**Chapter 177: Classic Four Options**

Toda Takako was brought to the beach.

Quickly, everyone noticed the marks on her hand where a sea snake had bitten her.

"Takako, she really got bitten by a sea snake!" 

Matsuzaki Harumi looked in surprise at the wound on her hand, covering her mouth. "Is she going to die?!"

"She's not dead yet," Fujino said as he held up the sea snake, glancing around at the others. "Who's going to help me hold this sea snake?"

"Uh…" 

Everyone on the scene was speechless.

It was then that they finally realized: Fujino had been holding the sea snake the whole time.

Someone had already been bitten, yet he was still holding onto the live snake! 

How bold... Wasn't he afraid of being bitten himself?

"Forget it, why is everyone so scared?" 

Fujino sighed and casually killed the sea snake, tying it around his waist like a belt.

Conan, watching Fujino tie the snake to his waist, couldn't help but twitch his lips. 

Wow, Fujino's usually pretty outrageous, but today, he's on a whole new level... Why does this feel kind of bizarre?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Fujino crouched down and carefully checked Takako's pulse.

The pulse was weak, no signs of pregnancy, and her next period would likely be... 

Seeing that her pulse was still relatively stable, Fujino pulled a short red string from his pocket and tied it tightly around Takako's arm, just above where the sea snake had bitten her.

Snake venom, once inside the body, spreads quickly.

He wasn't sure if tying it would help, but that's what his first aid training said to do.

**[Host is engaging in a healing action. Effectiveness of treatment increased by 100%.]**

As the system notification echoed in his mind, Fujino bent down and brought Takako's wounded hand to his mouth, sucking out the venom.

The metallic taste of blood hit his tongue.

He spat out the blood mixed with venom and called to Conan, "Conan, hurry and get me something with tannic acid in it."

"Got it!" 

Conan nodded in understanding and quickly ran toward a nearby restaurant.

"Hey, Conan, what's going on?" 

Seeing Conan rushing back, Mouri Kogoro, who was looking out from inside the restaurant, couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Takako-san got bitten by a sea snake!" 

Conan glanced around the restaurant, searching for anything with tannic acid.

"Bitten by a sea snake?"

Haibara Ai, hearing this, turned to see Fujino crouching on the beach, giving emergency treatment to Takako.

She thought for a moment, then picked up her iced tea and headed out toward the beach.

"Iced tea?"

Conan glanced at the iced tea in Haibara's hand.

Yes, iced tea! 

He remembered that iced tea contained tannic acid.

With that in mind, he quickly grabbed more iced tea from the table and followed her.

…

"Tannic acid helps neutralize sea snake venom." 

Haibara handed the iced tea to Fujino. "Is this what you wanted him to get?"

"Yeah," Fujino glanced back at Haibara as she approached.

"Hurry up and rinse your mouth. Sucking out the venom like that was reckless." Haibara gave Fujino a stern look. "If the venom seeps into your mouth's mucous membranes, you'll be in trouble."

"Are you worried about me?" 

"..."

Fujino chuckled, took the iced tea, and drank it in one gulp, then spit it out onto the sand.

"I've got more iced tea!" 

Conan came running back, holding several bottles of iced tea.

"You're late, kid. Haibara was quicker." 

Fujino took another bottle of iced tea and poured it over Takako's wound.

Based on his medical knowledge, the best way to treat sea snake venom is to inject antivenom immediately.

But there was no antivenom here.

Snake venom is complex, and different types of venom require specific antivenoms.

Although he had antivenom in his medical kit, none of it was for sea snake bites.

Without the proper antivenom, all he could do was use emergency treatment to keep Takako alive until they could get to a hospital and administer the correct serum.

"Detective Fujino, how's Takako doing now?" 

Matsuzaki Masahiko asked anxiously as Fujino stood up.

"I've done everything I can. Takako should be stable for now."

Fujino glanced at the system interface, which prompted the start of the classic four-choice scenario. "Now we just need to figure out who's behind this."

"Behind this?!"

Masahiko was stunned. "Detective Fujino, are you saying Takako being bitten by the sea snake wasn't an accident?"

"That's right." 

Fujino nodded and looked around at the group. "Takako getting bitten wasn't an accident. This was a premeditated murder attempt."

Conan nodded as well. 

He'd had a feeling there was more to this than met the eye.

Fujino figured it out so quickly... He really is just as sharp as me.

"A premeditated murder attempt?" 

Ito Yo walked over. "Who would do such a thing?"

"Well, I don't know who yet, but I do know the method." 

Fujino pointed to the bite mark on Takako's hand. "Didn't you notice? Takako was bitten on the back of her hand. Normally, a sea snake's mouth wouldn't open wide enough to bite like that. It's clear someone deliberately forced the snake's mouth open to bite her."

As he spoke, Fujino lifted the sea snake tied around his waist and pointed to the small wings on the snake's head. "Look closely. This sea snake is different from others—it has two transparent wings on its head."

"Transparent wings?"

The group gathered closer to look. "Isn't that just tape?"

"Exactly."

Fujino nodded. "This is tape. But why would there be tape on the head of the snake that bit Takako?"

"Obviously, no one's bored enough to tape a snake and then release it into the ocean. Even if someone did, the tape would lose its stickiness and fall off after a while."

Fujino continued, "It's clear someone taped the sea snake to a container to keep it hidden, preventing it from attacking them, and then released it later."

"If I'm right, the person took out the sea snake when Takako was drowning, forced its mouth open, and made it bite her."

With that, Fujino scanned the group, starting the classic four-choice scenario. "So, the culprit is one of you four—Matsuzaki Harumi, Matsuzaki Masahiko, Ito Yo, or Kawazu Kunio."

(End of Chapter)