Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

When Miyako hung up the food delivery order from the Nadotong rider, she looked up and found that the four people on the other end of the line were staring straight at her.

"...What's wrong?"

"My beloved son."

Sano stroked his chin, looking at the other person with some suspicion: "You wouldn't... be a lolicon, would you?"

"Senior! This can't possibly be possible!"

Ran Mouri, who thought Sano was going to come up with some brilliant deduction, said irritably, while Conan and Ai Haibara rolled their eyes.

"Otherwise, I really can't understand why she would send this guy desserts. The things here aren't cheap."

Upon hearing Sano's words, Miyasu Aiko seemed to understand what was going on. She explained with a smile that she felt a sense of affection for Ai Haibara because she resembled one of her younger sisters, which is why she became a little closer to her.

"So that's how it is..."

The group, their doubts resolved, nodded in understanding.

But... my younger sister?

Sano, having triggered a certain keyword, suddenly focused his gaze on Miyasu Aiko's high-necked undershirt, which covered most of her neck.

"...Aiko, don't you feel hot wearing a turtleneck in a coffee shop?"

"what?"

Faced with Sano's sudden question, Miyasu Aiko was taken aback at first, then smiled and shook her head, saying, "No, it's probably because I'm naturally cold-sensitive and more afraid of the cold, so I habitually dress warmer than most people."

"Yeah."

Sano nodded, without saying anything more.

...Letting this guy approach Ai Haibara under an identity other than her real one, she's quite the player, she even came to work for me.

Is she planning to stay together for a long time...? Oh well, it's none of my business anyway, let her be.

"By the way, senior, I heard you passed your make-up exam this time?"

Ran Mouri suddenly brought up the issue of retaking the exam, and Sano calmly nodded: "Well, I barely passed."

...In fact, Sano, who had mastered the correct way to take exams, was fully capable of getting perfect scores in every subject.

But doing that would look too fake.

As an excellent student, Sano was well aware of the principle of moderation and how to make his answers appear as if they were his own.

Therefore, Sano deliberately controlled his score, just barely passing.

That's enough.

"Heh, after so many retakes, you finally didn't fail again. Congratulations!"

Upon hearing the faint sarcasm emanating from Ai Haibara, Sano's eyes immediately turned hostile.

This guy has a really sharp tongue. Not letting Miyano Akemi show her face in front of her was definitely the right choice.

"You can't say that, Ai. Senior also worked very hard to pass the test."

Before Sano could retort, Ran Mouri spoke up for him.

...Although these words don't sound very pleasant.

"Senior, you must keep up the good work! Try your best not to fail the midterm exam next Monday."

Ran Mouri then turned to Sano and encouraged him.

"Yes, I know..."

Sano's voice suddenly stopped: "What the hell did you just say? What are we doing next Monday?"

"Midterm exams."

Ran Mouri asked in confusion, "Senpai, didn't you know?"

"...Should I know?"

Sano's brain didn't process it for a moment.

Since the midterm exam is next Monday, does it really matter whether I pass this round of make-up exams or not?

Then why go to such lengths to steal the answers?

And the last exam that led me into a cycle of retaking exams, wasn't it also a midterm exam?

Now it's midterms again... Oh well, Sano's too lazy to even comment on these Detective Conan-related questions.

At worst, Sano can just become a secret agent again.

It's no big deal.

After inspecting the coffee shop and learning that midterm exams were still required, Sano left and went home.

That evening, Sano returned to the cocktail bar at Gin's call, and just like the day before, took a mission report and a bottle of vodka.

And just like yesterday, Sano left a gift for Gin when he left.

...Firstly, it's because Sano hasn't finished venting his resentment from yesterday.

Secondly, I just finished working overtime yesterday and was thinking that I could finally rest today, but I was called back to work. How could I not feel resentful?

Although Sano still had a task that required him to achieve results, he shouldn't have resisted this kind of thing.

But that thing doesn't even have a progress bar, so after a while, Sano inevitably gets impatient.

So while Sano was busy with his mission with Vodka, Gin was once again attacked by the "Black Mask".

