### Chapter 126: The Bomb Expert Breakthrough [3k Chapters and Monthly Tickets Extra]

"The world's greatest detective?"

Conan frowned at this statement. The greatest detective in the world should be Sherlock Holmes! What kind of detective is Batman anyway? Especially a mere Beika Batman!

The audacity of this Beika Batman made Conan increasingly irritated as he pondered over it. He made a decision: he would definitely unmask this so-called Beika Batman.

"Shinichi really didn't come?"

Ran sighed softly beside him, "We had made plans, and today is his birthday."

"Oh no!"

Seeing Ran's sighs and dejected look, Conan felt a sudden pang of guilt. He quickly activated his "emergency escape" skill and left the scene to call Ran using his phone.

"Sorry, Ran, I still have a case to handle, so I have to hang up now!"

A moment later, Ran, who had received a call from Shinichi, chatted briefly before he abruptly hung up.

"What the heck!"

Ran put her phone back in her pocket, "We had plans, and he bailed on me again."

After thinking for a moment, she sighed, "I haven't even given him his gift yet."

"But seriously, what case does he have to handle this late?"

Recalling Shinichi's words, Ran's expression turned strange, "It's almost one in the morning..."

At the Fujino residence.

Returning home from the Beika City Hall, Fujino collapsed onto his bed, exhausted. "So tired..."

He felt utterly drained. Just like... well, like an over-the-top commercial from his previous life.

The reason was simple: mental exhaustion.

Yes, mental exhaustion, nothing else.

Controlling his soul puppets came at a cost: a significant drain on his mental energy. Normally, if an activity cost one unit of mental energy, controlling the soul puppets would cost two or even three units.

But fortunately, this cost wasn't too high compared to risking his life. Controlling two bodies simultaneously required splitting his attention and mental energy in half. Being able to control another body without affecting his own focus was already extraordinary. If it cost nothing, the world would be too perfect.

After a short rest, Fujino forced his tired eyes open and accessed his system interface. His eyes fell on the description of the Bomb Expert profession task:

**Bomb Expert: Top-level (Breakthrough requires 3 million yen)**

- Bomb Disposal Expert (Advanced: Increases bomb disposal success rate by 30%; note, the same bomb's disposal success rate cannot stack)

- Bomb Expert (Basic: Increases bomb creation success rate by 10%; note, the same bomb's creation success rate cannot stack)

- Desperate Genius (Basic: Grants the host a brief reaction time when a bomb is about to explode, current stop time: five seconds)

**Allocable Points: 2

Overall Allocable Points: 1**

**Current Balance: 6.66 million yen**

"A professional breakthrough?"

Fujino muttered as he studied the breakthrough option on the system interface.

To be honest, he didn't quite understand what a professional breakthrough entailed. Would he advance from a Bomb Expert to a Bomb Master? Or maybe a Bomb Maniac, or even a Suicide Bomber? The specifics were unclear, but the primary concern was the high cost.

If it were just 1 million yen, he wouldn't hesitate. But 3 million yen required careful consideration, as it represented half of his current balance. It was equivalent to three rounds of basic ten-draws and three intermediate draws.

However, upon closer thought, spending 3 million yen to advance as a Bomb Expert seemed reasonable. If reaching the peak of the Bomb Expert profession required a breakthrough for further advancement, then other professions would likely follow the same pattern, needing 3 million yen for their breakthroughs as well.

"I hope it's worth it!"

After much deliberation, Fujino decided to proceed with the breakthrough. Whether he did it now or later, he figured he might as well do it now and see what benefits it would bring to his other professions.

**"270,000 yen has been deducted from your balance"**

**"The Bomb Expert profession has broken through"**

**"New Profession: Bomb Master has been added to your system interface"**

"Bomb Master?"

Fujino was surprised, "Wow, from expert to master?"

