Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Gin sat in a corner by the window in the restaurant, his fingertips lightly tapping the table.

He dislikes waiting, and even more so, he dislikes waiting for trading partners in such a noisy place.

While waiting, he saw a woman in business attire walk into the women's restroom.

The woman walked with a confident stride, her expression aloof and elegant—a typical urban white-collar worker.

Less than five minutes later, a little girl wearing overalls came out of there. She looked like a middle school student.

"Snapped!"

Gin suddenly slammed his hand on the table, startling Vodka.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Vodka asked in a low voice.

Gin stared intently in the direction of the women's restroom. "There should have been only one woman who went in just now."

Vodka looked towards the toilet, and then what?
Gin frowned and said, "But after that woman went in, only a girl who looked like a middle school student came out."

"Huh?" Vodka blinked, looking in the direction of the women's restroom.

"Brother, is it possible that there was a middle school girl in the toilet all along?" Vodka asked.

Could that door possibly allow one to travel through time and space, turning a woman into a girl?
Gin narrowed his eyes, picked up the whiskey on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.

He was getting impatient and kept staring at that spot to make sure no little girl had gone in.

"Keep an eye on that door and see if that woman comes out," Gin said.

"Yes!"

Vodka felt that his older brother was making a mountain out of a molehill.

How do you know there's no one inside?

But as the eldest brother said, what can the younger brother do besides obey?
But after watching for a while, no one came out.

Gin rubbed his temples.

Could it be that the recent workload and stress have caused my eyesight to deteriorate, making me mistake a girl for a young woman?
The dessert area of ​​the restaurant.

Mary Akai and Masumi Sera were sitting on a high chair.

A latte sat in front of Mary Akai, while Sera fiddled with a cake.

Looking at her mother, who had shrunk again, Sera smiled innocently.

Mary Akai showed no expression; these days, she had grown accustomed to the changes that could occur in her body at any time.

"Mom, does Shuichi really have something important to discuss with us?" Sera Masumi asked Mary, her voice tinged with doubt.

Mary nodded, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes: "Yes, he said in the email that it was something very important."

Shuichi Akai contacted her via email and invited her to this restaurant to discuss something very important.

However, due to Akai Mary's health condition, it was a bit dangerous for her to be out alone, so Sera Masumi was also called over.

Sera Masumi put down her fork: "What important matter is it? About the organization? Or the antidote?"

“I don’t know,” Mary Akai said. “He didn’t say.”

"Oh." Sera Masumi nodded.

"Di Di~"

Mary Akai glanced down at her phone, her expression suddenly tightening.

Sera Masumi noticed her mother's change and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"

Mary Akai did not answer. She picked up her coffee cup, took a small sip, but her gaze involuntarily drifted to a spot not far away.

Upon seeing two people dressed entirely in black, their gazes froze.

Although Gin was wearing sunglasses, she could still sense that familiar, dangerous aura.

“There are organized people in the restaurant, but they don’t seem to be after us,” she murmured.

"where?"

Sera Masumi asked in a low voice, her expression remaining unchanged, staring at Akai Mary without moving her head.

“Don’t worry, they haven’t spotted us, and they’re not coming for us,” Akai Mary said, her head bowed.

However, even though Gin and his group didn't come here for them, they couldn't stay here any longer.

Furthermore, Gin is very familiar with Shuichi, so if Shuichi appears here, he is very likely to be targeted by Gin.

So the mother and daughter ordered a few dishes hastily, ate a couple of bites, and then left as if nothing had happened.

Gin stared at that toilet for a long time, memorizing everyone who went in and everyone who came out.

But there was no first woman to go in.

"Brother, you can't be mistaken, can you?" Vodka said again.

Gin frowned.

Although he has some face blindness, he can still identify a person's identity from their hairstyle, body shape, and clothing.

Am I really seeing things?
Gin also became uncertain.

"Never mind, maybe I saw it wrong," Gin said.

Vodka nodded.

“Brother, you’ve been working too hard lately. After this transaction is completed, you should take a break,” Vodka said.

