Detective Conan: The System Takes Me to Zero's World

"Gin is now blocked out," Kudo Yuki put the magician card into the inner pocket of his jacket, "but with his personality, he will never sit idly by and watch Vodka become a test subject. Rum has been very active recently, and the mess of Cohen's failed assassination attempt has not been cleaned up yet. If Gin makes trouble again..."

"Rum will try to make Gin take the blame," Amuro Toru continued, his fingertips caressing the warm side of the glass. "Last time you deliberately brought up Cohen on the phone, weren't you just anticipating Gin's suspicions?"

Kudo Yuki chuckled, "Rum always likes to use a knife to kill someone, but he forgets that Gin hates being used as a gun the most. Now Vodka has become a test subject. If he knew that Rum was behind this..."

Zhu Fujingguang was filling the filter cup with coffee powder when he heard this. He paused and said, "Gin and Rum are already at odds. If we add more fuel to the fire, they might even start a fight. Xiaoxue, do you want Vermouth to deliver this message?"

"She's better at sowing discord than we are." Kudo Yuki drew a circle on the bar with her fingertips. "Besides, she owes me a favor, so I have to find a way to repay her."

Toru Amuro suddenly remembered the look in Vermouth's eyes when she left, and the complex emotions hidden in it, and now he finally had an answer.

Kudo Yuki stood up and yawned, a faint red tinge in the corners of her eyes. "I'm going back upstairs to catch up on some sleep. You two can do whatever you want."

Shushu immediately jumped up from the bar, climbed up her trouser legs, and rubbed his little head against her palm: "Xiaoxue, get some sleep, I'll help you keep an eye on them!"

Amuro Toru opened the door to the secret weapons base for her. The warm yellow light cast long shadows on the stairs. "Call me if you need anything."

Kudo Yuki nodded, pressed her fingertips lightly on the back of his hand, and disappeared around the corner of the stairs with Shushu.

There were only two people left at the bar, the residual heat from the coffee machine still slowly dissipating on the stainless steel countertop. Zhu Fu Jingguang compacted the ground coffee and suddenly said, "Vermouth's position is too ambiguous. Is it risky to let her pass on the message?"

"Risk is the best catalyst." Amuro Toru picked up his untouched cup of hot cocoa, the warmth from his fingertips having already cooled down. "She wants to prove that someone in the Karasuma family can jump out of the bloodline, so she must make this internal conflict burn brightly enough - this coincides with our goal."

Zhu Fujingguang pressed the extraction button, and dark brown coffee liquid slowly dripped out: "Do you think Rum really participated in the vodka experiment?"

"It's not participation, it's acquiescence." Amuro Toru watched the coffee liquid swirl at the bottom of the cup. "Rum needs control of 'ES Amber'. Vodka, a test subject who is absolutely loyal to Gin, is his best bargaining chip to contain Gin. Just like he acquiesced to Scotland back then..."

He stopped talking before he finished speaking, and a sense of melancholy suddenly filled the air.

Zhu Fujingguang lowered his eyelashes, looked at the traces of coffee liquid on the wall of the cup, and said softly, "It's all over."

Toru Amuro didn't respond, but just pushed the cold hot cocoa aside.

The morning light had already filtered through the glass windows, casting tiny golden rays on the bar counter and landing on the ring at the bottom of the cup left when Kudo Yuki had just stirred the hot cocoa.

"Oh, right," Zhu Fushiguri suddenly remembered something and pulled a small evidence bag from his pocket. "The preliminary test report for the chipset sent from Nagano showed that there was a very strange encryption sequence. It seemed to be a mixture of two different encoding methods."

Amuro Toru took the evidence bag. The chipset inside shone with a cold metallic gleam in the morning light. "Two codes?"

"One is the Karasuma Group's standard encryption, and the other..." Morobushi Kagemitsu paused. "The people in the Identification Department said it's highly similar to the encryption protocol used by the police back then."

Amuro Toru's fingertips tightened.

The edge of the evidence bag rubbed against his palm, and he suddenly remembered what Kudo Yuki had mentioned about "biometric secondary verification." If the encryption protocol came from within the police, could the person providing technical support be Elena Miyano? The woman known as the "Hell's Angel" was both a scientist for the Black Organization and an accomplice to the Metropolitan Police Department.

"Have the Identification Department send the coded sample over here," Amuro Toru put away the evidence bag. "I'll have Manager Kuroda compare it to the information Dr. Miyano left behind."

Zhu Fujingguang nodded and was about to say something else when the intercom on the bar suddenly made an electrical noise, followed by the steady voice of Yi Dahang.

