Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Conan gave a few perfunctory replies, hung up the phone, and started frantically calling Kogoro Mouri.

Please answer the phone, Uncle! Please, answer it quickly!

[While writing, I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if Kogoro Mouri died QAQ I couldn't control my restless hands, even though I know there's still a lot of Kogoro Mouri's story to come, but if he died, I could start working on the ending _(:з」∠)_ I'm so conflicted, do you cuties have any suggestions _(:з」∠)_]

Chapter 616 Big loss

However, Kogoro Mouri, who was watching the horse race, had no intention of answering Conan's call. He unplugged the phone and focused intently on the race.

Just as he was getting to the exciting part, the TV screen suddenly went blank, and he couldn't receive any signal at all. He angrily pounded on the TV, but to no avail, and could only listen resentfully to the horse racing commentary on the radio through his headphones.

The next match will determine whether he can hit all twelve of his shots. If he does, it will be a 10,000-win ticket, with odds exceeding 100 times!

Chu Ming and his group stood on the opposite high-rise building. Through their sniper scopes, they saw Kogoro Mouri with his back to the window, listening intently to the intelligence coming through his earpiece.

"Hmph, this man doesn't even know we've discovered the bugging device. He's probably still listening intently to see if he can steal any information," Vodka said sarcastically from the side.

Gin scoffed coldly: "Then I'll grant his wish and let him hear our voices."

As he spoke, Gin pulled out a pack of chewing gum wrapped in layers of paper from his pocket, held it up, and looked at the window across the street: "Did you hear that, Kogoro Mouri?"

Of those present, only Chu Ming and Vermouth probably knew the truth. Chu Ming watched Gin perform a monologue to thin air, thinking he was in complete control. He leaned against the railing, trying to suppress his laughter until his whole body twitched. But because it involved his waist, he grimaced in pain, making his facial expression look particularly abstract.

She also knew that Kogoro Mouri was definitely innocent, as was Vermouth. However, she had no intention of laughing at Gin at this moment; she was currently extremely anxious, thinking about how to rescue Kogoro Mouri.

"Don't move, we're aiming at you from behind. Before you get a hole punched in your suit, I have something to ask you." Gin looked at the man sitting motionless by the window, his eyes deep. "That is, what exactly is your relationship with Sherry? The transmitter and bugging device you planted are exactly the same as the one that woman put in my car last time. Don't tell me it's a coincidence."

"I'll give you only ten seconds to think. If you're willing to answer, raise your left hand, which is on your earpiece. Ten, nine, eight—"

Watching Gin search for enemies in the void, Chu Ming no longer had the strength to laugh. He saw a taxi speeding towards him in the distance, stopping a short distance away, and a little guy got out and ran wildly towards him, pressing the soccer ball outwards from his waist as he ran.

"...three, two, one."

"Bam—"

As Gin finished speaking, a soccer ball whizzed through the air and crashed into the glass on the second floor of the Mouri Detective Agency.

Kogoro Mouri was startled. He got up, opened the window, and yelled out, "Hey, which bastard is up to something? I'm at a crucial moment!"

Conan had already arrived downstairs: "Sorry, Uncle, I kicked the ball too hard. By the way, Uncle, how's your horse race? Weren't you listening to the game with your headphones on?"

Kogoro Mouri then realized he had excitedly ripped his headphones off: "Aaaaaah! I just took them off! It's all your fault, you brat! I didn't hear any of the exciting parts!!!"

Vermouth, who had just been frozen in place, relaxed slightly upon hearing Conan and Kogoro's conversation. She glanced at Gin with a smile, her eyes sparkling with allure: "Oh dear, it seems this has nothing to do with him. We—"

Gin interrupted her: "Go ahead, take care of the brats too."

Chu Ming, ignoring his back pain, leaned on the railing with anticipation. He was particularly curious because the FBI had no contact with Conan at the moment, so it was impossible for them to come to the rescue.

So what should Conan do in this crisis?

After all, an organization can fail countless times, but Conan can't afford to lose even once.

If Conan and Kogoro Mouri really do die this time, he'll just have to accept the enormous magnetic field with tears in his eyes.

As Chianti and Cohen's fingers gradually pulled the trigger, Vermouth could no longer hold back.