He quickly opened the system interface to check:

**Bomb Master: Level 1 (0|500; 1 million yen)**

- Bomb Master: (Has unique insights into the field of bombs, possessing extensive knowledge about bomb creation and disposal)

- Bomb Disposal Grandmaster (Level 3: Increases bomb disposal success rate by 30%; grants the host one trial-and-error chance during bomb disposal to reduce error risk)

- Bomb Creation Grandmaster (Level 1: Increases bomb creation success rate by 10%; grants the host one trial-and-error chance during bomb creation to reduce explosion risk)

- Desperate Genius (Level 1: Grants the host a brief reaction time when a bomb is about to explode, current stop time: five seconds)

**Allocable Points: 2

Overall Allocable Points: 1**

"A trial-and-error chance and increased profession skill cap?"

Fujino pondered the upgrades to the Bomb Master, "And an additional 1 million yen upgrade option... truly a pay-to-win system."

The 3 million yen trial had paid off. Other profession skill breakthroughs would likely follow the same pattern, with skill cap increases and enhanced skill effects. The trial-and-error chance was quite useful, making bomb disposal less stressful and providing an extra chance to avoid fatal mistakes in urgent situations.

Putting his thoughts aside, Fujino glanced at his other profession skills:

**Student: Advanced (940|1000)**

**Professional Swordsman: Advanced (960|1000)**

"Looks like I'll need to visit school and the Konoha Kendo Dojo for some sword practice in the coming days."

He observed the two nearly leveled-up professions, murmuring to himself. But on second thought, he realized that upgrading both would require 6 million yen, while he only had 3.6 million yen left. He could only afford to upgrade one.

Indeed, the path to making money never ends.

Morning came, and sunlight filtered through the curtains into Fujino's bedroom. Akemi Miyano slowly awoke from her sleep, rubbing her drowsy eyes and sitting up from the sofa. She looked at the blanket covering her, stretched, and neatly folded it, placing it back on the sofa cushion.

"When did I fall asleep...?"

After tidying up, she glanced at the bright sunshine outside and asked Fujino, who had just woken up, "Fujino-kun, how long did I sleep?"

"Well, when I got home last night, you were already asleep."

"Really?"

Akemi Miyano rubbed her sore shoulders, "I can't believe I fell asleep on the sofa... My whole body is aching."

"Maybe it's a side effect of the car accident."

Fujino stroked his chin, pretending to think, "The doctor did say you might have other side effects besides amnesia."

"Is that so?"

Fujino nodded, lying through his teeth. Adding the car accident and amnesia setup made it easy to explain away any inconsistencies. He felt a bit like a scheming older man deceiving an innocent girl.

He checked his phone: May 4th. Yesterday was May 3rd, and today was May 4th. Time seemed to flow normally sometimes.

Since it was May 4th, it was time to go back to school. Fujino freshened up, put on his uniform, and prepared to head out. Akemi Miyano wished him a safe journey, giving him a slight sense of family.

In the morning, the streets were filled with high school students in their uniforms. For some inexplicable reason, cherry blossoms were blooming, creating a poetic scene. Although beautiful, Fujino wasn't a fan of such flashy things. He preferred the look of peonies, though they were rare.

The tires of his motorcycle crushed the fallen cherry blossoms as he rode to Teitan High School. After checking in, he was greeted by familiar voices.

"Senpai!"

"Senpai!"

It was Ran and Sonoko.

"Ran, how did things go with Shinichi last night?"

After greeting Fujino, the three gossiping girls of Teitan High School gathered, and Sonoko asked Ran with a mischievous smile, "Did you steal his first kiss?"

"Sonoko, don't say that."

Ran blushed and explained, "I didn't even see Shinichi yesterday."

She glanced at Fujino with a look that promised to keep a secret. Fujino was puzzled, not understanding the meaning behind her gaze.

Ran then said softly, "And because there was a bomb in the building, I didn't get to see the movie... or give him his gift."

(End of Chapter)