Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

At least the probability of survival would be much higher.

Putting aside the fact that the helmeted man had already checked the wardrobe, there wouldn't be any valuables in a child's room, so the other party wouldn't have conducted any search.

However, Ayumi is ultimately just a first-grader.

Now that she has a fever and is facing danger, it's unrealistic to expect her to perform well.

But then again...

Ayumi was already on leave from school, but she still got caught up in Conan's mishap while he was at school, and ended up encountering a burglar.

Conan's aura of bad luck is getting stronger and stronger.

I feel that one day it will cover the entire city of Tokyo, and even the neon lights.

"Ayumi, is there something you want to tell me? If so, knock once; if not, knock twice."

Conan's question came from the detective badge.

When the squad heard Ayumi's alarm clock chime, they assumed she was bored and wanted to listen to their conversation. Only Conan vaguely sensed something was wrong.

Since Conan knew that Ayumi couldn't speak, he decided to communicate by asking her questions and having her answer yes or no, thus determining her situation.

Theoretically speaking, this should be considered a good approach.

...but that's only in theory.

Because the wardrobe door had been opened, and Ayumi's detective badge had been taken from her hand.

Hearing Conan's question, the helmeted man grinned and, under Ayumi's despairing gaze, gently tapped the detective badge in his hand twice.

"...See, nothing will happen."

As Mitsuhiko's voice rang out, the helmeted man immediately turned off his detective badge, then grabbed the struggling Ayumi and dragged her away, tying her up with a rope.

Thus, Ayumi was successfully given away for free.

Meanwhile, Sano slipped out of the room and into the living room while the helmet was being fastened to his person.

Although there was still a lot of time left in the mission—which was originally likely reserved for Conan to save people—Sano was too lazy to wait and see any longer.

The danger is undoubtedly this helmeted guy. Let's deal with him quickly and get to screwing in the screws. The mission is important and time is tight, Sano doesn't have much free time to waste.

After deactivating his black cat form, Sano immediately entered his masked form.

When the helmeted man carried Ayumi, whose mouth was taped shut, out of the room, he discovered that there was another person in the living room.

"Oh."

Sano raised his hand in a practiced gesture of greeting: "Good afternoon, Mr. Robber."

"you!?"

The helmeted man tensed up upon seeing Sano: "Who are you? What do you want?!"

Ok?

How could he not recognize himself in his black mask?

Sano raised an eyebrow under his helmet in surprise.

That makes sense, though. Although the existence of Black Mask has been making headlines these past few days, not everyone is keeping up with the news.

Even if you've seen it, it doesn't necessarily mean you've seen Kamen Rider. Just knowing the words "Black Mask" won't allow you to recognize the features.

Never mind, it's a trivial matter and won't affect my decision to hang the other person on the streetlight.

Sano suddenly rushed out, and the helmeted man instinctively released Ayumi in an attempt to retaliate, but...

Of course, he collapsed to the ground silently.

Sano glanced at Ayumi lying on the ground, staring at him expectantly. After hesitating for less than a second, he chose to ignore her and dragged the unconscious helmeted man away from the apartment.

So when the other end still sensed something was wrong, Conan abandoned everything and rushed to Ayumi's house. He even tried to make a phone call to buy time but couldn't get through. As he became more and more anxious, Conan finally arrived downstairs at Ayumi's house.

What Conan saw was just a shadowy figure hanging on a street lamp.

What's going on?

Completely bewildered, Conan squeezed into the gossiping crowd under the streetlights and, as expected, saw the black card stuck to the other person's body.

A burglar who illegally entered someone else's home, damaged their property, stole cash, kidnapped a young girl, and attempted murder—Black Mask.

……

Since Sano's injuries have almost fully recovered, Gin invited him out today to do a mission together.

Yeah, most people invite each other out for drinks or internet sessions, but Sano and his friends invite each other out for missions.

Gin, Sano, and Vodka form a team of three.

Gin's purpose in asking Sano to do this was not only to check on his injuries, but also... to check on his mental state.

