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

"Using a double to lure the enemy out of their hole is a prudent move, as it avoids exposing Zhen Chun and Mary while allowing us to find out their true strength."

Akai Tsutomu changed the subject, "But the 'bait' you left behind needs someone to keep an eye on it. My old subordinates from MI6 happen to be here tonight. I'll have them stake out the hotel next door; they're better at counter-surveillance than ordinary police officers."

“I was just about to tell you about this. Toru has already had Kazami arrange for the Public Security Bureau to set up a perimeter around the hotel, but with the assistance of MI6, they can more accurately identify the visitors.” Kudo Yuki pulled up a simple map of the area around the hotel.

"The stand-in in room 2115 next door will deliberately open the curtains at 7 p.m. and pretend to pack his luggage. At that time, Kazami's people will keep an eye on the hotel's main entrance and parking lot, and MI6's colleagues can focus on the fire escape on the 21st floor."

Conan leaned closer to look at the map, his little brows furrowed: "What if the people who come see through the Stand? Like, they notice they don't have Aunt Mary's little tricks..."

“Don’t worry about that,” Kudo Yuki reassured her. “The double is a character actor that I asked Manager Kuroda to find. Not only does he look like her, but he’s also familiar with Aunt Mary’s habitual gesture of touching her cuffs. Unless you’re someone who lives with her every day, it’s hard to spot the flaws.”

Akai Tsutomu tapped the location of the fire escape on the 21st floor on the map: "The fire escape connects to the stairwell and is the most easily overlooked blind spot."

“I had my men disguise themselves as hotel maintenance workers and install miniature listening devices in the corridor beforehand. If anyone approached room 2115, we could detect their movements immediately. They were all trained in counter-surveillance and would not leave any trace.”

Mary Akai watched the two make their arrangements, her tense expression easing slightly, but she still couldn't help but remind them: "No matter who comes, don't confront them head-on. The people from the brewery are ruthless; there's no need to risk everything just to find out their background."

Kudo Yuki smiled and gently comforted her, "Aunt Mary, looking at it from another perspective, being passive is not necessarily a disadvantage. By taking the initiative and controlling the pace, a trap can naturally turn into an opportunity."

Amuro Tooru followed up, "I've already equipped the people keeping watch with thermal imagers, so even if they use infrared jammers, we can still pinpoint their location accurately. Moreover, Vermouth has also sent word that Rum has been very suspicious lately, and the people she sent are most likely just testing the waters."

Conan's face suddenly turned serious: "Sister Xue, Haibara said the handover time for that transport truck is tonight at nine o'clock, right after the Stand is exposed. Could it be that the Black Organization deliberately chose this time, wanting to secretly complete the parts handover while we're watching the hotel?"

“I thought of that a long time ago.” Kudo Yuki pulled up the port map on her phone. “Toru has already sent Kagekawa Raku to lie in ambush outside the port. He is familiar with the handover process at the brewery and can quietly take pictures of the parts handover as evidence. He might even be able to find the warehouse location by following the clues.”

What she didn't say was that Yingchuan Luo would use the winery's internal codes to try to contact the person making the handover and see if he could extract more information about "ES Dark Amber".

Looking at the deployment on the map, Akai Tsutomu's eyes flashed with approval: "The layout is very comprehensive, but there is one thing to be careful about - Gin is monitoring Rum. If he discovers that Rum's people are operating in the hotel, he might interfere."

“This is exactly what I want.” Kudo Yuki’s eyes flashed with calculation. “Gin and Rum are only superficially friendly, and Karasuma Renya is stirring things up. If Gin finds out that Rum has secretly sent people to investigate Aunt Mary, he might think that Rum wants to keep the secret of APTX4869 to himself. In that case, they will fall into chaos first, and we can reap the benefits.”

Amuro Tooru added, "I've already asked Vermouth to leak some 'fake news,' saying that Rum found the survivor of APTX4869 and wants to conduct research on it privately without Karasuma Renya's knowledge. Gin hates betrayal of the organization the most, and he'll definitely take action after hearing this."

Watching the two of them working together, Conan suddenly felt that the Blacksmith was probably doomed this time.

On one side is Kudo Yuki's meticulous planning, and on the other side is the suspicion within the brewery. Under this double attack, even the most meticulous plan will have flaws.

Sera Masumi's voice came from the bedroom doorway: "What are you talking about? It sounds interesting!"

Clutching her packed luggage, she peered curiously at the group in the living room. "Are you going to catch bad guys? Can I come with you?"

