Stay away from Conan.

"So, according to the guy you found in the trunk, he was initially told by Louis to follow Sherry today, but as soon as he saw Sherry, he was attacked by an unknown guy. He was unconscious until we found him and had no idea what happened?"

After being temporarily returned to the pharmaceutical factory from the scene of the car accident, Rum, who had been unconscious due to the impact, has now regained consciousness.

Upon seeing that he was now safely within the organization's territory, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but immediately flew into a rage and began to question the aftermath of what had happened after he had fallen unconscious.

As this matter was far too significant, the news eventually reached the ears of the organization's leader. Gin, who was currently in the pharmaceutical factory and was originally in charge of this operation, also received a message from that leader instructing him to follow Rum's orders from now on.

Therefore, with the emergence of this information, it can be said that the bald old man was indeed Rum himself. Faced with Rum's questioning, Gin did not directly respond to the current situation himself, but instead had Vodka explain the clues that had been discovered to Rum.

After listening to Vodka's account, Rum learned that the car that had crashed into his vehicle was the same one the intruder had stolen from the organization and used to escape the pharmaceutical factory, only to suddenly attack him en route. He also learned that while the intruder had escaped, they had found an organization member tied up in the trunk of the car. Rum's intense anger and murderous intent were palpable.

What enraged Rum most was learning that the infiltrator had escaped. He had come specifically for this supposedly "special" infiltrator, only to have him escape, and even worse, this infiltrator had attacked him. This directly fueled Rum's barely contained murderous intent.

"So you didn't send anyone out to chase him? There are so many of you, and he's just one person. How could he have gotten away?"

Thus, Rum questioned Vodka and the others in a fierce tone.

Startled by Rum's question, Vodka glanced furtively at Gin beside him, but ultimately could only confess to Rum:
“We sent people out… but we couldn’t find that guy… his trail just vanished like a ghost…”

As he said this, seeing Rum's expression grow increasingly fierce, Vodka quickly began to explain another matter:

"But... there's something else very strange! We always thought the intruder was a traitor among the people at the pharmaceutical company, but now... the person we found in the trunk is actually the one we initially thought was the traitor!"

In a flash, Vodka quickly relayed the news, offering some explanation for the current situation.

Upon hearing this, Rum quickly understood Vodka's reasoning. His expression softened slightly, but his ruthless look remained, and he asked in a slightly cold tone:

"You mean that the intruder and the guy tied up in the trunk have the same face?"

—Or perhaps… what we saw was actually that person in disguise…

At this moment, Gin followed up on Vodka's words and voiced his thoughts. With a solemn expression, he spoke these words and then turned to Rum, who had turned to look at him after hearing them. Gin noticed the obvious superior attitude in Rum's eyes, which made Gin a little uncomfortable. However, since the other party was the genuine second-in-command of the organization, Gin could not show it at this moment.

Upon hearing Gin mention this, Rum looked at him meaningfully and suddenly asked a question in return—

"so what?"

Thus, it is clear that Rum did not deny Gin's statement, or rather, Rum had already considered this possibility after Vodka said those words. After all, there was a "woman of a thousand faces" like Vermouth in the organization, so it was only natural that he could immediately think of the possibility of disguise.

But so what?

Without further explanation, mentioning this possibility is meaningless. In fact, if the other party truly possesses such capabilities, it's almost as if the organization's attempt to capture that person has completely failed. The individual could easily shed their disguise or change their appearance after escaping the organization's sight, escaping completely under a new identity. Therefore, when Gin, the organization's outstanding field agent, suddenly spoke like this, Rum realized there must be a hidden meaning in his words, hence his question.

Gin, without any pretense, spoke to Rum with a mature and serious tone:

"This situation reminds me of someone... Vermouth!"

Upon hearing Gin mention Vermouth, Rum's interest waned slightly. He leaned back in his seat and casually asked, somewhat indifferently:

"Then?"

Gin was momentarily surprised to see Rum's reaction, as if he hadn't expected Rum to react this way when Vermouth, the mystic, was mentioned. He had assumed Rum would be as moved as he was, even though Vermouth was someone favored by that lord...

But this is the result?
Rum…

However, Gin wasn't about to stop there, and continued following Rum's question:
According to Chianti, during this operation, Vermouth somehow managed to directly access Chianti's communication channels and issue orders to him in this way...

"but……

"Isn't Vermouth herself in the United States? At this time, it's not our time there. How could she get the news so quickly and pay so much attention to the situation? I'm suspicious..."

"Do you suspect she's connected to that infiltrator?"

Before Gin could finish speaking, Rum impatiently interrupted him—

Hmph, no wonder Gin thinks that way, too bad...

People like Gin, who joined the organization later, are not qualified to know such secret information, so it is normal for him to find Vermouth's behavior strange.

"Hmph, let's not waste time on such ideas. Let's get back to the key issue: how to bring that intruder back. Talking about anything else is meaningless!"

Thus, Rum gave straightforward instructions for the next steps—

"Bring the infiltrators back instead of killing them?"

Upon hearing the command again, Gin keenly realized a core issue—

That is, no matter what, it seems that the intruder's life must be guaranteed, even though the guy was so lawless that he almost killed Rum. Under such circumstances, Rum still did not take his life...

So, what secret is it that I don't know? (End of Chapter)