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

"That's right," Kudo Yuki nodded, "So I'll have Conan disguise himself before you get off the bus. You'll be safe if the organization doesn't discover your true identity. Only when Subaru Okiya gets on the bus can we further confirm Rum's whereabouts."

Shushu suddenly leaned over to Kudo Yuki's ear and whispered, "That one-eyed bad guy definitely has bad intentions!"

Amuro Toru's voice came through the microphone immediately, with a hint of coldness: "Rum's style of action has always been sinister, and Gin has been unusually quiet recently. I'm afraid he's cooperating with Karasuma Renya to monitor him."

James frowned when he heard this. "Gin? He'd actually stoop to spying on Rum?"

"The old man has long been suspicious of Rum," Kudo Yuki explained. "Rum wanted to use APTX4869 to repair his prosthetic eye, and he also wanted to tamper with the 'ES Amber' project. None of this escaped Karasuma's notice. Gin discovered that the communicator Karasuma gave him was bugged, but he pretended not to notice and is still pretending to cooperate."

Conan suddenly spoke up: "Does Gin know that Vodka was transferred to the laboratory as a test subject?"

"I know, but he's not allowed to visit." Kudo Yuki said calmly, "Vermouth gave him a video of Vodka's status, which might be the reason why Gin didn't turn hostile for the time being."

At the same time, in a hidden black Porsche, Gin was leaning back in his chair, a cigarette between his fingertips, surrounded by smoke.

The phone screen in front of him lit up with a message from Cohen:

Rum's order: ambush across from Iroha Sushi Restaurant, kill target: FBI agent Cameron. — Korn

Gin's eyes scanned the text on the screen, his pupils shrinking slightly. He scoffed, tossed his phone onto the passenger seat, and said with disdain, "Rum, that guy, is getting more and more impatient."

After Vodka was transferred away, he was left with only these puppets who could only follow orders.

No matter how good Cohen's shooting is, he lacks brains.

Gin knew very well that Rum was trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

With Cameron's identity exposed, the FBI would inevitably become nervous. Taking action at Iroha Sushi would eliminate an FBI agent and draw suspicion to someone who might be there.

Killing two birds with one stone is a good plan.

But Rum had planned everything, but he didn't expect that Gin was no longer a chess piece that he could manipulate at will.

Gin raised his hand to touch the communicator at his ear, a cold smile on his lips. Now, what Karasuma Renya heard was what he wanted him to hear.

"Cohen," Gin picked up another encrypted phone and dialed, "The mission has changed."

Cohen's voice was a little dull: "Gin? What mission did you change? Mr. Rum's order..."

"Ignore Rum's orders," Gin interrupted him. "From now on, you just have to pretend and don't do anything."

Cohen was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Gin to disobey Rum's order: "But..."

"No buts," Gin's voice carried a dangerous warning, "This is what the master wants. Do you want to disobey?"

He deliberately brought up Karasuma Renya, and Cohen immediately fell silent.

"Understood," Cohen finally compromised. "I will continue and await further instructions."

After hanging up, Gin tossed the phone back to where it belonged, his eyes growing darker. "Rum is trying to capitalize on the conflict between me and the FBI, and that gentleman is trying to use his hand to control Rum. Everyone's calculating, everyone thinks they're pawns. But they're all wrong."

Gin looked at the endless stream of people outside the window, his fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel.

What he needs to do now is to continue to play the role of "loyalty" and wait for the best time.

The vodka is still in the laboratory and he can't act rashly.

But he wouldn't let anyone hurt Vodka, not even Karasuma Renya.

A fierce look flashed across Gin's lips: "Once I've solved this problem, one day I'll let Rum know who the true trump card of the organization is."

At this moment, Kudo Yuki in the Mercedes-Benz seemed to sense something and suddenly looked out the window.

"What's wrong, Sister Xue?" Conan noticed that something was wrong with her.

Kudo Yuki shook her head, but her eyes were filled with a hint of vigilance: "Nothing, I just feel... as if someone is watching us."

Shushu followed her gaze, his little head turning left and right cautiously: "I felt it too! Is it that one-eyed villain?"

Amuro Toru's voice immediately came through the microphone: "I haven't noticed anything unusual here. Don't worry, I've already asked Date Kou and Matsuda Jinpei to patrol nearby. If anything happens, they will provide support immediately."

