Isn't it very scientific to use the Death Note to kill people?

Gin didn't turn on his flashlight; he walked along a downward-facing employee passageway by the dim light.

The sound of footsteps echoed softly in the empty corridor.

The deeper you go, the more obvious the signs of human maintenance become—there is less dust, better air circulation, and you can even hear the faint, low-pitched sound of the ventilation system running.

Finally, he arrived at a heavy metal door that seemed out of place with its surroundings.

The door was unlocked, slightly ajar, letting in warm, bright light.

Gin paused for a moment in front of the door, suppressing the pain in his ribs and the surging doubts, and slowly pushed the door open.

The sight behind the door made his pupils shrink slightly.

This is a renovated room; it's not large, but it's exceptionally clean.

The walls and ceiling were soundproofed, and the indicator lights of professional medical monitoring equipment and life support instruments were flashing regularly in the corners. The air was filled with a stronger smell of disinfectant and a sense of decay.

A person was sitting in a large chair in the center of the room.

—Karasuma Renya.

Gin's breath hitched for a moment.

Even though he was mentally prepared, the appearance of the man in front of him still had a strong impact on him.

In Gin's limited memories of his contact with Karasuma Renya,

The person who always remained behind the scenes always gave orders with an unquestionable and soul-piercing sense of authority. At that time, he was an old man who, although aged, was still like a lion perched on a shadow throne.

But the person in front of me...

He was thin and hunched over, his entire body almost completely sunk into the large seat and soft cushions.

His sparse silver hair clung to his scalp, and the skin on his face was like dried parchment, covered with deep furrows and age spots.

His knuckles protruded from outside the blanket, and his skin was so transparent that you could almost see the bluish-purple veins underneath.

Only his eyes—despite their deep-set sockets and somewhat droopy eyelids—when he slowly raised his eyelids and cast his gaze upon Gin, the coldness in his eyes and the profound depth that seemed to see through all darkness instantly dispelled his outward weakness, bringing a suffocating pressure.

He now looks much older and weaker than Gin ever did.

No wonder...

No wonder the Boss hasn't shown up for years.

His prestige within the organization will inevitably decline once people notice that he is in such a weak state.

"Gin".

Just as Gin was in shock, Karasuma Renya spoke.

His voice was hoarse and dry, but it carried an undeniable sense of power, as if each word was striking the silent air.

Gin immediately knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

"gentlemen."

Gin's voice was respectful and deep: "Upon receiving your order, I came immediately. Seeing that you are well... I am extremely relieved."

This last sentence carried a hint of probing. He was indeed shocked by the BOSS's extreme aging, but he was even more wary of why the BOSS would be here in this state, and the reason for his previous loss of contact.

Karasuma Renya ignored the probing in his words, his eyes, which seemed to see through people's hearts, swept over Gin, taking in his current disheveled state.

"I know everything that happened tonight."

Karasuma Renya spoke slowly, each word uttered deliberately, "Rum's betrayal, the failure of the operation, your loss..."

Gin's body stiffened slightly, and his head drooped even lower:

"Your subordinate is incompetent and failed to detect the trap, resulting in heavy losses for the action team. Please punish me, sir!"

"Punishment?"

Karasuma Renya let out a very soft, almost silent sneer. "Now is not the time to talk about punishment. Gin, I summoned you here for only one thing."

He paused for a moment, as if gathering his strength, or perhaps observing Gin's reaction.

Then, he stared intently at Gin and uttered the command, word by word, with perfect clarity:

“Find Rum.”

"Then, kill him."

"Yes!"

Gin responded without hesitation.

Killing Rum is exactly what he wants to do right now!

However, aside from that, the question of Cointreau's stance remained unanswered in his mind.

Just as he was about to question Karasuma Renya, a chuckled voice came from the shadows on the other side of the room:

"Do you need my help with killing Rum, Gin?"

Lin Jiashu came out.

He walked over to Gin and bowed slightly to Karasuma Renya respectfully.

"Cointreau."

Gin narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping quickly and subtly between Yoshiki Hayashi and Renya Karasuma.

The fact that Cointreau could appear so naturally in front of the BOSS at this moment is a strong signal in itself—his stance has at least been recognized by the BOSS, and he may even have been given authority, as he himself said.

He felt much more relaxed as a result.

Cointreau's stance is not problematic, which is indeed good news for him.

"As expected, you look utterly disheveled."

"Thanks to you."

Gin didn't want to argue about this issue.

After all, this was all arranged by the BOSS, and it was the price that had to be paid to eliminate Rum, so he had nothing to say.

In some ways, he even had to thank Jundu for his methods, which allowed his group to survive.

Lin Jiashu seemed to have seen through his thoughts, and stopped talking about it, instead saying:

"Rum should still be in the underground tunnels, frantically searching for the 'baby BOSS' he thinks exists, like a headless fly... But given your current state, it seems like dealing with him will be a bit of a hassle."

"baby?"

Gin caught the absurdity of the word and frowned.

"Ah, it seems I didn't explain it to you in enough detail last time."

Lin Jiashu stopped laughing.

“The cross-age tracking system, remember? Rum and James Black of the FBI worked together to get that thing.”

