give it all to miss machima

Hattori Heiji chuckled dryly a few times.

"But how am I supposed to make an appearance in public later? I can't exactly go up there and loudly announce that I'm Shinichi Kudo, can I?"

"No rush, this hasn't even started yet. There will always be opportunities. Their spies are probably still waiting for you to show up..."

"Doctor, are you and Shinichi hiding something from me?"

"what?"

Professor Agasa looked nervously at Ai Haibara as she emerged from the basement, and said in a slightly unnatural tone:

"No...no!"

"……Really?"

"Of course, he just..."

"—Ring ring—"

A phone call interrupted Professor Agasa's conversation, and he had no choice but to answer it:

"This is Agasa's residence. May I ask why?"

"Sorry to bother you so late. I'm Dr. Araide. Professor Agasa should still remember me, right?"

"Ah...ah! Of course!"

"Here's the thing, I remember last time a child named Haibara had a cold that just wouldn't get better. I happen to have a doctor here who's very professional in this area, and he's free tonight. If it's convenient, I can take you to him for a diagnosis."

"Wouldn't this... be a bit of a disturbance?"

"It's okay, the other party is my friend. He's usually busy with house calls, and he's only free tonight, which is why I called so urgently. If it's convenient for you... how about I come over in an hour?"

"In that case... that's troublesome."

"It's nothing, no trouble at all. See you in an hour."

Dr. Shinichi... no, Vermouth smiled and hung up the phone.

So... let's get moving—everyone...

Chapter 260 Direct Confrontation with Machima - Standard Procedure

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome! Welcome to tonight's ball!"

After all the guests had entered, the ferry slowly departed from the port, and the host, also wearing a mask, came to the center of the ballroom to announce the start of the ball.

Compared to the other guests who had their own purposes and started choosing dance partners and inviting each other to dance, the Mori father and daughter, along with Sonoko, were exceptionally pure; they came here for one word—eating.

Of course, while Sonoko was busy eating, she didn't forget to scan the whole room with her sharp eyes, hoping to find any handsome guys she liked. If possible, it would be best if these handsome guys would take the initiative to invite her to dance.

While Uncle Mori was eating and showing off his drinks, he also carefully observed the heavily made-up female guests, hoping to spot Ms. Yoko.

Unfortunately, because almost everyone was wearing makeup and all sorts of clothes, he was overwhelmed by the choices and couldn't find his idol. Instead, he was drawn to a couple arguing.

"I'll say it again—get out of my sight right now!"

Top celebrities in the entertainment industry never disappoint when it comes to negative news, with big scandals breaking out every now and then. But this idol heiress with a huge number of fans, Ms. Tomie Kawakami, is currently angrily berating a man dressed in classic gentleman's clothing who looks like he has a big belly, completely disregarding public etiquette.

The latter, clearly unwilling to attract so much attention, looked around and pleaded in a low voice:

"Ms. Tomie, I really had no other choice but to contact you at this time. You've been unwilling to contact us, and your contract with our company was signed a long time ago. If you suddenly ask for a higher fee, it will be very difficult for us, especially such a high one..."

"Is my asking price too high? How is it too high? It's been the same price for years, don't just spout nonsense. Besides, do you think I want to act in your lousy movies?!"

Tomie Kawakami seemed to be completely enraged, and she pointed at the other person fiercely.

"If you can't afford the pay I demand, sometimes you should look for the reasons within yourself. Over the years, has the company's market value increased? As the boss, have you managed the business well?! Do you think I'm one of those cheap actors here? Trying to blackmail me with a few dollars and a contract?! Don't even think about it! If you're not happy, then sue me! I have people in the courtroom, what can you do against me!"

Upon hearing this, even Mike, who was far away in the United States... no, I mean even the female assistant next to Kawakami Tomie, widened her eyes.

These words not only insulted the company president, but also went so far as to generalize and call almost everyone in the entertainment industry present a cheap commodity, which has offended many people.

