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

Shushu's voice was filled with unprecedented panic: "The Karasuma Guards' car has turned into the alley entrance!"

Amuro Toru's grip on the tiny camera suddenly tightened, leaving shallow marks on his fingertips. He quickly dragged Kudo Yuki and Wakasa Rumi into the shadows of the container, his eyes glancing at the two fighting in the distance.

Gin was pressing Rum against the iron gate, his knuckles against his throat, completely unaware of the danger approaching from behind.

"We have to find a way to get Gin and Rum to stop for now, otherwise when the guards arrive, we'll all be sitting ducks." Kudo Yuki tapped out the "Guards are coming" signal on the communicator and sent it to Date Hang's terminal. At the same time, she telepathically replied to Shushu, "Check the guards' route. Are there any detours we can take?"

Shushu's little head spun rapidly on the system screen. "There's a freight passage on the left! But there are two guards guarding the entrance, and they're holding modified shotguns!"

Subaru Okiya's voice came from behind. He walked around to the other side of the container. The hood of his black hoodie was pulled down low, and only the fingers holding the recorder were exposed.

"I'll distract the guards. You guys take this opportunity to separate Gin and Rum. The FBI backup will arrive in two minutes. We must apprehend Rum before then. He might have the backup data for the 'Amber' project."

Kudo Yuki was stunned for a moment and didn't even notice the movement trajectory of Okiya Subaru.

Wakasa Rumi's hand holding the communicator trembled slightly, her eyes fixed on Okiya Subaru. The figure was both familiar and unfamiliar, and in a trance, it overlapped with the Akai Mutake in her memory.

Toru Amuro signaled Kudo Yuki to keep an eye on Rum, while he quietly moved towards the freight aisle.

Seeing his action, Subaru Okiya took out two silver darts from his pocket, flicked his fingertips, and the darts hit the street light at the entrance of the passage. The light bulb exploded with a "bang", and the alley was instantly darkened.

"What's going on?" The guard shouted, and footsteps were heard running towards the street light.

Toru Amuro took the opportunity to sneak into the freight passage, and soon two muffled sounds were heard, obviously the guards were dealt with.

The noise here alarmed Gin and Rum.

Gin released his hand from Rum's throat, turned his head to look at the dark alley entrance, and instantly pulled out the Beretta from his waist: "Is it that lord's men?"

Rum took the opportunity to break free, stumbling back two steps. His eyes swept towards where Kudo Yuki was hiding, and he suddenly sneered, "Gin, do you really think that master will let you take the experimental records alive? He sent the guards here to silence us all!"

He fished out a mini USB drive from his pocket. "This is the core data for the Dark Amber project. If you help me hold off the guards, I'll give it to you, and you can save Vodka."

Gin's expression suddenly changed.

Kudo Yuki could see clearly that his hand holding the gun loosened slightly, obviously he was hit in the soft spot by the words "save Vodka".

"Don't believe him!" Kudo Yuki had already put on a butterfly mask that half covered her face.

Shushu was afraid her identity would be exposed, so he had her change into a plain coat. She came out from the other side and saw Wakasa Rumi quietly retreating to the car.

Kudo Yuki took a half step forward, her once clear voice suddenly sinking. "Rum, you tampered with the experimental data and secretly kept the 'Amber' backup. Do you really think this old man is completely ignorant?"

Rum clutched the USB drive and looked up at the figure that appeared - the butterfly mask covered most of his face, leaving only the sharp jawline exposed. It was clearly a "fine wine" that only obeyed the orders of Karasuma Renya.

Gin's Beretta instantly changed direction, but the muzzle was not completely aimed at Kudo Yuki. He was obviously weighing the intention of the "fine wine"'s appearance.

Kudo Yuki didn't look at Gin, her gaze fixed on Rum. "The old man asked you to debug the equipment yourself, and you tampered with the parameters. How long do you think you can keep this a secret?"

Rum looked at the butterfly mask on Kudo Yuki's face, his Adam's apple rolling as he tried to defend himself, "Fine Wine, don't listen to other people's instigation! I'm loyal to that master, how could I possibly tamper with the data?"

Shushu's voice reached the ears of Kudo Yuki and Amuro Toru: "The guard's car is only fifty meters away from the alley entrance. Date Kou said the reinforcements are stuck on the elevated road and will have to wait another three minutes!"

Kudo Yuki didn't respond to Rum's explanation, but instead raised her chin in Gin's direction: "Gin, you should read the latest instructions given to you by the old man."

Gin's hand holding the gun paused, and he glanced at the surveillance of Karasuma Renya in his pocket. He was still there, but he was more worried about Vodka's safety.

Rum seized the opportunity, suddenly stuffed the USB drive into his collar, turned around and tried to run towards the freight aisle: "Don't listen to her! When the guards get here, we'll all be dead!"

