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At a private hospital somewhere in Tokyo, Yukiko Kudo was sitting on a bench in the corridor, looking at the operating room not far away.
Not long after, the light in the operating room went out, and a doctor walked out of the room.
"Are you Miss Yukiko Kudo?"
The doctor walked up to Yukiko Kudo and asked.
"I am. Is my husband alright?"
Yukiko Kudo stood up, her face pale.
"Your husband, Mr. Yusaku Kudo, is not in life-threatening danger. The gunshot wound to his palm is not fatal, but Mr. Yusaku does have a small problem..."
The doctor hesitated, as if weighing his words.
The doctor's words made Yukiko Kudo tense up again. She quickly asked, "What's wrong with Yusaku?"
"Well, it's like this. Apart from the gunshot wound to his palm, Mr. Yusaku Kudo's real injury is actually to his groin. That area suffered a strong impact, and some organs were shattered. With modern medical techniques, it's incurable."
The doctor's words were tactful, but Yukiko Kudo understood.
Yusaku Kudo had been castrated.
Yukiko Kudo didn't feel particularly sad about this result.
Anyway, Yusaku Kudo already had a son; the Kudo family line had been passed down. At over forty years old, even if he lost function in that area, it wasn't something unacceptable. As long as he was alright, that was good enough.
Then, thinking of Shinichi Kudo, Yukiko Kudo asked worriedly, "How is Shin... Conan's injury?"
"This young friend, Conan Edogawa, hasn't suffered any major injuries. He just underwent surgery and his body is a bit weak. He just needs to rest for a few days and recuperate, and he'll be up and about."
"He has already woken up and is in the hospital room. You can go see him anytime."
Yukiko Kudo asked again with concern, "Is there anything wrong with Conan's medical examination results?"
The doctor shook his head. "Apart from some weakness, he has no other problems. His body is very healthy."
Only then did Yukiko Kudo feel relieved.
At the very least, from a general medical examination, Shinichi's shrunken body wouldn't be discovered from a blood test.
To know more detailed conditions, a more thorough examination would probably be needed, and an ordinary hospital would definitely not do that. This was already in the realm of research.
The director of this private hospital was Yusaku Kudo's friend. Besides being a hospital, it was also a medical research institute.
Yusaku Kudo had originally planned to bring Conan here for a comprehensive examination, but unexpectedly, he ended up in the hospital room first.
And the reason Yukiko Kudo brought Yusaku and Conan here was also because the gunshot wound was difficult to explain.
The doctor didn't want to meddle too much, especially since this family had connections with the hospital director. Even if there were gunshot wounds, it was best to turn a blind eye.
"Mr. Yusaku Kudo's anesthesia hasn't worn off yet. You can go see him after he wakes up. As for young Conan, you can go see him now. I still have work to do, so I'll take my leave."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Yukiko Kudo politely bid farewell to the doctor.
After mulling over her words for a moment, she pushed open the door to Conan's hospital room.
Conan was staying in a VIP room, with only one bed inside.
At this moment, Conan was dazed in bed. Seeing Yukiko Kudo arrive, he quickly asked, "Mom, where's Dad? Is he alright?"
Conan had clearly seen Yusaku Kudo being kicked by that man in black and shot.
"Your dad is in the hospital room next door. His life is not in danger."
Only then did Conan feel relieved. He frowned again and said, "We... how did we survive? Why didn't that man in black..."
This was the strangest part. When he opened his eyes, he was already in this hospital room. He had no recollection of what happened after he fainted.
Yukiko Kudo briefly told Conan what happened after he fainted.
However, Yukiko omitted the part where the man in black asked her to get close to Fujiwara Toru. She couldn't bring herself to say such things, even in front of her son.
Conan frowned deeply. He felt there were major loopholes here. The other party just let their family go so easily?
But the reality was indeed so. Even if he didn't believe it, their family had indeed survived.
"You mean, that man in black, because he was greedy for the effects of that drug and wanted to monopolize the intelligence, he didn't kill us because he thought we posed no threat, and he even let you go?"
Conan felt this was too absurd. How arrogant, how confident must that man in black be to make such a decision?
But then Conan thought again, this world was full of strange people. What if the other party was a psychopath? Anyway, this outcome was beneficial to their family.
Conan immediately perked up. "This is good news. The fewer people who know about my situation, the safer we are."
"Now, the enemy we truly need to face is only that man in black. We even discovered that internal conflict within their organization. Perhaps we can use this point to defeat this organization."
"Even the most solid fortress can be breached from within. This is a good opportunity, a chance to completely destroy this organization!"
Looking at Conan, it seemed he was going to continue courting death by investigating and provoking that organization.
Yukiko cursed inwardly at this. What an unfilial son. Your mother might lose her chastity because of you, you know?
