He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

Masayo Aida didn't ask anything and pressed the number on the coffee table, but this time, as soon as she withdrew her hand, the speakerphone rang with a message that the other party's phone was switched off.

"Call Ran Mouri again," Vodka said, his tone becoming impatient.

Masayo Aida complied and also turned off his phone.

"Tsk, did he trick another minor into bed? Shuiyue Yingsheng is truly a scumbag."

Vodka sneered, stood up, and looked down at Masayo Aida: "Ms. Aida, you wouldn't tell anyone else what we said before, would you?"

Masayo Aida raised his head slightly and said calmly, "In fact, I don't understand at all what you made me do, and even if I wanted to say it, I couldn't put my finger on it."

"You're a smart guy, why don't you join us?"

"I'm sorry, I don't dare."

"You're being a little too calm. You've got a listening device on you. Are you sure you're just an ordinary person?"

"I'm sorry, I have some facial nerve problems. I'm actually terrified, but I can't show it."

"Ah."

Vodka walked to the door, opened it, and gestured to her with his hand: "It's all over now, you can go. Remember to keep what happened before a secret, or you know what will happen."

I will keep my mouth shut.

Masayo Aida stood up and pointed to the phone on the table: "May I take it?"

"of course can."

"Thank you."

Masayo Aida picked up his phone, not even glancing at Vodka, and followed the same route he had taken that afternoon. He walked through the snow-covered hall, where armed guards stood at all four corners, and left the research institute. His pace was similar to that of the afternoon, without the slightest urgency.

Vodka only looked away when she was out of sight, and said coldly:

“Chianti, find an outsider to do her.”

Chapter 204 Xiaolan feels the world has broken down

After hanging up the phone with Masayo Aida, Hotaru immediately stepped on the gas and sped out of the alley onto the main road, where he floored the accelerator.

Ran, who was sitting in the back seat, was almost thrown onto the large backpack next to her. She hurriedly asked, "Is Miss Aida in danger?"

"What do you think? The organization isn't a charity. Once Miss Aida is no longer useful, she'll most likely be killed off easily, especially since they're probably still full of anger right now."

Seeing the worry in Xiaolan's eyes, Yingsheng comforted her, "The winery wants to kill her, but because of my presence, they probably won't do it directly in the research institute. Instead, they'll at least make her go some distance away. That way, I'll know it's the winery that's behind it, but at least there'll be some pretense, and we won't completely break ties."

Xiao Lan felt a little relieved, but after thinking for a moment, she said, "If this happens, doesn't it also mean that the people at the distillery are a bit impatient right now?"

“That’s right. I think the best way is to have Miss Aida pledge her allegiance and recruit her into the organization. In that case, she won’t be in immediate danger, but it won’t matter if I drive a little faster.”

Xiaolan nodded and looked at the backpack beside her: "I think I just touched a monocular telescope. Does Shuiyue-kun have a sniper rifle among the equipment he asked the FBI for?"

"Yes, and there are also body armor and grenades. You didn't touch the spinning wheel, did you?"

"Um... I'm not sure."

"...Never mind, it's my fault for trying to save trouble. You should put on your body armor now, just in case. As for guns, take a Glock for now, and the others... well, actually, they're all pretty much used the same way. Or you could take an Uzi too?"

"..."

Xiaolan was speechless: "What's Uzi?"

"A submachine gun, what else could it be?"

"God—"

Xiaolan had just taken off her coat when she couldn't help but sigh, "I mean, this is such a huge leap! At this time of year, I'm usually at home doing homework or chores."

"Haha, life's circumstances are so bizarre and unpredictable. You're already considered slow."

"Yes, in the world that Shuiyue-kun longs for, being born in the morning and dying at dusk is the norm."

Xiaolan muttered to herself as she put on her bulletproof vest, um...

My chest feels a little tight.

"The world is the same. During the Age of Exploration, didn't many villages in Europe have such things? You would fall into a deep sleep after a hard day's work, only to be stuffed into a sack in the middle of the night, and when you woke up the next morning, all you would see was the boundless sea."

"...But I don't know how to use it."

"It's simple. Look at the long button on the grip; that's the safety. You press it when you grip the gun. Then there's the small round button on the top of the gun; just pull it back. If it jams, pull that to eject the bullet, but that's very unlikely. I've set the fire selector to full automatic. You don't need to aim. When you encounter a close-quarters encounter, just hold down the trigger. If you have enough arm strength, just keep it from tilting back."

The Ying Sheng Firearms Crash Course has begun.

Xiaolan was speechless. She glanced at the submachine gun silently, and couldn't help but sigh again.

"Why does this thing have to be designed so simply? Couldn't it be made a little more complicated?"

"Honestly, you have no idea how much effort gun designers put into making it easy to operate, and you still complain about it. In a life-or-death situation, if you fire even half a second later, you'll be dead. That's when you'll realize how good it is."

"...I mean, all guns should be designed to be more complex...no, it's better if they aren't at all."

"You're too naive. Let me ask you, if all the guns on the market were still Mauser rifles, wouldn't it be an explosion in sales if someone suddenly put an Uzi on the market?"

