### Chapter 104: APTX4869 Research Data

"When should we start the investigation?"

After discussing the details of the commission, Takayama Nan asked Fujino with some confusion.

"No need to rush," Fujino replied as he slowly stood up from the sofa. "You don't need to worry about the investigation."

He spoke with a glimmer of deep light flashing in his narrowed eyes. "Within two weeks, I'll quietly track down and resolve the issue with that stalker fan."

"Resolve…"

Takayama Nan swallowed. "Isn't 600,000 yen a bit much for that?"

"What are you thinking?" Fujino chuckled lightly. "By 'resolve,' I mean stopping them from doing anything further with legal measures. If necessary, I'll report it under my name. It won't involve the client at all."

"That's a relief."

Takayama Nan sighed in relief, thinking that the detective wouldn't resort to anything extreme for the sake of 600,000 yen.

Yoko Okino also breathed a sigh of relief, likely having the same thought.

......

In the dead of night.

After thoroughly discussing the details of the commission with Takayama Nan and receiving the 600,000 yen fee, Fujino left the concert backstage.

On his way home, he donned his assassin's robe and took to his bat-like motorcycle to deal with criminals in the city.

After taking care of the criminals, he returned home.

Late into the night, at Fujino's home.

"Already grown to twenty-five percent?"

As soon as he got home, Fujino went to the bathroom, stood in front of the bathtub, and gazed at Miyano Akemi in the clear water, murmuring.

At this point, Miyano Akemi's soul lotus had grown to twenty-five percent. What was once the size of a palm had now grown to the size of a child similar to Conan.

The roots that were once on its head had now become stems, growing out of the water. At the tip of the stems, the lotus bud was starting to bloom.

The child-like soul lotus had a face like a normal person, with limbs gradually growing and the body showing basic details.

Observing the increasingly mature soul lotus, Fujino's expression became peculiar.

As he had expected, the soul lotus was indeed growing gradually. At twenty-five percent, it resembled a seven-year-old child. At one hundred percent, it would likely reach a normal adult physique in their twenties.

"It seems that it won't be long before the soul lotus can be useful to me."

Fujino murmured, then washed up with the nearby shower and went to bed.

......

The next day, November 23, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Fujino rode his bat-like motorcycle, disguised with a card face, following a white wolf on the highway in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The sharp cold wind blew past him, but with the assassin's robe providing excellent wind protection, the cold did not penetrate his clothing.

This time, his destination was the home of Professor Hirota Masaki of Nanyang University in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The reason for the trip was due to the APTX4869 research data.

Fujino had just remembered this earlier that morning. If he recalled correctly, Miyano Akemi had previously given Miyano Shiho some magnetic disks with photos from her travels a few years ago.

After Miyano Shiho reviewed those disks, she sent them back to Miyano Akemi, who then handed them over to her university professor, Hirota Masaki.

Of course, that wasn't the main point. The crucial detail was that among those returned disks, there was one containing the APTX4869 drug research data, which Miyano Shiho had accidentally included.

That disk contained not only research data but also information about code-named personnel within the winery and some investors.

Although there was an internal Night Duke virus that would automatically destroy it if used on a non-winery computer, having it was better than not. There might be a chance to decipher it in the future.

"Is this Hirota Masaki's house?"

Following the white wolf's guidance, Fujino arrived at a two-story house. Confirming the address from the doorplate marked "Hirota," he activated his detective enhancements, jumped over the wall, and entered the yard.

Once inside the house, Fujino enhanced his sensory abilities and quickly found several disks beside a computer in what seemed to be a study.

"These should be it, right?"

Fujino examined the blue disks in his hand, narrowed his eyes, and began inserting them into the computer one by one.

Most of the disks contained content about outings and travel. Only one disk was encrypted, and after entering a random password, it revealed some obscure files.

"Looks like this is the one."

Fujino pulled out the disk, carefully examined it, and then stored all the disks in his system space.

With the disks found, the purpose of his Shizuoka trip was achieved.

Before leaving Hirota's house, Fujino made sure to create a fake break-in scenario and left with over 500,000 yen, making a graceful exit.

As Fujino was about to return to Tokyo on his motorcycle and passed through a snowy mountain area, a system task notification suddenly sounded in his ear: "New professional task detected. Please check."

[Doctor Profession Task: Rescue the Stranded Man

Task Objective: Save a man trapped in an avalanche.

Task Reward: 500,000 yen, 50 points in Doctor Profession Skill]

"An avalanche?"

Fujino frowned as he looked at the task on the system interface.

Looking around, he soon spotted a nearby snow-covered mountain.

"Where's the avalanche? This system must be malfunctioning," Fujino muttered.

Just then, he heard a loud rumble from the nearby snow-covered mountain.

"There really is an avalanche?"

Fujino watched as the snow-covered mountain top visibly collapsed, and his mouth twitched.

After a moment of thought, he turned his motorcycle toward the direction of the avalanche.

Whether for the money or not, Fujino was a good person. When it came to saving lives, he would certainly act decisively.

Well, it's definitely not about the money or leveling up skills.

The avalanche-covered mountain path was all white. Fujino, dressed in his assassin's robe, blended into the snowy landscape.

Following the system's guidance, he soon arrived at a forest buried under thick snow.

"Is this the place?"

Fujino approached a partially exposed large tree, looked at the red dot indicator on the ground, and began digging with a wooden knife.

Soon, he unearthed the person he was supposed to rescue for this doctor task.

It was a man wearing a dark blue cotton coat. The man's left eye was bleeding, and his left leg was twisted from a collision with a tree.

Fujino dug him out of the snow and dragged him to the side.

"Is there anything to confirm his identity?"

Fujino wondered as he unzipped the man's coat. A police badge fell out from inside his pocket.

"A police officer?"

Fujino picked up the badge, opened it, and looked at the name in surprise. "Yamato Gantetsu?"

(End of Chapter)