Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 500 The Test of Vodka
Winery site.

Xia Chuan brought two bottles of vodka with him this time to express his heartfelt gratitude to the vodka brand.

Without vodka, he wouldn't have been able to pinpoint the locations of the outer members, let alone trick Vermouth.

Today I came to the distillery base for a stroll, partly to look for some opportunities, partly to see how serious Vermouth's injuries were, and partly to chat with Vodka.

Vodka is a valuable guy; he's the kind of guy you wouldn't kill even if you offered him your neck.

With this guy around, he can learn a lot about the distillery, mostly gossip, but there's also some useful information.

Drinking with vodka doesn't matter whether it's day or night. As long as there's alcohol, even if you have diarrhea, vodka can just pull up his pants and run out.

A fighting spirit among drunkards.

Xia Chuan even suspected that perhaps there was no need to bring vodka at all, in order to deal with the possible appearance of the Thorn Princess.

If he were to see Princess Thorn, he could easily cut his wrists and bleed out.

With this level of alcohol intake, the blood alcohol content is estimated to be quite high.

If you smear it all over Joel's face, Joel would probably get drunk.

After a few rounds of drinks, Vodka started talking about random gossip, and Xia Chuan didn't directly ask about Vermouth, but listened quietly to everything.

Although most of it is trivial, you can still hear some useful information from time to time.

For example, the deal between Amuro Tooru and the mayor of Nishitama, and the choice between Kusuda Rikudō and Kitano Yujin as the second candidate for promotion.

Kusuda Rikudo Natsukawa still remembered him. He had been wondering why the other person hadn't been selected. It turned out that he had been placed in the second batch of candidates for assessment.

As for Kitano Yujin, Natsukawa had no recollection of him at all. He had never heard of the name, neither in the original storyline nor after entering the brewery.

In fact, as soon as the unfamiliar name Homoto Ichiki appeared, Natsukawa had specifically checked the list of some of the organization's peripheral members.

However, the results were not good; not only Kitano Yujin, but also Kusuda Rikumichi and Homoto Ichiki could not be found.

Therefore, Natsukawa suspects that the candidate may have been singled out by Gin to prevent information leaks.

This behavior is a little surprising, but only slightly surprising.

It's true that Gin's headquarters in Japan is a one-man show, but there are still some people he can't control.

In particular, Vermouth and Amuro Tooru could only be asked for help by the two of them within a limited scope.

Shuichi Akai's example serves as a cautionary tale.

Therefore, it is essential to be on guard against others.

"Hehe, you probably haven't heard of these two people, have you?"

Vodka's eyes were glazed over, and he almost drooled. When he laughed, the smell of alcohol sprayed directly from his mouth, nearly suffocating Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan didn't respond, and Vodka didn't seem to mind. After taking a sip, he explained, "Kusuda Rikudo's identity was cleared out by us a few years ago. He's in charge of all the peripheral members' actions on Shikoku Island. You've only been in the inner circle for a short time, so it's normal that you don't know him."

Xia Chuan could sense that Vodka was quite satisfied with Kusuda Rikudo, and also had a bit of a boastful attitude.

In these situations, simply remain silent, and Vodka will continue to explain.

As expected, seeing that Xia Chuan only nodded without speaking, Vodka continued:

“After he took over the work in the four countries, my older brother and I were much more relaxed. Although he didn’t have particularly outstanding assassination skills, he was top-notch in interpersonal relationships and adaptability. He was an administrative or negotiation talent.”

"They seem pretty impressive, but right now, shouldn't our boss need top-tier assassins like us even more?"

Gin is currently lacking assassins who can carry out missions, but according to Vodka, Kusuda Rikumichi is clearly weak in this area. If he were promoted, it wouldn't actually be of much help to Gin. It would be better for him to stay in Shikoku and continue to lead the work.

"Perhaps my brother has his own reasons," Vodka said, shrugging to indicate that he didn't understand.

He let out a burp and continued, "Actually, Kusuda Rikudo has been following my elder brother for a long time and is regarded as a confidant by him. Otherwise, he would not have dared to send him to be the person in charge of Shikoku."

"so?"

Xia Chuan frowned, somewhat unsure of what Vodka was trying to express.

"Originally there was only one promotion spot, but because of Chianti's death, there might be an extra spot, so now the eldest brother is considering whether to let him be promoted directly."

"Then why were they ultimately placed in the second batch of candidates? Was it because they were worried that other peripheral members would be dissatisfied?"

"of course not!"

Vodka slammed his fist on the table: "In this tiny corner of Japan, whatever the boss says goes, and who dares to say a word?"

"The main thing to watch out for is the boss."

Vodka spoke somewhat furtively and only hinted at his meaning, but Xia Chuan still understood what he meant.

It's like the workplace; if Gin wants his trusted confidants to rise in rank, he also has to pay attention to the boss's attitude.