"Want to leave?" Toru Amuro's voice came from the shadow of the passage. He walked around behind Rum, with the anesthetic needle in his palm ready to go.

Rum realized something was wrong and pulled out a dagger from his waist to stab back, but Amuro Toru dodged sideways and hit him hard in the ribs with his elbow.

Shushu's heart was beating fast beside Amuro Toru's ear: "The guards are still twenty meters away! Date Ko said the blockage on the elevated road has been cleared, so please wait another minute and a half for support!"

Kudo Yuki took the opportunity to step forward, deliberately bumped Gin with her shoulder, and stuffed the folded note into his palm.

On the paper was Vodka's silhouette in the laboratory, and in the background could be seen the number "Subject 08". It was a screenshot of the video that Vermouth had just sent her this morning.

Gin held the note in his hand, and the muzzle of Beretta's gun was completely turned towards Rum: "Hand over the USB drive."

Rum's back hit the container wall. "Gin! Are you crazy? Fine wine is lying to you!"

He wanted to take out his communicator to prove himself, but he didn't notice that Wakasa Rumi had walked out of the car at some point. She was clutching the broken glass, her eyes fixed on the back of Rum's neck.

Subaru Okiya leaned slightly over the top of a distant container, the light on his recorder glaring. He saw the subtle movements of Kudo Yuki and Amuro Toru, but remained motionless.

He was waiting for an opportunity to obtain the data on "Dark Amber" and trap Rum.

"You're lying to me?" Gin stepped forward, the muzzle of his gun pressed against Rum's temple. "The old man wants an obedient dog, not a loser who dares to hide data and then uses the guards to silence him."

He caught a glimpse of the signal of "delay" hidden in Kudo Yuki's eyes, and he understood it and deliberately slowed down his movements.

Rum yelled towards Wakasa Rumi, "Don't you want to avenge Haneda Hiroshi? Fine Wine is the one who helped me cover up the truth!"

He wanted to sow discord, but he didn't expect Wakasa Rumi to just sneer, and the broken glass directly scratched his wrist.

Rum cried out in pain, and the USB drive slipped from his loosened fingers.

Toru Amuro grabbed the USB drive in his palm and at the same time shot the anesthetic needle into Rum's neck.

Rum collapsed on the ground, his consciousness drowsy but not completely gone. He stared at Kudo Yuki's butterfly mask and squeezed out a broken voice from his throat: "Fine wine... You colluded with that master a long time ago... set up a trap to harm me..."

Kudo Yuki ignored Rum's accusation and swept her eyes across the alley under her butterfly mask.

Under the dim street lights, two black cars were approaching, crushing gravel, and the "Silver Crow" logos on the cars were flashing under the light.

Kudo Yuki put her fingertips to her lips and said in a voice that only Amuro Toru could hear, "Let's follow the backup plan. You take Rum back to the Karasuma Group headquarters through the freight channel, and I will deal with the guards."

Toru Amuro leaned over and tried to carry Rum away.

Shushu jumped up on his shoulder. "No! The Guard's logo is backwards! And the guy in the driver's seat... seems to be touching his headphones!"

The rear door of the car suddenly opened, and two men in black guard uniforms stepped out, their hoods pulled low. Instead of standard weapons, they clutched two metal batons. The man on the left tugged at his collar, revealing a silver-gray necklace—the one Jin Matsuda wore every year as a memento of his time at the police academy.

Kudo Yuki suddenly had an idea and deliberately raised his gun towards the two men: "You are late. Rum has been apprehended. According to the old man's order, he must be taken back to the headquarters for interrogation."

The person on the right smiled, his voice hoarse but with a familiar tone: "Don't worry, Miss Fine Wine. Headquarters has temporarily changed the route, so we need to pick you up here first."

Kenji Hagiwara quietly mouthed the word "vodka" to Kudo Yuki, and pointed in the direction of Gin.

Gin never lowered his Beretta, his gaze darting back and forth between the two men, his knuckles quietly loosening a little: "These two 'guards' move with such agility. They don't look like the brute force idiots under Karasuma Renya. They look more like... professionally trained police officers."

He took out the communicator from his pocket and pretended to contact headquarters for confirmation, but in fact he was testing the signal.

As expected, there was only rustling noise in the communicator, which had obviously been blocked.

Kudo Yuki deliberately frowned, but the look beneath her face was sending a message to the two of them, "I haven't received any orders, unless you can show physical evidence that the old man sent you here."

Matsuda Jinpei pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it to Gin: "Here's the evidence, take a look for yourself."

There was nothing else written on the paper, only the iconic vodka sunglasses pattern.

Gin paused holding the paper and put away his gun: "Okay, I'll give the person to you, but I want to go with you."

