Conan: What alias? That's my struggle!

Lin Ye had many things on his mind.

His gaze shifted to Gin's arm, which was exposed outside the blanket and covered with needle marks and bruises from IV drips.

The veins were clearly visible beneath the pale skin, like a light blue map. Lin Ye knew that he only needed to inject the virus into Gin to cause him to develop a chronic "cancer."

however.

When the time actually came to implement the plan, he hesitated.

Tokyo area.

Gin is the ultimate leader who issues commands.

It's unlikely that Lin Ye didn't want to take advantage of the opportunity to make Gin a source of infection for an era, or that he was too busy to issue himself any missions.

But he was still too worried.

There was also some hesitation.

It wasn't because he was kind, but because he knew very well that if Gin got into any trouble because of his underhanded actions, the organization would definitely investigate.

Given the organization's capabilities, it's only a matter of time before they find him. At that point, he'll face a problem that a car accident can't solve.

Besides, to be fair, Gin treated Madeira quite well. Although his tone on the phone was cold, he gave her the tasks, the money, and the trust she deserved. It's not a good thing for a high-ranking member of an organization to be hit by another member's car and end up in the hospital.

"The most crucial thing is the weight of the main storyline that Gin represents... I really want him to be overwhelmed with his own problems, but if he's overwhelmed with his own problems, how can I prevent myself from replacing Gin?"

Thinking about this, Lin Ye hesitated repeatedly.

finally.

He made his decision.

"Sigh, I'm still too kind."

Lin Ye shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind.

He whispered something, as if explaining to the unconscious Gin, or perhaps confirming it with himself. After speaking, Lin Ye put away the test tube and stood up.

He walked to the door, and just as his hand touched the doorknob, his phone rang. It wasn't his phone; his phone had been lying quietly in his pocket.

He didn't utter a sound.

It was Gin's cell phone that rang.

The black, unmarked phone was sitting on the bedside table, its screen lit up, slowly rotating on the smooth surface.

"Um?"

Lin Ye withdrew her hand from the doorknob.

He turned around and looked at the phone. The screen didn't display a phone number or a contact's name, but a single word—Boss.

Lin Ye's breath caught in her throat for a moment.

Boss?

There is only one person Gin calls Boss. That old man who lives in the Twilight Villa, that monster who has lived for countless years.

The true mastermind behind that black-clad organization.

Karasuma Renya.

The phone was still ringing, its vibration frequency steady, as if patiently waiting to be answered.

As Lin Ye watched those four letters flash on the screen, only one thought remained in his mind—should he not answer this Boss's call?

That makes sense.

If he answers, what identity will he use to speak to the Boss? Madeira? A codename member answering Gin's call without authorization is suspicious enough. If he doesn't answer, what will the Boss think? Gin never misses a call from the Boss; it's an open secret within the organization.

But it seems unlikely that he would refuse to answer.

If the Boss calls once and no one answers, then calls twice and still no one answers, what will he do? Send someone to investigate? And find out that Gin is in the hospital?

Then he was hit by a car again.

Who knows if the trail will lead back to Hashimoto Rinyo? It's important to understand that the organization isn't without capable people, and even without surveillance, it's not a truly perfect crime.

"Beep beep beep~"

Just as Lin Ye hesitated.

The phone line was disconnected.

The screen went dark.

And so, in that atmosphere, the ward fell silent again, so quiet that you could hear the dripping of the IV tubing.

One drop, two drops, three drops.

Lin Ye stood at the door, his hand still on the doorknob, but his body was frozen. He stared at the black phone as if it were a bomb that hadn't yet exploded.

Five seconds later, the phone lit up again. Boss.

This time, Lin Ye walked over. He picked up his phone, looked at the four letters on the screen, pressed the answer button, and held the phone to his ear.

There was no sound on the other end of the phone.

It wasn't the silence of a blank recording, but a weighty silence, as if someone was sitting in the darkness on the other end of the phone, holding the phone, not in a hurry to speak, waiting for the other side to speak first.

Of course, Lin Ye didn't say anything upon seeing this. He glanced at Gin on the bed; his pale face looked like a marble sculpture in the dim light of the monitor.

Finally, a voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Gin?"

Not a single word more. The voice was old, so old it sounded like an old book that had been read countless times, its pages yellowed and its edges curled, yet every word was still clear and distinct. It wasn't the weakness of an old person, but a voice compressed into its most minimalist form over a very long period, needing no superfluous embellishment.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Boss."

He could only speak at the end, his voice very low, as if he were telling a secret.

"Gin is temporarily unavailable. He was hit by a car driven by a passerby and is receiving treatment. The surgery has been performed under my authority."

"No danger to life."

Lin Ye not only completely concealed his problems, but even used them to take credit.

only.

He was never a confidant.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Who are you?"

The other party made an inquiry.

Madeira.

Lin Ye responded immediately.

A few more seconds of silence followed.

This silence was even longer than before, so long that Lin Ye began to wonder if the call had been disconnected. Then the aged voice sounded again...

The other person's tone remained unchanged, but every word sounded very serious.

"Madeira, take good care of Gin. Have him contact me when he wakes up."

The other party was clearly very cautious.

The phone hangs up.

Lin Ye took the phone away from his ear, staring at the words "Call Ended" on the screen, his palms sweating. He didn't know what that call meant, but he knew one thing—from this moment on, Boss knew there was a person named Madeira!

When Gin couldn't answer the phone, he answered the Boss's call for him.

Is this trust, or a label?

he does not know.

"Ugh! Being a traitor is so hard!" Lin Ye put his phone back on the bedside table, turned and walked towards the door. This time, he didn't hesitate, opened the door, and went out.

The lights in the corridor were much brighter than in the ward, causing Lin Ye to squint.

"Don't panic, I'm the hero." He walked forward along the corridor, his footsteps echoing in the empty space, his leather shoes making a crisp sound on the floor tiles.

At the nurses' station he passed, several nurses were talking in hushed tones. When they saw him approaching, they immediately stopped talking, lowered their heads, and pretended to be busy with their own tasks.

Lin Ye walked past them without looking at anyone. His mind was still on that phone call, that aged voice, and those four letters—Boss.

"Karasuma Renya."

Lin Ye knew who had called Gin.

He just wasn't quite sure why the other person wanted to see Gin.