Conan, I'm an actor

Karen waved her hand, and the blueprints in front of her disappeared. She then manipulated the camera to point at Koshimizu and Karen.

Looking at the cameras shifting around her, Lei Siling felt a chill run down her spine; it was her first time in this room.

"Is there something you two want to do here at this hour?" Karen asked bluntly.

“It’s not me who’s looking for you, it’s her,” Yue Shui said, pointing to Commander Lei beside her. “We can’t get in touch with Xincheng right now, so I asked her to come to you for advice.”

"Has something happened outside?" Karen asked, somewhat puzzled. "Didn't New City tell you before they left that you didn't need to worry about anything except for them attacking this base?"

“It’s a summons,” Commander Lei said with a hint of helplessness. “A court summons.”

"A court summons? Why didn't they notify us by email?" Karen asked, puzzled. "So, who is suing us? And what is it about?"

"It's about Jiuliangliang Island, which is right here on our feet. The court said there's something wrong with our transaction here, and they might take back the island," Commander Lei said, forcing himself to speak.

She knew how much Xincheng and the mastermind behind the scenes valued this base. Those guys' actions could be considered a fatal blow, and she was afraid that many people would die this time.

Her only hope now is that Miss Karen won't assign her a bunch of tasks all at once, leaving her overwhelmed.

"Take back Kuraraya Island, fine." Karen's voice was somewhat sinister. "Humans really are a despicable bunch who love to play tricks. In that case, then..."

“Miss Karen,” Yue Shui suddenly said, “please control your emotions, you’ve frightened Ms. Riesling.”

Chapter 296 Exposure

"Leave this to me. The rest is none of your business," Karen said directly.

"You won't resort to any extreme measures, will you? Shinjo told me before he left that if you were to use the drone network, I would have the right to terminate your process using the key," Yue Shui said seriously. "I don't want it to come to that."

Commander Lei looked as if she had seen a ghost. Only then did she realize that the person she had been reporting to earlier might not have been human at all.

“We were originally planning to use the drone network, but after thinking about it, we probably won’t need it to deal with guys like this.” Karen’s virtual avatar on the screen stretched. “The newspapers we acquired earlier will come in handy now. Keeping dogs is, of course, to let them out and bite people.”

Yue Shui nodded and left the room with Commander Lei.

"Miss Koshimizu, is that Ms. Karen even human?"

“She’s human, and yet not human.” Yue Shui glanced back at the room where Karen was. “The official name should be artificial intelligence, something Shinjo came up with. Besides her, there’s a child named Hiroki, you’ll meet him later.”

Commander Lei was stunned. What artificial intelligence? Does such an advanced thing really exist in the world?

"By the way, what did Miss Karen mean by the newspaper earlier? What methods is she planning to use?"

“We have a database that records dirt on most politicians around the world, enough to end their political careers,” Yue Shui said calmly. “Karen probably wants to force those officials who are hostile to us to step down and replace them with a new batch by reporting their dirty laundry.”

"But what if it's the same with a different batch?"

"Then let's get another batch."

Commander Lei felt like he had followed the wrong people; they were all a bunch of lunatics.

Just then, Yue Shui's phone rang. He took it out, glanced at it, and said to Lei Siling beside him, "Come out with me this afternoon."

Where to go?

"We've received the goods. We used up too much weaponry and ammunition during the previous operation." Yue Shui put his phone back in his pocket. "A shipment is arriving today."

"A boat?" Commander Lei guessed it was something like a speedboat.

A few hours later, when Rysling saw the robotic arm unload more than two hundred containers from a Panamax cargo ship, he was completely stunned.

In an apartment in the suburbs of London

"What a pleasant surprise." Vodka looked at the photo in front of him. It was probably a screenshot from surveillance video, and the photo showed Ai Haibara and Akemi.

Having just escaped from Japan, these stray dogs were relegated to the margins by the organization. Not only was Gin and his position demoted, but even the core members they had brought from Japan were scattered and dispersed to various locations.

If they can capture these two people, Gin might be able to regain his position, and those key members who were separated could be brought back into their hands.

With that in mind, he picked up the phone book, found Gin's number, and dialed it directly.

In a safe house near London

"Hey, you two, make up your minds!" Chianti said, somewhat annoyed. "Who are we going to stick with from now on?"

"How do you know Gin has lost power?" Calvados looked up. "That guy isn't one to give up easily."

"What good is it if he doesn't admit defeat?" Chianti said irritably. "He can't even save vodka, how can you expect him to save us?"

“Chianti, you’re too hasty,” Cohen said slowly. “We’re snipers.”

"I don't need you to lecture me!"

“Cohen is right, we are snipers,” Calvados said, patting the rifle he was wiping. “Training a sniper consumes a huge amount of resources, and the organization will not abandon snipers unless absolutely necessary. The fact that this punishment bypassed us is the best proof of that. We can simply wait and see, wait for the organization to assign us a new leader, and then try to build a good relationship with him.”

Just then, the phone next to them rang.

Cohen picked up the phone, said only a couple of sentences, and then hung up.

"Whose call was it?" Calvados asked Cohen.

“It’s Vodka on the phone,” Cohen said after a moment’s hesitation. “He has a side job and he’s asking if we’d like to take it.”

"Kill whom?" Chianti's face contorted with rage.

“Not murder, but capture alive.” Cohen said, looking at Calvados. “The organization’s traitor, Sherry, is in London. I heard that the attack on the Japanese branch was due to Sherry’s defection and the leak of her drug development.”

"So, you mean that as long as you capture them, Gin can make a comeback?" Calvados was taken aback. "How could there be such a coincidence in the world?"