Everything is the same as yesterday.

Black Mask neither immediately broke up with Gin nor persisted in his pursuit.

It was just a simple touch, and I withdrew midway.

This left Gin both irritable and helpless.

Then on the third day, Sano came to the cocktail bar again, took away vodka again, and left behind a copy again...

However, this time Gin learned his lesson.

One coincidence, two coincidences, but the third time Gin couldn't possibly be completely unprepared.

Therefore, Gin made preparations in advance this time, setting up a "trap" and waiting for "Black Mask" to take the bait.

As a result... although the hook was caught, the fish still got away.

After all, Gin couldn't make the "trap" too obvious. Firstly, he was worried that "Black Mask" wouldn't take the bait, and secondly, the circumstances didn't allow it. So even if the number of combat personnel he arranged was not small, it definitely couldn't be too many.

In particular, Sano's ability to switch between his black cat form and masked form allows him to appear and disappear unpredictably. He can launch a surprise attack without a sound or vanish without warning, leaving Gin completely helpless against him.

Gin then began to try shifting the battlegrounds to sparsely populated suburban areas, making it easier to deploy "effective traps".

Unfortunately, "Black Mask" seems to be well aware of Gin's thoughts, and always makes his move before Gin leaves the suburbs or after he returns from the suburbs.

We must resolutely avoid standing under a crumbling wall.

Therefore, the final result was the same as before.

After several such attempts, besides losing a lot of manpower and resources and becoming exhausted, Gin did not gain anything at all.

At this point, Gin's eager and lively heart gradually softened, and he wanted to give up this fishing trip that was going with the flow.

Just because Gin doesn't want to fight anymore doesn't mean Sano doesn't want to either.

Because the initiative is in Sano's hands, even if Gin wants to escape, he can't avoid it.

Gin was also puzzled as to why the "Black Mask" was always able to pinpoint his location so accurately.

Gin is not without counter-surveillance technology; in fact, he is quite skilled at it.

Whether it's remote tracking via a transmitter or real-time tracking at close range.

Gin couldn't find a single trace of it.

That guy was like an invisible psychopath, relentlessly clinging to me, and all I could do was passively accept these surprise attacks.

This continued until the seventh attack, when Gin finally couldn't take it anymore.

You can't catch them, and you can't prevent them.

You can't kill them, and you can't avoid them.

Gin felt like his mentality was about to collapse.

Gin's fighting spirit was reignited, and he decided to fight "Black Mask" to the bitter end.

Driven to desperation, Gin even planned to stay in the prepared trap around the clock. In the end, he made up his mind to go all in, wanting Sano and the other codenamed members to help him stake out the place.

The conflict between Black Mask and Gin is both personal and public, and due to the scarcity of relevant information, it falls into an ambiguous category.

That's why Gin first tried to send Sano to gather intelligence, and then summoned peripheral members to "wait for the rabbit to come to the tree stump". However, because of this, mobilizing too many people, even multiple codename members, inevitably made it feel a little "illegitimate".

However, at that moment, Sano spoke up and reminded Gin of the key point.

"Lord Gin, you should also know that there is no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days, only if you are a thief for a thousand days."

"You can't be on high alert 24/7. There will always be oversights, and it's not worth wasting time and energy on someone like that."

Sano wasn't trying to excuse himself; he was just telling the truth.

...After all, Black Mask is Sano himself, so how could he not know the advantages of the "tactics" he was using?

This is very similar to traditional guerrilla tactics.

The main focus is on two points: harassment and flexibility.

In summary, the strategy is: when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we pursue; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy is exhausted, we attack.

With such tactical advantages, coupled with the strategic advantage of the enemy being in the open while we are in the dark, it's no wonder Gin has no chance of succeeding.

Gin was certainly aware of this, but he had already gotten a little carried away and hadn't thought about it in detail... even though it seemed pointless even if he had.

"...Then what do you think we should do?"

"It's simple, if you can't afford to offend them, can't you at least avoid them?"

Chapter 298, Vodka: Congratulations! Congratulations! [Bonus Chapter 5/5 for Junyou's donation]