Conan, I'm an actor

"Whose call was that?" Amuro Tooru asked nervously.

“It’s Rum on the phone.” Xincheng put his phone on the table. “He wants the system inside the ocean buoy, the age verification system, probably to find people.”

"Looking for someone? Who?" Amuro Tooru tensed up instantly. "There are only a handful of people who have taken APTX-4869. Who is he looking for?"

“It should be the BOSS,” Akai said slowly.

"BOSS?" Amuro Tooru's expression changed drastically. "You mean..."

He had previously investigated the BOSS's information, but his position within the organization was far from granting him access, and he only obtained fragments of information whose veracity was unverifiable. However, if the information Akai revealed was true, then perhaps the rumors within the organization weren't entirely unfounded...

“The BOSS’s medication is probably the same one that Vermouth takes.” Shinjo stroked his chin. “I don’t know the specifics, but I tried to trick Vermouth back then. She was very nervous about it and even agreed to make a deal with me.”

"Helping you fake your death as an undercover agent?" Akai thought of what happened in New York. "So, you confronted her in New York last time?"

"More or less." Shinjo stroked his chin. "I'll try sending this to her and see how she decides."

Amuro Tooru and Akai's expressions both changed. Shinjo's plan was too risky. There was still time; it wasn't time to take a gamble yet.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. I'm just testing her attitude. If it really concerns the BOSS's identity, she'll find a way to get the BOSS to order the destruction of this system." Shinjo picked up his phone and sent a message to Vermouth.

Inside a hotel in London

Vermouth picked up her phone and glanced at it. Her previously serene and relaxed expression slowly disappeared. After thinking for a moment, she sent a text message to Shinjo.

But after doing all that, she still felt uneasy, so she made a special call to Xincheng, telling him not to act rashly and not to hand the thing over to anyone else.

In the base

"Looks like my gamble paid off; this woman takes this system very seriously." Shinjo shrugged. "Let's see how she handles it. But before that..."

“I’ll keep an eye on Akemi and make sure she doesn’t go out as much as possible.” Akai nodded.

“I’ll keep quiet too.” Amuro Tooru frowned, as if he had just thought of something. “What should we do if Gin pressures us?”

“Just tell him that we’re doing preliminary preparations. I’ll have Pisco prepare the submarine tour program,” Shinjo said, stroking his chin. “It’ll be near Hachijo Island. Aren’t there whale watching tours there? Whale watching from the water isn’t very interesting. Submarine whale watching is a great option.”

Amuro Tooru and Akai Shuichi's lips twitched slightly. Only someone like you with money to burn would find submarine whale watching interesting. If this project actually existed, you'd probably lose so much money you wouldn't even recognize your own home.

After watching the two leave the conference room, Shinjo looked at Okakura Masaaki and Sakata Yusuke inside.

"Boss, what else is fun?" Masaaki Okakura asked, rubbing his hands together. "Miss Karen said we can go to space someday, is that true? It's not a lie, is it?"

"It's not a lie. All we need to do is develop the new propulsion system. The theoretical verification has already passed," Xincheng said with a smile. "I didn't realize you were interested in airplanes."

"His skills are just pretty bad," Yusuke Sakata whistled. "He's bad at it but loves to play."

"You, who barely passed the exam, have the right to talk to me like that?" Okakura Masaaki was clearly unconvinced by Sakata Yusuke's sarcasm.

“That’s why I didn’t challenge Daigo.” Sakata shrugged. “If I remember correctly, you lost 12 out of 14 aerial battles against Daigo. You only won two games because you were taking advantage of the fact that he was a newbie.”

"Wait, who are you talking about?" Shinjo spat out the tea he had just drunk.

"Daigo, that architect Daigo."

"Boss, why are you so agitated?"

"Who let him on the plane, cough cough..." Xincheng felt like his lungs were about to come out; the sip of tea he had just drunk had gone straight into his trachea.

