Detective Conan: Shadow Legion Office

34: Chapter 34 The Kudo Couple Returns to JapanIn the afternoon in New York, sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting mottled shadows on the floor of Kudo Yusaku’s study.

The air was filled with the mixed scent of cigars and coffee, yet it could not disperse the heavy atmosphere in the room.

Kudo Yusaku slumped in his large computer chair, his fingertips still numb from typing on the keyboard.

The code on the screen continued to flicker, but it could no longer advance even a fraction.

He stared at the pitch-black tracking interface, his eyes filled with a rare sense of defeat.

As a world-renowned mystery novelist, he was accustomed to finding the truth in clues and weaving traps with logic.

But this time, facing the mysterious opponent on the other side of the network, he felt like a lost child—the opponent’s technology was too advanced, so advanced that it seemed not to belong to this era.

Every time he tried to trace them, he was blocked by an invisible wall; every time he tried to crack the opponent’s encryption, it triggered even more complex counter-measures.

The opponent was like a ghost, moving freely in the cyber world without leaving any footprints.

”How is it going, Yusaku?”

Yukiko Kudo had just hung up the phone with Conan Edogawa and walked quickly into the study, her face still showing lingering anxiety.

She had followed the instructions in the email and transferred five million dollars to the anonymous account, but her inner anxiety had not diminished in the slightest.

Kudo Yusaku picked up the cigar on the table, lit it with a lighter, and took a deep drag. The smoke swirled before his eyes, blurring the fatigue in his gaze:

”It’s useless. The opponent’s anti-tracking technology is too powerful; I can’t find any clues.”

He smiled self-deprecatingly: ”I am not a professional hacker after all; in the realm of the internet, I am indeed not their match.”

Yukiko Kudo walked over to his side, gently massaging his shoulders, her voice filled with worry:

”Then what should we do now? We’ve already transferred the money; will the opponent keep their promise? Shinichi, he...”

”The money is just a bargaining chip to stabilize the situation for now,” Kudo Yusaku interrupted her, his eyes becoming sharp again.

”The real trouble is that they know the secret of Shinichi’s shrinking. As long as this secret is held in someone else’s hands, Shinichi will always be in danger.”

He stubbed out his cigar, stood up, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the window was the bustling streetscape of New York, with heavy traffic, but it could not brighten his heavy mood at this moment.

”Since they dared to blackmail us, they must have an agenda. Either it’s money, or... they want to use Shinichi’s identity to make a move.”

Kudo Yusaku’s fingers tapped gently on the window sill, ”Either way, we cannot just sit and wait for our doom.”

”Then what should we do?” Yukiko Kudo looked at her husband’s back, feeling slightly more at ease.

”Have you finished calling Shinichi? What did Shinichi say?” Kudo Yusaku did not answer his wife’s question, but asked instead.

Finally, Yukiko Kudo slowly explained the whole story of how Conan Edogawa had shrunk to Kudo Yusaku.

After listening, Kudo Yusaku put down the cigar in his hand, rubbed his temples, and said:

”I will contact a friend at the Central Intelligence Agency and have them investigate the source of this email through international cybersecurity channels.”

Kudo Yusaku turned around, his eyes flashing with determination, ”Leave professional matters to the professionals.”

He paused and added: ”As for us, we’ll return to the country first.”

”Return to the country?”

”Yes, return to the country.” Kudo Yusaku nodded, his tone firm, ”Only by finding Shinichi and figuring out what he has gone through during this time and who he has met, can we follow the clues and find the person blackmailing us.”

He knew his son too well. Although Shinichi was smart, he was sometimes too impulsive and could easily offend the wrong people inadvertently.

Moreover, Kudo Yusaku felt that this incident did not seem to be the work of the organization that had shrunk Kudo Shinichi, but rather someone who had seized a handle on Shinichi and was deliberately provoking him.

”Okay! I’ll go book the tickets right now!” Yukiko Kudo nodded immediately and Ran towards the bedroom, ”We’ll take the earliest flight back!”

Watching his wife’s hurried back, Kudo Yusaku’s gaze softened slightly, then immediately became heavy again.