The Grammatical Investigator in Conan

Midnight, New York subway.

Qin Zhibo, Kuroba Kaito, and Terai Kinosuke stood at the entrance of the subway station, waiting for Nancy's arrival.

When they were at the hotel, Qin Zhibo had already told the two of them that one more person would be needed on this trip.

After waiting for twenty minutes, a yellow taxi stopped at the corner of the street.

A young woman got out of the car, wrapped in an ill-fitting beige windbreaker and a wide-brimmed hat in the night, and hurried towards here.

She ran to Qin Zhibo and raised the hat that covered her face a little.

"I have arrived……"

"Huh...huh..."

Nancy was breathing heavily as she spoke, and kept glancing at Kaito Kuroba and Kinosuke Terai next to her.

Since she has a special constitution, she hardly goes out. She lacks physical exercise and does not get enough "food". She usually relies on the care of other N-cell members.

Kuroba Kaito's legs were slightly bent, and his eyes happened to look at Nancy under the brim of his hat. He discovered that she was a young and attractive Western beauty, and he immediately became interested.

"Hello~"

"My name is Kuroba Kaito, please give me your advice."

Kuroba Kaito put on a handsome and confident expression, brushed his hair, and extended his right hand in a friendly manner.

But Nancy just glanced at him coldly like a "little kid", then took a step sideways and walked towards the entrance of the subway.

This made Kuroba Kaidou stunned. His invincible pick-up technique actually failed?

Qin Zhibo patted Kuroba Kaito's shoulder comfortingly and said seriously: "Give up, your trick won't work on her."

"She's not the woman you thought she was."

"Huh?" Kuroba Kaito scratched his head in confusion.

…

The four of them bought their subway tickets at the ticket office and entered the subway station.

There was not even a single passenger waiting to take the subway at the subway station at midnight.

Under the cold light, scraps of paper lay around the iron-mesh trash cans, and the gaps between the floor tiles were filled with dirt. It was in line with the outside world's imagination of the New York subway being dirty and messy.

Qin Zhibo led the three of them to the edge of the subway platform, jumped from the steps onto the subway track, and then walked deeper along the track.

When they were halfway there, there was a faint roar in the rumbling tunnel.

"The subway is coming, everyone, please stand aside!"

Qin Zhibo said hello, and the four of them stood close to the wall.

After waiting for more than ten seconds, the subway appeared from behind and soon arrived at the location of several people.

The lights in the subway windows flashed on the faces of several people, and a weak suction force emitted from the air around the subway, lifting the clothes of several people.

After the subway passed, the few of them continued walking forward.

After marching for about half an hour, everyone arrived at the underground shaft where the two gangs of ghouls fought last time.

There are no steps here, so you can only step on the complex vertical and horizontal abandoned water pipes and use parkour to go down.

But Qin Zhibo and Kuroba Kaito both had the help of special tools, one was the [Flying Claw] and the other was the rope gun produced by the doctor.

Kuroba Kaito fixed one end of the rope gun and extended an invitation to Nancy.

"Miss Nancy, let me take you down~"

Nancy looked at the frivolous Kuroba Kaito and replied mercilessly: "No need."

Then, she walked to Qin Zhibo.

Obviously, she is more inclined to believe in Qin Zhibo than "little brat" Kuroba Kaito.

Although what Qin Zhibo used to fix the rope was a human hand bone that had completely taken off the skin and flesh.

Kuroba Kaito and Terai Kinosuke looked at Nancy, who would rather choose "human hand bones", and looked at each other with expressions of disbelief.

…

In this way, the four people were divided into two teams, Qin Zhibo led Nancy, and Kuroba Kaito led Terai Huangnosuke.

The four of them descended to the deepest part of the shaft below, climbed a little higher, and arrived at the space passage leading to the dreamland.

The rancid smell emanating from the dark abandoned water pipes made Kuroba Kaito frown.

"This...do you want to get in?"

"Yeah." Qin Zhibo nodded matter-of-factly, "Don't you often drill pipes?"

"The ventilation duct I drilled was... there might be a dead rat in it."

"So I said before that you don't have to dress too cleanly."

After saying that, Qin Zhibo turned around and got into the abandoned pipe first.

Kuroba Kaito got two cotton balls to stuff their noses, and both Terai Kinosuke stuffed their noses.

He offered the cotton ball to Nancy again, but again she refused.

