Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Among the current public security forces, Zhu Fujingguang is undoubtedly the one who knows Aniseite's methods best.

No matter whether it was the mission she carried out before being exposed, or the fact that she treated him the same as always after discovering his identity but set traps for him behind his back... the cruelty and cunning she displayed were enough to make him regard her as his number one enemy.

Because of this importance, Zhu Fujingguang fell into a state of extreme mental tension from the moment he saw the note marked with Aniseite.

He suspected that Anisette's target was more than just Eto. Her real target was still hidden under the fog...

“…That’s troublesome.”

His colleagues had no idea what he was thinking, and when they heard him point out the problem, they started complaining again.

"If we can't use special means and just conduct a normal interrogation, Kadokawa will never tell us the location honestly, given how much hatred he has for Eto."

"And their behavior at the end was also very strange. If they hated him so much, they could have just drowned him. Why did they put the dying Eto in a bucket at the end... What kind of bucket was that?"

As they had to go out to investigate clues, they did not continue to watch the live broadcast, but the colleagues who followed the live broadcast reported in real time every five minutes. After the live broadcast ended, they even sent the entire video.

Zhu Fu Jingguang did not answer. He lowered his head, opened his phone, and clicked on the video again.

This time he forced himself to forget about Aniseit temporarily and focus all his attention on the hooded man next to Kadokawa, carefully observing his every move.

Judging from his body shape, he should be a male. When I compared his height with mine when he stood next to the bench, he should be about the same height as mine.

He was wearing gloves and his hood was pulled tightly, not a single hair was exposed. He was very strong and could lift 70 kilograms of Eto with one hand and put it into the bucket...

Zhu Fu Jingguang looked at it and his eyes fell on the window above.

There was a small patch of sky visible there, and both the sky and the window sill were gray.

"........."

Something flashed through Zhu Fu Jingguang's mind.

He frowned slightly and looked out the car window. It was still raining outside, and the rain blurred the car window. He saw the street not far away through the glass.

Suddenly, a short figure ran over.

"That is……"

He recognized the other person's identity.

It's Edogawa Conan.

Zhu Fujingguang watched the boy running quickly across the square in front of Beihua Station, and a doubt arose in his mind.

Where is he going?

"Zhu Fu... Hey, Zhu Fu!"

Zhu Fujingguang suddenly regained his thoughts after hearing his colleague's shout. He turned his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What were you looking at just now? Staring outside?" The colleague frowned at being ignored, but quickly returned to the topic: "Forget it, I want to ask you, since you know Aniseite, can you guess where she would lock the person up?"

Zhu Fujingguang was stunned: "Let me guess?"

"Yeah." The colleague sighed, "Although the hooded man is responsible for locking people up, they still have to follow the instructions of the planner, Aniseit, as to where to lock them up, right?"

"Of all of us, you are the only one who has met her face to face in the past. Do you know her preferences?"

"What is her preferred weapon? Where does she like to keep people? How does she like to torture her enemies?"

Zhu Fu Jingguang fell silent after hearing this.

"Her preference..."

……

The places where Aniseit meets are not necessarily the organization’s bases; many of them are just ordinary occasions.

For example, this time, their meeting places were all high-end bars with some fame.

When Zhu Fu Jingguang arrived, he saw Aniseite sitting at the round table in the corner.

She was wearing a long black skirt that just covered her ankles. Her brown-gray hair was draped over her shoulders. She had fair skin, red lips, and a beautiful appearance. Even though she sat there quietly and didn't say anything, many people noticed her.

Zhu Fujingguang walked over, and as soon as he approached, the people who had been planning to chat with him left in a huff, and some of them even glared at him secretly, as if he had ruined something. He simply pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Would you like to have a cup of Scotch Scotch?" Anisette asked, smiling and greeting him. "I really like the taste of this. The more I taste it, the more I find it fascinating."

"..."

Zhu Fu Jingguang couldn't tell whether this was another sexual harassment from the dark workplace or a common invitation. He flipped through the wine list and said to the bartender who was waiting quietly at the side, "A glass of bourbon whiskey."

The bartender nodded and left.

The noise in the bar covered up the sound of footsteps in the distance. Zhu Fujingguang felt a little uncomfortable with such a noisy environment, but when he saw Aniset looking at him with one hand on his chin, he looked back politely.

"It's rare for you to go out with me, so why don't you dress up a little more handsomely? This outfit of yours is more tacky than Tequila." She commented on his ordinary hoodie.

Zhu Fu Jingguang said helplessly: "Sorry, I will pay attention next time. But now it's a date, so don't mention other men's names, okay?"

While communicating with the other party, he reviewed in his mind the reasons why he agreed this time.

He was curious and wary of Anisette and wanted to find out more about her, but he knew that if he was too attentive, it would definitely alert her. So he didn't always come when she was invited.

But this time he readily agreed, because his childhood friend, another public security officer named Rei Furuya who was working undercover in the organization, sent him an email asking him to ask about Aniseite's family problems indirectly - whether her father's mistress had come to Japan recently.

This kind of question is very private, and after asking for help, Fōtani Rei also solemnly reminded him that it’s okay if he can’t get the answer, and that his own safety should be the priority.

"What are you thinking about?"

When Zhufu Jingguang was thinking for a short while, Aniseite's voice came lightly.

Zhu Fu Jingguang smiled nonchalantly, "I was thinking about those men who came to chat with you just now. They are still looking here now."

Anisette turned his head slightly and looked in that direction: "Oh, that's really shameless."

Hearing this tone, Zhu Fu Jingguang was a little confused: "Did they... attack you just now?"

Will I have to help deal with the body later?

"No." Anisette turned her head again, reached down with her fingers, and threw a few things that were originally on her legs onto the table.

