Conan returned to the Mouri Detective Agency.
At the stairway, a young girl was standing there.
When she saw Conan, a smile appeared on her face.
"Shin, Conan, welcome back."
"I'm back, Ran-neechan."
The two of them went upstairs together.
Ran no longer kept mentioning Shinichi Kudo.
Conan had started to think about the consequences of his actions.
He no longer acted recklessly just to solve cases.
This lesson had made him grow a lot.
The deaths of so many agents and police were connected to him.
He and Hennessy had been the spark for everything.
"We're back."
"You brat, what happened? Why didn't you go to school?" Kogoro Mouri asked when he saw Conan enter.
"Oh no, I was supposed to go to school today," Conan said after thinking quickly.
"Dr. Agasa is sick today, so there's no one to take care of him. I'll take another day off tomorrow too."
"Seriously, how can an old man need a kid to take care of him?" Kogoro grumbled, then started calling the school to excuse Conan.
"Conan," Ran said, looking at him.
"Ran-neechan, I won't go to the scene. I'll contact them using the badge communicator," Conan replied after Kogoro walked away.
He wouldn't act recklessly, not for the sake of the Mouri family.
And until he fully understood how the Organization's drones tracked people, he really couldn't meet with the police or FBI directly.
"Okay." Ran smiled.
Seeing Ran's smile, Conan felt a heavy weight in his heart.
Hennessy had chosen not to expose him, but what was his purpose?
There were too few clues, yet he knew he couldn't rely on Hennessy's silence.
He had to save himself.
…
"So, what brings you here, Vermouth?" Ren looked at the woman before him with a hint of helplessness.
Don't be fooled by her youth and beauty—she was old enough to be his mother.
"Came to see the person upgrading the Organization's tech. What do you think, Hennessy?" Vermouth sat on the sofa, legs crossed, glancing at Sherry with a flicker of resentment, fleeting and well-hidden.
Before, Ren might not have noticed, but after merging, his perception had become too sharp.
Still, he said nothing. Not everyone in the Organization could coexist peacefully.
"Now that you've seen it… By the way, did you come to Japan just to see me?" Ren rolled his eyes.
"I heard this time you made the Japanese police and the FBI suffer heavy losses. They sent me to support," Vermouth said lightly.
"The police will want to detain Chianti as quickly as possible. Is it really appropriate for you to be so relaxed here?"
"Time slips by at my fingertips, but I feel at ease to stay in this abundant time," Vermouth whispered softly.
"I know you have time. Enough already," Ren said, utterly speechless.
"The latest invention?" Vermouth reached out her hand.
"This probably isn't what you want," Ren said, leading her to the cocoon.
"A game?"
"Yes. A fantasy game you can immerse your consciousness in. Amazing, isn't it? Though it's still very basic," Ren explained excitedly.
"The drone?" Vermouth went straight to the point.
"Oh, this one," Ren said and handed it over without hesitation.
"Is the lab set up?" Vermouth asked Ren.
"Yes. All the data is backed up, and the equipment can be bought directly," Ren answered every question.
Vermouth quickly left with the drone.
She had come here specifically to get one.
The cocoon had exceeded her expectations, and Hennessy's importance rose another level in her eyes.
"Has she left?" Shiho walked over to Ren.
"Yeah, probably interested in the new stuff." Ren sat on the sofa.
"Shiho, Ren, dinner's ready." Akemi took on the role of the chef.
"How's the cocoon development going?" Shiho asked, sitting at the dining table and looking at Ren.
"The scene isn't complete yet. Wait a bit, I'll work overtime to finish it, then we can play the game together." Ren was very interested in this. In his past life, he had always wanted to play a game like Sword Art Online.
"This project must have cost a lot. Will the organization allow it?" Shiho was a little worried.
"Once it hits the market, it can collect tons of player data." Ren thought that alone would make the organization interested.
"Hopefully it won't be able to kill people remotely." Shiho guessed.
"Yeah, it can release electricity to damage the brain and cause death, but I won't tell the organization about that." Ren had no intention of reporting this.
"Good." Shiho trusted Ren wouldn't act recklessly. Seeing that it was late, she said goodnight and went back to her room to wash up and sleep.
After Shiho went to her room, Ren began working overtime on the code. The game inside the cocoon was too basic at the moment. If he wanted to play it soon, working late was unavoidable.
Moreover, once it was released, a huge amount of data would be sent to him, which would greatly benefit AI development.
It was one in the morning.
Vermouth drove into an underground garage and stopped next to a Porsche.
"How's it looking?" Gin asked through the window, getting straight to the point.
"At eight this morning, we'll transfer Chianti. There are three routes. The escort cars are the same in number, but the police will focus on guarding one route, and the other will be handled by Shuichi Akai." Vermouth said, tossing a USB drive into Gin's car.
Gin took the USB and asked, "Do we know which two routes those are?"
"This little time, how could we possibly find everything out."
"Let it be. If we really can't save her, take the shot." Gin's tone was ruthless. The organization's people could never fall into the hands of the authorities.
Although Chianti's loyalty was certain, there were too many ways to make someone reveal the truth.
"A sniper, what a waste." Vermouth smiled.
"No matter what, the organization's information must not be exposed." Gin said, then closed the window and drove off.
Seeing Gin leave, Vermouth turned to the intelligence from Japan. Shinichi Kudo was on the APTX4869 drug list. He had disappeared, confirmed dead, with the confirmation by Sherry.
She remembered back in New York, Shinichi and Ran had brought her a sense of redemption. If she wanted to know whether Shinichi was really dead, contacting the Angel would be enough.
Finally coming to Japan, she wanted to figure these things out. Although she could get information from Sherry, she didn't want to face that couple's daughter.
"Boss, what should we do about the intel she provided this morning?" Vodka asked while driving.
"Spend some money. Have someone block all the routes with cars, and arrange the other routes as well." Gin instructed.
"Understood." Vodka, as a subordinate, immediately got it. With the money in place, many people would be willing to block the roads.
"After the roads are blocked, have our outer members inspect up close. Also, pay some pedestrians to block the intersections." Gin sneered. The plan was simple and brutal, but truly effective.
"Also, prepare the helicopter. Korn, Calvados, you two will snipe from above." Gin looked at the two snipers.
Korn nodded, and Calvados replied, "Understood."
"Silver Bullet." Gin's eyes were cold and ruthless. Looking at the bandages in his hand, he had to admit—his sniping skills was incredible.
Coupled with his ability, calling him a silver bullet capable of destroying the organization was not an exaggeration.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24