Several people got into the pipe one after another, and the fishy smell inside became stronger, and the decaying rust made their skin itchy.

Qin Zhibo just kept crawling inside, until at a certain moment, the ring barrier surrounding his body suddenly disappeared.

In a dark space filled with ashes, the four people slowly stood up.

Kuroba Kaito, Terai Kinosuke, and Nancy looked around in disbelief.

Among them, Kuroba Kaito took out his night vision goggles and put them on his head, but all he could see was a dark flat land without a single plant or any sign.

"Follow me the whole time, don't get separated, and don't make a sound as soon as possible."

After giving the instructions, Qin Zhibo led the three of them running in the direction leading to the "Xin's Tombs" above.

…

Although the place you enter the Ash Space is a fixed space passage every time, the location after entering the Ash Space is slightly different every time.

This time the location is closer to the northwest ascending channel than last time, which is good news.

Qin Zhibo led the three people to sprint in the darkness, intending to get there as quickly as possible.

But as they ran, Nancy fell at the back of the team.

Even Terai Huangnosuke's physical strength is far stronger than Nancy in human form.

In this space without any markers, Qin Zhibo needs to use the [Navigator] to always run at the front and lead the way.

Otherwise, if the direction is slightly shifted, it will be far from the destination.

"Uncle, do you want to stop and take a rest?" Kuroba Kaito ran to Qin Zhibo's side and suggested.

"no."

Qin Zhibo decisively rejected Kuroba Kaito's proposal.

"This place is not as safe as you think. There are..."

At this moment, a hoarse sound like a cough came from the surrounding darkness.

Cough——

Ahem...

Inhuman voices lingered in the darkness, and it was clear that what Qin Zhibo was most worried about appeared.

"What is this sound?"

"Yaogui, a kind of man-eating monster that haunts this space, is very numerous."

Qin Zhibo didn't explain much and could only run towards the ascending channel as quickly as possible.

The last time he left the dreamland, Qin Zhibo had already discussed with Matsumoto Ryohei that if there was any unusual movement down there, they would come down to respond.

Now we can only hope that support will be in place in time.

…

In the dark space, the four people huddled into a small group and ran in a certain direction.

In the surrounding darkness, there are constant gray shadows that stir up the floating ashes and roll up a medium-sized whirlpool.

This is the demon's hyena tactic, which first causes constant oppression and consumes the target's physical strength.

When a certain number of demons and ghosts gather together, the demons and ghosts will attack together.

The sense of smell of demons and ghosts is extremely sensitive. Even if they do not make a sound to gather their companions, the body odor emitted by their prey will attract many demons and ghosts.

There is no way to deal with this kind of body odor in advance, because this space itself has no smell, and any smell from the outside will be judged as prey by demons and ghosts, even the smell of feces.

This is why Qin Zhibo asked everyone to run as soon as he entered the Ashes Space.

But he still couldn't escape the fate of being discovered by the monster.

"Run!"

"Don't stop! And leave them alone!"

Qin Zhibo ignored his voice and shouted twice to get attention from behind, in order to prevent those behind him from falling behind in panic.

As long as you can hold on until Matsumoto Ryohei comes with the ghouls, you'll be safe!

But at this moment, Nancy, who was too weak, tilted her foot and fell to the ground.

Kuroba Kaito and Terai Kinosuke, who were running in the middle, heard the movement behind them and quickly stopped and looked back.

In the darkness, a shadow taller than a person came out, and its sharp claws stretched towards Nancy's head.

"careful!"

Kuroba Kaito shouted, took out the poker gun from his arms with his right hand, and shot towards the shadow.

Whoosh——

A playing card was inserted into the wrinkled skin, with only the tip submerged in the flesh.

The owner of the hooked claw seemed to feel a bit of pain, and the claw froze for a moment, then retracted into the darkness.

But then, the monster named "Yaogui" stood out from the darkness.

It was a filthy monster with a blurry face. Its strong body seemed to be a combination of a kangaroo and a human. Its yellowish and bloodshot eyes stared at Kuroba Kaito with hatred.

This image came out of the darkness, and Kuroba Kaito and Terai Huangnosuke were stunned on the spot.

Although Qin Zhibo said in advance that there is a kind of monster in this place, only by actually seeing it can we understand that there is still a gap between what others have said.

This disgusting appearance is even more disgusting and hateful than a ghoul.