"Wait!" she suddenly interrupted, speaking rapidly as she tried to persuade them, "Without evidence, if we rashly kill him, who has good relations with the police, wouldn't that be—"

Gin suddenly drew his gun and pressed it against Vermouth's temple: "Vermouth, you're annoying today."

Vermouth paused, looking at the gun pointed at her, but without fear, she glanced at Gin, a slight smile playing on her lips. She was equally certain that Gin wouldn't kill her.

Gin's eyes narrowed, and a murderous intent gradually surfaced.

Vodka was a little flustered. The fact that Vermouth was someone the BOSS valued was an open secret among the core members of the organization, and it was rare to see Gin staring at Vermouth with such murderous intent.

He stammered, trying to ease the tension, but didn't know what to say, so when in doubt, he could only call out to his elder brother: "B-Brother?"

Gin looked at Vermouth, who seemed unresponsive, and his gaze swept over her slightly furrowed cuffs: "You and that detective—did something happen between you?"

Chu Ming blinked, not expecting things to suddenly take such a risqué turn. He pricked up his ears, intending to hear some gossip.

Vermouth didn't explain, after all, she couldn't tell others why she was defending them, so she just went along with it: "Oh well, so what if it is?"

"Then next time, bring Gin along too." Chu Ming subconsciously replied. After all, for a while, rumors were rampant in the organization that Gin and Vermouth had once been a couple. This news came from Vodka, and since he often followed Gin, it should be true, right? "Otherwise, Gin will eat—okay, okay, I won't say anything more, just move the gun away—"

Chu Ming saw Gin turn the gun towards him and promptly shut up. After all, if he got beaten up now, he wouldn't even have a chance to run away, so it was better to stay quiet for now.

Gin chuckled as he looked at Chu Ming, who was awkwardly leaning against the railing. He put his gun back in his pocket and looked at the chewing gum in his hand: "After I kill Kogoro Mouri, I'll check if there are any fingerprints on this chewing gum."

Conan, still wearing his earphones, broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing Gin's announcement. He had carelessly stuck his chewing gum on the wall, completely forgetting to wear gloves. If he were caught...

Seeing that time was running out, he shouted upstairs to Kogoro Mouri, who seemed completely unaware, "Uncle, you hit all twelve of your shots!"

Kogoro Mori peeked out in surprise: "Really? You—ah!"

Because of Conan's sudden shout, Kogoro Mouri suddenly jumped up, so the gun shot aimed at his heart went straight through his shoulder, and blood spurted out immediately.

After all, he was a retired detective. Relying on his intuition, he looked at the rooftop across the street and could vaguely see a few people standing there. He suddenly rolled over and hid behind the window, shouting downstairs, "Conan, hide!"

Conan, like a child in a panic, rushed into the stairwell, which happened to be a blind spot for the sniper, making him completely invisible.

A fierce glint flashed in Chianti's eyes, and he clicked his tongue impatiently: "The rat has hidden itself. It's all that brat's fault."

Cohen continued, holding the gun: "That kid, he also has earpieces."

Seeing that things were going badly, Vermouth tried to defend him: "He was probably listening to the horse race too, otherwise he wouldn't know that Kogoro Mouri won all twelve of his bets."

“What does a little kid know about horse racing?” Chianti scoffed, contradicting Vermouth.

"Retreat first." Gin's cold gaze swept over the sign of the Mouri Detective Agency, and he pried out and crushed the bugging device. "The police are probably coming soon. Granburg, I remember you had a good relationship with them. These two are yours. Kill them within three days."

"No," Chu Ming retorted lazily. "They can kill you, but I don't want to."

This is the protagonist's magnetic field; if he tries to take action, he probably won't get a single hair, which would be a huge loss.

[After much deliberation, I've decided to let Kogoro Mouri get injured for now; however, I'll probably add the option of killing him to a few chapters in the side stories later~ If Kogoro Mouri is killed, the Red Team will probably be almost completely wiped out. I'll make a special note about that in the side stories. Those who are sensitive to this can skip the side stories without affecting the main text.]

Chapter 617 Fingerprint

Upon hearing the rejection again, Gin's face darkened: "What, you've spent so much time with them that you've developed feelings for them?"

"It's not about feelings, it's just that I don't want to do it myself. How about we let Bo Ben do it?" Chu Ming leaned weakly against the railing. "I'm a patient right now. Can you bear to let an injured person like me go into battle?"

