Mouri Kogoro muttered, “You? Scared? I think you’re plenty bold.”

Just then, Amuro Tooru said, “Mouri-sensei, how about I go with you? I can help you look after Conan. It’s true, it might be unsafe for a child to stay home alone.”

Mouri Kogoro considered it, then finally agreed. “Fine. Just stick with Amuro and don’t make trouble!”

“Okay!” Edogawa Conan nodded obediently.

The three of them rented a fishing boat to reach the island. Once they arrived at the institute, they were immediately escorted inside by the director’s assistant.

“Hello, Mouri-san. I’m the director’s assistant, Tomiyasu Yusaku.” The young man in his twenties brought them to the director’s office and got straight to the point. “Actually, nothing has been stolen from our institute.”

Mouri Kogoro stared at him, confused. “Then why call me here?”

Tomiyasu Yusaku said gravely, “In truth, Director Ogawa has gone missing.”

The three of them looked at him in shock. Amuro Tooru frowned. “How can you be sure he’s missing?”

Tomiyasu Yusaku explained, “Director Ogawa is a workaholic. He spends most of his time inside this institute and doesn’t leave unless there’s a special reason. The last time I saw him was three nights ago. I helped him process the day’s experiment data and then returned to my dorm to sleep. Since then, I haven’t seen him once.”

Edogawa Conan asked, “Did you check the other rooms? What if he’s doing a different experiment somewhere?”

Tomiyasu Yusaku shook his head. “Director Ogawa is extremely methodical. He would never drop what he’s working on to suddenly start another project.”

Mouri Kogoro asked, “Do the others know?”

“I haven’t told anyone. Things have been unstable in the institute lately, so I’m the only one who knows the director has disappeared. I even created the illusion that he’s still in the middle of experiments.”

“I’ve searched almost the entire institute and didn’t find him. But there are areas I don’t have permission to enter.” Tomiyasu Yusaku continued, “I called you because I want you to determine whether the director was kidnapped, and if so, where he might be held.”

Mouri Kogoro felt speechless.

This institute wasn’t that big. You could sweep through it several times in a single day. But if even the director’s assistant had places he couldn’t access, how was he supposed to investigate those areas?

Tomiyasu Yusaku also handed him a list. “These are the current members of the institute. Please look it over and tell me who seems the most suspicious.”

Edogawa Conan and Amuro Tooru: ……

Did this guy think detectives were fortune-tellers? Could someone really point out the culprit just from a list of names? Also, he had already assumed the director was kidnapped by a colleague?!

Mouri Kogoro gave him a complicated look. “I’ll try.”

The list didn’t just contain personal information; it also included each member’s current research projects.

Amuro Tooru flipped through it and found Nakajima’s information.

Nakajima Hiroshi. His current research project was a new type of anesthetic agent.

Amuro Tooru silently memorized the man’s face, planning to find a chance later to complete his mission.

After Mouri Kogoro finished reading, he said, “Just reading their profiles isn’t enough. I have to talk to them face-to-face to spot inconsistencies.”

Tomiyasu Yusaku felt this made sense. “Then I can arrange—” Before he finished speaking, the institute’s alarm suddenly blared.

His expression changed drastically. “This is bad!”

Edogawa Conan asked, “What happened?”

Tomiyasu Yusaku hurriedly explained, “Our institute uses different alarm sounds for different situations. This sound… it means someone has died unexpectedly.”

All three were stunned.

Tomiyasu Yusaku rushed out the door, and Amuro Tooru’s group hurried after him.

By the time they reached the scene, a crowd had already gathered outside the room.

“Make way!”

When the researchers saw Tomiyasu Yusaku, they immediately stepped aside to clear a path.

Mouri Kogoro crouched down, touched Nakajima Hiroshi’s neck, and then shook his head in sorrow.

“How could this happen…” Tomiyasu Yusaku bit his thumb in panic, muttering, “The director still hasn’t been found, and now Nakajima is dead… Is our institute doomed?”

Amuro Tooru examined Nakajima Hiroshi’s pupils, then checked the exposed skin, and soon noticed a tiny needle mark on the back of his neck.

“There’s a syringe here!” Edogawa Conan used a handkerchief to pick up a used syringe from under the desk.

Mouri Kogoro immediately took it and looked it over. “Do you know what was in this?”

Tomiyasu Yusaku looked at the number label on the syringe and said, “This batch should be an anesthetic reagent.”

“Then this incident is most likely a murder case.” Mouri Kogoro said in a deep voice.

Tomiyasu Yusaku stared in shock. “You mean Nakajima-san was… killed?”

“Most likely.” Amuro Tooru pointed at the back of Nakajima Hiroshi’s neck. “Look here. There’s a needle mark. It’s very possible he was injected with an excessive dose of anesthetic, which caused respiratory suppression and led to suffocation.”

Right now, he has a serious headache. The target of his mission had suddenly died—what was he supposed to do next?

Edogawa Conan looked up at Tomiyasu Yusaku and asked, “How was Nakajima-san’s relationship with others here?”

Tomiyasu Yusaku answered immediately, “Nakajima-san was very easygoing. He got along well with everyone. Other than having a poor memory, he didn’t have any real flaws.”

Someone in the crowd suddenly said, “If the killer isn’t one of us, then it must be an outsider, right? And Nakajima-san happened to have a visitor today.”

Edogawa Conan quickly asked, “Who? Where is he?”

The man turned around, looked toward the edge of the crowd, pointed, and said, “He’s today’s visitor. Nakajima-san’s death is definitely connected to him!”

Edogawa Conan followed his gaze—and saw that it was Higashino Hiromu!