Chapter 177: The Alien Invader's First Five-Year Development Plan
Even with Gin's cold, sharp, and capable temperament, at this moment, he was utterly stunned!
He had personally witnessed that Giant of Light towering over Beika earlier. He had been fully convinced by the alien narrative; after all, an existence so powerful it completely ignored modern human firepower was hard to believe as a product of Earth. Even someone as strong as Gin remained highly wary of that Giant.
But wariness was one thing. Gin hadn't overthought it. An alien invasion was something for the world's nations to worry about. The "Distillery" was merely an international crime syndicate; it wasn't their place to fret over such things, except perhaps to consider if the Organization's assets in Beika would suffer losses.
Was he, Gin—a mere assassin for a criminal organization—supposed to go fight a Giant of Light? Don't be ridiculous. Assassins and aliens had nothing in common.
Yet Gin never expected that his earlier jesting thoughts would partially come true. The leader of the alien invasion fleet had now appeared so grandly and was sitting quite openly in his car!
In that instant, Gin instinctively reached into his coat to draw his gun. But he quickly realized his gun was still with Conan. Furthermore, he realized that drawing a gun might not be appropriate. If it were anyone else, Gin would have shot them on the spot to silence a witness. But aliens... they had certain privileges.
After all, Gin couldn't exactly say: "Mr. Alien Invasion Fleet Leader, you have intruded upon a private meeting of an evil criminal organization and seen our faces. Therefore, we cannot leave you alive. If you must blame someone, blame your own bad luck."
To use such a reason to shoot a terrifying entity whose backing army was unknown, but whose single vanguard vanguard had made all of Earth tremble... Gin felt the logic was riddled with holes!
Moreover, while he was an assassin and knew how to pull a trigger, he also knew how to weigh responsibility. If Boss Renya Karasuma found out that the Organization's top killer had shot the Alien Fleet Leader, causing the aliens to put the Distillery first on their strike list, the Boss would surely discard his mysterious persona and call Gin immediately to ask if he was trying to win the Organization a Nobel Peace Prize.
The Organization was a transnational criminal group. Its core purpose was to make money, not to be a resistance army against extraterrestrials!
Gin instinctively pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and finally calmed down. He asked casually:
"Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki, your Japanese is quite good, and your name is very localized. To invade Earth, you must have investigated human civilization for a long time. Want a smoke?"
"Not that long, actually. The culture in our M78 Nebula is quite close to yours. Also, I'm a minor, I don't smoke. Thanks."
The "M78 Nebula" was just a gag Mo Yu had mentioned. But to Ichigo, God's words were golden. Since He said it, then the region of the Silver Sea where the Soul Reaper world originally resided was now officially named the M78 Nebula. No problem at all—that area didn't have a name anyway.
The international assassin Gin and the Alien Invasion Leader Ichigo Kurosaki conducted a fruitful "Close Encounter of the Third Kind" in the super-crime capital of Beika. This move laid a solid foundation for the exchange of criminal enterprises between human and M78 civilizations. (Question: How did this affect future generations? Discuss in 800 words, 30 points).
At this moment, Vodka was equally stunned, a series of bizarre thoughts flashing through his mind. But he was smart; he remained perfectly loyal to his role as "Gin's lackey." If his Big Brother didn't speak, he wouldn't say a word. The bound scarred man was also wide-eyed but had stopped struggling, staying as quiet as a salted fish, naturally radiating the aura of: "I heard nothing, saw nothing, and none of this has anything to do with me."
Gin puffed fiercely on his cigarette, his gaze eventually landing on Conan, wordlessly asking...
Little brother Conan, what is going on? I sent you to farm some assets and cash in the Beika wild zone, which I can understand. But the 'Alien Invasion Fleet Leader'? That doesn't look like a mob drop—that looks like a World Boss!
The atmosphere in the car was silent and awkward. Ichigo, the culprit, didn't care. Since Conan hadn't told him to hide, Ichigo naturally wouldn't. He had traveled the world with his hands in his pockets, facing enemies head-on and never refusing a fight. When had he ever hidden? (Well, the time before he stepped onto the Path of Purity when he was chased nine blocks by a group of muscular brawlers didn't count.)
Conan also remained silent under Gin's questioning gaze.
Since learning bits of the truth of the First Loop through Shinichi Kudo's diary, Conan had realized the fact that he was a protagonist-tier Evil God. From that moment, he never relaxed his control over his "Brain," striving to minimize the frequency of his thoughts and ensuring every idea was controlled to avoid accidentally dictating destiny again.
