Conan, I'm an actor

“They knew the drug was problematic all along and deliberately concealed it,” Gin said, staring out the window. “Rum is dead, but they haven’t reacted at all. It seems like it wasn’t the organization’s second-in-command who died, but a dog.”

"Boss, you mean..."

“If I’m not mistaken, the boss also took that drug,” Gin said, frowning. “I’ve known Vermouth longer than you have, and her face has never changed since I met her.”

"Nothing has changed?" Vodka shuddered. "Boss, don't scare me."

“What good would it do me to lie to you?” Gin leaned back in his chair. “So I’m wondering if it’s because they’ve reached some kind of agreement with the Boss. As long as they don’t cross the line, the Boss and Vermouth will let them have their way, just like the Boss lets Vermouth have her way.”

“That rum…”

“I think that Cognac guy took advantage of that.” Gin tapped his fingers on the table. “If I remember correctly, Rum also seemed to have been searching for the secret of the medicine before he died.”

"Cognac is using this to its advantage, acting first and reporting later?" Vodka shuddered. "But now the effects of the drug have been revealed, everyone knows it. The BOSS shouldn't be so quick to silence people over something that everyone already knows."

“Who knows?” Gin took a deep breath. “But one thing is certain: capture Sherry. Right now, all those guys want is Sherry’s research data. Once we capture her, we can have as much research data as we want.”

Chapter 297 Methods to Deal with Hackers

Vodka finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Gin was preparing to take action. He was afraid that Gin would become depressed and lose his will to live.

Gin glanced at the documents Vodka had brought over, and his expression instantly changed. "What's with this Stout? Why is he highlighted?"

“This Stout was also a member of the organization, but he mysteriously disappeared a month ago,” Vodka said seriously. “The organization had searched for him before, but couldn’t find any trace of him. They originally wanted to ask us to find him, but we didn’t have time…”

"Shirley is hiding in his shelter. What is his relationship with Shirley?"

“No.” Vodka said through gritted teeth, as if he had just remembered something. “Before Stout disappeared, he met with Yusuke Sakata once.”

"Sakata Yusuke?" Gin looked puzzled.

He felt the name was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place where he had heard it before. It might have been one of the small fry who died at his hands.

Seemingly sensing his boss's confusion, Vodka immediately stepped in to help Gin, "This guy is Cognac's subordinate. Before joining the organization, he was the best policeman in Osaka Prefecture. He faked his death and left the police force because of personal vendetta, and has been working for Cognac ever since."

"Now that you mention it, I do recall something," Gin nodded. "Who else has he been in contact with?"

“Commander Lei, this woman was originally on a mission in Germany, but she disappeared after meeting him once.”

Why didn't you say so at the time?

“I didn’t even have a chance to say anything before they started their operation, and we’ve been on the submarine ever since,” Vodka said with a hint of helplessness. “I’d forgotten about it. And Cognac wasn’t a traitor before, so I think the two of them were the traitors and were taken care of by Cognac’s people.”

"Then let's take this opportunity to root out all these rats." A shadow crossed Gin's eyes.

If cognac can make the boss suffer in silence, then he can too.

At this moment, he had already figured out how to explain the cause of Cognac's death to his superiors.

What Vodka and Gin didn't know was that a trap awaited them.

Xincheng was the last to leave the supplies. There were more than thirty switches inside the house. If just one of them was triggered, the hundreds of kilograms of explosives inside could send the building flying into the sky.

Newtown hadn't originally planned to use so many explosives. Although it was remote, it was still in London. If there were mass casualties, escaping would be extremely difficult.

But Stout held the opposite view. He believed that if they were going to do something, they should do it big, like a gang fight, so that the Scotland Yard police would be able to handle it afterward.

After doing all this, Xincheng handed the scene over to Curaçao and Stauté.

"Don't worry, I will definitely find a way to keep Gin here," Curaçao said seriously.

If we're talking about who poses the biggest threat to New Town within the organization, it's definitely Gin. His threat level is even higher than that of the yet-to-be-revealed "New Rum".

This guy is not only highly capable, but also extremely familiar with Shinjo's headquarters. He could easily sneak back to Japan and carry out assassinations.

Shinjo might not be afraid, but others are in danger. Especially rookies like Sakata Yusuke and Okakura Masaaki; if they encounter Gin, they won't even know how they died.

