Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Then it got to midnight.

Inside a building in Tokyo, Yusaku Kudo and his companions are hiding in the shadows, waiting for something.

"...No, it's almost over, why haven't we seen anyone yet?"

The voice of FBI agent Judy Fong came through the earphones.

Yusaku Kudo simply pushed up his glasses and said, "Don't worry, it's okay if he didn't come."

"what?"

Judy paused for a moment: "Isn't our goal to lure the snake out of its hole?"

"It's not certain whether there are snakes in the cave or not, so it's normal that we can't lure them out."

Kudo Yusaku was somewhat helpless.

...The original intention of luring the snake out of its hole was indeed to use Ai Haibara to pass a message to Sano and see if that guy would show up at the meeting place to cause trouble, but let's not forget that Kudo Yusaku's prediction might be wrong.

That's right.

With Sano's intelligence, there's still a high probability that he'll see through this trap.

Kudo Yusaku was gambling that Sano would find his bait too easy and become curious about what he was up to, thus surfacing to pry into his life.

Of course, if it doesn't work, that's really okay.

Because the original plan wasn't really nonsense.

Yusaku Kudo looked out the window at a floor of another building next door.

That was a safe house belonging to the Japanese Public Security Bureau.

One of the leaders at the decision-making level of the public security department is inside, and is currently holding an online multi-party video conference with leaders of intelligence organizations such as the FBI.

That's right, the action plan targeting the distillery was both bait and fact.

That explanation, intended to convince Ai Haibara that the operation was real, wasn't purely to persuade the fake loli. Putting aside whether it was a coincidence or a deliberate maneuver by Blackie that such a powerful intelligence network fell into Blackie's hands, what if they couldn't find anyone right now? Did they really have to wander around aimlessly like headless flies?

impossible.

A confrontation with the members in black is inevitable; it's just a matter of how it happens.

Therefore, apart from the incorrect meeting location, the rest of the meeting content was legitimate, if they really didn't step in out of caution.

The next step is to take action against the winery.

Judging by the time, it should be almost over over there... Kudo Yusaku had gradually begun to relax his vigilance, thinking about whether he should start arranging for his teammates to retreat, but he had just raised his hand to press the button on his headset.

A glimpse of a dark shadow in the corner of one's eye sent chills down one's spine.

"The talks over there seem to be going very smoothly."

Sano, who had already changed into a rye vest, leaned against the window frame and looked at the safe house in the building across the street. Then he turned to look at Yusaku Kudo.

"You must be tired after guarding for so long?"

"...He's here!"

Kudo Yusaku panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down. After calling out into the earpiece, he looked at Sano, who hadn't made a move yet, and didn't act rashly either: "...Do you want to talk to me?"

"What do the two of us have to talk about?"

Sano scoffed, "You've already prepared a trap, do you expect me to sit down and eat? But I'm quite curious, why do you think that if all the network is disconnected, I definitely won't be able to find the meeting place?"

Kudo Yusaku's expression stiffened, but he still tried to remain calm.

“We won’t let you do anything reckless… and even if you do manage to stop this meeting, you can’t stop the overall trend; you’re already being watched.”

"Yes, you're right, so I'm going to give you a warning."

Sano suddenly took out his phone, performed a series of operations, and then turned the screen to face the other side.

Although Kudo Yusaku felt something was off, he still stared intently at it.

"Is this... a live stream?"

"Yes, we hacked into the television stations of several major countries and forced them to broadcast live."

Sano zoomed in on the image.

"Can you recognize where this is? Just a heads up, it's Amelika's place."

Amika...

Looking at the bustling area in the picture, which was clearly during the day, Yusaku Kudo narrowed his eyes: "Could it be a safe house for leaders from the FBI or CIA?"

Bingo.

Sano snapped his fingers: "Now, please enjoy this scene."

……What's the meaning?

Yusaku Kudo looked hesitant, but there was nothing else he could do. He could only anxiously wait for his teammates to arrive while patiently watching the live stream.

Then, about ten seconds later, a black dot appeared in the sky above the live stream and was falling rapidly. Just as Kudo Yusaku was wondering what it was, Sano suddenly tilted his head and showed one eye on the phone screen, and whispered, "The little boy is coming."

Little boy...

Suddenly, Yusaku Kudo's pupils contracted, a terrifying thought forming in his mind, and he felt a chill creeping out of the top of his head: "Could it be..."

"Rumble..."

