Chapter 85 Do the Right Thing
Time flies by in a flash.

A week goes by in a flash.

The weather today is not very good, with thick clouds hanging over the sky.

But through the holes, the sun still shines in beams, passing through the glass and hitting the brilliant marigolds on the windowsill, making them extremely bright.

The breeze brings the scent of the mountains and forests from afar, and after caressing the petals, it picks up its unique fragrance, which makes people feel happy when they smell it.

This is the ward of Hokkaido International Hospital.

White dome, white walls, pale white gauze curtains, and equally white tiles...

In this completely white space, Conan finally saw his parents again.

The usually energetic Kudo Yukiko was lying weakly on the bed, her hair disheveled and her face paler than the room.

There was sweat on Kudo Yusaku's forehead and he frowned from time to time - the pain in his spine was still tormenting him.

However, when he saw Conan and Xiaolan coming in, he still smiled and said in a casual manner: "Long time no see... I'm so glad to see you're safe and sound!"

Mao Lilan's eyes instantly turned red.

That day, it was Kudo Yusaku who protected them and prevented them from getting hurt.

Conan lowered his head.

He clenched his hands so tightly that his body was shaking slightly.

Seeing them like this, Conan's words got stuck in his throat and he could only say in a hoarse voice: "...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

"Oh my! Shinichi, are you going to cry?"

Yukiko Kudo's tone was still very lively, but her weak body made it sound weak.

She half sat up and waved, "Come and let mommy see it. It's been a long time since I've seen Xiaoxin with this expression."

Conan said nothing.

He didn't argue that he didn't cry, nor did he say that he was already a high school student as usual...

He just walked closer with his head down and buried his face in Kudo Yukiko's quilt.

Kudo Yukiko showed a gentle smile on her face. She stroked Conan's head and said softly: "Don't worry, it's okay. We are all still alive."

Conan hummed in a low voice.

Kudo Yusaku also comforted him: "I am a novelist. As long as my hands are still there, there will be no problem... Besides, I know some experts in this field in the United States. There may be ways to save it."

Hearing this, Conan finally raised his head: "...Then let's go now!"

Kudo Yusaku looked at him in surprise.

Conan avoided his gaze unnaturally: "Let's go to the United States now. The sooner we start treatment for this kind of injury, the better the effect. With your connections in the United States, there should be better recovery methods than in Japan..."

"Besides..."

He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "Besides...things here are over! There's no point in us staying here!"

"So...so..."

He slowly lowered his head again, and his voice was so soft that it could not be heard clearly.

Kudo Yusaku didn't interrupt him, but listened to him quietly, then asked, "So... are you going to give up, Shinichi?"

Conan remained silent.

Kudo Yusaku asked again: "You want to give up tracking down Su Beixun, give up exploring the truth of these things... just run away from Hokkaido without knowing why... Is that what you think, Shinichi?"

Conan's lips moved, but he had nothing to say.

Kudo Yusaku said: "I think with your intelligence, you should have figured it out by now, right?"

"After coming out of the operating room, I have been in the ward for the past few days, but I have also learned some things."

"It's not clear what the bombs were like in the building, but the bombs outside were all placed in suitcases."

"Asakura Takaaki didn't take anything with him when he fled, and it was impossible for him to pull so many suitcases into place while being chased by the police."

Conan listened quietly.

Seeing that Conan didn't react, Kudo Yusaku continued, "It's obvious that he didn't plant these bombs!"

"Besides, considering his hasty escape, I don't think he had the courage to perish with his enemies, or to commit suicide... After all, he was not at the end of his rope at the time, and he exposed himself to the police."

"So, Asakura Songming probably didn't expect that there were so many bombs in the building under his feet... He was also killed!"

He paused: "As for the one who would do such a thing...Su Beixun is the most suspicious!"

Kudo Yusaku stared at his son and told him what he had been thinking these days: "So, why did Su Beixun want to kill Asakura Songming? Because he has been exposed? It is possible... But based on the fact that Inspector Megure is still missing, I am more inclined to another conclusion..."

He said in a deep voice: "Asakura Songming is just a target to attract attention. He involves the police here to hide something deeper."

"So, Shinichi, we still need to continue investigating!"

Conan pursed his lips and asked softly: "...and then cause more people to die?"

"what?"

Kudo Yusaku was stunned.

"What did we do in Hokkaido? We couldn't find Su Beixun, nor did we stop the poisoning at Minzhi Middle School, and we even indirectly caused the deaths of so many people in the explosion!"

