A Genius In The World Of Conan (Detective Conan Fanfiction) - Chapter 4: The Unexpected

“That’s right, Conan. You’re amazing!”

Miyamoto Yumi looked at Conan in front of her with surprise.

“In traffic accidents, it’s not uncommon for a damaged engine to cause carbon monoxide leaks inside the car. That’s why we always carry a carbon monoxide detector with us.”

“When Naeko and I found the male passenger in the front seat unconscious and detected abnormally high carbon monoxide levels in the car, we quickly turned off the engine and moved him out of the vehicle.”

“That was definitely a professional response,” Conan acknowledged with a slight nod, frowning as he looked at the unconscious man lying on the ground.

Considering the dangerously high carbon monoxide levels in the car, keeping him inside for even one more second could have been life-threatening.

While Conan always held a deep disdain for perpetrators of heinous crimes, he couldn’t simply stand by and let someone die, even if they had just committed murder.

“This car was already turned off when we arrived, and such low-cost K-Cars don’t have automatic engine stop-start functionality. I should have realized this sooner,” Sera Masumi remarked, joining Conan’s side after examining the car interior. She too looked down at Kousuke Akikawa lying on the ground.

“But what difference would it have made to realize it earlier? Officer Miyamoto and her colleague had already moved him to the empty lot,” Conan replied, confused.

“Had I realized it sooner, I wouldn’t have questioned Officer Miyamoto so directly,” Sera said with a hint of regret in her tone.

She had hoped to build a good relationship with her second brother’s fiancée, but inadvertently made an inappropriate comment questioning her professionalism.

Changing the subject, Sera continued, “That aside, this victim’s condition is far more gruesome than the victims in the recent serial murder cases.”

“Of course. The serial killings were just a façade for a murder swap. The perpetrators didn’t harbor deep resentment toward their victims and were only focused on ending their lives quickly, so there wasn’t excessive brutality.”

Murder swaps involve individuals with targets they want to kill swapping victims to obscure their motives and create alibis.

“Exactly. I noticed earlier that every wound on this victim reflected the perpetrator’s overwhelming hatred toward her,” Sera remarked, her gaze fixed on Kousuke Akikawa lying on the ground.

Unlike Conan, who often found it hard to comprehend the motives behind a killer’s confession, Sera couldn’t help but wonder what could have happened to drive this man to such an extreme act of hatred.

Before she could dwell on it further, the sound of police sirens grew louder, and soon the scene was approached by officers from the Division 1 of the Criminal Investigation Section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, led by Wataru Takagi.

Takagi, acting efficiently, quickly gathered information from Yumi and began coordinating with forensic officers to inspect the scene, collect fingerprints, and perform other investigative tasks.

“Though the victim’s condition is tragic, the case itself seems relatively straightforward,” Sera commented, watching the bustling officers at work.

“Indeed. As long as they find a second set of fingerprints on the weapon that matches the male passenger’s, the case will essentially be closed,” Conan replied, relieved.

“I don’t think I’d understand the killer’s motives even if I heard them. I’ll leave the rest to the police.”

As they spoke, the sound of an approaching ambulance grew louder.

After arriving at the scene, the medical staff, guided by Naeko Miike, approached Kousuke Akikawa to place him on a stretcher.

Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly.

However…

The relaxed atmosphere between the two detectives didn’t last long.

They noticed the increasing confusion on the faces of the forensic officers and Wataru Takagi.

An uneasy feeling began to well up in both Conan and Sera.

And then, Takagi’s hesitant voice shattered their fragile sense of calm:

“Officer Sato, there are no fingerprints other than the victim’s on the dagger or her clothing.”

“What?!”

“Are you serious?!”

Sera and Conan exclaimed in unison, their heads snapping toward Kousuke Akikawa lying on the ground.

The youthful, slightly androgynous voices startled Kousuke Akikawa, whose tightly wound mental state finally began to relax.

Unbeknownst to them, Kousuke Akikawa had regained consciousness several minutes earlier.

But he remained motionless—not only because he was feigning unconsciousness to eavesdrop on their conversation and learn about the case’s progress, but also because Kousuke Akikawa simply couldn’t move.

