Gin warned Alhaitham: "This will be your laboratory from now on. Apply in advance for whatever you plan to research or need. I hope you'll have results soon, otherwise..."
Gin didn't finish his sentence, looking at Alhaitham with cold eyes as he continued: "By the way, the Boss heard you're quite skilled. Later on, you might be needed to cooperate with the Action Group on missions."
Hearing this, Alhaitham directly refused: "I recall saying that I am but a feeble academic. Going out on operations is likely outside my job description."
Gin: "Then you'd better pray you produce research results as soon as possible, get a codename from the Boss, and become a Core Member. Only then will you have the right to refuse missions."
Having finished what he had to say, Gin left immediately, not intending to listen to any more irrelevant nonsense, leaving Alhaitham to familiarize himself with the experimental environment.
While Alhaitham was pitting his wits against the Black Organization, Xia Xi, through her own hard work, was finally about to save up enough Primogems for a ten-pull.
Just as Xia Xi was hoping for more missions to refresh so she could save up enough Primogems in one go, a world mission that hadn't appeared in a long time was finally triggered.
That day, Xia Xi was doing a Daily Commission to find a cat.
'Paimon, why do you think cats go missing every day?'
Paimon: "Hmm... maybe it's because cats are just such curious creatures. They say a few butterflies can easily lure a cat away. And that's when—hehe—it's our turn for the Detective Traveler to take the stage. You're quite good at finding cats, Traveler."
Xia Xi was a bit speechless at Paimon's praise in this regard: 'Paimon, do you think Diona would be better with cats? If I pull Diona, could I leave all the cat-finding jobs to her in the future? Plus, the first floor would have a use, and we could earn money. It kills several birds with one stone.'
"Yeah, Diona does seem really useful then. But—" Paimon's voice trailed off. "That's only if you actually pull Diona, Traveler. Honestly, I don't have much hope for your luck. Tsk, tsk." She shook her head repeatedly.
While Xia Xi was focused on finding the cat, a Little Girl's voice suddenly called out from behind her: "Big sister!"
Xia Xi looked back and saw the Detective Boys trio she had met at the Amusement Park, plus another little boy. This should be Shinichi Kudo turned into a child.
He looks quite cute like this, at least not as cocky as he seemed at the Amusement Park.
Conan was also a bit surprised to run into a witness from the Amusement Park so coincidentally. She had left too early last time, so he didn't know her name yet. Moreover, since this sister had been there and could see others' movements clearly in such a dark environment, Conan was quite curious about her profession. He planned to take the opportunity to fish for information and see if she might be related to that organization.
Although he thought so, Conan actually felt the possibility of her being connected to that organization was very low; she clearly didn't have that feeling of someone who had killed in the darkness.
Just then, Ayumi also asked this question.
"Oh, right, right! Big sister, you didn't tell me your name back at the Amusement Park."
Xia Xi squatted down: "It's Ayumi and the others. It's my fault; I left before I had a chance to tell you my name. I'm Natsume Natsuki. You can call me Sister Xia Xi." She then looked at Conan: "Oh, there's another child today. Is he a new friend?"
"Yeah, Conan just transferred here," Ayumi said, pulling Conan over. "Big sister, Conan is very smart!"
Seeing Conan's helpless expression as he was pulled along, a bit of mischief welled up in Xia Xi's heart. Wanting to give Conan a little scare, she stared at him and said, "Oh—so Conan just transferred. Speaking of which, Conan looks a bit familiar. It's like I saw someone similar a few days ago."
Conan was originally curious about this sister who happened to be at the Amusement Park and could see in the dark, wanting to take the chance to gather info. But hearing those words, he started breaking into a cold sweat.
*No way, we only met a few times at the Amusement Park, and I was an adult then. A normal person shouldn't make the connection,* he comforted himself inwardly.
Despite thinking this, Conan couldn't help but stutter as he explained, "I... I probably haven't met you, big sister. Your hair is so unique; if I had seen you, I'd definitely remember."
Seeing Conan's frantic explanation, Xia Xi decided to let him off the hook this time: "Hmm, you're right. It must be my imagination."
While explaining, Conan quietly observed Xia Xi's reaction. Seeing she wasn't suspicious, he breathed a sigh of relief, no longer in the mood to test her.
Mitsuhiko and Genta were unhappy hearing Ayumi's praise for Conan. What gives? What's so smart about this new kid? He even got the treasure code wrong just now.
Thinking this, as soon as Xia Xi finished talking to Conan, Genta quickly took out the paper slip with the code that had just blown over in the wind and said to Xia Xi, "Sister Xia Xi, look, look! This is the Treasure Map we found. Once we find the treasure, maybe we'll have endless Eel Rice. We'll treat you to some then, Sister Xia Xi!"
Conan felt helpless hearing Genta's big talk. Hey, hey, we're not even sure if it's a real Treasure Map yet, and we don't have a clue how to solve it, but you're already thinking about how to spend it once the treasure is found?
Xia Xi: "Mhm, then I'll thank Genta in advance. But are you kids looking for treasure all by yourselves? That's very impressive." She clapped a few times.
Conan saw Xia Xi's reaction. What? It looks like she doesn't take the Treasure Map seriously and is just humoring the kids. Well, who would believe a Treasure Map in the hands of a few kids is real?
"Can I see the Treasure Map? Maybe I can offer some help."
Xia Xi remembered that there was a Treasure Map incident in the early stages of Conan, but she didn't remember exactly where it was hidden. If she looked at the map, she might find the treasure before Conan. This way, the organization would have some startup funds. An organization shouldn't be unable to even come up with a million, right?
Hearing this, Genta readily handed the Treasure Map to Xia Xi.
Just as Xia Xi saw the pattern on the slip of paper, the world mission that had been silent for a long time finally refreshed. She took a moment to look at the mission details:
[world mission — The Metropolis Code Map Incident
The robbers who stole the gold coins cannot find their ill-gotten gains. The leader of the robbers recorded the route to the treasure on a map: If you want everything I have, come to the finish line.
Mission: Decipher the Treasure Map information and find the treasure.]