Ke Xue World: The Confrontation between Black and Red

Hibiki's arrival can be said to be silent. Not only Conan and other Red Team members, but even Vermouth and Gin and other members of the organization who have been active in Tokyo recently, did not receive any news at all.

Of course, Toru Amuro contributed to this, but more importantly, it was because Hibiki did not even step out of the safe house during the two days after arriving in Tokyo, let alone any external activities.

of course,

Another part of the reason is that everyone has been distracted by other important things recently and has no extra free time to pay attention to other things.

The annual leave application report submitted by Yuuki Edogawa was like a rock that was gently thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples on the surface.

At first, few people knew about it, but as time went on and no one covered it up, it was even spread secretly and deliberately.

The people who knew about this were not limited to those within the Metropolitan Police Department.

As perceptive as Kudo Yusaku was, he confirmed that Whiskey was behind this incident almost as soon as he got the news.

During every Chinese New Year holiday, police officers from all over the country will be very busy because of the golden period of peak cases that follows.

As a senior detective, Yuki Edogawa would stay on the front line every year, but this year was an exception.

Rather than describing it as a coincidence, Kudo Yusaku and other members of the Red Team all believed that the reason why Edogawa Yuki did this was entirely because of whiskey.

The private connection between mother and son made it easy for Whiskey to persuade Edogawa Yuki, who had been working diligently and on the front line since becoming a police officer.

Let her leave Tokyo on the pretext of taking annual leave.

Just to avoid a huge storm that is about to occur in the Tokyo area, and they have not yet seen much signs of it.

So in the following days, the Red Team launched a full-scale investigation into this unknown storm that was speculated to be of immeasurable magnitude.

As for the organization, from the beginning, both Vermouth and Gin were very clear:

That gentleman would never give such a task to Whiskey at such a critical moment.

In the past, Whiskey had never been in charge of any task related to internal cleaning.

Especially now.

However, the news that Yuuki Edogawa suddenly took a year-end leave was not without value to the two of them.

It was through this information that the two finally determined that the person who would be given the highest command of this mission was not Champagne, the captain of the direct team.

Nor is it the aniseed liquor that is now equal in status to Champagne and even has SS-level decoding equipment.

Instead, Rum was already in the countdown of his life and should have been hiding in the dark and smelly sewer like a rat, struggling to survive and waiting for death to come.

Otherwise, Whiskey would not have asked Yuki Edogawa to leave Tokyo at this time.

Compared to Gin's indifference after his sneer, Vermouth was really panicked when she first came to the above conclusion.

Rum has always been vicious and ruthless in his actions. Although his scheming and cunning cannot reach the level of Whiskey, he is far better than others.

Furthermore, as the leader of the intelligence team, Rum's intelligence network that covers the entire Neon is enough to make up for this gap in this mission.

This is also the main reason why Vermouth feels extremely troubled and panics.

Before she knew who would get the command of this mission, the last thing she wanted to see was Rum getting the command of this mission.

Not to mention that he had just suffered a great loss at the hands of Rum not long ago, his face turned blue from a heart attack, and he was so angry that he couldn't sleep well for several nights.

Just because he knew that she had a close personal relationship with Kudo Yukiko, she almost discovered Conan's secret and noticed the existence of the two angels.

He also reported the matter to Karasuma Renya, causing her to spend some time in the interrogation room, the confinement room, and the laboratory.

This is enough to make Vermouth want to kill Rum, and she believes that if she gets the chance, she will make him die.

In other words, he knew that Rum's status in Karasuma Renya's heart had plummeted, and it was destined to not last long, and it would not have a good ending if it fell into Whiskey's hands.

Only then did she endure and restrain herself from making any unnecessary movements.

Who would have thought that the command of the mission, which had been speculated for a long time, would be given to Rum by that gentleman out of kindness.

Until she received the collection email from Rum, Vermouth still hadn't figured out why.

Tokyo-

The screen of the mobile phone turned off silently because no one had operated it for a long time.

Vermouth, wearing a light-colored home suit, sat alone on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the hotel room. Although her eyes were fixed outside the window, her brows were slightly frowned.

