Ke Xue World: The Confrontation between Black and Red

She stared at the only picture in the text message over and over again. The more she looked at it, the more murderous aura Vermouth showed.

Until the moment she closed her phone, her murderous aura almost solidified into substance.

"Buzz~buzz~buzz~"

Vodka, who clearly heard the vibration of his cell phone, looked at Gin in confusion.

Whose phone is it? Why didn’t my brother answer the phone or hang up?

As expected, Gin, who was waiting for the call from Vermouth, waited patiently until the call was about to hang up, slid the answer button, and raised the phone to his ear.

As expected, Vermouth's voice came from the phone.

"Gin, don't forget what you promised me."

Vodka, who was not far away, heard all these words without missing a thing, and his face became extremely shocked.

Even if he is wearing a pair of black sunglasses, people can still tell at a glance.

Such an affectionate accusation, could it be that Vermouth and her elder brother have finally achieved a happy ending?

He’s going to have a…sister-in-law?

Gin glanced at Vodka's shocked expression and knew that this idiot must be thinking about some messy things in his mind again.

It was not convenient for him to curse Vodka in front of the phone, so he just glanced at her and walked a few steps to the side.

At the same time, he taunted Vermouth on the other end of the line with a cold voice:

"You should teach your angel a lesson first, and don't get into any trouble."

Since he couldn't protect the people he cared about as well as Whiskey did, and had the power to eliminate all external dangers, even that person didn't dare to act rashly.

Some things should be taught to them early on.

Especially since it is such a special existence.

Once discovered, that person is not someone who is easy to talk to.

Preferences based on interests and values will always be lost faster than they are gained.

What's more, this kind of concealment is tantamount to betrayal.

As the night deepened, snow gradually covered the surface of Tokyo, and Gin, who was standing next to the car, was inevitably covered with a layer of white.

After being glared at by his elder brother, Vodka stood far away and looked at the snow that was getting thicker and thicker. He looked at it again and again, and finally couldn't help it and quietly stretched out his hand.

When Gin finished his call, he saw Vodka squatting quietly in the distance without moving. When he got closer, he found a row of various palm-sized snowmen in front of Vodka.

"Vodka."

Hearing Gin's voice which was even colder than the ice and snow, Vodka was startled and jumped up from the ground.

“Big…Big Brother!!!”

Gin glanced coldly at Vodka, who looked nervous and was holding a ball of snow in his hand. He stroked the Beretta in his pocket and turned to walk towards the car.

Said nothing.

Vodka, who was prepared for Gin's scolding and a close contact with the Beretta gun barrel, was stunned.

Why does it seem like the brother was in a good mood after answering the phone?

Hiss~ Could it be...

"Vodka, what are you dawdling about."

Gin walked to the car and just turned around, he saw Vodka walking towards him in shock as if he was stimulated by something.

Vodka, who was startled back to his senses by Gin's voice, quickly quickened his pace. After a while, he heard the sound of an engine, and the four-seater customized Porsche 356A with its lights on slowly drove away into the distance under the gaze of a row of little snowmen.

"Brother, where are we going next?"

With only the sound of snow falling on the windshield and being swept away by the wipers, Gin put away his phone and gave an address.

A hint of dark light flashed quietly across the cold green pupils.

Inside, there is exploration and deep thought that is difficult to conceal.

From the phone call from Vermouth, he learned that Xiang suddenly killed the public security personnel and took a series of abnormal actions that disrupted Vermouth's plan.

We also know that Xiang has been out of contact since he did these things. No matter Vermouth or anyone else, they can't contact Xiang now.

But while Gin was shocked that Hibiki suddenly exposed his strength, he was not actually that surprised by Hibiki's ruthlessness and sudden change of personality.

The children that Whiskey raised with great care would always be like him in some ways.

It wasn’t noticeable in the past, but that’s only because of the whiskey backing it up.

only…

Whiskey, do you really treat Xiang as a chess piece to be fully utilized this time, or do you want him to use this opportunity to...break out of his cocoon and become a butterfly?

Thinking back to the unpleasant ending in London, Gin couldn't help feeling a little annoyed, and then his body became even colder.

Vodka shuddered immediately when he felt the cold air. He secretly increased the heating in the car a little bit and at the same time, he wanted to put his foot into the gas tank.

The falling snow quietly concealed the whereabouts of the Porsche 356A.

Similarly, it also concealed the police's pursuit.

