Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

The two men crept stealthily to the launch bay at the stern of the submarine.

There is no one here.

Naomi didn't want to say anything anymore.

Such an important place, yet no one is guarding it. Aren't they afraid some strange guys might sneak in?

"This is it."

Ai lowered her voice and said, her eyes quickly locking onto the control panel next to the launch tube.

She took a deep breath, her mind replaying the live lesson that Vodka, that "wise man," had just given Kiel.

"First, we need to open the gate inside the launch tube."

She stood on tiptoe, stretched out her small hand, and precisely grasped the eye-catching green lever.

This lever is one that Vodka has repeatedly emphasized, so it shouldn't be wrong.

"and many more!"

Naomi quickly grabbed Ai's hand, stopping her from doing anything further.

"What's wrong?" Ai asked.

Naomi said, "Do you really trust the person who kidnapped us?"

Entrapment! Entrapment!

Perhaps he's talking about incorrect teaching methods.

If you do as he says, you might get blown up.

"It's not surprising that that simpleton would tell the truth," Ai said.

Naomi's attempts to stop her were futile.

As Ai pulled down hard, a dull mechanical clicking sound rang out, and the heavy, circular hatch inside the launch tube slowly slid open to both sides, revealing the dark cavity.

"Go inside quickly!"

Ai put on her diving gear and pulled Naomi into the narrow pipe.

As soon as they entered, Ai quickly pressed the closing button next to her, and the hatch closed tightly again, completely isolating them from the interior of the submarine.

Immediately afterwards, Ai found the yellow water-filling button and pressed it without hesitation.

Seawater surged in from the valves all around, and the icy water quickly washed over her ankles and knees. The chill of the seawater made Naomi shiver.

"Don't be afraid, we can only go out once the water pressure is balanced." Ai held Naomi's arm tightly and calmly reassured her in waist-deep water.

Naomi was helpless.

Why is she being taken care of by a little girl?
"it is good."

Naomi shrank closer to Ai, seeking a sense of security.

As the water level inside the pipe continues to rise, the water pressure outside gradually becomes equal to that inside the pipe.

Ai reached out again and forcefully pulled the green lever on the inside, opening the hatch on the outside.

the other side.

Zhengyi also arrived at the submarine and knocked over the vodka breakfast.

"Where's Ai?"

Vodka glanced at the breakfast on the floor, then at Zheng Yi's angry face, shrank back in his chair, and muttered:

“Your sister was kidnapped by Binga, she has nothing to do with me.”

Zheng Yi said, "You're not going to participate in the orders given by that bastard Gin?"

Vodka remained silent.

As the eldest brother's most loyal subordinate, it was indeed rather unusual for him not to carry out his brother's mission.

He said softly, "But the one in charge is Binga. He's the one who kidnapped your sister. I'm just his driver, driving him around."

He's an experienced driver; driving is his full-time job within the organization.

So, that statement makes a lot of sense.

Zheng looked at Kiel, who turned back and said, "I don't know. I stayed inside the submarine the whole time and didn't participate."

Vodka gritted his teeth.

This Kiel, after being in the organization for so long, hasn't learned anything else, but he's quite good at shifting blame, which has allowed him to absolve himself of responsibility.

Vodka chuckled and said, “Cointreau, don’t be angry. We called your sister over because we have something to ask her. She’s being taken good care of and just had breakfast.”

As he spoke, he glanced again at the breakfast that Zheng Yi had knocked over on the ground.

He hadn't even eaten yet, and he was already sending breakfast to your sister.

This is not the kind of treatment hostages should receive.

"breakfast?"

Zheng Yi frowned and asked, "Then why didn't you prepare one for me? Is this how you treat your guests?"

Zheng Yi was very angry and threw the vodka hat on the ground again.

Vodka restrained himself, vodka was furious, vodka was almost at his breaking point, vodka was about to explode, but vodka chose to endure it.

"Kier! Go get breakfast!"

Kiel's lips twitched, and he turned around to get a breakfast for Zheng Yi.

As Zheng Yi ate his steamed buns and drank his porridge, he finally felt a little better.

Yes, people tend to be irritable when they're hungry, but he's usually very kind.

