Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

The night was as dark as ink, and the rain poured down.

Gin's black Porsche sat quietly in the shadow of the containers at the abandoned dock.

This is a dead end in Tokyo Bay. Apart from the howling wind and the noise of rain hitting the metal roof, there is no sign of any living person.

The rain was lashing the windshield relentlessly. The wipers were moving at top speed, but they still couldn't keep up with the thickness of the accumulated rainwater, and the view was a blur of water.

Inside the car, only the dashboard emitted a faint green light, reflecting on Gin's gloomy face, which looked as if it could drip water.

He remained silent for a long time, the half-smoked cigarette between his fingers long since extinguished, but he seemed oblivious, letting the cold cigarette butt burn his fingers.

He is reviewing the situation.

How exactly did Zheng Yi discover that he wasn't Vermouth?
Was it that lame excuse?

Or was it the murderous intent he himself revealed in the email?
It seems that Vermouth and Shoichi's collusion is much deeper than I imagined.

That woman appeared to be obedient within the organization, but secretly she and Zheng Yi had long been in cahoots.

Even the scene where she snatched the phone in the car just now might have been a charade staged by her and Zheng Yi.

"Still haven't found it?" he asked coldly, his voice sounding as if it had been pulled from an ice cellar.

Vodka shrank his neck, his fingers flying across the laptop keyboard, his forehead covered in cold sweat, unsure whether it was from nervousness or the car's heater being too strong.

"Brother, their firewall... is too strong. Our people were reverse-tracked the moment they made contact, and their IP addresses were immediately locked. And..."

"And what?" Gin narrowed his dangerous eyes, his gaze sweeping across Vodka's face like a knife.

"And it seems...it seems they're deliberately misleading our signals." Vodka's voice trembled, his fingers frozen on the keyboard, afraid to move.

"Brother, should we retreat first? Zheng Yi is so elusive, what if he really..."

"Withdraw?" Gin sneered, tapping his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, making a dull "thump, thump" sound. "I want to see what tricks he can pull."

Before he could finish speaking, the laptop screen suddenly flickered.

Immediately afterwards, the complex code interface disappeared instantly, and the screen turned into a blinding pure white.

A huge, mocking smiley face emoji suddenly popped up and took up the entire screen.

The smiling face grinned, its eyes narrowed into slits, as if silently mocking them.

Damn it!

Vodka exclaimed in surprise, trying to force a shutdown, only to find that the power button was malfunctioning, and even the battery latch seemed to be welded shut.

"Don't move."

Gin stopped Vodka from unplugging the power cord.

His eyes were fixed on the screen, and the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Just then, the Porsche's car audio system suddenly turned on automatically, followed by a buzzing sound of electricity.

Zheng Yi's nonchalant, lazy voice rang out clearly in the cramped carriage.

"Mr. Gin, it's so late and you're still not asleep, with a driver standing in the wind at the dock. Are you waiting for me? It's raining so hard, be careful not to catch a cold, that would be a loss."

Gin's face instantly turned ashen. He looked up sharply at the dark rain outside the car window, his hand already gripping the handle of his pistol.

"Zhengyi!" he growled.

"Oops, we've been found out."

With a soft laugh, the row of searchlights above the dock, which had been dimly lit, suddenly lit up with a "snap".

A blinding white light instantly tore through the rain, focusing precisely on the roof of the Porsche.

The bright light made Gin squint slightly.

He pushed open the car door and strode out into the heavy rain, his black trench coat fluttering in the wind and instantly soaked through.

At the top of that row of containers, a figure was standing there.

The man was wearing a dark gray overcoat, the hem of which was fluttering in the wind.

Beside him stood Curaçao, her face stern, holding an umbrella and seemingly a steaming beverage, looking down at Gin with great interest.

Vodka quickly got out of the car and followed behind Gin, letting the heavy rain pelt him.

He wiped the rain off his face while inwardly groaning.

My older brother actually asked me to hack into Zhengyi's network to find Shirley's location.

Shoichi is such a large conglomerate that it controls half of Tokyo's economic lifeline.

It would be strange if the internet were so easy to hack.

Now that he's been tracked down by both sides, it was all within Vodka's expectations. He just prays that his older brother won't take his anger out on him.