Those eyes, which used to be so charming and charming, now contained a deep worry.

Thanks to the reminder given by Karasuma Soshin, Vermouth, who was very active a few days ago, has been staying at home as much as Hibiki these days.

The advantage is that she avoided being caught by Rum's pigtails, but the disadvantage is the worry that is about to overflow in her eyes.

The high frequency and long duration of her thinking caused Vermouth to have a dull headache. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she sighed softly.

At night, the bustling center of Tokyo welcomes its usual neon lights and bustling scene.

At this time, a high-end restaurant near Ginza also welcomed a group of rare customers.

Vermouth, disguised as a typical young office worker, walked in through the main entrance in broad daylight, carrying a popular black handbag in one hand.

The smiling waiter walked over quickly, and just as he got closer, he heard the guest who had entered tell him the box number that had a special meaning and did not exist in public.

"Sir, do you need a drink? We can provide you with one for free."

The waiter maintained a respectful and polite attitude, with almost no change in tone and expression, except for a slight twinkle in his eyes under the light.

"I want a glass of Belmode."

Vermouth gave out the code name with understanding.

"Okay, the drinks will be delivered to you later. Please come this way, sir."

After confirming the visitor's identity, the waiter led Vermouth to the third floor of the restaurant, which was not open to the public and had a simple sign saying "staff lounge" at the door.

Then he bent down and stepped aside.

He didn't turn around and leave until he saw Vermouth push the door open.

Inside the door, Gin, who arrived ten minutes earlier, glanced at Vermouth, who no longer pretended to be a corporate slave after pushing the door open, and said nothing.

He returned his gaze to the cigarette burning between his fingertips.

Vodka, who was standing behind the sofa, was initially guessing who had come in. However, before he could guess the answer, the door of the room, which had been closed for just a few seconds, was pushed open again.

? ! ! !

Seeing the young man walking towards him, Vodka instantly widened his eyes under his sunglasses, and even subconsciously raised his hands and rubbed his eyes.

Oh my God! ! !

Isn't this the one that Whiskey has always treasured and has kept by his side? ! !

Whiskey actually let him come to Rum's territory alone. The sun didn't even rise from the west today!!!

After entering the room, Xiang saw Vodka's actions clearly.

But compared to Vodka, he was more concerned about the other people in the lounge at the moment.

Gin, champagne, Vermouth, aniseed liquor…

Apart from that gentleman and the lord, Brandy, and Rum, the convener of the rally who has not yet shown up, the core leaders of the organization are all here.

Knowing that he was not good at hiding his emotions, Xiang quickly lowered his eyes, greeted Gin and the others briefly with a standard expressionless face, and sat quietly on the single sofa in the corner.

Waiting for the meeting to officially begin.

In the dusk-hued light,

Vermouth, who had seen the entire scene, looked away and retracted her gaze.

Inadvertently, their eyes met with those of champagne and anise liquor, who were occupying a sofa on the diagonal side and had also withdrawn their gazes.

The moment their eyes met, they all understood why Xiang appeared here.

A substitute for Yuuki Edogawa.

Rum accepted the hostage of the mission with peace of mind.

And...the sincerity shown to the organization and to that gentleman.

Except for the first glance at Xiang when he walked in, the out-of-place Gin's eyes seemed to have been fixed on the cigarette lit at his fingertips.

The silver hair hanging down in front of his forehead obscured the fleeting thoughts in his eyes, and no one noticed.

Time flowed silently in the silence. After a while, Rum, who was on time for the last minute of the assembly, opened the door and walked into the lounge.

As his eyes swept over Gin and the others, he briefly greeted them and walked towards the only two empty sofas on the left side of the lounge without stopping.

As for the main sofa, it was still empty.

Only the small projection hanging behind the main seat, which dimmed quietly at exactly nine o'clock, indicated that the attendees of this rally were far more than just the few people present.

Before that, Vodka, receiving Gin's signal, had quietly retreated to the door.

After closing the door, he exchanged a glance with Kuso who was guarding the door, and both of them looked away.

On the other side of the projection, Karasuma Renya, who was attending the meeting remotely online, remained silent throughout the entire meeting and did not say a single word until the end.