This control was successful, but it had side effects. To use a personification: Conan's brain—usually smoking a pipe, holding a magnifying glass, and constantly analyzing reality with professional detective rigor—was currently slack-jawed and drooling, making "Ababa" sounds of idiocy.
By suppressing his brain to this degree, Conan's reactions and intelligence had become sluggish, leading to unprecedented oversights. He truly hadn't expected Ichigo Kurosaki to be so blatant about being an alien leader. Beika had never seen such a "righteous" criminal!
Conan had to slightly loosen the suppression on his brain. In an instant, his "idiot" brain's eyes sharpened. In a micro-second, countless ideas flowed through, analyzed, thought out, and organized into a plan.
To Conan, this was a new experience. He was like a third party, watching from a detached angle as billions of neural clusters—previously at low power—suddenly overclocked. Neural signals flickered like a starlit night sky, ideas forming constellations, and constellations forming a massive super-galaxy: a "Plan."
Conan scrutinized every idea, filtering them, vetoing the failures and sending them back for rework. During this process, a doubt arose:
What exactly am "I," and from what angle am I watching this?
The doubt didn't last long. His highly active, frantically thinking brain gave an answer. That "Rationality" serving as the cornerstone of his mind and personality—having sensed his own roots—had shed its disguise, revealing a non-human silhouette. The "Rationality" that could pull Shinichi Kudo back from madness time and again was an indestructible cornerstone anchored at the world's foundation!
In other words, this immortal Rationality was Conan's "Protagonist Status"!
Conan used this Rationality to control his brain, and it was this same Rationality that scrutinized his thoughts from another perspective. But simultaneously, his overclocked brain offered him a suggestion:
"Conan, abandon your rationality. It is the source of all evil..."
Conan snapped to alertness. He realized his own brain was tempting him! His brain was brilliant but hyperactive; it didn't want to be suppressed. It began constructing a vision: if he abandoned rationality, he would no longer be wise or possess a photographic memory. He would become a regular human. His incredible protagonist power would vanish. He would bleed, be hurt, and... die!
Conan reacted instantly, re-suppressing his brain. If it were that easy to discard his status, would the Shinichi Kudo who wrote that diary have missed it in his endless eons of thinking?
Conan's brain didn't even have time to groan before it reverted from "Super-Hyperactive" to "Demented," resuming its "Ababa" babbling.
The whole process had taken only half a second. Conan turned to Gin and smiled:
"Big Brother Gin, here's the deal. While I was on the mission, I happened to run into Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki. He gave me some help, and after we talked, he became very interested in the organization ranked #1 on the Beika Crime List. He wants to inspect and invest. I figured that while our Distillery is #1, it's hard to keep growing upward. I thought this might be an opportunity, so I brought Mr. Kurosaki to see you!"
Gin's first reaction was that Conan's voice sounded a bit "dim-witted," lacking his usual sharpness. But that didn't matter. He fell back into silence. He did believe Conan was the "Future Star" of the Organization—if he was this capable at seven, imagine him as an adult. But a thought flashed through Gin's mind:
Conan, you little brat, in what direction are you trying to develop the Organization? Expanding into the alien-collaboration criminal sector? Turning us from the #1 group in Beika into the #1 "Human Traitor" organization hunted by every nation on Earth? The Organization exists to make money, not to play politics!
Ichigo hadn't coordinated with Conan beforehand, but he knew how to play along. His black sphere-body suddenly manifested a single blood-red eye, wreathed in brilliant Reiatsu, staring at Gin with interest.
"The kid is right. I'm very, very interested in you..."
Ichigo wasn't just talking. Having traced history, he had seen the final battle between Gin and Conan. At the time, he lacked context, but after reading the first half of the diary, his interest in Gin piqued. A man carrying the hope of all humanity—a man whom even the Evil God Shinichi Kudo viewed as the hope to end immortality. Ichigo wanted to feel for himself just how "intense" that man was when he fired the "Hope" of the Black Dragon gun.
Facing Ichigo's Reiatsu, Gin felt the world lose color. Black rain fell in his vision, and his body grew incredibly heavy. But this pressure—enough to make a mortal prostrate themselves and die—did not break Gin. Instead, his spirit focused like never before.
"I see. The Organization stands out too much in Beika and caught the aliens' eye," Gin thought. He was no stranger to this; the Organization often targeted emerging talents or profitable factions.