"Seiichi!" Gin raised his gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two gunshots pierced the night sky, their echoes reverberating over the empty dock.

However, the bullets struck the metal of the container, sending up a string of sparks, but they were still a long way from Zheng Yi's position.

"Still as irritable as ever." Zheng Yi's voice came through the loudspeaker, tinged with helplessness. "I told you, I'm not up there."

Gin's pupils contracted, but without the slightest hesitation, he waded through the rain and rushed up the container's stairs.

"Vodka! Hold the line! Don't let him get away!" Gin shouted as he charged up the hill.

"yes, Sir!"

Vodka quickly flanked from the other side, holding a shotgun but not daring to load it, for fear of accidentally injuring someone he shouldn't.

The wind was stronger at the top of the container, and the raindrops stung my face.

Gin rushed to the top, only to find it deserted.

Only a pair of headphones hung on the railing at the edge of the container, buzzing with electrical current.

"What about people?"

Gin looked around, but there was only darkness and torrential rain; not a soul was in sight.

"Are you looking for me?"

Zhengyi's voice suddenly rang out behind him.

Gin whirled around, pointing his gun directly at the source of the sound.

However, the person standing there was not Zheng Yi, but a bodyguard-like figure dressed in a black suit.

The man was carrying a briefcase and had a standard professional smile on his face, as if he were the manager of a high-end office building.

“Mr. Gin, Mr. Shoichi said that he should have personally entertained you. But he is busy putting his sister to sleep right now and doesn’t have time to play hide-and-seek with you.”

The man placed his briefcase on top of the container, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in a calm tone, as if reciting lines.

Gin stared intently at the man, his eyes chillingly sinister: "Are you part of the organization?"

The man paused for a moment, seemingly surprised that Gin would ask that question, then nodded.

In fact, he was transferred to Zhengyi's security company by Gin's transfer order.

And then, everything was fine.

Mr. Zhengyi treats his subordinates extremely well; they'll go through fire and water for him, boss.

Gin's face turned ashen. He could tell he had been tricked, and tricked by Shoichi and this traitor in tandem.

The man continued, but his tone softened, carrying a hint of admonition, "Gin, does this one email prove you're planning to start your own business?"

Gin frowned and subconsciously took out his phone.

A new email was displayed prominently on the screen.

Gin, I'm willing to support you as the organization's new boss.

The sender's address was disguised in multiple ways, but the arrogant tone was definitely genuine.

Gin's fingers tightened slightly.

If the boss sees this email, it won't have any impact on me.

So, Zheng Yi was telling himself that those so-called emails had no effect on him whatsoever.
That arrogant guy. "So, Zheng Yi means that Vermouth's emails are all fake?" Gin narrowed his eyes, his voice low and terrifying.

“Of course.” The man nodded, looking sincere. “Mr. Zhengyi has not sent any emails containing information to Vermouth.”

Vermouth, that woman, always likes to do some inexplicable things; you don't need to believe her.

Mr. Zhengyi absolutely did not harbor Sherry.

Gin stared into the man's eyes, trying to find a trace of a lie.

But there was only calm in those eyes.

"Get lost," Gin uttered through gritted teeth.

The man breathed a sigh of relief, quickly picked up his briefcase, turned and left, his movements so swift they didn't seem like those of a bodyguard.

Seeing his appearance, Gin became even angrier.

This guy has lost the fighting spirit of an organization member; he's been spoiled rotten by Zheng Yi!

Gin stood still, letting the torrential rain wash over his body.

Did you ruin it?
Was Sherry also raised like this by Masakazu?
As Gin watched the man disappear down the stairs and listened to Vodka's anxious shouts from below, the anger in his heart gradually subsided.

"Big brother!" Vodka climbed up, panting, soaked to the bone like a drowned rat. "Where...where is he?"

Gin didn't speak. He turned around and looked at Vodka with cold eyes.

"Drive." He gritted his teeth and squeezed out the two words.

"Where to?" Vodka asked cautiously.

"Go back to base."

Gin opened the car door, his black trench coat covered in mud.

Vodka got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and the Porsche sped into the vast, rainy night.

Vodka.

"Yes!"