Mary Akai immediately put on a stern face: "If you're all packed up, just stay put and come with me to the Haneda residence later. Don't cause any trouble here."

Sera Masumi pouted but didn't refute, only secretly glancing at Conan and mouthing, "What is it?"

Conan shook his head, indicating that he would talk to her later, but in his heart he was thinking: [Maybe after this is over, I can tell Sera the truth.]

Kudo Yuki glanced at the time and stood up: "It's almost time. Toru should go and meet up with Kagekawa Raku. Mr. Tsutomu, Aunt Mary, after you've packed your things, have your MI6 colleagues escort you back to the Haneda residence. Be careful on the way."

She took two trackers out of her bag and handed them to Tsutomu Akai.

"This is a miniature tracker made by the doctor. It's attached to your luggage so that I can locate you immediately if you encounter any danger."

Tsutomu Akai took the tracker and nodded solemnly: "We'll be careful. I'll let you know immediately if there's any news from the hotel."

Amuro Tooru walked to the door and escorted Kudo Yuki and Conan outside.

The little mouse waved its chubby paws at Mary Akai: "Goodbye Mary Akai! Have a safe trip with Mr. Tsutomu!"

Mary Akai glanced briefly at Yuki Kudo and the other two and said, "You guys be careful too."

A black sedan with a silver raven logo drove smoothly down the street. Rum's face, half of which was wrapped in bandages, was reflected in the car window, and a determined light gleamed in his cloudy single eye.

He looked at the news report on his phone screen, which vaguely showed the profile of Mary Akai as a "junior high school student".

“Absinthe was well hidden. Back then, she only said that APTX4869 was a deadly poison, but never mentioned the possibility of ‘time reversal.’ If I hadn’t found out that she had a backup plan, I probably would still be kept in the dark.”

Rum raised his hand and pressed the car communicator, connecting directly to his confidant's channel: "Abandon the hotel probe. If Akai Mary leaves the hotel, follow them."

A response came from the other end of the communicator: "Understood."

Rum hung up the communication, his smile growing increasingly sinister: "Akai Mary's rejuvenation is the key trigger condition for APTX4869. As long as we capture her and study all the details of what happens after she takes the drug, the 'ES Dark Amber' project can move forward again... That person wants to prolong their life with this thing, but I can use it to control everything."

The car drove past the Beikacho intersection, and the red light came on.

Rum's gaze fell on the rearview mirror, catching sight of a Porsche 356A following behind: [Gin did follow after all.]

"Hmph, even loyal dogs have their own thoughts." Rum sneered, quickly typing a message on his phone and sending it to Vermouth:

Tell Gin that Mary Akai possesses the 'secret to immortality' that lord desires. I'm merely retrieving what belongs to us for the organization. As for him, he'd better keep his gun under control and not ruin anything. —RUM

The light turned green, and the black sedan sped away.

Rum tossed his phone aside, a mad glint in his single eye: "Akai Mary, APTX4869, ES Dark Amber... everything will be mine. Once I've mastered the brainwashing device and regained my left eye, I'll settle accounts with Gin."

The rain outside the car window intensified, washing away the city's neon lights and concealing the impending bloodshed.

Rum leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and began to plan how to extract the core secret of APTX4869 from Mary Akai's blood, and how to use this secret to completely reverse his position in the organization.

The black Porsche 356A followed Rum's car into the vicinity of the Beika Town parking lot.

Gin stubbed out the cigarette he was holding between his fingers as it burned to the very end, until his fingertips were numb from the heat.

The car communicator suddenly rang, and Vermouth tentatively said, "Gin, Rum asked me to tell you that Mary Akai is holding the 'secret to immortality' that the master wants. He's just running errands for the organization, so I advise you not to meddle."

Gin's eyes were as cold as ice, his knuckles turning white from gripping the steering wheel tightly: "Running errands for the organization? You and I both know what he's up to." He glanced at the communicator that had been reconnected on the passenger seat—it contained Karasuma Renya's bugging device, but he had already tampered with it. "Notify Vodka... Oh, I forgot, he's now a 'good sample' in the lab."

Just as he finished speaking, an anonymous text message popped up on the dashboard. It was from Subaru Okiya: "Rum's men have turned to Haneda Mansion, targeting Mary Akai. I've blocked Karasuma's bugging device for ten minutes, enough for you to do what you need to do."

A sharp glint flashed in Gin's eyes. He jerked the steering wheel, veerging the car off course and into a secluded alley. He pressed the communicator hidden inside the car, connecting with his informant planted among Rum: "What are the instructions for Cohen?"