When Vermouth saw that Chu Ming and Gin had sentenced Kogoro Mouri to death in their conversation, she became anxious. Her slightly anxious gaze fell on Chu Ming, clearly hoping that he could help her save Kogoro Mouri.

Chu Ming looked up and his eyes met hers, but after a moment he looked away as if nothing had happened.

Vermouth was clearly blinded by concern and completely lost sight of the important point. Gin had Conan's fingerprints on the chewing gum in his hand, and once that was confirmed, the fact that he was Shinichi Kudo would be impossible to hide.

She's still fixated on Gin's plan to kill Kogoro Mouri, completely oblivious to the fact that when the truth comes out, not only Kogoro Mouri, but everyone else will be caught, including Conan and Ran.

However, he is definitely alright now.

When he first transmigrated, he was just a low-level member of the organization, which is why he chose to align himself with Conan. That way, if the organization were wiped out, at least he, as someone who had joined the main characters, would be safe.

He chose to help Conan conceal the organization's secret because if Conan were exposed, Gin would definitely suspect him, as a member who had always been by Conan's side.

But now—even if Conan and Ai Haibara's identities are exposed, Gin won't do anything to them.

Therefore, he was not worried at all about Conan's identity being exposed.

Gin glanced at the Mouri Detective Agency, heard the sirens in the distance, and snorted coldly, "Let's retreat first."

"But, isn't that detective going to kill him?" Chianti was a little unhappy about her mistake and clearly wanted to get revenge.

"No rush, the police are coming, let's retreat first." Gin was very calm. "There will be plenty of opportunities to kill him."

Since Gin had said so, Vodka and the others quickly began to retreat, making sure to erase all traces they left behind.

On the way back, Gin said coldly to Vermouth, "If you don't have a reasonable explanation for this, I will report it directly to the boss."

Clearly, although Chu Ming had just made a joke, Gin had not forgotten Vermouth's defense of Kogoro Mouri.

Vermouth crossed her legs, paused her hand that was fiddling with her curly hair, and chuckled softly: "Ara, didn't you already guess? Why are you asking me?"

Gin's face darkened, clearly unable to accept that Vermouth was a love-struck fool.

Chu Ming spoke up quietly from the side, "I know the reason."

Vermouth was taken aback, her forced smile vanished, and she looked at Chu Ming with a serious expression, clearly hoping he wouldn't say anything inappropriate.

Chu Ming looked at the sky and the ground, but not at her, and then revealed a little bit of fact: "Back then, the detective's daughter saved her life."

When Vermouth heard that Chu Ming was talking about this, her heart eased a little. Vodka, however, was driving with one hand and trying to get his hands on the first bite of melon with the other: "When? Was it when Vermouth was in America? Does his daughter know your identity?"

Chu Ming didn't speak again, and Vermouth continued, "Back when I was in the United States, when I was disguised as a murderer to hunt down Shuichi Akai, I was saved by his daughter. She didn't know my identity, but I haven't repaid this favor yet, so I hope you can take action after the matter has been investigated."

Then she added, "Of course, if you find out that Kogoro Mouri was indeed listening in, I certainly won't say anything more. But I don't think that's the case. They were clearly listening to the horse race, weren't they?"

Gin's expression remained unchanged after hearing this, and it was unclear whether he believed it or not. He simply said calmly, "I will report this matter to the boss truthfully."

Vermouth remained silent, presumably pondering how to phrase her words when the boss approached her in a way that would both dispel her suspicions and extricate Conan and the others from danger.

Chu Ming didn't remind her about the chewing gum, after all, he was still very curious about how the plot would develop if Conan revealed his secret.

Because of his intervention, the plot has changed a lot.

Conan's support has been cut off. He has been unable to deal with the FBI or get involved with the Public Security Bureau. Now, the only people who can help him are Dr. Agasa and the kind-hearted Takagi.

As for the FBI, Jodie is dead, Shuichi Akai's fate is unknown, and the other FBI agents who infiltrated Japan with Akai are currently being hunted down by the organization, and are likely either dead or wounded.

Bourbon's search in the mountains outside Simodo yielded no results, and in a fit of rage, he surrounded the FBI agents, intending to lure Shuichi Akai out. However, despite suffering heavy casualties, they still found no trace of Shuichi Akai.

At this point, there were two opposing views within the organization regarding whether Shuichi Akai was alive or dead.

One theory is that he died a gruesome death, with his body even being carried away by wild animals.