“Have we really made the situation better?”

Conan looked painful: "We were the ones who came up with the method, and we asked the police to arrest people... No matter if the explosion was caused by Su Beixun or Asakura Songming, wasn't the source of all this because of our investigation?"

"Continue to investigate and kill more people?"

Conan's voice was trembling, he didn't dare to look up, he kept his eyes on the floor, his nails digging into his palms.

"…It's all our fault…not…it's my fault."

"It was me who wanted to come to Hokkaido to investigate... It was all my fault... Their deaths are all my fault. Mom was injured because of me, and Dad was paralyzed because of me... This is all my fault..."

He murmured, "If...if I hadn't come to Hokkaido..."

"Shinichi!" Kudo Yusaku interrupted loudly: "Don't punish yourself for other people's mistakes! This has nothing to do with you!"

Doesn't it matter?
Conan stopped talking.

He looked dazed, and the tragic scenes he had seen in the past few days kept flashing through his mind...

Burnt flesh, exposed internal organs, blood all over the ground, white bones and those shrill screams...

If innocent people die while tracking down the murderer, then who should bear the consequences?

This explosion is different from the poisoning, it can be avoided! If they hadn't forced...

If only I hadn't come to Hokkaido...

If only we hadn't investigated these things...

He has been thinking this way these days.

Kudo Yusaku didn't know how to persuade him for a moment.

He himself had never thought about it in this way.

His strong sense of responsibility...has always been something he was proud of for his son...but he never expected that he would get stuck in such a dead end.

The clock on the wall ticked away.

Kudo Yusaku took a deep breath and slowly asked: "Shinichi, do you think...what we are doing is right?"

correct?
Conan didn't answer, he didn't know either now.

"Or...when we see these cases, should we just ignore them?"

Kudo Yusaku slowed down his tone: "Let A kill people. How many people can he kill alone? In the past few years, at most there are only a dozen... Is that what you think?"

Conan remained silent.

"So, because you don't want to see anyone die in the bomb, you'd rather accept A killing other people from time to time..."

"Life is in your heart. Is it enough to compare the quantity?"

Conan stood there in a daze.

Is that right?

Is that what I thought?
To avoid more deaths, can I just accept the loss of a few lives?
Conan raised his head subconsciously. No! That's not right!

It shouldn't be like this!

Kudo Yusaku smiled with relief, looked at Conan and said seriously: "I won't say that all this has nothing to do with us... In fact, we do have to bear the responsibility for their deaths!"

"But this responsibility is not because of our exploration of the truth, but because we did not consider more during the investigation!"

"The fault lies in our lack of ability, not in our wrong motives!"

"Now, it has already happened! Are you going to ignore it all because of something that hasn't happened yet, or something that we can avoid in the future?"

There was a trace of struggle in Conan's eyes.

Kudo Yusaku said softly: "Shinichi, although many people say that you are the Sherlock Holmes of the new century, I always feel that you are not like a detective."

"A detective can be in the limelight, but he cannot make showing off his abilities his primary goal. A detective can investigate a case, but he cannot treat solving the case as a game."

“Whether a detective is qualified or not depends not on whether he has a well-known reputation, but on whether he has a soul that can shoulder heavy responsibilities.”

Kudo Yusaku said word by word.

"Take the lives of the living on your shoulders. So that those who are still alive will not die at the hands of murderers."

"Carry the hatred of the dead. Let the dead be vindicated."

"Take on the responsibility of finding the truth. Let everything be seen by everyone, fair and just."

"Even if you fail, even if you suffer setbacks, even if you accomplish nothing..."

"Still firmly do what you think is right!"

"This is what a detective is!"

Conan stared at him blankly.

Kudo Yusaku smiled at him: "Then, can I ask you to bring the truth to us, great detective!"

Kudo Yukiko reached out to touch his head: "I'm counting on you, great detective! Sherlock Holmes won't give up like this!"

Mao Lilan looked at him gently but firmly: "I will always be with you, Shinichi. In my heart, you have always been the best detective!"

The heart beats loudly.

The corners of Conan's mouth gradually cracked, revealing his first smile in these days.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll take care of everything!"

##
Conan and Xiaolan left.

In the quiet ward, Yukiko Kudo asked worriedly, "Is it okay, husband? Let two little kids like Shin-chan do such a dangerous thing."

There was some worry in Kudo Yusaku's eyes: "Don't worry about Xiaolan, I will call her later and ask her to come back to take care of us. With Xiaolan's personality, she will definitely not refuse... As for Shinichi..."