He had long guessed that Karasuma Renya would not let him see Vodka easily. The arrival of these two "guards" was strange, but it might be the only chance for him to see Vodka.

Hagiwara Kenji raised an eyebrow and winked at Amuro Toru: "Alright, but Miss Fine Wine has to leave with us. You go to the headquarters and report back. The master is waiting for your report."

This was done deliberately to get Kudo Yuki away to prevent her identity as a "fine wine" from being exposed in subsequent contacts.

Kudo Yuki understood and turned to walk towards the alley. After taking two steps, she turned back and seemed to be admonishing Gin: "Don't play tricks, the old man's eyes are on this place."

In fact, it was a reminder to him that the surveillance in the communicator had not been completely lifted, so he should not reveal his true intentions.

Subaru Okiya saw everything from the top of the container and quietly put away the recorder.

He touched the human skin mask on his face and recalled the scene two hours ago in the safe house where he told Jinpei Matsuda and Kenji Hagiwara, "Don't leave the safe house when interrogating Vodka, and leave someone to watch over him when he's compiling his confession." He didn't expect that the two would just change into guard uniforms and barge in.

Subaru Okiya lowered his hood, his eyes swept over the two of them, and then fell on Gin's tense back.

Gin's hand never left the gun at his waist, and it was obvious that he was still wary of these two "guards".

Okiya Subaru slid down silently from the top of the container, following in the shadows. He had to keep an eye on Gin's movements, and more importantly, he had to confirm whether Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji would change their minds at the last minute. Those two people were notoriously unpredictable.

Toru Amuro carried Rum and followed behind Jinpei Matsuda, rubbing his fingertips lightly on Rum's collar to confirm that the anesthetic injection had not worn off.

Shushu leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Are they really secretly helping someone? Just now, Matsuda Jinpei's baton almost hit Rum's head!"

Toru Amuro didn't say anything, just patted Shu Shu's back gently.

He recognized Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda, but did not say anything.

Gin trailed behind, his gaze fixed on the backs of Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji. He clutched the piece of paper with the sunglasses on it, knowing full well that this journey wouldn't be easy, but as long as he could find vodka, even if it was a trap, he'd go for it.

Kudo Yuki's figure disappeared around the corner of the alley.

Wakasa Rumi slowly loosened her hand that was holding the broken glass, but the coldness on her fingertips did not dissipate.

She retreated to the black sedan, leaning against the door and pretending to adjust her collar, but her gaze was fixed on the direction where Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji were escorting Rum away. [Their gait was incredibly steady, and the batons hung at their sides at an angle of deliberate relaxation, definitely not the tense presence of the Karasuma guards, who had been immersed in slaughter for years.]

Shushu's chubby little paws clung to Amuro Toru's shoulders: "Wakasa Rumi has been staring at us. Will she notice anything?"

Amuro Toru didn't turn around. He just tapped Rum's wrist lightly with his fingertips to confirm that the anesthetic was still effective. He replied in a low voice: "She knows her limits."

He said this to Shushu, but also to comfort himself. He knew Wakasa Rumi's hatred for Rum, and he would never rashly disrupt his plans at this moment.

Gin's fingertips repeatedly rubbed the edge of the paper, his mind replaying the details: [The look in Gin's eyes when he handed the note, the way the "Guards" blocked the communicator, and the broken glass hidden in the woman's sleeve... These fragments, put together, seemed to be leading him towards the net.]

But when he thought of Vodka's silhouette on the note, he suppressed all his doubts and held the Beretta tighter against his waist.

The two cars turned out of the alley and drove towards the outskirts of the city along a secluded branch road.

Jinpei Matsuda sat in the passenger seat, staring at the road ahead, but his peripheral vision swept towards the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Gin leaned back in his chair, but his eyes were fixed on the rum carried by Amuro Toru, without any relaxation.

"Rum's fingers are moving!" Shushu huddled against Amuro Toru's shoulder, his fat little claws clinging to his collar. "Is the anesthetic effect wearing off soon?"

Amuro Toru lowered his eyes, gently pressing his fingertips on Rum's carotid artery, feeling the steady pulse. He then quietly pressed his knee against Rum's calf. Seeing no reaction, he whispered, "You can hold on for another half an hour. I'll give you another shot when we get there."

He said this to both Shushu and Gin, hinting that the destination was a temporary stopover, not the headquarters of the Karasuma Group, so that Gin would relax his guard.

Upon hearing this, Hagiwara Kenji curled his lips slightly, deliberately slowed down the car, turned around and smiled at Gin: "Mr. Gin, don't worry, we won't touch Rum. He still needs to be questioned by that adult."

Only Gin could understand the hidden signal in his words that he was not from the brewery.

To be continued...