"Yingchuan, there's been a minor issue with the shift change on the west side of the Nagano warehouse. A warehouse manager suddenly requested to inspect our original quarantine permit. Brother Gao Ming is stalling for time, so we need you to send us an electronic copy for record."

"Why the sudden inspection?" Amuro Toru immediately picked up the intercom. "Didn't they say these administrators are peripheral personnel and don't care about the details of the procedures?"

"I'm not sure," Yi Dahang's voice was a little blurry due to the current. "That guy was wearing gold-rimmed glasses and didn't look like an ordinary administrator. I just saw half of his police badge sticking out of his pocket. He looks like one of our internal officials, but I can't find his number."

Toru Amuro and Kagemitsu Morofushi looked at each other and saw vigilance in each other's eyes.

Zhu Fu Jingguang immediately turned on his computer: "I will retrieve the filing documents right away, you guys keep him steady."

Amuro Toru said solemnly while holding the intercom, "Gold-rimmed glasses, half a police badge... Squad leader, find a way to clearly see the details of his shoulder straps or collar badges, especially the font of the number - our internal standard numbers have special anti-counterfeiting patterns."

"Got it." Yi Dahang's voice was faintly heard in the hushed voice of a conversation, "Officer Gao Ming is arguing with him about the quarantine procedures. I'll try to get around to his side..."

The only sound coming from the intercom was the crackling of electricity, and the two people at the bar were speechless for a moment.

The extraction button of the coffee machine jumped, and the dark brown coffee liquid just filled half of the cup, but the rich aroma could not dispel the tension in the air.

Zhu Fushigure Kagemitsu tapped away at the keyboard, the file icon on the screen flashing non-stop. "I've found the filing document, but I need authorization from Kuroda Manager to export the electronic version... I've already submitted the application, but haven't received a response yet."

"Too slow." Amuro Toru walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain and looked at the street in the distance. The morning light had already climbed all over the rooftop opposite. "The Nagano warehouse is hiding the semi-finished sample of 'ES Amber'. There must be no mistakes. The 'administrator' who suddenly appeared was either sent by Rum to test him, or..."

He didn't say anything else, but Zhu Fujingguang already understood.

If the other party is really wearing a standard police badge but no number can be found, then it is very likely that they are a spy planted by the organization inside the Metropolitan Police Department - just like those spies who almost caught Scotland back then.

The intercom suddenly rang again, and Ida Hang's voice was clearly hurried: "He seems impatient and is about to call to check... Yingchuan, are the documents not ready yet?"

"Wait another thirty seconds!" Zhu Fujingguang's fingertips flew across the keyboard. Suddenly, an encrypted email notification popped up in the lower right corner of the screen. "Authorization has arrived! Exporting..."

When Amuro Toru turned around, he saw Morobushi Keimitsu dragging the file into the transfer box, the progress bar slowly climbing. He took out his phone and quickly dialed, but the receiver was busy—Kudō Yuki's phone was set to sleep mode.

"Forget it, don't call her." Zhu Fujingguang noticed his movements and said without raising his head, "Let her sleep a little longer."

The progress bar finally reached the end, and Zhu Fujingguang pressed the send button: "Done! Ida, check your email!"

Ida Hang sighed in relief from the other end of the intercom: "Got it! That guy's checking his phone... Hmm? He seems to be frowning and mumbling something about 'wrong format'?"

Amuro Toru's heart sank. "Format? Our filing documents use the standard PDF format. There's no way there's going to be any mistakes!"

"He said... the document's watermark security code was missing a check digit." Yi Dahang's voice became nervous again. "He took out a small scanner and scanned it with the phone. Now he's staring at Brother Gao Ming, asking if we're forging the document..."

Zhu Fushiguri's expression changed instantly. "Impossible! I checked it three times, and the security code is intact! Unless..." He glanced at the screen fiercely. "An error code was inserted during the export? The authorization email from Manager Kuroda..."

Toru Amuro quickly walked to the computer and opened the source file of the encrypted email. A line of hidden code flashed red in the corner. It was a tracking program commonly used by the organization, disguised as part of the authorization signature.

"It's a trap." Amuro Toru's voice turned cold. "Rum not only sent people to check the warehouse, but also tampered with the authorization system of Manager Kuroda, waiting for us to leave a tracking trace when we exported the file."

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from the intercom, followed by Ida Hang's roar: "He's doing it! Officer Gao Ming, be careful!"

"Ida!" Amuro Toru gripped the intercom tightly. "What's the situation?"

"He's not here for verification! He just broke the warehouse's emergency lights and is now running towards the cold storage area on the west side!" Idahang's voice was interspersed with the sound of hurried footsteps. "The samples are locked in the cold storage area! Let's catch up!"