“There’s no need to force it. Gin isn’t someone to be trifled with,” Shinjo said with a smile. “Running away when things go wrong isn’t shameful, really. Especially you, Stout.”

“I know this place very well,” Stout immediately asserted, indicating that he was a local and there was no way anything could go wrong.

“You’re familiar with the terrain here, but there’s always someone who knows it better than you.” Shinjo patted him on the shoulder. “I think you know better than I what would happen if it fell into MI6’s hands.”

Stout couldn't help but shudder; it was only then that he realized he had quite a few former employers.

At the hotel

"What did you say? Mr. Shinjo had a match with that grass court queen's coach?" Ran looked at Conan. "Are you sure you're not joking? I've never seen Mr. Shinjo play tennis before."

“Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean Mr. Shinjo can’t.” Conan sighed. “I heard from my dad that the two shots Mr. Shinjo hit at Wimbledon could very well break the world record.”

"A world record? Are you kidding me?" Kogoro Mouri was dumbfounded.

"Dad, aren't you and Uncle Xincheng old classmates?" Xiaolan asked, somewhat puzzled. "Didn't you know he could play tennis?"

"Don't even mention you guys, I've never even seen Shinjo hold a tennis racket."

"This is a rare opportunity, do you want to go take a look together?" Conan said excitedly.

"Why are you so excited, kid?" Kogoro Mouri asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Our opponent is Ares, who was one of the world's top tennis players before he retired." Conan's face lit up with excitement. "Maybe we can beat Uncle Shinjo."

"Will we be able to see Shinjo lose?" Kogoro Mouri nodded. "It's definitely worth watching."

Meanwhile, some people arrived in London and went to a pub, each carrying an invitation.

Gin sat inside the pub, looking at the familiar faces before him without saying a word. He was waiting, waiting for Vodka to fail.

He remained silent, and no one dared to overstep his bounds; the tavern was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Just then, Gin opened a pocket watch, and the hands pointed to 12 o'clock.

Many people in the tavern noticed Gin's subtle actions and turned their gazes to the large clock in the tavern, some of whom began to whisper among themselves.

They were all key members that Gin brought from Japan; they were arguably Gin's last remaining core group. When they first arrived in Europe, they envisioned working alongside Gin to develop their own operational area.

However, the person in charge in Europe was a very senior veteran within the organization, holding a high position. Gin had just made a major mistake, and it would be unwise for him to "seize power" at this time. In addition, Gin himself had no interest in parading around with a group of subordinates, so these people were disbanded on the spot, and Vodka arranged for them to join the organization in Europe.

However, just a week ago, these people received a letter asking them to meet at the tavern today.

At first, they thought Gin was getting impatient and was preparing to seize control of the European market, but it didn't seem like that at all...

Just as they were wondering why Gin had gathered them here, a loud bang suddenly came from outside, and the tavern's glass shattered almost instantly.

Almost simultaneously, these men drew the weapons they had concealed on their bodies. After waiting a moment and seeing that the anticipated attack did not occur, they relaxed their guard slightly.

Gin's expression changed, and he immediately dialed his own phone number, but the call went unanswered for a long time.

He stood up abruptly, selected two people to follow him out to check the situation, and soon they arrived at a ruin, where they found Vodka unconscious.

Gin looked at the ruins in front of him, his expression somewhat gloomy.

He knew this safe house was a trap, so before the operation, he instructed Vodka not to enter the room until he confirmed it was safe. He just hadn't expected New Town and Stout to be so decisive, sending the entire building to its knees, including Vodka who was hiding outside.

The two men quickly pulled Vodka out of the car, checked him over, and found that he had just passed out and had a little bleeding from his eardrum, but was otherwise fine.

Gin immediately left the scene with his men. Police and firefighters would arrive soon, and it was not appropriate to stay there at this time.

Several members of the organization who knew first aid immediately performed a series of resuscitation measures on Vodka, finally managing to wake the simpleton up. However, due to hearing loss caused by the explosion's shockwave, Vodka couldn't hear Gin's words and ended up using paper and pen.

The people present shuddered when they heard that the man with the vodka had just entered the apartment when he was blown up.

"I called you here today to kill two people and capture one alive." Gin stood up after confirming that Vodka was alright, walked to the bar, and placed three photos on the table.