You, on the other hand, as soon as the pain from your injury subsides, as soon as someone spares your life, you're going to continue investigating, right? Will you be so lucky to survive next time!
Yukiko, who knew Shinichi Kudo's personality very well, felt an immense headache.
Make him give up?
That was impossible. Shinichi Kudo was stubborn and rebellious. The more you told him to give up, the more determined he would become to court death. This recent danger hadn't taught him any lesson at all.
"This time wasn't entirely without gain. Before they drew my blood, I overheard a conversation between members of that organization."
"There was also a woman at that time. That man in black called the woman 'Sherry', while the woman I didn't see called that man in black 'Martini'."
"These are all liquor names. It's very likely that this organization uses liquor names as code names internally!"
Conan felt extremely excited, as if he was one step closer to uncovering the internal workings of this organization.
Only Yukiko Kudo was speechless. What use was such intelligence?
But looking at Conan's excited energy, Yukiko Kudo also felt a wave of exhaustion. She said, "I'm going to see your father."
"Mm, go ahead."
Conan completely failed to notice his mother's weariness, fully engrossed in his own deductions.
That organization seems to like wearing black clothes. If I see them on the street later, maybe I can identify members of that organization in advance.
Yukiko Kudo shook her head, didn't disturb Conan, and left the hospital room.
She went back to the corridor, sat on a bench, and rested for a while. The mental stress and fatigue of this period made her just want to sleep soundly.
However, she knew some things weren't finished yet; she couldn't just sleep like this.
After resting for a while and recovering some energy, Yukiko Kudo didn't go to see Yusaku Kudo, but instead left the private hospital and came to the roadside outside.
Breathing in the cold night air, Yukiko Kudo's mind finally cleared a little.
At this moment, a Land Rover pulled up beside her. Yukiko Kudo tensed up.
Only when the Land Rover's window rolled down, revealing Eri Kisaki's face, did she relax.
Yukiko Kudo gave a wry smile to herself; she was also suffering from some PTSD.
"...Yukiko, it's a bit cold outside. Get in the car."
"Mm."
Yukiko Kudo opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. Leaning back against the seat tiredly, she rubbed her face hard with her hands.
"What's wrong with you? You even have dark circles under your eyes."
Eri Kisaki, wearing glasses on the bridge of her nose, exuded the aura of a strong career woman. She looked at her friend's messy hair and weary face, and asked with pursed, delicate lips.
"Is Yusaku injured? What happened? Is the injury serious? Do you need my help?"
Faced with Eri Kisaki's barrage of questions, Yukiko Kudo said somewhat dejectedly, "Eri, don't ask. We can solve these matters ourselves. Thank you."
Eri Kisaki opened her mouth, but seeing the plea in Yukiko Kudo's eyes, she didn't press further.
Yukiko Kudo took a deep breath. She hadn't forgotten the mission that man in black had given her before leaving.
This mission also had a time limit. She didn't dare to delay, so she asked, "Eri, I heard that you know Fujiwara Toru, who is currently a big hit in Hollywood and known as 'Hollywood's Superhero'?"
This was information Yukiko Kudo had gathered by asking around while resting in the hospital corridor earlier.
To get close to Fujiwara Toru, one first needed to have a mutual friend.
And only after some inquiries did she find out that Eri Kisaki actually knew him.
"He's a client of mine. I've handled two big cases for him. What's wrong? Why bring up Fujiwara?"
Eri Kisaki was a little puzzled but still answered.
"Eri, are you familiar with him?"
"(Damn it) Reasonably familiar, I suppose. I had dinner with him privately before. At that time, I was thinking of letting Ran meet him. Perhaps she would have a good impression."
"You're really putting in a lot of effort for your daughter."
"Hmph, if not for my daughter, should I rely on Kogoro Mouri?"
Eri Kisaki snorted coldly, clearly disdainful of Kogoro Mouri's lack of learning and skill.
"I see that you're not just thinking this. That guy is handsome and gives people a sense of security. He's simply a rare 'little puppy dog' type."
"You haven't had a boyfriend for so many years, living like a lonely spinster. I understand, women of our age, their needs in that department are not small. Are you really not tempted by him?"
At this moment, Yukiko Kudo seemed to have transformed back into that woman with a mischievous personality, teasing Eri Kisaki.
Eri Kisaki's eyes narrowed, but seeing Yukiko's teasing gaze, her stern face relaxed.
She was actually somewhat helpless against this woman.
Her stern personality was useless in front of her.
"You don't need to meddle in my affairs," Eri Kisaki replied ambiguously.
But in Yukiko Kudo's eyes, this was practically an admission.
Yukiko Kudo immediately stated her true purpose: "When will Eri introduce him to me?"
Eri Kisaki was shocked. She couldn't help but say, "Yukiko, you're married! You're a married woman!"