Conan: Begins to collaborate with Miss Bayonetta and become famous

After saying that, Baijiu turned silently and walked into the depths of the room.

He rested his arms on the rusty iron railings, and the blood-red setting sun lengthened his somewhat lonely figure, casting it on the mottled ground.

He looked down at the ancient buildings steeped in history below with a gloomy expression and remained silent.

Vermouth approached quietly and stood beside him naturally.

Before we knew it, the heated discussion had lasted all night.

The early morning light gilded their silhouettes. Baijiu took a deep breath, turned around, and draped his arms over the railing, letting the breeze ruffle his hair.

He deliberately tilted his head to one side, but out of the corner of his eye he caught the occasional loving glances from Vermouth. Baijiu sighed softly, and finally turned his head to meet her gaze.

In less than half a second, the tense lines on his face melted away, and his usually cold face rarely showed a genuine smile.

"This is my first time in Venice." Vermouth said softly, with a hint of shyness in her tone, like a girl on her first date.

Baijiu had a smile on his face, and he unconsciously reached out and gently squeezed her slender hand: "It's my first time too."

Vermouth understood and leaned against his shoulder. The two of them clung to each other, cherishing the brief moment of peace and warmth before the storm.

Night quickly enveloped the water city.

On a narrow river, a small boat with a dim light drifted slowly. Vermouth held Baijiu's arm tightly, and a silent fleet followed behind.

In the distance, a magnificent classical building was brightly lit. The faint blue light was like a lighthouse in the deep sea, penetrating the night and illuminating the mist above.

Inside the hall, melodious classical music flowed. In the center of the circular stage, a pair of dancers performed an elegant yet slightly sensual classical dance. On the giant screen in the center of the square, a cluster of particles resembling a blue jellyfish continuously expanded and contracted like a deep-sea vortex.

Suddenly, the music switched to a dynamic electronic beat.

A woman dressed as a waitress appeared in a corner of the square—it was Grace. She didn't realize that a middle-aged man in a well-tailored white suit had been waiting behind her for a long time.

The man approached with a leisurely pace and struck up a conversation in a natural tone: "Do you mind if I buy you a drink?"

Grace gave him a polite and distant smile: "Sorry, I'm waiting for someone."

"What a coincidence! I'm waiting for someone too." The man smiled back, and as he spoke, he naturally walked past her and sat on the bar stool next to her. His voice was charming and slightly hoarse: "Looks like we can wait together."

"Oh, by the way," he said, as if he suddenly remembered something, "my name is Rum."

"Whatever." Grace didn't seem to react to the name. If she knew the man in front of her was once the second-in-command of an underground organization with hundreds of thousands of members, her attitude would never be so dismissive.

"Then forget the formalities." Rum seemed tired of playing the gentleman; for him, wearing a mask was unnecessary. He got straight to the point: "You're Grace."

Grace was stunned. Rum calmly picked up a glass of wine that seemed to have been prepared on the bar and took a sip.

Suddenly, Grace felt a familiar chill on her back - the scent of the woman who had been chasing her relentlessly on the streets of Rome appeared again!

She slowly turned around, and sure enough, there she was, sitting in the shadows not far away. She was wearing a deep-V red and black leather jacket, and heavy smoky makeup. The thick eyeshadow made her look like a demon in the dark night, gazing at Grace with enchanting yet murderous eyes.

"The thing is not with me." Grace explained calmly.

"I know." Rum's answer was unexpectedly calm. "I didn't expect you to bring it with you."

He turned sideways, with an intriguing smile on his lips: "Besides, I'm not here for the key."

Before the Roman scare, Grace might have been on edge by now. But now, she tried to remain calm. "So, what do you want?"

"Not very good." Rum's tone remained calm. "Since we're all waiting for someone, why don't I tell you a little story?"

"I don't want to hear it." Grace flatly refused. Despite being at a disadvantage, she didn't give in. She couldn't quite connect the well-dressed old man before her with the vicious gangster she imagined—he looked more like a confused old man who had walked into the wrong door.

"Obviously, you're not the person I want to see." Grace even deliberately covered her nose. "Also, haven't you brushed your teeth in days?" She tried to use a tough attitude to win back the point. After all, she didn't believe the other party would dare to act so openly in such a crowded party.

"Hahaha," Rum laughed coldly, "Since you're a thief, I won't bother with you about etiquette."

Before the words were finished, Grace no longer wanted to listen and quickened her pace, attempting to leave. Seeing Kiel was definitely not a good sign; it meant that the man who followed her like a shadow—Baijiu—was likely nearby too!

"But..." Rum's voice was like an icicle, piercing from behind. "What if I say this is a story about you?"

"Grace." He had a creepy smile on his face.

Suddenly, Grace froze in her tracks.

"I know how the story ends," Rum's voice was deep and full of all-seeing allure. "Let me buy you a drink. Perhaps... the ending can be changed."

On the other side, sneak in

At another entrance of the castle building, Baijiu and Vermouth, dressed in low-key black coats, came to the security check area.

Two burly bodyguards, armed with scanners, routinely performed full-body checks on them. Baijiu wasn't worried at all—their clothing had been specially treated, and the signal jammers they carried were enough to interfere with the scanners' detection.

He looked past the crowd, towards the flickering blue light deep in the hall. For some reason, that light struck him as strangely familiar, identical to the image of the intelligent being he had seen in the organization's meeting room.

At this moment, Baijiu was keenly aware of the gaze from above. Instead of avoiding it, he raised his head and faced the hidden surveillance camera.

His eyes were calm but provocative, as if silently declaring to the "intelligent body": I'm here.

After monitoring

In a nearby pavilion, a couple in elegant attire were leisurely sipping wine. The man, in a striking crimson suit, half-closed his eyes lazily as he picked up his phone from the table.

The screen lit up, showing Baijiu facing the camera. A playful smile played on the man's lips, and he raised his eyebrows meaningfully, turning the phone screen towards his female companion.

External support

On the bridge next to the checkpoint, Kava and Vodka were moving quickly, weapons in hand, looking toward the brightly lit building.

Kava placed his hand on the holster at his waist and whispered, "It seems the party is waiting for us to arrive."

Inside the hall

Baijiu and Vermouth calmly walked into the center of the party. The dynamic music was deafening and the rhythm hit the heart, as if they were at a grand electronic music festival.

Just as Baijiu was quickly scanning his surroundings, a strange man with a mushroom-shaped hairstyle appeared silently behind him.

"Excuse me, sir," the man said in a low voice, but with an undeniable tone, "could you please come with me?"

Baijiu and Vermouth's eyes instantly focused on this uninvited guest. Before they could get a closer look, the man had already turned and quickly merged into the crowd.

The two exchanged glances, and without any hesitation, they immediately quickened their pace and followed the man who was like an NPC guiding the way.

Psychological Offense and Defense

Meanwhile, on Grace's side, Rum's psychological warfare continues.

"One thing that's very important," he said earnestly, as if teaching a lost person, "is that you have to understand that you are not that special."

"Just thirty years ago, a girl named Mary..." Rum stared into Grace's wavering eyes and slowly told the story, "She was the first woman who believed in our 'friend'. And these women all had what he wanted."

In an instant, Grace's pupils suddenly dilated.