“It was Ms. Karen who told him to get on the plane. Mr. Daigo was in a plane crash last time, and both pilots were incapacitated. He said he was almost scared to death.” Sakata Yusuke scratched his head. “Then Ms. Karen said that he should take his own life into his own hands, and maybe he could try learning how to fly a plane, so he got on the simulator. By the way, if I remember correctly, you were on that flight too, boss.”

“Indeed.” Shinjo nodded, but his facial expression didn’t seem quite natural. “I’m leaving now.”

"Oh, right, I have a document here that you need to go to. It's our company's aviation qualification document. Everything else has been taken care of; you just need to go and get it stamped."

"Okay, where is it? I'll come get it."

Chapter 272 Pre-Negotiation Contact and the Trip to London

Two days later, Tokyo Haneda Airport

Vermouth walked out of the airport somewhat irritably. If it weren't for the need to gain the upper hand in the negotiations, she would have loved to book a flight that same day and go straight to Japan.

As it turned out, she succeeded. Shinjo received four or five phone calls in the past two days, all from Amuro Tooru and Akai Shuichi, asking about Vermouth's whereabouts.

"Madam, do you need a ride?" Shinjo stopped his car right in front of Vermouth.

Vermouth didn't stand on ceremony with him, put her luggage in the trunk, and then got into the passenger seat.

"This is the information for that system. The specific system can only be used at the research institute." Shinjo handed a file folder next to him to Vermouth.

Vermouth took the file folder, but instead of opening it immediately, she asked, "You seem to have been up to something while you were in Japan."

"Gin complained?" Shinjo asked, somewhat surprised.

“Gin didn’t, but Rum is quite upset.” Vermouth lit a cigarette. “I heard you took out two of his key men?”

"The guilty party is accusing the innocent first." Shinjo rolled his eyes. "I'm innocent! They were the ones who tried to assassinate me and attacked my research institute. Who knew they were so weak and ended up dying inside the institute."

Where is the body?

"If you want to retrieve it from the sea, I still remember its location."

Vermouth shook her head. "Just clean it up. I've covered for Rum. Also, there's something else. I heard the organization's submarine was attacked and is now unusable..."

"Does the organization have submarines?" Shinjo asked, somewhat puzzled.

"You don't know?" Vermouth looked at Shinjo with some surprise, then she shook the file folder in her hand. "Then how did you sneak in and get the information?"

“The ocean buoy is connected to the network in Europe. I found a list and disguised myself as a cleaning staff member to sneak in.” Xincheng shrugged. “It’s simple, right? You don’t think I approached the ocean buoy in a submarine and then went in through the sea valve, do you? Do you think I’m that stupid? Anyone with a normal brain wouldn’t come up with such an outrageous plan.”

Soon, Shinjo took Vermouth to her hotel and then drove back to the research institute, though his expression wasn't very good.

Vermouth's attitude left him somewhat uncertain; this woman seemed to be in no hurry at all.

"Don't rush, your weakness is too obvious," Karen said helplessly. "That woman is probably more anxious than you think."

"My weaknesses?"

“Conan Edogawa, Ai Haibara, Akemi Sera.” Kallen’s voice was devoid of any emotion. “You have three weaknesses, while she only has half a weakness. Renya Karasuma can only be considered half a weakness, and as for her two identities, it doesn’t matter even if they are exposed.”

Shinjo's expression instantly darkened; he was very unhappy about not having the initiative in his own hands.

Teitan Elementary School

"What? Conan, you're going to London for a trip?" Mitsuhiko stared at Conan, his face full of excitement. "Is that the city we saw in the game last time?"

“That’s 19th-century London,” Conan said somewhat helplessly. “Besides, Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character, so there are some differences between that London and reality. This time we’re going to see the real London, and I’ll bring you a gift.”

"I want a Sherlock Holmes souvenir."

“Me too,” Ayumi said immediately.

"Do you have eel rice?" Genta clearly had no interest in Holmes.