"Tonight you'll be doing a mission, acting as a backup, but there's really nothing for you to do. Just think of it as attending a banquet."

In a bar with few customers, Sano, now wearing a rye vest, took the documents from Gin and casually flipped through them.

Six o'clock, Beihu Restaurant.

Memorial service?

Looking at the contents of the document, Sano narrowed his eyes. It also mentioned that his teammate's code name for this mission was Pisco.

"In addition, although it was an accident, Vermouth was also involved in this mission, but as a precaution, she will not interfere in any way."

Upon hearing Gin's reminder, Sano raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then... where is Pisco now? There's not even a phone number listed. How am I supposed to contact him?"

"No need to contact him. Pisco doesn't want to reveal his true identity to a newcomer like you. So, although we're supposed to be a team, we're actually just doing our own thing."

Gin's answer left Sano even more confused: "Then what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"I told you it's nothing, just think of it as attending a banquet. I'll contact you again if anything comes up."

Gin picked up his glass and took a sip.

Sano: "..."

Good grief, does that mean this mission is basically a freebie?

Did they really "inflate" their performance figures?

Sano wasn't unhappy about being treated as a mascot or keychain.

After all, Sano currently has two needs regarding organizational performance.

Even if there are tasks to be completed, one can still slack off and simply be listed as a participant, which is equivalent to receiving performance targets and bonuses for free.

Who wouldn't want something so good?

But who exactly is this Pisco, that even Gin would help him conceal his identity?

Sano began to have doubts, even though he also behaved similarly to Pisco.

Even so, Sano still made normal appearances in front of the other members. The premise of hiding his identity was that he had this ability... or rather, a cheat code.

Yes, they exploited a loophole in the rules.

But Pisco is completely different; he has essentially changed the rules.

This is clearly against the rules.

Could this guy be some high-ranking official with a special status?

...Okay, to be honest, Sano is feeling a bit resentful right now.

Are you trying to discriminate?

As for Pisco not wanting him to know his true identity, yet having no choice but to team up with him, Sano didn't find it strange at all.

This is similar to what Gin said earlier when Sano and Gin expressed that they did not want to reveal their promotion to core members.

After all, they are part of an organized group, not lone wolves, so they will inevitably encounter situations where they have to team up.

The requirement to form a team here doesn't just mean the task is too difficult and requires a team to complete it; it could also mean the task is too important and two people need to supervise each other to ensure there are no problems.

Just like this mission, the reason why Sano was still involved even though he didn't need to do anything is probably because the mission is quite important.

...Speaking of which, there was a period when all the missions Sano received were solo operations, perhaps because the missions were of low importance.

It can't be that I have too much trust in myself, right?

After thinking for a moment, Sano asked again, "But didn't you say you wanted me to team up with you guys to do missions? How did it turn into this Pisco?"

"That's the task for tonight. Our task will begin when the other side arrives."

Gin replied in this way.

Goodness, are you rushing from one event to another?

Sano nodded, then took out a small notebook from his pocket and handed it to Gin: "In that case, please reimburse me first, since it's been dragging on for so long."

to reimburse?

Gin raised an eyebrow in surprise, then put down his glass and took Sano's notebook.

All expenses incurred by the organization during the mission can be reimbursed, there's nothing to say about that.

Sano has been in the organization for quite some time, and has completed nearly three digits of missions so far, yet he has never been reimbursed for any of them.

...Gin originally thought that Sano didn't care about such a small amount of money and wasn't going to pay it.

After all, there are members in the organization who never apply for reimbursement because they find it troublesome.

Chapter 227, Section 226: Two Dogs at the Distillery

Surprisingly, Sano had saved them all up, planning to apply for them all at once...

That makes sense, given how meticulous this guy is about meeting performance targets, how could he possibly let go of these reimbursement funds?

Then, after finishing his thoughts, Gin opened Sano's notebook, and the densely packed words on it immediately made him catch his breath.

...I must be seeing things, right? This is an expense report??

Gin blinked instinctively, then focused his attention and looked at it seriously.

Eating, drinking, living, and traveling are all basic necessities.