In front of the mirror in the hotel room, Takato looked at his reflection, still appearing to be twenty years old, and began to fall into deep thought.
Just now, over the past two hours or so, Takato experienced his body shrinking to the size of a seven or eight-year-old, and then quickly returning to its original state.
During this time, Takato endured unbearable pain, but still did not cry out to attract others' attention. Now, everything was over, as if the changes in the past two hours were an illusion. Compared to his previous self, he had only experienced two heavy sweats, and his cold seemed to have disappeared.
The previous pain had prevented Takato from thinking calmly, but now that everything was over, Takato began to think calmly.
His recent transformation confirmed one point: his initial deduction when he first transmigrated was correct. The original body had indeed died from taking "APTX4869," and because he had transmigrated, the body that should have died had come back to life.
However, there was one problem he hadn't considered before: if the body was still the original body, didn't that mean the effects of "APTX4869" were still present in his body?
He recalled that Haibara had mentioned the drug's effects in the original work:
It induces programmed cell death, but at the same time enhances telomerase activity, thereby increasing cell proliferation. Under normal circumstances, it leads to the death of the user, but in very rare cases, due to the accidental effect of the cell's self-destruction program, all cells except the nervous system, such as bones, muscles, internal organs, and hair, regress to childhood or adolescence.
In other words, people who took "APTX4869" had only two outcomes: death or shrinking.
But now, a third situation had appeared—a person who should have died had come back to life due to transmigration, an inexplicable phenomenon!
However, after this body came back to life, it neither died again due to the drug's effects nor did it shrink. Therefore, even though Takato had thought that the original body had died from taking "APTX4869," he hadn't delved into the drug's impact on his own body.
Now, considering that in the original work, Conan and Haibara's bodies permanently shrank due to the drug, it was clear that the drug's effects on the human body were long-lasting and would not be nullified by human metabolism. Didn't this mean that after the original body took the drug, it had already caused a permanent impact on this body! It's just that this impact had turned into a situation Takato currently couldn't understand:
People who shrank due to the drug would temporarily return to their original size after drinking baijiu, but his current situation was completely the opposite: drinking baijiu caused his body to temporarily shrink—it was completely reversed!
This meant that his current physical condition was very abnormal—but coming back from the dead was already abnormal.
Considering the existence of drug resistance in the human body, could it be that everyone who takes "APTX4869" develops tolerance to the drug, thereby preventing its effects, but after drinking baijiu, the sensitivity of the body's cells decreases, allowing the drug to temporarily take effect?
Thinking this, Takato sighed: Unless another person who took "APTX4869" came back from the dead, he couldn't prove whether his guess was accurate. And to understand the condition of his body, he might only be able to ask the developer of this drug—Shiho Miyano, who would later become Haibara!
Changing out of his sweat-soaked clothes, Takato left the hotel and went to a bar, where he bought a bottle of baijiu.
After drinking it again, Takato showed a look of understanding—his body, apart from feeling a little drunk, didn't shrink again—this body had also started to become immune to this condition.
In summary, his situation was completely opposite to that of Conan and Haibara! They would recover their bodies by taking an antidote, while he might shrink because of it!
Was this due to his body? Or was it due to the panel that caused him to transmigrate?
There was no answer; everything could only wait to be resolved later, just like why the original body's father was not cremated.
Now, still in his adult body, he should seriously consider his promotion challenge. If everything went smoothly, he could then go to Tokyo—Takato thought this as he looked at the photo of Shiho Miyano.
The next day, Osaka Prefecture, Shimada Law Office.
Takato, wearing his blue trench coat, arrived at this law Office. It was Monday, a normal working day for the law firm.
Upon arriving at the front desk, the receptionist immediately came to greet him. She was a lady in a black suit uniform.
"Hello, sir, who are you looking for?"
"I'd like to ask if Lawyer Shimada is in?"
Takato asked.
"Excuse me, sir, do you have an appointment?"
As Takato spoke, his eyes scanned the workstation chart on the wall. He saw that the lawyer named Shimada Kaoru at the top was shown as being at her workstation.
"Oh, I don't have an appointment, but if Lawyer Shimada is in, I hope you can inform her. I have something urgent."
Takato said.
"Alright, may I ask what the urgent matter is, if you don't mind sharing?"
The receptionist politely asked.
Takato pondered for a moment, "Just say it's about Mr. Nishikawa."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The receptionist said, going to her workstation at the front desk, picking up the internal phone on the desk, and dialing a number. The call was quickly connected.
The lady quickly explained Takato's purpose in a few brief words, then, hearing instructions from the other end of the phone, she looked up at Takato and asked,
"May I ask, sir, your surname?"
"Oh, my surname is Akechi."
"Alright."
The receptionist heard the answer and informed Lawyer Shimada on the phone of Takato's surname. Then, she clearly sensed a moment of silence on the other end before instructions were given to the front desk.
Hanging up the phone, the receptionist looked at Takato.
"Mr. Akechi, please follow me."
The receptionist said, coming over to lead Takato.
Walking up to the second floor of the Office, on the stairs, a middle-aged man in a suit happened to be coming down. The receptionist and Takato instinctively moved to the side to make way for him.
It was originally an insignificant small matter, but catching sight of the person coming down, Takato still recognized him—he was Nishikawa Taisei's son, Nishikawa Hiroaki, the editor-in-chief at a magazine.
Arriving at the door of Lawyer Shimada Kaoru's Office, the receptionist knocked. After receiving an affirmative reply, the receptionist opened the door for Takato and gestured for him to enter.
After Takato entered the Office, the receptionist thoughtfully closed the door. Looking at the spacious Office and the middle-aged lawyer with thick, black-rimmed glasses at the desk, who appeared authoritative yet approachable, Takato was momentarily unsure how to begin.
However, this stalemate only lasted for a short while. After the receptionist closed the door and waited briefly, Shimada Kaoru spoke first.
"Mr. Akechi, did you see Mr. Nishikawa who just left?"
Saying this, Shimada Kaoru stood up and gestured for Takato to sit on the reception sofa in the middle of the Office.
"I did."
Takato replied, sitting down without making any further movements.
Shimada Kaoru then sat opposite Takato, not delving deeper into her previous question, but instead changing the subject.
"So, you've solved the cipher in the magazine, then?"
Hearing this, Takato knew he hadn't come to the wrong place: If Nishikawa Taisei was indeed looking for an illegitimate child, and it involved the distribution of his will, then as the lawyer who drafted Mr. Nishikawa's will, there was no reason for Lawyer Shimada to be completely unaware.
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