To put it bluntly, the brewery still belongs to Karasuma Renya. It wouldn't be appropriate for Gin to cultivate too many loyal followers. Even if the boss trusts him, Rum will definitely report it.

Given Vermouth's current relationship with Gin, it's not entirely impossible that she might tattle on him.

She might even use this as an excuse to form cliques and demand that the boss also give her a promotion.

This is not what Gin wanted to see. Vermouth already has two codenamed members under her command, which is a major hindrance to Gin.

"Then Kitano Yuujin, who was in the same batch as him, must also be very excellent, right?"

Vodka shook his head: "Kitano Yuujin is a rather strange guy. To be honest, I didn't know there was such a person in the organization before."

At this point, Vodka suddenly leaned close to Xia Chuan's ear furtively:

“I feel that Kitano Yujin is also a confidant of the eldest brother. The eldest brother often makes mysterious phone calls before. Sometimes there are too many things to handle between the eldest brother and me. But the eldest brother makes a phone call and the problem is solved in no time.”

According to Vodka's theory, Kitano Yujin should be a secret agent of Gin.

"It seems that both of them have a chance of being promoted this time, so you came to me with this question. Has your elder brother decided who will carry out the promotion mission? Also, what is the promotion mission?"

Vodka shook his head, then shrugged: "I don't know yet. My brother has been bothered by Vermouth to death these past two days, so the choice is still undecided. Without a decision, we can't confirm what the promotion mission is."

Xia Chuan nodded slightly, thinking to himself that Vermouth had finally been mentioned, and he could now continue the conversation on this topic.

"Vermouth is causing trouble for her older brother again. What's her excuse this time? Did she get arrested by the traffic police again?"

"No, that's not it. The reason seems to be related to you as well."

Vodka was clearly drunk, his thinking was sluggish, and it took him a long time to remember what he was going to say next.

"Vermouth seemed to be plotting something last night in the northern suburbs. I heard the operation didn't go well and someone sabotaged it. They suspect you were behind it based on the tire tracks left at the scene!"

"A wheel? Me, causing trouble?"

Xia Chuan rubbed his temples, and seeing Vodka's state, he suddenly realized, but he didn't express his understanding. Who knew if Vodka was pretending to be drunk to get information out of him, or if Gin was suspecting him.

This is a trap; whether you have insurance or not, don't jump in.

Seeing the puzzled look on Tequila's face, Vodka, whether unable to hold it in any longer or for some other reason, continued:
"Yes, my brother planted a spy next to Vermouth. Last night he said that Vermouth assigned him a mission."

Because he didn't know the specifics of the mission, his older brother didn't pay much attention. However, Vermouth came back in the middle of the night, kicked open his older brother's door, and unleashed a torrent of abuse on him, cursing his older brother and his ancestors for eighteen generations.

Even now, the eldest brother is still somewhat confused about Vermouth's actions last night. The undercover agent, along with the few peripheral members Vermouth had just recruited, have all disappeared without a trace, and there's no opportunity to ask them.

Vodka was clearly puzzled. "This morning we specifically checked the location records of those peripheral members and found that they stayed in the northern suburbs for a long time last night."

Upon arrival, I found numerous signs of a battle; those peripheral members must have died in the fight.

"What do these things have to do with me?"

Sometimes, Xia Chuan felt that Vodka talked a lot of nonsense, which was really annoying!

“At the scene, we found GTR tire tracks. According to Big Brother, Vermouth probably thought that her actions went wrong because Big Brother sent you to cause trouble.”

"By the way, where did you go last night?" Although Vodka still looked quite drunk, Xia Chuan saw a hint of cunning in his eyes.

"You doubt me?"

Xia Chuan looked indignant, took a swig of wine, and then said, "What else can I do? Of course I'm resting. My brother didn't assign me any tasks."

"If you don't believe me, you can take a look at my car later. I haven't washed it for a while. If I've been to the so-called suburbs, the soil and dust on the tires or the car body can definitely be tested to find the same substances as those found at the scene."

"Besides, if it were me, why would I drive my own GTR there? I could just rent or steal a car and hide my identity, right?"

Vodka nodded and patted Xia Chuan's shoulder forcefully: "That's what I told my brother too. Besides, how could you possibly know what Vermouth was up to? Bourbon is the real suspect."

"Uh"

Xia Chuan was somewhat at a loss for words.

So, Vermouth didn't connect it to Xia Chuan's identity?
Even if she didn't know, Baileys should have been quite aware of the oddity.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I'm going back to sleep. I was woken up by that crazy woman Vermouth in the middle of the night yesterday, and then I went to investigate those missing peripheral members. I haven't slept yet."

I feel much better after drinking; I'm going to go back to sleep for a while.

As he watched Vodka stagger away, Xia Chuan's smile gradually faded.

Was that a test?

I shouldn't have given myself away.

Does Vodka's behavior indicate that Gin has developed a crisis of trust in him?

(End of this chapter)