After both parties exchanged views and reached a consensus, Luo Shu beckoned to Megumi Kato, who immediately understood and retrieved prepared paper documents from the briefcase she was carrying, handing them to Yusaku Kudo and Yukiko Kudo.
"From the intelligence gathered so far, Shinichi Kudo was forcibly administered poison by an organisation codenamed The Distillery, after which he was unexpectedly parasitised by a high-level Abyss Artefact."
"According to physical examination data, this Abyss Artefact hasn't produced any negative effects on Shinichi Kudo's body, only causing certain subtle changes in his luck."
"The specific changes are actually detailed in the documents you've received."
At that moment, Yusaku Kudo's face darkened as he flipped through the files.
In the documents compiled by the Intelligence Department and supplemented by Yukino Yukinoshita based on Luo Shu's account, Yusaku saw records of Shinichi Kudo's recent activities.
When he read that Shinichi had been playing with his childhood friend Ran Mouri in a park, accidentally witnessed a transaction by Distillery members, recklessly tried to spy on them, and was subsequently caught and force-fed poison, Yusaku felt utterly numb.
If that were all, while Yusaku would still be exasperated, knowing his son's personality, he'd understand this was an unavoidable incident - the brat's obsession with cases was like a dung beetle spotting a toilet, treating it like home.
No matter who was committing crimes, Shinichi would inevitably stick his nose in to deliver some 'justice'.
And when justice backfires, the price must be paid.
So Yusaku actually felt somewhat relieved that his son had survived after being poisoned by Distillery assassins during his investigation - at least he was alive.
But the subsequent records left Yusaku completely dumbfounded!
Being poisoned had unexpectedly caused Shinichi to regress into a child, becoming an elementary school student.
That alone would be shocking enough!
But due to this incident, his constitution underwent peculiar changes, apparently attracting parasitism by a high-level Abyss Artefact - this was utterly mind-boggling.
Was this a case of misfortunes never coming alone? Of all people, his son had encountered this extremely rare global phenomenon of Abyss Artefact parasitism?
Was his son some kind of cursed deity?
And what on earth was this about the artefact's negative effects?
With all these descriptions, were they absolutely certain this wasn't some kind of joke?
As Yusaku stood stunned, Yukiko Kudo's murmuring voice echoed through the research lab:
"Within a five-kilometre radius of the parasitised individual, various incidents will automatically be induced, creating disasters including but not limited to murders, kidnappings, terror attacks and other cases, while actively drawing the parasitised individual towards them, like cultivating poison insects, amplifying the disaster power within the host..."
"This... doesn't this mean he's become a harbinger of calamity?"
Yukiko unconsciously read the report aloud, and by the time she finished, her complexion had turned ashen:
"Our Shinichi... has become a walking disaster that brings death wherever he goes?"
"Though that child has always been exasperating since childhood, surely he doesn't deserve this..."
Yukiko Kudo raised her head and looked at her husband, eagerly hoping for his agreement.
With their son becoming a jinx, Yukiko truly couldn't think of a solution. Earlier, she and her husband had planned to use their connections to arrange external supervision for their son and bring him back to live with them in Los Angeles. But given the current situation, it seemed external supervision was completely impossible!
They couldn't possibly have gun violence cases happening daily near their home in the Los Angeles affluent district, could they?
Wouldn't that turn their upscale neighbourhood into a ghetto?
At that moment, Yusaku Kudo didn't notice his wife's subtle expression. Instead, he removed his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose firmly, then put them back on before asking Luo Shu:
"Director Luo, which researcher authored this investigation report?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu glanced at Yusaku and calmly replied:
"The specific identity is classified."
"All I can say is that it was divined by a certain... 'great personage' whose very existence is speculated about by external forces. The one who must not be named personally conducted the divination."
Upon hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita's mouth twitched as she thought to herself: 'That "great personage" you're talking about is just yourself, isn't it?'
After her lips twitched several times, Yukino couldn't help but glance at Megumi Kato beside her. Seeing the other girl's expression remain as calm and gentle as ever, she couldn't help but muse:
'Is this what they mean by "remaining unperturbed even if Mount Tai collapsed before one's eyes"?'
'I feel like Megumi might actually be better suited as a secretary than me...'
As Yukinoshita's thoughts wandered, Yusaku Kudo seemed to have guessed something from Luo Shu's suggestion, his expression shifting repeatedly.
Wasn't the person whose existence the SDS was recently speculated to be hiding precisely the rumoured Demigod Rank sorcerer suspected to exist after the sorcerer grade evaluation system was disclosed?
Had a Demigod personally examined Shinichi's condition and reached this conclusion?
Was his misfortune so severe that even a Demigod could only detain him without a solution?
Thinking this, Yusaku's expression turned ashen. All his previous plans were painfully yet resolutely abandoned at this moment.
Still, a sliver of hope remained in his heart.
"Director Luo, is there still hope for Shinichi?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu deliberately glanced at Verde before turning back to Yusaku with a solemn expression:
"Mr. Yusaku, Shinichi Kudo has already been assigned internal designation 054."
Upon hearing that his son had been assigned a designation number, Yusaku fully understood Luo Shu's implication.
Especially that deliberate glance at Verde - Yusaku couldn't possibly miss the meaning. He and Verde were old acquaintances after all!
If Verde had already assigned a designation number, it essentially meant there was no saving him, or that he could only live under research facility supervision.
What made it worse was that his son didn't even have any children yet, and to top it off, he'd been turned into a primary school student, eliminating even the possibility of grandchildren to carry on the hope.
Why did the boy have to be so reckless, chasing after members of The Distillery like that?
With his expression shifting through countless emotions, Yusaku ultimately made his decision:
"I see. I understand. Then I'll entrust my son to your care for the time being."
Hearing this, Yukiko couldn't hold back her tears as she asked:
"Director Luo, is there any hope for Shinichi's condition?"
Luo Shu hesitated for a moment before glancing at Yukiko Kudo with a complicated expression:
"Madam, if you haven't read the subsequent reports yet, I suggest you take a look now."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Yukiko Kudo hurriedly picked up the documents in her hand and quickly flipped through them, then froze:
"Case numbers 48 to 18 involved seven murder incidents? Two company presidents, one lawyer and an English diplomat died?"
After reading the records, Yukiko Kudo numbly raised her head to look at Yusaku Kudo.
She began imagining what might happen if her son lived with them - facing murder case after murder case in the future. Suddenly, she wondered if they should consider having a grandson.
Wait... her son had already turned into a primary school student, which meant...
Her son's equipment was no longer functional!!
Didn't this mean their plan had suffered before even starting?
"How can something so absurd happen..." Yukiko Kudo felt completely numb.
Meanwhile, Yusaku Kudo silently patted his pockets, only to remember he'd quit smoking long ago and no longer carried cigarettes.
After a few futile searches, Yusaku Kudo opened his mouth and finally sighed to Yukiko Kudo:
"Let's try for another child when there's a chance."
"If that doesn't work, test tubes are an option. The SDS has the technical support for it."
'What kind of statement is that, sir? Do you have some kind of condition?' Luo Shu's expression remained neutral, but his eyes flicked towards Yusaku Kudo briefly before he calmly asked:
"Would you two like to say something to Shinichi Kudo, who now goes by Conan Edogawa?"
"If his parents advise him, the patient should cooperate with treatment more willingly."
"After all, with active cooperation, there's at least hope for recovery."
Hearing this, Yusaku Kudo and Yukiko Kudo exchanged glances, both struggling to make a decision.
Finally, Yusaku Kudo sighed again:
"Let me handle it."
"I'll try my best to persuade the boy to cooperate..."