"Don't force your fight!" Amuro Toru warned sternly, "There's a sensor alarm device on the ground in the cold storage area. He can't get far! I'll have the Nagano Prefectural Police send reinforcements right over!"

He turned and grabbed his coat. Zhu Fujingguang had already grabbed the spare pistol under the bar and checked the magazine: "I'll go with you."

"You stay." Amuro Toru held his shoulder, his eyes scanning the tracking code that was still jumping on the screen. "Find out how this code was mixed into the authorization email. There may be problems with Manager Kuroda. Also, keep an eye on Xiaoxue - get her involved."

Zhu Fu Jingguang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Be careful."

Toru Amuro grabbed his car keys and rushed to the door. He heard a slight noise on the stairs.

Kudo Yuki was standing at the stairs in her pajamas, the redness in the corners of her eyes had not yet faded, and the mouse in her arms was looking around vigilantly with its ears perked up.

"I have a feeling something's going to happen!"

Amuro Toru paused, watching her wake up instantly, and finally nodded: "Someone wants to grab the sample, I'll go take care of it."

"I'll go with you." Kudo Yuki immediately walked downstairs, Shushu climbed up her arm to her shoulder, and his little chubby paws grabbed the collar of her pajamas.

"No, it's too dangerous."

"It's more appropriate to go when it's dangerous." Kudo Yuki had already walked in front of him and tapped his fingertips lightly on the back of his hand holding the car keys. "The one with the gold-rimmed glasses, does he use both hands?"

Amuro Toru was stunned: "Ida didn't say...how did you know?"

"Just now, Shushu heard the cuff of his left hand brush against the metal edge of the bar as he pulled out his phone." Kudo Yuki looked up at him, the morning light falling on her eyelashes, casting fine shadows. "Left-handed, wears gold-rimmed glasses, is familiar with internal police procedures, and has access to the authorization system... Amuro, don't you think he looks a lot like someone?"

Toru Amuro's pupils suddenly contracted.

Zhu Fujingguang's voice came from behind the bar, with an incredible solemnity: "You mean... the inspector who was responsible for filing the Scottish case files back then?"

Kudo Yuki nodded and grabbed the coat draped over the back of the chair. "Rum has been hiding this nail for so long, and now I'm finally willing to pull it out. Let's go meet this 'old friend'."

Shushu jumped over her shoulder and into Amuro Toru's pocket: "I'll go explore the way!"

Toru Amuro looked at Kudo Sheramon's back, then looked at the rat that popped its little head out of his pocket, and finally gave up trying to stop it.

On the computer screen in front of the bar, the line of red tracking code was still jumping, but at some point, a small mouse paw mark appeared at the end of the code, swallowing up the red light bit by bit.

The emergency lights in the cold storage area were shattered into pieces, and cold white light leaked in from the vents, casting narrow strips of light on the frosted ground.

Kiryu Yan's leather shoes stepped on the broken glass, his left hand pressed on the police badge at his waist, and his eyes behind the lenses swept across the rows of locked low-temperature cabinets - according to the coordinates provided by Rum, the semi-finished products of "ES Dark Amber" were hidden in the innermost cabinet No. 37.

"Inspector Kiryu, how are you?"

Kudo Yuki's voice came from the entrance, hitting the metal cabinet wall with a chill, and returning a tiny echo.

Kiryu Yan turned around suddenly, and the pupils behind his gold-rimmed glasses trembled slightly when he saw her, and then were covered by a complex emotion that was almost compassion.

"I thought it would be Gin's people who would chase after us first. I didn't expect it to be you... Or rather, what should I call you? Miss Kudo, or..."

Kiryu Yan's right hand was on the combination lock of the low-temperature cabinet, with his fingertips hovering in the air.

"No need to worry about the name." Kudo Yuki stood at the edge of the light strip, the hem of her coat brushing the light frost on the ground. "After all, we don't really know each other. But I'm very interested in the prison visit application for Kurokawa Miyuki in your pocket."

Kiryu Yan paused.

He slowly took out a folded application form from his inner pocket. The edges of the paper were wrinkled by his body temperature.

Toru Amuro walked out from behind Kudo Yuki, with the gun in his palm pointed steadily at his shoulder. His eyes fell on the four words "Kurokawa Miyuki" on the application form, and his Adam's apple rolled almost imperceptibly.

"You're still passing messages to her." Amuro Toru's voice was as cold as the air in a refrigerator. "She's in Iwate Prefecture's prison for serious criminals. Even her lawyer meetings are under surveillance. How did you get the organization's instructions in?"

To be continued...