James also became nervous: "Do you want me to contact the FBI and ask them to come over to help?"

"No need." Kudo Yuki said calmly, "If there are too many people now, it will be easier to expose us. Let's proceed as planned and wait for Okiya Subaru to arrive."

Judy's car was moving forward on the road, the light from the dashboard illuminating her tense profile. "You said... you had contact with the male members of that organization?"

"It's absolutely true," Cameron said with a serious look in his eyes. "And I saw clearly that the man was wearing a black eye patch on his left eye. There was some reflection around the edge. It might be a prosthetic eye."

"False Eye..." Judy's pupils suddenly contracted, and a disturbing name surfaced in her mind. She swerved the steering wheel, and the car arced at the intersection. "Could that person be..."

"That's right," Cameron lowered his voice, as if saying that name required great courage. "If it's really him, then we must act immediately. Even a second later could lead to disaster."

Judy said no more. While driving, she called James on the Bluetooth headset: "James, this is Judy. We have an emergency report. The target location is near the Iroha Sushi Restaurant. The situation may be worse than we expected..."

James's grip on the communicator suddenly tightened, his knuckles turning white, and his previously steady breathing suddenly became rapid. "Judy, what happened? Is Cameron in danger?"

"More troublesome than dangerous," Judy said, her fingertips gripping the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white. "Cameron just confirmed that the member of the organization he came into contact with was wearing an eye patch on his left eye, with a glare on the edge—it's likely a prosthetic eye. James, we suspect... that person is the one that Kudo Yuki mentioned spreading rumors about him."

James's breathing suddenly hitched, and the hand holding the communicator almost deformed the device. His voice was filled with shock and haste that was difficult to conceal: "What did you say? Prosthetic eye? Could it really be... him?!"

"We're not 100% sure yet, but all the features match." Judy's voice came through the radio waves, still forcing herself to remain calm.

"Cameron said the other person had a very oppressive aura, and that while he spoke, he would unconsciously touch his right hand under his left eye, as if to check the position of the eye patch - this completely matched the habit Kudo Yuki had described earlier."

James leaned back in the Mercedes-Benz and took a quick glance inside. Conan and Kudo Yuki were listening with bated breath, and Shu Shu was huddled up nervously.

He suppressed his panic and said solemnly into the communicator, "Judy, listen, the most important thing right now is to stay calm. Where are you now? How far are you from Iroha Sushi Restaurant?"

"We just passed the third traffic light, and it's about five minutes away." Judy's voice was mixed with the slight roar of the car engine.

"Cameron insisted on going to the sushi restaurant to observe first. He was worried that Rum had set an ambush, but I thought it was too risky. If that were the case, the two of us alone would be no match for him."

James's eyes fell on Kudo Yuki, obviously waiting for her decision.

Kudo Yuki thought for a few seconds before speaking: "Let Cameron go to Iroha Sushi Restaurant without any worries. James' car will quietly follow Judy's car. Conan, change James' appearance now. It's time to test the skills you learned from Sister Yukiko."

Conan immediately found the backpack in the trunk, took out the disguise kit, and used tweezers to hold tiny skin-colored patches.

Kudo Yuki raised an eyebrow: "When did you put things here as spare items?"

"Mr. James, I promise to give you a face that won't be targeted by the organization." He looked up at James, with some transparent glue on his eyelashes, and was so focused that even his breathing became light.

Conan pinched the skin color patch with his fingertips, and when he looked up, there was a hint of cunning in his eyes: "Last time in Aunt Yukiko's dressing room, you said 'spare tools can always be used in an emergency', so I prepared an extra set and hid it in the trunk."

He used tweezers to stick the patch behind James' ear. "And this kit has a waterproof coating. Even if there's an emergency later, the disguise won't be ruined."

Kudo Yuki's lips curled slightly, and she smiled: "Oh~ In front of Yukiko herself, call me sister, and when she's not around, call me auntie."

Conan used transparent glue to rub tiny white marks on his fingertips. He subconsciously looked up at Kudo Yuki, and the tips of his ears turned red.

The glue particles still on the eyelashes trembled slightly with each blink. The originally focused eyes were now a little embarrassed by having their thoughts exposed, but the corners of their mouth could not help but curve up a little in a guilty arc.