Not to mention the utter disregard for the law, blatantly throwing unspeakable things onto the table without any restraint...

Thankfully, there are no live camera cameras here, otherwise it would have been another big gossip story tonight.

Meanwhile, compared to the other entertainment industry figures who were generally dissatisfied after being attacked on all sides, Kogoro Mouri, Ran, and Sonoko naturally entered a detached, spectator mode.

"Ms. Tomie Kawakami! You—you've gone too far!"

"Enough! I don't have time to waste with someone like you! Security! Where's the security?!"

"Sir, please go first..."

Looking at the increasingly chaotic scene, Kogoro Mouri clicked his tongue in amazement and shook his head:

"Who on earth is promoting such a brainless woman to be a big star? It's truly incomprehensible..."

"Dad, keep your voice down..." Xiaolan quickly reminded him.

"Alright, alright, Mr. President, and Ms. Tomie, what's the matter? We can talk about it after the ball. Why argue here..."

Amid the chaos, a handsome man dressed as Robin Hood volunteered to step forward and try to de-escalate the conflict.

"Oh, this person seems to be that male actor who became famous shortly after his debut."

Sonoko carefully examined the other person.

"I heard that he had scenes with Tomie Kawakami in the drama, and he's been obsessed with her ever since. I thought it was just gossip, but it turns out it's true..."

Unfortunately, this person's appearance only made things more chaotic.

Tomie Kawakami completely disregarded his kindness, instead launching into a sarcastic remark at the actor, implying that he was a toad trying to eat swan meat.

Then a second-rate actress who seemed to particularly dislike Tomie and was especially protective of the male actors jumped out to accuse Tomie of going too far.

But Tomie was not afraid at all. She scolded the three of them and was not at a disadvantage at all. She even made them tremble with anger. It was not until more security personnel came and separated them that the matter finally ended... or so?

of course not!

What followed was almost a textbook-perfect development.

—The Mori father and daughter, along with Sonoko, who were watching the spectacle, later overheard gossip about the argument from someone else at the dance.

Later, while drinking, Kogoro Mouri bumped into the gloomy-looking company president, who seemed to have a good impression of the famous detective. The two exchanged a few words.

When Sonoko and Ran went to the restroom, they encountered Tomie's personal assistant, who seemed to be under a lot of pressure.

Later, as I was leaving, I saw the male and female actors arguing around the corner, with Tomie mentioned several times.

Finally, the ball reached a point where a distinguished guest was required to make an appearance and give a speech, but Tomie Kawakami failed to show up.

Kind-hearted Ran and her gloomy assistant went to Tomie's private lounge to find her, and then...

What came into view was the "corpse" of Tomie Kawakami, lying in a pool of blood with a knife stuck in her neck, her eyes wide open in death.

"Aaaaaaah!"

With Ran's signature scream, Uncle Mori arrived immediately with a large crowd of onlookers.

After checking Tomie's breath and pulse to confirm that she was already dead, without even a moment's mourning for Tomie's death, Uncle Mouri was about to direct the crew to seal off the crime scene and begin tonight's investigation when a hand grabbed the hem of his clothes.

"Aaaaaah! He's—he's come back to life!"

"Wait! Miss Tomie isn't dead yet! Quick! Get her to the infirmary for emergency treatment!"

"Make way! The stretcher! The stretcher is here!"

Shortly after, a police helicopter arrived and brought Inspector Megure and the others, while also taking the critically ill Tomie directly to the hospital for emergency treatment.

With the news that Ms. Tomie might not be able to be saved, the story enters the much-anticipated four-choice phase, followed by the elimination phase involving Mori.

Unable to bear watching Uncle Mori's outrageous reasoning any longer, Osaka Kuroko's detective spirit could no longer endure it, and he finally transformed into Shinichi Kudo and made a dazzling appearance!

Meanwhile...

