Conan, I'm an actor

"Because she was unhappy that the organization killed Miyano Akemi, she made a deal with Gin." Dr. Agasa, seemingly worried that Akai Mary might not know who Gin was, added, "Gin is that ruthless guy in the organization who specializes in hunting down traitors..."

"No need for further explanation, I know that guy." Akai Mary felt a bit of a headache.

Trying to negotiate with a tiger for its skin will inevitably result in being devoured by the tiger, leaving not even a trace.

“Doctor, you’re not a combatant, are you?” Mary Akai stared at Professor Agasa and said, “You were able to get to London, so someone must have been secretly helping you. Can you tell me who helped you?”

"This is Shiho Miyano's friend, and also an undercover agent within the organization," Dr. Agasa said, scratching his head. "I can't reveal more details."

“I understand.” Mary Akai nodded. “So, you’ve come to London this time to entrust these two children to my care?”

Mary Akai was not opposed to raising her niece's daughters. After all, the two little girls were orphans and were being hunted by members of the organization. Without her protection, they probably wouldn't have survived three years.

"No, we thought that coming to London would at least allow us to avoid trouble." Dr. Agasa shook his head. "Since there are organized groups in London as well, then London is not a suitable place to stay. We'll just find another place to stay."

Hearing Professor Agasa's words, Mary Akai said somewhat discontentedly, "Can you protect their safety? I can apply to MI6 here..."

"The MI6 undercover agent, Stout, has already been eliminated by the organization," Dr. Agasa said, forcing a smile. "MI6 couldn't even protect her family, let alone your relatives."

Shinjo had previously instructed him that if Ai and Akemi didn't intend to stay, he should use this excuse to reject Akai Mary.

Mary Akai frowned; this was the first time she'd heard this news. She'd have to verify it when she got back to see if it was true.

On the other side

Conan looked at the coordinates on his glasses, then took a map and began searching for the location of the cursor.

"Little brother, what are you looking for?" A familiar voice sounded behind Conan.

Conan turned around and looked behind him, feeling like his soul was about to jump out of his skin. Sharon Vineyard, his mother's friend. He had heard Shinjo introduce her before; her codename in the organization was something like Vermouth.

"I'm looking for the Sherlock Holmes Museum," Conan's mind raced. "Does big sister know where it is?"

“I know,” Vermouth smiled gently, “but are you comfortable with me leading the way, Shinichi Kudo?”

Conan's expression started to falter; he was prepared to put on an act, but the other party had revealed their hand directly.

Knowing that Kogoro Mouri and Ran Mouri would be coming here soon, he decided to act decisively.

"Should I call you Sharon, Chris Vineyard, or Vermouth?" Conan asked, staring at the woman in front of him.

"You know quite a lot. It seems your Uncle Shinjo has told you everything about me." Vermouth pressed her fingers against Conan's face, then cupped his cheeks with both hands. "So, can you tell me what you're here in London for?"

Chapter 285 Drug Effect Exposure

"I absolutely will not tell you!" Conan said, forcing himself to speak.

This place is practically a tourist attraction, with many visitors around. He didn't believe Vermouth would attack him at this time. Besides, at this distance, without even aiming, a single tranquilizer dart would incapacitate the woman in front of him.

Vermouth seemed to notice Conan's little movement and pinched his shoulder.

Conan's expression changed instantly; his entire arm felt numb and sore, making it difficult to lift.

At that moment, Vermouth lifted Conan's arm, turned the watch backward, and was about to press the button when she was stopped by a voice behind her.

"Sharon, I'll get angry if you keep bullying Shin-chan like this."

"Yukiko, I didn't expect you to be here too." Vermouth looked behind her and said with a hint of helplessness, "Are you here to get in my way?"

Conan stared in shock at the strange woman wearing a sun hat in front of him. Was this his mother?

If he remembered correctly, they had only been sitting there a short while when this woman sat down next to them. In other words, his mother had been right beside him the whole time, and this great detective hadn't even noticed.

“If you don’t touch those two little girls, we won’t bother you,” Yukiko said with a smile. “That gentleman hopes you can abide by the terms of the deal and not stoop to the level of two children.”