"We'll see," Gin replied casually.

But he still stared intently at the toilet, the doubt in his eyes still unresolved.

Vodka didn't seem to care.

She's just an unrelated woman. Even if they weren't mistaken, her being in the toilet the whole time has nothing to do with them.

Vodka!

"Huh? Yes!"

Upon hearing his older brother call him, Vodka immediately stood up, but realizing he was in a restaurant, he quickly sat back down, not wanting to attract attention.

Did you notice a high school-aged man go into the men's restroom?

"what?"

Vodka said quietly, "I didn't notice."

He began to have doubts.

What's wrong with my brother?
They're either focused on the women's restroom or the men's restroom.

“Just now, a high school boy in a school uniform wandered into the men’s restroom, but he hasn’t come out yet,” Gin said.

Vodka didn't understand, so what?
Gin continued, "Then a little boy came out of there, burping."

"what?"

Vodka stared at Gin in shock.

He came out burping.

This?
Is the food at the restaurant so bad that people are going to go inside...?

Gin looked at Vodka with a brooding expression and said, "Go inside and see if that high school student is still there."

"Yes!"

Although he was very confused about this inexplicable task, Vodka had no choice but to obediently carry it out.

After going to the restroom and checking each stall to make sure the high school student his older brother had mentioned wasn't there, Vodka finally came out.

He whispered, "Brother, there's no high school student you mentioned inside, and the ventilation window is so small that even a child couldn't squeeze through."

Gin rubbed his temples.

"Looks like I really did see things." He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

I've been under a lot of pressure lately, and I'm so upset that I'm making mistakes when I look at things.

Vodka quickly comforted his good older brother.

In a corner of the restaurant, Conan and Professor Agasa were sitting at a small round table.

A children's meal was placed in front of Conan, but he had no appetite at all.

"Professor, I'm planning to go to America for a while." Conan looked at Professor Agasa and said firmly.

Professor Agasa paused for a moment, then sighed: "Is it because of Ran?"

Conan nodded, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes: "I don't know how to face her now. She's becoming more and more suspicious of my identity."

I wasn't ready to be honest with her yet, so I had to go into hiding for a while.

Dr. Agasa was silent for a moment, unsure how to offer advice. Then he took out a small, exquisite box from his bag: "This is the latest tracking goggles; I've upgraded its signal strength. There are also some other pieces of equipment that I've upgraded, but they're still at home. I hope they'll be useful to you in America."

Once you're in the US, remember to message me every day.

Conan took the box and nodded solemnly: "I will, Professor."

"Alright," Professor Agasa said with a smile, "then let's begin to enjoy our meal."

Conan had little appetite and only shoved a few bites into his mouth. As his eyes darted around, he spotted a black Porsche outside the window.

"Doctor! Don't eat yet!" Conan said excitedly in a low voice.

"Huh? Why?"

Professor Agasa hadn't swallowed what was in his mouth yet, so his answer was mumbled.

Conan carefully extended his finger and pointed out the window.

"That black Porsche 356A outside is probably Gin's car."

"what?"

Conan, no longer caring about eating, stealthily approached the Porsche outside.

Gin stared silently at the toilet.

He took out his cigarette case, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

Amidst the swirling smoke, I wasn't sure if I was seeing things, or if the world had gone mad.

He's already misread it twice.

The restaurant's lighting remained dim, and the air was filled with the aroma of steak and red wine.

“Sherry…”

Gin's voice was terrifyingly deep, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Although the woman was wearing sunglasses that covered most of her face, her walking posture, her long brown hair, and her unique aloof temperament were still noticeable.

He looked exactly like the guy who betrayed the organization in his memory.

Vodka sat opposite him, engrossed in studying the menu, completely oblivious to his brother's odd behavior.

"Brother, the steak here looks good, want some...?"

"Shut up."

Gin suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

"How dare she show her face here..."

Gin grabbed the pistol from the table and rushed swiftly toward the women's restroom.