A loud rumbling sound came from the phone, and a black and red mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

Kudo Yusaku's suspicions were confirmed.

Sano, who was raising his head, had a mocking smile on his face.

Chapter 698 Why not kneel down and kowtow twice?

Yusaku Kudo, covered in cold sweat, was shocked; he never expected this.

Things have turned out this way.

Sano then put his phone away: "Amelica's side is probably in complete chaos right now, she won't have time to deal with things here, right?"

Kudo Yusaku snapped out of his daze and angrily questioned him.

"You actually brainwashed the nuclear button controller?!"

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Sano smiled and shook his head: "Instead of thinking about these things, you should think about what if I hadn't dropped this bomb on America, but on Japan, or even on some other country that possesses such bombs..."

In an instant, Yusaku Kudo's face turned ashen.

Without a doubt, if that were to happen, world war would break out tonight.

What do you mean by brainwashing? It's all deliberate instigation.

If someone actually gets hit on the head by a mushroom bomb, nobody will care about anything else and they'll just turn into a mad dog.

"The distillery's mad dog, truly lives up to its name..."

Yusaku Kudo's face was extremely grim: "This is truly unexpected. I thought that your actions would only begin when you took control of the brewery's intelligence group, and that's when you started targeting the entire world..."

Sano wore a faint smile, neither confirming nor denying it.

...Actually, Yusaku Kudo was right.

Before taking charge of the brewery's intelligence team, Sano had never considered targeting overseas locations, since there were no intelligence sources available and it would be too troublesome to do so.

However, this is from Sano's perspective.

From Yusaku Kudo's perspective, isn't it a bit of a gamble to think that way?

Sano didn't quite understand, but that didn't stop him from realizing his disadvantage early on. Brainwashing was slow and troublesome, so why not just replace him directly, even though it wasn't a long-term solution?

It can certainly handle temporary emergencies without any problem.

Isn't this very step we're taking the best proof?

...Sano didn't know how those countries with nuclear buttons in his previous life were responsible for their safekeeping, but this place was simply a military department similar to the major intelligence organizations, with both grassroots and decision-making levels.

To make that forbidden button press, the decision-making level must first issue an order, and then the lower-level staff must execute the order, which is very troublesome.

Especially the former.

The problem with the latter is simply that when executing orders, one might notice something is wrong and then raise questions or secretly report it.

Although there are many people at the grassroots level, it is very easy to find an opportunity to brainwash them.

However, the decision-making level is different. Because it involves the nuclear button, those people are surrounded by professionals 24 hours a day. If any mistake is made, it will be a failure, and the trouble will be far greater than that of the few high-level leaders of the Japanese government. But if you only brainwash a few key nodes at the grassroots level, and then keep a close eye on a certain decision-making person, and kill them directly when necessary, or even just make up a disguise to take over the operation without any regard for their safety.

Therefore, it would be much simpler to use force to press the button.

Well... there are quite a few specific details, but that's roughly the outline.

“You won’t be able to act with impunity forever. Amelia will soon notice the anomaly over there. The investigation into this will be swift, and the entire department will likely be replaced and put on trial. It will definitely be more rigorous in the future…”

Yusaku Kudo started arguing again.

However, Sano didn't care about this: "But unfortunately, everyone has weaknesses. Well, there's no point in talking about this. We still have to see the real deal with our hands. But right now, why do you think that I only have one nuclear button, Amelica?"

"Varied……"

Yusaku Kudo's pupils constricted, and his heart was about to stop.

"Haha, just kidding, I'm not that free."

Sano suddenly changed his tune, leaving Kudo Yusaku's back soaked with sweat.

...Does this guy never tell the truth?

Is this statement true or false? Are the other nuclear buttons really okay?

Kudo Yusaku was inwardly frantic and filled with anxiety.

Seeing that Kudo Yusaku had fallen completely silent, Sano was a little curious about the other's "preparation"... Although he had already infiltrated to the other side's face, he should have already taken in the whole situation, but it was precisely because he wanted to infiltrate that he deliberately avoided those guys hiding in the dark, otherwise, if something went wrong and something unexpected happened.

It is indeed a bit embarrassing.

Sano actually had some idea in mind, but ultimately he hadn't experienced it firsthand.

However, after waiting for a few more minutes without any further movement, Sano couldn't help but get impatient and exclaimed, "Hey, are you guys going to fight or not? If not, I'm going to go home, wash up, and go to bed."