"After they tested the system and confirmed it worked, they couldn't wait to search for the gentleman's old photos... The system showed that the gentleman had become a baby who needed a nanny, so he excitedly started a rebellion—that's roughly what happened."

Gin's brow remained furrowed.

He could understand what Cointreau was saying, of course, but why should Rum believe such an absurd thing as the boss turning into a baby?

Perhaps sensing his confusion, Lin Jiashu continued to explain:

"This brings us to the drug APTX-4869. Its initial research purpose was not simply to make it a poison. The hope that you placed on this drug, sir, was in a sense... to 'reverse the flow of time'."

He paused, giving Gin some time to process the information: "Actually, the photo of Sherry shrinking that the system captured on Hachijojima Island... is real."

"What did you say!?"

"It's true that Shirley shrunk. Otherwise, how do you think she, who was only seventeen years old at the time, could have crawled out of the gas chamber's pipes?"

Ignoring Gin's expression that said, "What are you joking about?", Hayashi Yoshiki continued, "By the way, the high school detective you disposed of with APTX-4869 didn't die either. He shrunk down and went by the alias 'Edogawa Conan,' and is now staying at Kogoro Mouri's house."

His words were spoken with absolute certainty.

The key point is that if this is a lie, it can be easily proven false by investigation, so there is no need to say it out loud.

Because he instantly realized that this was likely the truth, a surge of rage, like lava, rushed to his head from the feeling of being fooled and played for so long!

His face instantly turned ashen, veins throbbed on his forehead, and a terrifying killing intent burst forth from his green pupils as he locked onto Lin Jiashu, who still wore a smile.

Sherry didn't die; instead, she turned into a child and has been hiding within his territory ever since!

Shinichi Kudo didn't die either; he also turned into a child, and might even interfere with his actions multiple times!

And this guy in front of me probably knew all along, but kept it a secret and watched helplessly as I was kept in the dark like a clown.

"You'd better give me an explanation right now. What is your purpose in hiding the fact that Sherry has shrunk?!"

Even with Karasuma Renya right in front of him, Gin couldn't help but slightly raise the hand holding the gun, his killing intent almost tangible.

"All of this was, of course, done on the direct orders of the master."

Lin Jiashu's voice showed no sign of tension.

"As you can see, the gentleman's physical condition has reached its limit, and conventional methods cannot reverse this aging. But Sherry—as the successor of the Miyano couple—even personally performed the miracle of reversing time."

His tone became rational and cold:

"To help Mr. Shirley recover his health as soon as possible, and even regain his youth, Shirley and the knowledge in her mind are irreplaceable. Her research must continue, and it must continue in the direction we need."

"So, when I discovered that Sherry had shrunk and appeared outside the pipes of the research institute, I chose to keep it a secret and reported it to the sir separately."

"The professor gave me new instructions: do not alert her, do not intimidate her with the shadow of the organization, but observe her secretly, guide her, and even provide some necessary help to ensure that she can continue her research in a relatively safe and undisturbed environment until she achieves the results we need."

The killing intent in Gin's eyes had not subsided, but it was already cracked by the sudden information.

He couldn't help but glance at Karasuma Renya, who remained silent, as if tacitly agreeing with everything Kimdo had said.

Lin Jiashu looked at Gin with a meaningful gaze:

"The professor also realized that the old method of controlling researchers purely through fear and coercion was risky."

"The Miyano couple's experience was a lesson."

"High pressure can breed rebellion and destruction. For a genius like Sherry, who has already experienced death once, is fragile and extremely sensitive, a roundabout way, or even one that she thinks she has hidden well and has a certain degree of freedom, is more likely to allow her to focus on the research itself and reduce the possibility that she will deliberately create flaws or go to extremes."

“And now, Sherry will not hide anything from me.”

“Her research progress, the bottlenecks she encountered, the changes in her thinking... were all under my observation and influence. This is much more efficient and safer than locking her in the organization's gas chamber and pointing a gun at her head.”

Gin's mind was violently shaken.

Logically, this explanation perfectly explains why Cointreau concealed Sherry's whereabouts, and even why he tolerated Shinichi Kudo's existence.

So behind all of this was actually the BOSS's personal planning and authorization...

But there's one more issue that Gin finds particularly concerning—

"So you're telling me—that early on, when I promoted you, you already had the authority to directly contact the Boss and carry out this kind of task?"

Faced with Gin's questioning, Yoshiki Hayashi suddenly smiled.

He slowly took a step forward, getting closer to Gin, and also seemingly closer to the silent Karasuma Renya.

Under the pale light, his shadow stretched out long.

Then, he bowed slightly, his movements as graceful as an actor taking a curtain call, his right hand gently pressed against his chest, meeting Gin's incredulous gaze, and said, word by word:

"Now, please allow me to give a formal self-introduction."

His eyes narrowed slightly, a gleam of pleasure shimmering within them.

My code name is—

“Mezzol. "

He paused, as if savoring the weight of the name, before adding that chilling comment:

"That is, the so-called 'disappearing wine'."

Mezzo.

This code name exploded in Gin's mind like a thunderclap.

That guard, who existed only in vague rumors, served directly under that man, and whose true face was almost never seen—

All the doubts seemed to have been answered at this moment.

How did Cointreau know Rum's true identity?