I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 726 Noah's Ark (1st Update)
The blinding white light and deafening explosions still raged behind us, while chaotic screams and sirens mingled into a perfect background noise.

Shiraishi E gripped Vermouth's wrist tightly, and relying on her instantaneous judgment of the terrain from memory, she plunged into the edge of the crowd of onlookers, who were now even more agitated by the explosion, like a cheetah breaking free of its cage.

Using the crowd as cover, they moved quickly, cleverly avoiding the sight of the police who were trying to maintain order but were too busy to do so themselves.

With a few clean turns, we passed through narrow alleys and merged into the bustling crowd on another street, leaving the chaotic blockade area behind us far behind.

The two tacitly avoided speaking, simply continuing to move until they were sure no one was following them, at which point they slowed down in front of a corner café.

Vermouth pushed open the heavy glass door first, and the bell rang crisply.

The rich aroma of coffee and the languid jazz music inside the shop created a stark contrast to the life-or-death race outside.

She found a booth at the back and sank into the soft sofa, finally letting out a long, genuine sigh of relief, as if she were expelling all the tension and pent-up emotions from her chest.

She casually ordered an Americano from the waiter who followed her, and then said to Shiraishi E sitting opposite her, "Phew... I finally managed to get the first step done, albeit barely. I didn't expect that just this first step would be so difficult; I almost gave up."

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi E frowned slightly, her face showing undisguised surprise: "First step? Didn't you already successfully get the USB drive out?"

"Logically, the next step is simply to find a secure computer, plug it in, and read the data, right? Wouldn't that be the end of it?"

Vermouth looked at his matter-of-fact expression, shook her head helplessly, her eyes showing a kind of "he really is a tech novice" tolerance and a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

She picked up the coffee the waiter had just brought, blew on it gently, and patiently explained, "You're oversimplifying the organization. How could something so important be like a regular USB drive, just plug it in and it works?"

She put down the cup and tapped the table lightly with her slender fingers: "If we compare this specially made USB drive to an extremely complex lock, then we have only obtained the 'lock' itself. To open it, we still need the uniquely matched 'key'."

Seeing Shiraishi E's thoughtful expression, she continued, "Ordinary computers, even the highest-spec personal PCs, simply cannot recognize the hardware interface of this USB drive, let alone read the encrypted data inside. It requires the use of specific, modified, and authorized terminal equipment within the organization."

Shiraishi took a sip of his latte, the warm liquid soothing his tense nerves. He cut straight to the point: "So, where is this 'key,' that specific computer?"

Vermouth shrugged and spread her hands, saying, "Unfortunately, I don't know the exact location either."

This answer left Shiraishi speechless. He put down his coffee cup, his tone incredulous: "You don't know? You risked being hit by a helicopter and surrounded by the police to steal a USB drive you don't know how to open? What are we going to do with it? Just for decoration?"

Faced with Shiraishi E's questioning, Vermouth was not angry at all. Instead, she revealed a cunning and confident smile, like a fox who had succeeded in its scheme.

“Don’t rush. I don’t have the original key to open this lock, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have other ways to open it.” Her fingertips tapped rhythmically on the table. “Sometimes, solving problems doesn’t necessarily require following the rules.”

Shiraishi E immediately understood her intention, her eyes sharpening: "You mean... you want to pick the lock?"

“Bingo!” Vermouth snapped her fingers crisply, looking at him approvingly. “Brilliant! That’s right, I’m going to force this lock open! Of course, it’s absolutely impossible to budge it in the slightest with those ordinary hacking programs or cracking tools available on the market.”

"I need a powerful and special 'tool'—something that can be called a 'super program'—to pry open this solid digital defense!"

“Super program?” Shiraishi E was unfamiliar with the term. “What is that? I’ve never heard of it.”

Vermouth smiled mysteriously, downing the rest of her coffee in one gulp, as if replenishing her energy for the upcoming operation. "You don't need to know too many details for now. Go back and rest for a few days to recover your strength. We'll talk about it when the time is right..."