Of course, it was also because Ai had been arrested that he was very anxious, which is why he became a little irritable.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zheng Yi let out a burp: "Take me to see Ai."

"it is good."

Vodka walked in front, with Kiel following expressionlessly beside him. The two of them led Zheng Yi straight toward the room where the hostages were being held.

"It's just ahead. We're mainly detaining that engineer named Naomi. We really didn't intend to detain your sister."

As he spoke, Vodka reached out and pushed open the heavy metal hatch.

However, the moment the door opened, all three of them were stunned.

At least, Vodka and Kiel appeared stunned.

Ai and Naomi, who should have been tied up, have vanished without a trace.

In the empty room, only two pieces of thick rope remained, dangling limply from the armrests of the chair.

"Where...where is he?!" Vodka's eyes widened, and he rubbed his face in disbelief.

Kiel raised an eyebrow and glanced at the vodka.

Who says this vodka is stupid? This vodka is too smart.

Her gaze swept around, and she said in surprise, "What happened? Where did they go?"

Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow but did not immediately become angry.

He walked around the room, picked up the rough, thick rope, and felt grief and indignation.

Is this the kind of rope you're using to tie up my Ai-chan?
She's just a child! How could you treat her like this? It's outrageous!!
When Kiel saw Zheng Yi pick up the rope and noticed the contemplative expression on his face, his heart skipped a beat, and he silently took a step back.

"You've gone too far!"

Two thick ropes were thrown from Zheng Yi's hands, one hitting Vodka's face and the other hitting Kiel's feet.

Kiel breathed a sigh of relief.

Luckily I dodged quickly, otherwise I would have ended up like vodka.

"You tied up my Ai with such thick rope? Is this how you treat a cute and harmless little girl?" Zheng Yi angrily questioned.

Vodka's anger surged, but he suppressed it.

He said weakly, "This rope is for tying up that engineer named Naomi, and that ribbon is for tying up your sister."

He picked up the ribbon, gave it a gentle tug, and it snapped in two.

Such soft straps won't hurt at all when used to tie someone up.

Seeing Vodka's aggrieved look, Zheng Yi still said with dissatisfaction, "Do you really have to tie her up? Can't you just leave her alone? She's just a child!"

Vodka didn't dare to say a word.

Even if we tie her up, she'll still run away now. If we don't tie her up, things will only get worse.

With Zheng Yi standing there, he didn't dare to directly send people to search where the two women had run off to.

Shoichi continued to wander around the room, trying to find evidence that his beloved Ai was being abused there. Soon, he found that evidence again.

He looked at the food scraps on the ground and said with great dissatisfaction:
"You're just going to make my sister eat garbage?"

"what?"

Vodka was initially puzzled, but when he saw the food scraps on the ground, he felt grief and indignation.

This is food scraps, okay?

It's not even what your sister left over; it's the crumbs that fell off when your sister was feeding Naomi.

Vodka started missing his breakfast that Zheng Yi had spilled.

"Look at this, is this food for humans?!" Zheng Yi asked.

Vodka remained silent.

This person is being unreasonable.

The food he ate was all leftovers after Ai had chosen them, and even those were overturned by Shoichi.

Vodka was furious.

Vodka's raging anger was quelled.

Forget it, I won't stoop to Zheng Yi's level.

This person is unreasonable, and it's normal for him to be upset because his sister is missing.

Vodka said, "Your sister is missing. Should we send people to look for her?"

"No need for now," Zheng Yi said calmly.

He plopped down in the chair, felt the softness of the bed, and frowned again.

"Is this how you treat my sister?"

Vodka was stunned.

What did we do to your sister?

Vodka was furious. He had a temper too. Did you think you could keep rudely rebuking me?
"What did we do wrong again?" Vodka asked, looking aggrieved.

Zheng Yi patted the bed and said with dissatisfaction, "This bed is too hard. You're making my sister sleep on such a hard bed?"

Vodka whispered, "We'll sleep in a bed like this too."

Everyone gets this treatment, isn't that good?

And considering she's a child, they were quite nice to Ai, laying down a mat for her. Naomi, on the other hand, didn't even have a mat.

"Hmph! When has my sister ever suffered such injustice!" Zheng Yi said.

She doesn't even have Ai's favorite pink blanket; it's so unfair.

