nucmednet Chapter 161 The Wild Dog is Here Again
Chapter 161 The Wild Dog is Here Again
"Ah, it's Haibara and the others!" A childish and excited voice broke through the noisy environment and reached everyone's ears.
Mao Lilan, Sonoko, and Haibara Ai turned around at the same time and found several familiar faces in the crowd running towards them. Ayumi, leading the group, was filled with excitement, her hands raised high, waving as she shouted in her childish voice.
Genta and Mitsuhiko followed closely behind, their pace even faster than Ayumi, while Conan, who was at the back, slowed down a little, but his eyes lingered in the direction of Chen Shuo for a moment, somewhat puzzled.
"Hey! It's Professor Agasa and the Junior Detective League!" Sonoko was the first to wave and greet them, her tone full of surprise.
Ayumi ran over, her face filled with joy, her eyes sparkling as she looked at them. Genta and Mitsuhiko followed closely behind, and immediately began chattering non-stop after stopping.
"The doctor took us to see the circus!" Yuan Tai excitedly waved the candy in his hand and spoke quickly. "Giant pandas are amazing! They can step on a ball! They can also do backflips!"
"Yeah!" Mitsuhiko joined the discussion, his tone filled with admiration. "Even professional gymnasts might not be able to pull off this kind of skill. Giant pandas are truly amazing!"
The excitement of the three completely overwhelmed Chen Shuo's last remaining shred of sanity. He stiffly raised his head, staring at the little creatures with a look of despair, his mouth twitching slightly. Deep down, his spirit seemed to cry out, "Even children accept this kind of setting. This world has truly gone mad!"
Dr. Agasa finally arrived, breathless. After he stopped, he held his waist and took a few breaths. Then he said with a smile, "Ahaha, I didn't expect to meet you all here. What a coincidence!"
Mao Lilan bent down, gently touched Ayumi's head, and asked with a smile: "Did you have fun today?"
"Super happy!" Ayumi nodded vigorously, her eyes full of anticipation. "Sister Xiaolan, are you coming to see the circus performance too? They're really amazing!"
Conan frowned slightly, his eyes falling on Chen Shuo, who was shrouded in a low atmosphere.
This usually calm and composed man now exuded a rare sense of frustration and powerlessness, which made him wonder. He quietly moved to Huibara Ai's side and whispered, "What's wrong, Shuo? It feels... very wrong."
Huiyuan Ai folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, with her usual cold expression on her face. When she heard Conan's question, she shrugged lightly, her tone revealing indifference.
"Who knows? He's been like this ever since the giant panda appeared. He even broke down a little while ago, saying things like 'the world has gone crazy'. It's really baffling."
"Giant panda?" Conan paused, then subconsciously repeated the word. His gaze swept over Chen Shuo again, his brow furrowing even deeper. He simply couldn't reconcile the adorable panda performance with the man before him, seemingly on the verge of collapse.
"What the hell?" Conan couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, his eyes full of confusion.
In his impression, Chen Shuo had always been the epitome of calm, intelligent, and largely unperturbed by the outside world. How could such a person have such an emotional breakdown over the appearance of a giant panda? This was simply too outrageous.
"There must be something I don't know about here." Conan's eyes flashed with a gleam, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, as if he had discovered some new clue. However, this excitement only lasted for a moment, and then he shook his head helplessly and rubbed his forehead.
"Why am I thinking about this now?" he muttered to himself, as if blaming himself for his distraction. "Shouldn't the most urgent task right now be preparing for the arbitrator election? When will I be able to change this bad habit..."
---
A group of people sat together, and the topic gradually turned from the giant panda performance to other interesting things. The noisy voices and the warm atmosphere in the venue gradually eased Chen Shuo's gloomy expression a little.
However, when the stage lights suddenly changed and a white lion walked out gracefully from behind the scenes, the audience immediately erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.
Its steady steps and snow-white fur seemed to radiate a divine aura under the lights. The trainer waved his baton, and the white lion immediately leaped onto the platform and performed a series of difficult moves with great charm.
Chen Shuo's newly recovered good mood was instantly shattered. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the stage, his tone thick with dissatisfaction as he muttered, "It's just a white lion. How can it defeat a giant panda and become the face of this circus?"
Mao Lilan was leaning in Chen Shuo's arms, his mumbling making her laugh and cry. She looked up at him, then rolled her eyes helplessly, and couldn't help but complain in her heart, "Why do you have the final say on everything? White lion or giant panda, it doesn't matter who's the signboard..."
"Brother Shuo..." Yuanzi, standing by, finally couldn't help herself and jokingly tilted her head, "Aren't you a little too obsessed with giant pandas? Even if they're really cute, they don't necessarily have to be the star of the show in a circus, right?"
Haibara Ai added coldly, "Besides, who do you think would want to watch a panda slowly walking around? A white lion is definitely more interesting."
Chen Shuo glared at her, as if about to retort, but was silenced by her words. He snorted unwillingly, a hint of resentment in his tone: "Anyway, the giant panda has to be the center..."
---
After the performance, the group walked out of the venue. The evening breeze blew gently, bringing a comfortable coolness. Yuan Tai walked in front, stretched his waist, and said excitedly, "Today's circus was really wonderful!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Mitsuhiko immediately agreed, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Especially the White Lion King Leon! He's so handsome! Look at how he leaps through the flaming hoop, and that precise backflip. It's truly impeccable!"
"Hehe..." Ayumi couldn't help laughing. As she spoke, she took out a small pendant from her pocket: "Look, Leon has been made into a mobile phone chain! Isn't this little Leon cute?"
