The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1316 You... are you called Dong Xuelian?
Bourbon, also known as Amuro Tooru, the dark-skinned young man, had just finished his night shift and arrived at the agreed location right on time.

Then, upon entering the warehouse, I saw an extremely abstract scene.

She only saw the familiar Vermouth, and a man wearing a black hood, a tight-fitting bodysuit, and a bandit hood that obscured his face, squatting on a pile of bricks with her, smoking...

It's not that the image is particularly abstract, it just somewhat ruins my impression of this thousand-faced witch.

Sister, your persona is starting to crumble!
Amuro Tooru had already heard that this older woman was bringing someone with her for this operation, but he never expected their first meeting to be like this.

At the same time, he was also a little confused: Did this lady bring this person here just to swindle him to death as a chore?

However, seeing that the two people seemed to have a good relationship, he became a little suspicious.

Just thinking about it, it's not necessarily true.

After all, there's the precedent of Calvados.

The fact that the sycophant was so infatuated with this woman was common knowledge within the organization.

Then, my imagination ran wild.

That Vermouth is incredibly vicious!

Selling out teammates is something they're already very good at.

Amuro Tooru glanced with a hint of pity at the black-hooded man smoking, thinking that he would surely be manipulated by this woman and end up as a scapegoat.

Despite his inner thoughts, his outward appearance remained completely calm. He simply coughed lightly and then revealed a cheerful smile befitting a caring young man: "Sorry to keep you waiting. I just finished something and rushed over immediately."

Vermouth glanced at the other person and said, "We're too early. You've arrived just in time."

Fujino, sitting next to her, immediately understood the underlying meaning in the old lady's words.

Yes, it's an expression of dissatisfaction with the other party's punctuality.

We're all here, but you're not. Does that mean you're late or we're early?

Upon hearing this, Amuro Tooru chuckled awkwardly, then took out his phone and glanced at it: "Speaking of which, it seems like not everyone has arrived?"

Fujino raised his eyelids, his voice lowered, becoming a slightly magnetic and rough tone: "There's someone else?"

Vermouth narrowed her eyes slightly but remained silent.

Clearly, her last words expressed her true feelings.

Amuro Tooru said helplessly, "They were sent by the BOSS, so I couldn't refuse. I heard they're an outsider, but I don't know much about them."

His expression remained unchanged, revealing no particular attitude, but he seemed to be trying his best to ease the tension with the older woman.

"They're the boss's direct subordinates, right?" Vermouth chuckled. "It seems the boss doesn't quite trust us this time..."

Amuro Tooru maintained his smile: "The boss probably has his own plans."

"Who knows?" Vermouth scoffed, a cigarette dangling from her lips as she flicked the smoking butt. "You don't even know about the arrangements, let alone the ones sent by the BOSS. Of course, I don't know either."

As she spoke, she crossed her legs: "But thinking about it, it makes sense. After all, the one who was arrested was our favorite cadre. They'll have to send someone to keep an eye on us, so that we don't go too far and get someone killed or something."

Amuro Tooru smiled without saying a word, it was unclear what he was responding to, but he picked up his phone and checked the time again: "However, this person seems to have a poor sense of time. I wonder what kind of person he is. It would be terrible if something went wrong during the operation."

Vermouth wasn't worried about this, clearly knowing something: "We don't need to worry about the guy directly under the BOSS. Before we can get rid of him, he'll probably just shoot himself in the head to repay the BOSS's kindness."

Fujino listened quietly and came to understand the relationship between the three people.

Vermouth and Amuro Tooru are completely unrelated.

The old lady's words revealed her dislike for Amuro Tooru and her dissatisfaction with being distrusted.

Amuro Tooru, who was assigned by the BOSS, became the main target of his venting.

As for Amuro Tooru, it's unclear whether he genuinely doesn't know or is pretending not to, and he also seems unable to discern the approach of the people coming towards him.

In short, Amuro Tooru, this dark-skinned young man, is now caught in the middle, disliked by everyone.

However, this dark-skinned young man clearly didn't want to be the scapegoat.

The current focus is shifting the conflict and the older woman's dissatisfaction onto the person who was assigned there by the boss.

Fujino felt that organizations and interpersonal relationships like this were just troublesome.