"No, no!" Conan quickly lowered his head, pretending to carefully adjust the skin-colored patch behind James' ear, but his voice was a little softer than before, with the retort of a young man whose little secret was exposed, "Aunt Yukiko is... sometimes she looks as young as her sister!"

The patch on the tip of the tweezers was slightly wrinkled by his pinch, and he quickly and carefully smoothed it out. "Besides, last time in the dressing room, you clearly said, 'Children are only lovable when they are sweet-mouthed.' I was just listening!"

Conan seemed to suddenly remember something, and quickly glanced up at James, then immediately turned back and lowered his voice to whisper in Kudo Yuki's ear: "Besides, if Aunt Yukiko knew that I called her aunt behind my back, she might change my bow tie to pink again."

His tone was full of helplessness, but his fingertips quietly pressed the edge of the waterproof patch tighter, as if this could cover up the little episode just now.

The transparent glue on Conan's fingertips had just solidified when the Mercedes-Benz bumped slightly and followed behind Judy's car.

James tugged at his collar while looking in the rearview mirror. His profile was much softer after the disguise, completely lacking the sharpness of an FBI agent. "I'll get off when the car reaches the entrance of Iroha Sushi Restaurant. You all move according to the plan."

Judy gripped the steering wheel, and the sound of James' rapid breathing in the Bluetooth headset mixed with the low roar of the engine, making the air in the car tense.

She quickly glanced at Cameron in the passenger seat through the rearview mirror. He was staring at the street scene passing by outside the window, his eyes full of vigilance.

"Got it, James." Judy kept her voice steady. "I'll slow down so you can catch up. Cameron, sit tight. When you get out of the car, don't act rashly. Observe the situation around the sushi restaurant first."

As Judy's car turned the corner, the sign of Iroha Sushi Restaurant came into view.

She deliberately stepped on the brakes, slowing the car down to almost the same speed as walking. Cameron, who was sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the situation at the entrance of the sushi restaurant.

The street in front of Iroha Sushi Restaurant is not very wide, and the evening crowd is slowly pouring in.

Students in school uniforms walked by with their backpacks on their backs, laughing and playing, clutching the taiyaki they had just bought; an old woman with a vegetable basket stopped in front of the flower shop on the corner, her hand brushing over the water-soaked lisianthus, and bargaining in a low voice with the owner; and there were also office workers in suits walking quickly, their ties swaying slightly in the evening breeze, their phones pressed to their ears, whispering "I'll be there soon".

But hidden in this seemingly ordinary atmosphere, there are countless pairs of tense eyes.

Cameron sat in the passenger seat, his fingertips unconsciously scratching the inside door handle. He saw a waiter in a navy apron standing at the entrance of the sushi restaurant. As she bent over to hand a customer a packaged sushi box, her fingers quickly tapped the pocket of her apron—the FBI's pre-arranged "safe" signal. But the next moment, his gaze flicked to the convenience store across the street. Behind the glass window, a man in a black baseball cap, his head bowed, pretending to select a drink. The brim of his cap was pulled down low, revealing a black watch on his left wrist, a style often worn by members of the organization.

Shu Shu's voice suddenly exploded in Kudo Xue's ears, with a bit of urgency: "I heard it! There was a metallic sound in the pocket of that gray windbreaker, like the sound of a pistol being loaded!"

The alertness in Kudo Yuki's eyes suddenly deepened. She said solemnly into the microphone, "Toru, confirm the location of the man in the gray windbreaker. Have Date Kou and Matsuda Jinpei flank him. Don't alert him."

Amuro Toru's voice came through with a clear electric current: "We've locked onto the target. He's behind the newsstand to the left of the sushi restaurant. His right hand is stuck in his windbreaker pocket, and he seems to be holding a weapon."

Conan had put away his disguise tools and pressed his finger on the tracking button of his glasses. Thermal imaging of the area near the newsstand immediately appeared on the screen.

"Sister Xue, besides the gray windbreaker, there are two hidden heat sources at the back door of the sushi restaurant. They must be Cohen's accomplices."

James looked at the crowd outside the window, his face full of solemnity after his disguise: "This is a dragnet. They want to kill Cameron and lure us into it."

Shushu climbed up Kudo Yuki's sleeves to her shoulders, his chubby claws scratching at the fabric: "Xiaoxue, let the FBI take action!"

To be continued...