Masakazu felt that Ai hadn't slept well at all last night; it was so pitiful.

"Huh? You guys are here?"

Bourbon rushed over and, seeing three people crammed into the small room, hurriedly said:

"The diving equipment in the room near the stern of the submarine is missing. I suspect it was stolen."

Vodka glanced at Zheng Yi.

Unsurprisingly, it was taken by Zhengyi's sister.

Zheng looked at Kiel and nodded in satisfaction.

Yes, this must have been placed by Kiel. I didn't send Kiel an email for nothing; she really did help.

Vodka felt inexplicably uncomfortable when he saw Zheng Yi nod at Kiel.

Why are you so mean to me but so kind to Kiel?
Bourbon asked, "Should we go find someone?"

Zheng Yi stared at him, and Bourbon took a step back, no longer mentioning the matter of finding someone.

They are afraid of Seiichi, but they can't openly release him, since Gin is also quite terrifying. So, like now, it's okay to be a little incompetent and let him escape on his own.

Anyway, Gin was already used to their incompetence and incompetence, so this little thing wouldn't cost them their lives.

"My poor sister."

Zheng Yi sighed deeply inside the room.

Vodka makes your scalp tingle.

That's enough, that's really enough.

We've been very kind to your sister; we really haven't let her suffer!

"Oh no! Oh no!"

A submarine operator rushed over and said, "Someone is evacuating a diver from the launch compartment."

Vodka looked at Zheng Yi, and Kiel and Bourbon also looked at Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi was bewildered by the stares: "Why are you all looking at me? Hurry up and stop him, maybe that person is the engineer you kidnapped."

……

The moment the hatch opened, a powerful ocean current surged in.

The seawater instantly engulfed the two of them. Without hesitation, Ai and Naomi quickly put on their flippers and gripped each other's hands tightly.

With the force of the rushing water, they were propelled out of the submarine.

Suddenly, the view opened up before me, and a blue ocean spread out overhead.

Naomi looked back and saw the massive black submarine silently hidden in the undercurrent.

She took a deep breath, and bubbles gurgled out from the corner of her mouth.

They escaped like that?

Did they really escape?

This is too easy! It's unexpectedly easy. The people inside really didn't set a trap; they let them escape so easily.

Ai followed closely behind, and the two walked side by side in the sea.

Inside the submarine, Zheng Yi and the others sat at the control panel.

Zheng Yi looked at the operator and said coldly, "The troubleshooting process will probably take a long time. You and the others only discovered the anomaly after they left?"

The operator looked at Zheng Yi without fear: "I'm sorry, it was my negligence. I am willing to accept any punishment you may impose."

"Hmph! This is the last time!" Zheng Yi snorted coldly.

A person who neglects their duties but sincerely admits their mistake and is willing to take responsibility can continue to be used. We cannot condemn them for a single mistake; otherwise, what difference would there be between them and Gin?
Zheng Yi said, "I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Find someone."

"Yes."

The crowd remained silent, watching the two perform with blank expressions.

Gin isn't here, so who are you putting on this show for?
The operator did not disappoint Masakazu's expectations and quickly redeemed himself by finding Naomi's location.

"We detected the sound of a small propeller, which we speculate is an underwater propulsion device," the operator said.

Bourbon added, "It appears that one of the missing diving equipment was an underwater propulsion device."

Everyone remained silent, waiting quietly for Zheng Yi to speak.

"How about we open fire and blast them to death?" Zheng Yi suggested.

Vodka didn't dare to say a word; he had already seen the pistol in Zheng Yi's pocket.

If anyone agreed, Zheng Yi would definitely kill them. This guy is entrapment, and he won't fall for it.

"Cough cough."

Kiel coughed: "Naomi needs to be handed over to Rum alive, so we can't kill her."

Zhengyi glanced at Kiel.

He's still thinking about his mission; he's a loyal subject.

"Then chase after them," Zheng Yi ordered.

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, the operator chased after the propeller.

However, submarines are so large that they are difficult to maneuver and turn around, so it's normal that they can't catch up.

A big guy was chasing a tiny guy, going full throttle, but he just couldn't catch up.

Zheng Yi nodded.

This operator is indeed a capable person. (End of Chapter)