"So it really was him causing trouble?" Vermouth patted Conan on the shoulder. "Give him a message: things won't go as he expects. There aren't that many good things in the world."

Conan was taken aback and looked at Vermouth with some confusion, not understanding the meaning of her words.

After the woman left, Conan saw his mother's relieved expression and immediately became nervous. "Mom, were you just bluffing?"

"More or less." Just then, Yusaku Kudo put down his newspaper at the table behind Conan.

"So, you two have been following me?" Conan felt a little annoyed. "By the way, Vermouth, she knows..."

“She probably knew from the beginning, but she pretended not to know because she had a deal with Mr. Shinjo.” Yukiko picked Conan up. “We just wanted to see Shin-chan’s expression when he saw London, but we didn’t expect that Shin-chan didn’t go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. In that case, let Mom take you there.”

"Hey, put me down, Uncle Mori and the others are almost here."

"Are you worried about losing face in front of Ran? It's okay, you've already lost face." Yukiko said with a smile, "Professor Agasa contacted us before, so don't worry."

"But Haibara and the others..."

“They’ve found the person they’re looking for.” Yusaku Kudo looked at the text message on his phone. “Professor Agasa said that they don’t plan to live with that lady and will return to Japan after their trip to London.”

"Huh? Why?" Conan asked, somewhat bewildered.

In his view, Mary Akai should be their only relative, and besides, she has MI6 backing her up.

In terms of relationships, Auntie is definitely closer than Xincheng, this guy with an unknown identity. In terms of background, MI6, a veteran intelligence organization, is more reliable than Xincheng's makeshift team. It doesn't make sense.

“Maybe the two little girls have fallen for Mr. Shinjo,” Yukiko joked. “Besides, if I remember correctly, that little girl named Ai Haibara seems to be a scientist. Mr. Shinjo can provide her with a laboratory and the conditions for experiments, and as for MI6… after all, in their eyes, Ai Haibara is just a child.”

Conan nodded; that made some sense.

However, he quickly thought of something else. "Mom, has Mr. Shinjo told you what he's going to do? I asked the doctor, but he wouldn't say."

"I don't know either. Why don't you call and ask, Shin-chan?"

"It would be good if he could tell me." Conan sighed.

Seeing her son's sullen expression, Yukiko ruffled Conan's hair and said, "Enjoy this vacation. After you go back, you might have to go back to high school."

"real!"

"Maybe."

Meanwhile, Tokyo

Shinjo stroked his chin, having just received news that Akai Mary had met with the two girls. However, he was somewhat surprised that the two girls had chosen to return to Japan.

It's understandable that Ai Haibara wouldn't want to live with her aunt, given their lack of affection. But it's strange that Akemi disagrees; this woman is not only her aunt but could also become her mother-in-law.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask, "Karen, is it possible to contact Akai Mary now?"

"What do you want to do?" Karen asked, somewhat confused.

"You said I'd tell his mother what Shuichi Akai did, and then send her the photos of him shopping with Akemi," Shinjo said, stroking his chin. "Won't that woman, Mary Akai, come to Japan and beat up her unfilial son?"

"We can't rule out that possibility, so should we give it a try?" Karen's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.

"Do you think I can stop that guy?" Shinjo stroked his chin.

“In a one-on-one fight, you have a pretty good chance of winning, but if that guy is as shameless as you and tries to ambush you,” Karen said seriously, “you’re pretty likely to die. Maybe you should just stay in this base from now on.”

"Then forget it."

"Coward." Karen rolled her eyes. "Even if you posted it, who would know it was you who posted it?"

Xincheng stood up and stretched. "Let's get down to business. After they got their hands on those drugs, did they conduct any experiments?"

“No, the drug information was shared, but there was a problem with the distribution of the finished drug,” Karen said, frowning. “Out of three experiments, one died and two survived. They were lucky.”

"A two-thirds chance of betting your life," Shinjo said, stroking his chin. "Do you think anyone would actually bet on that?"

“How could there not be? There are only a dozen or so pills.” Karen rolled her eyes. “It’s not too many, it’s too few. There aren’t enough to go around.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Shinjo stretched. “This isn’t good news.”