People's joys and sorrows are generally not in common.

On the same snowy night,

Some people sit comfortably in antique luxury cars, enjoying the warm air and thinking about the chaotic and complicated situation.

Some people had no choice but to abandon their cars and walk on the snowy road.

Who is this poor guy?

That was naturally a trick played by Toru Amuro, which made the public security in the whole Tokyo busy.

Walking quietly on the snowy night in Tokyo, Xiang, who had just done something that shocked countless people, was walking on the snowy night in Tokyo.

The thick clothes covered most of his face, and the only part exposed was his eyes.

A pair of calm eyes, but with a hint of disgust deep inside.

Compared to other seasons, Xiang has always hated winter the most.

Especially, in snowy winter.

In that past marked by the colors of the slums, such weather not only meant that the already precious and scarce food would be difficult to obtain, but also meant that once you got sick, death would be around the corner.

Even though he left later, the fear that evolved invisibly from that period of time followed him for a long time.

It was not until he was reassured time and again during his interactions with Whiskey that he finally got rid of it.

But this remaining disgust still exists deeply even today.

The black umbrella in Xiang's hand prevented Xue from getting in close contact with him, and also partially covered the sniper rifle bag on his back.

From a distance, Xiang, who was walking on the side of the road, was no different from the scattered pedestrians around him. The sniper rifle bag, which looked not much different from a musical instrument bag, did not attract anyone's attention.

same,

No one would have thought that this fashionable young man, who was dressed very trendy and looked like a rock musician, would actually be a killer.

He is a top killer who just killed a public security leader.

However, when people are destined to be unlucky, they can encounter unexpected disasters even when sitting at home, not to mention that someone with ulterior motives has made thorough preparations for this a long time ago.

Once again, I brushed past the police who were conducting a random check at the intersection without attracting anyone's attention.

Xiang suddenly stopped.

As the tip of the umbrella slightly tilted, the snow on the umbrella surface fell to the ground along the inclined surface.

Staring at the person in front of him, a hint of surprise flashed in Xiang's eyes, and soon he guessed where the problem was.

"Yahya."

…Bourbon.

Glancing at the umbrella in his hand that had shielded him from a lot of wind and snow, Xiang, who seemed to be greeting an old friend whom he had met distantly, silently chewed on another name.

In an instant, all memories about Bourbon seemed to have a strange color.

Then, it condensed into a line of bold and large characters, covering up those memories while echoing over and over in Xiang's mind.

Bourbon is the enemy...

"Snapped!"

Xiang loosened his hand, and the black umbrella that he had been holding in his hand fell gently to the ground due to gravity.

The moment the umbrella fell to the ground, a piece of snow quietly fell on the hat on his head.

Then, there was more and more snow.

It fell on his clothes, shoes, and the sniper rifle bag on his back.

Yahya, who witnessed Xiang's action, glanced at the umbrella on the ground, and in an instant, he understood where the source of the mobile address signal he received came from.

I was surprised that Xiang was so defenseless that he only realized now that his personal belongings had been tampered with. The Japanese public security undercover who has been hiding behind the scenes and has never shown his face is really powerful.

Yahya looked at the young man in front of him carefully.

Even though he had seen him from a distance once during the night when gunfire sounded, he knew that the enemy sniper who had defeated him was a young man.

The moment he saw Xiang up close and personal, he couldn't help but be shocked.

too young.

Such a young and top-notch sniper, was he 15 years old when he defeated him?

"Are you an adult?"

Xiang, who was also mentally prepared and able to face it calmly no matter whether the opponent Yahya intended to use intimidation or bribery, or to take direct action, froze in his expression.

Isn't this guy Yahya?

Did someone use Yahya's face to trick him, or did he suddenly develop face blindness?

"I'm sorry, but you're younger than I thought, Hibiki."

Yahya apologizes politely.

When he heard his code name coming out of the enemy's mouth, his face turned cold, but he was confused again in his heart.

What's going on? Isn't Bourbon an undercover agent from the Public Security Bureau, but an FBI agent? Then what is his purpose in appearing at the Tokyo Police Hospital?

Or have the Japanese Public Security Bureau and the FBI teamed up again?

For a number of reasons, of course, Yahya chose not to take direct action.

Seeing this, Xiang naturally did not take the initiative to take action.

So, two minutes later, the roadside coffee shop had two more customers who sat down and ordered not only coffee but also other snacks.