She shook the cell phone chain in her hand. The pendant was a lifelike little white lion, majestic yet cute, especially the small eyes inlaid with sequins, which sparkled under the light.
"I found it in the store after the performance." Ayumi added with a smile, pulling Huibara Ai's hand: "I bought it with Huibara-san!"
Huiyuan Ai nodded slightly, took out a cell phone chain of the same style, and said calmly: "Yes, Ayumi picked it out."
"Look at this!" Mao Lilan and Sonoko each held up a White Lion King pendant. The exquisite metal craftsmanship made the pendant look particularly high-end. Sonoko gestured and said excitedly: "How about it, with this chain, it looks very classy, doesn't it?"
Mao Lilan nodded and responded with a smile: "It is indeed very beautiful, especially this expression, which is exactly the same as Leon on the stage."
"Brother Shuo, what's wrong?"
Yuanzi's voice interrupted the laughter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chen Shuo suddenly stop and stare straight in a certain direction, his expression filled with inquiry and solemnity.
Everyone noticed Chen Shuo's unusual behavior and followed his gaze. Not far away, they saw a group of reporters surrounding a foreigner. Flash cameras flashed, and a clamor of questions could be faintly heard. The foreigner was squeezed so tightly that he could barely move, a look of obvious helplessness on his face.
"Who is that guy?" Yuan Tai pointed at the foreigner and said with a confused look on his face, "How pitiful! He's surrounded by such a large group of reporters."
Dr. Agasa pushed up his glasses, took a closer look at the foreigner, and suddenly said as if he had suddenly understood something, "Oh... him..." Then he took out a picture album given by the circus from his pocket and said, "Look, his information is on the last page of this album. Mr. Randy Hawke, the organizer of this circus performance."
"Randy Hawke?" Mao Lilan took the album and flipped through it, then asked in confusion, "Who is he?"
Dr. Agasa smiled and pointed to the introduction in the album. "It is said that he was born in Klamath, a city in the southern United States. He is an oil tycoon, extremely rich. His main job now is to organize circus performances around the world, and he has accumulated greater fame through these activities. But..."
He paused and shook his head. "For someone this famous to not have bodyguards, he's truly an adventurous cowboy."
Sonoko stared at the album, then glanced at the foreigner surrounded by reporters, and suddenly revealed a meaningful smirk. Mao Lilan noticed her expression and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong, Sonoko? Why are you smiling so strangely?"
Sonoko waved her hand and said mysteriously, "It's nothing...it's just that these reporters are destined to be disappointed."
"Ah?" Yuan Tai looked confused. "Why are you disappointed?"
Sonoko pointed at the photo in the album, then at the foreigner, a mocking smile on her face. "Because they've got the wrong guy! That guy isn't Randy Hawke. He looks a bit like him, but he's definitely not him."
Just when the foreigner was about to go crazy with the reporters' barrage of questions, he finally couldn't stand it anymore and yelled in his native language: "I can't give answers to all of your questions!"
The voice was loud and full of anger, instantly shocking the surrounding reporters. Everyone was stunned for a moment, and a brief silence followed.
Conan's eyes narrowed slightly, his mind rapidly analyzing the pronunciation he had just heard. A faint smile appeared on his lips, and he whispered, "I really recognized the wrong person."
Huiyuan Ai noticed his expression and asked calmly, "Why, what did you find out?"
"His English pronunciation," Conan pointed at the foreigner, "is a standard London accent, not American English. And Randy Hawke is a genuine American cowboy. This kind of pronunciation would never appear on him."
Upon hearing this, Huiyuan Ai nodded slightly, a faint smile rising from the corner of her mouth: "It seems that those reporters really worked in vain."
Conan told this analysis to the three members of the Junior Detective League. Although they didn't quite understand, they still tried to nod and pretend to understand.
"But, in that case, that uncle is really pitiful..." Ayumi looked at the foreigner who was surrounded by reporters and had nowhere to retreat, her eyes full of sympathy. She turned to look at Conan, with a pleading look in her eyes: "Conan, let's help him!"
"No need..." Conan was about to wave his hand to refuse, but was pushed by Genta and Mitsuhiko on the left and right. Genta said firmly: "Yes, Conan, how can you stand idly by at this time!"
"That's right, our detective team can't just stand by and watch someone die!" Mitsuhiko echoed, his hand already on Conan's back.
"Hey, wait!" Conan looked helpless, his lips twitching as he tried to break free, but he was completely overwhelmed by the strength of the three little guys. He was pushed step by step towards the group of reporters, and his inner cry almost broke through the sky: "I don't want to show up in public at this time!"
Dr. Agasa saw this scene, smiled and shook his head, then waved to Chen Shuo and his group: "Let's go over and take a look at the situation first. That's all for today. Goodbye."
Ran Mouri and Sonoko smiled and waved to Professor Agasa, and looked at the backs of the Young Detective League as they walked away, with a relaxed smile on their faces.
However, Chen Shuo, who was standing next to them, was still staring at the foreigners surrounded by reporters in the distance, with a sharp and inquiring look in his eyes.
Huiyuan Ai noticed his abnormality, frowned slightly, reached out and gently pulled the corner of his clothes: "What's wrong?"
Chen Shuo withdrew his gaze, curled his lips slightly, snorted coldly, and muttered in a low voice: "What a pack of wild dogs, they followed us just by smelling the scent."
"Stray dog?" Haibara Ai repeated doubtfully, with confusion in her eyes.
Mao Lilan, who was standing nearby, looked at Chen Shuo in surprise when she heard this, as if she realized something: "Brother Shuo... are you saying that person is from the FBI?"
Yuanzi's eyes instantly became sharp, the smile on her face faded a little, and she asked in a low voice: "Are you here to see us?"