Conan: Begins to collaborate with Miss Bayonetta and become famous

The interrogation room had no windows.

The only light source came from an old incandescent bulb in the corner of the ceiling. The wattage was deliberately set very low, and the dim light barely dispelled a small patch of darkness, but allowed more shadows to grow and spread on the walls.

The air was filled with dust, old tobacco, and a faint smell of rust; it was cold and stagnant, and breathing it into your lungs felt like holding ice shards.

Gin sat on the only metal chair, its legs fixed to the ground.

He wasn't wearing his signature black trench coat, but only a simple black turtleneck sweater. His long silver hair, like flowing mercury in the dim light, cascaded over his shoulders, with a few strands hanging down beside his cold, hard cheeks.

He leaned back slightly in his chair, one leg casually crossed over the knee of the other, toying with a silver lighter in his hand, which made a monotonous and rhythmic "click" sound as he opened and closed it.

The firelight occasionally flickered, illuminating his dark green pupils, which held an unyielding icy coldness and an almost cruel patience.

He didn't look at the doorway, but the subtle changes in the airflow and the footsteps almost completely absorbed by his thick-soled boots made him smirk slightly downwards.

Vermouth walked in.

She was still wearing the black, tight-fitting clothes that were out of place at the embassy banquet and that she hadn't had time to change out of. She had casually put on a long trench coat of the same color over them. Her blonde hair was a little messy, with a few strands sticking to her sweaty forehead and neck.

But her steps remained unhurried, even with her usual languidness, as if she were entering a midnight bar rather than an interrogation room of an organization.

But those eyes, the instant they came into contact with the dim indoor light, subtly adjusted their focus, quickly scanning the entire room—

Gin's location, the lighter in his hand, the silhouettes of four tall men in black standing like stone sculptures in the shadows behind him, the possible surveillance or recording equipment in the room, and every unusual movement in the air.

Her gaze finally settled on Gin's face, meeting his eyes, which seemed to burn with eerie green flames in the dim light.

"You want me to betray him?" Vermouth broke the silence.

“I want you to stop him.” Gin lit a cigarette. “To prevent him from getting further into trouble, and to save the world from his clutches, so that the world belongs to the distillery.”

The memory was interrupted.

“Gin…” Baijiu murmured thoughtfully.

"It seems we're completely entangled with the old captain." Baijiu spread his hands and smiled bitterly.

"No matter who entangles you," Vermouth gripped Baijiu's hand tightly. "From now on, I will not leave your side for even a moment, even at the risk of my life."

“My being alive is an accident.” Vermouth looked into Baijiu’s eyes. “Perhaps in other timelines, I would have already died.”

Before Baijiu could say anything, Vermouth stood on tiptoe and kissed Baijiu's lips: "Alright, what are your thoughts now?"

Bai Jiu wiped the saliva that Vermouth had left on his lips, then gave a simple look and turned to walk towards the curtain behind him.

Just as he raised his hand to lift the curtain, a burly man in a thick sweat emerged from outside.

The next second, the shadow on the side seemed to come alive, bringing with it a suffocating, bloody wind!

That wasn't a single person charging at us; it was a moving wall of flesh, carrying destructive power!

A giant man in black, nearly two meters tall and with shoulders almost as wide as his height, hurtled straight into Baijiu's side with a speed completely disproportionate to his size, like an out-of-control heavy truck!

There were no shouts, no warnings, only the muffled thud of boots crushing gravel and the wailing sound of the air being brutally torn apart.

Baijiu's pupils contracted sharply, and his body instinctively recoiled backward, simultaneously crossing his arms in front of him—the optimal solution to deal with the impact. But the attacker's strength far exceeded his expectations!

"boom!"

The dull thud was like the sound of leather being struck.

Baijiu felt as if he had been hit head-on by a solid steel pillar. His arms, which he was using to protect himself, were in excruciating pain, as if his bones were cracking. He staggered backward uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the opponent's thick, tree-trunk-like arm wrapped around him like an iron hoop, one giant hand precisely clamping his right wrist holding the gun, while the other hand locked his left elbow joint in the opposite direction!

A terrifying power erupted instantly!

That wasn't skill; it was pure, overwhelming brute force combined with rudimentary yet extremely effective grappling and locking techniques.

Bai Jiu felt a sharp pain in his right wrist, his finger bones were almost crushed, and the pistol slipped from his hand and fell, making a crisp sound as it hit the concrete floor.

