Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 499 Anya's battle record is verifiable

It's fortunate that Vermouth couldn't arrive in time due to the car accident. Otherwise, the way the five people died would have shown just how ruthless Natsukawa was, and Vermouth probably wouldn't have fared well even if she had arrived.

Baileys didn't attribute the car accident to Natsukawa because there was a van overgrown with weeds at the place where Vermouth had the accident. It wasn't the first time a car accident had happened there, and Natsukawa couldn't have arranged something like that so far in advance. So Vermouth must have just been unlucky.

Baileys shook her head inwardly; indeed, Vermouth had been having a run of bad luck lately.

One after another, they carried it on their backs.

It seems to have started from the time they attacked Joel.

Thinking of this, Baileys couldn't help but shudder.

Or should I just give up on having feelings for Joel? If I do, will I end up like Vermouth?
She had witnessed Joel's strength firsthand and had also heard from Hatsue Hiramoto that he was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

If all else fails, Joel can be the elder and she can be the younger.
On the way back to Tokyo, Natsukawa remained silent.

Frank sensed something was off and asked, puzzled, "Isn't Anya rescued? What are you still worried about?"

Even though Anya has been rescued, Xia Chuan should be happy now. Frank knows Xia Chuan fairly well, so this situation only means that there are still loose ends left.

Xia Chuan sighed softly: "It's true that Anya was rescued, but that also means my identity is not as safe as before. I might come into Vermouth's sights."

"why?"

“When Anya goes home, Vermouth will definitely hear about it. She doesn’t have evidence to prove whether those five people died at my or Joel’s hands, but she can definitely confirm that I was there. Otherwise, how do you explain Anya’s return home?”

"Train tracks?"

“That’s right. Although Amuro Tooru and Tequila both drive GTRs, if she does a little research, she’ll find out that I also drive a GTR.”

Xia Chuan was certainly aware of this problem long ago, but Anya's situation was urgent. He didn't have time to find a new car, and only his modified GTR could reach this location before Vermouth.

Frank suddenly realized, glanced back at Anya, his expression slightly serious, and after a moment's thought, gave his suggestion: "Actually, there are two ways."

"Tell me?"

"First, you drive your car into the river and then hack into the police traffic system to register an evening car accident. If Vermouth investigates you later, she will definitely find this car accident record and clear you of suspicion."

"Second, hide Anya for a while, and then bring her home a few days later. Tell her she was kidnapped, escaped while the kidnappers were fighting with someone else, and was then rescued by chance and was able to go home."

Xia Chuan shook his head; neither option was suitable.

The former is like taking off your pants to fart; it's not pooping, but you're still pooping in your pants.

Vermouth isn't so easily fooled; sometimes, too much of a coincidence can actually attract attention.

The latter is a good choice, but it would make it difficult to keep it a secret from Joel.

She was already worried that if Ai Haibara told Yoru, Yoru would think she was the one who harmed Anya and might even distance himself from her.

He didn't want Anya to suffer, nor did he want Joel to blame himself for this.

Anya must go home tonight, and as for Vermouth, she should think carefully about how to fool her.

Vermouth has an extremely keen eye for detail; if she wants to get away with it, she might have to use Gin as a shield.

But even if you use Gin as a shield and attribute this to Tequila's identity, how do you explain Anya being sent home?
"We haven't called the police about Anya's situation. Tomorrow, I'll use the excuse that Anya was frightened to let her rest at home for a day, and then go to the winery base to see if we can think of a way to get through this."

If all else fails, the worst that can happen is that I'll just come into Vermouth's sight. Xia Chuan didn't really want to come into Vermouth's sight, but that didn't mean that anything would happen if he did.

The "what's the use of taking drastic measures" argument is plausible, given that he was a special investigator for the Japanese National Tax Service. After discovering his daughter's location, killing a few unidentified kidnappers might not be entirely unreasonable.

Given her status as an IRS agent, Vermouth would never have imagined that it had anything to do with the brewery.

"Just make sure you know what's going on."

Frank didn't offer any further advice; when it came to planning, he couldn't compete with Xia Chuan.

It was past midnight when Xia Chuan finally brought Anya home.

Joel didn't know Anya had been kidnapped; he only knew that she had run away from home. When he saw Anya sleeping like a log, he just smiled gently.

“We still need to reduce her schoolwork. Anya is only five years old. Even if she hadn’t run away from home today, I was just about to tell you about this.”

Joel gently helped Xia Chuan take off his coat, like a tender wife. In her eyes, Xia Chuan only saw herself.

Every time Joel looked at him like that, he felt like all that Karasuma Renya, all that brewery secrets, all that immortality medicine—to hell with it all. He just wanted to find a place to settle down with Joel and be together forever.

However, it's not possible yet.

Joel has his own pursuits: fighting crime, serving the IRS, and his obsession with the distillery.

"They're both five years old, but Ai Haibara can already help Professor Agasa with his scientific experiments, while Anya can barely do addition and subtraction within 100. I don't know what she'll become if we don't correct this soon."

Xia Chuan waved his hand, not wanting to continue. Anya's record was verifiable; if a player who underperformed wasn't properly disciplined, he might become...
Xia Chuan thought for a moment, and finally came up with a suitable candidate – Yamamura Misao!

If Anya doesn't work hard, she'll probably end up like Yamamura Misao—a complete waste.

However, there is a fundamental difference between them. Yamamura Misao is incredibly lucky and can solve cases with ease. When faced with difficult cases, Conan can also help.

As for Anya, although she had her own help, her luck was... well, let's just say it wasn't great.

Her running away from home today is the best proof of that. At that time, several taxis passed by the door, but she chose to get into the car of a member of the winery's outer circle.

With that kind of luck, how could it not be bad?

Joel was somewhat at a loss for words in response to Xia Chuan's rebuttal.

No, I can't answer that.

You can't exactly tell Natsukawa, "Oh, Ai Haibara is actually eighteen years old, and she's got the Conan scholar aura on her head. She and Anya can't be weighed on the same scale at all."

She simply didn't know how to explain shrinking.

She's not very good with words, so she'll wait for Ai or Conan to explain. She'll just pretend she doesn't know and be surprised for a moment, and that'll be the end of it.

"Then let's ask for leave tomorrow. Anya is so tired, it's obviously not realistic for her to go to school tomorrow."

Xia Chuan had the same idea and quickly nodded.

To find out what happens next, we'll have to visit the distillery site first.

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)