One of a detective's core skills—tailing.
To get intel, the most basic ability is tracking. It's also the best method for investigating affairs. Right now, Conan was tailing Ada, determined to find out why she adopted Haibara.
"This woman drives way too crazy." Conan, riding his solar-powered skateboard, barely managed to keep up. He was speechless at her driving skills.
But the tail didn't seem to lead to anything. Ada had no suspicious movements—just work and home, not even a hobby in sight.
Today, though, after she got home, she went out again soon after, this time pushing her daughter along. Conan followed carefully, only to realize she had come to meet A'dou for a date.
"It's Friday. You two really couldn't wait until Saturday?" Conan muttered, jealous. Originally, he and Ran should've been dating like this, but now he could only watch others flaunt their romance.
"Edogawa, what are you doing?"
The voice behind him startled Conan. "Haibara—it's you."
It was Haibara, just back from school with her backpack. "So this is where you've been running off to right after class. Tailing my foster mother? Don't you think that's going too far?"
Conan defended himself. "I had no choice. If I don't check into their background, I can't relax."
Haibara sighed at his suspicion. "I already told you, they're good people."
"Bad guys don't exactly write 'bad' on their faces," Conan shot back. "They're getting farther away. I need to keep following."
Haibara looked at Ada and A'dou's backs. 'Your little secret is about to be uncovered by this nosy detective.' But maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Nono missed her father anyway. Maybe it was better to just expose them and let them go back to being husband and wife.
So Haibara ended up joining Conan's tailing mission.
"Haibara, looks like you don't trust them as much as you act."
Haibara rolled her eyes at him. "I just think it's interesting. Who knows, maybe we'll find something unexpected."
The two kids crept along together. On the way, Conan asked about her recent life.
Pretty good, actually. The professor was with her, meals and chores were handled by the butler, and it was better than before. The professor was enjoying himself too. Except the butler was a bit strict, her little sister was adorable, and Ada was surprisingly kind—nothing like her cold exterior. Overall, life wasn't much different. School in the mornings, and afternoons with the Detective Boys.
After hearing this, Conan didn't find anything suspicious. But from Haibara's words, there was still no mention of a foster father. Clearly, she and the professor were deliberately keeping that part secret. It bothered Conan. She knew all of his secrets, but now she had secrets she wouldn't share with him. That wasn't fair.
"That little grown-up and our daughter are tailing us," Ada said. "Conan's been following me home these past few days. His skateboard's impressive."
"You suspect his identity too?" Liu A'dou asked. With Conan acting so shady, anyone would start doubting.
"I do have some doubts. He and Haibara don't seem like normal kids," Ada thought for a moment. "Could they actually be dwarfs?"
"Pfft!" Liu A'dou almost choked at his wife's imagination. He decided to just give her the truth. "They're not dwarfs. They took a drug that turned them from high schoolers into little kids."
Ada froze, her mind racing before she finally blurted out, "Conan is Kudō Shinichi?!" It wasn't hard to guess—Kudō disappeared, and suddenly a boy with the same sharp reasoning ability showed up. The dots connected easily.
"That's right, exactly." Liu A'dou said smugly. "This world's tech isn't low. Plenty of black technology around. The most dangerous of course is that drug. But no worries, I've already made the antidote."
Ada shot him a look. "Then… are you going to turn our daughter back into a teenager?" She really wasn't used to it. She had assumed Haibara was just a precocious little girl, not a fake loli.
"Of course not!" Liu A'dou cut her off without hesitation. "If she changes back, it'd just be awkward. Better to let her stay as our foster daughter."
Ada hadn't expected him to be this bad.
"Don't look at me like that. Being a girl isn't bad. She was raised by an evil organization since childhood, never had a real childhood. Looks mature, but actually fragile. Looks strong, but actually soft. So it's best for her to re-experience the warmth of a family." Liu A'dou added, "And also…"
"And also what?" Ada could tell he already had it all planned out, she just didn't know what exactly he had in mind.
"And also, I plan to pass down all my Kaitou skills to our daughter, make her my successor." That was his plan.
"If you've made up your mind, I won't say much. But Haibara is my daughter too. If she doesn't want to inherit your legacy, you can't force her."
"Ada-jie, you're truly a good mother." Liu A'dou said. "Of course I won't force her. She can still be a scientist if that's what she loves. Being a phantom thief would just be her second identity."
If Haibara agreed, the future would see a Lady Phantom Thief. That way, Liu A'dou wouldn't fall behind Superman or Batman.
"They seem really close." Conan stared at them, confused. But he just couldn't figure it out. This looked like an 'affair,' right? Why did it feel so harmonious? It didn't make sense.
Haibara thought to herself, 'Of course. They're husband and wife. Just a couple playing at separation. How could their bond not be good?'
Too strange. Conan felt his detective's intuition screaming—those two's relationship was definitely not ordinary.
"Move aside! Police at work!"
??
The crowd ahead suddenly grew chaotic. A man dressed like a textbook criminal came running through. Light gray trench coat, black slacks, black leather shoes, and in his hand—a pistol.
"…" A gunman, in a busy street. And the cops just chased him like that? Weren't they worried he'd open fire on the crowd?
And seriously, why was there even a gunman bursting out like this? These police were way too sloppy.
The criminal charged straight forward, scanning for a hostage. Among the crowd, Ada pushing a stroller stood out the most.
"Don't come closer!" Ada was grabbed instantly and taken hostage.
Takagi, Sato, and Chiba were all on scene. Looked like they'd screwed up again.
"Tanaka, you've got nowhere to run! Let the hostage go and surrender!" Takagi shouted.
But the criminal had no intention of giving in. Pressing the gun to Ada's temple, he shouted, "Back off!" Then he dragged her toward a roadside café, forcing all the customers inside to squat down, turning it into a standoff with the police outside.