Gin asked in a cold voice, "Does Zhengyi have any companies related to pharmaceuticals?"

“No,” Vodka said with absolute certainty.

He was very familiar with Zheng Yi.

He knew everything about Zheng Yi.

Gin turned his head, and Vodka whispered, "Although Shoichi doesn't have it, the Sumitomo Group does."

"Oh?"

Gin nodded.

He realized that Sherry wasn't hiding with Masakazu, but rather inside Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals.

Hehe~
Gin fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and was about to light it when he realized that the cigarette in his pocket was already soaked by the rain.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in the Zheng family's villa, Zheng Yi was comfortably leaning back on the sofa, holding a glass of cola in his hand.

Ai sat next to him, hugging a cushion, looking at him warily and angrily: "Are you crazy?!"

She was sleeping soundly in her bedroom when that bastard Zheng Yi suddenly barged in.

Because her older sister had been staying in the villa these past few days, she mistook her for her sister and, still half-asleep, hugged her.

Only after realizing that the person hugging her had no breasts did she realize that she had hugged the wrong person.

Before she could even shout "Catch the pervert!", Zheng Yi dragged her out.

Zheng Yi smiled and ruffled her hair. "I have something important to discuss with you."

"It's really important that it's really good," Ai said, squinting her eyes.

If it's a question like "What should I eat for breakfast tomorrow?", then I can only suggest you eat some delicious chemical supplements.

"Gin knows I'm harboring Sherry."

Ai: ! ! ?
Masaru told Ai everything that had happened since Vermouth.

Xiao Ai swallowed.

"So, when we went out, Gin was following us closely?" Ai asked.

“That’s what Vermouth said.” Masato nodded. “And Gin investigated me today, but I managed to retaliate.”

He petted Ai like he was petting a cat.

“But don’t worry too much, you haven’t been completely exposed yet,” Zheng Yi said.

But how far are we from being exposed?
Ai asked, "Was Vermouth doing this on purpose?"

Zheng blinked. "What makes you say that?"

"Why would she send you that kind of email in Gin's car?!" Ai asked.

She didn't understand, she really didn't understand.

He was sitting right behind Gin, sending those kinds of emails to Shoichi.

This was the closest she ever came to being exposed, and the reason was still so outrageous that Ai Haibara found it hard to accept.

Ai stretched out her little paw and scratched, mimicking Gin's action of snatching a phone.

With such a simple grab, he almost exposed himself.

Is that correct?
“She probably didn’t do it on purpose,” Zheng Yi explained for Vermouth.

"Ha." Ai sneered. "Do you still need to explain for her? If this isn't intentional, then what is?"

She was starting to suspect that Zheng Yi and Vermouth were having an affair.

Vermouth's behavior is so blatant, you can even offer an explanation for it.

“Vermouth is just looking for thrills,” Zheng Yi said.

Ai: ?
Seeking thrills?

Zheng Yi said, "I understand Vermouth very well. I also often send emails to Gin in front of Conan."

I prefer talking to you on the phone in front of Gin.

Ai: ? ? ?
Did you call me in front of Gin?
When? How come I didn't know?
Why are you so bold? Aren't you afraid of exposing me?

Zheng Yi said in a serious tone, "We just love that feeling of being exposed at any moment, of... cough cough, that kind of exciting feeling."

Ai's eyes widened.

She felt that Zheng Yi was very improper.

"Where are you going?" Zheng Yi grabbed Ai, who was trying to slip away.

Ai shook her arm: "I want to go back to sleep."

"Aren't you worried about Gin at all?" Shoichi asked.

Ai shook her head.

That's something you should be worried about. If Gin catches me, the worst that can happen is I die.

"Don't bother me." Ai yawned, then stared sharply at Masakazu and said:

"Also, you're not allowed to make copies of my bedroom key anymore!"

Ai's finger was pointing at Shoichi's face.

She locked the door before going to bed, and gave the only key back to her sister.

"You're so carefree, you can even fall asleep like this." Zheng Yi squeezed Xiao Ai's fingers.

He felt that Ai was probably terrified, which was why she started talking nonsense.

So Zheng Yi said with concern, "Why don't I sleep with you? You don't seem to be thinking straight." (End of Chapter)