His left arm was locked in a reverse joint lock, rendering him unable to move. The immense pain caused cold sweat to instantly break out on his forehead.

He grunted, his core muscles tensed, and his right leg lashed out like a scorpion's tail, kicking hard at the vulnerable ligaments on the side of the opponent's knee!

If that kick landed properly, it would be enough to make the burly man kneel on one knee instantly.

However, the strong man's reaction was equally astonishingly fast!

He didn't dodge or evade; instead, he slightly lowered his hips and used the outer muscles of his thick, elephant-like thighs to take the heavy kick head-on!

"Bang!" A dull thud.

The burly man swayed slightly, but didn't even flinch. Instead, taking advantage of the moment when he lifted his leg and his center of gravity shifted slightly, he suddenly increased the force of the hand that was locking his left arm, lifting and twisting it upwards!

"Ugh—!" A suppressed groan escaped from Baijiu's throat as a terrible dislocation came from his left shoulder joint, and most of the strength in half of his body was instantly dissipated.

He was like a ferocious beast firmly clamped by steel clamps, possessing claws and teeth but suppressed by absolute power, unable to break free for a time!

"Baijiu!" Vermouth shouted angrily from not far away.

She clearly sensed the change in the situation and, having broken free from her entangled opponent, charged forward like a female leopard. A flash of cold light appeared in her hand—a short dagger—which she thrust straight at the burly man's unsuspecting nape!

But just as she lunged forward, the tip of the dagger less than half a meter from the burly man's nape—

Another equally imposing, yet more agile, dark figure emerged like a ghost from behind an abandoned container! This person held a black, retractable tactical baton, which, with a soft "click," suddenly extended in length, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, and swept precisely and without any fancy moves toward the side of Vermouth's head!

Vermouth's entire focus was on rescuing Baijiu, and although she was aware of the surprise attack from the side, it was too late to completely evade it. She only had time to tilt her head back sharply and raise her left arm to block.

"boom!!!"

The stick slammed down on her hastily raised forearm, the bone making a dull thud that made your teeth ache. The enormous impact was not completely neutralized, and the remaining force of the stick still grazed her temple!

Vermouth froze instantly, her forward momentum halted abruptly. A flicker of disbelief, dizziness, and excruciating pain flashed in her icy blue eyes, before quickly dissipating.

His body swayed, and he collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, the dagger in his hand falling to the ground with a clatter.

"Vermouth!!" Baijiu witnessed this scene and his eyes widened in fury!

A violent force exploded from the depths of his body, and his restrained body burst into an amazing struggle, even causing the giant who was suppressing him to feel a jolt in his arm!

But in that instant when his mind was violently shaken by Vermouth's injury—

A third figure, like a true ghost, appeared silently behind him.

The man was relatively short and wiry, but his movements were as fast as a ghost. In the dim light, he drew a syringe filled with a clear liquid, tracing a cold line before accurately and swiftly piercing the triangle area on the side of Baijiu's neck, which was exposed due to his struggle!

The needle pierced the skin, and the cool liquid was instantly pushed into the blood vessel.

Baijiu shuddered violently, his struggling movements abruptly freezing.

A strong sense of numbness and an irresistible dizziness surged from the injection site like a tidal wave, quickly engulfing his consciousness.

The burly man's grinning face before my eyes, Vermouth lying on the ground in the distance, the dim sky... everything began to spin, blur, and fade.

The world is receding, and power is fading.

He tried to bite his tongue to stay awake, but his jaw muscles were no longer under his control.

Darkness, like a heavy curtain, rapidly closed in.

However, the lean and capable figure was clearly extremely cautious.

Just as Baijiu's eyes were about to completely lose focus, he swiftly pulled out the first syringe, and with his other hand already holding the second one, he plunged it into another vein on Baijiu's neck without hesitation!

A second, more potent dose of the drug was injected.

The last vestige of consciousness in the liquor, like a candle flickering in the wind, was extinguished completely.

His head drooped limply, his tense body went completely limp, and he was only kept from falling by the strong man's iron-like arms.

The burly man who had been holding down the liquor breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't completely let go, cautiously confirming that the liquor had truly lost consciousness.

He lowered his head, brought his ear close to Baijiu's, and spoke rapidly in a deep, rough voice that only the two of them could hear:

"Rum has a task for you: white wine."

After he finished speaking, he gestured to his accomplice next to him.