From ordering to sitting down, and then to the serving of coffee and snacks.

Xiang remained silent throughout the whole process.

until…

"You probably can't contact Whiskey now."

"The assassination of Public Security Officer Kuroda Heibei may seem like Whiskey's doing, but in fact, it was your idea from beginning to end.

As for this style of doing things that looks very much like whiskey, it must have been learned from whiskey.”

"Or rather, I should say that Whiskey taught me since I was young. I guess my reasoning is correct."

Under the light, smoky hot air rises from the coffee cup and then slowly dissipates under the warm light.

After seeing the coffee being served, Xiang suddenly stood up from his other seat and sat next to Yahya. Now Conan was talking about his reasoning opposite him.

Blinked, and blinked again.

"who are you?"

"I'm Conan Edogawa, a detective."

Hearing the name Edogawa, he paused slightly, then looked at Conan seriously again.

It must be just a coincidence, this little kid doesn't look anything like an adult.

But why is this kid so smart?

It was exactly the same as what Conan had guessed.

Hibiki's sudden move to kill Kuroda Heibei was all learned from Whiskey.

When Toru Amuro gave that answer that sounded reasonable, Xiang seemed to be listening carefully, but in fact, all he recalled in his mind was the teachings of Whiskey from a long, long time ago.

in memory,

He was dressed in black, with a shoulder-length wolf-tail hairstyle, and the slightly longer hair at the back of his head was loosely tied into a small bun in a whiskey style. He was sitting casually in a chair.

With a calm expression, he stared ahead, at the interrogation scene that had been going on for several hours on the other side of the glass wall.

Suddenly, he turned his head to look at little Damian, who was not much taller than the chair, and asked him:

"Damian, do you think he is an undercover agent or a traitor?"

Little Damian, who couldn't make a clear judgement, felt uneasy for a while and shook his head gently.

"I do not know."

Whiskey, who had his eyes fixed on little Damian's face, was not at all surprised when he heard this.

"The words extracted through interrogation can be divided into three categories: the truth that cannot withstand the torture and the lies that deceive the other party to hide their true feelings.

And a mixture of truth and falsehood, a clever lie set up behind the scenes."

"Of the three types of lies, the third is not only the most dangerous, but also the most difficult to detect."

Perhaps he was worried that the child he adopted would be stumped by this kind of problem in the future, and thus unfortunately lose his own life, which he had saved.

Whiskey rarely acted like a teacher who answered questions. He broke the problem down, scattered it, and analyzed it bit by bit for little Damian.

“In fact, it doesn’t matter whether the other party’s true position is the same as you guess.

When his first reaction is not to take action, but to choose to explain to you.

Then, no matter what that person says, his ultimate goal will be to make you believe his words and lead you in a direction that is beneficial to him. "

"At this time, what you need to do is not to listen to what he said, but to listen to what he didn't say.

What the other party avoids talking about is the fundamental point that truly involves his vital interests. "

The young Damian only half understood what was going on. He nodded in confusion and asked:

"Then what do I do?"

Whiskey raised his hand and rubbed little Damian's short, curly flaxen hair. His delicate face, which always had a calm expression and sharp eyes and brows, rarely showed a very light and gentle smile.

But the words he said were completely different from the expression on his face:

“In this world, most people, no matter how good they are at disguising themselves, will not be able to hide their feelings when they encounter unexpected accidents or receive unexpected bad news.

There will always be a moment when the truest side of oneself is revealed.”

"So, if you encounter something that is difficult to judge and you want to verify your guess, you can give the other party a chance to explain first."

"Then, when the other party is trying every possible way to make you believe him with words, you weave a sudden accident for him."

then,

Even though Xiang didn't quite understand why Bourbon would betray his master and choose to risk his own life, he pinned all his hopes on Rum for this mission.

He didn't dwell on this point to ask the reason.

Instead, he looked at Kuroda Heibei, whose half figure was visible in the sniper rifle scope.

Pull the trigger quickly and decisively.

The death of Kuroda Heibei was created as an accident to verify whether Bourbon was an undercover public security agent or a traitor.

But with the appearance of Yahya, Hibiki, who had already made a final conclusion about Toru Amuro's identity, discovered that he seemed to have guessed Bourbon's true identity wrong.

During Conan's next words, he completely lost the calm state of mind that he had maintained since he set foot in Tokyo.