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

Even if he wanted to proactively investigate the incident, there were great risks involved.

Fortunately, he had another source of information.

Amuro Tooru took out his phone, dialed a number, and three seconds later, he heard a phone ringing from downstairs in the hallway.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Was it a coincidence?

The call connected the next second.

The bell downstairs also stopped ringing.

There was no response on the other end of the phone. Amuro Tooru's eyes sharpened, and he headed towards the fire escape, tentatively saying:

"it's me."

After a few moments of silence on the other end of the phone, a female voice that sounded slightly unfamiliar yet strangely familiar came through:

"What, want to have a drink with me?"

Amuro Tooru narrowed his eyes slightly: "What kind of wine?"

"Sherry and Gin, isn't that what you wanted to ask? Or do you want something else to drink? Like... a martini?"

The last sentence had a slightly upturned tone at the end.

This eased Amuro Tooru's suspicions slightly, but he was still a little puzzled: "Vermouth, would you be so kind?"

"Ugh……"

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded resentful: "I thought you would know the reason."

"Ha, I have no idea why. If you could tell me what happened tonight, I would be very grateful."

Could it be because of that secret?

"Is that all?"

"What do you want from me?"

"How about you kill someone for me? I guarantee the intelligence you get tonight will be worth far more than that."

"Tell me first, then I'll make a judgment."

"She's just an ordinary person named Ran Mouri. She should be very easy for you."

she?

Amuro Tooru's eyes flickered slightly: "If that's the case, why don't you do it yourself?"

“I want to clarify some things through her death, but for some reason, I can’t do it myself. Of course, if you stay home all day tomorrow and don’t come out, I can use your face to kill her.”

"Ha, you mean you're going to expose me to others?"

"It's nothing serious. If you're worried, then forget it. Goodbye..."

"I never said I wouldn't agree."

Amuro Tooru, being an undercover agent, would certainly not pass up an opportunity to both gather intelligence and test Vermouth. Not to mention that he could do it without leaving a trace, making it impossible for Vermouth to shift the blame onto him.

Besides, he's a police officer.

It wouldn't be difficult to secretly protect Ran Mouri and fake her death.

A soft chuckle came from the other end of the phone: "I need you to act quickly, within two days."

"call--"

The air was thick with smoke again, and Amuro Tooru's gaze was dark: "No problem, it's your turn to give me the information."

"Gin was ambushed this afternoon and shot in the forehead. He is still in critical condition and his life hangs in the balance. Last night, someone broke into the organization's research institute and kidnapped Sherry. There is no trace of them yet. It is unknown which force this is, but they are well-equipped and very cunning."

That's roughly it. The evidence includes the explosion in Beika Town about four hours ago, and the ongoing fire. You can verify it yourself.

The person on the other end of the phone spoke concisely.

Even with Amuro Tooru's hardened heart, these few words caused him to pause for a moment.

What a shocking turn of events!

It's shocking enough that a dark creature like Gin got his head blown off, but the fact that the research institute was stormed and Sherry, a very important researcher in the organization, was taken away?

Even an undercover agent like him couldn't help but wonder just how utterly incompetent the organization had become!

The person on the other end of the phone kindly gave him time to process the information, and after a few moments, chuckled softly:

"Anything else?"

Amuro Tooru was silent for a few moments: "I feel like you're behaving strangely tonight. Why didn't you use your original voice, and why didn't you call me by my code name?"

"Oh dear, is Mr. Amuro trying to renege on his debt?"

"Heh, how do you know that's not my real voice? Perhaps what you heard before was a disguise. As for the code name, for some reasons, you can call me Chris from now on. That's all, see you."

Her words made Amuro Tooru even more suspicious. What did she mean? Did Vermouth want to betray the organization?

Unfortunately, when he tried to ask again, the other end had already hung up.

He hesitated for a moment and then didn't call back.

The crisp sound of high heels came from below the fire escape. Amuro Tooru quickly and quietly walked up to the corner of the next floor, gradually adjusting his breathing and heartbeat to be barely audible.

The footsteps approached slowly, until they finally reached the floor and the door was opened, at which point Amuro Tooru silently peeked out.

In that fleeting ray of light, Amuro Tooru saw a tall, slender woman with black hair, wearing a deep red dress.