“I’ve already started compiling a list of those who will participate in the trial.” Karen pulled up a list. “We’ve already confirmed that four people will be participating, all of them are wealthy people with terminal illnesses. If any of them are unlucky, I’ll take advantage of their misfortune.”

"Won't we be discovered?"

"So what if they found out? Let them come looking for us if they dare," Karen said, somewhat disgruntled. "You don't even try to raise some money. The expenses are already so high, and you even covered all their travel expenses, not to mention those three agents..."

Shinjo rubbed his nose. He was really bad at making money. Karasuma Renya's Twilight Villa was the most valuable thing he could get his hands on.

The remaining treasures in the story are either small-scale, with little substance and a messy aftertaste, or they're already owned, like Suzuki Jirokichi's treasures. He wouldn't be going to these people to beg for money, and even if he got his hands on those treasures, they'd be difficult to sell.

While Karen's creations were technologically advanced, they couldn't be monetized, so there was no chance of capital return. As for the futures market, as someone's fame grew and they became a trendsetter, the efficiency of profiting from them decreased significantly.

This directly led to his recent financial difficulties, and even forced some research projects to come to a standstill.

"Why don't you just hack into the operating systems of all the major banks?" Xincheng said, stroking his chin. "There's still a lot of money in those dead people's accounts. Why don't you just transfer that money to our account?"

"It's all used up..."

"Then I'm out of ideas," Xincheng said with a hint of resentment. "With your gap in the market, even if it were a risk-free business, we still wouldn't be able to find a target."

"I will then stop some projects, including the APTX-4869 project."

"It can't be that bad, we shouldn't be short of electricity." Xincheng said with some pain in his eyes, "If you stop that project, that woman will come after me and fight me to the death. Can you tell me what you're planning to do?"

“Back then, TPC built a lunar base, and I planned to spend a few months simulating the possibility of building one.” Karen’s voice was somewhat languid. “It was a last resort, after all, you didn’t offend that organization this time.”

Xincheng rubbed his cheek. This plan wasn't particularly clever; it was just a simple divisive tactic. If the organization and those politicians both took a step back, this divisive tactic would fail.

Furthermore, a little research would reveal the differences between the two pills. Gin knew that the "new drug" was prepared by him, and feared it might become his death warrant.

It's only natural that Karen would want to prepare an escape route.

At the same time, Gin also received a call from Vermouth urging them to destroy the ocean buoy as soon as possible.

"Boss, are we really going to cause trouble for that ocean buoy?" Vodka was now apprehensive just looking at that area of ​​water. "Although the military exercise is over, there's no guarantee that there won't be submarines protecting it there. And I heard that minefields have been redeployed near the ocean buoy."

“This time we won’t use torpedoes. We’ll send people to swim over and attach explosives,” Gin said with a dark face. “That’s the boss’s order.”

Vodka's expression instantly fell; there was no room for negotiation. The BOSS's orders meant that even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, he had to grit his teeth and go.

"What's the situation over there? Any news?" Gin asked, frowning.

“Those guys were at least giving us a few perfunctory replies before, but two days ago they couldn’t even be bothered to give us any more perfunctory replies.” Vodka exuded murderous intent as he mentioned this. “Boss, if you ask me, let’s just kill all these guys! They’re all ungrateful bastards who have crossed the river and burned the bridge. They’ve all forgotten how they climbed to where they are now.”

Gin was also having a bit of a headache. He had originally wanted to find out the organization's reaction after seizing these drugs from these guys, but now they were completely ignoring him.

“Find a way to plant people around those people,” Gin said after a moment’s hesitation. “I need more detailed and specific information.”

He originally wanted to have Vodka plant people near the laboratory, but considering the difficulty, he ultimately chose to settle for a less desirable option.

"Boss, isn't this Cognac's responsibility?" Vodka asked, somewhat confused. "If Cognac messes things up, wouldn't that be a perfect opportunity for us to kill him? Isn't that what you've always wanted to do?"

"You're thinking of killing him because you almost got shot in the head in the hotel last time, aren't you?" Gin glanced at Vodka.

“A little.” Vodka snorted, not denying it.

“Cognac can be dealt with anytime, it doesn’t matter if it takes a little more time. But this matter is critical.” Gin took a deep breath, “because it’s true that the drug can reverse aging.”