"Cohen received orders to stake out the perimeter of the Haneda residence and capture Mary Akai alive. Rum also said that once they got her, they should take her directly to a secret laboratory in the suburbs, bypassing the organization's procedures."

“Bypass the organization?” Gin chuckled, his tone full of sarcasm. “He wants to keep the secret of APTX4869 to himself and also wants to use the ‘ES Dark Amber’ project to sideline Karasuma.” He hung up the call and started the car again. “Since he wants to play, I’ll play along.”

The car sped away, the windshield wipers swung wildly, but they couldn't wipe away the rain from the glass, just like the lingering suspicion in Gin's heart.

Rum's unauthorized deployment of Cohen, concealment of information about Mary Akai, and attempts to bypass the organization to establish a private laboratory... all of these actions crossed Gin's bottom line.

More importantly, he suspected that Rum already knew about the bug in the communicator, but deliberately put on a show for Karasuma Renya, with the aim of making himself a pawn in Karasuma Renya's eyes who was "too suspicious".

"Trying to use someone else to do your dirty work?" Gin sneered, dialing Vermouth's number. "Tell Rum that I have no interest in Mary Akai, but if he dares to arbitrarily organize his experimental subjects, I don't mind turning his 'secret laboratory' into ruins. Also, send me another copy of the video of Vodka's recent situation. I don't want my partner to die in some corner without knowing why."

Vermouth chuckled lightly: "You're certainly protecting him. But Rum probably won't heed your warnings. He's got his head all set on the trigger conditions for APTX4869 right now, and he's practically forgotten about that person's orders."

“Then make him pay the price.” Gin hung up the phone, his gaze fixed on the taillights of Rum’s car ahead. “Akai Mary is the bait, Rum is the prey, and I am the hunter.”

He stepped on the gas pedal and pressed a button at the same time, sending a fake recording to Karasuma Renya.

In the recording, Rum's voice was altered, claiming that he would use Akai Mary's secret to replace Karasuma Renya as the leader of the organization.

The two cars, one in front of the other, probed and plotted against each other.

Rum thought he had everything under control, but little did he know that Gin had already laid a trap; Gin thought he had seen through Rum's scheme, but he didn't notice that Subaru Okiya was hiding in the traffic not far away, silently watching this internal strife.

In the direction of Haneda Mansion, MI6 agents have increased security; the smoke of battle has not yet cleared at the port, and the hotel's doubles are still performing according to plan.

This covert struggle surrounding Mary Akai and APTX4869 has only just begun.

Gin watched Rum's car getting closer and closer, a bloodthirsty smile curving his lips: "The game begins."

Subaru Okiya hid in the shadows under the overpass, his glasses reflecting the streaks of car headlights in the rainy night.

His night-vision binoculars were locked onto Gin and Rum's taillights, while the encrypted frequency of their communicators was simultaneously transmitted through his earpiece.

That was a temporary channel he had cracked with FBI technical support, where he could clearly hear the confrontation between Gin's fabricated recordings and Rum's covert deployment of personnel.

The telescope's field of view flashed with discordant reflections.

Subaru Okiya subtly adjusted the focus with his fingertips, his gaze settling on the roof of the convenience store on the street corner.

There lay a dark figure, clad in tactical clothing that blended into the night, with a heavy sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. The muzzle of the rifle was not aimed at Gin or Rum's car, but rather at the direction of Haneda's residence.

More importantly, the man had a tiny silver raven badge pinned to his collar.

That was the insignia of Karasuma Renya's personal guard, definitely not Gin's or Rum's subordinates.

“Karasuma Renya’s informant…” Okiya Subaru murmured.

The street corner was so quiet on a rainy night that only the sound of rain could be heard.

This informant was clearly not there to monitor the infighting between Gin and Rum, but rather to target Akai Mary at the Haneda residence.

As expected, Karasuma Renya had already laid out a backup plan, having Gin monitor Rum while also personally sending people to reap the benefits.

He quickly put away his binoculars and, using the trash cans and billboards along the roadside as cover, approached the convenience store.

The spies on the roof were focused on the scope, completely unaware that someone was approaching.

Using his feet for leverage, Subaru Okiya leaped onto the wall, gripped the edge of the eaves with his fingertips, and landed on the roof.

A soft "crack" was the sound of tactical boots crushing a tile.

The eyeliner turned around in surprise, and just as he was about to raise his hand to pull the trigger, Subaru Okiya had already closed in on him.

He locked the other man's wrist with his left arm and slammed his right elbow into the other man's ribs. With a muffled groan, the sniper rifle slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

To be continued...