The same thing happened to Karasuma Soshin, who was listening to the entire thing. He didn't even pay attention to the scene in the lounge that was clearly projected in front of him.

In addition to these two people, Brandy also participated in the rally remotely online, but compared to the first two, he did not even show his face.

The Hawaiian-style outfit and the colorful sun hat made Champagne's scalp tighten. He quickly looked away and took a deep breath.

Brandy, who has completely let himself go, exudes a nonchalant temperament that says, "Now that I've laid my cards on the table, I won't pretend anymore."

However, this is only on the surface...

In the corner, Hennessy, who was in the same room with Brandy but outside the range of the connected projection, pursed his lips tightly, and directed his murderous gaze precisely at Brandy.

Brandy could clearly hear the sound of fists cracking not far behind him, and while secretly cheering himself up, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Relax, Brandy. It's the busiest year end and the organization has reached its most critical time.

The logistics team cannot do without you as the mainstay, and Hennessy dare not hit you at this time.

When the meeting ended, Champagne was the first to stand up, without staying for even a second.

Aniseed liquor came a close second.

Vermouth glanced at Gin, then gently lowered her gaze to Hibiki, then retracted it immediately.

Not long after, Vodka, who was guarding the door outside, got bored and saw Champagne and Aniseed Wine come out one after another, and then Gin went straight to the freight elevator.

I quickly raised my legs and followed.

The other gatekeeper, Curacao, continued to stand quietly.

Even after that, when Vermouth walked out slowly, she paused slightly when passing by her and gave her a meaningful smile, her expression did not change at all.

It was not until he saw Xiang and Rum walk out of the house one after another and then go their separate ways that he followed Rum quietly.

Together with Rum, I watched Xiang's figure disappear at the end of the corridor.

"Ding~"/"Ding~"

The sound of the elevator arriving at the first floor and the sound of the email on the mobile phone perfectly coincided.

Curacao knew exactly who the email came from, so he quickly glanced at his phone and whispered to Rum:

"My Lord, Bourbon has arrived."

at the same time…

"Big brother?"

Vodka followed Gin in the elevator to the first floor and then came out from the back door next to the freight elevator.

Just as I was about to walk towards the parking lot, I saw Gin turn around and walk towards the alley.

"You go to the car first."

Vodka was confused and turned around to see Vermouth changing her disguise as she walked towards the alley.

I suddenly realized that my brother had important private matters to discuss with Vermouth, and I immediately quickened my pace and walked towards the parking space.

In the dimly lit narrow alley, Vermouth, wearing a disguise mask of a middle-aged drunk man, staggered deeper into the alley.

He didn't stop until he saw Gin.

"Ah~ Do you cherish your new Porsche so much? You won't even let me sit in it for a while, and you just send me away with such a shabby place."

"Can we at least find a place where we can drink?"

Vermouth spoke these words in a very suitable middle-aged man's voice.

Gin was very disgusted and asked her to tell the story quickly or get out.

"A few days ago, I accidentally learned a secret, and I want to use it to negotiate a deal with you."

Gin sneered at Vermouth's rare frankness:

"Secrets? Things of unknown value cannot be used as bargaining chips."

Vermouth did not speak immediately, but glanced at the black hat of a similar style on Gin's head, and then, in Gin's suddenly cold gaze, she spat out two names:

"Bud Davis, Auston Yarnell."

A top killer who was personally taught by a former FBI agent, and an heir to a police family whose skills came from years of training by a retired top killer.

If she hadn't remembered Teacher Gin's name, if she hadn't remembered the foreign name that was mentioned briefly in the file that no longer existed.

If she hadn't sent people to find out Gin's whereabouts in Berry Country and bought the same hat because of Gin's hat that was never found because of the church,

I found two tombstones next to each other in the cemetery that Gin had visited, with only the names simply engraved on them.

She would not have connected the dots, nor would she have checked and found out:

Gin and Whisky are not just colleagues who belong to the same organization, have equal status, and dislike each other.

In the past when Gin was not yet the leader of the action team and Whiskey was still the heir to a police family standing in the sun, they had already met because of the acquaintance of their respective teachers.