The rough skin full of wrinkles is like the bark of a thousand-year-old tree, or like a strong mummy.

"Shoot!"

Qin Zhibo shouted, and then Kuroba Kaito woke up from his daze.

The confused Kuroba Kaito quickly pulled the trigger, and several playing cards flew out and pierced the Yougui's wrinkled skin.

However, the demon just looked down at the cards stuck in his body, waved his hand, and roared at several people.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen demons and ghosts rushed towards several people from the darkness.

"careful!"

Qin Zhibo immediately manifested the [Oath-Keeping Sword] and slashed at the demon rushing towards him with one sword.

With one strike of the knife, the thick-skinned monster was split into two halves like paper, and the smelly blood spattered on the bodies of several of his companions.

Kuroba Kaito and Terai Kinosuke also quickly entered the fighting state. One used a rope gun and a poker gun to transform into a holy spear ranger, and the other used a metal baseball bat to hit the approaching demon.

If facing humans, Kuroba Kaito's combat effectiveness is still good, and his strong flexibility can at least ensure that he will not suffer any disadvantages.

But in this open space without any cover, Kuroba Kaito's agility advantage is useless.

Fortunately, the rope gun and poker gun can delay the attack speed of the demon. When the demon is in some pain, Terai Huangnosuke steps forward and hits the demon's head with a stick.

Bang——!

What sounds good is a good start.

The three of them were facing the monsters rushing up and had no time to take care of Nancy who was lagging behind.

Several monsters took this opportunity to pounce on Nancy at the same time. Their sharp hooks tore through the clothes, revealing the thin shoulders underneath.

The fresh meat was placed in front of him, and the demon ghost bit it with its foul-smelling mouth without hesitation. Blood seeped out from between the dirty yellow teeth and the white skin.

"ah--!"

Nancy let out a shrill scream, waking up the three people fighting here.

Kuroba Kaito gritted his teeth and rushed to save others, but Terai Kinosuke grabbed his wrist.

"Master!"

Kuroba Kaito stared at Terai Kinosuke with wide eyes, but Terai Kinosuke just shook his head helplessly, meaning there was no hope.

They can't save themselves now, so how can they save a weak woman who doesn't seem to have any fighting ability and is also injured.

Kuroba Kaito glanced at Qin Zhibo, who was struggling to kill the demon from the front, and then glanced at Nancy, who was bitten by the demon from behind.

More and more monsters roared out of the darkness, faster than Qin Zhibo could kill them.

This place is no more sinister than the real world.

In the real world, he is the omnipotent Kaitou Kidd.

But here, he is just an ordinary person with a slightly more flexible body.

But even so, he still has to try!

"Close your eyes!"

Kuroba Kaito shouted and threw a flash bomb in his hand.

Bang!

Violent white light exploded in the air, and a white "hole" was suddenly blasted into the dark space.

The demons and ghosts in the "hole" were so stimulated by the white light that they stood there unable to move.

Kuroba Kaito took advantage of this opportunity and rushed to Nancy's side, forcefully pulling Nancy out of the demon's mouth.

The pain from the torn flesh made Nancy scream in heart-rending pain.

But Kuroba Kaito doesn't care, surviving is more important than anything else at this time!

"Quick! I'll carry you!"

Kuroba Kaito lowered his waist slightly, wanting to carry Nancy on his back and run away together.

But Nancy pushed Kuroba Kaito away and grinned a few words from her mouth.

"I can't help it anymore..."

"Um?"

"ah--!"

Just before Kuroba Kaito figured out what was going on, Nancy's head suddenly began to swell, especially the mouth and nose, which quickly swelled and turned into a dog-like head.

Her skin and body were also changing at an alarming rate.

The originally fair and delicate skin turned into gray and smooth skin, and the huge body completely burst through the clothes, turning into a small giant with a height of more than two meters.

"Ah!"

Kuroba Kaito was shocked by the scene in front of him. The young woman who was weak and easy to bully suddenly turned into a huge ghoul in the blink of an eye!

At this time, the white light of the flash bomb disappeared, and the nearest demonic ghost opened its teeth and claws and rushed towards the huge creature in front of it.

However, as soon as it came to Nancy, it was slapped several meters away by a paw.

At this moment, Kuroba Kaito finally understood what Qin Zhibo meant when he said, "She is not the kind of woman you imagined."