“Isn’t that Cognac? And Sherry too.” A confidant of Gin immediately recognized the people in the photo. “Are they in London now?”

“I don’t know about Cognac, but Sherry and her sister, Akemi Miyano, are in London.” Gin then took out two more photos. “This is what they look like now.”

"They've turned into little kids?" one member asked, somewhat bewildered. "Boss, isn't this their daughter?"

“No, it’s them.” Gin’s gaze swept across the faces of everyone present. “What I’m about to say is very important. Before that, take out all your electronic devices and put them in the box by the door.”

The people in the tavern looked at each other, unsure of what Gin was planning, but following his lead was the safest bet.

Soon, the metal box was filled with cell phones, and finally, someone thoughtfully put a lid on it.

“The poison the organization previously had us use, APTX-4869, has two effects: one is to kill people, and the other is to make people younger, causing all their cells and bones to degenerate to a childlike state,” Gin said, pointing to the photo on the table. “The two people in the photo are the latter.”

The faces of everyone in the tavern were filled with disbelief; the effects of this drug were simply unheard of.

"These are all my speculations, and some parts still need to be verified." Gin paused. "However, once you leave this room, you must forget about this matter, otherwise it will bring death to everyone present today."

Many people showed indifference on their faces, but they didn't show it because of Gin's established power.

Seemingly sensing their thoughts, Gin immediately dropped another photo. "This is Rum, who died in Japan half a month ago. I think you've already heard about this. He was silenced to verify this. It was Cognac who did it, but it might have been at the behest of the BOSS."

"Boss, you mean..." a henchman asked cautiously, "that the BOSS also took that drug?"

Before Gin could even speak, someone beside him had already warned him with a cough and a look. In the organization, asking about the boss was a major taboo. If this guy hadn't been following Gin from the beginning, that one sentence alone would have been enough to get him killed as an undercover agent.

“That possibility cannot be ruled out.” Gin tapped the table. “But that’s not the point. The point is him, Cognac.”

"I've been wanting to mess with this kid for ages," a one-eyed man said viciously. "I wanted to cause him trouble back in Japan, and now..."

“This operation will be conducted in groups of four,” Gin said decisively. “The use of any electronic devices for communication is prohibited; all communication will be conducted manually.”

Gin's words quickly drew skepticism from his subordinates. While prohibiting cell phones was understandable—it was a common practice within the organization to prevent leaks whenever a mole appeared—banning electronic devices was baffling. How could they cooperate under such circumstances?

Just then, a weak voice sounded from behind.

Vodka had recovered at some point. "One of Cognac's men is a very skilled hacker. This hacker can hack into almost any electronic device. He had already detected our previous actions and set up corresponding traps."

“You all saw the explosion just now. That was a trap set by Cognac and the organization’s traitor Stout. It was to kill me and Vodka, and I knew that, which is why I had Vodka stay outside the building.” Gin finished speaking and glanced around at everyone present. “I deliberately let them step into the trap to lower their guard.”

The expressions of the people present were somewhat unnatural. Although Gin had done nothing wrong, the cold-bloodedness of sacrificing several of his men sent a chill down their spines.

"Anyone who wants to quit, speak up now." A slight smile appeared on Gin's lips. "I won't pursue the matter."

At this moment, not a single person stood up. Even a fool could see that if they deserted now, they would be abandoned later.

After seeing that no one had quit, Gin began to explain the specifics of the mission.

Not far from the bar, Stout and Curaçao were lying in wait, observing.

"So what exactly are Gin and his guys planning to do?" Stout asked wearily. "If I remember correctly, those guys are the crew Gin brought from Japan."

“What concerns me is why Miss Karen didn’t notice,” Curaçao said, frowning.

She knew Karen's identity; if these guys contacted each other electronically, Karen would definitely receive the message, notify New Town, and make corresponding arrangements. However, when she just asked Karen, Karen said she knew nothing about it, and that those guys' cell phone signals had just all disappeared, making it impossible to hack them.

“They must have discovered our intelligence gathering methods, so they turned off all their phones, or rather, they turned on signal jammers,” Curaçao said in a low voice.

"So what do we do now? Should we launch a full-scale attack?" Stout asked in a low voice.

Normally, he would never ask such a reckless question, but with the London police right there, he became much bolder.