The Stand "Black Dragon of Slaughter" flickered behind Gin. As it appeared, Ichigo's Reiatsu was pushed back! The souls of all mankind had once been Gin's wings, and their roars the hand that locked down the God's laws. Traces remained. Supporting the dragon's "Sure-Hit Kill" ability was a majestic will representing all humanity. Such a will would never kneel before anyone.
Gin had no gun, but the dancing Black Dragon pulled out dragon-scaled dual pistols and pointed them at Ichigo.
"Oh? You didn't back down from the power gap; you raised a gun instead? Let's test your hands, then..."
The blood-red eye on Ichigo's sphere ignited with the fire of battle. The atmosphere in the car instantly turned into a searing clash of killing intent.
Conan, acting "slow," seemed not to notice the tension. But his plan was ready. His brain had gone through fifty versions. To prevent himself from slipping up while in his "idiot" state, the 50th version was "dummy-proof": clear steps, risk assessments, and executable by a fool.
Conan said in a dull voice: "Big Brother Gin, Mr. Kurosaki said their M78 Nebula is a highly civilized world, so they don't act like savages. Inspections and investments in friendly local factions are without preconditions—it's not 'submit or die,' but 'cooperate or part ways.' To show sincerity, he's giving a portion of the secret base he just conquered in Beika to the Organization as a gift."
Gin remained silent. The "beastly" battle-fire in Ichigo's eye told him exactly what kind of man he was dealing with. But Conan's words gave him a way out. Why should a hitman fight an alien invader for no reason? Victory or defeat would only bring trouble.
Gin gave a cold snort but said nothing. The Black Dragon Stand lowered its guns. Ichigo pouted and glanced at Conan, deciding to give the protagonist some face. Gin was like Conan—a "unripe fruit" who hadn't reclaimed his true power. To taste him now would be a waste.
At that moment, Conan "glanced" at a dark alley behind them. The King's Mark on his hand glowed. Instantly, several shadow tentacles lunged from the alley, silently wrapping around Gin's Porsche. Gin reacted, but it was too late. Man and car vanished into the shadows.
Beika's urban will watched silently. It allowed it, firmly believing that this group of high-quality criminal talents was destined to be Beika citizens and wouldn't be stolen by that "little bitch" of a Nightmare.
The scene shifted. The Beika cityscape faded, replaced by the distorted Nightmare Realm! Gin's eyes flickered, but before he could speak, Conan interjected:
"This is the alien invaders' secret base. Mr. Kurosaki says if the Organization accepts, they can claim any block in this Nightmare Beika as their headquarters. This is his sincerity—a benefit only available now. Later on, let alone picking a street, it'll be impossible to get even one room..."
Gin was stunned. Thanks to Hollywood, his stereotype of an "alien base" was a high-tech underground bunker. He never imagined it would be an entire city hidden on the reverse side of reality! Then again... hadn't the Light Demon been repelled by the Magical Girl?
"Mr. Kurosaki has a complete urban plan for this city," Conan continued in his dull voice. "The first step is investment promotion. Using the fact that it's exempt from Earth's laws, he'll attract major crime syndicates and capital from Beika and the world to set up shop here. He wants to build the world's premier criminal sanctuary and a pilot city for alien colonization. His 'Phase One' goal is for Nightmare Beika's GDP to surpass Japan's within five years..."
"To ease the syndicates' concerns, Mr. Kurosaki promises protection as long as they follow the core rules of Nightmare Beika and the M78 system. He offers various partnership models. He's even willing to outsource the city's management rights, providing only basic security services..."
"He even suggests that the Distillery and other organizations could form a parliamentary government within Nightmare Beika to manage the city—or even remotely control criminal operations across the entire Earth. He thinks it's a great idea..."
Gin listened, first shocked, then bewildered. He looked at Conan, who was speaking like a programmed tape recorder.
You brat... were you really just farming? Or did you take a crash course in 'Human Traitordom' from the aliens?
Why were these talking points—from the alien invader's perspective—so polished? And so... tempting?
The Organization's assets in Beika were devaluing so fast it was a disaster. He'd been working overtime for eons. Under these circumstances, grabbing assets in a Nightmare Beika seemed like a brilliant move.
Of course, Gin couldn't make this call. He planned to report to Renya Karasuma.
Shortly after, on a lightless island in the Pacific, the mysterious Renya Karasuma received Gin's report in the darkness.
After reading the info, Karasuma took deep breaths. The room vibrated with a cryptic majesty, like a massive black crow stretching its wings. But after one last deep breath, the Boss tilted his head, mind filled with question marks.
Is Gin too capable? The aliens just landed, and he's already made contact with their leader and profited a batch of assets?!
End of Chapter
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