This state of regaining consciousness while being unable to move at all was not unfamiliar to him.

It was one of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning—locked-in syndrome.

Unlike the two detectives, who were now realizing that the situation was diverging from their expectations, everything had so far developed exactly as Kousuke Akikawa had anticipated before he lost consciousness.

‘Although I don’t know the exact time of the crash, based on the color of the victim’s blood that I observed earlier, I can estimate that it happened no more than an hour ago,’ he mused internally.

‘If I started showing signs of fainting within that short time, it means the carbon monoxide concentration inside the car must have been at least 1600 ppm at the time.’

‘At that level, exposure for two hours could be life-threatening. Ventilation alone wouldn’t alleviate the symptoms, so the police would inevitably move me out of the car.’

‘If they move me before conducting a proper site investigation, the crime scene is bound to be disturbed.’

It was precisely because he understood this that Kousuke Akikawa had felt a sense of relief before blacking out.

Lacking the memories of the original host of his body was his biggest disadvantage at the moment, making it difficult to cover all bases when cleaning up after the crime.

Having the police themselves move him away from the scene was undoubtedly the safest and most foolproof option.

And once he was away from the crime scene, treated at the hospital, and physically recovered, he would have more energy and a clearer mind to tackle the challenges ahead.

‘Still, carbon monoxide poisoning feels awful,’ he thought bitterly.

‘Although it only takes a high enough concentration for one or two hours to become fatal, the agony during that time is unbearable.’

Many people believed that carbon monoxide poisoning was a painless way to end one’s life.

What they didn’t realize was that during the process, one would suffer from extreme dizziness, heart palpitations, and nausea.

Even if one regretted their decision midway, it would be too late to stop, as the damage to the brainstem would leave the body unresponsive to the brain’s commands.

If one survived by sheer luck, the brain might sustain severe damage, potentially leading to lifelong disabilities.

‘I hope my brain doesn’t get affected,’ Kousuke Akikawa silently prayed.

He wasn’t a particularly intelligent person, but in this new world, his brain was one of the few tools he could rely on.

‘If I can just get through this crisis, I should be able to live more peacefully afterward.’

As he pondered this, he was placed on a stretcher and carried into the ambulance.

Due to Kousuke Akikawa being a prime suspect in a murder case, accompanying the medical staff was Chiba Kazunobu, a lieutenant inspector from the Division 1 of the Criminal Investigation Section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Just as the medical personnel from the fire department were about to close the ambulance doors, a childish voice interrupted them.

“Hey! Wait! Wait!!”

Conan shouted loudly as he ran toward the ambulance.

“Eh? Conan-kun, what’s the matter?”

Detective Chiba looked at the approaching Conan with a puzzled expression.

“Detective Chiba, I want to go to the hospital with you!”

Seeing Chiba’s hesitation, Conan quickly added, “Sera-neechan asked me to come along! She said there’s something she needs me to help confirm!”

“Oh, Sera-san? Alright, hop in.”

Chiba, who held great trust in Sera Masumi after her assistance in solving the serial murder case, agreed.

He also knew that the police were struggling with the forensic investigation at the crime scene.

Having this observant little detective on board might lead to new discoveries.

So he opened the door and let Conan climb in.

‘The police are just casually letting a kid into an ambulance transporting a murder suspect?’

This left Kousuke Akikawa completely baffled.

Moments earlier, he had overheard the conversations of this child, who claimed to have solved a serial murder case, and another person who seemed to be a detective.

The child had even said aloud that he’d leave the rest to the police, implying he wasn’t officially part of their team.

‘Under normal circumstances, someone either has powerful connections or an extraordinary ability to insert themselves into police investigations. Are they the latter?’

‘Come to think of it, it’s already strange for a kid to be involved in murder investigations. It’s almost like that—’

His inner monologue was cut short.

‘Wait a second, what did that Chiba detective just call the kid?’

His heart, which had just calmed down, started racing again.

When he got a clear look at the child’s face, it felt like a thunderclap exploded in his mind.