"It's just a little disgusting to see a married woman trying to flirt with him." She flipped the top one. "Oh, it seems like the wife is pregnant, which is even more disgusting."

"..."

Zhu Fu Jingguang silently lowered his gaze and saw a photo between the layers of the opened wallet. The woman in the center had a bulging belly and looked like she was almost full-term. There was a date printed below the photo, indicating that it was taken recently.

"Their stuff?" he asked in surprise.

"I just took it from them when they approached me just now."

Anisette, who stole multiple wallets at once, stared at the photo and muttered, "Looks like she'll give birth prematurely... She's not staying home now, but coming to the bar to have fun."

Her tone was calm, she closed her wallet, pressed it and swiped it gently. Several wallets flew out silently and fell at the feet of the people on the dance floor.

Zhu Fu Jingguang didn't know how she judged the other person's physical condition. He realized that this might be a good opportunity to inquire: "Are you disgusted?"

Aniseite snorted, "I don't care about outsiders' affairs. Gin, a man I know well, wouldn't do that. As for Goldwasser's affairs... I can't control them."

"..." Zhu Fujingguang carefully observed her expression and continued to ask tentatively: "Could it be that he also...?"

"He has about as many mistresses as the hair on his arms."

Anisette picked up the wine glass, drank the wine in the glass, and then winked at Zhu Fu Jingguang: "You can't learn from him, otherwise I will consider twisting your head off and making it into a special wine glass for Scotch whisky~"

Her tone was light and teasing. Zhu Fujingguang, who was still a long way from getting married and having children, felt a cool breeze on his back. He quickly braked: "Sorry, I offended you."

At this time, the wave of Zhu Fujing's light came, and Anicet stopped the bartender and asked him to serve another glass of Silver Bullet.

"Traditional recipe, gin and aniseed," she reminded.

The clueless bartender nodded again and left.

The intervention of outsiders eased the atmosphere between the two. Anicet watched Zhu Fujingguang drinking and asked, "Do you like bourbon?"

Worried that she would be interested in his childhood friend, Zhu Fu Jingguang put down his glass and answered truthfully: "It tastes sweet. I still prefer Scotch."

The two of them drank like this. Since this bar was not under the organization's name and there were no recent missions, they discussed things that had nothing to do with the organization. The atmosphere was harmonious, just like a meeting between ordinary friends.

Anisette was on her fourth glass of wine when she discussed her latest interests: "I've been into reading lately. I've read a few books and online novels. They're all quite interesting."

Zhu Fu Jingguang didn't mind discussing such harmonious topics. He continued, "Do you have any recommendations?"

"The ABC Murders, Malice, Curtain, and the latest one..."

"——"Japan's Nuclear Radiation Death Incident"

Hearing the last title of the book, Zhu Fujingguang subconsciously tightened his fingers around the wine glass.

Anisette seemed to have not noticed his reaction at all and began to introduce as if nothing had happened:
"It was a horrible accident. They treated a hopeless patient, knowing that he could not be saved, but still tried to prolong his life... Is this respecting life and human rights, or is it simply treating him as a guinea pig that can be observed at will?"

She drank the last of the wine in one gulp without hesitation.

Then she seemed not to want to drink anymore, so she took out her lipstick and makeup mirror from her bag and started to put on some lipstick.

Zhu Fujingguang wanted to see Aniseite's expression to judge whether the organization was interested in this, but he didn't expect that the moment his gaze moved over, it happened to meet hers.

A smile instantly spread across the green.

"Scotland." She suddenly said, "You are very handsome, so you should be very popular with women, right? Even if they have never met you face to face and have never understood your inner self, they will still like you fanatically?"

"........."

Zhu Fu Jingguang, who was inexplicably praised, sat up straight unconsciously, "Why are you asking this?"

In fact, he can say a lot of sweet words that can make people blush. When he was chosen as an undercover agent, he received professional training to deal with possible female targets.

However, his current image in the organization is that of a sniper who is ruthless, quiet, and does his job honestly. His skillful flirting with the opposite sex is a collapse of his image.

Especially he had to be considerate of Gin. That man had a fierce look in his eyes when he looked at Anicet's legs for a second longer than before. If something really happened, not to mention what she would do, he would definitely be in trouble.

"I was just thinking..."

She closed the lid, pinched the lipstick she had just used with two white fingers, and tapped Zhu Fu Jingguang's face.

Zhu Fu Jingguang, whose cheek was touched lightly, looked at her in confusion.

"You are so good-looking, I'm afraid there will be female writers who appreciate male beauty and spend hundreds of words to describe you so that people can recognize you at a glance."

She moved her fingers upwards, still not touching his skin directly, but her lipstick gently rubbed his lower lip.

Once again encountering sexual harassment from the dark workplace, Zhu Fu Jingguang, who was numb from the experience, looked at her calmly.

"You are beautiful too."

...It's not a compliment against one's will. Just looking at Anisette's face, she is indeed more beautiful than many celebrities he has seen. It's a pity that even admiring her beauty from a distance can easily lead to danger.

"I think there will also be..."

……

"...Zhu Fu? Zhu Fu?!!"

Zhu Fu Jingguang was awakened by the shouting beside him.

He felt a burning pain behind his ear, but when he came to his senses, the pain completely disappeared.

His gaze shifted, and his colleague looked at him with a worried look on his face: "You suddenly started to daydream just now. If you... can't figure it out, don't think about it. I'm not trying to embarrass you, I'm just asking. You don't have to be so embarrassed."

But Zhu Fu Jingguang sat up straight.

The memory was so clearly engraved in his mind that even if he closed his eyes, he could still completely restore Anisette's half-smile and her eyes staring at him.

"...You are right. I have known her before." Zhu Fu Jingguang said slowly, "Now I have a guess."

A terrible... guess. (End of this chapter)