He sighed, "I know him. If we leave like this, there will definitely be a thorn in his heart... Rather than letting him feel guilty about this escape in the future, it is better to take some risks now..."

Kudo Yusaku paused and said, "Besides... the police reinforcements coming to Hokkaido this time have acquaintances in Tokyo. I have asked them to keep an eye on Shinichi."

##
Leave the hospital.

The sky outside is still not clear. The thick clouds have completely blocked the sun, and the sky is gloomy.

The crowds marching outside were growing instead of decreasing.

But they no longer surrounded the hospital, but instead held flags and shouted in the streets.

Most of them wore gray-black clothes dyed with cloth woven from ramie fibers, similar to the color of mouse - this is Japanese mourning dress.

——I will avenge your family.

Conan stood on the side of the road and watched them walk away, saying firmly in his heart.

Xiaolan stayed with him, and only when she saw the parade disappear around the corner did she ask, "Shinichi...what are you going to do?"

Conan said: "Dad is right, Asakura Songming is very likely the target that attracts the police's attention."

"Inspector Megure must have found out something very important, so when the police started to track down Officer Megure, Su Beixun detonated the bomb to contain us."

Xiaolan was surprised: "Then can we find the truth by just restarting the investigation of Officer Megure?"

Conan shook his head: "It's too late. After so many days, with Su Beixun's ability, all clues will disappear... We can only use another method!"

Xiaolan sighed in disappointment.

As Conan walked, he thought about all the experiences he had since coming to Hokkaido. Those puzzles were tightly entangled like a ball of thread, and there was no way to separate them.

Now, we can only start with the disappearance of Inspector Megure.

According to Officer Fujisai, Officer Megure went to all of Subuan's residences that night to investigate one by one, and then disappeared.

So, what did he go through?
Did you meet Su Beixun himself?

He had always thought so before.

But after the bomb incident, he began to become suspicious.

Given Su Beixun's personality, even if he really meets Megure, would he be afraid of being investigated by the police after kidnapping him?
but……

If Megure’s disappearance has nothing to do with Su Beixun, then who could it be?
As he thought about it, his steps became slower and slower, and then suddenly stopped!

Is it...A?
But...what about Asakura Takaaki?

"What's wrong, Shinichi!"

Xiaolan walked a distance away before turning back and asking.

Conan narrowed his eyes and asked softly, "Lan, do you think Asakura Songming is really A?"

Xiaolan was puzzled: "But he ran away when he saw the police. Why do you think Asakura Songming is not A?"

"Because...his death was too hasty?"

Conan wasn't confident at first, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

His eyes became brighter and brighter. "Since Su Beixun thinks A is his masterpiece and even specially invited us to Hokkaido to participate in his play, how could he let A end in such an aesthetically pleasing way?"

Xiaolan subconsciously asked: "Where is the evidence?"

"No evidence!"

Conan shook his head, but was unexpectedly confident: "This is just a guess, but... I firmly believe it!"

Xiaolan asked again: "But...what does this mean?"

Conan didn't rush to answer. He went over everything in his mind and suddenly sighed.

“We think too much!”

He looked up at Xiaolan, and the regret in his eyes was quickly suppressed: "You are too obsessed with clues, but you ignore the most important key!"

He whispered, "Su Beixun cares a lot about A!"

Xiaolan became more and more confused.

So Conan asked: "In the Minzhi Middle School poisoning case... do you think Su Beixun would let A be poisoned to death? Such an easy death, without any stage play, do you think Su Beixun would accept it?"

It's like spring thunder exploding in your ears!

Mao Lilan's eyes gradually widened.

Conan asked himself and answered: "No, Su Beixun will not let this happen!"

"So, is there any way to ensure survival 100%?"

Xiaolan finally understood his thoughts and shouted, "Don't go to school! As long as you don't go to school, you won't be poisoned!"

"That's right!" Conan stretched out his hand and clenched it, as if he was holding the truth in his fist.

His voice was so resolute that it could cut through steel.

"So, there must be something wrong with the student who asked for leave without reason and didn't come on the day of the poisoning case! Even if he is not A, he must be closely connected with Su Beixun!"

　I think a high school student would have emotional fluctuations when seeing his parents seriously injured. If Conan could immediately start investigating as usual after Kudo Yusaku was paralyzed, he would not look like a flesh-and-blood teenager.

　　But I don’t know if you can accept it if I write it this way.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)