"Ding-dong-"

As the doorbell rang, Haibara took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

"Hi~"

Judy blocked the doorway and greeted the bewildered Haibara with a smile.

"Oh~ Sorry~ I'm so sorry if I scared you. Haibara-kun, let me introduce myself. My name is Jodie, and I'm Dr. Araide's colleague. I'm currently an English teacher at Teitan Junior High School. He can't come right now, so he asked me to take you to see a doctor."

Judy looked down at the little girl in front of her, her expression quite complicated.

"So... could you please open the door?"

Chapter 261 Direct Confrontation with Machima - Standard Ending

"Oh, speaking of which, isn't Professor Agasa here?"

Judy watched as Haibara slowly opened the door, peering through the entryway into the empty hall.

"After all, we might have to take you away for a while. As the child's guardian, you should know some... specific details, right?"

"You've come to see me, and Professor Agasa has nothing to do with these things, right?" Haibara retorted.

"Is that so..."

Judy narrowed her eyes. At the same time, Shuichi Akai's voice came through her earpiece: "Judy, I've seen Vermouth's car pass by. It'll be there soon."

"Alright, then please come with me."

After Ai Haibara was led away by Jodie and got into the car, Professor Agasa came out of the room and let out a long sigh of relief.

After glancing hesitantly at the basement, he immediately tiptoed to the garage.

A few minutes later, a Volkswagen Beetle drove away from the mansion, which was completely dark and seemingly deserted.

Inside the car, Judy, who seemed to be in a good mood, hummed a song as she drove towards the outskirts of Beika City, glancing at the rearview mirror every now and then.

Haibara also noticed through the rearview mirror that a white sedan had been following behind them.

"Someone's chasing us. That's not... cough cough... that's not your companion, is it?"

Jodie looked at Haibara, who was coughing: "You're calmer than I thought. You and that Coolkid next to you probably already guessed where we came from, right?"

I guess so...

Haibara nodded.

"So, FBI ladies, where are you planning to take me? And what will you do with the pursuers?"

He added, not to mention:

"By the way, there shouldn't be any listening devices here now, so you don't need to worry about our conversation being overheard."

"You knew all along that you were being wiretapped?"

“A simple guess—that’s what he told me.”

"I see..."

Judy smiled and glanced again at the car following closely behind in the rearview mirror.

"So, did Coolkid say anything else to you? Or tell you anything else that made him feel so at ease leaving your side this time?"

Haibara's eyes seemed to show considerable confusion, but she still said:

“He said… he knew that if he didn’t leave, the other party wouldn’t come looking for me, and you wouldn’t have a chance.”

Why...why is Vermouth so wary of Conan...or rather, of Shinichi Kudo? I really have no clue.

"Oh my gosh~ Not only our enemies, but even the FBI's every move has been seen through by that all-powerful little detective...?"

Judy could only smile helplessly as she recalled Conan's subtle probing during their first case.

Then, she comforted him:

"Don't worry, my companion is just further back. With him there, we won't let you be taken away."

Haibara nodded: "I see, bait... But... you should also know, right? There's something even more troublesome behind her, like... Aphrodite?"

"...Oh? You know a lot."

Judy glanced at Haibara unexpectedly, recalling the CIA employee named Locke's deduction at the meeting—"Sherry" was indeed Aphrodite's important target.

It must be admitted that the other party was clearly a self-taught amateur, yet her intuition was incredibly accurate—because now Shuichi Akai and she were almost certain that the girl in front of them was Shiho Miyano, whom the organization and Aphrodite were searching for.

and……

If she weren't Miyano Akemi's sister, the two of them would most likely have chosen to report this important information to the FBI higher-ups instead of acting alone.

"Don't worry, this operation was very sudden. More importantly, we've analyzed it, and Vermouth probably hasn't completely gained Aphrodite's trust. She probably even has her own plans. Otherwise—you should have been sent back to Aphrodite's side long ago."