"No, but there's a famous British dish called Stargazing, a rather well-known fish dish," Haibara said casually.

"Hey, hey, hey, this hot food will spoil by the time we bring it back," Conan said immediately.

"Then you could consider bringing some canned goods or something. I remember European canned herring is quite famous," Xiao Ai said with a smile.

"Great! Then let's have canned herring. It sounds delicious!" Genta said excitedly.

"Wait, Genta!" Conan wanted to explain to the three kids what herring canned food was, but the three kids clearly didn't give him a chance to explain, and they high-fived each other and rushed out of the classroom.

"Wow, I'm really looking forward to it, when they open the cans." Ai Haibara stood next to Conan.

"You...aren't you afraid they'll hate you?"

"What does this have to do with me? Maybe some great detective just had bad taste and bought expired, spoiled, or counterfeit products," Haibara said with a smile. "Or maybe it leaked during transportation, causing it to spoil."

“You…” Conan glanced around, then deliberately lowered his voice and asked, “Do you know something? Why did you suddenly arrange for us to go on a trip to London?”

"You'll have to ask that guy, I don't know either." Ai Haibara slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Yesterday afternoon, that guy suddenly told me to get ready to go to London. It was quite sudden, and my sister and I were both a little surprised."

"Then why is the doctor your guardian?"

"You'll have to ask him about that."

Conan looked at Ai Haibara's retreating figure, feeling a bit of a headache.

Last night, Yukiko Kudo informed her that a friend of hers had managed to get three Wimbledon tickets. Since she and Yusaku Kudo were too busy to go, she asked him to invite the Mori family as a way of thanking them for taking care of her over the years. All expenses incurred during the trip would be reimbursed by the Kudo family.

He happily shared this with Professor Agasa, and then he learned from Professor Agasa that Shinjo had also obtained Wimbledon tickets, and that Professor Agasa was taking two little girls like himself to London.

The two events together couldn't possibly be a coincidence. He wanted to find his parents to get to the bottom of things, but unfortunately, his parents had disappeared again at this crucial moment and couldn't be found at all.

He opened his phone and began searching for information about the players at this year's Wimbledon.

There are only two possibilities for why my dad sent me there: one is that there might be trouble at Wimbledon that I need to handle.

Another possibility is that something very dangerous is about to happen in Japan, so his father and Shinjo discussed it and decided to send him away. If that child named Sera Akemi, like Ai Haibara, is a victim of APTX-4869…

"Oh, by the way, that guy asked me to pass on a message to you," Haibara said, turning her head. "Don't forget what you promised him."

Chapter 273 The True Colors Are Revealed

Conan paused, then realized that Shinjo was referring to his promise to the Mori family, and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He had actually considered giving up his trip to London to participate in this incident...

"Judging from your expression, you really are planning to go back on your word, aren't you?" Haibara chuckled. "He's right, old habits die hard."

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that," Conan said with a dark face.

"Then go talk to him, provided you can see him." Haibara seemed to have thought of something. "Don't go recently, because he has a very important guest right now."

"An important guest?" Conan immediately followed. "Tell me, what important guest?"

Ai Haibara simply kept walking forward with her head down, ignoring Conan.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the school gate, and Conan discovered that it was Dr. Agasa who had come to pick up Ai Haibara.

"Would you like me to take you home?" Dr. Agasa asked Conan.

“No need, he can go home by himself,” Haibara said directly.

"The professor is asking me!" Conan said, getting into the passenger seat of the car somewhat angrily. "Professor, what are you going to London for?"

"I don't know the answer to that question either," the professor said with a hint of helplessness. "They said they got me Wimbledon's VIP seats and asked me to take my two kids for a ride, so I agreed. Also, it seems he has a partner in London who can fund my research."

Upon hearing the professor's explanation, Conan revealed an expression of "I knew it." Using bribery was that guy's usual tactic.

Research Institute

"Where is the stuff?" Vermouth asked directly.