Not only do you need to reason, but you also need to consider the implied meaning.

But these kinds of things are unavoidable.

This applies to small criminal gangs as well as large organizations. Discord and disunity are inevitable when people form groups, as interests and various conflicts are fundamentally irreconcilable.

Conflicts, unless they kill one person, can only be shifted.

At this point, a thing or person is needed to deflect the conflict.

Clearly, the distillery boss knew this too, which is why he sent this person.

"Is everyone here?"

"Looks like I'm the only one left..."

As soon as he arrived, a man with messy hair and a scruffy beard walked in from outside the warehouse with his hands in his pockets, looking at the three people inside: two men and one woman.

Vermouth, still with her legs crossed, said irritably, "Yeah, you're the only one missing."

The dark-skinned young man, Bourbon, laughed and said, "It's alright, I'm not that late, just past the agreed time."

“I see…” The man, with his hands still in his pockets, glanced around and looked at Fujino, saying, “Who is this person? I don’t remember the BOSS arranging for anyone else to participate in this operation.”

Vermouth said calmly, "They are the people I brought."

The man frowned: "The boss didn't mention it."

“I mentioned it.” The older woman glanced at the man in front of her. “Don’t forget, I’m in charge of this operation.”

Bourbon looked helpless: "Even I have to listen to her."

The man clicked his tongue but didn't say anything more; clearly, the older woman held sway.

Fujino observed silently, and the situation immediately became clear.

The older woman mainly played the "good cop," while Bourbon played the "bad cop." Although he played the "bad cop," he always protected the "good cop."

The newcomer was besieged, but in the end, he was given a way out.

After all, even if there is to be exclusion, the exclusion in this situation will certainly not be too obvious.

No matter what, the other party is someone sent by the boss, so we should still give them face.

The specific imagery is roughly as follows: I can't touch the emperor, and I don't dare touch you either, even though you're the emperor's man, but that doesn't stop me from teaming up with my colleagues in the court to make things difficult for you.

Often, these insignificant people are the most pitiful.

If nothing happens, it may offend all the civil and military officials. But if this person disrupts the harmony of the court, then he will be directly eliminated by the emperor and used as a sweet treat to appease the hearts and emotions of the court officials.

Like condoms, they are treated as tools, something to be discarded after use depending on one's mood.

If we're talking about something even more pitiful, it's that these insignificant people become such figures without realizing it, and die without ever knowing that they were merely pawns discarded from the very beginning.

"...Our mission this time is to rescue the target who was brought into this hospital. We don't know her exact location yet, so we need to find out beforehand."

“Bourbon, you disguised yourself as a cleaner and infiltrated the hospital.”

"Dong... Xue Lian, you're disguised as a doctor, is that alright?"

Soon, Vermouth began to deploy this infiltration plan, first assigning two of her own people to positions.

As for the abstract and rare name Dongxuelian, it was naturally a pseudonym that Fujino thought of.

He originally wanted to use Sun Xiaochuan's name, but then he thought about how he had already used that name as a screen name, so he gave up on the idea.

Upon hearing this, both Bourbon and the man looked at Dong Xuelian, clearly not understanding why someone who looked so strong and muscular in her bodysuit would have such a slightly delicate female name as Dong Xuelian.

Yes, it's definitely a pseudonym.

Finally, Vermouth turned her gaze to the last man who came over: "Um... what's your name?"

“Kusuda Rikudo,” Nanda Rikudo said.

The elderly woman, Vermouth, continued, "You pretended to be a patient and sneaked into the hospital to be admitted?"

"Pretend to be a patient?"

Kusuda clearly didn't understand why he had to pretend to be a patient and be hospitalized, and couldn't help but ask, "But how can I be hospitalized if I don't have any injuries?"

"That's not a problem," Vermouth said calmly, arms crossed. "All I need to do is inflict a small injury on you."

Kusuda: "...?"

No, is that even human language you're speaking?
What do you mean by causing a little injury?

Nantian cursed inwardly, but didn't dare say it aloud.

No matter what, both of them were cadres in the organization.

Although I came here on the orders of the BOSS and have royal privileges.

But we still can't afford to offend them too deeply...