Vodka was so startled that he dropped the menu. "Hey? Bro? What's wrong?"

He rubbed his eyes and looked around. The restaurant was only filled with diners and busy waiters; there was no one suspicious at all.

Could they be enemies of the organization?

Or the FBI?

"Big brother! Calm down!" Although Vodka was slow-witted, he instinctively felt that his older brother was acting strangely today, being suspicious and paranoid.

Gin wouldn't listen to anything he was saying.

"Sherry is in the bathroom."

"Huh?" Vodka was taken aback.

He didn't actually believe it. His older brother had already misread it twice today, which proved that something was wrong with his brother's condition. He was either seeing things or hallucinating.

It's probably an eye problem again this time.

But the eldest brother's obsession with the traitor ran too deep.

"This time, we absolutely cannot let you get away."

Gin kicked open the door to the women's restroom, completely disregarding that this was a public place and whether he would cause a commotion.

"Uh~"

As Gin rushed into the women's restroom, he bumped into a little girl who was walking out of the room.

But such a small child couldn't possibly be Sherry, and Gin didn't take her seriously, letting her walk away directly.

"Sherry! Come out!"

He held up his pistol, his sharp eyes scanning each cubicle.

Xiao Ai's pupils contracted outside the door, her body trembled, and she left without looking back.

Inside the restroom, there was only silence in response, followed by terrified screams coming from the stalls.

"Ah!! There's a pervert!!"

Several female customers who were touching up their makeup screamed and ran out. Inside the cubicles, screams erupted as people opened their doors, covered their heads, and ran out.

Gin stood in front of the empty sink, his brow furrowed.

None of the women who ran out earlier had brown hair, and their height and build were unlike Shirley's.

He clearly saw her come in, how could she have disappeared?
Just then, the door to one of the cubicles opened.

Vodka, panting, caught up and grabbed Gin's arm: "Big brother! What are you doing! This is the women's restroom! You'll be arrested as a pervert!"

"Impossible... I definitely got in..."

Gin rubbed his eyes, feeling like he was really hallucinating.

“Brother, why don’t we go out first? The security guards will be coming in soon,” Vodka said.

Although they are not afraid of security guards, they are afraid of losing face.

Forcing your way into the women's restroom is a really bad thing.

"Let's go, Vodka."

Gin holstered his pistol, turned and left, his back view appearing somewhat stiff.

"I misread it," Gin said coldly.

Vodka scratched his head, puzzled. "Oh... well, maybe my brother's been too tired lately."

As he walked out of the restroom, Gin couldn't help but look back.

"Brother, the trading partner has arrived."

Vodka pointed to a dark figure at the doorway and said.

Gin snapped out of his thoughts.

Vodka was thinking about how to tactfully advise his older brother to see a doctor.

My older brother is experiencing hallucinations far too frequently.

In less than an hour, he had hallucinated three times, and even "saw" Sherry.

If we "see" it a few more times, it will cause far too much trouble.

The person who came to make the deal walked straight over after seeing Gin.

"Sorry, there was traffic on the way, I'm a little late," the man said.

Normally, anyone who dares to be late to Gin's place won't get away with it.

But Gin wasn't in a good mood today; he even fell into self-doubt and didn't make things difficult for that person.

Seeing that his older brother was unwilling to speak, Vodka said, "Then we..."

"Where is the pervert?"

In the midst of their conversation, a group of security guards carrying sticks rushed in.

The leader scanned his surroundings menacingly.

That's incredibly audacious! Someone actually dared to force their way into the women's restroom in broad daylight. It's utterly lawless.

Vodka glanced over there and muttered to himself, "This is troublesome."

He whispered in Gin's ear, "Big brother, what about us?"

"Let's go," Gin said.

He also didn't want to get entangled with these people.

Although it's easy to beat these people into submission, it's not dignified.

Just as Gin and Vodka were thinking of leaving discreetly, a strikingly handsome guy stepped forward.

Zheng Yi pointed at them and said, "Those two men dressed entirely in black forced their way into the women's restroom." (End of Chapter)