“I also think it’s a bit of a coincidence.” Cohen shrugged. “But Vodka said he would send over the mission data, so I might as well lend a hand. This isn’t Japan, and there’s no Cognac in the way.”

Calvados nodded; he had no objection to helping vodka.

To their surprise, Chianti suddenly objected, arguing that since they deserved the credit, they should take it for themselves and help Vodka and Gin instead. Those two were notoriously cold-blooded, especially ruthless towards their own people.

“The intelligence was provided by Vodka,” Calvados said, taking out the faxed documents. “Even if we don’t agree to his demands, he’ll find someone else. Those who escaped Japan together are all his trusted confidants. Besides, what we need to do isn’t to charge into battle, but simply keep an eye on the perimeter for him.”

After saying that, he texted Vodka back with his agreement.

Almost simultaneously, the text message was transmitted to a server in Japan and then appeared on Shinjo's phone screen.

Xincheng saw this message two hours later.

Upon seeing the message, he fell silent. He had anticipated this; it was only a matter of time before the organization found Akemi and Ai on the day the drug's effects were made public.

Ai can explain herself, but Akemi… you have to remember, he was the one who accepted the mission to assassinate Akemi. He lied to Gin, saying that he not only killed Akemi, but also took care of her lover, Shuichi Akai.

Now, not only have his lies been exposed, but his identity as a traitor has also been confirmed. The only questions now are when the Japanese branch will turn against him, and whether Karen has successfully turned him into a traitor.

Thinking of this, he went to the balcony. Just as he took out his cigarette case, he saw a pair of eyes staring intently at him in the darkness, or rather, at the cigarette case in his hand.

"Alright, I'm not smoking anymore. Stop staring at me like that, it's making me feel uneasy," Xincheng sighed.

"Why are you up smoking so late at night? Did something happen?" Haibara asked, staring at Shinjo. "Did my and my sister's identities get exposed?"

"How did you know?" Shinjo asked, somewhat surprised.

"When you mentioned the drug's effects kicking in, I already guessed that day would come." Haibara shrugged. "What I didn't expect was that day would come so soon."

"what?"

"I forgot to tell you, when you asked us to go find Sera Mary, we were followed by members of the organization."

Why didn't you say this sooner?

"In the end, nothing happened. MI6 helped send them back," Haibara said coldly. "Besides, there's no point in talking about it. I think that's when they took our photos and deduced that my sister and I were still alive."

“That is indeed possible.” Shinjo nodded.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean, what to do?" Shinjo said with a wry smile. "I don't know anyone in London. I have no chance of winning against Gin here unless I can drag MI6 into this mess, but that's impossible."

"What about exchanging favors? Aren't you best at that?"

“I don’t know him.” Shinjo gave a wry smile. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t have any connection with MI6. If you’re talking about grudges, then yes, we do. I poached Stout, which was a good slap in the face to them.”

Just then, the door to the next room opened, and Stout came out.

"Did I disturb you?" Stout asked somewhat "honestly".

"If you don't come out of there soon, I'm going to drag you out myself," Shinjo said irritably. "Say what you want to say."

“Actually, we weren’t entirely isolated in London,” Stout said somewhat awkwardly. “Back when I was operating in London, I developed quite a few contacts. These people weren’t MI6 members; they were more like unemployed people on the streets…”

"Just say 'thug' and that's enough." Shinjo rolled his eyes.

These thugs are good for gathering information, but they're far from being effective at fighting against an organization.

Those guys in the organization are elites who have been eliminated through brutal training, especially Gin's men. They may not be quite up to par with professional special forces, but they are definitely not people these thugs can mess with. The FBI agents are the best example of that.

Sending those thugs to clash with the organization's elites is a risky proposition. Even if the thugs were willing, Newtown wouldn't dare involve them. If a gunfight broke out in London, resulting in dozens of deaths, MI6 and New Scotland Yard would be after them.

Seemingly sensing Newtown's concerns, Stout added, "They are my trump card for self-protection. Their most important job is to monitor the organization's members for me. If they make any unusual moves, these informants should be the first to know."

Haibara nodded at Shinjo, the meaning couldn't be clearer.

“Reactivating them isn’t out of the question, but we can’t let them participate in dangerous work.” Shinjo suddenly thought of something and asked with some concern, “Are you sure these guys are reliable? You know, the organization is best at infiltrating people. If this exposes that you’re still alive, then things will be…”

“There’s no need to worry about that,” Stout said confidently. “The people here are all carefully selected by me; they would never betray us.”

The more confident he sounded, the more uneasy Xincheng became; the list in his hand seemed like a hot potato.

London, suburbs

Big cities aren't all skyscrapers; beneath the glamour lies ugliness. This patch of bungalows is clearly part of that ugliness; it's considered a slum in London, a haven for the homeless, criminals, thugs, and gangsters.

One of the bungalows

"Boss, what are you still hesitating about?" Vodka asked anxiously, looking at Gin in front of him.

He had already contacted his men and gathered enough intelligence. As soon as Gin gave the order, they could take action against Sherry, that traitor.

"Cognac is a traitor?" Gin asked, staring at vodka.

Vodka's eyes instantly reddened at the mention of cognac. "I thought this guy was loyal to the organization and that he was just... Miyano Akemi didn't die, so the other corpse at Beika Hotel probably wasn't Akai Shuichi either."

“Since he’s a traitor…” Gin paused for a moment, “why is Vermouth helping him?”

“That woman might have a crush on him!” Vodka blurted out.

He had thought about this before, but he couldn't come up with an answer, so he could only attribute it to this. After all, there was absolutely no reason why Vermouth would help Cognac; in her mind, only love was irrational.

“That’s one explanation.” Gin glanced at Vodka with some surprise, then said, “I’m wondering if it’s because of the medicine.”

"medicine?"