Vermouth noticed his doubts and said, "You can rest assured about that. It's just an act and it won't affect your investigation. After all, finding the target is more important than your life."

As she spoke, she turned to Fujino and Amuro and asked, "Which of you two will make the move?"

"Let me do it!"

"I have a lot of experience with this kind of thing!"

Fujino smiled and took the initiative to speak, slowly walking towards Kusuda Rikudo. Before Kusuda Rikudo could react, Fujino delivered a chop to his wrist.

With a crisp "crack," Kusuda lay down on the ground.

"You went a bit too far, didn't you?" Vermouth chuckled and teased, "What if you'd killed him?"

"I know how hard I can hit; I won't kill anyone."

Fujino withdrew his arm, and as he spoke, he understood the implication.

Clearly, the older woman was saying one thing but was actually quite satisfied with Fujino's approach.

The older woman glanced at Kusuda lying on the ground, then at the two of them: "Bourbon, Higashi Yukiren, do I need to repeat what you just said?"

Amuro Tooru had no complaints about this: "I'll go check out the cleaning positions at their hospital."

"Heh, the organization must be giving you plenty of funding, right?"

"Funds are funds, and they cannot be used for private purposes."

Facing Bourbon, who was clearly a loyal follower of the brewery, the old lady just chuckled, seemingly amused, and shook her head, swaying her long, light blonde hair behind her: "There aren't many people like you who care about the organization these days..."

"Alright, Dong Xuelian, let's go find out if there are any people in the hospital who would agree to the kidnapping."

As she spoke, she glanced at Nanta lying on the ground: "As for this guy, Dong Xuelian and I will take him to the hospital."

"Bourbon, just proceed according to your own plan. The official start date is tomorrow."

"receive."

…………

Carrying the unconscious Rikudō Kusuda out of the warehouse, Vermouth got on her motorcycle: "Is it alright if I leave this to you to handle?"

"Let me handle it?"

Fujino said speechlessly, "Why aren't you dealing with it?"

Vermouth also had something to say about this: "I carried him on my motorcycle?"

"That's true."

Fujino imagined the scene of the old woman riding a motorcycle, carrying a knocked-out man on her back, and wandering around the streets. He could almost picture it.

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "But what are you really thinking about making me a doctor?"

"Isn't this taking up my daily time?"

Vermouth shrugged helplessly: "Besides being a doctor, there's nothing else suitable for you. Most of the nurses in this hospital are women, you can't exactly become a woman, can you?"

"..."

Fujino gave a deadpan look, as if to say that it wasn't impossible for him.

But after thinking about it, I dismissed the idea: "I don't care, I'm not going to go to the hospital to fool around every day."

Vermouth chuckled softly upon seeing this: "Don't worry, I've already arranged an identity for you."

"arranged?"

"Of course it's all arranged."

In response to this question, the older woman said calmly, "From now on, you have another identity. You are a doctor from China who is here for an exchange program. Your name is Liu Angxing. You are here for the purpose of friendly exchange. You will probably only need to go a few times a week. I have done some research. Your medical skills are quite good. There shouldn't be any problem, right?"

"So why did you have to name me Liu Angxing? People who don't know better might think my cooking emits golden light. Although it does sometimes, it's a bit too ridiculous, isn't it?"

“No one will care, it’s just a disguise anyway.” Seeing that Fujino was still a little resistant, Vermouth added calmly, “Besides, the hospital will also pay you a salary. After all, it’s an exchange program, they won’t pay you too little.”

"You're getting paid? That's alright then." Hearing this, Fujino felt much better.

Vermouth wasn't surprised; she could only say that this guy was the type who wouldn't do anything without a profit.

She unzipped her blouse, pulled out a document, and handed it over, explaining, "This contains the general details and what you look like. With your disguise skills, you should be able to disguise yourself well..."

"If that doesn't work, I can help you."

"It's not necessary."

Fujino took the document, feeling that it was still warm. If he were a pervert, he might even smell a fragrance, but being non-perverted, he immediately felt a bit disgusted. After quickly putting it into his personal space, he picked up Kusuda Rikudo and carried him on his back.

"Then I'll take this guy to Beika Central Hospital first!"

(End of this chapter)