Capital is driven by profit. If gun designs become too complex, aren't we just handing over potential customers to others?

By the way, I saw a news report the other day that the US has released a mini MP5 submachine gun for children, and it even comes in pink!

"...This world has gone mad."

“This is called Hayek’s invisible hand, the free market. After all, even children can be customers,” Ying Sheng laughed. “And even without guns and cannons, there are still bows and arrows, spears, stones, and branches. Throughout history, there has never been a shortage of fighting.”

"Is it not even possible in the world that Mizuki-kun longs for?"

"That won't work either. Gods do wage war for their faith, but their battles are on a different level and most of the time they don't affect ordinary people. You should understand now that you think about it. Technological development is very beneficial to ordinary people."

"right……"

Xiao Lan sighed: "In ancient times, ordinary people faced far more threats of war and survival crises than they do now. Ever since we have nuclear weapons..." Xiao Lan paused, wondering if what she was saying was a little off.

"That's a bit too far ahead. Tell me about the next steps, Mizuki-kun."

Xiaolan steered the conversation back on track, gripping the Uzi submachine gun with a conflicted expression: "With the current preparations, it looks like we're going to have to force our way in."

"Forced entry is absolutely out of the question. Sigh, let me be honest with you, don't feel disgusted."

"what? What?"

Xiao Lan immediately perked up.

Ying Sheng sighed, "Have you seen spy movies? What's the most common way to infiltrate an enemy fortress? We can't possibly crawl into the ventilation ducts, so that leaves only one more option, Xiao Lan. I was planning to take you to crawl into the sewers."

"…………"

"Don't worry, they've prepared hazmat suits and gas masks over there. Um... they seem to be similar in nature. So, how about you meet me outside?"

Ying Sheng sounded a little embarrassed; this was the reason he hadn't explained the details during the meal.

It's a little off-putting.

He was actually fine and didn't feel anything was wrong, but Xiaolan...

Xiaolan was stunned for a long time, then gritted her teeth and said, "Of course I'm going too. We've already done so much, how can we give up halfway! Besides... and this is obviously safer than the risk of going in head-on."

"It's just a sewer, huh? No big deal!"

"hiss--"

Ying Sheng gasped and looked in the rearview mirror: "Xiao Lan, how come you've suddenly become so handsome? I'm almost completely smitten with you."

"Hmph, I've always been like this, okay?"

Xiaolan crossed her arms and glanced at him sideways: "But someone else, were you doubting me before? Why are you only telling me now?"

“After all, I can’t be sure about this until we find a way. Besides…” Ying Sheng laughed, “You’re so proactive, you don’t think this method will avoid killing people, do you? Hesitation will lead to defeat, your current thinking is dangerous.”

"…………oh."

Xiaolan changed the subject: "Didn't Shuiyue say he didn't have the research institute's structural diagrams? How did he find the sewers?"

I'll add four chapters tonight.

Chapter 205 Water Cycle! Mercury! Save Lives!

“The city’s water supply system is a whole. No matter how much of an independent fortress the winery research institute is, since it doesn’t drill its own wells, it has to be integrated into the system. And once integrated, no matter how complex the channels are designed, water, being formless, will find its own way out.”

Yingsheng explained.

Xiaolan suddenly realized: "Shuiyue added something to the water supply pipes of the research institute. During the time we were eating, that stuff would flow into the sewers along with the water used by the research institute. By following that stuff from the end forward, we could reach the winery!"

"good."

Ying Sheng laughed and said, "After all, the people at the distillery also need to eat. Even if they can eat out normally, they wouldn't dare to do so in the situation this evening."

"So that's it!"

Xiao Lan was quite excited: "Did Shuiyue-jun give them some kind of poison? Will it make them pass out immediately?"

"I'd like to give them that stuff, but we don't have any."

Ying Sheng shrugged. "If only Gin could have given him the slow-acting poison by noon today, I could have used it on myself at the distillery this afternoon."

"Furthermore, considering the dilution effect of the water and the fact that those people eat at different times, even if there were a poison that could cause dizziness, it wouldn't be able to be administered. Besides, to avoid alerting them and forcing them to be moved directly, isn't our goal to remain completely undetected?"

Xiaolan was a little disappointed: "Indeed, the best way is to only use it to find our way and not let them discover us. So, what exactly is it?"

"Mercury, the kind used in thermometers."

"Eh?!"

Ran was shocked: "That causes Minamata disease, right? It was a major event in Kumamoto Prefecture in the 1950s, it's in the textbooks. Oh no, did we do something terrible? To save one person, we harmed so many people."

"No, no, no, it's obvious you didn't pay attention in class and only have a superficial understanding."

Ying Sheng shook his head vigorously: "The substance that causes Minamata disease is methylmercury, which is classified as organic mercury. The safe dose is measured in milligrams; the mercury in mercury thermometers is elemental mercury, which is extremely difficult for the human body to absorb. As long as you don't ingest more than 1 gram at a time, you'll usually be fine."

With the dilution effect of running water, it would be impossible for anyone inside the distillery to be poisoned, let alone if it flowed into the sewers and entered the sewage treatment plant; there would be no way to harm anyone there.

Xiaolan was stunned for two seconds: "Really?"