It's not Vermouth.

But perhaps it was a disguise?

Disguise is such a troublesome thing. Even without concrete verification, as long as there is a possibility, it will make people suspicious and waste a lot of energy.

The increased cost of trust between people is practically the root of all evil.

Amuro Tooru slowly descended the stairs, pressing his ear against the fire escape door to listen intently. The crisp, rhythmic footsteps had ceased; now, what could be heard was…

dong dong dong-

knocking.

"who is it?"

The voice was barely audible through the two doors, but Amuro Tooru's heart skipped a beat. It really was Itakura Suguru!

"Mr. Itakura, the person who commissioned you to develop the software has a favor to ask of you."

The woman in the red dress spoke.

Amuro Tooru's eyes lit up again. Sure enough, it was the voice from the phone call earlier—it was Vermouth!

"I've developed many software programs, which one is it? Why are you looking for me so late at night..."

While muttering a complaint under his breath, Itakura Taku opened the door with a click.

Just as the door opened, Amuro Tooru, who thought he would hear more clearly, noticed that Itakura Taku's voice had disappeared.

Was he knocked unconscious?

Or were they threatened?

"Mr. Itakura, now do you know which software I came to you for?"

The woman spoke with a smile.

Amuro Toru was certain that it was definitely a threat involving a gun!

bang——

A moment later, the door closed, and Amuro Tooru quietly opened the fire escape door and walked out slowly.

He didn't notice that this brief glimmer of light also vaguely illuminated a figure.

Chapter 235 Hotaru and Kiyoko's Nighttime Daily Life

"what……"

In apartment 2602, the wisteria on the balcony has mostly withered, its purple petals dwindling and replaced by more green leaves, which appear dark and sinister under the dim moonlight, as if some ghostly creature is lurking within.

On the wicker chair under the flower stand, Ying Sheng had removed the snow-white felt blanket. He lay on it, rocking back and forth slightly, his left arm covering his eyes, and sighed softly.

"What kind of strange development is this?"

Amuro Tooru is also from the brewery. No, is the world really that small?

Especially in interpersonal relationships, the invisible cause and effect truly connect everything. Is this really just a net?

Most importantly, your distillery has expanded its influence in various fields so much that it is almost ubiquitous, so why are the most important aspects such as organization, discipline, and intelligence sharing so problematic?

Can't the codenamed members keep each other informed of the latest situation?

That way, he can't interfere even if he wants to.

Ying Sheng chuckled: "Qingzi, I'm now 80% sure that the brewery is just an empty shell, probably filled with spies like Shuichi Akai."

The codenamed members couldn't trust each other at all, and even the BOSS probably couldn't be sure if his subordinates had ulterior motives. In the end, they could only resort to secrecy, which led to the mess they are in now, loose and disorganized, which is simply a joke.

Of course, if the BOSS created the organization just for the sake of drug A, to prolong his own life, or to resurrect some beloved, then he naturally wouldn't care about this situation.

Let other countries keep an eye on the organization if they want; maintaining this tacit understanding makes it easier for the organization to operate.

Weapons, research equipment, computer servers—they can't just manufacture these out of thin air. If countries really wanted to investigate, it would be a piece of cake.

Isn't this great? We turn a blind eye and use the black glove to make money, it's a win-win situation.

Anyway, as long as the BOSS hides his appearance well, and with Vermouth, who was originally close to him and possessed the ability to disguise herself, around, he can easily change his appearance and start his life anew as a child. Who could find him then?

In the living room, Qingzi tapped twice on the flat surface of the coffee table, and the explanation of the basic principles of sculpture by an unknown professor immediately paused.

She turned her head to look at the balcony, somewhat puzzled: "So, now that Ying Sheng-kun has Ai and Junai Ruike under his control, isn't he just sharing the burden with the brewery?"

"And according to what you've said, all countries are well aware of the existence of drug A. How can you possibly restart the experiment? They could find out too."

"There's no rush. We need to see what Junerek's research has to say before we can get to the bottom of this."

Ying Sheng laughed and said, "Have you seen Marvel's Iron Man? If Junairik could also create advanced technology directly in a cave, he wouldn't need to make a big fuss; he could secretly amaze the whole world."