She stood up, looking down at Shiraishi E with a meaningful gaze. "I will naturally come to 'trouble' you again. After all, picking locks is hard work and requires a reliable helper."

After saying that, she didn't linger, turned around and left the coffee shop with elegant and quick steps.

Shiraishi E sat alone in a booth, slowly finishing the rest of her coffee, the word "super program" echoing in her mind.

He took out his phone, his fingers swiping rapidly across the screen as he tried to search for relevant information.

After some filtering and searching, in some deep web forums and obscure technical documents, he finally found a specific name closely associated with this concept—Noah's Ark.

The moment she saw the name, Shiraishi E understood everything.

—————————— Consciousness seemed to struggle to rise from the bottomless abyss.

Conan's eyelids twitched a few times before he finally opened them slowly.

What greets the eye is a blinding white expanse, and the unmistakable smell of disinfectant permeates the air.

He blinked blankly, taking a full few seconds to realize that he was lying in an unfamiliar hospital room with an IV drip attached to the back of his hand.

What happened? How did I get here?

A wave of dizziness, a mixture of confusion and wariness, washed over me.

His last fragments of memory remained in that skyscraper: chaos, gunshots, and... some kind of intense shock?

Just then, a doctor in a white coat and a nurse walked in. Seeing that he had woken up, they smiled kindly and began to ask him in fluent English how he was feeling, what his name was, and how he got injured.

Conan's internal alarm bells rang loudly.

With the situation unclear, especially given the involvement of that organization and Vermouth, revealing one's identity would be extremely dangerous.

Almost instinctively, his face immediately filled with the bewilderment and helplessness of a child. He shook his head vigorously, speaking rapidly in Japanese, "Where am I? I'm so scared... I can't understand what you're saying..."

The doctor and nurses looked at each other, trying to communicate with simpler English words and gestures, but Conan just kept repeating "I don't understand" and "I don't get it" in Japanese.

The language barrier brought the communication to a standstill. The doctor sighed helplessly and made some notes on the medical record board. The nurse also seemed somewhat at a loss.

At this awkward moment, the ward door was gently pushed open.

Shiraishi E appeared at the door, carrying a paper bag in his hand, his expression calm, as if he were just an old friend visiting someone in the hospital.

He first glanced at Conan, who looked "pitiful" on the hospital bed, then turned to the doctor and nurse and said in extremely fluent and natural English, "Doctor, nurse, thank you very much for taking care of me. He is my friend, named Conan."

He smoothly fabricated a reasonable explanation, his tone carrying just the right amount of apology: "I'm so sorry to have caused you trouble. We were visiting that company before, but we didn't expect that to happen... I came over immediately after I finished dealing with the emergency."

As he spoke, he calmly took out the medical bills that had already been settled from his pocket and showed them to the medical staff. "I have already paid all the bills."

Seeing that a "family member" who could communicate with them had appeared and that the issue of expenses had been properly resolved, the doctors and nurses visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

They gave a few more brief instructions, then left the ward without saying anything more.

The moment the door closed, the atmosphere in the ward changed instantly.

Shiraishi E tossed the paper bag to Conan, inside which was a set of clean clothes that fit him. "Alright, stop pretending. How are you feeling? If you can move around, put on your clothes, we should go."

Conan immediately dropped his bewildered expression, his eyes becoming sharp and urgent.

As he quickly and efficiently changed out of his hospital gown, he lowered his voice and bombarded the room with questions: "What happened after I passed out? Where is Vermouth? How did you escape? Were you followed by the police? What happened inside the building afterwards?"

Shiraishi leaned against the window, her gaze sweeping across the street below to confirm it was safe. Then, she gave a concise account of what had happened next—how she used stun grenades to create chaos, how she managed to blend into the crowd and escape the cordon, and how Vermouth had escaped safely.

He then talked about the USB drive and "Noah's Ark".

Conan listened, his brows furrowed, and said, "Noah's Ark? What's that... Never mind, let's investigate it slowly when we get back."

He quickly tied his shoelaces, looked up, his eyes regaining their usual composure, sighed, and said, "Now, let's go get something to eat... I've been up all morning, I'm starving."

(End of this chapter)